The Wages Of Virtue (A Poor Man at the Gate Series, Book 8)

by Andrew Wareham

  "Will there be war, Mr Quillerson?"

  "Fighting, certainly, but hardly warfare. The Indians have no gun manufacturies, no powder mills, no cannon - they can muster no armies of their own. They may fight as the Spanish did so bravely against the French - the campaigns of the guerrilleros - but they cannot make war. The fur trappers I have bought from all say that the Indians will be implacable enemies, being so embittered, but that they are too few and too poorly armed. The Saxons fought nobly against the invading Normans, yet they failed; the tribes will go the same way, but not instantly. They will win a few battles, perhaps, but they cannot be victorious. But my stores will not be built in those villages which are furthest from civilisation, they will always stay a step or two away from the firing-line, one might say."

  It made sense - a cautious, canny, not quite cowardly, commercial sort of rationality that left a slightly sour taste behind it. Neither White nor Oliver were inclined to wholeheartedly approve of Quillerson's judgement, but, as they admitted to themselves, they were not likely ever to become rich, either.

  "The trappers tell me there are signs of vast deposits of iron and coal in the hills immediately south of the Lakes. I have been in contact with certain acquaintances in New York, and they have, I believe, spoken with officials of the Federal Government, and I am given to understand that just as soon as transport facilities become available then businesses will be encouraged to create a great industry there. I am sure that we shall all profit from such an undertaking."

  It required little thought to realise that new industries must be supplied with foodstuffs and that villages close to the canal would be very well placed to send hams and bacon, cheese and butter, beans and peas north and west just as easily as south and east, and probably at better prices.

  "I wonder, Mr Quillerson, if it might not be possible for more lands to be taken up close to hand? Possibly a few enterprising town-dwellers might be brought here for a week or two, persuaded to put their names to sections and then sent back to the city, slightly richer for their excursions?"

  "It has always been assumed that the homesteaders would themselves cultivate their own lands... But I am sure that something can be arranged, Mr Oliver."

  "My experience of government in England always proved the same, Mr Quillerson - where there was a will, there was a way, as the old saying goes."

  White, his hands already dirtied, could not raise an objection, but he was inclined to believe that Mr Oliver's way was not always that of the straight and narrow. He wondered if he should not quote a text or two in mild reproof, or perhaps an apposite comment from Pilgrim's Progress, but the conversation moved on and the opportunity was lost.

  "You are better acquainted with Mr Benjamin Hunt than am I, Grafham. My father was not best pleased with him for one reason and another and I have never sought to close the gap that seems to exist. Perhaps I should not continue in this, hereditary, shall we say, coolness?"

  The marquis thought for a moment, made a play of picking just the right words.

  "Mr Hunt is a very large landowner, of course, Robert, and a wealthy man besides, the union of his father's Consols and his uncle's newly enclosed estate being very fortunate for him. Like me he was originally only a younger son, without expectations. My circumstances changed dramatically, utterly unexpectedly - one fine morning I was Captain Masters of a sloop, coming into harbour from a cruise with two prizes under my lee, and an hour later I was Lord Rothwell and under orders for Pompey and the beach, and that, one might say, was it and all of it! Mr Hunt's life changed over a much greater period and involved a degree of uncertainty that can only have unsettled him; his brother was missing for nearly twelve years, for some of that time might have been dead, and the management of the estate devolved upon him, and he performed his duties well! He was master, in effect, until his brother came of the age specified in the Will and suddenly appeared and took the reins, and then began a profligate career that promised to destroy all Benjamin had so carefully nurtured. I am sure that he was much upset, indeed, may have been wholly overset, to the extent that he may have taken, in the spur of the moment, an action that was normally quite out of his character."

  Robert was inclined to be unimpressed by Grafham's special pleading - when all was said in the man's favour, nevertheless to kill, or at minimum cause the death of one's brother was somewhat out of the ordinary way of things. He had a sudden memory, his father mentioning the fate of the original owners of the old Roberts Works - there had been some surmise of internecine strife there. Perhaps it was not entirely unheard of, but it was still undesirable in a neighbouring family.

  "Should I extend an invitation to dinner, do you think, sir?"

  "Perhaps it were better that I should, Robert, on the twelvemonth of my father's death would be appropriate, a normal enough occasion to announce one's return to unfettered society. You to meet him, and his wife, and, if you then wished, to extend an invitation of your own later in the year. It would be as well, I think, to draw him back into the locality. He has sons and daughters much of an age with yours and it would be well for them to grow up knowing each other, an alliance a possibility."

  Any man with a large family, and Robert's promised to be exceptionally so, must have an eye to their advantageous marriages, and it was never too early to consider that. Did he want, however, a father-in-law who might have passed on a tendency to fratricide? He made no immediate commitment - better to consider the question at length.

  "Did young Rothwell enjoy his visit with Joseph, sir?"

  "Very much, I believe. He has commented very knowingly on steam locomotion and is much impressed by Mr Stephenson. He said as well that Joseph 'went out of his way' to entertain him, but has been very unspecific beyond that and I have made no attempt to press him!"

