A string of six soap boxes, clearly nothing valuable at a glance. Opened up, the soap inside actually smelled quite nice, and the color was clean and pure. Aside from having no stamp on it, there was no real difference from what was sold in London.
The tall man kept opening the boxes. Hmph, finally, one wasn’t soap at all, but two shillings!
“You’re taking bribes just to do your own job?” One single transaction, thirteen bars of soap, and thirty-nine pence had already changed hands for it. “I won’t say anything. You’ve got quite the nerve, for someone so small-time. Fine. Just don’t say you ever saw me.”
The man handed the items back and told his men to follow the carriage ahead.
Only a moment had passed, and already the light carriage from before had been surrounded by a crowd. This was nothing like the other day in London, this time, the people surrounding it were furious.
“Get down, Richman!” These past two days, some people in Meryton whose deposits had matured had made a special trip to London! Only to find that Richman’s Private Bank on Cheapside had been shut down, and no one could find anyone at all!
Word had gotten back, and some people, wary of a mistake, had gone to check specially.
Mrs. Bennet’s sister, Mrs. Phillips, had written to her brother in London asking him to look into it. And the answer came back: the man had fled long ago!
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Phillips had been just about to go over to the Richman house in Longbourn to see for herself, when, as luck would have it, the daughter of that family showed up right there in Meryton.
Well then, there was no escaping now!
Mary got down from the carriage and stood there listening as the crowd around her poured out the whole story.
Oh, so Mr. Richman had fled. Somehow, she didn’t feel like anything was particularly wrong about that. A bank losing money year after year like that, she’d want to run too, if she were him. Only, couldn’t he have at least sorted things out properly before leaving!
“Everyone—” Mary waited for the agitated crowd in front of her to quiet down on their own. “Since this has happened, and since I am also a Richman, then it’s not wrong of you to come to me about it.”
“Then tell us, what’s going to happen to the money I have deposited in that bank!”
“Yes, what about our money?!”
If she didn’t give them an answer, they’d all march off to Longbourn together, word was, that family still had 200 acres of land there!
“All right, give me some time. Rest assured, I’m not running.” Before she could be interrupted, Mary made her intentions clear first. “I’ll go to London first, to see exactly what state the bank’s closure has left things in. I need to understand what’s actually happened before I can decide what to do next.”
“Rest assured, as long as you keep hold of your deposit certificates. Once I’ve gotten to the bottom of it, the money you’ve deposited in the bank won’t be shortchanged. For every extra day it’s delayed, you’ll be compensated according to the interest rate written on your certificate.”
“It’s getting quite late today. I’ll set off for London first thing tomorrow morning, and I’ll try to give everyone an answer within a few days.”
“The household’s 50 acres of potatoes are coming in right now. Some of them are owed to the army, but I promise I’ll sell the rest as quickly as possible and turn it into cash for you.”
With her attitude settled and her promise given, the crowd showed some understanding. After all, Meryton was only a mile from Longbourn, even if the last Richman standing wanted to run, there’d be nowhere to run to.
“Thank you all, sorry for the trouble.” Once the crowd had thinned out somewhat, Mary offered her thanks and apologies, then finally got back onto the carriage.
She thought back to the Mrs. Richman she’d seen that day, and it suddenly made sense why the woman had kept pushing her to find a husband. Had she already been planning to run by then? Not even a word of warning, all those years together, wasted for nothing.
Given all this, forget about finding a husband, she’d be lucky if people didn’t come looking to take advantage of her instead.
No point dwelling too far ahead, first, she needed to get the 4,000 bushels of harvested potatoes to the army. The going rate outside was two shillings a bushel, selling to the army only got one shilling three pence, but that still came to 250 pounds!
Right now, Mary needed that cash.
Back in Longbourn, she ignored the strange looks from others and went straight from the carriage to the potato fields.
The Richman family’s 200 acres were all connected as one stretch, the longest side took twenty minutes to walk, and even the narrowest took fifteen. All the land was fenced in with hedges tangled in wild roses, though by this time of year, the roses were past their season, with hardly a bloom left.
Past a stretch of pasture, past the straw fields, and ahead lay the potato field where John and Tom were working with some temporary day laborers to bring in the harvest.
Between there and here lay the henhouse, the pigpen, and a large storehouse.
“Old John, something’s come up, I need you to have the army come and haul away everything in the storehouse as quickly as possible. As for what hasn’t been harvested yet, how much do you reckon there’ll be?” Mary called Old John over. He was actually only just past forty, but everyone called him that anyway.
“At least 6,000 bushels.” Old John did a rough estimate, this year’s harvest had been a bit better than usual.
“Good. Please, keep at it.” More than she’d expected, which meant more cash to work with. Mary had no idea what tomorrow in London would bring, but having more money on hand was never a bad thing right now.
On her way back, she stopped to check the pigpen.
All fifty pigs were plump and round. Even if sold now, each one could probably fetch two and a half pounds. Given another month, three pounds wouldn’t be a problem at all.
The hens in the coop were still laying steadily, and Mary had no plans to sell them for now.
Meryton had a population of about 2,000 in total. If as many as a hundred of them had deposits with Mr. Richman, that would already be a lot. Assuming an average deposit of 20 pounds each, that came to a principal of 2,000 pounds.
That amount wasn’t too large. Selling the potatoes, selling the pigs, and making a bit more soap, it could be settled quickly enough.
Mary had no idea how many other people had taken out loans from Mr. Richman, or how he’d handled that side of things. If he’d left without settling it, people would be far less likely to accept her stepping in on his behalf.
