She watched the men shift in their seats. Mr. Sanders had just told them they were about to make a mistake, and that had their attention. Truly, Mr. Sanders was a good and savvy businessman. He had gotten under their skin and into their minds. This was what he did. He made them nervous that they were going to lose money and therefore he had their attention. This was good, it was promising. She listened intently.
“It would be a mistake to build on that site because you are going to outgrow it within a year or two. If this becomes the great hub to travel West, then you are going to need a grand station to be able to handle that kind of passenger activity. That could be what you build here in time, but not if you pick the wrong site. Where are you want to build now, it is only a few yards from the next hill. You would not be able to build a large station there.” He said, pacing the room.
“However if you build on the southside of the village, then it is flat for a mile. That land is perfect for a grand station. It would be easy to build on and it is closer to the line you have now. If you build at the church site you would have to go around the village. This way, if you build in the south, you only have to go past the village on the outskirts. But that is not all, gentleman. I have saved the best for last. Do you know what is on the south side of this village? It is the tavern. Now, I propose that you invest in this tavern, go ahead and buy it if you want to. Because when you build that station on the southside of the village, what do you think men getting off the train are going to see first? What do they have to walk by in order to get into the rest of the town? That is right, it is the tavern. With that kind of foot traffic there's going to be a need for that tavern. I think it should be the blueprint for every station you build from now on. Therefore, I propose you abandon the church site and let these good God-loving people have their church. Then you buy up the land on the other side near the tavern and prepare to be the biggest station in this part of England.”
The men applauded and stood up. They shook Neil’s hand and she knew that he had gotten through to them. Mrs. Hawkins had been holding her hand and was squeezing it as soon as he mentioned the tavern. She was shocked that he would use such a thing to persuade these man. But it seemed to work.
She remembered what Patrick said and he was right. It took a certain kind of mind to deal with these railroad tycoons, and Patrick was too decent of a man to propose the kind of things that Mr. Sanders had just proposed to these gentlemen. Patrick would never have uttered such filth to them. But Mr. Sanders, on the other hand, had no problem doing it and it worked. It was appalling, but it worked.
“Mr. Sanders, you have opened our eyes to possibilities we were not even thinking of. We would be onoured to have you at our meetings for developing this railroad line further into Knowl Hill. We need a sharp mind like yours. I think that we agree that the railroad board will agree with your proposal. We see no reason to build on the church site any longer. In fact, we did not even think about that hill and how it would affect building a bigger station later on. We were simply thinking about the line with a simple platform outside of it. But you are right, we need a very big station and this could be the central area of that. We are very impressed. The and Company owner is a new owner, just acquired it last year. He is to come to here tomorrow. Will you meet with us?”
“Excellent. I am honored to be considered as part of these new plans. I accept. Shall we celebrate?”
“Absolutely! Let us discuss this further,” the railroad men said. Together they ordered drinks with Mr. Sanders.
* * *
chapter
4 2
* * *
Mr. Hawkins and Mrs. Hawkins moved upstairs into the hallway with Jennifer.
“I have seen a new side of Mr. Sanders that I have not seen before, I will tell you that,” Mrs. Hawkins said.
“Yes, very different indeed,” Mr. Hawkins agreed.
“Michael, you must get Sarah out of her agreement to consider him as a husband,” Mrs. Hawkins said.
Jennifer looked at her, completely shocked. Michael did the same. What was she saying?
“I cannot let our little employee marry a man like that. I did not know what he was like until he came out here. I refuse to give Sarah to him. We must get her out of her agreement somehow, someway. He is not right for her. He is not an honorable man. She deserves better,” Mrs. Hawkins said.
“Mrs. Hawkins, do you really mean that?” She turned to her.
She grabbed her hand and held it tightly. “Yes, I do mean it. I am so sorry, sweet Sarah. He is not a good man and I should never have made you think he was.”
“Mrs. Hawkins, I agree. Though Sarah said she would only consider and did not agree to marry him. So all Sarah had to do was inform him that she considered it and has come to the conclusion that she will not enter into an engagement with him. It will not be pleasant but it is possible.
“I will do it. I will tell him that I am not going to marry him. He will just have to deal with it. I can do this. I can be strong. He has no hold over me.”
* * *
The next day, Jennifer knew that she had to face him and get it over with.
She waited in her room, sitting by the window, waiting for Mr. Sanders to return to the Inn. Right before lunch service, for he was set to go meet with the owner of the Land Company.
Finally, he appeared, walking down the high street. She took a deep breath and went downstairs and outside to greet him. She did not want to talk to him inside with all the onlookers.
“Mr. Sanders,” She walked up to him.
“There she is. There is my wife-to-be. Are you not proud of me? I came to your rescue and you shall have your church.”
“Yes, thank you for doing what you did. It was a very strange way to do it, but if it works, it works. But I must speak with you on another matter,” She said.
