My Cousin Caroline: The acclaimed Pride and Prejudice sequel series The Pemberley Chronicles Book 6

by Rebecca Ann Collins

  “Mr Gardiner is looking forward to having Robert's help in running the business,” Mrs Gardiner revealed. “He thinks it would be best if Robert took over management of the office in Manchester.”

  There was no doubting her excitement; she had not seen her son in many years and was busy making plans for his return.

  Mr Gardiner, who had been working exceedingly hard all his life, had already been cautioned by his son Richard about doing too much and putting his health at risk. Richard had even approached Mr Darcy, to plead with him. “Please, Mr Darcy, I know my father takes your advice on most things. Please urge him to take a holiday from the business, else it will make him very ill indeed. He does not pay much attention to my warnings.”

  Mr Darcy, who was Mr Gardiner's closest and most trusted friend and partner in business, agreed to make mention of his son's concerns.

  “I shall certainly speak to your father, Richard, but I cannot guarantee he will heed my advice any more than he does yours,” he said and Richard knew this to be true.

  A self-made man, Mr Gardiner was a very determined and meticulous businessman, with a penchant for doing most things himself.

  Which was why it did not come as any surprise when Richard was summoned by his mother to Oakleigh, late one evening, to attend upon his father, who was having a great deal of trouble breathing and complained of severe pain in his chest. Reminding his father of all the advice he had received and rejected, Richard called in a colleague, a physician with special skills in the treatment of diseases of the heart. When he confirmed Mr Gardiner's condition and strongly recommended complete rest, Richard, with his mother's support, was able to insist with greater hope of success.

  Mr Gardiner had to have some help in the running of his business until Robert returned, giving him and Mrs Gardiner a chance to take a holiday from work. Mr Darcy, whose advice had been most timely and could not be scoffed at, recommended Scarborough, where his family had repaired regularly for Summer vacations, and both Richard and his mother agreed it would be ideal.

  But Mr Gardiner was loathe to leave his business without supervision at what was a particularly busy time. Trading was intensely competitive and any slackness could bring disastrous losses.

  Mr Gardiner had always maintained close supervision of his company, and he set about making alternative arrangements in the hope of retaining some control over the situation, in the event of any problems.

  His decisions were to have far-reaching consequences.

  He began by surprising everyone when he sent for Caroline and asked for her help, but not before he had decided to appoint a man to assist Mr Upton in the Manchester office.

  Mr Peter Kennedy came highly recommended from his previous employer, Mr Anthony Tate. He was well qualified in both accounting and the law as it related to trade and commerce and had worked also for Mr Tate's uncle, Sir Thomas Camden, helping to put his accounts in order after the death of his brother.

  Mr Gardiner had decided that Peter Kennedy seemed exactly the sort of man he needed to help Mr Upton organise the office more efficiently, as Caroline had suggested, and had sent for him. Having taken an instant liking to him, he had offered Mr Kennedy the position and, upon his acceptance, invited him to call at Oakleigh Manor on the following afternoon to make the necessary arrangements.

  When Caroline received a message from her father requesting her help in a business matter, she had assumed that it was probably a missing document or some urgent correspondence that needed her attention. Her father had come to depend more on her lately to attend to such matters, because, he said, she wrote so well and expressed his ideas much better than he could. Mr Darcy had commented favourably upon it too.

  Caroline had been flattered, realising that in a competitive world, the manner of conducting one's business was as important for its success as the matter of the enterprise. Her father, a plain-speaking man of great business acumen, appreciated the niceties of expression and elegance of style that Caroline brought to her task, believing that it enhanced his company's standing among the ever-growing community of commercial entrepreneurs with whom they had to deal.

  On arriving at her parents' house, Caroline was somewhat surprised to see an unfamiliar vehicle standing in the drive. Within, in her father's study, she found the owner of the curricle taking tea.

  A man of around thirty years or thereabouts, Mr Peter Kennedy was immediately on his feet as Caroline entered the room, and Mr Gardiner introduced them.

  “Ah, Caroline my dear, this is Mr Peter Kennedy, who is to help Mr Upton with the Manchester office, just as you suggested. You do recall, we decided he needed an assistant to manage the place better?”

  Caroline could barely contain her surprise, and as Mr Kennedy bowed over her outstretched hand, she met her father's eyes with a quizzical look before making some polite response to the greeting.

  So astonished was she at the suddenness of her father's action, it was a while before she felt sufficiently comfortable to say more than a few words to express her pleasure at meeting him. With Mr Kennedy sitting right in front of them, she was constrained from saying anything that might set her at odds with her father. She had certainly recommended the appointment of an assistant to Mr Upton—well here, said Mr Gardiner, was the very man.

  As Caroline relaxed a little and helped herself to a cup of tea, offering Mr Kennedy some fruitcake, which he accepted with alacrity, her father proceeded with the explanation of his plan.

