The man introduced as Miss Long’s father clearly shocked Rawlings. He began to think about all his dealings with the young lady. She had asked many probing questions on the ship, and then again, while they spent time together in Boston before she left for New York. Sighing, Rawlings recalled Winthrop was the name of her family in New York. Instantaneously, he understood she had been a spy And her purpose in befriending him and Logan was to locate Astor first. Neither he nor Logan had fallen for her violet eyes, pretty smile, or pert talk; but now he worried about Lowell. Was he a distant member of this secret guild? After a second to think, he dismissed his thought, and felt secure in the Bostonian’s friendship.
Kent watched his friends’ shock reactions. He was the least surprised, since for years the Falcon had been interested in their business. Somehow, he had not heard Darcy was related to the man that had nearly collapsed the Kent family’s business ten years earlier. “My friends,” he whispered. “I assume we are staring at the power behind the Honorable East India Company.
Darcy shot a look at Kent. “The East India Company? Did you know about these men before?”
“I was only aware Winthrop kept records on our business. I apologize. I believed he was only interested in my activities. He has been trying to destroy the Kent family for years. But I am surprised you did not know about this, since you are his relation.”
“No. Not a word.” Darcy turned face his great uncle.
Winthrop nodded. “True, but had your father lived, he would have brought you into this inner circle years ago. He was a member, Darcy, and he would have replaced me as leader had he not died.”
Darcy turned to his other friends. “Blake? Rawlings? Were you aware of…”—Darcy waved his hand over the attendees —“this?” Both men shook their heads.
“Come, come, young men. Let us get down to business.” The Falcon motioned for them to sit in a row of chairs facing the well-dressed army of men.
“An inquisition, sir?”
“No, Mr. Rawlings. This is a lesson on the ways of the world. Now, we know all about your alliance, but once I have explained the purpose of our meeting here, you will realize it is unnecessary. Surely you do not believe you are the first men to join together to obtain power and wealth?” The Falcon laughed when he spied the flush rising on Darcy’s face.
The young men shifted from foot to foot waiting for Winthrop to finish his laugh.
“Sit!”
They remained standing.
“Humph. There is only one true coalition when it comes to business, and it is here in this room. Every second Saturday, we meet to solve the problems of the world. Moreover, Mr. Kent, you are only partially right. We are major stockholders in the John Company as we call it, but we do not control the East India Company itself. I must warn you, however; we do wield great power in their decisions. We have had to bail out the government several times, and our wishes are usually met without question or argument.”
Winthrop pointed his head towards his other guests. “This group you see before you is much more than just that one trading company. Sit and I shall explain.”
Darcy took his seats, crossed his arms, and leaned back into his chair. The other men followed.
“Sir John Banks was my grandmother’s grandfather and he founded this particular business alliance in 1622. Ironically, he began his syndicate by arranging contracts with the navy. He supplied saltpetre; you are selling the modified Baker rifles. You see, Darcy, you own much of his character.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, He was known to say: ‘Keep your accounts punctual, be honest to all men, be careful of your company, converse not with ill company for evils do follow thereon.’ Now you need to take notice of his warnings. Be careful of your company.”
“He was a businessman. Perhaps he was speaking of the likes of you!” Darcy glared.
“True, Sir John Banks was first and foremost the leader of business. His group dabbled in many areas from trade to transportation to financing explorers and building churches. His company’s profits grew at an alarming pace. He established a duplicate East India trading company, but Sir John had been too successful that Queen Elizabeth’s original company had no choice but to integrate his into theirs. So you must find it amusing, my young Darcy that history is repeating itself.”
“I do not understand.” Darcy glared at his great uncle, and tightened his arms.
“We are here to offer you a merger. You will join us, and we will pursue your ideas. You, my boy, shall take your place as leader of this group. You have the skills, knowledge, and all the natural abilities to do just that. We have picked you.”
“But I have signed agreements with these men, and I shall not back away. Remember, be honest to all men; are those not Sir John’s words?”
“Well, Blake and Rawlings are invited to join. We will see that Bingley and Kent receive compensation. We can be honest in that regard.”
“Receive compensation?” Kent jumped up.
Winthrop glared until Kent returned to his seat. “You cannot expect to join this group. Why, we are all members of the aristocracy, or have strong familial bonds with peers of the realm.”
“John Banks was nothing but a businessman, and he was not born with his title,” Kent added.
“True, but that was a long time in the past. Do not forget, his little company merged into the larger one, and the stockholders took over. Nevertheless, he was a brilliant thinker, and that is why they made him Governor of the East India Company after the merger. And Darcy is much like him.”
