Page 41 of To Know Miss May

Mr. May replaced his cap on his head. “I asked for ye to do the job, Mr. Moon. Not to pawn it off on ’em.”

The job? August winced. Mr. May considered pushing his daughter off the Mount a job?

“I’m well aware what ye asked me to do, sir. But I didn’t think it would ’urt to ’ave other women befriend Miss May, either.”

August could see the struggle within Mr. May’s very eyes before he finally relented. “Very well. I s’pose that might benefit the situation, too. But ye must be more careful in future. I cannot ’ave ’er discoverin’ what we be up to.”

August cringed. The whole matter was just rotten. Which was why he could not go on a moment longer. “Sir, ’bout what I ’ad to speak with ye about…”

Mr. May nodded, motioning for August to proceed.

He drew a deep breath. “I managed to speak with your daugh’er on me way ’ome from work two days past.”

Mr. May’s eyes brightened. Clearly, he was not expecting what August would say next. “And what progress can ye share?”

“Well, none, sir.”

Mr. May’s expression fell.

“That is to say, I discovered somethin’ else.”

“And what be that, then?” His tone grew impatient. August needed to move on, and quickly.

“From me conversation with ’er, I was quite convinced that she be o’ the persuasion to not leave the Mount.” He looked away, his mind dwelling on those moments with her in the pouring rain, neither of them seeming to care about the fact that they were becoming swiftly soaked through, both of them simply enjoying their conversation with one another yet again.

“In fact,” August continued, “she didn’t hesitate to explain why she loved the Mount and that she ’ad no desire to leave it at all.”

Mr. May’s expression hardened. “She’s been sayin’ that since she was a child. But as I said ’fore, she’ll quickly learn that life off the Mount’ll be better for ’er. And ye’ll be the one to convince ’er o’ such.”

August hesitated, speaking as carefully as he could. “Be ye certain, sir? ’Tisn’t it better to take ’er opinion into account?”

Mr. May’s eyes grew cold. “Ye be thinkin’ ye know what be better for me daugh’er than I, ’er own father?”

This was not how August had foreseen the conversation going. Swiftly, he shook his head, panic flapping in his chest. “Not at all, sir. I was merely statin’ how greatly she loves the Mount on the chance that ye might’ve not known.”

“Well, thank ye,” Mr. May said, though he hardly sounded grateful at all. “But just so ye be aware, I know me daugh’er’s desire to remain on the Mount, as well as ’ow she says she loves it ’ere.” He took a step closer to August. “But I do know ’er better than anyone. And I know she’ll not be ’appy ’ere in’t future. So I’ll stick to me plan to show ’er ’ow much better she’ll be on the mainland, socializin’ and marryin’ a mainlander.”

His words were final. There would be no changing his mind.

August only had one option left. “Very well, sir. I respect your decision to do what ye see fit for your own daugh’er. But as for me involvement, I be afeared I can’t honorably go on with this.”

If he’d seen Mr. May frustrated before—cold before—August had been wrong. He’d expected the man’s face to grow red, perhaps for him to become frazzled, even shout a bit.

But a calmness crossed over his features, a lack of feeling in his eyes that frightened August to his core, though he couldn’t be sure why. After all, what could the man do?

Still, it would be best to deescalate the situation while he still could. “I do ’ope ye can forgive me, sir, for not bein’ able to do this for ye. But I be certain a man as wise as ye can understand why it’d be difficult for me to do this. Again, I ’ardly know your daugh’er. And while I agree that ye must know ’er very well, I…I cannot in good conscience work without ’er knowledge to convince ’er to leave the Mount. Howe’er, I’ll be more than ’appy to continue bein’ ’er friend. As I said ’fore, I enjoyed ’er company a great deal.”

He finished, hoping his words would have some affect, but Mr. May’s expressionless face remained.

“Sir?” August prompted when another moment passed by in silence.

Mr. May didn’t look away, nor did he speak for another few moments. When he did speak, August wished he wouldn’t have urged the man to continue.

“I misplaced one o’ me gloves on me way ’ome from work yesterday,” Mr. May said.

August stared. What was he supposed to say to that? Before he could think of a response, Mr. May continued.

“I went back up to the third tier in the walled gardens after dinner but couldn’t find it,” he continued. “Then I remembered I ended me day at the lower tier. I thought I’d just leave it there, find it this mornin’ ’stead. Then I convinced meself that I needed the exercise.”