Trying to distract them from his rudeness, Noelle rushed to Constance and embraced her, finding the right words even though there was little happiness inside her. Impulsively she turned to Simon and hugged him, too. He grinned like a schoolboy at the gesture, and she felt oddly ashamed of her recent treatment of him.
'You're wrong, Quinn,' Constance said softly, slipping away from Simon and going to his son.
'About what?' His eyes were brooding and his lips set in stone.
'He loves me.'
Quinn arranged his face in a semblance of a smile and embraced her affectionately. 'Of course he does. He couldn't help but love you.' But the glare he shot Simon over the top of her head was filled with venom.
'He doesn't believe you, Connie,' Simon said with surprising equanimity.
'Of course he doesn't, and really, Simon, one can hardly blame him.'
Noelle felt as if she had been cast adrift in a strange land where the inhabitants spoke an unfamiliar language. Constance read her thoughts.
'Noelle believes we've all lost our senses.'
She disengaged herself from Quinn and, taking her place behind a well-ladened tea tray, picked up one of the china pots. 'Sit down, Noelle. Simon. If you must pace, Quinn, step back from my new vases. They were frightfully expensive, but I simply couldn't resist them. Have a croissant, Noelle, and some tea. Simon, tell me if that's not enough cream.'
When everyone was served, Constance turned her attention to Noelle. 'Quinn believes that Simon has married me only to gain back control of the company. Don't you, my dear?'
'I confess it crossed my mind,' Quinn said dryly from the other side of the room. And then, more vehemently, 'Damn it, you deserve something better!'
'But I don't understand, Constance,' Noelle interjected. 'I thought you and Simon were equal partners.'
Constance shot Quinn a disapproving glance. 'Your husband appears to be a member of that unfortunate breed of men who believes women need know nothing more about their husband's occupation than the name of the firm. Really, Quinn, I had expected better of you.'
She returned her attention to Noelle. 'Last month, Quinn became an equal partner with Simon and myself, each of us owning one third of the company.'
Suddenly Noelle understood why Quinn was so disturbed. 'And when a woman marries,' she said thoughtfully, 'she no longer can keep title to her personal property. It all passes to her husband. So Simon now controls the company.'
Constance emitted a triumphant whoop. 'There! You see, Quinn, all she needs is to be headed in the proper direction. Very good, my dear. The law is ridiculous, of course, and an insult to all women, but it is the law. However, in this case, I circumvented the law by selling half of my shares before Simon and I were married.'
'You can't do that!' Quinn exclaimed hotly. 'It's illegal. No shares can be sold outside either of our immediate families!'
'That is why I sold them to your wife.'
Noelle was flabbergasted. 'What do you mean, Constance? I never purchased any shares of Copeland and Peale from you.'
'Oh, but you did, my dear. And in the future, you really must remember to read whatever you sign. It is most foolhardy to set your name to anything you haven't thoroughly investigated even when it is put before you by a trusted friend in the form of a petition to raise the minimum working age to nine years.'
'But I've never given you any money.'
'Of course you have. Remember your foolish insistence on paying me while you were with me in Sussex? I put that money aside, intending to return it to you. When I decided to sell my shares to you, I simply used it for my own purpose. With your signed permission, I might add.'
Noelle was thoughtful as she tried to piece together what Constance was telling her. This meant that Simon now controlled one third of Copeland and Peale in his own right and one sixth through Constance's remaining shares. Quinn controlled the same, one third in his own right and one sixth through the shares Constance had given her. What an amazing woman she was! With one bold stroke, she had neatly restored the balance of power between father and son.
'How much money did Noelle have?' Quinn asked, looking at Constance with considerable admiration.
'Nearly fifty pounds.'
He almost choked. 'You sold sixteen percent of the best shipbuilding firm in the world for fifty pounds?'
'Forty-eight pounds, five shillings, and sixpence!'
Quinn threw back his head and laughed. Only Noelle did not join in. She knew she should tell her very kind, very generous friend that she wouldn't be going to America and would never see the shipyard, but she couldn't bring herself to spoil Constance's happiness quite yet and neither, it seemed, could Quinn. She would wait until tomorrow.
'Before I turn these papers over to your wife,' Constance said as she accepted a heavy envelope from Simon, 'I must ask you to make the same agreement your father made.'
'What's that?'
'This is Noelle's property. Legally, of course, you can take control just as Simon can take control of my property. But I am asking you to give me your word that you will not do that. Noelle must vote her own shares.'
'But that's ridiculous!'
For once Noelle found herself in agreement with her husband. Still, what did it matter? Quinn would be gone soon, and he could do anything he wanted with the shares.
Quinn shook his head in disgust and turned away. 'Constance, I've always respected your judgment, but this makes no sense. Noelle knows nothing about building ships.'
'You will teach her.'
Quinn confronted his father. 'Why did you agree to this nonsense?'
'I didn't at first, but when I stopped raving and began listening to Connie, I discovered she made sense. She doesn't deserve to lose all of her decision-making power just because she's decided to marry.'
'Of course she doesn't. But you can hardly compare Constance's value to Copeland and Peale with Noelle's.'
'Noelle has more value than either Constance or I,' Simon snapped. 'She'll be bearing the heirs to the company!'
Noelle shot up from her seat, but before she could speak, Constance caught her by the hand.
'Simon has been tactless as usual. Naturally we hope you will have children, but that is your business, not ours. The fact is, Noelle, you are blessed with both courage and common sense and will certainly be an asset to the company. Well, Quinn, will you give your word that she controls her property in her own right?'
A faint prick of foreboding stung Noelle as Quinn turned and studied her with dark intensity. What was he waiting for? Why didn't he just agree and get it over with? He knew she would not hold him to his promise.
'You have my word.'
Constance placed the envelope in Noelle's hand. 'Welcome to Copeland and Peale, my dear.'
Quinn excused himself from the room. Noelle took another cup of tea and questioned Simon and Constance about their wedding. The three of them smiled over London's reaction to this second elopement in the Copeland family and then discussed Constance's planned move back to Northridge Square.
When Quinn returned, Constance invited them to stay for lunch, and he accepted with alacrity. As they settled themselves around the table Noelle noticed that Quinn's black mood had vanished. He teased Constance, treated his father with courtesy, and was even polite to her. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and it made Noelle very uneasy.
Her apprehension grew when they returned home to an unusual flurry of activity. Tomkins held one of Quinn's valises in his hand as he opened the front door for them. They stepped inside just as two footmen were descending the stairs, one at each end of a trunk. When they passed her, Noelle glimpsed a wisp of bronze satin peeking out from beneath the closed lid.
Her eyes flew to Quinn, but he had already disappeared down the back hallway. She ran up the stairs and into her bedroom, where Alice was fastening the last straps on one of three trunks scattered across the floor. The door
