The next day, the weather in Longbourn wasn’t great. Mary got up and went straight to the potato fields, it was the busiest time of the farming season, and if it rained now, it would set things back badly.
“Old John, do you have enough hands? If not, find a few more day laborers.” Getting the harvest in and sold as quickly as possible would mean one less thing to worry about this year.
“Plenty, plenty, not much left anyway. Should finish today.” Old John stood at the edge of the field, watching the workers busy at their tasks. “Mary, that gentleman came out very early, you should tell him to head back.” He nodded toward a man loading potatoes.
“Who?” Mary looked over and, for a moment, couldn’t tell who Old John meant.
“That guest who came yesterday, Mr. Ethys.”
Mr., Mr. Ethys? Was that really him? Mary looked hard, but she still couldn’t reconcile a man dressed like a farmhand with the dazzling Mr. Ethys she’d met just the day before!
“Mr. Ethys—” Well, it didn’t matter if she couldn’t recognize him, call out and he’d turn around.
And sure enough, Mary saw a man with a short beard look up, someone who had absolutely nothing to do with the striking Mr. Ethys who’d amazed her before!
“Good morning, Miss Richman.” Octavius had clearly seen the expression on her face, and walked over at once to explain. “I enjoy experiencing different kinds of life, keeps things from getting too dull. Well, not bad, is it?”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have recognized you. If you hadn’t turned around yourself, I wouldn’t have dared to believe it was you.” No wonder his performance as the bread thief had been so convincing that time, aside from the sloppy clothes, that Mr. Ethys had looked no different from a common petty thief.
The same held true now. Just a moment ago, all Mary had seen was the back of a farmhand.
Looking at the way he bent forward at the waist, the stubble on his face, and the coarse cloth he wore, well, there wasn’t a single crack in the disguise, not even down to the shoes.
“Good, that means my acting held up.” Octavius didn’t go into further detail about why he was doing this, and instead walked alongside her, bringing up something else entirely.
As for the question he’d meant to ask last night, he’d already found the answer for himself out here in the potato field.
“Miss Richman, I’ve thought it over. As for the matter of living expenses, we’ll go with what you said. Of course, if you ever need it, as Mrs. Ethys in the future, you’ll be entitled to draw a portion of the funds.” That, too, could be written into the marriage contract.
“Mr. Ethys, we happen to be heading to London later. Once things are settled, why don’t we go to a law office together?” No amount of back-and-forth negotiation could compare to having a lawyer properly draw things up, and adding a witness would give her more peace of mind.
“As you wish.”
That morning’s breakfast was quite ordinary, no different from what Mary usually ate, clearly Mr. Ethys’s words last night had made an impression. It lacked the “surprise” from before, but this was how normal life ought to look.
“Miss Richman, come in my carriage. Baring’s Bank, as London’s largest private bank, you’ve probably heard something of how they handle things.” Before the meal, Octavius had already changed back into his usual appearance.
He now stood there with his hand extended, hoping Miss Richman, now also dressed for the outing, would accept his invitation.
The young lady wasn’t bad-looking either, a light grey plaid dress made her look healthy and lively, and the fitted waist and full skirt didn’t restrict her movement in the slightest. Not that Miss Richman’s walk wasn’t graceful, no, every movement of hers carried confidence, without a trace of stiffness.
Octavius still found himself somewhat surprised, she seemed so entirely at ease!
“Thank you, I won’t refuse.” Mary held out her hand, and the moment her palm touched his, she found herself regretting not wearing her gloves.
It was an entirely different sensation, warm with the heat of a human body, and finer, more delicate than her own. Being outmatched by a man’s hands left Mary feeling a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, the contact didn’t last long.
Pulled up by his strength, she found herself already seated in the carriage. If the exterior materials of this carriage were expensive, then the interior fittings looked even more so. Just the comfort of the seat alone was beyond anything the Richman family’s light carriage could offer.
Mary knew well enough how bumpy the road from Longbourn to London usually was. Yet sitting in this carriage, she barely felt any of it.
What’s more, the space inside the carriage was quite large, it could easily seat three more people. With just the two of them in it now, it felt a little wasteful, and a little awkward too.
“Mr. Ethys, would you mind stopping in Meryton a moment, I need to pick up a few people.” This had been agreed the day before, representatives from Meryton would join them, with Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Bennet’s sister, among them.
“I know, you mentioned it before.” Octavius hadn’t forgotten, and he could also tell that Miss Richman was feeling a little tense right now.
Well, compared to how she’d walked out to the carriage just a moment ago, this did count as tense. It wasn’t surprising, really, he knew exactly what his own face looked like.
Octavius didn’t say anything about it, she’d get used to it with more time.
The one-mile distance wasn’t far, and the carriage soon arrived, Meryton. Just as Mary reached to get down, her hand was caught.
“William will handle it, just wait.” Octavius quickly let go of her hand. “Sorry, my reaction was a bit quick.” He hadn’t meant to, sometimes his body simply moved faster than intended, and that wasn’t always a good thing.
“It’s fine.” Mary withdrew her gaze from her own hand, and along with it, her hand as well. She looked out the carriage window, ignoring the person sitting a little too close behind her.
Fortunately, he returned to his seat a moment later.
Whew, was she seriously expecting something to happen?
