Page 66 of The Affairs of Ashmore Castle (Ashmore Castle #2)
Vogel was a tall, thin man, with a long, sharp nose on which gold-rimmed pince-nez perched like some exotic but very tame bird.
Behind them, his eyes were large and blue and heavy-lidded; his hair was fluffy and white, curling like feathers, and left the front of his head shiningly bare.
He looked frighteningly intelligent and serious, which was what you would want in a banker, but his wide, thin-lipped mouth stretched into a charming smile as he greeted Kitty, and she didn’t think him at all a dull dog.
When she said hesitatingly that she wanted to understand her inheritance, he said that it was a very good idea, and that he was a great advocate for females to understand finance.
‘They, after all, are so often the victims of financial accident or mismanagement – far more than men are, because there’s so little they can do about it.
I shall be happy to tell you anything you want to know, Lady Stainton. ’
The story behind Harvey’s Jam was an interesting one, he said.
‘Your great-grandfather, Josiah Harvey, first came to Cambridgeshire to farm in 1817. It was just after the Napoleonic Wars, and there was an agricultural slump. Corn prices were very much depressed, so he went in for market-gardening, and did quite well. Then in 1847 the railway came to that part of the country. Josiah took the opportunity to acquire a large piece of land to grow fruit, which of course he could transport quickly to London by rail and sell at Covent Garden.’
Vogel looked enquiringly at Kitty, to see if he was giving too much detail. She said, ‘Please go on. I knew nothing of all this.’
‘Very well, your ladyship. The business was thriving, and whenever there was an adjacent parcel of land for sale, Josiah bought it and expanded. By 1873 he had two hundred and fifty acres under production. He also had two sons, your grandfather John and your great-uncle William. They were the ones who accompanied the fruit up to London to sell it, and they reported to their father that it was mostly jam-makers who were buying it. That year happened to be a bumper year with a very heavy crop, so they persuaded their father to let them try making a batch of jam, and selling it. It proved so popular that two years later they built a factory next to the railway station and went entirely into jam-making.’
‘I never knew my grandfather,’ Kitty said. ‘I think he died when I was quite small.’
Vogel nodded. ‘By the 1880s, the company had expanded into making marmalade, so as to be able to keep a permanent workforce, rather than laying them off in the winter. By the 1890s they owned five hundred acres of land, and had added clear table jellies, custard powder, lemonade, and mincemeat for the Christmas market to their products. It was a remarkable tale of success. When your grandfather died in 1890, everything went to your great-uncle William, and he, being unmarried, left it to you.’
‘I never knew him either,’ Kitty said sadly. ‘I remember my father telling me he had died, but I never met him. I seem to have been unlucky with my relatives.’
Vogel bowed. ‘In that sense, yes. But the company continues to flourish. When your grandfather died, your great-uncle took on the son of a family friend, and trained him up to manage the day-to-day business. Charles Logan is a very able man and runs everything efficiently. It was he, I believe, who came up with many of the new ideas the company has pioneered. And he has now come up with another one, which is what I wanted to put to you today.’
He looked at Giles at this point, and Giles nodded and said, ‘Carry on.’
‘Logan believes the company should be exporting its products, which would mean a very significant expansion – and also, of course, a large increase in profits. To take full advantage of export markets, he believes the jam should be put into tin cans, rather than glass jars as at present. Cans are much lighter than glass; and glass, of course, is breakable, which is a consideration when the goods are travelling long distances, perhaps over rough terrain. And if you were providing jam on a large scale, say to the army, the navy, ocean-going passenger vessels, foreign administrations and so on, you would want to sell it in larger units. The domestic market, I understand, is mostly for a two-pound glass jar. That would not go far when catering for a company of soldiers: you would want your jam in a ten-pound container.’
‘I see,’ said Giles. ‘A ten-pound glass jar would be heavy and unwieldy.’
‘And if it breaks, it’s a lot of jam to be wasted.’
Giles saw the point. ‘The company cook couldn’t scrape it off the floor and use it, for fear there would be shards of glass in it.’
Vogel permitted himself a small smile. ‘Precisely.’
‘Would they do that?’ Kitty asked, slightly shocked.
Giles smiled at her. ‘My dear Kitty, I do advise you not to enter a kitchen while it is actually preparing food. You would never eat again. So, Vogel, what is the catch to this plan of Logan’s?’
