by Abby Ayles
No, whatever the future held for them, it was something good. They were understanding one another now. They cared for one another now. And Thea thought it could not get much better, even if they lost everything material they had.
Chapter 34
The Duke was on his way to visit his other colleagues. He was hoping that someone might have word on Mr. Cotsworld. All he could imagine of the man was that he had gone off and escaped with what money had remained.
Suddenly, he was stopped by a man in the street.
“Are ye one of Cotswold’s?” the man asked.
“Indeed, I was. What of it?” the Duke replied, uncomfortable with the man’s presence.
“He’s begging all of ye to stop hunting ‘im down,” the man said, the smell of liquor rank on his breath.
“I’ve no idea what you mean. Now please, get away from me if you are going to speak of things I don’t understand,” the Duke said.
“Ye know. Like all of them pretty boys who gave ‘im money for the business. Ye’re one of them, ain’t ye?” the man continued.
“You are drunk, sir,” the Duke replied in disgust.
The man laughed. “Boy I am, at that. But what’s it to ye? I’m ‘ere for Cotswold. And ‘e’s insisting that ye all stop trying to get ‘im killed,” the man continued.
“I have done nothing at all to get Mr. Cotswold killed. I would much prefer if he would simply return a portion of my money that I invested with him,” the Duke explained.
“Right, well that’s not was ‘e’s saying. ‘E’s certain that one of ye is trying to kill ‘im,” the vagabond continued.
“Well, it’s not me. I’ll just be on my way, thank you,” the Duke said, continuing his pace. The man was instantly before him once again.
“Ye ain’t ‘earing me. Listen, will ye? If it isn’t ye who’s doing it, then who is?” he asked.
“I truly have no idea. Perhaps Mr. Cotswold can think of other men he has ruined. They might have an idea,” the Duke said, frustrated by not managing to get away from the man.
“Ye know, ‘e was accosted last night in the streets. A man ‘eld a broken bottle to ‘is neck. So ye can see that ‘e’s pretty concerned,” the man continued.
“Then he had best learn who is truly behind it for I can assure you that it was not me,” the Duke said, growing terribly impatient.
He looked the man up and down and noted the told clothing, the unshaved face and wild hair. He was a drunkard. Likely one that Mr. Cotswold had hired to find the source of threats against him.
The Duke had wanted to see Mr. Cotswold punished for being unwilling to return any of the money. However, he also knew that he had no legal evidence that he as deserving of one. Nevertheless, as much as he now detested the man, he couldn’t imagine hating him to the point of trying to hurt him.
“Please, get out of my way. I am not the man that you’re looking for,” the Duke reaffirmed.
“I’ll be watching ye. Ye can count on it. Don’t go too far,” the man called after him in warning.
The Duke of Sandon was deeply disturbed by this interaction. He didn’t understand how it had all come to this. Threats on the street from drunks? He had done nothing to warrant it. But if he did come upon Mr. Cotswold, he would be certain to tell the man he was making a mistake by using vagabonds like that one.
The Duke made it a little farther until he found the road where his next investment was.
“Good day, Your Grace,” greeted Mr. Finks, another of his business partners.
“Mr. Finks, good day to you as well,” the Duke replied.
“How might I help you today?” Mr. Finks inquired.
“Well, have you heard about the incident with the ship lost at sea?” he asked.
“Indeed. Nasty business that is. He may be a competitor of mine, but I am very sorry for Mr. Cotswold and all his associates,” Mr. Finks said with concern.
“Yes, well, I was one of those associates. You see, Mr. Finks, I did not wish to deal in only one company for just such a reason as this. I see greater rewards in spreading my investments across a number of various corporations,” he explained.
“That is wise, Your Grace. And I am sorry for you. I was not aware that you were associated with Mr. Cotswold and were affected by this ship,” he said.
“Indeed. It was rather unexpected. But, Mr. Finks, the reason I am here today is to see if I could have a look at the current status of my accounts with you?" he inquired.
“Why of course you may, Your Grace. It would only be right,” Mr. Finks replied. “And once you recuperate your losses, please do not forget about us. We would love to have you on with us as a greater partner.”
The Duke had anticipated this sort of comment and knew he would receive it everywhere he went. No one trusted Mr. Cotswold now that he had disappeared as swiftly as the ship. So for a man like the Duke to be looking for another company to invest in, it was a prime opportunity.
But the Duke was not, at this point, hoping for another company to join. He had just lost so much and there was no chance of regaining it for a great deal of time. Perhaps once he managed to regain his assets, he would continue to invest, but for now, it was simply not an option for him.
“Right, here are the accounts,” Mr. Finks said, having found the file for the Duke.
