by Abby Ayles
“Mr. Winslow and his associates tell me that as the representative, the responsibility for this loss falls on my shoulders.”
“Representative?” Helena questioned involuntarily.
“Yes. I acted as their representative. I took the investments on the bank’s behalf and received a commission for my efforts.”
“Father!”
“I know, Helena. It was not wise of me, but I saw it as a means to increase our income. I am sorry I did not tell you all. I thought the rewards outweighed the risks. Sadly, I miscalculated the investment, and those with whom I had speculated.”
“What becomes of us?” Beatrice asked.
“We have nothing. I invested the majority of our wealth, and that of the business in the investment, and it has all been lost. What remains cannot cover our debts. In short, we are destitute.”
A sob ripped from their mother’s lips at the words. Beatrice began to cry as well. Helena felt powerless. What were they to do now?
Chapter 8
“You wished to see me, Father?” Elias asked as he approached his father’s desk. He had been locked away for some time with his solicitor, Mr. Martin. The man had left moments earlier.
“Elias. Sit,” Lord Wismoth instructed calmly. “I wish to speak to you.”
He did as his father asked, and settled himself upon one of the reading chairs. “Is something the matter, Father?”
“I have spoken with Oscar Martin, as you are aware.”
“Indeed, Father. I saw Mr. Martin as he left. Has something happened?”
“I had Mr. Martin investigate the situation that the Leesons have found themselves in. I wanted to gauge what the fallout of this calamity would be.”
“Yes?”
“He sees no good way for them. Their ruin is almost inevitable. The extent is dependent on whether the figures he was given are true, and that Ambrose has indeed invested the sums he had been advised of.”
“Can it not be confirmed?” Elias leaned forward in his seat. “Could we not ask him? We are friends. Surely he would tell us.”
His father's eyes rose to meet his. “I would never demand such confidence. If or when Ambrose cares to share this information, is up to him. I would not ask, and I would not have you solicit the information.”
Elias was usually a patient man, but the entire situation was wearing on him. He had no way of knowing what was happening, yet he was forced to see the burden it posed on one he cared for.
His father must have read his expression, as he offered words of comfort.
“Leeson’s solicitors have left, and Ambrose has called the family to him some time ago. I expect he is making them aware of the situation they are facing. Perhaps soon he will share the news with us.”
Elias looked up hopefully. His desire to find Helena and get the information from her suddenly erupted in his heart, but his good sense stopped him. If she wished to tell him, she would. He would not seek her out.
“You are concerned for her?” Lord Wismoth asked.
“Who, Father?”
His father chuckled. “You know of whom I speak.”
“Helena?”
“Yes, Helena. Do you think I have not noticed the regard you have for her?”
Elias chuckled. “I have always had regard for her, Father. We have been as brother and sister since we were children.”
“Yes, as children. Now neither of you is a child, and I see that those affections have likewise changed.”
Elias wanted to protest but his father wouldn’t allow it.
“You would try to dissuade me of my beliefs, but it would be of no use. I know you, my son, and I know the lady. Helena has indeed blossomed into a radiant beauty. One of the most attractive of our company with by far the most pleasant disposition.”
“That is true, but it does not mean that I hold her in any higher regard than her sister, nor that she holds me.”
His father leaned forward and rested his clasped hands on his desk as he supported himself on his elbows. He smiled. “I remember when I was your age. I met your mother then, and I remember the effect she had on me.”
Elias never uttered it, but he liked to hear his father speak of his mother and the love shared so long ago. His father had been fortunate. His marriage to his mother was both for love and for lineage.
“I couldn’t stop looking at her. Wherever she went, my eyes followed. I noted everyone who spoke to her and about her. Everything about your mother was of interest to me, and there was nothing in the world I wanted better than her happiness.”
“I know how you loved her, Father.”
“That is why I know you care for Helena. I see it. I have noticed the way your eyes find her in a room. Your questions to the servants when she isn’t to be found. How you grow silent when your acquaintances speak highly of her.”
“Would you object if I did care for her?” Elias asked nervously.
His father smiled. “I would have no objection to a young woman I already see as a daughter. However, it is not my objection that must concern you. Though I see her as a daughter, I am not her father.”
“Do you think he would object?”
“I believe that this is not the time for such a question. Ambrose has much to contend with, and I would not think his mind in a suitable position to receive such news. It would be best for him and for you that you restrain your feelings until a time more appropriate.”
