Cupids Read Online Free

argument. “It is expansion we need now, both of personnel, as you yourself suggest, and of investment. We need more men now while success is so easily within our grasp, and many more provisions. And men need wives.”
    â€œWives, you say?”
    â€œIndeed, sir,” I say. “From the carpenter to the fisherman, from the labourer to the ironworker, all these men need both the comfort of a woman and the promise that their work may add security and prosperity to their line.”
    â€œThis is true, of course.” The words, spoken so softly, have little more substance than a breeze. He has stopped writing again and holds the quill sideways, running his fingertips along the rim of the feathers. “After the first season or two the colonizing workers must bring the spawn of hoped-for generations to come. This spawn must either embed its roots in the earth or dash itself against the rocks. How unlike their betters these men are, willing to bring their womenfolk into known danger. At least my poor brother had property and friends enough to leave his young wife behind. Even so, what a poor creature Mrs. Egret became after his death, and what a burden she remains!”
    â€œMay I say humbly, Mr. Egret,” Bartholomew says, taking me by surprise, “that Mr. Guy has already outfaced danger after danger, both of pirates and outlaws, and our colony is safe and secure.” He speaks in a low, courtly voice I hardly recognize and his hands hover over the merchant’s table as though about to physically conjure some evidence in support of our suit. “The finest lady in England,” he continues slowly, his wide sleeves skimming the surface of Mr. Egret’s desk, “could accompany him next spring and remain in sure and certain hope of safety, happiness, and prosperity.”
    My face burns at his not-so-subtle reference to my dreams of Eliza, but I notice that as he regards my companion, Mr. Egret comes closer to a true smile than I believe I have ever seen in him. Deep lines radiate from the corners of his eyes, and I can glimpse what he may have seemed like so many years ago to Eliza’s mother. “Young sir,” he says, “how well you speak. Were I persuadable of such an improbability, I might be persuaded. But nature itself is random and vengeful. Shipwreck, blight, famine, and fever may hit the voyager when he least suspects. No discerning guardian would permit a lady to marry an adventurer.” He returns his now hollow gaze to me. “I’m afraid, Mr. Guy, that you will find only the near-refuse of England, the homeless and nameless, will provide connubial comfort to your men. The colony might expand, but it needs to prove itself worthy of prosperity before we might venture more capital that way.” Then his eyes seem to soften and a mild smile returns to his almost lipless mouth. This is the moment, my tingling fingers seem to tell me. Some crust of material comfort is about to be offered, some grudging extension of financial aid. “But there is some consolation for you, after all,” he says quietly.
    I try to give voice to a question, but like a man dying of thirst, my tongue fails me.
    â€œYou are a bachelor,” he sighs finally. “At least you may rest assured that all the misfortunes that await you will not be shared with a wife.”
    The tingling sensation drains from my fingers. As Bartholomew and I had not been invited to sit, we remained standing all through the interview. Only now do I feel the increasing burden of my own weight, and like a man in heavy armour, I take a slow backward step. “Thank you, Mr. Egret, for that kind thought. I will continue to await faithfully more instructions from all my colleagues and from you in this business. I will gather, as arranged, women already betrothed to our men for the return voyage. And I will purchase, from our remaining balance, those supplies and victuals as might see us modestly