“Stop, Darcy.” Bingley’s cry diverted everyone’s attention to the doorway as he burst in, followed by his Uncle Watt and Mr. Murdoch. “We need to talk somewhere privately. I have learned much on my trip north. I hurried back as quickly as I could. The letter I sent you barely touched on the problems.”
“I could not make out anything you wrote. Too many blots, Bingley! How did you know we were here?”
“Geoffries. For a moment, I thought I might have to beat it out of him.”
Darcy chuckled at that vision. Geoffries was a tall, well-built man, and although he was older than his friend, he could not reconcile in his mind any way that Bingley would have won.
“You have information for us?” Rawlings asked.
“Can we talk privately in another room?” Darcy asked Winthrop.
“There is nothing he can say to you we will not discover. So speak up, Mr. Bingley. Perhaps we can clear up any misunderstandings and avoid apologies later.”
Bingley eyed Darcy, who shrugged and indicated that he should reveal his information. “They do seem to know everything.”
“Here is the situation. These men plan to take over our alliance, bringing only you, Blake and Rawlings into theirs and paying off Kent and me.”
“Yes. That is what Winthrop told us before you came in.”
“But do you know they purposely deceived Mr. Bennet at the cost of his daughters’ dowries? These are not honorable men, Darcy.”
“Mr. Bennet? How?”
Mr. Murdoch spoke for Bingley. “I started the Gas Light Company, and had avoided entering into contract with them.” He tilted his head towards the gentlemen assembled.
“Humph.” Winthrop muttered.
Undeterred, Murdock continued. “When I received financial backing from Mr. Bennet and a few other gentlemen, they took action. They forced me to delay my progress by intimidating my suppliers, and somehow held up the legislation in Parliament for my patent. I will not bore you with the intricacies, just know, that they coerced me to give up the deal. I did not understand the sole purpose for doing so was to removal my investors from the project, including Mr. Bennet, as one benefactor. Now that I have discovered Mr. Cuffage arranged for a loan through an anonymous banker—The Falcon. Once they delayed the project, Cuffage demanded the loan be paid. They,” Murdoch waved his hand across the room and said, “they relieved them of their money, it angers me; I am saddened, and wish to make amends.”<
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“But why? Why would they do that?”
Bingley spoke up. “They will not allow the enormous profits from such a venture to flow to anyone but themselves. Mr. Murdoch was not willing to bend to their will. He stayed loyal to Mr. Bennet and the other investors until all appeared lost.”
Winthrop and his coalition appeared unconcerned at the allegation. Darcy opened his mouth to speak, but everyone had turned their heads towards the door again, for yet another disturbance.
Kent’s Uncle Daniel barged in, dragging a member of the Lunar Society. “Bingley, we found Mr. Gaston.”
“He works for these men, and has been setting about to ruin our modified Baker rifle sales. Tell them the truth.” Bingley grabbed his arm and shook it hard. “I am ashamed to have introduced you to Darcy.”
Blake glowered at Lord Liverpool. “I cannot believe this. Why did you bother to get the sale approved if the goal was to destroy it?”
“The British Army still needs the firearms, but we, and not your alliance, will take the profits,” Liverpool answered matter-of-factly. “We would not be able to obtain the same deal as you did, so when Samuel Gaston agreed to help us, we devised this deceit.”
Samuel Gaston moved closer to Darcy. “I am to take over the rifle distribution. You will not see any profit once I take control of the guns.”
“You did rush away from Bingley’s dinner party. Did you run here?” Kent asked.
Gaston nodded.
“Blake,” Lord Liverpool said, “why do you think I was so quick to agree to the purchase? I am not that easily swayed, young man. I was laying in wait for the offer. Bingley’s butler sent us your plan and we sent for him.”
Gaston looked down at his shoes. “I had no choice. They threatened to destroy my business. They have been behind my flintlocks sales for the slave trade for years.”
Kent faced Blake, Rawlings, and Darcy. “The time has come. You must decide to unite with them or stand with me and Bingley. However, before you do, let me explain the consequences succinctly. I will never do business with them, and I speak for any member of the Kent family.”
Winthrop placed himself between Kent and Darcy. “Nephew, before you answer him, are you aware he has entered into contracts with many tradesmen, and that the agreements only identify him as the purchaser? Mr. Kent is not as honest as you think.”
Blake, Rawlings, and Darcy gawked at Kent.
