“Mr. Dimster, you will be busy with the wedding arrangements for the next couple of days, I imagine. We can wait a while before I start showing you all the details of the estate.”
Dinner was a lively affair with most of the discussion centering on the upcoming wedding. The date was easily settled: Saturday morning two weeks next. Lydia would have her sister as her attendant, while Mr. Dimster would ask his brother and, failing that, a friend from Cambridge. The Countess, of course, knew exactly what the proper wording of the invitation should be. Where controversy arose was about the name in which the invitation should be made. Lady Marianne favored herself and Daphne agreed with her. The Countess and Catherine thought that it was only right that Daphne be the one while Lydia could not make up her mind and just wanted the invitations to be issued as soon as possible. The gentlemen, wisely had expressed no opinions, but, in the end, their views were sought. Mr. Moorhouse agreed with Lady Clara while Captain Bolton was sure that Lady Ashton would be the suitable name on the invitations. Finally, Lord David had to settle the matter, and he suggested that both could be named. That met with agreement all around and Daphne sealed it by stating that Lady Marianne’s name should come first, a position that Lady Marianne endorsed happily.
When the ladies withdrew to the drawing room, the wedding planning dominated their conversation. While they had all known it was imminent, somehow setting the date had brought forward a large number of matters to discuss. The gentlemen, by contrast, were very glad to leave that subject behind. Mr. Moorhouse and Lord David directed the conversation to two other topics: what a nice place Dipton was in which to reside and what Captain Bolton’s experiences had been in the navy and elsewhere. He submitted to their questioning willingly and in turn sought to know about the social life and congeniality of the area. He was quite aware that his hosts were treating him as a possible suitor for Catherine’s hand and he had no intention of putting that option aside.
As he was leaving Dipton Hall, Lord David murmured to Daphne that he thought he might see a way out of her dilemma. She retired to her bedroom wondering what it could be and realizing all too well how exhausting had been her first day back in Dipton. Her back hurt and the baby, which had been quiet for most of the evening, resumed active kicking. Surely things would get easier soon. She certainly couldn’t keep up this pace when the child arrived. How long would it be before Richard would return? So much was happening while he was away. It will take days to bring him up to speed about the various decisions and activities, even if he does receive her letters.
Chapter XIV
Daphne’s morning on the following day promised to be less hectic than her first day back at Dipton had been. Lydia, with the help of Catherine, Mr. Dimster and Lady Camshire, was busy designing the wedding invitations so that Lydia and Mr. Dimster could take the finished draft to Ameschester to be printed immediately. Daphne would hardly be surprised if the team should be fully occupied on the next day or so with filling in the names and getting the invitations delivered. Hopefully, that would be the end of that part of the arrangements, though Daphne feared that the dislike that Lady Marianne had taken to some of their neighbors might lead to disagreements about who should be invited. Luckily, Saint Michael’s and all Angels, Dipton’s parish church, was large so there would be no lack of space to accommodate as many people as they could possibly want to invite.
She would spend the morning with Captain Bolton on the subject of paintings for Dipton Hall. In the afternoon she would attend to her own interests except for following up on Lord David’s intriguing remark about how the problem with her London house might be solved. She simply refused to feel guilty about not attending to the affairs of Dipton Manor. That could wait another day at least. She briefly thought about approaching her father as to how he felt about appointing a steward for Dipton Manor, pledging, of course, that she would oversee any such appointment herself.
Captain Bolton was not much impressed with the paintings he saw, with one exception. That one was a picture of a horse that he said was by a very well-known artist, a man called George Stubbs. Mr. Gramley or his father must have been very proud of the horse, which indeed looked like a splendid steed. Captain Bolton suggested several artists whose paintings Daphne might like. He even went so far as to say that he thought good portraits of Captain Giles and herself would enhance the house. If they wanted to have them painted, they should get a first-rate artist. He could introduce them to several exciting, up-and-coming painters, some of whom might also provide landscapes for Dipton Hall. He would be happy to show Daphne around the better galleries and studios if they both happened to be in London at the same time.
In the course of the conversation, Captain Bolton let slip how much he admired the drawing that Catherine had made of the intended vista that was now being realized. It was much more than a formal translation of the construction plans into a literal representation. Instead, it revealed both the look and the feel that the vista would have in the middle of summer when it was finished. Catherine, he thought, should be encouraged to paint the same scene in the more robust medium of oils on canvas. Indeed, he could see her as a very fine landscape artist.
Daphne made a mental note to herself to talk soon to Catherine about suitors. She thought that Captain Bolton would be an eminently suitable spouse, but she didn’t want him to be too encouraged if his obvious interest was not matched by her niece’s. She reflected wryly on how her attitude towards her niece had changed from the time when she had first joined her in Dipton Hall. Then, she would have been happy to use any pretext to get rid of her in-laws.
Later, in the afternoon, she went to see what her brother-in-law, Lord David, had had in mind. Before getting into the problems concerning Arlington Street, she thought she should ask about his own interests.
