Firstly, Mr. Winter and he had made their first sale of a set of team horses to a local inn. The buyer had not been very illustrious. That much was indeed true. But finalizing the sale had given Philip a very real sense of accomplishment and purpose. Their business aspirations had been solidified by the deal, and so had Philip’s pride. Though he might not have admitted it to anyone before the sale of the horses, Philip had been terrified of the possibility of failure. He was already a second son of a great man with no title to inherit. Failure from the heir would be overlooked — talked about, certainly, but hidden away somehow. Failure from the spare, however, would live on in sharp relief for the rest of his life. His inability to secure first Georgiana as a wife, and then Charlotte, left Philip with the distressing suspicion he would have to live out the rest his life in exile on the continent should he bring shame upon himself in business as well as love.