He leaned in close to Jennifer. She could smell the whiskey on his breath and she realized that this was not a good time to speak with him. He did not seem drunk. He was not slurring his words or stumbling around, but it was obvious that he had been drinking.
“I must tell you that I considered your offer as you asked and I will not be entering in an engagement with you. I am wrong for you and you are wrong for me,” She said.
“What!” he shouted.
“I am sorry. I hope that you will find happiness with another. You deserve a fine elegant woman that understands the ways of men like you. But I am not like that. I will not marry you.”
“Yes you will,” his face turned dark. Jennifer had seen that look many times and knew it was dangerous. “I came all this way to get you. You are coming with me whether you like it or not. You will be my wife and it does not matter what you want.”
“Yes it does. You cannot force me to marry you. I will do as I please. You do not own me and you need to learn that. You cannot buy me.” She said.
She turned away from him, ready to go back into the Inn. But she felt a tight squeeze on her arm. He turned her around very fast and violently.
“How dare you speak to me like that, child! You do not reject me! You are mine and I own you in exchange for making your little church problem go away. You are the one that summoned me here and you will be my wife, and there is nothing that you can say about it. Your employer will see to it.”
“Let go of me! You are hurting me!” She said, trying to struggle free. Now people down the wooden pavement were starting to turn and look at them. They were far away, too far to intervene just yet, but they were beginning to talk and come toward them. But just as she thought that Mr. Sanders was about to hit her, he was pulled off of her and thrown to the ground!
“Get off of her!” Jacob shouted.
Jennifer could not believe her eyes. Was she dreaming? It could not be Jacob, it just could not be.
“Archer, what in God’s name, man?” Sanders said. Jennifer was so confused. How did Neil know Jacob? She was delighted to see him, of course, and her heart was beating so fast that she thought ev
eryone could hear it. Jacob was in front of her.
Jacob hovered over Mr. Sanders, who was struggling to come to his feet. He really was very drunk.
“Get out of here, Archer! This is none of your business! I will do what I please with that girl! She is rightfully mine!”
“No, you will not. You do not hurt another her. Now., leave her alone.”
Mr Sanders got to his feet and stood directly in front of Archer. He snarled.
Jacob stood tall and straight in front of him. He was protecting Jennifer, blocking Sanders from her. Now everyone was gathered and everyone was looking at Mr. Sanders and the disgrace that he was. He noticed.
“Fine, I do not want you as a wife anyway. You can have your damn town and your damn freedom. I do not care about any of this. I have joined the railroad company and I am going to be richer than ever and I will have the best wife and socialite of London. Now, I am going back to the tavern where the women there want me,” he drunkenly said as he turned away and walked to the south.
“Oh, Jacob,” She moved into his arms.
“Shh... it is alright now. He is gone,” Jacob embraced her.
Jennifer did not know why he was there, or how, but she did not care in this moment. She only cared that he was there.
* * *
chapter
4 3
* * *
Indeed, Jacob had done very well for himself. He had just bought his estate in Bristol, and was taking great care and putting his life together. Finally, this is what he had been working for for so long, living on the edge of the law.
Becoming a landlord was the smartest decision and it has been his goal all along, to purchase land with the new railroads that were expanding all across England. He would work closely with the railroad companies, leasing land where they needed to build the railroad. It was the future, and he knew the countryside very well. He had known it even in the dark of midnight.
So when he was called, over a dispute of one of his holdings that he had leased to a church to be built, he went to straight away in person in order to deal with it. For he did not think it was adequate to give up land that he had promised to a church. That could not be good luck at all. He needed to go in person, and find a way around this, and deal with the railroad men that he was to meet.
But when he arrived in the small village of Knowl Hill, he had the shock of his life. He was walking down the High Street, and heard a very familiar voice. It was just around the corner, and he had heard that voice in distress before, deep in the Black Forest many years ago. But how could it be? It could not be her, could it?
He rounded the corner of the building, and saw the familiar red hair that he had fallen in love with many years before. Jennifer struggled, and a man he had just met an hour before was pulling her toward him. His name was Neil Sanders, and he had dealings with the railroad men that Jacob had come to meet with. He found him very disagreeable, but now that he was assaulting the love of his life, he found him to be a monster. Rage built inside of him, he quickly pulled the man off of her and threw him to the ground.
“Get off of her!” Jacob put himself between the man and Jennifer. He could hear the shock in her voice.
He stood his ground, until the man left. And Jacob knew that he would not be having any dealings with him, and would make sure that the railroad men also abandoned any interest in working with him.
“Oh, Jacob,” She moved into his arms.
“Shh... it is alright now. He is gone,” Jacob embraced her.
After a moment or two, she pulled back and looked up at him with those emerald green eyes. It had been a year since he had seen her, and still, he loved her greatly.