  “Mr Kennedy, as I have already explained, my daughter, Mrs Caroline Fitzwilliam, will represent me whenever I am not available, for whatever reason. She has my seal of authority and will act in my interest and that of our partners in the company. You will, therefore, report regularly to her in my absence, and she in turn will keep me informed of the progress of our plans for the office at Manchester. I know you already understand how important it is for the office to be smoothly and efficiently run at such a time as this.”

  “Indeed, sir, I do,” said Mr Kennedy, and Caroline noted that his intense blue eyes were possibly the only striking feature in an otherwise pleasant but homely face, whose openness and lack of guile was immediately obvious to her.

  “I do agree it is absolutely vital to a business if it is to succeed in these very challenging times. I am completely committed to doing my very best to achieving your goal in this regard, and to this end, I shall take all my instructions from Mrs Fitzwilliam and assist Mr Upton in every way possible. You have my absolute word on that, sir.”

  Now that was quite a speech, thought Caroline, amending her judgment to include his very pleasing, well-modulated voice as another feature one might appreciate in this earnest young man. But, above all, he was seriousness itself and seemed eager to begin work.

  Later, Caroline was to remark to her husband that if Mr Kennedy's work was as well organised as his speech was articulated, then her father would have made an excellent appointment indeed.

  “He seems a keen and honest fellow, Fitzy, his references are numerous and uniformly good, his manners are impeccable without being irritatingly so, and yet, he is not puffed up with his own importance. My father appears to have been singularly fortunate in his choice,” she said and Fitzwilliam promised himself a careful look at this paragon!

  He had the opportunity to do just that when Mr Gardiner requested that they travel with the gentleman to Manchester and introduce him to Mr Upton and others in the office.

  Mr Kennedy went away to collect his goods and chattels, which consisted of a small trunk of clothes and a large wooden box of books, and returned the following week ready and eager to undertake the journey to Manchester.

  He had expected to take the public coach and was most grateful when told he would be travelling with Colonel Fitzwilliam and his wife. They found him a quiet and pleasant companion, who spent most of the journey reading, and when they broke journey at an inn, partook only of a light meal and tea. If his abstemious personal habits were any indication of his attitude to wo
rk, Mr Kennedy was probably going to be a godsend to Mr Upton, thought Caroline.

  Upon reaching Manchester, they were welcomed by Mr Upton and his wife, who were happy to offer Mr Kennedy lodgings in their house. He was as pleased with his room as they were with his offer of rent, paid in advance. Mrs Upton was most impressed.

  There appeared to be no grounds for any dispute between Mr Upton and Mr Kennedy on any of the important matters relating to the work he was expected to do and the general aims they shared regarding the organisation of the office.

  Mr Kennedy showed an appropriate degree of deference towards the older man, appreciating his experience and loyal service to Mr Gardiner, while Mr Upton seemed genuinely pleased to have an enthusiastic young man with the skills needed to assist him.

  It was, therefore, with a feeling of satisfaction that Caroline returned to report to her father that things had gone remarkably well between Mr Upton and his new assistant. Mr Gardiner, well pleased with her news, now felt able to pursue his intention, too often postponed due to pressure of work, of taking a holiday. It was something his family and his partner in business, Mr Darcy, had urged upon him for a very long time. To this end, Mr and Mrs Gardiner left for Scarborough, where they expected to spend some weeks before returning to Oakleigh, in good time to welcome home their son Robert.

  In their absence, Caroline took time to go through the books her father had left in her charge, hoping to make herself more knowledgeable about aspects of the business of which she knew little. She felt the need to acquaint herself with the administration of the offices and, if Mr Kennedy was going to send her regular progress reports of his activities, she thought it essential that she should have a clear understanding of the enterprise.

  As she did so, she was surprised to discover how well she enjoyed the experience. What had started out as a chore, undertaken out of a sense of duty to her father, was becoming an interest and soon she found herself looking forward to the task. Fitzwilliam would often tease her about her new enthusiasm for figures and accounts, but even he understood the purpose behind it.

  Each week she would receive a batch of papers from the offices in London and Manchester, and her regular scrutiny of reports and accounts, as well as correspondence meant for her father, drew her deeper into the management of the business.

  Mr Kennedy appeared to be working well with Mr Upton, the former submitting detailed reports every week, while the latter would send her occasional private notes, presuming no doubt upon his long association with her father, praising the work and industry of his new assistant.

  He wrote:

  I must thank you, dear Mrs Fitzwilliam and Mr Gardiner, from the bottom of my heart for sending me this exceedingly keen and hardworking young man.

  Mr Kennedy is indeed a fine young man, being both knowledgeable and disciplined (for one without the other would never do), and he is a real help to me and of great benefit to the company.

  Not only has he spent several hours organising a neat and tidy system for the filing of orders and bills, he has taken it upon himself, often in his own time, to train young Mr Jones in proper procedures. It was something I had always intended to do, but for which I never quite found the time.

