Page 2 of Persuading Penny (Jane Austen Association #4)

ONE

Penny

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T hrilled by Keely’s offer, I’d walked home on a pleasurable cloud of pride. It’d been painful to share with my parents the greatly diminished salary I would, from now on, be bringing home.

Mum had cried, her fears of losing her beloved home fully expressed. And Dad... more conservative with his displays of emotion... he’d merely walked out, without a word.

And the subject of my salary was never again discussed.

But on arriving at Copperfield House, I was reluctant to share the good news with my father.

What if the job offer didn’t come through?

What if I raised his hopes only to disappoint him again.

And Mum... no. It was unthinkable. I had to ensure that I’d secured the job before saying a word to either of them.

Keely and I hadn’t even discussed my wages. Would it be enough to cover the hours I no longer worked at the firm? Or would it still leave me with a considerable deficit?

No. Only once I’d begun to work for Keely Lee would I make the announcement to my father and mother.

I arrived at Royal Crescent, impressed as I’d always been, by the incredible Georgian architecture.

I’d once visited the museum at One Royal Crescent.

It was a wonderful museum that led us back to a very different way of living.

I also knew a co-worker whose sister had stayed for a few nights at the Royal Crescent Hotel right in the middle of the crescent.

On visiting her sister there, she’d gushed at the beauty and elegance of the hotel.

However, I had never had the opportunity to visit any of the homes and very much looked forward to it.

I knocked on the door.

“Hello,” a handsome man said on opening the door. “You must be Penny Copperfield.”

“Yes, and you must be Hugh Pembroke.”

“Guilty.” Smiling broadly, he gestured for me to enter. “Keely is upstairs in her office. You can go on up and join her.”

“Beautiful place,” I said, unable to ignore the splendor of the place.

“Thank you.”

Immediately, we came upon the staircase that clung to the right wall, a narrow runner softening my every step as I made my way up.

Keely greeted me at the top step. Wearing a long, rather shapeless gray dress, her caramel-colored hair pulled up into a messy bun and her face devoid of any makeup, she looked like the type of woman who had better things to do than to fuss about her looks.

.. at least when she was working from home.

“I heard the knock and hoped you’d be here early. We have so much to discuss.”

She led me to her office, a bright room that was drenched in sunlight, and she gestured that I sit in the elegant Louis XVI chair upholstered with a rich yellow and orange striped fabric.

“I was telling your husband what a beautiful home you have,” I said as I took the seat. “Even your office is elegant and chic. That mahogany desk is magnificent.”

Smiling, she sat on her large, brown leather office chair. “Yes. It was a little more than I’d initially wanted to pay, but I think it’s well worth it.”

“I’m sure.”

Her smile faded and she looked more solemnly at me. “The other day, at the book club, you said you were working fewer hours than usual.”

“Yes. The accounting firm I work for lost two major contracts and had to cut back. Being that I’m one of the more recent additions to the team, I was first to be cut. Truth is, I’m incredibly grateful they kept me on at all. They could have very well relieved me of my functions entirely.”

“Somehow,” Keely said. “I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s because they truly value you as an employee and don’t want to lose you.”

I shrugged, unconvinced. “That may be.”

“When you told us this, you also said that the timing couldn’t be worse.”

I shook my head. “These things are always at a bad time, aren’t they. When is it ever a good time to have your work, and therefore your pay, cut by half?”

“Indeed, but I sensed there was more to the story than that,” she said, her gaze intensified.

“Look, I don’t want to pry. If you wish to keep your circumstances to yourself, that’s fair, but if you need to talk about it, to open up, to share.

.. I’m here to listen. I think that we could have a far greater work relationship if we know a bit about the other. ”

It was unlike me to share my problems with others.

I wasn’t given to opening up and letting everyone around me know the difficult times we Copperfields were facing.

It was embarrassing and could easily become humiliating.

I looked around Keely’s home. It was clear they were not having any financial woes.

How could she possibly relate to someone like me who was on the verge of losing her home?

But I brought my gaze back to her, looked at her and saw her earnest desire to have me open up to her.

“Please know,” I said. “It is not my intention to cry and whine about my situation. I will tell you now, but I promise that I will not make a habit of it.”

“Fair enough.”

“My father is no longer able to work,” I said.

“Oh, he may help out a neighbor for an hour or two every once in a while, but nothing more. I’ve been helping lately with the expenditures of keeping our house, but I’m able to help out less and less.