He looked through and wrote down the numbers he needed, thinking it might help him when he returned home to decide his next steps.
What the Duke knew immediately, however, was that the amount was nowhere near enough to keep him in the home that he had built. The home that now housed his wife as well.
He would have to check his other accounts still, but if this one gave any indication at all, there was little hope to be had.
“Thank you, Mr. Finks. That will be all for today,” he said, handing the folder back to the gentleman.
“A pleasure to see you, Your Grace. And please do come again. You know that we will take good care of you,” he promised.
The Duke left and went to both the other places he had started working alongside. While the most recent venture looked as though it was the most promising, he knew that none of them had hope to dig him out of the mess he was now in.
The Duke had to accept the difficult truth that he could not afford the life he had previously had.
He decided that he had little other choice, then, but to visit his mother and tell her what had happened.
The coach arrived and the Duke stepped out, looking at the estate and wondering how soon he would have to move in with his wife.
He was greeted by the skittish staff, always eager to please and frightened to fail. They took his hat and jacket, while telling him that his mother was in the drawing room and he could take tea in there with her.
The Duke knocked on the door of the Dowager Duchess’s favorite room and she called for the servant to enter. When she saw that it was, in fact, her son, the Dowager Duchess was astounded.
“Good heavens. I haven’t seen you in an age,” she said, acting as though she was deeply offended by it.
“Yes, well, if you recall, you were less than kind to my wife,” he retorted.
“Oh, that little thing? She’s not much, Joseph. You don’t have to worry about her at all,” his mother declared.
“Mother, I worry for her. Not about her. I am deeply concerned for her and that is why I have come to you now,” he said.
“Oh? What’s all this about then?” the Dowager Duchess asked,
“Mother, have you heard about the ship that was lost at sea?” he asked.
“Of course. Who hasn’t?” she asked. “They say the company has lost an incalculable amount of money and the little creature who ran it has gone and disappeared.”
“Yes mother, he has. But are you not aware?” he inquired.
“Aware of what?” she pushed.
“This is the very company that I had invested in. Mother, I am a partial owner. Which of course means that we all are. Your money, mine, my w
ife’s. All of it is tied up in my accounts. And now my accounts are gravely depleted,” he explained.
“Are you quite certain?” she asked, as if calm before a storm.
“I am afraid so, mother,” the Duke replied.
The Dowager Duchess clutched at her chest dramatically. The Duke thought it would be a far more effective gesture if her chest was not also dripping with rubies.
“I can hardly imagine it so, my son!” she exclaimed. “Do you mean to tell me that we are destitute?”
“No mother. It is not so dramatic as that. But we are significantly endangered in our financial matters. There is a chance that I shall have to sell our new estate, mother. I do not know for certain yet, but it is possible,” he finally informed her.
“What then? Will you and your little tramp come and live with me then?” she asked rudely.
The Duke was angered that she would so quickly resort to such a word. He had been so infuriated by the use of it by Lord Shrewbury. Now that his own mother was using it, he thought he might rush at her in fury.
But the Duke simply clenched his fists and tried to breathe through the rage.
“I think not, mother,” he decided then. He could never subject Thea to such treatment on a daily basis.
“Then what will you do?” she asked.
“If we must, we can rent an apartment for a time while we get back on our feet,” he suggested.
“An apartment?” the Dowager Duchess asked in horror.
The Duke ought to have expected this response from his mother. Dukes did not stay in apartments. Dukes flitted between their homes in the city and their homes in the countryside.
But the Duke of Sandon no longer had any such option. He had only the option of ensuring that his wife had a place to sleep. He would find a place that was clean and comfortable. He truly was not yet destitute. It only seemed that way for the life he had been living before all of this occurred.
The Duke’s dreams of starting a school were now put on hold, but his hopes for being a good husband were strong as ever. He wanted desperately to remain close to Thea and he would try whatever it took to make that happen.
His mother was being rather useless in the entire discussion and the Duke knew that it was soon time for him to depart.
“Well, mother, I am glad that you now know of our predicament. I shall be sure to keep you informed, but we will not bother you,” he said, determined not to go to her unless he was desperate.
“Of course, Joseph. Just keep that girl away from any savings you might have around the house. You know what her kind is like. If she gets a whiff of this news, and if she thinks she will lose it all, she will rob you until you have nothing at all,” the Dowager Duchess determined.
The Duke remained silent, knowing how little his mother knew or understood his wife. If she had been aware of how wrong she was, she might have been humiliated. It would likely have been the first time in her life, for the Duke had never seen her embarrassed by any of her behaviors.
