by Abby Ayles
She was still embarrassed that she didn’t know enough about it to explain further, but she knew in the very least that this meant he had lost a great deal. Without the ships returning merchandise, and with all that merchandise gone, the Duke would not manage to regain his investment.
“A fortune?” Delia asked.
“Indeed. He invested a great deal of money into the business,” she said, remembering when she had complained of it all to her sister. She had seen it as greed then. Now that she had a better understanding of his intentions with the investment, she could not help but feel sorry for the loss of it.
“So what does that mean for you?” Margaret asked.
“I don’t know,” Thea replied, annoyed by the questions. “I don’t know what it means for us. I know only that the Duke had great plans for the wealth that was to be accumulated from it and now none of that will come to pass.”
“I’m sorry, Thea,” Delia said quietly.
“As am I,” Thea replied.
“Father’s accounts…” Delia began. “Do you think that he-”
“Oh I cannot think of it. He had so little to begin with! And it was the Duke that got him started in this trade business, so if he did indeed work with the same man then yes. I imagine father must have lost his money as well,” Thea replied.
She didn’t know if Mr. Cotswold had more than one ship and, if so, whether or not her father’s investment was impacted. But reading what she had about the particular ship lost at sea was enough to confirm that it had been the one her husband had invested in.
“Do not fret, Thea,” Delia said, placing an arm around her sister. “All will be well.”
“You cannot know that,” Thea said in response.
“No, we cannot. But we can hope and that is what we shall do. We shall hope with you,” she replied.
Margaret nodded enthusiastically and the young women sat quietly, unsure of how they might proceed with their time together. The joy had been sucked from the room and Thea was too utterly distraught to know what could be said or done.
Mrs. Markley returned later to tell them that lunch was ready. Thea barely managed to eat. But she was thankful to not be alone.
***
Later in the day, a letter came from their mother, assuring them that their father’s assets had not been impacted. She had written to make sure Thea knew about the lost ship but was glad to report that Mr. Caulfield was not affected.
The news had come as a relief, but it was still not what Thea needed to hear. While she was glad for her father’s continued financial security, she wished to hear more of her husband’s. She needed to know that he would be able to build the school he had told her about.
Knowing that the Duke had multiple accounts open, Thea hoped that the others might keep him afloat. She was uncertain how bad it all was and would have to wait for him to return later that evening before she could learn the full truth.
It would, however, have to wait.
Thea had agreed to meet her mother with Delia and Margaret in a town between where she lived and where her family home was.
“Oh it is such an awful thing for your husband and Mr. Cotswold,” Mrs. Caulfield said, sighing in dismay. She sipped her tea in the tearoom where they waited.
There was something very inauthentic about her concern. Thea perceived that her mother was almost elated by her husband having better luck than the Duke of Sandon in this particular instance. While Mrs. Caulfield attempted a veneer of sadness for her son-in-law, it was not well hidden.
“Mother, I am very glad for you and father for having such good fortunes through this,” Thea said. She tried to seem authentic and genuine with her mother but she saw Delia trying to refrain from laughter. Their mother truly had not been overly subtle.
The frustration Thea felt towards her mother was not uncommon, but she had generally been able to keep it at bay for the sake of respect. Her mother was now making an effort to throw in her face the failure that had occurred. She could not be so gracious.
Thea knew that perhaps her mother was not doing it intentionally. But in her emotionally charged state, she saw it that way and it was easier to be angry than to be understanding of the woman.
“Do you think your husband will manage to get through all of this and continue to provide for you?” her mother asked, challenging her further.
“Mother, why don’t you and I have a look at some of the cakes?” Delia asked, looping her arm in her mother’s and leading her to the counter where they could see some of the treats available.
Margaret gave Thea a compassionate expression.
“Try not to be concerned. I know that I am the last woman in the world who can tell you about investments and business, but Delia is right. You have to try and push through all of this. You must have hope. You and your husband can survive even this,” Margaret said encouragingly.
“I honestly just wish he were home right now so I could ask him how bad it all is. I still haven’t spoken with him about it. I have no knowledge of the extent of the troubles we now face,” Thea explained.
“You will have an opportunity to speak with him soon, I’ve no doubt. Try not to worry too much,” Margaret said.
It was a simplistic way of looking at things, but Thea knew that it was the best she had for the time being. There really was nothing more she could plan or hope for. She had to simply bide her time and hope that she would learn more details soon enough.
Delia and Mrs. Caulfield returned with sweets for each of them and Thea realized that she still had very little appetite. She had eaten so many sweet treats lately that it was not even tempting for her. Rather, she began to feel ill at the sight of food in her presence.
