How to Claim a Governess’s Heart - Bridget Barton Page 0,74
much on his plate.
She was sure that Lord John would want to help her in some way. She couldn’t ask him to take time away from his own business to help her in this matter. She would need to work this out on her own.
Chapter 24
Lord John paced his office for what seemed hours. After doing some enquiring of his own, he learned that his brother had indeed bribed every publishing house in London and even a few outside of it, to ensure that no one would give Lord John the time of day.
He wondered how the conversations had gone. Had the duke gone so far as to explain the situation to the publisher? That he, the Duke of Ludford, was going to do everything in his power to see that Lord John loses the bet. Or did the duke just hand over money with the order to turn his brother away and nothing more?
Lord John considered that maybe he could appeal to some of the publishing agents. If they would listen to his side of things, perhaps they would ignore the sum of money that they were given in exchange for their refusal to read Lord John’s novel.
This idea was quickly dismissed. A man was nothing if he had no honour. They had taken the bribe and given their word not to receive Lord John. He was sure that any man who chose to go against his word was not trustworthy enough to have as a partner.
Soon a new idea bloomed in his head. It would be a long shot, but it just might be possible to get a publishing agent to accept his work, if they didn’t know that it was from him. If he could find someone to stand in, claim the manuscript as their own, and take it to the publishers, he would have a fair chance of being accepted.
Using Higgins was out of the question. He was sure that the duke would have thought of him using his closest friend in his stead. In fact, it would be best if he didn’t use a man at all. If he could get a woman to pose as the writer of the novel, he was sure that neither his brother nor the publishing agents would suspect it was really him who had written it.
As fool-proof as this plan seemed as it blossomed in his head. He knew of two large hurdles impending it. First, he would have to find someone willing to take the position as an imposter, and second, women notoriously had a much more difficult time getting published than men.
Even if he found a stand-in, how could they convince a publishing company to accept their work? Hopefully, since he planned on paying the cost of publishing for the first book, it would be much easier for a publisher to consider his work. However, many men in this industry were less willing to hear out a female writer.
Certainly, more women were attempting to make a career for themselves in this field than others. He was sure that many of these companies found requests from ladies all over the country wanting to have their writing read and accepted.
How was he going to see that his stand-in would get the proper attention and respect she needed to stand a chance at getting the manuscript read?
He crumpled in his office chair, covering his face with his hands. Even if he found a way around all these barriers, there was still the possibility that they simply didn’t like his work.
Though Higgins and Miss Thatcher had tried to dissuade him from this possibility, it was still a genuine probability in his mind. He scratched his head, tussling his golden hair.
That was something out of his control, so therefore not something worth worrying over at present. He already had in mind the woman of his choosing. His next step was to approach her.
He had no doubt that Miss Thatcher would be willing to help him in his endeavours. He had taken the last few days to seek out precisely what his brother had been doing to hurt his chances. In the process, he had spent little time at home.
Each night he arrived home well after Betsy’s bedtime. Much to his disappointment, he would find the parlour room empty every time. It hadn’t been abnormal in the past for Bridget to stay up reading in the parlour if Lord John had been out for the evening.