Chapter Eight – Happy and unhappy returns, 1783
Edward Gardiner was pleased that he had chosen to remain in England and not take ship for another voyage. At first it had taken a great amount of effort to sort through his father's accounts, even with the able assistance of Mr. Phillips. Since most of the accounts were with people in England, it was not too difficult to arrange the transfer of the files to reputable solicitors.
Michael Phillips took on several large accounts, mostly having to deal with property law, but most of the files were farmed out to others. After three months of heavy work, the job was finally done. Only one file was left in stasis, and the entire situation gave both men cause for concern. That file belonged to the parents of Thomas and Henry Bennet. Due to the ongoing war, contact with the two primaries had been cut off for almost a decade. They had no way of knowing if either or both of the account holders were dead.
To make matters worse, the amounts being handled were, in a word, astounding.
Elizabeth Georgiana Bennet's dowry of thirty-thousand had been invested and compounded for over a decade before it was applied to her husband's ship-building business. Only the monies above the original thirty-thousand were used, leaving the main account to once again compound. That account was now over fifty-thousand.
In 1773 the Massachusetts Bennets had transferred over fifty-thousand, above and beyond the ten-thousand for each of their sons, into Albert Gardiner's capable hands. This too had been carefully invested and compounded. The numbers were daunting to the two men who, between them, only realized around a thousand per annum.
Yet if they could not contact the Massachusetts Bennets, then the proper course of action was to turn the accounts in their entirety to their only surviving son... a man that both of them had learned to despise. If they turned over those accounts and either or both of the man's parents returned alive, it would take an act of God to retrieve even a small portion of the lost money from Henry.
So the two men decided to remain silent, allow the accounts to continue to grow, and pray.
When the letter arrived from Mrs. Elizabeth Bennet, Edward Gardiner could barely contain his great relief.
And when he saw the still quite striking woman walking down the gangplank, he could not restrain his smile. Stepping forward to greet her, he introduced himself.
"My, I did not expect to be greeted by such a handsome, happy man. Please tell me, how is your dear father? And my sons?"
Edwards smile vanished quite suddenly and Elizabeth felt her heart constrict.
For the next hour as their carriage made its way through the crowded streets to her hotel, Edward told her everything. He was impressed by the woman's remarkable self-control, but he could still see the great pain in her eyes. He did not know if it was the loss of her eldest son, wife, and grandson or the misbehavior of her second son and his wife... or perhaps a combination of both.
When he was done with his tale, Elizabeth regarded the young man and said, "Then it seems that my first task will be to rescue that poor child from my only surviving relatives. We will have to do some planning. Meanwhile, please tell me about yourself and your ambitions."
~oOo~
Elizabeth Bennet lingered in London for a full month while she saw to the disposition of her wealth, with the addition of the monies made after 1783 and the sale of the shipyard. Her husband had given much of his profits from privateering to support the cause, but it had still proven lucrative for him and for his men. All told she had a fortune very close to a two-hundred thousand pounds. It was time to put it to work again.
Her first major investment was in the young man who had been there to deliver the unhappy news. She had been immediately impressed with young Edward Gardiner and over the month her approval had only increased. He reminded her very much of Sean Carter or her own dear husband. Both men of ambition, but also men to be trusted.
"Mr. Gardiner, I have decided to invest in your future."
"Pardon, Ma'am?"
"You have told me of your ambition to start an import/export business. I would like to become your silent partner. You will work in the front while I support you from behind. Naturally I will contribute a great amount of capital, but I also have all of the contact information from my husband and from my past to help you begin. Would you care to be my partner?"
Edward Gardiner was overwhelmed, but also overjoyed. Most of all, he was ready to work. Before the next week was over, they had worked out a sound business plan, purchased the necessary warehouse, and made contact with several major import/export houses.
Elizabeth's next action was to summon Michael Phillips for a visit to London. He was a busy man, but his handling of the matter with his niece and his honest handling of her account while everything was uncertain had earned him her absolute trust. Two hours later he sat there stunned as he considered the annual fees he would earn just by managing her account. That did not even address any profits from taking on any cases.
Phillips did provide his new client with one piece of information which might just make her future plans for little Elizabeth a little more simple to handle.
Henry Bennet was much less pleased to be summoned, but when his mother reminded him that she was the current owner of all his father's wealth, he stopped complaining. They sat in the hotel's grandest suite, evidence enough that Elizabeth Bennet had returned to England as a very wealthy woman. Her son was a misogynist at heart, so he had never considered how wily and intelligent his mother might be. When she rolled out a concise and well-rendered map of Longbourn, Henry was shocked. "I want to purchase the Patterson farm. It is currently unoccupied and it is unsuitable for most of the farming you do."
"Longbourn is entailed, Mother. I cannot sell it or any portion of it. That is what entailed means."
"Silly boy, John Bennet managed to gamble away that farm prior to the entail. Your brother managed to purchase it back after he took ownership. The entail only covers that property which belonged to the estate at the time of the entail. Now, will you sell me that farm?"
Henry considered the matter and grinned. He could sell her the property easily and then he would gain it back with his inheritance when she died. She would have been much wiser to simply lease it. Mother is not so wise after all. "Of course I will sell it to you. That makes you responsible for any repairs or issues from this point forward."
"Just a moment. I am not finished. I want little Elizabeth to live with me."
Henry frowned. In the past two years the quarterly returns on her dowry had been quite useful, especially since the estate was not showing the profit he expected. "I am not willing to release legal guardianship."
"That is not my concern. I am not pleased with the reports I am hearing about Elizabeth's care. She will live with me and then you will not have to concern yourself anymore with visits from Mr. Phillips."
That did please Henry, "Done! Fanny will be glad of her absence. Perhaps the house might become a little quieter."
Elizabeth did not show her disgust with her son, though she wanted to slap the boy. First she needed to insure Elizabeth's safety and care. Then she could work on wrestling legal guardianship away from the man-child.
Henry wanted to get back to his port and his book, "Is that all, then?"
"For the moment. Mr. Phillips shall meet you at Longbourn for your signatures and to deliver my check. Workmen will arrive soon after to improve the farmer's house on the site. I shall arrive within the week to meet your family and to collect Elizabeth. Take care, Henry."
Her son offered no further farewell, simply rose and departed the room. Elizabeth looked up to the heavens, "Oh, Thomas, what has happened to our son Henry? I do not even known that man."