Thea tried to push through and enjoy the time with her friend, mother, and sister. But all she could think about was the Duke.
Was he panicking right now? Had he even heard? She assumed that he had learned of it all right away, but could not help but be concerned in case he was not yet informed of the difficulty that lay ahead.
Thea wondered how she might find him when she did see him again. She hoped and prayed that he would be well, but knew that he would take it hard.
The school he had been dreaming of building would be an object of past wishes. There was no possibility that he would now manage to get it completed. There was no such option as that.
But perhaps, if they were fortunate enough, they could continue to live off what they had remaining and the investments that he was still involved with. Thea wished only that it would be enough to make up the difference and open the school.
Far-fetched dreams were the only way she could find herself able to hope for the best. If she tried to hope for the best in simple ways, that she and the Duke might not have to sell the estate, she found it an impossibility. Of course they would have to move in with his mother and sell the estate.
Oh, life with that woman would be terribly dreadful! It would be little different than torture, she was certain. Would the Duke allow it to come to that? Would he even have a choice?
Thea felt utterly selfish for worrying about the things. What mattered was the children in London who needed a better education. How could she have become so accustomed to wealth that she felt sorry for herself above those in need? Was this not the very antitheses to what she had always prescribed her character to be?
“You know,” began Mrs. Caulfield. “Your father has done quite well. Yes, quite well indeed. I am certain he would be willing to loan you and your husband a small sum. Of course, there would be interest upon repayment.” She spoke the words through bites of the pie she had ordered for herself and had a small drip of cherry jam at the corner of her mouth.
Thea held her rage in check as best she could. It was unfathomable to her that her mother would be so callous as to say something like that to her. Parents such as they ought not to give loans to their children. Before, they had always been so willing to help any who needed it, freely. The greed Thea was seeing had blossome
d without restraint and she did not care for it at all.
“Mother,” Delia said in a hushed tone, as if to scold the woman.
“What? Is it not generous of me to be willing to share our wealth?” she asked.
Thea kept quiet about the fact that her allowance from her husband was covering the costs of this time out for the ladies. Even with a good portion of his finances gone, he was still better off than her family, she imagined.
The Caulfields were attempting to move from their little town and into London, in an area that was well respected. They were doing so for no other reason than to prove that they could. Thea saw it as a poor investment, but she had no say in the matter.
Trying to show their newfound wealth was brave of them when it was still so unsteady. The turbulence of trade could always be counted on, as Thea was seeing now. She imagined that her parents might not be so thrilled with their decisions at some point in the future.
But for now, she would allow her mother to behave as she wished. She could treat her daughter this way, and even the young man who had given her father the opportunity to make money. But nothing they said or did would stop her from defending him.
“Mother, you must understand that however you view my husband, he is the reason yours has come into society as something more than a mere merchant. My husband has brought our family out of the muck we were in. He married a pauper. A tramp. And you dare to speak of him like this?” she challenged through angry emotions.
Her mother sat slack-jawed at such a display of disrespect. Delia and Margaret remained silent. There was no communication like this that they had ever observed.
“That is how you would speak to me?” Mrs. Caulfield asked, incredulous.
“Mother, I have never spoken to you thus. But the Duke of Sandon has done so much for you,” Thea said desperately. “I am ashamed that you should speak of him so. I am astounded by your words that show him disrespect.”
Mrs. Caulfield clammed up. She was a blend of pride and shame. Thea had come to realize how easily the two came together.
“Well then, forgive me for speaking ill. I am quite distraught about all of this, but you cannot blame me for being pleased with my husband,” Mrs. Caulfield said in her own defense.
“Nor can you blame me for being pleased with mine. It was not he who lost the ship. But it is lost and yet I trust that he will steer our home through this storm,” Thea replied.
And in her heart she meant it. She trusted the Duke. Completely.
Chapter 32
The Duke of Sandon sat in Mr. Cotswold’s office in anguish.
“How could this have happened?” he asked.
“It is rare, Your Grace, but there are risks in business and this is a risk of trade,” Mr. Cotswold said, looking defeated himself.
“Yes, but I don’t understand how a ship could possibly go missing. Are there no means put in place to prevent such a thing?” he asked.
“Our ships are outfitted with the best equipment there is for navigating. But if a ship is sunk, then no, Your Grace. There is nothing,” Mr. Cotswold said. “Sometimes it is a rival company seeking to destroy product and profit. Or it could even be sea pirates. You never really know, Your Grace.”
“Ha! You never really know?” the Duke asked, shocked and confused. “No, I suppose you don’t ever really know. One day you believe that you are making a great deal of money and the next you come to find out that you’ve lost it all thanks to poor dealings. What a fool I have been.”