Having left his mother’s home, the Duke decided he ought to check in on the Duke of Arborshire. They had not spoken since the disagreement about Thea, but the Duke of Sandon knew that it was now time.
As the staff welcomed him in, the Duke was uncertain how he would be received by his former friend. But soon after he arrived and was seated in the parlor, the Duke of Arborshire came in.
“Duke, a surprise, I must say,” he said, greeting the Duke of Sandon.
“I hope that I have not disappointed you too much by coming,” he replied.
“You’ve not. I am glad to see you again, truly. I know we did not part well previously and that has been of great sadness to me,” he said.
The Duke nodded.
“How is your wife?” the Duke of Arborshire inquired, as if hopefully that all was well.
“Truly better than I ever would have thought. I must say that things have changed entirely. We still are not what most would expect of a husband and wife. Love has not been uttered. But a great change has taken place and it gives me hope for the future,” he confessed.
“I am glad to hear it,” the Duke of Arborshire replied.
“I am here to ask about your affairs with Mr. Cotswold,” the Duke of Sandon said, getting to the point of his visit.
“Yes. Yes, I thought that might be why you had come. And indeed, I have been hit by this. It is a very great loss. Mercifully, I had two separate accounts with the man which ensures that I am liable for only the one.
“Our other ship is en route. The only problem is that no one knows where Mr. Cotswold has run off to. I may never see the money that I am still legally entitled to,” the Duke of Arborshire explained, irritated.
“That is quite a loss,” the Duke of Sandon sighed.
“Indeed. But for now, I am trying to keep up my spirits. There is still hope yet. And I did not invest nearly so much as you. I imagine you are struggling quite a bit with the loss?” he astutely inquired.
“Indeed. It is a great loss to all of my family. I have hope for the future as well, but it is a distant one. It shall take a great deal of time and effort to regain what I have lost,” the Duke confessed.
‘But it will come. And if your wife is being so supportive as you say, then I am certain she will encourage you along the way,” the Duke of Arborshire observed.
“Yes, yes I believe she shall. I am thoroughly glad for her, Duke. I am glad that we were so wrong. She is beyond my imaginings,” he said with a smile.
And with that, the Duke of Sandon could not wait to return home to see his wife.
Chapter 35
Thea tried to make herself comfortable in the brocade chair that sat across from her father’s desk. He had assured her that it was the finest of furniture, but she knew that he meant it was the most expensive he was able to buy.
For a man who had worked in furnishings for as long as Thea could remember, she was surprised at how poor his taste had become since gaining wealth. Now he was simply choosing the most expensive items rather than those that boasted beauty.
But, having just finished lunch with her family, she was ready to get to work with her father. The lunch had been a quiet one. There were unspoken accusations and things that she had no desire to relive.
The very sense that she was viewed as the wife of a failure was palpable. It did not matter to Thea who had grown being viewed as the daughter of one. Why should she mind what her family thought of her now simply because they had a little money?
“It is very well to see you, Thea,” Mr. Caulfield greeted.
“And you as well, father,” she replied, watching him take his seat on the other side of the desk from her.
“How was your time with your mother and sister?” he inquired, referencing when they had met a few days before.
“It was…interesting, I suppose. And how are things with you and the business? Are you looking forward to the new home? Mother says that you will be moving in within a months’ time,” Thea said, addressing what her mother had written in a letter the day before.
“Yes, yes, indeed. We are very much looking forward to it. You know we shall be closer to your own home. Perhaps we might be able to visit more often,” he suggested.
“I should like that very much,” Thea replied. “I do miss you all. And I wish that Delia could be closer.”
“Indeed, but she’s made the right decision going out on her own. You know, I do not expect any of my children to remain here for all time, expecting me to feed them,” Mr. Caulfield stated.
Thea felt instantly embarrassed.
She had not come seeking a handout from her father but worried it might be viewed as one. Even the Duke was not aware that she had come to seek help from him. It was a precarious position to be sure.
“Yes, father. I know that we all wish to be independent and not burden you,” Thea continued.
“So, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what is it that brings you here, my dear?” he asked.
Thea smiled uncomfortably.
“Well, father, as you have pointed out, none of your children ought to expect you to feed them forever,” she began. “I assume you have heard of the troubles that have befallen my husband’s business?”
“Indeed. A pity and a shame. It is too bad that he chose to work alongside such a dreadful man as that Cotswold,” Mr. Caulfield replied.
“Yes, father. A pity indeed. Although I do believe that it was not Mr. Cotswold who caused the ship to go adrift. However, it has caused a great struggle for the Duke of Sandon and myself,” she said, treading carefully. Thea’s anxiety was full as she prepared to ask her father for a small favor.
