Page 9

By the end of her time in London, Mary had grown quite comfortable with society, far more so than she ever imagined possible.

Though she still didn’t like crowds very much, and she was always grateful to come home to their quiet little house, she could tolerate them longer than she had been able to in her own neighborhood.

She had been a little disappointed to find out that Mr. Worsley had left the city near the beginning of April and would not be returning until next year, but since such behavior was common enough, she let it go. There were plenty of other interesting people to talk to.

Just before Mr. and Mrs. Allen went home to Braydon Hall, Mary received promises of regular correspondence from all six of her new friends, and she promised to write back.

It only took a single day for Mary and her husband to settle back into their lives in the country. They were almost immediately visited by Mrs. Bennet and Mary’s sisters. Kitty and Lydia demanded stories of the splendor of London, and Mary laughingly obliged, at least for a time.

Jane and Elizabeth didn’t say much, but they listened and watched carefully. Just before leaving, Elizabeth pulled Mary aside and said, “I’ve never seen you so happy and comfortable. Did you truly enjoy London as much as you claim?”

Mary smiled. “Yes, I did. Mr. Allen has a close group of friends, and their wives readily welcomed me among them. It is amazing how much being accepted can boost one’s confidence and happiness.”

Mary had meant it as a simple explanation of why she was happier than she had ever been in her life, but she realized as she said it that it might have come across as accusatory.

As Elizabeth’s eyes became a bit watery with sorrow, Mary was certain she had said something wrong, but she did not know how to take it back or fix it.

“I’m sorry, Mary,” said Elizabeth. “I am so sorry.”

She knew that Elizabeth was apologizing for ignoring her all the years they grew up together. She gave her older sister a hug and said, “Do not think on it. The past is the past and cannot be changed. The present and the future are what we have power over.”

“You are so very good, Mary,” said Elizabeth as she hugged Mary fiercely. “I truly am glad you are so happy.”

As Mary bade farewell to her family, Jane also gave her a quick hug and whispered, “I am sorry, too.” She didn’t give Mary a chance to respond, however, as she slipped out the door, heading for the waiting carriage.

A week after arriving at Braydon Manor, Mary realized that she missed the hustle and bustle of all the activities of London. She found herself bored with the repetitive activities that filled her days, activities that used to be comfortable in their familiarity.

She pushed through for another week, trying to find satisfaction in her work, but it was not enough.

Mary spent many hours in introspection, trying to understand herself.

She did not feel like she was the kind of woman who needed to be constantly busy or entertained, so she had not expected to miss London so much. Yet, something was missing.

Eventually, Mary realized that what was missing was the opportunity to learn.

By this time, she had been married for nine months, and all of it had been filled with learning and growing.

Every day had been exciting, because every day there was something new to learn.

Now, however, she was thrown back into her usual waters, where she was comfortable but where there wasn’t much left to learn.

That night at dinner, she said, “I was thinking about picking up a new hobby, perhaps learning something new, but I don’t know what it should be. Do you have any suggestions?”

“A new hobby?” asked Mr. Allen. “Have you grown bored so soon after leaving London?”

“I don’t think that is quite accurate,” said Mary. “I don’t miss London in particular, nor do I miss the constant socializing. What I do miss is the opportunities I have had to learn and grow. I thought that I could satisfy that by picking up a new hobby.”

“I will think about it,” he said. “In the meantime, tell me about your day. I believe you had a visit from your family. How are they doing?”

Mary told him about her family and all the news they had brought of the neighborhood.

They chatted amicably as they always did throughout dinner.

When the last course was served, Mr. Allen said, “I think I have an idea for a new hobby for you, but I am unsure if you will be interested. It is rather unorthodox, you see.”

Mary’s curiosity was naturally piqued. “What is it?”

“How would you like to learn about managing the estate and my other business concerns?” he asked. For the first time, Mary could detect a hint of hesitancy in her husband’s voice.

“I would love that!” said Mary. “I have always been curious where our money comes from and where it goes, but I thought you wished to keep that to yourself, so I never asked.”

“It is not so much that I wished to keep it from you,” he explained, “but that I was under the impression that women didn’t much care about the subject.

The few times I tried to explain to my first wife why her budget had to be limited to what it was, she quickly threw up her hands, declaring she could not understand me and had no need for details. ”

“I am sorry you had that experience,” said Mary. “I assure you I would very much like to know more about the subject.”

Mr. Allen’s expression softened a bit, and he covered her hand with his own. He said, “Then we shall begin tomorrow. Come to my study when you are done with your daily meeting with Mrs. Hampton.”

Mary smiled widely. “Thank you. I shall.”

That summer was just as full of learning and interest as the preceding months in London had been.

Mary’s understanding continued to grow as her husband explained all the many details associated with managing a large estate like his.

Mary combined his information with what she already knew of the lives of their tenants to gradually gain a more complete picture of what an estate truly was.

When she had learned as much as she could about the estate, they moved on to the subject of his investments and business concerns. These were a bit harder for Mary to understand, for she had no prior knowledge upon which to build.

Gradually, she came to understand how investments worked.

His real estate investments in London were the easiest to understand, because it was not so different from an estate.

Mr. Allen owned several large townhomes in Mayfair which he leased out in one year leases to those who only wished to visit the city once in a while.

He also owned quite a few boarding houses in less affluent parts of the city.

