Page 37 of The Heiress Masquerade (Dollar Princess #2)
Four months later, London, November 1890
The sound of his pen scratching across the parchment as Harrison signed the contract symbolized the culmination of all of his dreams in one swift stroke, but rather than the satisfaction he’d been expecting, instead he felt empty inside. And it was a feeling he hadn’t been able to shake since Aimee had left him and returned to New York, no matter how hard he tried.
At first, he’d immersed himself with work, staying at the office until late and sometimes even sleeping there, desperately trying to stay as busy as possible to forget her, but to no avail; everywhere he looked he was reminded of her. So then, he’d thrown himself into attending all the various balls Society had to offer, hoping against hope that perhaps one of the young ladies he danced with might interest him enough to finally forget her.
Instead, all he’d done was compare them to Aimee and find them wanting. None had her stunning blue eyes or contagious smile. None had her wit or keen intelligence. None challenged him or made him feel so alive as she had. And, in the end, he’d realized, none could compare to her because they weren’t her. But, then again, none would leave him broken and shattered if he loved and lost them…not like she would.
“Congratulations, Harrison, you now own fifty-one percent of the London company.” Thomas paused as he handed him a copy of the contract. “You’ve finally achieved what you set out to, which I hope will bring you some measure of happiness.”
He’d hoped so, too, but happiness had always been an elusive emotion that he didn’t think he was destined to achieve. “Thank you, Thomas.” He took the man’s outstretched hand and shook it. “Ultimately, none of this would have been possible if you hadn’t taken a chance on me when I was a boy.”
“How could I not? A twelve-year-old wanting to invest all his savings in my company, after paying keen attention to all of the conversation between the gentlemen he shined shoes for? I was more than impressed, and I could see your potential. I’ve never met a young boy more determined to succeed than you were back then, and look at you now,” Thomas replied, the first hint of a smile creasing the corners of his mouth since he’d arrived. “It’s been a privilege to mentor you over the years, and I am proud of you, despite recent events.”
Thomas was obviously alluding to what Harrison had told him had occurred between him and Aimee, or at least a heavily edited version of it. After all, no father needed to know the true extent of what Harrison and Aimee had gotten up to, simply that he had proposed and she had declined. Thomas was canny enough to have worked out things had been a bit more complicated than that, but he hadn’t pressed Harrison for a more detailed explanation, instead simply commenting on the fact that whatever had happened between them, his daughter’s heart was broken, and Harrison was to stay away from her.
Which had been easy enough to do given Aimee was either in New York, or when visiting here seemed to avoid every social event he attended, including not attending her own cousin, the new Duchess of Hargrave’s balls. Probably just as well. It was much easier to forget her if he didn’t see her. Knowing that still didn’t stop him from constantly looking around a ballroom hoping to get a glimpse of her and feeling disappointed when he never did.
“I am grateful to you, Thomas, more than you know. And I want you to know I’m sorry for all that occurred with Aimee. You placed your faith in me and I let you down, greatly.”
“I still have faith in you, Harrison,” Thomas said. “But now we must focus on the future instead of lamenting the past. And the future of the company is bright with the Wilheimer deal you’ve secured, and the new deal with the Rousseau Group in France that Aimee’s working on.”
“Aimee’s working on a deal?”
“Yes, she’s in Paris now charming the Countess of Rousseau, who took over running the company after her husband recently died.”
“You’ve certainly changed your tune about Aimee working for you…embraced it even.” Harrison knew Thomas had finally agreed to mentor his daughter; he just hadn’t realized she’d progressed to helping her father win over a new market, a position Harrison had previously filled.
“It was either embrace her or continue to fight with her over it.” Thomas shrugged. “And given the elaborate masquerade she concocted for her trip here, her mother and I agreed that the only way forward was to help her rather than hinder her. And though her mother isn’t entirely happy about it, I myself couldn’t be happier. Indeed, it was her idea to approach the countess about a possible merger.”
“It’s a clever idea.” The Rousseau group controlled the largest shipping ports in not only Paris, but in Egypt, too, and if Thomas could acquire the company, it would see the Thornton-Jones Conglomerate as the world’s largest trading and shipping company.
Thomas’s smile returned. “Honestly, Harrison, you should see Aimee in action. She’s charming and personable, and so clever that I feel like such a fool for not embracing her in my business long ago. She had the countess wrapped around her finger in minutes with her ideas, not to mention her flawless French. Her son, too, was entranced by her.”
“Her son?” Harrison felt his jaw lock tight.
“Yes, he’s the new count and sole heir to the Rousseau fortune,” Thomas confirmed. “Actually, I have hopes that this business deal might not just be solely a business deal after all. You see, he’s taking her on a tour of the Eiffel Tower this weekend, and well, who knows what will happen there. I hear it’s quite the place to propose to someone nowadays…”
Harrison whole body jolted, almost as if someone had sucker punched him in the stomach as a bitter sense of betrayal rose up in his throat. “She said she would never marry.” At least not without love, and she couldn’t have fallen in love again so soon after professing her love for him. Unless she’d never really been in love with him in the first place and had instead mistaken lust for love, which she probably had.
