wait until resentment ate them alive and the only ties binding them were for business. He should be glad. He should be relieved.
Besides, what ties would bind them? Angelica hadn’t seemed particularly tempted by any part of his offer. It was a douse of cold water. Jonathan had got used to being the hero. To coming along and saving the day.
But Angelica didn’t need saving.
Nor did she need him.
Jonathan glared out his window at the drifting snow. He would show her. As soon as he had the catalogues, he would hire a hack and journey to every corner of England until Fit for a Duke was more popular than fresh bread. She would earn fistfuls of money from his efforts. He wouldn’t stop until her name was on everyone’s lips. Until he finally proved himself worthy of her.
Once she was as rich as Croesus, well, then they could decide what to do, couldn’t they? His father’s bribe money wouldn’t matter anymore. Once Jonathan and Angelica both were independently wealthy on their own merits...
How long would that take? How much was enough? Even if he managed to earn it, would she still want him by then? Was staying out of her life the best plan?
A knock came on Jonathan’s door.
He ignored it.
The door swung open anyway.
Calvin strode inside and handed Jonathan a mug of steaming chocolate. “Happy Christmas.”
“Not you, too,” Jonathan muttered.
“The others are about to play a game of—”
“No.”
“Should I have brought Scotch whisky instead of chocolate?”
Jonathan sniffed the warm contents of the mug. It smelled delicious, damn it. Hot and sweet. The steam banished the chill from the air.
“I’ll suffer through,” he muttered.
Calvin eased onto the dressing-stool uninvited. “I thought you hated being stuck inside a room.”
“I do. There’s no hack to be had or I’d be gone.” Jonathan glared at him. “I don’t know how you can prefer to lock yourself in your house for months on end, sewing clothes.”
“I don’t know how you can prefer not to have a house,” Calvin countered, unruffled.
“What’s the point?” Jonathan crossed one boot over the other. “A house doesn’t make a home.”
“Are you an expert on the subject?” Calvin’s brows rose. “Tell me, what makes a home?”
Jonathan feigned deep interest in his chocolate rather than respond.
Very well, he wasn’t feigning. This was excellent chocolate.
“Home isn’t necessarily a building,” Calvin said, as though Jonathan were at all interested in conversing with him. “It can be a person. Home isn’t what holds you back. It’s the thing you hate to leave.”
“I like to travel.” Perhaps like wasn’t the right word. He was compelled to travel. It was a race, from the past to the future. “The world is big. I don’t want to miss anything.”
“Maybe all you’re missing,” Calvin said, “is slowing down.”
Jonathan did his best to incinerate him with the force of his glare.
It might have worked better if he wasn’t peeking out over a mug of hot chocolate.
Calvin was unperturbed. He narrowed his eyes in consideration. “I would think being constantly on the move means you can never get close to anyone.”
“I wish you were far away,” Jonathan muttered.
“You can never enjoy your achievements because you’re always on the hunt for the next one,” Calvin continued. “You never rest, or take a moment for introspection.”
“I hate being alone with my thoughts,” Jonathan said. “That’s why I tell people to ask me anything. I’d rather think about their thoughts than mine.”
“I love being alone,” Calvin said.
Jonathan tilted his head. That was a strange argument.
“But I’ll like having a wife even better,” Calvin finished. He was recently betrothed.
“Humph.” Jonathan snorted. He wasn’t jealous.
He was very jealous.
If only the things he wanted weren’t mutually exclusive! He adored exploring new places and having adventures. But he did yearn for somewhere to call his home. Someone to miss him when he was gone. Someone to come home to.
No... not “someone” in general.
Angelica in specific.
He longed for her more than he’d ever longed for anything. With her, everything was better. He hadn’t minded being cooped up in a tiny jeweler’s shop. He’d looked forward to it. Rushed over at first light. Schemed how best to stay all day.
Just to have one more moment with her.
“I’ve seen how you spend money,” Calvin said hesitantly. “If you’re now in a tight spot, just let me know and I’ll—”
“Good God, no,” Jonathan interrupted.
When he had told Angelica his history, he hadn’t thought of it in the context of other people’s experiences, including her own. Jonathan was the son of a