Page 41 of The Lady Tempts an Heir
“Sir Phineas, I’d be delighted to elaborate.”
Helena kept up the bulk of the conversation throughout the meal. No one mentioned the industrial compound through the fish course or the main course of roast pork with potatoes and brussels sprouts. The talk was filled with the history of the orphanage and the thousands of people who had grown up within its walls. Maxwell contributed nominally. He’d gone back to glowering at her as he ate.
After the orphanage, she launched into the need the London Home for Young Women was currently filling. Thankfully, Sir Phineas seemed interested, asking all theappropriate questions that allowed her to discuss her vision for the future, and how many more women and children she hoped to be able to help. By the time the conversation turned back to Crenshaw Iron when the dessert course was served, Helena felt better about her chances of securing the property, until the conversation took a slight detour, prompted by Sir Phineas’s endless questions.
“As you mentioned earlier, industry can be very beneficial to a local economy. Can you elaborate on that as it relates to Crenshaw Iron Works?” the man asked.
“Certainly,” Maxwell answered. Was it her imagination or was there a taunting glint in his eye? “We employ two thousand people across New York and Pennsylvania. That’s not to mention the people we employ across the railways. Our wages are fair, creating economies that support three different municipalities.” He looked at her as he said this, none too subtly letting her know how Crenshaw Iron had improved those lives. When she raised a brow, he turned his attention back to Sir Phineas. “Our endeavor here in England is young yet, but we have plans to hire over a hundred workers in the new year, and the contract work given to several other companies will provide jobs for even more.”
“And how necessary is the industrial compound to attaining that goal?” Sir Phineas asked, genuinely interested, if the way he leaned forward was any indication.
She sat quietly as Maxwell went into detail about how the property would be used to fulfill their recently acquired contracts to participate in the building of the Prince Albert Dock. Her heart sank farther down into her stomach with each word. What he said made sense. Crenshaw Iron would provide jobs for men who needed them, but it would not help the women and children who needed a place to stay the winter, who desperately needed skills training and education to improve their future prospects.
As the conversation progressed, she could see SirPhineas becoming more interested. Maxwell was a good speaker and engaging conversationalist. He understood his business and could explain it in terms that someone outside of the industry could comprehend. He made it sound as if Crenshaw Iron would be all but saving St. Giles.
She knew that she was on the losing end of the arrangement when Sir Phineas sat back, Madeira in hand, and asked, “Could we not come to some arrangement where you could both benefit?”
Maxwell had won him over. She bit the inside of her lip to keep it from trembling. “How so?”
“Well, couldn’t you divide the property?”
“I don’t see how,” Maxwell said, sitting back as a footman cleared their dessert dishes away.
“Crenshaw Iron could control the warehouses, and Lady Helena’s charity the priory grounds,” Sir Phineas said.
Could they? Perhaps if she could keep the priory, but she would need every bit of the campus around it. Before Helena could get too excited about the suggestion, Maxwell said, “Crenshaw Iron needs the residence on the grounds for the workers, and the factory there can work as a foundry. We’ve plans to modify the machines.”
Sir Phineas frowned and asked Helena, “Could you do with a smaller share of the residence?”
“And have the women and children housed along with working men? No,” Helena said. “Besides, we need the space. We have a list of fifty women and children who can move in as soon as it’s ready. I have no doubt that by the end of winter we’ll have a hundred more. There won’t be room for all of them if we have to share with his workers.”
Maxwell’s brows drew together. “She’s right. It will never work. You’ll have to choose.”
“Unless someone withdraws,” she said, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest. Her meaning was clear. “Then, yes, Sir Phineas will have to choose.”
“I don’t see why either one of us would want to withdraw,” Maxwell said.
“Becauseoneof us can find somewhere else easily.”
“It’s not easy to find warehouse space, factory space, all within a distance that makes production cost-effective.”
“Well, neither is it easy to pluck one hundred and fifty women and children from the only homes they have ever known and move them to a completely different city. In fact, most would balk at such a plan and refuse to leave. Then we’d be right back where we started with women and children living in reprehensible circumstances.”
“They will be better for it if they are moved,” he said.
“The point is to help them, not to save them, Mr. Crenshaw. You can’t simply pick someone up, shake them off, and say, ‘Here, go do this or that.’ It doesn’t work that way. Our mission is to assist them by providing access to housing and safety. We then give them the tools they can utilize to make their lives manageable going forward. They are not pawns or nameless beneficiaries of charity. They come to us for help and we build their trust in us, and only then can we provide them opportunities for education and training.”
“Yes, but my plan will provide necessary jobs.”
“Right, it will, and that is all very good. But how many of those jobs will be for women? How many women are employed across your factories, Mr. Crenshaw?”
“That isn’t fair,” he said.
“No, it’s not fair, but neither is it fair that these women have no system of support. That is why it is so important that people who can help, people like the good Sir Phineas here, be allowed to offer aid when they can. Employing more men will not help the women and children in my care.”
His jaw was tense, and silence spread throughout the room. “You know that August needs this property,” he finally said through gritted teeth. “You know what’s at stake for her.”
“Nowthatisn’t fair.”