“You have not been a fool. That is the general strategy. Besides, Your Grace, you will make it up in no time. You have other dealings, do you not? And you and I will work on another ship together. I have lost money on this one as well. A great deal. But there are more opportunities ahead,” Mr. Cotswold said.
“I will not so easily reap what I lost, Mr. Cotswold. You know, I joined the other businesses that I might diversify my finances in an effort to decrease risks. But you know how much I put in with you. You know how significant a portion of my own finances that was,” the Duke seethed, standing and pacing about the room.
“Your Grace, all will be well in time,” Mr. Cotswold said, trying to calm him.
But the Duke could not be so easily soothed. And each time Mr. Cotswold tried to give him such a comment, he only grew angrier.
“Please, Mr. Cotswold. I urge you to stop saying these things. Right now, all is not well. That is what I know and understand. Whatever you say about the future, I cannot see it now. I see only what I have lost. What my family has lost. My wife and my mother,” the Duke expressed.
He held back about the school he had been dreaming of providing. To a man like Mr. Cotswold, it would make little sense for a nobleman to make such an effort for poorer children. The sort of behavior seen in these services was rarely carried out by the wealthy. It was clergymen who did that work, not dukes.
But the Duke of Sandon had wished to be different. He cared about these issues and the lives of those children. He would have no way of showing it now, but it did not mean that he was any less passionate about it all.
As Mr. Cotswold sat in his chair, wishing the Duke would leave him in peace, the Duke of Sandon continued to pace.
“What is our next move?” he asked.
“Our next move?” Mr. Cotswold echoed.
“Yes, do we send another ship to try and track it?” he wondered aloud.
“Your Grace, chances are, the ship is in the bottom of the ocean. There’s no tracking it. There is only moving on to the next deal we can figure. We will need another investor. One who is willing to take a risk despite this tragedy. And that investor will get us back on our feet,” Mr. Cotswold explained.
The Duke scoffed again. “Back on our feet from the bottom of the ocean floor? I cannot imagine such a thing. I suppose my future lies in working with local businesses. No more trade for me.”
“Now, Your Grace, don’t be saying that,” Mr. Cotswold said in a worried voice. The Duke knew that if he pulled out of this business, Mr. Cotswold would have very little to hold him up.
He needed consistent investors like the Duke. And the man was certain that if they found someone to fund the next trek, they would soon be making money once more. The Duke of Sandon disagreed. He did not want another man to be putting himself at such risk.
It was then that he remembered he had promised to send Mr. Cotswold’s card to Lord Kensburg. It was a small mercy that he had forgotten to do so.
“Mr. Cotswold, I must take my leave. I need to learn how my other accounts are doing as you have made it clear that no insurance will be paid to me,” the Duke said, still angry that his business advisor had not been prepared with these things.
“B-but Your Grace-” Mr. Cotswold stammered.
“Goodbye, sir,” the Duke said, closing the door behind himself. He knew that Mr. Cotswold would be tempted to come after him, but he was also too much of a coward to actually do so. That fell in the Duke’s favor.
The Duke of Sandon walked out from the building and onto the street. There were hundreds of faces of men and women who knew nothing of his troubles. They had their own to be concerned for.
He continued on his way, stopping for a bite to eat at a small inn and enjoying the savory tastes of shepherd’s pie and the contrasting sweetness of tea. There was so much to enjoy, but the Duke felt very little of it.
From the inn, he continued to walk, having told his driver to go on ahead without him. A footman stayed by his side, walking a few paces behind. But the Duke cared very little. He worried that his footman would be exhausted form the walk the Duke had planned, but he could not simply ride home in the coach. He needed a good deal of air to find relief from all his concerns.
He also considered the fact that he ought to get used to this. It was very possible he would be without a coach soon. He would be stranded with very little. He might even have to move Thea and himself in with his mother, selling the grand home that he so recently had built.
&nbs
p; But that was the worst possible scenario and he hoped desperately that no such thing would come to pass.
For two hours, the Duke walked through the countryside before spying his home up ahead. He wondered if Thea was there. Would she bear the news? Would she be able to handle any of it?
As Lord Shrewbury had pointed out, Thea was not in love with the Duke’s money. She had little care for it at all. This was now such a great comfort as he could never have imagined. It was good to be so certain that his finances would not ostracize his wife.
But what else did he have to offer her? He would have to leave his books behind if they moved in with his mother. She had a library, but was far smaller.
The estate was growing closer with each step. The Duke finally made it to the stairs, hearing the footman not far behind. The poor man was breathing heavily, unaccustomed to walking so much.
