Lovers and Liars (21 page)

‘That’s the one!’ John led the way up the steps. ‘If things go right, Archie,’ he said nervously, ‘we’ll be set up to start the business, and already with one customer waiting.’ This was his big chance, and come what may, he would not let it slip through his fingers.

The girl at the outer desk was a sullen little thing. ‘Have you an appointment?’ she asked.

‘No, but I have important business to discuss with your Mr Leatherhead.’

‘He won’t see you without an appointment.’

‘Could you try him?’ John urged.

‘It won’t do any good.’

‘Please. It’s urgent.’

Tutting like an old ’un, she clambered out of her chair. ‘I’ll try,’ she grumbled, ‘but I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.’ With a haughty backward glance she hurried away to the rear office. ‘He’s a very busy man. I can assure you, he will
not
see people straight off the street.’

John and Archie waited. They could hear voices, but not what was being said. ‘Let’s hope he’ll make the time to see us,’ John said anxiously.

‘Hmh!’ Archie was still bristling at the girl’s attitude. ‘Not if
that
young madam has her way, he won’t.’

A moment later the girl returned. ‘Go through.’ Obviously angry at having been proved wrong, she gave them a shrivelling look and dropped into her chair with a thump. ‘He tells me one thing and does another. What’s the use of me being here at all, that’s what I’d like to know!’

‘Miserable young devil!’ Archie muttered as they went into the back office. ‘She wants her arse smacked!’

‘Ssh!’ John gave him a nudge. ‘Behave yourself.’

The office smelled of snuff, old dust and decaying paper. The window was half-covered by shelves dipping from the weight of files and documents, which caused the whole room to be dark and dingy, and as for the man himself, he was so bent on his work, he didn’t even look up. ‘State your business, and be quick,’ he said, ‘I’m a busy man.’

Mr Leatherhead was a big man, too. His considerable frame spilled over his chair, and when he spoke his jowls wobbled up and down like jelly on a plate.

‘Well! What is it that’s so urgent?’ Looking up, he now impatiently gestured at them to sit down.

As simply and quickly as he could, John explained how they had discovered the land with the buildings and derelict cottage. ‘I’d like to buy it,’ he said, ‘if it’s up for sale.’

‘Well, depending on whether you have the money or not, it seems you might be in luck, young man, because it is in fact up for sale.’

‘What’s the price?’

‘There is no set price.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘It’s a long story, but to put it briefly, up to quite recently, I had not been able to locate the owner of this particular parcel of land. A month or so ago, however, I had instructions to put the land up for auction. There will be no reserve on price, but I expect the bidding to be high.’

Taking off his spectacles, he vigorously rubbed his eyes, then, replacing them, he peered at them both in turn. ‘There’s no use you attending the auction if you haven’t got the funds available. Have you access to money?’

John assured him, ‘I hope I can stand alongside any man there. But I will need an idea of what it might go for.’

Mr Leatherhead shrugged. ‘There’s no telling in these cases,’ he said. ‘Oh yes, I know the whole place lies derelict. It will need a lot of work to develop it, but there are plenty of businessmen who have long registered their interest in this particular property, with its useful outbuilding, cottage, ten acres of good land – and all situated beside the waterway. There’s ample potential there, as you yourself must have seen.’ He looked at Archie, then spoke to John. ‘Can I ask what you would use it for?’

John answered circumspectly, for it was never a good idea to show your cards this early in the game. ‘The cottage for living in, and the land for working,’ he said. ‘So now, if you want to tell me when and where the auction will take place, we’ll leave you to your paperwork.’ He couldn’t help but notice the piles of paper and files littered from one end of the desk to the other.

Scribbling the information on a piece of clean paper, the solicitor handed it to John. ‘The proper sale sheets are not yet available, but this is really all you need to know.’

John thanked him. ‘Can you at least give me an idea as to how much I’d be looking to pay?’

‘Once again, I can’t say for sure.’ Mr Leatherhead threw out his hands in frustration. ‘It all depends on so many issues.’

‘And what might they be?’

‘How many bidders want it. How
badly
they want it. What kind of money they have in their pockets for such a heavy commitment, because once they’ve bought it, they’ll need more capital to recover it to a workable entity.’

‘So, what would somebody be prepared to pay for it, d’you think?’ If he was going borrowing, he needed to know.