That was absurd. Mary steadied herself a little. It was all because of that face, if only she didn’t look at it, everything would be fine.
Under the plump steward’s guidance, Mrs. Phillips and the others soon arrived. Everyone had brought their own carriages, and together the group set off for London.
Baring’s Bank was on Mincing Lane, Mary had only heard of it, never been there. Although the location wasn’t far from the old Richman Private Bank, one sat on the main thoroughfare while the other required a special detour.
Once they reached the main road at Cheapside, they turned right, then east, and only then did they reach Baring’s Bank.
Silent the whole way, Octavius only spoke again once the carriage had stopped. Having finally found a suitable candidate for a wife, he didn’t want some small matter to complicate things further. So since Miss Richman showed no inclination to talk, he respected that.
“One moment, please.” He got down from his side of the carriage, then circled around to the other. “Miss Richman, all those people are acquaintances of yours. If a fiancé, or even a husband, suddenly appears out of nowhere, they’re bound to have questions.”
“For this first meeting, shall we phrase things a little differently?” Octavius extended his hand again, offering his suggestion.
Since Miss Richman still intended to go on living in this small village, people were bound to ask questions eventually. It didn’t have to be today, but the two of them needed some kind of story ready.
Mary also noticed Mrs. Phillips’s curious, astonished gaze. She placed her hand in Mr. Ethys’s, and using the support of his hand, stepped steadily down from the carriage.
“All right, but let’s settle this business first.”
The group walked into Baring’s Bank. Once the staff saw the mortgage contract, they led everyone into a private reception room.
“Miss Richman, what would you like to know?” A man introducing himself as the manager came in, saying he was in charge of this matter.
“Hello. I’d like to know whether all future matters concerning Richman’s Private Bank will now be handled by Baring’s Bank, including all the original deposit and loan business.” With Mrs. Phillips and the others present, Mary made sure to ask clearly.
“That’s correct. Your father, Mr. Richman, mortgaged the bank to us, and naturally we’ve taken over all the business that was previously under that bank.”
“Mrs. Phillips, did you hear that? Your deposits going forward can be withdrawn here.” It really was that simple.
“Oh, good.” As long as the deposit was still there, Mrs. Phillips had no complaints.
Now she was even more curious about who this man appearing at Richman’s side actually was.
Unfortunately, no one gave her an answer. Once this matter was settled, the Richmans left with their party.
The two of them headed straight from there to a nearby law office, saying they needed a marriage contract drawn up. The appointed lawyer had never seen two parties to a marriage come in together like this, wasn’t drafting a marriage contract usually something handled by the family’s own solicitor?
Looking at the two of them, they hardly seemed like people who couldn’t afford a family solicitor.
Well, after hearing out what the two of them actually wanted, the reason for skipping the family solicitor became clear enough. This wasn’t really a marriage at all, it was two strangers each in need of a marriage. Behind closed doors, each would go their own way, undisturbed by the other.
“The draft is ready, please have a look.” The man’s requests and the woman’s requests had both been included, anything to change or remove, they were welcome to say now.
Going through it line by line, Mary found herself quite satisfied. All she needed was to become Mrs. Ethys, nothing else in her life would change.
Octavius, too, was satisfied, now that he had a candidate for a wife, he could finally go do the things he actually wanted to do!
“I have no objections—”
“That’s fine, I don’t have—”
Almost at the same moment, having finished reading, the two of them spoke up together.
“Since neither of you has any objections, shall I draw up the formal contract?” The lawyer confirmed once more and, seeing both of them nod, called in the designated clerk to record it.
Half an hour later, the fresh marriage contract was ready.
“Two copies, sign them and each of you keep one. After that, you can go to a church and marry.”
“Thank you, we will.” Mary picked up one of the copies. “As for the lawyer’s fee, as the contract says, we’ll each pay our own half?”
“Fine, you pay yours, I’ll pay mine.” Octavius didn’t dwell on small matters like this. He simply called in William, who was waiting outside, and had him settle the payment. Afterward, he handed the contract over to him as well, to keep safe.
Things had gone very smoothly, faster than he’d expected. All he needed was for the two of them to find a church and marry, and his troubles would be over!
And yet, something felt off to Octavius. Miss Richman had agreed so readily, was it because she just wanted him to leave as quickly as possible? After all, he’d already mentioned before that he wouldn’t be staying in Longbourn long.
Leaving on his own terms, and being hurried out the door, those were two entirely different feelings. Right now, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being pushed out.
“Churches in London are difficult to book, if you don’t mind, we could hold the wedding at the little church in Longbourn. What do you think, Mr. Ethys?” Stepping out of the law office, Mary happened to spot a church not far off.
“That’s fine.” Before his steward William could object, Octavius had already agreed. He knew exactly what William was about to say, but it didn’t matter, he’d sort out whatever came after.
Since Miss Richman only needed a marriage in name, there was no need for her to know anything more. Even if she did, there’d be nothing she could do to help anyway.
Once the resident vicar of Longbourn learned of this, the whole of Longbourn would know soon enough.
Mary Bennet didn’t want to be jealous, but that face, that face was already etched deep into her mind. How she wished that man were her own husband, and not someone else’s.
Why should it be her? Why did it have to be Richman?!
Her father had gone bankrupt, her father had run off, why should Richman still get to end up with such an extraordinary man!
No, this couldn’t be true!