“Mary—” The maid Betsy stood ahead, waving.
“What is it?” She’d only just gotten back, surely word hadn’t already spread through Longbourn?
Whether word had spread or not, she couldn’t say, but there was a guest waiting at the Richman house. Listening to Betsy’s description, Mary couldn’t quite guess the visitor’s purpose. But it was very likely related to Mr. Richman’s departure.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Arriving in the parlor, Mary hadn’t bothered to change her dress. Having just come from the fields, the hem of her dress certainly wasn’t fit for company.
“I only just arrived myself, no long wait at all.” The visitor turned around, revealing a face that looked rather familiar.
Familiar, because Mary had seen him just the other day in London, that very bread thief! And of course, wasn’t the man beside him the plump baker?
“It seems Miss Richman remembers me quite well.” The bearded, tall man showed no sign of embarrassment at being recognized. “Allow me to introduce myself, Octavius Ethys, and this is my steward, William. There are two matters I’d like to discuss with Miss Richman today.”
Miss Richman could only smile. Was she supposed to scold him for playing a prank? Although honestly, Mary still didn’t understand what that whole scene had even been about.
“Please, both of you, sit.” She’d hear him out properly first.
The tall man sat, the plump steward remained standing to one side.
“Before I say anything else, Miss Richman should take a look at this document first.” The man glanced at his steward. “A week ago, having met you, I had someone look into things a little. If anything about that has offended you, I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Mary took the thick stack of documents the plump steward handed over. Opening it, she found, of all things, the mortgage contract for Mr. Richman’s bank!
“I got lucky. The day you left London, my steward quickly found out where you’d come from. As it happened, Mr. and Mrs. Richman were busy leaving at that very moment. I had my steward look into it a little further, and this document is the result.”
The plump steward stood there modestly, not thinking any of this needed special explanation.
Mary, confirming he’d finished speaking, did her best to steady her nerves and kept reading. Whatever this man wanted, she needed to first understand exactly what state Mr. Richman’s bank was in.
For a long while after that, the parlor was silent, save for the occasional rustle of turning pages.
From this document alone, Mr. Richman had mortgaged the bank to his old employer, Baring’s Bank. Actually, “mortgaged” wasn’t quite the right word, “sold off cheap” was more accurate.
That included the small bank on Cheapside, along with all the customer deposits and loans, and every bit of bad debt accumulated over these six years!
But, sold for only 1,000 pounds?
However you looked at it, that seemed off.
Mary had never seen the bank’s various ledgers, but she knew that the 800 pounds a year poured into it over those six years had passed through her own hands. However you counted it, that ought to have been worth at least 5,000 pounds.
Sold for only 1,000 pounds, calling it a bargain sale was no exaggeration at all.
Still, if Baring’s Bank had taken it over, did that mean this whole matter no longer had anything to do with her?
“I’ve finished reading it, Mr. Ethys.” Mary closed the document.
“Now that you’ve read it, the matter of the bank has nothing more to do with you.” Seeing that the young lady had read it through carefully and was now simply waiting for him to speak, the man felt certain he hadn’t chosen the wrong person.
“I’ll go to Baring’s Bank myself tomorrow. Once it’s confirmed there, it will indeed no longer concern me.” Mary planned to bring a few people from Meryton along, just in case anyone doubted it.
So, what exactly was this Mr. Ethys’ true purpose?
“Caution is a good thing, Miss Richman. But sometimes caution alone isn’t nearly enough.” Having shown his sincerity, Octavius began to explain his purpose. “This document is meant as my apology, for my presumption that day, and for looking into you unilaterally afterward.”
“Now, Miss Richman, let’s move on to the second matter.”
Mary looked at the document the plump steward handed her once more, and in the end, took it anyway.
A wealthy man, a wealthy man who’d specifically looked into her, a week had passed, and no doubt every little thing about her had already been turned over and examined thoroughly. So there was no point deflecting. Even if she refused to take it, he’d bring up the other matter regardless.
“I am twenty-six this year. My mother passed away early, and I have a father who is very controlling. I’m the eighth child, two older brothers, five older sisters above me, and two younger sisters below.” Octavius gave a more detailed account of himself. “Very soon, my father intends to arrange a wife for me.”
“Miss Richman, as you can probably tell, I’m not someone willing to be arranged. So I’ve decided to find a wife for myself first.”
“May I ask why, Mr. Ethys? I’m merely the daughter of a small banker who’s just gone bankrupt.” Mary understood him well enough, but just as before, she still didn’t quite understand the reasoning.
“Of course, Miss Richman.” Octavius was more than willing to explain. “Before meeting you, Miss Richman, you wouldn’t believe how many marriageable young ladies I met this entire social season!”
At every social event, at the royal theatre, in shops, on the street, the same routine had played out again and again. There’d been plenty of young ladies willing to help, but once he looked further into them, some issue or other always turned up.
“After going through them all, Miss Richman, you’re the only one I’ve called on in person.”
“You’re young, but you’re level-headed. When something happens, you don’t scream, and you don’t faint.” Octavius rubbed his beard. “But I know that’s not all there is to you.”
“I went through six years of the Richman family’s tax records, the amounts barely changed at all. Keeping that up isn’t a simple thing to do.”
“Miss Richman, not everyone would keep supporting a venture year after year, knowing full well the money earned was just going to be lost.”
“That tells me you care a great deal for your family.”
Octavius had only one thing left to confirm. “Would you suggest I wash my face?”
Mary shook her head, and then she saw a beardless Mr. Ethys!