Lapsing into deep thought, the solicitor finally answered vaguely, ‘Twenty guineas … to two hundred. Probably more, maybe less. Like I say, it depends on what happens on the day. Such is the nature of auctions.’ That said, he would not be drawn any further. ‘I shall expect to see you there then?’

He shook their hands and bade them goodbye, and when they were gone, he told his sulky clerk, ‘Time-wasters. They haven’t tuppence ha’-penny between them. I doubt we’ll ever see
them
again.’

Over dinner that evening, Harriet listened to Archie and John’s account with interest. ‘So you mean to bid for this land and buildings, do you?’ Wolfing down a huge spoonful of apple pie and custard, she munched on that while John answered.

‘I’d be crazy not to,’ he replied. ‘It’s exactly what I need to get me started. There’s a place for me and Archie to live, a fair-sized building to set up as a workshop, and a useful parcel of land. First off, I’d rent the land out to bring in some sort of income, but later I’d hope to expand the business and use it myself – happen put up a couple more buildings, and a hard-standing.’ Outlining his plans, he grew excited. ‘With that kind of property, there’s all sorts of possibilities.’

Harriet reminded him, ‘Don’t forget, I’ve money put away if you need to borrow some.’

John had been thinking about that and it worried him that he should take money from her in her later years.

‘I can’t let you dip into your savings,’ he said firmly. ‘I’ve every intention of making the business a success, but it could easily go the other way. It’s been known to happen.’ To his mind it was too much of a gamble. ‘No, Harriet. Grateful though I am for your kind offer, I can’t accept.’

‘So where will you get the money, if not from me?’

‘From the bank. Lending money is what they do. I’ll make a plan of the site, and explain what I have in mind. I’ve saved a tidy sum of money myself, which I’m prepared to put up as a deposit. So they should realise how serious I am.’

‘All right – if that’s what you want.’

‘It is. But I won’t forget your kindness. Thank you.’

‘How much did the solicitor say it would go for?’

Before John could answer, Harriet’s attention was drawn to Archie, who was slurping his tea out of his saucer. ‘Stop it!’ Smacking the back of his hand, she chided, ‘Cats do that, not grown men. It’s disgusting!’

Looking sheepish, he replaced his saucer and wiping his mouth with the cuff of his sleeve, scooped up a spoonful of apple pie. ‘You’re a damned good cook, missus,’ he said, grinning. ‘I’ll say that for you. Tek it from one who knows.’

Loudly informing him that the apple pie had come from the baker’s, Harriet returned to her conversation with John. ‘Did he give you any idea of what the property might fetch?’

John recalled the figures mentioned. ‘He thought it might go for as much as two hundred guineas, maybe more.’

‘I see.’ The big woman sat and pondered. ‘And dare I ask how much you have already?’

John knew it to the last penny. ‘I’ve set aside forty-one pounds and two shillings – money got from blood, sweat and tears over a period of two years and more. That’s after I left a sum for my Aunt Lizzie back home.’

During the long time he’d been at sea, John had gone without, and refrained from spending needlessly. Time and again when the other crew-members went ashore to spend their money on women and booze, he stayed behind. Other times, when the ship was laid over waiting for cargo, most of the men lazed about after their work was done; or they gambled and womanised, while he took up work on the side, just so he could go back to Emily with more money in his pocket.

And what good had it done him, he thought bitterly. For over two years, in the middle of mighty oceans and on lonely foreign shores, he had dreamed of being with his Emily, and now his dream was gone and she was lost to him.

Would anything ever compensate for that? He doubted it.

‘You do realise you could lose it, don’t you?’

Visibly startled by the sudden interruption of his deeper thoughts, John apologised. ‘I’m sorry, Harriet, I didn’t hear you.’

She reiterated: ‘I was just saying that if the bank turns you down, and the bidding goes over your head, you could lose out to another buyer at the auction.’

John knew it only too well. ‘It’s a chance I’ll have to take,’ he said manfully.

Harriet didn’t argue. In fact, she was quite relieved. She had made him the offer of a loan earlier, only because she had all but promised in the first place, but now that she knew a little more, she was glad he’d refused. ‘I wish you the best of luck,’ she said, clearing away the dinner things. ‘I hope you manage to get it, and that things work out all right for you.’

For now, that was all she wanted to say on the subject.