Elias nodded.
“You must see how it would look given the circumstance?” his father insisted. “I know your heart is good and your intentions honorable. However, to the outside world, it may seem that you are trying to take advantage of the situation to gain yourself a pretty wife. Worse, they may try to taint her character and accuse her of trying to capture a wealthy husband to help her faltering family.”
“Helena would never,” Elias countered immediately.
“Yes. We both know this, but public opinion is not always based on knowledge or truth, but on what sounds delicious to itchy ears eager for news. The family is under close scrutiny now. It is best for all that we take our time and weigh our actions carefully.”
Elias left his father soon after. He waited downstairs for any member of the Leeson family, but saw none. What had the solicitors said? What was to become of them?
He had grown weary with waiting and had turned to pacing the floors of the library, but that had not helped him. Finally, he had taken the only escape he could, and ventured out into the gardens. Perhaps the sun and air would do him good.
Elias was wrong. The gardens did nothing to help him. Instead, they reminded him of every joyful moment he’d spent amongst them in the company of Helena. He could see her smile in every flower, and her bouncing curls around every bush.
How he had loved to see her laugh as she hid and he sought her out. Beatrice didn’t like to play, therefore the responsibility of entertaining Helena had been his alone. Not that he had ever complained. On the contrary, he enjoyed it.
He wished to see that smile again. He wished to see her lively and happy. There was no knowing when that might be. The news Elias had from London was anything but good, and the prospects for the Leeson family looked disastrous.
Elias was still determined to keep his word.
He heard the soft sound of weeping and immediately he knew it. It was Helena.
His pace quickened as he searched for her. He walked around the hedgerow and passed the line or rosebushes until he found her. She was standing on the far side of an oak, hidden from the house.
She looked worse than she had that day on the stairs.
“Helena,” he said softly as he approached her. She tried to wipe away her tears quickly, but it was of no use. He had already witnessed them, and there was no denying the red brims of her eyes or the streaks upon her cheeks.
“How are you?” she asked as she turned from him and continued to wipe away the evidence of her crying.
He walked around quickly and stood before her.
“Do not hide from me. We have known each other our entire lives and you have never hidden from me. Do not do so now.”
She tried to turn away, but his hand reached for her arm and held her gently. Her gaze moved to it before it moved to him, but he did not release her. He did not wish to. Everything in him wanted to pull her closer.
Her eyes were beautiful, even after crying. The action was involuntary, but his hand sought her cheek and his thumb wiped away the lingering dampness.
“Will you not share with me as you always have? Am I not the same?”
She sighed. “We are not the same. All is altered now.”
“Why do you say this?”
“Because it’s true,” she sniffled. “Things between us can no longer be as it was. Our situations are different now.”
“Has your father stated as much?”
Elias couldn’t imagine Mr. Leeson would deny their connection, especially now. He needed as many friends as he could get.
“No, but you will not want the connection once you hear.”
“There is nothing I could learn that would ever make me deny knowing you, Helena, or your family.”
She raised eyes that glistened with tears. “We’re undone,” she said bitterly. “Father’s business is ruined and our family with it.”
“Is there nothing left? No way of salvage?”
She shook her head. “There is no way. My father invested most of our wealth and that of the business. Our debts are greater than that which remains.”
Elias knew all this was a possibility, but the news still shocked him profoundly. “Your solicitor, Mr. Winslow, has confirmed this?”
“Yes. He says there is also the question of whether those who invested could bring a case against Father, given he acted on the part of the bank here.”
“He asked as their representative?” Elias asked in surprise. He knew Mr. Leeson had encouraged others, but he never imagined that he had some ulterior motive.
“He received a commission,” Helena admitted. She turned away from him, and he allowed her room to stand up as he processed this new information.
“Is that fact well known?”
“I do not know. Father only just told us of this, but no doubt he has discussed it with Mr. Winslow and his associates and they would’ve advised him.”
What had he been thinking? Acting as an agent of the bank? Taking investments to receive a commission? Did he not think what the repercussions would be should the venture fail?
He followed Helena as she started walking. Her pace was slow and, though she spoke, she could not look at him. He understood her stance. It was shame that caused her to hide from him.
“We are to leave here soon,” she muttered. Elias's heart faltered. He did not wish her to leave. Given the circumstance, it was better for her to remain at Balwell while the matters of her family’s financial affairs were resolved.