” I stopped, unsure I wanted to go on. I didn’t want her pity. I didn’t want her sympathy.

“Do you fear being unable to pay your mortgage?”

I nodded. “Actually, we’re already three payments behind. As you can imagine, foreclosure is just around the corner.”

“I see.” Pursing her lips, she looked at me. “A large home, I assume.”

“Nothing grand or ostentatious, but, yes, it is a rather large home; six bedrooms, four full bathrooms, two half baths, a large kitchen, formal dining room, breakfast room, drawing room... all that good stuff.”

“Interesting,” she said, her eyes narrowed in thought.

I clapped my hands together, eager to change the subject. “And now, may we discuss the topic at hand; my employment with your production company. Where would you like me to begin?”

Keely stood and I feared I’d been too abrupt with her. After all, who was I to try to steer this interview into one direction or another?

“Can you give me a minute?” She walked around the desk. “I’ll be right back.”

She left the office and headed down the stairs.

What have I done? I immediately wondered. Had I said too much. Was my dire financial situation a stain on my reputation as an advisor?

From downstairs, I could just barely make out the voices of Keely and Hugh as they chatted. They didn’t sound angry, although it did seem serious.

“Okay,” I heard Hugh said. “I’ll give them a call to see what they think about it.”

The smack of a wet kiss was followed by the sound of Keely’s muffled steps as she came back up the stairs.

“I don’t want to intrude,” she said as she went around the desk to sit down. “I don’t want to impose, and the last thing I want to do is interfere, but...”

But you’re going to do all those things, I wanted to say.

“Would you and your parents be open to the idea of renting your home out... let’s say to a small American family who’ll soon be coming to Bath for a prolonged stay?”

“Rent?” I looked at the desktop, out the window, down at my clasped hands and finally at her once more. “Rent? I don’t know. It’s not an option that has ever been discussed.”

“I understand but let me tell you where I’m coming from.”

I nodded.

“Hugh and I have friends – friends from the United States – and they are planning to come to Bath for an extended stay. So far, they’ve booked their first nights at one of the hotels in town.

As you can imagine, it is exceedingly expensive, and despite having booked a rather large suite, it is still just a hotel room.

With two children, they would much prefer renting a house.

.. a large house. And maybe a house with a yard? ”

I smiled. “Yes. There’s a yard, and it’s a wonderful yard to run and play in.

Flat and always well-kept, it’s the perfect place for games; croquet, lawn bowling.

.. anything. And there is still a swing set at the far corner and a small wading pool.

It’s been several years since I’ve swung at all, but it is still in good condition.

As for the pool, well the water is green and slimy, but could easily be cleaned. ”

“You wouldn’t happen to have any pictures, would you?” Keely said.

I pulled out my phone. “I might have a few.” I swiped through my photos. “Here’s one of the exterior.” I showed her my phone. “It’s a basic, two story, Victorian style home.”

“Very nice. Looks big enough for a family.”

I took back the phone. “I might have one of the formal dining room from a birthday a few years back. Oh, here it is.” Again, I showed her my phone.

“Perfect. Quite grand without being over the top.”

“And...” I said, still going through the photos. “I think I have one of my bedrooms. Here it is. It’s comfortably large with an adjacent private bath. Of course, my parents’ room is considerably larger and the bathroom more luxurious.”

“Good,” she said, nodding. “Very good. I’m sure our friends would love it. Can you send those to me, and I’ll make sure our friends see them. I should have an answer for you by tomorrow.”

I nodded, and pursed my lips as a question came to mind. “I don’t mean to sound... talking money is delicate sometimes, but...”

Keely chuckled lightly. “The suite they’d book was well over three-hundred pounds a day. I’m sure they’d be more than willing to pay several thousand pounds a month for a whole house to themselves.”

I smiled, relieved. A few thousand pounds a month... three? Perhaps four? That would surely change my family’s situation.

“You should have enough to make the mortgage payments,” she went on. “I would imagine it would also be enough to pay for more modest accommodations for you and your parents. Do you have a place that would be suitable for you.”

I nodded. “A family friend has a small cottage that we could stay in for a while.”

“Good. This could really be a great solution for everyone.”

Again, I nodded, making mental notes of the new money coming in. “That’ll be nice, and if I’m working for you on top of that, we should be able to get our head above water again.”

“Good. Now that that’s settled, let’s talk business. We can start with your salary.”