His other investments were so varied that Mary had trouble wrapping her mind around it all. What she eventually came to understand, however, was that her husband had over one hundred thousand pounds wrapped up in his investments, and they earned a great deal more each year than his estate did.

In short, Mr. Allen’s income was more than twice what she thought it was.

In late August Mary asked a question that had been burning in her mind for many weeks. “Mr. Allen, if you have such a large income why is my household budget and pin money so small relative to your income?”

“Are you discontent?” he asked.

Mary shook her head decisively. “Of course not. I have no need for more than you give me. In fact, I sometimes have trouble spending all of my pin money, because I forget that I can buy new dresses occasionally. It is only that most people live in a way that shows their wealth plainly and openly. I was wondering why you do not.”

“To be honest, Mary, I don’t know exactly why,” he said, surprising Mary greatly.

She had come to believe that her husband was the fount of all knowledge.

He continued, “I began saving in my younger years simply to ensure that I could provide for any children I had.

I expected to have more than just one son, you see.

“After a while, through discussions with my friends, I learned about various ways of investing, and I found the process intrinsically interesting. I don’t really enjoy society as a whole, so I don’t see a need to spend a great deal of money just so I can entertain others, and I see no need to spend money on clothes, carriages, and expensive horses just to show off.

I suppose there is also the motivation that the more money I save, the more I have available to invest, but when I say it out loud to you it sounds…

wrong, somehow, the idea of gaining wealth simply for the sake of having wealth.

It no longer sounds like the noble and grand thing that it once did. ”

Mr. Allen then did something he had never done before. He reached over to where Mary was sitting and took her hand, pulling it towards himself and by extension pulling her out of her seat and towards him. He then settled her in his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I guess you have been a good influence on me, Mary. Perhaps it was all just greed for greed’s sake,” he said, and he rested his forehead on her shoulder.

Mary didn’t know what to do or think. Her initial reaction was simply to comfort him, but that didn’t feel quite right.

Before she could respond, he said, “You know, before I married you, I had been on the verge of dropping all my charitable contributions and closing the village school. Not only did you save them by taking over their management, but in discussing them with me, you helped me realize their importance. It wasn’t just important to the recipients of such charity, but it was important to society as a whole. ”

Mary couldn’t understand what was happening.

It sounded like her husband was telling her that she had taught him something important, that he was realizing that he had believed or done something that wasn’t the best, but that was impossible.

Mr. Allen was the one who taught her, not the other way around.

Mr. Allen lifted his head from her shoulder and looked her in the face.

“Since you have taught me so much, I will ask you. What do you think should be done with my investments? Should I continue to let them grow, gaining wealth simply for its own sake? Should we live to a higher standard of living, spending it so that it at least serves some function? Perhaps we should increase our charitable contributions. What do you think?”

“I have no desire whatsoever to spend even more money,” said Mary quickly. “Contributing to charity is worthy, but I do believe that can be overdone, making people dependent rather than making their lives better.”

She thought about it for several moments. Then she asked, “Who would it affect if we sold off your investments, and who would it affect if we just kept them or if we continued to accumulate more?”

Since they were back on a practical subject, Mary expected her husband to let her go so she could return to her seat, but he continued to hold her waist as he thought about her question.

“Investing money in business ventures, such as warehouses, textile mills, and other such things allows those who have skill but no money to build successful businesses, which in turn provides many people with jobs and income to sustain themselves with.

Withdrawing those investments too suddenly can cause the entire venture to collapse, putting all those people out of a job and ruining their lives as well as the lives of their families.

It is best to sell stock in a business gradually to avoid such sudden changes.

If you do that, it makes little difference.

“As far as liquidating the real estate ventures, while it would take some time to sell everything, it would have very little effect on anyone. As far as I am concerned, one landlord is very much like another.

“The trouble comes when you have to decide what to do with the money once everything is liquidated. Even the most charitable person cannot use one hundred thousand pounds in the blink of an eye, and the most extravagant socialite in London can’t spend that much quickly.”

Mary shook her head. “I am not asking you to give everything up,” she said. “I am only asking what effect your desire to grow your wealth is having on the world around you. May I see your list of investments again?”

While maintaining one hand on her waist, Mr. Allen reached for the list that was sitting on his desk and handed it to her.

She perused the list, thinking about what effect each of these businesses had on people’s lives.

She applied everything she had learned about business and money and came to a conclusion.

“Honestly, Mr. Allen, I can see no harm done here. While your motivations may not have been philanthropic, your investments have provided many, many people with the ability to earn a living. You have not cheated anyone, nor have you oppressed anyone in the process. I can see no reason to change anything, not even your real estate ventures.”

“Then, do you wish for a greater household budget? More pin money?” he asked.

Mary almost scoffed. “What would I do with more money? We have everything we need for comfort. More money would only be spent on ostentation, and I do find that sort of thing rather unpleasant.”

“Then we are in agreement to keep things as they are?” asked Mr. Allen.

“Yes, we are,” said Mary. She kissed his forehead then gently extricated herself from his hold. It was pleasant to be wanted and to be held close, but sitting on his lap was becoming uncomfortable.

As she went back to her seat, he said, “I am sorry I didn’t discuss all this with you sooner.”

Mary waved away his concern. “Even if you had, I would not have understood it. Now, I do, and I am glad for it.”