The Lost Heir

by Harriet Knowles

  Gardiner hurried outside to meet him, beckoning a couple of labourers to unload William’s belongings. “Come in, young man! Come in and tell me all you can remember!”

  He shepherded William through into his office. “Molly, can you arrange some tea, please?”

  William found himself settled deeply into one of the comfortable chairs by the fire, away from the desk. He had all the papers with him in the satchel. He smiled — Gardiner would have known he would never let them out of his sight.

  “So, did you see Bingley? Or were you relegated to the foreman?” Gardiner was on the edge of his seat, and William smiled at his enthusiasm.

  “I did indeed. He is a personable and cheerful young man.” He sat back in the chair, easing the ache in his back. “I must thank you for persuading me to take a private coach. The post would have been incomparably less comfortable.”

  Gardiner brushed aside the distraction. His smile was disarming. “Relieve my impatience, if you please. Was the trip worthwhile?”

  William nodded. “Indeed. I think our partnership with him will prove very profitable to both sides.”

  The older man sighed. “Good, good. Have you the energy to tell me more?”

  “Of course.” William gathered his thoughts. “I believe Charles Bingley is not many years younger than I am, but he appears much younger. He has an enthusiastic and trusting demeanour.” He laughed. “He fairly bounces with enthusiasm.”

  Gardiner’s eyebrows rose again. “You would seem to have little in common?”

  “One would think so.” William rubbed his forehead, hoping the threatened headache would not become more distracting. “But I liked him very well. Very well indeed.” He smiled slightly.

  “It appears his father was determined his son become a gentleman, and set him to living in the manner; learning to run an estate and buy a suitable place. Bingley has found it hard to take control of the business. But his foreman is extremely competent.”

  He drew the bundle out of the satchel, and selected the top two sheets of paper. “I’ve written out an abstract of the important facts as I see them, and you will be able to go through the rest of the papers at your leisure.”

  “Good man,” Gardiner said absently, reading rapidly. William leaned his head against the chair back and closed his eyes. He carefully docketed the facts in his mind which he needed to tell Mr. Gardiner, to explain some of his conclusions.

  Bingley had been a very pleasant fellow, easy on companionship and open with his feelings. William could be friends with him, although he was wary of friendship with anyone. He smiled faintly, Bingley had recently rented an estate in Hertfordshire, to see if he liked the life of a landed gentleman.

  “You must come and stay, Mr. Stoke! After all, one cannot work all the time, and the shooting is good there.”

  He might do that if he could find a few days to spare. Hertfordshire was many miles from Hampshire; going there would be safe. He opened his eyes, judging Mr. Gardener would have finished the abstract.

  “A wonderful summary, William!” Gardiner turned the page back. “You’re right, it will be a good business for us.” He chuckled. “And it’s impressive you have ensured he will take and store the fleeces directly from the farms for us, until we need them for spinning and weaving.”

  William nodded. “It will benefit him, too. He can do the preparation work at quiet times when his workers would be standing around without full employment. It will even out the work.” He laughed slightly. “If we get the military contracts, he will find he has more work than he can handle, I think. But he will not wish to let us down, and our contract will allow for extra borrowing for him to expand his business.”

  Gardiner nodded. “Will he do that? Will the business stay strong now the father is dead?”

  William glanced at him. “I liked him. I believe him to be honest. But whether he is able to do it, I don’t know. As I said, he has a good foreman, and I will need to spend a lot of time there, I think, until we have it all set up.”

  “You’ll need to buy your own coach,” the older man said, slyly.

  “It’ll be a long time before I can afford the cost!” William was a little nettled. “I was thinking more of sending a man I can trust, and needing to travel less frequently quite soon. I am impressed with the new man I took on in the spring, and I’ll begin to train him in the skills he might need to be my business steward. He could do the necessary quality checks as the fleeces come in, too.”

  “Is that Mr. Reed?” Gardiner sounded thoughtful.

  “It is. He seems to be loyal and intelligent.”

  “Yes, I’ve been wishing I had found him.” Gardiner raised his hand. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal him from you.”

  William smiled in acknowledgement. “The one thing I’ve been curious about is what you said to me the morning I left here. Pray enlighten me.”

  Gardiner looked puzzled. “What did I say? It seems to have been a long time.” His eyes moistened. “I’ve missed having you here.”

  William shifted uncomfortably. He was wary of becoming committed to anyone, but he owed this man a great deal. “It was that you had a favour you wished to ask for in return for engaging the coach to take me north.”

  “Ah, that.” Gardiner seemed even less comfortable. “Yes. I’ll tell you about it in the morning, perhaps.”

  William smiled. “I did bring the summary ready prepared, and gave it to you to read at once.”

  “Ah, very well!” Gardiner bounced to his feet. “Come. You need a short constitutional after such a protracted journey. Let’s walk round the park for a few moments.”

  William gazed up at the spire of St Mary le Bow church as they strolled through the gardens surrounding it. “This is a good place to think quietly. We’re fortunate it’s so close to your business.”