‘No catch, my lord. Simply, it requires a large investment to build and equip the canning factory. Logan also wants the business to make its own tin cans – it has always been self-sufficient and, of course in the long run, it would mean more profits for Harvey’s than if cans were being bought in from elsewhere. ’
‘I see. And how much would it all cost? How much does Logan want me to invest?’
Vogel mentioned a sum. To Kitty it sounded enormous, but she knew she had no idea of how that related to anything commercial.
Giles, it seemed, also thought it large – too large. He shook his head. ‘No,’ he said. ‘I can’t agree to that. It’s too big a slice of our capital.’
‘It is a lot, but I believe the investment very sound, and certain to yield substantial profits longer term. There is a limit to the potential for expansion in the domestic market, but the world is effectively limitless. Even to secure a contract with the British army would be a major coup.’
‘Perhaps so,’ said Giles, ‘but I have a great deal to do on the estate, which will require large capital investments. I’m sorry.’
‘I’m sorry too,’ Vogel said thoughtfully. ‘I understand your priorities, my lord, but it would be a great shame to miss an opportunity like this.’
‘Can’t it be done some other time?’
‘The market is ripe for it now. If we do not seize the moment, some other firm will certainly do so, and it will be harder to make an impact when in competition with another company, rather than playing in an open field. And Logan – he is energetic, ambitious, full of enthusiasm. I fear if he is thwarted of his plans, he may leave the company, and he would be a great loss.’
Giles frowned. ‘Do you seriously suggest I would make a decision based on the career plans of an employee?’
‘Of course not, my lord. I merely suggest that all the stars are in alignment at this moment. There is a tide in the affairs of . . .’
Jam? Giles anticipated. He shrugged. ‘No, I’m sorry, I need the capital for the estate.’
‘Then I wonder if there might be someone else we could bring in, someone looking for a good investment opportunity? Of course, they would take a share in the profits. And they might also want a say in the running of the company, so it would have to be someone you trust – someone who would take the business in the right direction.’
‘The only people I know who have that sort of money,’ Giles began, thinking hopelessly of Lord Shacklock, but at that moment he caught Kitty’s eye, and her thought seemed to leap the gap into his mind. ‘Have you ever come across a Mr Cowling – Joseph Cowling?’
‘Of Cowling and Kempson, the shoe manufacturer?’ said Vogel. ‘I’ve never met him, but of course I’ve heard of him. He is known to be a very shrewd businessman – the King relies on his financial advice. Do you know him?’
It was Kitty who answered. ‘Yes, we know him. He married my closest friend.’
***
Forbes, the Manningtree butler, was plainly on the verge of regretting that Lady Stainton was not at home, when Kitty came down the stairs, almost running.
‘Dearest, dearest Nina! When Hatto said you were downstairs I had to come, in case you thought I didn’t want to see you, but I really am just going out, and I daren’t be late!
Oh, it’s lovely to see you! How are you?
You must come and see my baby! But, oh dear, I’m engaged every minute this week. It’s wretched!’
Nina laughed. ‘Wretched, is it? Oh, the miserable life of the fashionable lady!’
Kitty laughed too. ‘But you know what I mean. I’d much sooner sit and coze with you, but all these things have been arranged and one can’t not go – especially when it’s my mother-in-law who’s done the arranging.’
‘No, I quite see that. I wouldn’t dare cross her either.’
‘Next week will be better – not so busy. But I want to talk to you now , today! We can’t even have tea, because I have a fitting this afternoon, and then there’s the concert, or recital, or whatever it is, at Lady Leven’s.’
Nina brightened. ‘We are going to that, too.’
‘Are you? Well, of course you are musical – I’m sure a talented new pianist will be a treat for you.
I’m rather dreading it, though Richard knows her and says she really is wonderful.
It was going to be here originally, but once Sir Thomas persuaded the King to look in, too many people wanted to come to fit in the drawing-room.
So Sir Thomas asked Lord and Lady Leven for the use of their long gallery – you know, where we went to the art exhibition – because they are great patrons of the arts, music as well as pictures. How is it that you are coming?’
‘Mr Cowling knows Lord Leven – and the King of course. They’re all in the same circle.
’ Nina smiled impishly. ‘I think Mr Cowling is rather dreading it, too – he’s not musical – but he wouldn’t let the Levens down.
He suspects a subscription is going to be taken up – that’s usually why he gets invited to things. ’