  Robert made no comment.

  "He is to take an interest in his own lands, he tells me, and begged permission to talk with my bailiff so that he can come to understand the accounting process - and I am happy indeed for him to do so."

  Many parents preferred their heirs not to know exactly how they were handling the family fortunes, but Grafham was no gambler and mounted no expensive mistresses, was quite pleased to effectively treat his son as his partner.

  "Will it be sufficient for him? He is an able young man and seems to be restricting himself to a limited compass. Will he not become bored?"

  Grafham had no answer, possibly because he had never quite mastered the art of conversing with his eldest and had little idea what his interests might be.

  "He has talked with me about Frederick, saying that he had mentioned him to you first."

  "He seemed worried about the young man's future. There was some thought of a commission?"

  "Every young man, every second son at least, considers the army at some time in his adolescence. Fred rides well, would be able to hold his own in a heavy regiment of horse - but he knows the problems he would face in the mess. I suspect his grandfather has talked with him."

  Goldsmid would have done his possible to discourage Frederick from joining, his experience of Europe as a Jew making the prospect abhorrent to him.

  "What has he in mind now? America?"

  "In all probabilities, yes. He is suited to an outdoor existence rather than an office, I believe. He could sit his terms at one of the universities, could master a sufficiency of learning, but I am sure he would not wish to, and he most definitely could not become a lawyer, for example, quite unsuited! He could take on a plantation or become a trader in furs, or whatever it is that they do out there. I had it in mind to ask whether you could recommend him to Mr Henry Star in New Orleans, in fact."

  "We should talk to Frederick first, perhaps?"

  It was as well that they consulted the young man, for he had no wish at all to go to the Americas, wanted in fact to stay as close to home as he could.

  "I had hoped, Papa, to make my life on the estate. Since we translated here from Town I have been very happy, sir. I have spen
t a deal of time with my grandfather's agent, and he is becoming old, quite ancient in fact, and will wish to sit back in a cottage within five years at most, and he assures me that it is not out of the ordinary way at all for a second son to serve in his position. It has been done many times before on other estates, sir. Often it is the case that the younger son served in the Army first, but by no means invariably so, sir. I do not really wish to make my fortune, sir, and would rather far not venture into the wild places of the world. Was I to take a pair of rooms in the West Wing, sir, or three, perhaps - bedroom, sitting-room and office - then I could become useful to the Family and not be at all obtrusive."

  It was too plaintive a plea to be dismissed out of hand, yet it could not be acceded to without the agreement of Rothwell, and he might not want his brother's close company for the remainder of his existence.

  "What does the agent earn, sir?"

  "Three hundred a year and his cottage, Rothwell; he has no wife so has never moved into a larger house. As far as 'ancient' is concerned, by the way, I believe him to be fifty-five or so years of age! He could, however, go to pension at any time that suited our convenience."

  "Frederick must retain his allowance for life, and that is what, four hundred, sir?"

  "A little more, and he would inherit from his mother to at least double that sum."

  "Then he would, when he took over fully as Agent to the Grafham Estate, be in the way of an income of seven hundreds with expectations. He could marry respectably, if he wished; if not he could save a sum sufficient to buy his own farm to retire to in thirty or so years. He could make a life as a gentleman, sir, and in all honour I cannot cast him out into a world that seems cold to him; he is, or will be, my responsibility and the neighbourhood would think poorly of me if I denied him. He must, I think, be indulged in his wish, sir. He rides well and will hunt, I would imagine, and that might not be disadvantageous to us, for I shall not - an appalling pastime! Eight or ten horses, I presume, and making a show of our place in the County. He could go out with the Cottesmore or Quorn occasionally too - they are within practical reach, a day or so of quiet travel is all - and it would be to keep ourselves known as the right sort."

  It had some disadvantages - one could give orders to an employed Agent, must, in all courtesy, consult with a brother - but it was not an uncommon practice and the alternative, to push Frederick out into rooms in Town, might not be desirable. As a man about Town the boy would be a liability, forever on the edge of debt and quite possibly caught up into unsavoury companionship; a marquis' son carried the courtesy title of 'Lord', and that could attract some very dubious followers and friends.

  "All is arranged, Robert, as Frederick wishes. It has the advantage that Rothwell will be thrust into his company at dinner every evening, and that will probably encourage him to visit elsewhere quite frequently!"

  "Definitely the Season, sir?"

  "Certainly, so - which will be as well. He will make some acquaintances and will have a few friends to introduce to his sister in the year following. He will be marked down by the matchmaking mamas as a valuable prize, and that will make many of them inclined to take his sister up as a boon friend of their own daughters."

  Robert could see little need to manoeuvre, Miss Masters would be far better dowered than most, her grandfather would see to that small matter, and a little bit of Jewishness would be far outweighed by a lot of gold.

  "I believe she would be quite happy to spend the rest of her life with her pianoforte, Robert - she has small interest in husband-hunting. I shall not push her to wed, but she should at least explore the possibility."