“You cannot. Your father couldn’t possibly dream of returning to London at this time.”
“He is determined. He will face his creditors and the men whose investments he took.” She turned to him. “He will sell the business and from the liquidation pay those he owes.”
“Will it be enough?”
“I cannot be sure. Our situation is known. He will not be able to fetch the asking price he would wish. He will have to sell at a discount.”
“There is no telling what unscrupulous businessman would want to take advantage of your family’s unfortunate situation. Your father’s company was one of the most profitable in all London.”
“He made it so,” Helena answered.
“Could he do it again?” Elias questioned as a thought entered his mind.
“I believe so. The company itself is well run. It is the lack of liquidity which will be its ruin.”
"My dear Helena. I believe your father can turn the tides of this unfortunate affair if given the appropriate help."
“What do you mean?” she asked curiously, tentatively lifting her eyes to his for the first time since this conversation began. The sight of them almost made him forget what he had been about to say.
“I promised you that I would do all I could to aid you,” he said in honesty. “I will keep my word. I would only ask that you stay your father’s hand as long as possible to allow me time.”
“Time for what?”
“A plan. Money can be earned and lost and earned again. It is the in-between which counts most.”
“I do not understand.”
He smiled at her perplexed look. He was speaking in riddles perhaps, but he dared not utter his intentions. He had first to speak to his father and investigate whether his scheme of action could be accomplished.
Chapter 9
The sun was not up yet, but Helena and her family were. The day had come. They were returning to London.
Elias had done his best to try to convince them to extend their stay, but her father would not be thwarted. He wanted to return home to Sutton Street and face the repercussions of his actions.
“Helena, have you seen my trunk?” Beatrice asked. “I was sure Dilby had left it in the hall.”
“He has already packed the trunks on the carriage,” Helena informed as she tied her cloak in a bow around her neck.
“Are you sure we have packed everything?” Beatrice questioned.
“Yes, Bea. I have checked and checked again. We have everything.”
Beatrice sighed. “I wish we didn’t have to go.”
“As do I, but Father must attend to his business. Whether we return now or later, the results will be the same. Facts will not change.”
“No, but I may be better prepared to handle them,” her sister answered.
“Have you not had time enough these past weeks?”
“I do not think I will ever have time enough for this. What do you think will await us?”
Helena was silent. She’d had the same thoughts but hadn’t uttered them. “I do not know, Bea.” She turned to her sister. “We cannot expect things to be as they were.”
“Did Father say anything more to you about the house?”
“Mr. Winslow is seeing to the auction of the contents. He says he will see about offers for the house, but in the meantime, he will seek another place for us.” The words made her insides cringe. The thought of people buying their belongings was excruciating.
“This can’t be happening,” Beatrice answered sadly. “Our good home. Gone.”
“It is,” Helena answered as she walked over and hugged her. “We must do our best to stay strong through this.”
“At least there is one thing I can be glad of in London.”
“What is that?” Helena asked curiously.
Beatrice smiled. “I will tell you once we are there.”
Helena frowned. Beatrice had become so secretive since the ball. She was hiding something, and Helena wished she would tell her, but she could not force her confidence.
“Very well. I will wait, but I will hold you to your promise,” she mused.
“I promise. I will tell you everything once we are there.”
There was a knock at the door. Elias stood in the waistcoat she had sent him for Christmas. He looked handsome, despite his obvious displeasure at their departure.
“The carriage awaits,” he said sombrely.
Beatrice smiled at her sadly. “I will leave you to say your goodbyes,” she whispered as she turned and walked from the room. She nodded to Elias on her way out.
“Have you collected all of your things?” he questioned as he walked into the room. He left the door behind him open. In the hallway, servants were moving back and forth carrying things.
“Everything has been packed,” she answered slowly. She watched him carefully as he inspected the room. He looked about at the empty shelves where once her trinkets had adorned them.
“I still do not wish you to go,” he admitted as he turned to her. “I would have you all stay a while longer.”
“We cannot. I ha
ve explained this.”
“Yes, indeed, I understand, but it does not change my feelings.”
He crossed the room to stand before her.
“Elias, please,” she managed, her voice close to breaking. “Do not make this more difficult than it needs to be. I am holding on by a thread and I need it to sustain me.”