She sighed. There was nothing left to do but return home to Mrs. Richardson’s house. The boys would be asleep, and Mrs. Richardson would be waiting up for her. She didn’t sleep until Diana made it home each night. Diana’s hands shook as she wiped several raindrops away from her eyes.

The emerald she had sold would pay for the rushed order of ballast. Mr. Broadcreek would not see her flustered or set back. But what would the man do next to thwart her? If Lord Bryant would have simply agreed to her plan, his name alone would have kept Mr. Broadcreek away.

What was so wrong with Diana that Lord Bryant, who had several scandals a year, wouldn’t stoop to having one with her? Her stomach hardened, and she squeezed her eyes shut. How foolish must she have looked to him? At least she hadn’t broken down in tears. It had been months since she had seen him. She had hoped he wouldn’t prove to be quite so devastatingly handsome in his own home in less formal clothing. With no jacket and the top buttons of his shirt undone, he had seemed perhaps more human but definitely not less handsome. Men like that shouldn’t be allowed to also be rich and titled. Or if they were, they should be required to help any young lady who was desperately in need.

Her hands finally stopped shaking, and she stood up. If Lord Bryant wasn’t willing to help her, she would have to figure something else out. Business could not continue as it was. She had no more jewelry to sell, and if anything else went wrong, she wouldn’t be able to get Parliament to grant her an act to build another railroad line. Without that act, Richardson Rail would be worth less than she paid for it, Charlotte Richardson would be left destitute, and Diana would have bankrupted a previously successful railroad company.

Nate would have to come back to London and pick up the broken pieces of both companies. He had already cleaned up the mess their estate was in when he inherited. Heaven help her if he had to clean up her mess as well.

She wasn’t about to let Charlotte Richardson and herself down simply because Lord Bryant refused to help her. She had made two grave mistakes. Her first mistake had been to come here, and her second was to ask Lord Bryant’s permission. She kicked the stones of his hulking London estate. There was nothing she could do about her first mistake. She was here, with no way to turn back time and save herself from the humiliation of begging Lord Bryant for help.

But her mistake in asking his permission? That was a mistake she could learn from. She took a deep breath and walked to the hired carriage. Her shoes were already damaged badly enough that she didn’t bother to avoid puddles as she went. She wouldn’t resort to asking Nate to leave home. Not yet. Lord Bryant ruined numerous women every year—enough that there was a distinct possibility he could ruin one more without ever finding out about it.