“Has my father talked to you, David?”
“About standing for Parliament? Yes, he has.”
“What do you think about it?”
“I am tempted, I must confess. I enjoy what I am doing here, but I am not sure that I am not called to a higher office. My mother makes no secret that she would like to see me a bishop. At first, I thought that that would be the last thing I would want, but now I am not so sure. I am afraid that there is getting to be a real need for men to step forward to counter the tendencies of the high-church people. Experience in Parliament would stand me in good stead as preparation for the politics of the Church and for the House of Lords where bishops also sit. Being in Parliament would, I regret to say, produce more influence that might help me to being made a bishop. However, I have a responsibility to see that this parish is properly served. I think we have come a long way since I started here. I would have to get a very good curate. Luckily, I think I know one.”
“Who is that?”
“My friend, Geoffrey Foster. We were in College together. He is the son – second son -- of a landed gentleman in Derbyshire. Very pleasant fellow. He took orders a bit after me and has yet to find a living. His father doesn’t have much influence. He would be a very good curate for this parish. And he could share the vicarage with me.”
“Is he married?”
“No. He couldn’t afford to be without a living of some sort. I am thinking of going to London in a day or two to sound him out. I have to decide soon. Mr. Dimster has made sure that there is a minimum amount of time for the candidates to be nominated. Now, about the lease on that London house.”
“Yes? You said that you had found something useful.”
“I think so. The same lawyer drew up all these interconnected contracts and he filled them up with the same verbiage towards the end of the various documents. Word for word in each case. They probably come from standard leases or contracts like that. Each one contains a badly worded provision for when the contracts can be suspended and you might be able to take advantage of it to get out of the mess.”
“How could that be?” Daphne asked eagerly.
Lord David explained his rather nefarious sc
heme. It involved using the clause so that all the other principals to the contracts would be harmed while Giles’s expenses would be reduced. It would take a lot of bluffing to make sure that the provision could be exploited. Did Daphne think she would be up to it? She would have to act as a most unsavory character.
“I don’t see how I could carry it off, David. It isn’t like me at all.”
“I know it isn’t. Think of yourself as an actress. They don’t have to be anything like the characters they are playing. It’s not as if you would be going ahead with the scheme. As long as they think you might and you have the confidence to carry it off, they will take our bait.”
“All right. But don’t be surprised if I get all tongue-tied when I am supposed to suggest outrageous things or that they just see right through me. I think I might be able to do it, though I do regard myself as a very straightforward sort of person, not given to trickery. But these people have made me so angry that I think I can pretend to be as corrupt as they are. However, there is one part of your scheme that I do not like. To carry this off, I will need to bring a lawyer, and I am not sure that I want anyone who is reliable to know about the problems we face over the house or about the scheme to get us out of it. It doesn’t smack of being quite above board.”
“I guess it isn’t quite. I was thinking of acting as if I was a lawyer.”
“Is that safe? Isn’t it illegal?”
“Possibly, but I will be careful. I will only say things that are true though I expect them to be misinterpreted. It will be good practice for being a politician. Anyway, I don’t think that these people will want to have anything to do with the magistrates. Now, I should go up to London in the next couple of days to see my friend Foster. Could you come, too?”
“I suppose so, and the sooner we can deal with the problem the better. It is getting a bit close to the time when the baby is due.”
“All right. Let’s draft a note to Mrs. Marsdon to make sure that these wretches all are present at the house three days from now.”
The two conspirators put their heads together to draft a missive that would be intriguing and slightly threatening. After several tries, they came up with
Mrs. Hannah Marsdon
11 Arlington Street
London
Viscountess Ashton requires your presence and those of Mrs. O’Brien and Lord Knockingdon at the house at 11 Arlington Street, of which Viscount Ashton holds the lease, at ten o’clock ante meridian on Friday inst.
The meeting is to inform you of the future uses to which the house will be put and to arrange for your departure while changes are being made.
The presence of the solicitor, who drew up the relevant documents, is also required.
The Honorable David Giles, counsellor
“I think that will do the job, Daphne, don’t you?” asked Lord David.
“Aren’t you afraid of pretending to be a lawyer?”
“I’m not. It just sounds that way. Calling myself ‘counsellor’ is meaningless, but I hope that they will take it to indicate that I am a solicitor who likes to pretend that he is above the common herd. If you approve, I will just copy this out in a nice copper-plate hand such as a snotty solicitor’s clerk might use.”
“I didn’t know that you could write that way.”
“Oh, yes, I can. When I was a boy, I became interested in calligraphy for a while.”
Daphne and Lord David travelled up to London together with Betsy in Daphne’s carriage. Nerot’s Hotel was becoming very familiar territory to Daphne. Lord David left her at the hotel while he went to have dinner with his friend. With no acquaintance appearing to relieve possible boredom, Daphne dined alone in a private room at the hotel.