  “Our business,” Gardiner corrected him. “Every day, I am thankful to whatever ordained it that the gust of wind blew those papers to you. I could find no better to work with.”

  He glanced at William. “Although I do wish you’d not had to work so hard to get to where you are. You were obviously born to a better life.”

  William shrugged. “I could not have reached the security I have without your assistance. I have also benefited from that errant gale.” He smiled. “And it has been a long time.”

  “Yes, it’s been a very long time,” the older man said. “Six years you’ve been working with me, I believe.”

  William nodded, but didn’t reply. He didn’t like the reminder of how much time had passed. How old was he? Had he reached the age of thirty yet? He didn’t know, although he didn’t think he could quite be thirty; he must not have been that old when he was first found — he had grown a great deal taller in those first few years.

  “How long had you been working in the stables before we met?” Gardiner mused. “That was a long time, too, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” William wasn’t really comfortable talking about it, even with this man. “More than six years.”

  “A lesser man might have been resentful at losing a past which can only have been better than the present.”

  “It’s foolish to resent that which cannot be changed.” William didn’t like to admit he was, at times, resentful. But he always tried to push it away, as he did the sudden surges of anger when something infuriated him.

  He recalled the apothecary long ago, warning him of the known fact men were often liable to illogical rages after having received an injury to the head. It was one of the self-disciplines he had forced on himself, to appear unemotional, and to stay out of close friendships.

  “You have indeed worked prodigiously to ensure you will be wealthy by dint of your own efforts. It is admirable.” Gardiner was continuing with his own thoughts.

  William laughed. “But you still have not divulged this favour you wish to ask me. I begin to think it might be something distasteful, despite my respect for you.”

  Gardiner looked shocked, then laughed. �
�It is nothing shameful, William. I am merely embarrassed at having thought of it, and mentioned it to you without considering it carefully first.”

  “Well, I will not cease to press you on the subject, so you will minimise the embarrassment by being open with it sooner, rather than suffer further delay.”

  “All right. It is about my niece, Lizzy. She is likely to be staying with us for some months, and she still desires to know much of business matters. I think she can develop useful knowledge, and I know she is utterly trustworthy.”

  Gardiner looked a little anxious. “I was hoping you might spare her one or two hours to explain to her why you have thought up this venture of the uniforms, and how you have planned backwards from there to develop a workable proposition.” He hurried on. “You may use my office, and I will remain there and do some other paperwork, so you do not need to be anxious a chaperone would overhear too much.”

  “If you wish me to, of course I can give the instruction, sir.”

  9

  Elizabeth followed her uncle out of the coach the next morning, a strange feeling curling within her. She was grateful he’d asked Mr. Stoke to explain how he had come up with this business venture, but she had a shrewd idea the other man might not be as satisfied with the arrangement as her uncle.

  She had to be honest with herself. The strange feeling wasn’t all about learning new business ideas. She smiled slightly, wondering what it would be like to sit at the same table and listen to his voice. It was to be hoped he was as good a teacher as he was a businessman.

  He rose from his seat as they entered the room. “Good morning, Mr. Gardiner, Miss Bennet.” His eyes were grave, and his features serious. “I have instructed tea be provided for us as soon as you arrived, sir.”

  “Good, good!” Her uncle bounced a little on his feet, and Elizabeth wondered why he seemed nervous. “Do you want to be here for the first hour, or would you prefer Lizzy to see Mrs. Oliver first, and you may attend first to any matters which have arisen in your absence?”

  Mr. Stoke inclined his head slightly. “I attended to all urgent matters last evening, Mr. Gardiner. It is entirely Miss Bennet’s choice.”

  Elizabeth looked up. She didn’t want to allow him to think she could not make a decision and always had to defer to a man. She raised her chin. “I would be pleased with whichever you thought most convenient, but if we take the first hour, then you will know afterwards that you will be free of the commitment.”

  Was that a grudging respect in his eyes? She felt a degree of satisfaction as he held the chair for her at the table in the corner of the room.

  Uncle Gardiner sat behind his desk and pulled what looked like a weighty report towards him. Elizabeth was glad he was staying in the room.

  Once they were settled with their teacups beside them, Mr. Stoke looked towards her on the opposite side of the table. “I understand from your uncle you wish to avail yourself of the opportunity which knowledge of business matters might afford you?”

  She nodded, wondering if he really disapproved as much as his manner suggested he did. “Yes, Mr. Stoke.”

  His smile was slightly crooked, and she looked down at the table where she’d placed a small notebook and pencil from her reticule. Too many smiles like that, and she might find it difficult to keep her mind on her task.

  But he was speaking. Already she’d missed some of what he said.

  “… and have you thought of any ideas you think might be worth investigating?”

  She looked up. “I have a great many ideas, Mr. Stoke. But I think they are almost certainly impractical, or else someone else might have thought of them first. I think I need mostly to know how to decide which are likely to be the best ideas.”