“Yes, Winthrop speaks the truth, but before you react stupidly, let me show you one of the agreements.” Kent pulled out a document and passed it to his friends.
“I am the one who signed the contracts with all our trading partners, except for the East Indies and, more specifically, China. Read carefully; mine is the only name on the document, not the alliance. I am not hiding anything from you; I placed many more contracts exactly like this one signed in this manner to these in the locked cabinet in your library. They are there now and if you had looked, you would have come across them. They are the property of the alliance, but if you join this gang of thieves, I will take them back.”
Darcy nodded. “Why the secrecy?”
“Since these men in this room do not pay their invoices timely, they were willing to sign with me, knowing my word is gold. True, they are unaware of your existence, but if they did, I doubt they would have agreed to the contracts.”
“But I am not them,” Darcy pointed his gaze to the other men. “I have my own reputation for being honest and fair.”
“Yes, but the Falcon has badgered them through his underlings, and demanded they not do business with you. Many who would not sign mentioned their fear as the only reason for not signing. Thanks to those blasted competitions, they knew we had been together at Netherfield. The newspaper accounts identified us as being friends and they guessed the rest.”
“Gerald.” Lord Wolverly approached his son.
Rawlings stood. “Why did you not tell me about this group?”
“Only first-born sons are allowed, and secrecy is maintained. Winthrop is the spokesperson and its face. Many people assume the P on his gate stands for Peregrine. It stands for the præsidentum, as he is our chosen leader. I often suggested we bring in younger sons who show promise, and I repeatedly sought your admittance. And now I rejoice; you are allowed.”
“I am a partner with these men.” Rawlings glanced at Kent and then Bingley. “I gave my word.”
“Do not turn down this opportunity. We… we can work together, son.” Lord Wolverly placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I wish it. I have dreamed of this day.”
Rawlings shook his head slowly, but his shoulders slumped and shook his head.
“Gerald, what are you doing? You belong here,” Lord Wolverly demanded. “Join us. Make me proud. It is your duty. You have obligations to the house of Wolverly. And… I desire you to work by my side. We can accomplish much together.” Rawlings’ father lowered his voice and put his hand on his son’s shoulder, his voice cracking when he added, “Please, son. Do this for me, do this for us. Do this so I will feel secure in your future. I want you by my side. I have longed for it, son. No more what ifs.”
Rawlings froze reveling in the touch. He felt a sense of deep connection to his father, who had aged considerably even since he last saw his father on the Lively. In this moment, he finally admitted all his life he had wished to be the son who received this attention. He did not care if he was the heir, but he loved his father deeply and had spent a lifetime yearning for his affection, this closeness, and bond his father was offering him today. He and his father locked glares as Rawlings searched for the truth. His hands trembled.
Bingley quietly moved and stood with Kent. “Count me in with you, but I admit I was never out. We have all that is necessary for building the future. Darcy will join us, I am positive.”
Winthrop approached Darcy. “Do not be a fool. I will find a way to shut down your little alliance. Only we have the power to ensure success. Look at the men in this room, and take note that we have brought the next generation into the fold. Join us, and I will personally educate you on the running such an organization, as your father would have done, had he lived. There is a lot more you do not know.”
Darcy looked at all the men in Winthrop’s group. “But why not include the next generation of tradesmen? They bring more than shop keeping. They are the builders, inventors, and manufacturers. Must you limit membership? Cannot the likes of Kent and Bingley join and enhance the group? I do not see the problem with including them.”
“Humph.” The Falcon placed his hand upon his nephew’s shoulder. “Do not be a fool, boy. They are a greedy, dishonorable lot. Even Mr. Kent had signed contracts to him and not to your alliance. You must rid yourself of these interlopers.”
Kent glowered at the Falcon. “I am not an interloper, Lord Winthrop. I am a power. It would behoove Darcy to join with me if he wishes to see his fortunes rise. We upstarts are the future.” The men standing with Kent nodded agreement.
“And if I do not join with you?” Blake asked, yet searching the faces of the assembled men. “I do not see my father in this room. He never joined you, did he?”
“We denied him access to the group soon after your mother passed on. I took his place,” Blake’s Uncle Attwood said as he approached. “My boy, the time has come for you to take your place. You shall be powerful in your own right. Come join with us. We will make certain your future is secure. Do you not understand? Your father refused to join us. He in fact tried to buck us. He spit in our eye. But then we used Cuffage to teach him exactly where the power in England is and it is here!”
A World of Expectations_Book 2_The Confrontation Page 34