“You’re right,” Thomas said, feeling that it was best not to lie with the muscular henchman still standing in the corner of the room. “But the money I do have, I need at present. I have just entered into a courtship, you see, with Lady Valeria, the niece of—”
“I am aware of your courtship,” Crowle cut him off. “I have been made aware of all your current circumstances, Lord Woodsford. But I am afraid that debt repayment cannot be set aside or rescheduled to suit the convenience of the gentleman who owes the money.”
“But you’ve been very patient with me so far,” Thomas said. “I have to wonder what’s changed. I know the people my father owed money to haven’t been pressing you to collect my debts. What’s led them to change their mind? Have they said anything about that?”
For a moment, Crowle’s gaze shifted away, and Thomas got the distinct feeling that there was something he wasn’t saying—perhaps even something he was unwilling to say.
Then he refocused his attention on Thomas.
“What’s brought me here today is none of your concern,” he said. “What you ought to be concerning yourself with, Lord Woodsford, is the money you owe. Where is it, and how are you planning to repay it? You’re right—Ihavebeen patient so far. But that isn’t going to continue just because you’ve decided to engage in a courtship. That’s not any worry of mine. I don’t care about your courtship.”
“Perhaps we could arrange some sort of agreement,” Thomas said. “I am more than willing to begin making regular payments. If we could discuss an amount that would be acceptable to you—to your clients—”
“While you continue to parade about town spending money on your courtship with the young lady? Planning for an engagement? Making arrangements for marriage?” Crowle shook his head. “You’ll have to square your accounts away quickly, before you continue with the events on your social calendar. No one is willing to bethataccommodating.”
“Mr. Crowle,” Thomas said. “Surely you and I can come to some mutually beneficial arrangement, as men.”
“You think so?” Crowle asked. “Lord Woodsford, I’m afraid unless that arrangement involves you paying your debt immediately, we are going to find ourselves in conflict.”
“I can’t pay it off immediately,” Thomas said. “You must know I can’t.”
“Then I will tell you what I want to see happen,” Crowle said.
Thomas waited on tenterhooks, knowing that whatever came next was likely to be very unpleasant for him.
“To begin, you will pay me as much as you can,” Crowle said. “You will keep back only enough money to sustain yourself for the coming months—nobody wants you to starve to death. At least, not as long as you are endeavoring to meet your financial obligations.”
“The next thing I will want to see is that you have ended your courtship with Lady Valeria.”
“What?” Thomas felt cold. “Why is that necessary?”
“Because I am not foolish,” Crowle said. “There is no way you can carry on a courtship with a young lady of her status while also sending the lion’s share of your money to me. If you are engaged in courtship, I will know that you are keeping some of the money back for yourself. It will be the surest possible sign that you are cheating me, and I won’t have that.”
“But to end my courtship now would end any chance of a future for Lady Valeria and myself,” Thomas said. He hated the fact that he had to say this outright. It made him feel vulnerable, and he didn’t like confessing his true feelings to Crowle. He wished he could have avoided it.
“That makes no difference to me,” Crowle said coldly. “I don’t care about your future with that young lady.”
“Surely there must be another way,” Thomas said. “If we were to slow down our courtship, for example, but not call things off altogether—she won’t need to know how much money I have, nor will her aunt. We can go on outings that don’t call for a lot of money. She wouldn’t need to know about any of this. It would give me time to get my affairs in order, pay my debts, and then save up some money again.”
“And you really think a young lady like her would wait all that time for you to get your affairs in order?” Crowle scoffed. “If you ask me, this has nothing to do with getting your affairs in order. You’re avoiding the idea of ending your courtship because you’re not planning on cooperating with me at all.”
“No, that isn’t true,” Thomas said. “I can see that there isn’t any way around this.” His eyes flickered to the muscular man standing by the wall. As awful as it was, he knew that he would likely comply with whatever agreement they reached today, here in this room. It wouldn’t do Lady Valeria any favors if he continued to spend time around her while these men were hunting him.
“Listen,” he said. “How about this. I’ll do as you’ve asked. I’ll give you all the money I can. And I’ll continue to make regular payments to you until my debt is settled. And in exchange, you will allow me to continue my courtship, just as long as my payments are being made.”
He held his breath, hoping that Crowle would agree.
Crowle appeared to be thinking it over. “I do like that you’re so accepting of the fact that you can’t get out of making your payments,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe the number of people who seem to think that that part is optional.”
“No, I know there’s no way out of that,” Thomas agreed quickly. “All I ask is that, as long as my payments are being made, you allow me to handle my courtship with my own best judgment. And if something should go wrong—if I should miss a payment—the issue should be settled between the two of us, with Lady Valeria left out of it.”
“Of course,” Crowle said, inclining his head. “I certainly have no desire to mix the young lady up in these sordid affairs. Everything will be handled between you and me. You may rely on that.”
“Good,” Thomas said, very much relieved. If he had believed for a moment that this situation put Lady Valeria in any danger, he would have had no choice but to end their courtship, no matter how badly he wanted to continue it. Nothing he wanted was worth risking her safety.
“All right,” Crowle said. “We have an agreement, then. I will give you the rest of the morning to get the money you have available together, and I will return in the late afternoon to collect it. Provided you have it ready, your courtship may continue.”
“Don’t worry,” Thomas said. “I’ll have your money.”