  His smile was understanding. “It might be that there is the germ of a good plan within any idea. Or it’s possible there will still be useful information to discover, even from those which prove impractical, or unprofitable.” He leaned back in his chair. “However, if you prefer, we might talk first about the idea which I had earlier this year, which has led to the proposal I have been investigating.”

  Elizabeth smiled with relief. “I would be very interested to hear about it,” she said. “I know my uncle has been very enthusiastic, even if he is rather tightlipped about what it actually is.”

  He nodded. “Very well.” He noticed Elizabeth reaching for her notebook. “No, you will not need to take notes today. It is more — thinking.”

  He seemed to regard her carefully. “Now, most importantly, when considering a possible idea, is to try to understand what the potential purchaser might be expecting from the business. As an example, I know ladies instruct a modiste, who has seamstresses and dressmakers who make the gowns the lady has requested.” He hesitated.

  “Lower income ladies like to purchase the same wonderful fabrics, and they have the skills to make their own gowns. Your uncle supplies fabrics to both modistes and individual customers, who each want something slightly different from this business.”

  She watched him with interest. She supposed he had talked to Mrs. Oliver and other people who worked here in order to discover these things … she shook her head … he was speaking again.

  “In much the same way, gentlemen have tailors who manufacture suits and all the garments they need. However, I wondered how soldiers, many from poor backgrounds, or those without families, obtained their uniforms. I did some research and discovered that each regiment obtains its own ready-made garments — that is for the other ranks, of course, not officers — but what I have also discovered is that the army do not seem to know the wool might be sourced from one country and is often processed and woven in another, and the possible hazards of such supply.” He shifted in his chair, perhaps a little uncomfortable.

  “There is a great deal of movement of both raw and finished products, much of it outside Britain. In time of war, of course, such a variety of locations for the production might mean the whole thing is under threat. Delays are insupportable.”

  He smiled and reached for his tea. “I decided if we could source enough fleece from sheep here in Britain, and find a mill which could store, process, spin, and weave the wool when it was required; then we could have uniforms for many regiments made up by a tailoring company using workers in the city.”

  He leaned back in his chair and regarded her carefully. “What do you think we should say to the quartermasters of each regiment that would make them inclined to favour our proposals above those of other people?”

  Elizabeth frowned. “I suppose you would be saying that your garments — all the items — would be offered by a more reliable supply, less likely to become unavailable if the war should go badly.”

  He nodded. “Very good. Can you think of another advantage?”

  She thought for a moment. “I suppose if you're doing it all within your company, you might have economies of scale and the items would therefore be cheaper?” She sat forward with enthusiasm. “If you had contracts from several regiments, they might have some overlap — shirts, trousers and greatcoats. You could make large quantities of those.”

  He smiled at her enthusiasm. “So we could.”

  She tossed her head. “I’m sure you have already decided to do that.”

  He jerked his head ruefully. “It is still good you thought of it. Tomorrow, you may tell me of any other advantages to the customer you can think of. It is very important, when I see them with my proposal, that I present it entirely so they can see the all the benefits to them, not me.”

  10

  William ran his hand distractedly through his hair. He’d been working in Mr. Gardiner’s office with Miss Elizabeth Bennet each morning for nearly a week now.

  He was extremely impressed with her, and it was what was causing his disturbed nights. She was a gentleman’s daughter, a young lady who ought not to be filling her mind with anything other than practising the pianoforte, drawing, or studying how to manage her future husband’s estate.

  She
puzzled him. The way she moved, her simple country dress swirling around her ankles, stirred his senses far more than he’d ever permitted himself before. Her unpractised grace made him look away more often than he wished to, but was the only way to avoid the flush which he knew would stain his face if he still looked.

  Nonetheless, discussing with her the thoughts and plans he’d been making had been helpful to him, and he would not now willingly stop. He knew he would present their plans to the quartermasters much more effectively, and he was surprised at her perspicacity in seeming to know how his suggestions might be received, and how to improve them.

  This morning, he intended to discuss with her the findings of Mr. Reed on the prices that their competitors charged, and he was looking forward to making a final decision on how to best proceed.

  But he knew he looked forward to his meetings with her far too much. The rest of his work was suffering, and he often found himself wishing he knew what she thought about the subject currently at hand.

  Gardiner had spoken in the past about how helpful it had been to discuss business matters with his wife, and now William knew exactly what he’d meant. Miss Elizabeth Bennet would be an asset to any businessman. He pushed away the bile rising in his throat at the thought of her marrying another. But he was not worthy of a gentleman’s daughter, he knew that.

  Of course, he was doing well, much better than many men who had started with more advantage than he’d had. But it was nothing close to the secure wealth of Mr. Gardiner, for example. He would attain the same status, he was determined of that. But not yet. He could not yet afford to place too much of his profit in secure gilts to give him the guaranteed four per cents that would offer him and his family the security he so desired.

  With an exclamation, he jammed his hat on his head and strode out of the inn, stopping briefly to greet old Mr. Price, who was still grateful for his help and patronage.