Jo Beverley - [Malloren 02] (55 page)

Nearly everyone thought him mad. No one had constructed a canal in England since Roman times; there had never been an aqueduct in England; and his engineers—Brindley and Gilbert—were largely self-taught. He couldn't find many investors. But Bridgewater at only twenty-four proved determined. When he couldn't raise money by other means, he sold or mortgaged just about everything he owned and went around soliciting small loans from anyone with money to spare.

Money, however, wasn't his only problem. Canal construction required acts of Parliament for each stage, and those proved hard to get. Many MPs regularly sold their vote to the highest bidder. Others believed canals would ruin the countryside. In addition, there were honest doubters who thought the plans, particularly that for the aqueduct, simply could not work. In order to persuade the committee of Parliament to approve the act permitting the aqueduct, Brindley had to build a working model in front of them.

And after all that, the real one began to fail as the first water ran through it. It was a minor flaw, fortunately, and the engineers fixed it, working without sophisticated plans, almost by string and sealing wax. Soon people were making special trips to see this modern marvel, to watch ships seem to sail through the air.

And beneath, the proprietors of the Mersey and Irwell Navigation Company gnashed their teeth and feared the future.

Though there were many years of struggle still ahead for Bridgewater, it was the beginning of a new age, the new age Bryght foresees. By the end of the century, England was crisscrossed by canals facilitating rapid industrial expansion. England was poised for the Victorian age, when it would be the richest and most powerful nation on earth.

The result of all this was to make the Duke of Bridgewater an extremely wealthy man by the time he died, still unmarried, in 1803. The profit from his coal mines had risen from £406 per annum at the time of this book, to £48,000 at the time of his death. In addition, he had the income from fees for the use of his canals, and from many other ventures such as land purchased on the new dockland in Liverpool. I'm sure Bryght became just as rich in the process, but great wealth was never really his motivation. It was the fascination of new opportunities and ideas that stirred him.

You may have noticed that in this book I have used precise figures for many costs. Such things fascinate me. In a time when a workingman was pleased to get a shilling a day, a gamester could lose a hundred guineas and hardly notice it. A man like Prestonly could lose ten thousand and shrug it off.

The value of money is never simply a matter of how many shillings in a guinea. (Twenty-one, by the way.)

I hope you enjoyed
Tempting Fortune.
It is the second of a series of books about the Mallorens, which continued into what I call the Malloren World. They are all available in print and e-book.

The first in the series was
My Lady Notorious,
about Bryght's youngest brother, Captain Lord Cynric Malloren (Elf's twin), and Chastity Ware, Fort Ware's sister. This novel won a prestigious RITA Award.

The rest, in order, are:

Something Wicked

Secrets of the Night

Devilish (RITA Winner)

Winter Fire

A Most Unsuitable Man

A Lady's Secret

The Secret Wedding

The Secret Duke

An Unlikely Countess

A Scandalous Countess

Seduction in Silk

Dare to Kiss ( A Novella)

Thanks for enjoying Tempting Fortune. May you, too, find happiness and a place in the sun.

Jo Beverley

www.jobev.com

Page forward and continue your journey

with an excerpt from

AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE

The Company of Rogues Series

Book One

Excerpt from

An Arranged Marriage

The Company of Rogues

Book One

by

Jo Beverley

New York Times & USA Today

Bestselling Author

AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE

Awards & Accolades

Best Regency Novel, Romantic Times

RITA, finalist

Bookrak Bestseller

"A splendid love story.... This immensely appealing pair of lovers will utterly captivate readers, while Ms. Beverley's commanding ease with the Regency period provides a veritable feast of delight for the true connoisseur. Bravo!"

~Romantic Times

Nicholas has arranged for his friends, the Company of Rogues, to keep Eleanor company, but when she holds a small party, he attends to keep up appearances...

Eleanor was pleased to see Nicholas exerting his charm to secure the success of the event, but this also led to bitterness. If he can turn it on and off so easily, she thought, why can't he turn it on for me now and then? She was amused by Peter"s jealous care of Amy until she compared it to Nicholas's casual regard of herself.

Lord Middlethorpe, standing beside her, said, "Now what in the sight of those sickening young lovers can be making you look so sad?"

"I'm just worrying about arrangements. This is my first real party, you know."

But he shook his head. "Won't do, Eleanor. May I try my hand at mind-reading? You were looking at Peter and Amy and wishing Nicholas was hovering over you in the same way."

She knew she had colored and did not attempt to deny it.

"He wouldn't be a very good host if he did that, you know. And perhaps he trusts you rather more than Peter appears to trust Amy."

Eleanor was betrayed into bitter speech. "He wouldn't care, I dare say, if I were to throw myself into another man's arms."

Surprisingly, Lord Middlethorpe laughed. "You obviously don't know Nicholas, even yet." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Jealousy is a not very attractive reflection of possessiveness, but would it make you happy if he were jealous?"

"Francis, this is most improper, and very silly. I can't...." Under his gently insistent look she said, "Yes. Yes, it would."

"Come then," he said and held out his arm. "Show me some particular book in the library."

Eleanor looked over at her oblivious husband then put her hand on Lord Middlethorpe's arm and allowed him to lead her from the room. "You expect him to come after us? I doubt he will even notice I have left the room, never mind who with."

"I, however, know I am taking my life in my hands."

His sensitive eyes reflected all his concern for her. Why was she surrounded by care from everyone except the one....

"Cheer up, or you'll have me thinking I am very poor company."

As they entered the darkened library Eleanor said, "Indeed you are not. I don't know what I would do without your friendship, Francis."

He lit the candles with a taper from the low fire and looked around. "Well, which book are you so anxious to share with me?"

Eleanor shrugged, and took up the folder of Chinese prints. "Have you seen these? They are exquisite."

He turned the sheets carefully. "Very fine. I have some similar but none as delicate as these."