Charlotte: The Practical Education of a Distressed Gentlewoman (3 page)

“
I'd better learn to like them, if
I'm planning to plant my family here I'll have to work with
them.”

“
Is that your intent? To settle
here.”

“
The hall is in an excellent
location, and the nearby land seems fertile enough. I still need to
talk to the steward, but I'd be surprised if I don't. Do you think
the locals will take to a new owner?”

“
Not to speak ill of my late
patron, if you invest in the estate, you'll be welcomed. It might
take a 'summering in', but they'll take to you in the
end.”

“
That's what I thought. They
certainly appreciated my standing them a round of ale.”

“
True, but don't expect you can
bribe them.”

“
Bribe them?”

“
They'll take your ale, but it
doesn't change their minds. If they think you're trying to buy
friendship they'll reject you.”

Freddy chuckled, “No I don't expect
that. But it did get the conversation flowing. Now at least I know
a few names and faces, as well as a little of the local
history.”

Mrs. Answorth descended from
upstairs, with Charlotte behind her. Her erstwhile housemaid Betsy
supported Charlotte as she painfully limped down. At the bottom of
the stairs, they stopped and had a few words of parting with
Freddy. At least Mrs. Answorth did; Charlotte mostly spent the time
glaring at him.

“
Mr. Talbot,” Mrs. Answorth began,
“I have to thank you for the care you extended to Miss De Vere.
From everything she's said, you must have been most attentive to
her needs.”

“
It was nothing, after all it was
my accident that-”

Charlotte's commentary abruptly
stopped him. “Accident, Hmmp. Sloppy driving, that's what it
was.”

Freddy smiled, “Perhaps, after
we've concluded our business about the hall, you could give me a
few lessons in how to drive in style.”

The Answorths laughed, while
Charlotte reddened with embarrassment. She blurted, “I could, but
not with such a backward student.”

Mrs. Answorth snapped, “Charlotte!
Please!”

Freddy took it in good form, “No
offense taken, Miss De Vere is uncomfortable, in pain from her
ankle, and I'm sure that must try even the most uniform of
tempers.”

“
Which mine isn't?”

“
I didn't say that, did
I?”

Charlotte continued to glare at him
as they left. Was there nothing she could do that would pierce his
calm demeanor?

The steward paid Freddy a visit
between Miss De Vere's departure and his valet's arrival. Mr.
Barford was impressed with Freddy. This young man demanded, then
carefully read and questioned, the account books for the hall and
the farms that made up the estate. Neither Lord Staverton nor his
son had ever bothered with them.

“
Mr. Barford, this item, drainage
and road improvements, doesn't add properly.”

“
If you would look on the second
page, you will see it is proper.”

“
Ah yes, I see. Very
good.”

“
Thank you.”

“
The farm leases all seem to be
short term. Surely a longer term lease would be better?”

“
Lord Staverton was always in need
of ready money.”

“
Ah. That explains many things.
This land could produce much more if it were properly
managed.”

“
Mr. Talbot, not to speak ill of
the dead, but Lord Staverton was not able to maintain the estate as
it should be.”

“
I thought so. I would very much
dislike to waste my blunt. In its current state the estate is
hardly worth anything, but it has capability. To make it really
profitable will need a serious investment.”

This exchange left Mr. Barford in
the tentative hope that Mr. Talbot intended to develop the estate
as it should be developed, to bring it up to its potential. Lord
Staverton's continued neglect and disinterest had been a constant
thorn in his side. Even his proposals for inexpensive and simple
improvements had been consistently ignored for various abortive
'get rich quick' schemes that further impoverished the
estate.

Having reviewed the books, and more
importantly received a message via his long-suffering groom that
his father approved the deal, Freddy approached the Staverton
family solicitor. Though first he told Henry, “Good Lord man, you
must be exhausted.”

Henry admitted that maybe, perhaps,
he was a little tiny bit fagged. Since Henry never, ever admitted
weakness, Freddy understood this to mean he was ready to drop where
he stood. “Well then, I'm not planning on a trip for the next few
days. Why don't you get some sleep?”

Three days after their initial
meeting, Miss De Vere and Mr. Talbot met in the offices of her
solicitor. Somehow Mr. Talbot brought his solicitor, Mr. Bayliss,
up from London and the steward, Mr. Barford was invited. Dr. and
Mrs. Answorth accompanied their friend to the negotiations over the
disposition of her inheritance.

Freddy was resplendent in a yellow
and blue striped waistcoat, a tight-fitting coat of red superfine,
yellow calf-clingers, high starched collars, and an intricately
tied tie. His man, Phelps, had restored most of the gloss to his
boots, but their sojourn on country roads was not completely
repairable with the resources at hand. He cheerfully rapped on the
solicitor's door and then walked in.

“
Am I late? My sense of time has
become deplorably inaccurate recently.”

While the others merely
acknowledged his entrance with a nod of their head or a brief wave,
Charlotte glared at him. Impervious to hints, as usual, Freddy
continued, “Miss De Vere, how is your ankle?”

“
Better.”

“
Good, capital, capital. Are you
up to dancing yet? There's always a ball in Bath and it isn't too
far away to make a dash for a day or two.”

“
No.”

“
Not up for dancing or not
interested in a trip to Bath?”

“
Neither.”

“
Neither? What an odd female you
are, next you'll tell me you don't care about dresses. Oh well
then, pleasantries aside, on to business.”

Mr. Cruise began, “Mr. Talbot, do
you have an offer for the house, contents and the demesne, that is
the grounds surrounding it?”

Freddy, suddenly serious, replied,
“That's barely worth a thousand, but I'll be generous, say eleven
hundred.”

“
Please be serious and don't waste
our time.”