  "Frederick, by the way, tells me he wishes to indulge in painting as a hobby - which, one gathers, is why he requested rooms in the West Wing."

  "Has he talent, sir?"

  "His mother informs me that he is better than averagely able with a brush. He has taken to landscapes since coming into the country, and Lady Grafham says that he has displayed more favourably than she had ever imagined. From schoolboy daubs he has progressed, she tells me, to 'works of interpretation and imagination'. I have to say that I cannot quite comprehend how one either imagines or interprets a hillside, yet I am happy to concede the question to her judgement."

  Robert was mildly intrigued, broached the question to Miriam when he returned to the Hall. She answered him at length, finally advised him to read a book about it, or simply accept that the finer aspects of art must ever escape him. He pretended not to hear her asides referring to the 'peasant Anglo-Saxons' - it was politer to ascribe them to the vicissitudes experienced by ladies when they were increasing.

  Book Eight: A Poor Man

  at the Gate Series

  Chapter Seven

  "Do you see, my lord, that we are working in different waters - the German Ocean and the British Channel - whilst Sir Matthew's colliers must traverse the storm-lashed waves of the Western Approaches and the treacherous Irish Sea."

  "Elegantly expressed, Sir William! You have a point, sir - the Atlantic Ocean is a dangerous place in winter, and in spring and autumn, too, I believe, whilst the Irish Sea is infamous for sudden fogs and storms and the packets are not infrequently lost even in summer. You appear to suggest that this must have an effect, an impact one might say, on our ship-building enterprises?"

  Sir William chose his words with even greater care - the new lord was in some ways even sharper than the old, a man colder in the intellectuals, his brain with no soft edges at all.

  "I am persuaded, my lord, that the ships we build should be made for the seas they will use. East Coast colliers need not be identical to those that will work out of South Wales and north to Liverpool. Sir Matthew has sailing vessels, the old, sturdy brigs and ships that have done so well for centuries - small, in essence, three and four hundred tons most common and made to breast the western storms. The London yard has built steam colliers at twice the size of the western sailing boats, my lord, and they have already shown their value. My latest venture, my lord, is of two thousand tons capacity, and it is just off the stocks in Southampton, as an experimental enterprise, one might say. It will be slow, my lord, but will consume less in the way of coals with almost an identical crew. The first calculations suggest that the cost of transporting household coal from Newcastle to London will fall by thirty parts in the hundred, and the price of a chaldron of coal rises every year as the numbers in the capital grow."

  The mention of profit attracted Robert's interest to a far greater extent than the dangers of seafaring in British coastal waters.

  "What do the insurers say? There is no gain to us in reducing one set of costs if their premiums rise in response."

  Sir William shook his head, pursed his lips.

  "We are not insured, my lord. Lloyds will not look at steam ships - none of the brokers will underwrite the risk, it being an unknown, they say. The best word we have is that they may 'look at the possibility' in five, or better ten, years, when more will be known."

  "Well, bugger them, as my father would have said! I will speak with some acquaintances in the City, I think - you know that I no longer have a presence there, as such, Sir William and cannot act directly now. There must be five hundred steam ships working our coast already, and another thousand building! No insurance be damned!"

  "And the new collier, my lord? I would wish to name her Thomas Andrews, if you will permit, my lord?"

  "Fit her out and trial her. Strange, is it not - we have given her a man's name yet still use 'she'. I think, in fact, that it were better we should not tempt fate in such a way. 'Miriam Andrews' were better for the ship. Put a sign up at the gate here - 'Roberts Shipbuilders, Thomas Andrews Yard'. The name should be used, you are right in that, Sir William, and we should, I think, make a habit of blowing our own trumpet, as they say. Be sure that the second of the new colliers has 'Millicent Rumpage' written large across her counter."

  Sir William had not expected that, wondered whether it was respect or calculation that had made
the decision. Whichever, it was flattering that he should think it worthwhile.

  "Then we should continue to build at two thousand tons, my lord?"

  "Unless you discover a reason why not, then yes, Sir William. You have convinced me, sir."

  Sir William, not the most perceptive of men generally, was of the opinion that the thought of profit had done most of the convincing necessary. He shrugged and began to compose a letter of instructions to go to Southampton.

  "Two thousand tons, Sir William - just how big is that in reality? It is still this business of 'tuns', I presume?"

  Robert had returned to the yard after his foray into the City; Sir Iain had agreed to contact a few of the marine underwriters at Lloyds Exchange in order to discuss the possibility of forming a syndicate of steamship insurance brokers, or, more likely, to create a quite separate firm of insurers to handle the trade. It would take time, months to negotiate with the individuals and then longer still to discuss the matter with the Bank of England and the Board of Trade, the Lord Mayor and Corporation possibly to be consulted as well, but eventually something would happen - though what exactly it was difficult to forecast.

  "It is a problem, my lord, and not one that I had foreseen, due to the trade in coals, almost uniquely, still using the chaldron as its basis of measurement. Not, of course, my lord, that there is any such thing as the chaldron, there are several, each large town having its own, it seems. For us, my lord, it is only the Newcastle and the London chaldrons that matter."