Page 20 of New World Tea Company
The advantage of being sisters was that Frances and Grace did not have to wait for acceptable visiting hours to appear at their homes. When her husband expected to meet with clients for several hours, Grace enjoyed arriving at Longbourn before lunch and remaining until after tea. On such occasions, Frannie generally sent her sister home with biscuits and cakes to feed Mr Phillips for supper that evening.
~~~
Aunt Phillips brought interesting gossip to Longbourn the morning after the Netherfield tea. Mrs Bennet enjoyed her younger sister’s many stories. The pair of sisters could recite scandals from ten years earlier without hesitation despite sometimes repeating hurtful tales in front of the participants at suppers or teas. Today, Mrs Phillips arrived with interesting news that the whole of Meryton discussed in the tavern, the mercantile, and the houses–Mr Wickham had made some gentleman from Wiltshire wealthy with investments in his company.
“How rich, sister?” asked Mrs Bennet, always interested in stories about money.
“Mr Phillips said that the man, Mr Leaky, bought beers for everyone in the Running Pig before leaving for London on the stagecoach. Leaky told everyone that Mr Wickham doubled his thousand pounds after the tea ships arrived from the east.”
“A thousand pounds? How is that possible?”
“Well, Mr Phillips said Mr Leaky purchased something called stock in Mr Wickham’s company. When the tea ships returned from the New World with gold for the tea they had sold, Mr Wickham paid Mr Leaky a thousand pounds in profits.”
“The man–Leaky–received back his thousand pounds, then,” asked Mrs Bennet.
“No,” Mrs Phillips insisted. “Mr Leaky still owns stock in Mr Wickham’s company and will get more profits when the ships sail back from the Americas next year.”
~~~
At the supper table, Mrs Bennet shared her sister’s tale but discovered that her husband discounted the tale as an impossibility. The lady insisted on the truth of the tale and asked, “But why is it impossible, Mr Bennet? The wealth from tea has built many fortunes in England.”
“That is true, Mrs Bennet, but such a return in a single year is not possible.”
“My brother Gardiner reports good profits whenever his ships return from the lands in the east.”
Smiling at his wife when he realised that she had paid attention to his conversations with Edward, Mr Bennet explained, “And Mr Gardiner’s ships only return after two years, if they return at all.”
“Return at all? What do you mean?” asked Mrs Bennet, who listened carefully for the answer along with four of her daughters. Lydia paid no attention to the conversation.
“Many ships disappear in storms or are captured by pirates or the French. And the trip to the east, where tea and spices originate, is very long. They sail for twelve months to reach a factory in India, the Indies, or China. Then it takes another twelve months for the ship to sail back to England.”
“What is a factory, Father?” asked Mary.
“Here, I mean a building or compound where English merchants gather goods from the local people to keep them secure until a merchant ship arrives to carry the items back to Britain. There are factories in many port cities where British men collect tea, spices, cloth, and other items brought back to England for our use or trade with other nations.”
“And the trip requires two years?” Mrs Bennet asked again as if unable to imagine the time spent retrieving things like tea or calico cloth. “But could you invest some funds and make such profits?”
Mr Bennet looked up from his plate again and decided to deflect her question. “My dear, I promise to write to our brother Gardiner and ask his opinion.”
Frannie smiled and allowed the subject to end for that evening. Thomas would write to Edward and share the story. He smiled and thought,‘A thousand pounds profit on an investment of one thousand pounds–impossible. This Wickham fellow might be interesting to observe after all.’
~~~
Similar conversations occurred at different homes in Meryton. The Gouldings were amazed by the story of great riches and wished for such a benefactor. Winston Goulding was a good gentleman farmer, but he wished for a larger dowry forhis daughter. His son would inherit the estate, and he would not mortgage his farm to help Harriet without hurting Samuel’s future.
At Lucas Lodge, Sir William and Lady Lucas shared the gossip over the supper table with their four children. Charlotte was in awe of such a tale, while John was doubtful, and this made the older sister consider what she had heard; John was a level-headed man striving to make Lucas Lodge a profitable estate. The two youngest, Frederick and Maria, did not share their opinions. But the husband and wife wished such a windfall came their way.
Allan Rushing and William Saunders spoke about the tale at the livery stable, where they met when their horses required new shoes. They doubted the tale until Mr Jones, the blacksmith, confirmed it.
“I was in the tavern when the gentleman from London bought everyone beers. He said it was another year of profits from the new-something-or-other,” reported Jones. “I didn’t pay close attention after the barkeep set up the beers, except that the man praised Mr Wickham.”
Across Meryton, many gentlemen and their ladies praised George Wickham for his business acumen and generosity based on the incident in the Running Pig. The strangers from London passed money between them and caught the attention of every person in the village.
~~~
Thomas Bennet frowned after deciphering a page of scribbling that purported to be a letter of introduction. He did not recognise the name when he glanced at the letter upon opening the seal. However, after a moment’s contemplation, Bennet realised the poorly written letter originated from his heir–Mr William Collins.
‘My grandfather bent to the wishes of his daughter and entailed the estate on male heirs of his body. A boy was something that Frannie and I did not manage,’ he thought. ‘But our daughters are comely, and we shall see them happily married in time. And I shall put aside funds yearly to provide for my widow and daughters. They can do with less lace this winter, and I shall not buy as many books.’