“
I am always serious about
business, the hall is run down, and the demesne is not large enough
to produce income. Now if you were talking about the whole of the
estate, I could go higher, say twenty thousand.”

Charlotte interjected here, “The
farms are not for sale. I intend to run them myself.”

“
If you say so, but they are
heavily mortgaged and you are already late on the payments for this
term.”

“
Moulder's bank has always
understood that we will pay after the harvest, when we receive our
accounts from the farmers.”

“
True, they are a bit overgenerous
when it comes to business matters, but have you checked with the
new bond holders?”

Charlotte gasped, surprised at the
news, “New bond holders?”

“
Yes, the mortgage bonds were for
sale, for little more than pennies on the pound. Your father's and
now your ability to repay was considered highly suspect and the
bank was very happy to settle. They are often willing to write off
bad debts for ready cash. It clears their books and eliminates risk
to simply take a known loss rather than wait and lose
everything.”

“
Oh, and I suppose you know the
new bond holders.”

“
Intimately.” Freddy smiled at
her.

Charlotte suddenly realized what he
meant. “You, you own them, don't you?”

Freddy looked down, in what could
be thought to be shame, but was, in reality, to hide his amusement.
It was refreshing to deal with a novice, a pretty novice, albeit
one who seemed to intensely dislike him, but a novice at business
nonetheless. Once he had his facial expression back in control, he
looked up at Charlotte, “Well, yes. Now are you serious about
making a go of the estate without the hall?”

“
Of course. In the past the income
covered the interest, so I don't see why my plan shouldn't
succeed.”

“
If you say so, but foreclosure is
such an ugly word. There is this little matter of principal as
well.”

“
Principles? I didn't think you
had any.”

“
In business, no, none at all. In
private matters, of course I do. But I mean the principal of the
mortgage. You can't just pay a part of the interest forever, the
debt will just grow. After going over the estate's books with Mr.
Barford, I don't think you don't have much choice in the
matter.”

Charlotte gave a concerned look at
her solicitor. She appeared lost and helpless. It made her look
especially pretty to Freddy. He found himself unaccustomedly
softening to her, thinking that she really was far out of her depth
in dealing with business issues like these. It was a pity that Mr.
Cruise wasn't giving her better advice.

“
Tell you what,” Freddy continued,
“Since you're new to this sort of thing, I'll go take a walk. Let
you discuss it with your people. I'll be back in, oh, say a quarter
of an hour or so.” Addressing his solicitor he continued, “Mr.
Bayliss, if you would and if it doesn't put you in a conflict of
interests, could you stay and advise them?”

“
Advise them sir?”

“
Assure them of my ability to pay,
business credentials, general reputation, things like that they may
question.”

“
Sir, as long as you are not
expecting me to advise them on terms.”

“
Oh no, not at all. That would be
highly improper. Don't do anything improper. If they start to talk
about something you should not hear, I'll be over in the Kings
Arms.”

With that Freddy left.

Charlotte shot a panicky look at
her solicitor, Mr. Cruise. “What am I going to do? He wouldn't
leave me destitute would he?”

Dr. Answorth interjected, “That
would be wrong, wouldn't it?”

Mr. Cruise wasn't sure, so he asked
Mr. Bayliss, “Your employer, Mr. Talbot, would he do such a
thing?”

Bayliss coughed, and carefully
considered his words before replying. “While they are personally
charming and generous, if perhaps a bit vulgar and not to
everyone's taste, the Talbot's are ruthless in business matters.
They won't cheat you, but they will drive a hard bargain and expect
you to hold to the letter of the contract.”

Charlotte queried, “Contract, what
contract?”

“
Your mortgages, for example are a
contract where you promise to pay back funds with interest on a
given schedule. They're all legal and correct, but if you default
on them, he won't hesitate to foreclose.”

“
Oh. Mr. Barford, doesn't the
income from the farms cover the payments? Father thought it
did.”

“
On a good year, yes.”

“
This year?”

“
Maybe.”

“
So I don't really have many
choices, do I? It's either sell my estate to him or he will take it
from me.”

Mr. Bayliss frowned, dealing with
clients whom his employers had driven into a corner was his least
favorite part of being the Talbot's solicitor. That this one was a
pretty and personable young woman made it harder. He told her,
“Miss De Vere, Mr. Talbot often arranges matters that way in
business. I'm sorry for you. Why do you think the Talbot's are so
successful in financial affairs?”

Mrs. Answorth added, in a very
quiet voice. “You do have one choice, Charlotte. I hesitate to
suggest it, but Mr. Talbot
is
single.”

“
No!”

“
It's not as if you would be able
to marry for love in any case.”

“
But not him. Not someone I
detest.”

Dr. Answorth added, “You should
consider it. He's personable, seems to have decent manners and
morals, and more importantly, he is rich. That rich marzipan can
help you swallow an otherwise bitter pill.”

His wife continued, “You know you
can't marry freely, where you'd like. There are few of your rank
who will or for that matter can marry a penniless bride. Mr. Talbot
might, if you were nice to him. If he saw it as an advantage. At
least he isn't vicious.”

“
Nothing will ever induce me to
marry that bounder. Why just look at how he treated his groom. Sent
him to London and back in a day's trip, and that was after a hard
day riding around Staverton Hall.”

Mr. Bayliss coughed to draw
attention to himself again. “Henry has nothing to complain about.
He is very well paid to be a confidential messenger for the
Talbot's.”

Charlotte replied, “Is being well
paid all that matters to you? How about loyalty?”

Bayliss continued, “Loyalty goes
both ways, Mr. Talbot is very loyal to his employees, looks after
their needs and expects their loyalty in return. Henry's invalid
mother is at the rheumatic hospital in Bath. Henry thinks it's on
charity. It's not.”