“What do you do here? I don't understand.”
“I can ask the same of you. What are you doing here? Believe me, I was not walking down the high street expecting to rescue you once more. It seems that I have been lucky again.”
“Oh, how you jest. But in truth this is very serious, how is it that you are here, and I am here?”
“It is a very long story, but I have my own land company now, the A.J.S. Land Company. there is a dispute going on here over land I leased to the church to be built. I had left it to my second at my business to deal with it, but it seems that he was not able to, so I came to have a look myself.”
“You? You own the land that the church is to sit on?” There was shock in her eyes, and Jacob did not know if it was because she truly thought he would never give up the criminal life, or because of some other matter entirely.
“Yes, I am a land owner now.”
“What? But how?”
“Oh, Sarah! are you alright dear? We saw from the window and came down straight away. We heard shouting.” Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins appeared from inside the in onto the sidewalk.
“I am fine. Now, thanks to my rescuer. Look who I have run into,” Jennifer said proudly looking at Jacob. He liked when she looked at him that way. It gave him purpose, and meaning.
“Smith, what do you do here?” Mr. Hawkins shook his hand, for they were old acquaintances and the reason Jennifer had the job at all.
“I was just telling Sarah here that I own the Land Company that the church is leasing land from. I came because of the dispute, to settle the matter. In truth I did not know you were the builder, Mr. Hawkins, I have let my second at the company deal with this matter. I only learned of it yesterday, and came straight away.”
“ Well, that is good news indeed. I am glad to hear it.” Mr. Hawkins said.
“Gentlemen, are you not forgetting the matter at hand. Our Sarah here was just assaulted in the street. Are you alright dear? What happened?” Mrs. Hawkins asked.
“I told Mr Sanders that I would not be engaged to him as he requested. He lost his temper, and refused.”
“Engaged? You are engaged to that man?” Jacob felt the heat inside his body grow more than anger had ever allowed before.
“No, it is not like that. He only asked me to consider an engagement with him, and that was only yesterday,” Jennifer said. Jacob was very confused.
“And you considered it? To that man?” He asked. For the past year, in his mind, he thought she might be out there waiting for him. He held on to that thought; it motivated him for a year to get his business together and set him right, so that he could look for her, and finally be with her.
“What she says is true, that man tricked her. Sarah was only trying to save the church,” Mrs. Hawkins said.
“Perhaps we should get her inside,” Mr. Hawkins said, looking at the crowd that had gathered.
“Yes, that is a good call,” Jacob said. He put his arm out, and Jennifer put her arm through his, and smiled.
Feeling her body this close,and pressed against him made him feel very happy indeed. This was a very delightful surprise. Was fate finally on our side?
They entered the Inn, and Jacob motioned for water and wine to be brought over to them.
“Have some water, it will help. The wine is to calm your nerves, if you need it. I do not want you going into shock after such an event,” He said.
“Thank you, I truly appreciate it. I think that I will be fine, I just need a little bit of rest.”
“So Smith my boy, you say you own the land the church is leasing? Tell me more of this. What is to happen?”
“I had come to settle the matter, to make sure the church was built on the site, and hold to my agreement. I did not know the railroad company was trying to pry, I have dealings with them as well. We can make it work, but I am not going back on my word to the church. As far as I know you may proceed, Mr. Hawkins.”
Everyone sighed in relief, and was elated.
“I remember two years ago, you spoke of business dealings that you had in the works, I did not know it was in the land business.” Mr. Hawkins said.
“Yes, that has always been my goal, and I have slowly been buying up tracts of land, for land is the future. But there wasn't enough to call myself a company, not until this past few mont
hs.”
“ Then I am very proud of you. It sounds like you have truly made something of yourself,” Mr. Hawkins said.
Jacob looked at Jennifer, “When you have the right motivation to make something of yourself, it happens rather quickly.”
Jacob knew that she was his motivation, ever since her words cut through him, that she could not be with a criminal. That if he was set up right, she would be with him. It was all the motivation he needed to put his life goal into effect as fast as may be.
In fact, he had on his calendar to write to Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins to find out if Sarah was still in their employee, then he was going to come for her. But finding her here, was better than waiting. It was now or never, and he knew he wanted now. He had waited long enough.
* * *
chapter
4 4
* * *
Jennifer was still in a state of shock, but not from the assault of Neil Sanders. It was because Jacob was there with her, seemingly out of nowhere. Just as he emerged out of nowhere in the Black Forest, he also appeared to rescue her here.
He always was when she needed him most. He was there for her in the Black Forest when she was injured and hopeless, he was there for her to save her from a life sentence in Australia, and now he was there to rescue her from this horrid man.
Passage of a Desolate Woman (#2, the Winds of Misery Victorian Romance) (A Family Saga Novel) Page 20