Ten o’clock next day found the conspirators knocking at the door of 11 Arlington Street. It was opened by Hector, now in his livery, though moving rather stiffly. He showed them into the parlor where Mrs. Marsdon and Mrs. O’Brien were seated with two men. One, an old man with a hawk nose, little hair, and a rather drab frock coat, was Lord Knockingdon, the other was Mr. Longshank. When introduced to the latter, Lord David opened the conversation by announcing, “You know, old boy, you really shouldn’t try to have clients on both sides of a contract, especially when you draw them up so carelessly. I really should report you to the governors.”
“What are you talking about, Mr. Giles,” demanded Mrs. O’Brien.
“Didn’t you know that Mr. Longshank was advising Lady Ashton about the lease and the other documents? Surely he must have told you, since everything he said was to encourage her to believe that the main terms could not be broken or changed.”
“But that surely is the case. He assured us that it was,” interjected Mrs. Marsdon. “Originally he was very proud of the way he had boxed in Viscount Ashton when he was first besotted with me.”
“Oh, dear, did he really tell you that? Maybe he thought it, but then he really was not at all careful in drawing up the papers. The only one that is really foolproof is the lease, but even it is nicely flawed since it means that even though the period is stated, it provides that the lease must be renewed if the tenant wants it, whatever the landlord might wish, and at the same rent.”
“How is that flawed?” asked Lord Knockingdon.
“Why, sir, properly equipped and managed, this property can turn a much bigger profit than seems to be contemplated in this document, while all the side benefits in the other contracts end at the time the lease ends.”
“What, that cannot be.”
“Oh, yes, it is. You see the other documents all have no requirement of renewal, though the lease does.”
“But … but…I presumed that it was in all that legal nonsense that filled out the documents. I didn’t read them of course, it just looked like the usual verbiage that lawyers use to make contracts look more impressive and pad their own accounts.”
“Well, be that as it may, they are indeed part of the agreements.”
“Well, even so, you and your client are bound to honor all the agreements until that time. And I want my rent now, or I’ll have Lord Ashton thrown in debtor’s prison. And of course, the payments to Mrs. Marsdon that are required must be made.”
“Certainly. It is my client’s objective to adhere most strictly to all the terms of the agreements. Most strictly. Indeed, Lady Giles has assured me that she intends to keep to the letter of the contracts in every detail.”
“So she should,” stated Mrs. O’Brien in a rather nasty tone. “And she had better realize that the special services of Mrs. Marsdon only apply to Lord Ashton and not to Lady Ashton. If she wants them – and I can assure you that Mrs. Marsdon is very skilled – that will be a separate charge.”
“I am sure that Lady Ashton had no intention of exercising the rights of Lord Ashton,” Lord David replied smoothly. “Now I would like to get to the heart of the matter which is the reason that we required this meeting. I call your attention to the clause at the bottom of the page of the contract detailing how Mrs. O’Brien will be entitled to use the facilities of this house. It is drawn up in rather strange language, but its meaning is perfectly clear. I imagine it was taken from some other documents about rental property, probably of a rather different nature, and incorporated into these documents willy-nilly by Mr. Longshank. Such a common practice, isn’t it Mr. Longshank? So profitable, making the clients believe they have special, long documents tailored to their very own needs.”
“I see that you are taking your own sweet time getting to the point, Mr. Giles,” huffily remarked Mr. Longshank.
“Yes, of course. You do recognize all the tricks of the trade, don’t you? But we digress. You will see that the clause stipulates that the terms of the contract will be suspended if the facilities of the property – if you check back through the convoluted provisions of this contract you will find that what is referred to is this house. Yes, indeed. You will see that the contract stipulates that, if the facilities are not available on account of necessary work to be done t
o the house in connection with repairs or refurbishment needed to allow its use to be maintained, the terms are suspended until the house is again available. So, you see, Mrs. O’Brien, in such a case you would not be able to get to use the special rooms. And you, Lord Knockingdon, would have to forego your special lessons with Mrs. Marsdon. And I am afraid, Mrs. Marsdon, that you will not be able to use the facilities to entertain your … ah … students, neither by yourself nor by your assistants. Most regrettable it would be to you if the interruption turned out to be lengthy. Most regrettable.”
Daphne noticed that Lord David was having a very good time playing his assigned role. She just had to hope that he wouldn’t overdo it.
“Get on with it, man, get on with it. None of that has anything to do with us,” growled Mrs. O’Brien.
“Quite the contrary, madam, quite the contrary. You see, Lord and Lady Ashton have decided to refurbish the house completely to make it more suitable for the entertainment of gentlemen of the highest standing and reputation for flawless moral character. Such men have an absolute need for privacy while enjoying their pleasures in the most elegant and attractive facilities possible.”
“That is ridiculous. You won’t know what you are doing. Word it how you like, you are still going to be running a bawdy house. It is the only thing that pays, but you have to know the trade from the bottom up to be able to make it work. You cannot just step in and expect the ladies of pleasure to pay any attention to you.”
A War by Diplomacy Page 15