Chapter 9

T
HE FOLLOWING MORNING,
John decided to attend the bank alone. ‘You can wait for me in the Red Lion, if you want,’ he told Archie. ‘It might be better if I go to the bank on my own.’

‘I won’t argue with that.’ Archie was grateful for the chance to opt out. ‘I’d much rather be downing a jug of ale, than sit like a beggar with cap in hand, in front of some jumped-up clerk.’

‘It’s no good me talking to a clerk,’ John said. ‘For something as important as this, I need to see the manager.’

Archie wished him well. ‘I’ll get a jug of ale in for you,’ he said, before he hurried away. ‘I’ve a feeling you’ll be back before you know it; especially if the manager has a po-faced clerk like the one at the solicitor’s.’

John was optimistic. ‘I mean to have an answer one way or another,’ he promised, and with that he headed off in the direction of the bank.

Ten minutes later he was at the counter, and five minutes after that he was being ushered into the manager’s office. A small, shrewish man with a moustache, he exclaimed in a shrill voice, ‘Your luck must be in, young man! I should have been seeing somebody else, only they didn’t turn up.’ Obviously rattled at being let down, he informed John, ‘I can spare you ten minutes.’

When he was seated at the desk, with John sat before him, he took a moment to observe John, before asking, ‘Is it a new account you want to open, or are you after borrowing?’

John came straight to the point. ‘It’s both. I have money in my pocket to put into an account, but that will depend on whether you’re prepared to back my business venture.’

The manager leaned back in his chair. ‘Well, that sounds straightforward enough.’ He glanced at the fold of paper in John’s hands. ‘Is that for me to see?’

Spreading the paper on the desk, John told him proudly, ‘There are two plans here. This one’s a rough sketch of the property I intend buying at auction. The other is a layout of the business I plan on starting, plus an account of the money I have and a rough guess at the money I might need to borrow. Last of all, you’ll find a detailed list of the work I’m skilled at. Oh, and you might be pleased to know, I already have one customer waiting.’

As John pushed the papers towards him, the manager leaned forward to peruse them. ‘I can’t promise anything, you understand?’

John’s heart sank. ‘I understand.’ What he really understood was that he would have to fight tooth and nail to get what he wanted. But then again, nothing ever came easy, not to such as himself it didn’t anyway.

Two hours later, John and his old shipmate returned to their lodgings, a bit the worse for drink and full of apologies as they came face to face with Harriet. ‘Been celebrating, have you?’ she asked, opening the door as she heard them fumbling for the key.

‘Not likely.’ Archie fell in the door. ‘The bastard turned him down! We’ve been drowning our sorrows,’ he added, then burped. ‘Oops, sorry, missus. That snotty-nosed toff looked at John’s well-laid-out plans, then turned him down flat. One customer wasn’t enough to get a business off the ground, that’s what he said.’

Harriet’s smile disappeared. ‘Is that right?’ she asked John. ‘He turned you down?’

Giving her a disheartened nod, John said, ‘I think I’ll go upstairs for a bit,’ and made his way straight up to his room.

‘There are other banks.’ Harriet’s voice followed him up the stairs.

It was Archie who answered. ‘He tried them an’ all. At first he just refused to give up. He marched me down to Victoria Street, where he managed to see the lending manager, but he wouldn’t help neither. Then we went on to that small bank on the corner near the docks. The manager was very nice, and he listened to what John had to say, but he wouldn’t lend him a penny. None of them wanted to help. I’ll tell you what though, Harriet, my old darlin’. They can’t see their noses in front of their faces. What! Give our John a year or two, and he’ll be earning more money than they are. The stupid bastards!’

Harriet gave him a slap on the arm. ‘That’s enough of the bad language!’ she chided. ‘Into the kitchen with you. It’s a good hot cup of tea you need and no argument!’ Before he could protest, she had propelled him unceremoniously into the kitchen.

‘He’ll not give up though,’ Archie told her robustly as he supped his cup of tea. ‘I know him. I know the kind of man he is, and he’ll not give up. You see if I’m not right.’

Upstairs, John laid the papers out on his bed. They none of ’em wanted to help, he thought sadly – yet he knew he could do it! He knew, too, that he had found the right place. Given the chance, he’d soon have the customers queuing at the door, only the money-men couldn’t see it. All they saw was a young, inexperienced sailor who thought he could set up shop against the big boys. Well, he could – and he would! He’d show ’em. He’d be at the auction, and God willing, things just might go his way after all.