Page 110 of New World Tea Company
She smiled before continuing, “When I shared the news with Lord Campbell at tea yesterday, he grew excited. That is when we spoke of a honeymoon in Bath, and he asked for a private interview when he returns today.”
Mr Hurst asked, “Caroline, how did you purchase shares in this company? With what monies?”
“As I stated, I am five-and-twenty,” Caroline repeated. “The bankers could not deny me access to my dowry. Mr Wickham offered the business opportunity to purchase a trading vessel – a ship of some sort. Mr Darcy thought to offer for half from his cousin’s estate. I did not pay close attention to those matters but next year, I shall receive my share of the profits.”
Louisa asked, “Did you buy shares in this company from Mr Darcy or Mr Wickham?”
“From Mr Wickham,” Caroline replied. “Remain here and I shall show you my stock certificates.”
Rising from her chair, the woman moved across the parlour and hurried above stairs. In the silent parlour, Louisa and Geoffrey exchanged worried looks. The man whispered, “We must send for Charles. I did not think he had released the funds to her hand.”
The sounds of the woman descending the stairs were louder as she stomped on each tread of the stairs. Hurst smirked and thought,‘Caroline discovered that I had the mirror returned to my wife’s dressing room.’
Throwing open the parlour door herself, Caroline strode to a table beside the sofa and opened a valise she had carried in her arms. She drew out a sheaf of papers and allowed the Hurst couple to view one. Across the top of the paper were the words ‘New World Tea Company.’ The illustrations on either side of the words were engravings of how Europeans thought the native peoples across the Atlantic Ocean dressed and appeared. Each paper declared itself to be a certain number of shares in the company. Along the bottom of the paper appeared the signature of George Wickham.
Geoffrey Hurst studied the paper for a moment, glanced at the sheaf of papers stacked on the table, and asked, “Caroline, how much money did you give Mr Wickham yesterday?”
She answered, “I paid him fifteen thousand pounds for half the shares in his new trading ship. Mr Darcy or his cousin bought the other shares.”
Hurst demanded to know, “And how did you give this money to Mr Wickham?”
Affronted by the man’s tone, Caroline replied acidly, “There were papers called cheques that the bank Charles uses provided me. Five pieces of paper that each declared they were worth three thousand pounds. I signed each one over to Mr Wickham.”
Without another word, Geoffrey ran from the parlour and left by the front door. It took a moment for Louisa and Caroline to deal with the surprise of the man’s sudden departure. After a moment, Caroline declared, “Mr Hurst has rushed away to find Mr Wickham and discover if any other shares remained to be purchased.”
Despite Caroline waiting in the parlour until seven of the clock, Lord Campbell never appeared at the door on Olive Street. Neither woman had an appetite for supper and after Caroline retired to her bed chamber to change out of her expensivegown, Louisa spent an hour with her mending. But her attention wandered from her stitches as she worried about her husband, and her sister’s future. In her heart, Louisa prayed that Caroline did become Countess of Argyle so that her sister would never live under her roof again.
When Mr Hurst finally returned after eleven, the couple retired above stairs. They spoke only of inane subjects before sleeping.
~~~
The next morning, Mr Hurst left the house as soon as the sun was above the horizon. Before he departed, Geoffrey said nothing to Louisa about his absent the last evening or his destination this morning. However, the man returned to break his fast with his wife. He assured Louisa that he loved her but did not want to burden her with his fears at this point in the situation.
When they rose from the table, Louisa asked, “Shall I encourage Caroline to join us in the parlour?”
Geoffrey sighed before he replied, “I prefer that your sister remain above stairs as late as she wants. You will not act as her messenger or maid.”
The entirety of the morning passed silently for the most part. Chambermaids went up and down stairs to clean the bedchambers and then at noon, a maid took a breakfast tray for Miss Bingley.
~~~
Chapter 53.Distressing News
Late in the morning, after finishing her share of the mending, Elizabeth walked from Longbourn to Netherfield to visit Jane. Everyone understood that Miss Darcy and her brother would be present for the entirety of Lizzy’s visit. It was almost noon when she walked across the last pasture before reaching the gravel drive that led to the front door of the neighbouring manor house.
The young woman was on the stile at the edge of the pasture that allowed her to cross that last fence when a carriage appeared on the drive travelling away from the manor house. Recognizing the Bingley carriage, Elizabeth was unable to see who was in the coach when it passed her.
Frowning, the young woman continued down the last step and hurried along the drive to the front door. Before she reached the door, it opened and Jane stood there, waving her sister to come inside. Just as her sister reached the door, Jane declared, “Oh Lizzie, there is disaster in London.”
Stepping into the entry hall at Netherfield, Elizabeth hugged Jane to assure herself that her sister was well. Then she asked, “What has occurred?”
Leading Elizabeth into the dining room where they could speak without being overheard by servants or other guests, Jane explained, “As Charles and I discussed our plans for the afternoon, two postal carriers arrived with letters for my husband. The first came from the bank Charles uses in London and the second came from Mr Hurst. The attorneys wrote that Miss Bingley had accessed her dowry and had withdrawn three quarters of the value. In his letter, Mr Hurst begged Charles to come to London as quickly as possible.”
Elizabeth recognized that Jane was very upset, so she did not press for more detail. After a few moments, the older sister continued, “Lizzy, Mr Hurst fears that Miss Bingley has lost her dowry. Charles never finished his cup of tea but left as soon as his valet packed a small trunk. He will be in London this afternoon.”
Still holding her sister’s hand, Elizabeth asked, “Jane, whatever does this mean?”
Mrs Bingley confided, “I fear Caroline’s disaster will affect our home. Charles feels responsible for his sister, and he may never cast her out. If she has lost her fortune, I dread to think she will return to live under our roof for years.”