“People do odd things after they’ve had their heart broken, don’t they? Some even accept the next man to ask them to marry them. But how thoughtless of me to mention such things given your own proposal was rejected.” He didn’t look contrite in the slightest. “In any event, though she does seem to adore the count, they’ve only known each other a few weeks, so I doubt it’s anything serious.” He paused, then glanced to Harrison, his stare intense. “You also only knew her a few weeks before charming her to the point of her believing herself in love with you, so I suppose anything is possible, isn’t it?”
“I never charmed her,” Harrison said, a horrible sense of anger and fear jostling inside him. “I annoyed and frustrated her more than anything, as she did to me, too.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s true. Though, in the end, you were the one who broke her heart.”
“I’m surprised she’s confessed such a thing to you.” The Aimee he knew was far too proud to have confessed that to her father.
“Of course she didn’t,” Thomas said, waving his arms around. “But she didn’t have to. I know my daughter and can see her heart’s been broken.”
“I never meant for that to happen. I even warned her I could never love anyone.” Harrison pressed his lips together, the memory of her telling him she loved him so bittersweet he could taste it. “The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.”
“And yet you did.”
“For which I am sorry,” Harrison replied, dragging a hand through his hair. “But, as you mentioned, she was the one who ended our engagement, not me.”
“You didn’t give her much of a choice. My daughter would never settle for a marriage of convenience, not when her heart is involved.”
“It can’t have been that involved if she’s already considering marrying another man,” he said, unable to disguise the bitterness in his voice.
“Like I said, people do odd things when their heart’s been broken.” Thomas was staring steadily at him, and Harrison got the impression he wasn’t talking about Aimee. “In any event, it doesn’t really matter now. Her interest in a wealthy count is better than her interest in a man looking to marry a Dollar Princess to save his future estate after his uncle has nearly destroyed it with his poor investments and debts.”
“I never proposed to her for her money!” Harrison roared, crossing his arms over his chest. “I proposed because I wanted to make things right, and because…” His words trailed off as the truth hit him in the face. “Well, because she’s the only person I’ve ever wanted to marry.”
Thomas scoffed. “Then why did you let her get away?”
“Because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her.” Harrison stalked over to the side table and poured himself a stiff brandy.
“But you did lose her, Harrison.”
“Better to have lost her now before falling even more in love with her, and then losing her later, which would destroy me.” He swallowed the liquid in one mouthful, part of him relishing the burning sensation down his throat, which very briefly took away the ache around his heart.
“True.” Thomas walked over next to him and poured himself a brandy. “Why would you want to love someone and create wonderful memories with them when something might eventually happen to them, leaving you all alone? It’s far more sensible, and safer, to simply be done with it and be alone right now, for the rest of your life.”
“You mock me, but you don’t know what it’s like to lose your world in the blink of an eye.” Harrison slammed down his glass. “I went from being loved and happy, with a family, to being alone and terrified, with no food, no place to live, and no one who cared whether I lived or died. I never want to experience that again.”
Thomas took a sip of his drink and was silent for a moment. “I can’t pretend to know what you went through when you were a young boy and lost your parents. But I do know that no parent would want their child to be alone, ever. Not as a child and certainly not as an adult. If they were alive, I’m certain they’d tell you to embrace love with both hands, because yes, life can be fragile, but it’s the memories we make with those we love that keep us company in times of sadness. Tell me this, Harrison. When you think of your parents, what is it you think of?”
Taking in a deep breath, Harrison let the memories of his parents float into his thoughts. Him and his mother laughing as his father told one of his outlandishly funny bedtime stories. His mother’s arms wrapping tightly around him as she gave him a hug good night, before his father ruffled his hair and tucked him in. “I think of the good memories with them. But I still feel the pain of their deaths down to my soul.”
“I know you do. But would you trade those good memories of your parents to get rid of the pain?”
Harrison sighed. “No. I wouldn’t.” As much as it had nearly killed him to lose his parents, he held those memories of them close to his heart.
“I didn’t think so.” Thomas nodded sagely. “And as difficult as the thought of losing someone you love is, I know from my experience I wouldn’t trade the memories of the ones I love for anything in the world, not even to save myself any future potential pain. So now, my boy, you must ask yourself, do you really want to be alone for the rest of your life, letting your fears win? Or do you want to create future memories with the woman you love, and let courage triumph? It’s as simple as that.”
Was it? Could he live with the risk of loving and then possibly losing Aimee? He was silent for several minutes as he wrestled with the demons inside, until he finally looked back up at Thomas. “I need to get to Paris immediately.”