  He has made a great difference to the efficiency of our office.

  And when our work is done, he returns to our home, where Mrs Upton is full of praise for his tidiness and punctuality. Amiable but quiet in disposition and always prompt in payments, he is indeed the ideal lodger. I must thank Mr Gardiner again for providing me with such an excellent assistant. I could not have chosen better had I done so myself.

  No wonder then that Caroline felt quite at ease as she wrote off to her father, assuring him that the office at Manchester appeared to be humming along very nicely and Mr Peter Kennedy was proving to be a veritable treasure.

  At the London office, however, matters did not seem to be quite so satisfactory. Being still the head office of the company, much of the banking was done through London. Transfers of money to and from overseas suppliers and customers was a complex matter, which Caroline had hitherto left alone, believing that her father's trusted manager Mr Bartholomew would be in charge.

  Which was why it had taken her so long to realise that there were, from time to time, seemingly inexplicable discrepancies in the accounts, which were submitted for Mr Gardiner's perusal.

  When at last, feeling she needed some advice, she applied to her husband, he refused to believe that Mr Bartholomew could be involved in anything dishonest.

  “Caroline, Bartholomew is one of your father's most trusted men; it is simply not possible that he would fiddle the accounts,” he had said.

  Caroline was not so sanguine. “But are you sure it is he? Is it not possible that some other employee could be responsible? Fitzy, it is happening too often to be a mistake or an oversight. I believe we must tell Papa and let him decide what to do. I shall make a note of all the discrepancies and show him how much appears to be missing. The individual sums are not large, but they do add up, and if nothing is done, it will only embolden the culprit and he will go on to commit even greater fraud. It must be stopped.”

  Fitzwilliam was both amused and impressed by his wife's tenacious pursuit of what may after all turn out to be only an accounting error. He was no accountant, however, and said as much to Mr Darcy when they met.

  “I must confess I cannot understand how Caroline has become so interested in the business, Darcy; she is completely engrossed and spends a great deal of time following up obscure clues and small amounts of money, until she is quite certain the accounts are correct. I doubt I should have had the patience or the skill.”

  Mr Darcy had laughed, “I am quite sure you would not, Fitzwilliam. But Caroline is her father's daughter, meticulous and particular in everything she undertakes. I have no doubt at all that if she believes there is something wrong with the accounts, then there is; she will pursue it until she uncovers the cause, and if that search reveals that there is fraud being committed in the London office, Caroline will find the culprit.”

  The return of Mr and Mrs Gardiner from Scarborough, followed soon after by the arrival of Robert, threw everyone in the Gardiner household into an unusual state of confusion.

  Mr Gardiner looked rested and fit, while Mrs Gardiner was eager to have everything in readiness for her son. Rooms were aired and cleaned, furniture polished, and the finest linen brought out. Butchers and green grocers were alerted that their best produce was required; everything had to be just right for Robert. He was her youngest and she felt a special responsibility for him. Returning after several years, Robert would need to be introduced over again into the society he had left as a rather shy and callow young man, which meant dinner parties and family gatherings in every home.

  All of this meant that Caroline was not able to convey to her father, with an adequate degree of seriousness, the disquiet she had felt about the accounts from the London office. She had made notes and marked documents for his attention, but Mr Gardiner, who had so enjoyed the rare pleasure of being away from the business without any of the usual anxiety, was in no hurry to revert to the routine.

  Besides, Robert was coming home.

  The family welcomed Robert Gardiner back with warmth and affection. Having missed him terribly, his parents, especially his mother, had completely forgiven the errors of judgment that had necessitated his departure for the colonies and were prepared to put their hopes in him for the future. Much was expected of this young man.

  Believing him to be now more mature and capable, his father was keen to give him an opportunity to prove himself, and his sisters and brother were delighted to discover that he appeared less shy, and more open and energetic than before. Robert himself seemed unaware of the expectations of his family and announced in a surprisingly casual manner his intention to accept a position with the Liverpool office of Mathesons, the firm for which he had worked in Ceylon.

  Seemingly unconscious of his parents' hopes for him
, he explained, “I was exceedingly honoured to be invited to take the position in Liverpool; it has hitherto only ever been held by a man from the district with many years of loyal service. Since I had no other expectation of employment on my return to England, it was not an offer I could refuse.”

  His mother immediately agreed, and even Mr Gardiner, though rather disappointed, allowed that this position would help his son become more familiar with the trading conditions and procedures in England and looked to the future with optimism.

  What none of them had foreseen were the events of the next few months, which culminated in Robert's engagement and subsequent marriage to Rose Fitzwilliam—daughter of James and Rosamund Fitzwilliam, niece of Colonel Fitzwilliam—within the short space of two seasons.

  Robert had made the acquaintance of the very attractive and personable Miss Fitzwilliam at a dinner party and fallen in love with her almost instantly. None of the young women he knew could compare with her for beauty, elegance, and accomplishment.