The Wages Of Virtue: A Poor Man at the Gate Series, #8

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The Wages of Virtue

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Copyright © 2014 by Andrew Wareham

All Rights Reserved

Contents:

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Copyright Page

Scene Setter

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Book Nine in the Series

Scene Setter

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The continuing story of erstwhile, small-time smuggler Tom Andrews, who in earlier adventures, escaped from England to avoid the hangman’s noose. He was shanghaied onto a Caribbean bound privateering ship, before Tom fled to New York, accompanied by Joseph Star, a part Carib freeman. They were betrayed and were forced to return to England at the beginning of the first great industrial boom; as unscrupulous businessmen they quickly became wealthy.

In The Wages of Virtue, although now without their respective patriarchs, fortune, misfortune and understated sibling rivalries permeate the lives of the Andrews and Star families.

Introduction

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It is a new era and the children must establish themselves as the next generation of the families. Still mourning the loss of his wife and new-born child, Joseph is on course for spectacular failure, and a deadly mining accident adds to his sense of desolation. England is moving from the flamboyance of the Regency towards the outward respectability of the Victorians - yet the reality is much as it always was. Overseas, Henry Star flourishes in the corrupt world of the Southern States.

Author’s Note: I have written and punctuated The Wages of Virtue in a style reflecting English usage in novels of the Georgian period, when typically, sentences were much longer than they are in modern English. Editor’s Note:  Andrew’s book was written, produced and edited in the UK where some of the spellings and word usage vary slightly from U.S. English.

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Book Eight: A Poor Man

at the Gate Series

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Chapter One

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It was a good funeral, Robert supposed, or so Society would say. The whole world was there - or that part of the world that was worth noticing - every pew in the old church full and some worthies actually standing, though all of the most important were to the front and had elbow room.

He was pleased to note that none of the Latimers had managed to find a seat; they were stood in a block at the very rear, simpering at the aristocracy from a respectful distance. He suspected, and rather hoped, that they would have noticed and resented the pew that had been reserved for the staff, Brown prominent among them, dressed to perfection in respect to his master and far smarter than any of the Latimer menfolk.

The valet had informed Robert of his intention to retire from service - he could not accept another gentleman, he had said, he had not the heart for it. He was to go to Matlock on the morning's stage, by way of Derby; he would purchase a cottage there having saved a sufficiency during his years at my lord's side. It was not his original home, but he liked hills and moors, he said, and my lord's Will had provided very generously for him - he would live in a degree of comfort he had not expected.

The Bishop of Peterborough had offered himself to lead the service, rather vigorously, sending a dean to point out the desirability of the presence of a lord of the church. Peterborough was renowned as the poorest diocese in England and Robert suspected that the bishop, who had a large family and a number of sons to provide for, much fancied translation to York or Canterbury and wished to perform in front of the leaders of the nation in the hope of being remembered at the next vacancy.

'To hell with him!'

It had been an easy decision to take; Reverend Harker, their vicar, had buried Lady Verity and he could do the same for his father - at least he had known him and could give an honest eulogy, unlike the bishop's performance for the Grafhams. The local man had no ambitions in the church, intended never to leave the parish, so he could afford to offend the Bishop, and might, being a Christian and having no love for politicians, enjoy so doing.

The rector concluded his prayers and led them to the graveside, the mighty of the land shoulder to shoulder, barely space for the pall-bearers who had been carefully selected from the politicos for their use to the family, taken from a plethora of the willing. The churchyard was muddy and the possibility that one of the great might slip in was almost sufficient to raise a smile - the Old Man would have loved that!

Gervase Paynton, who had carefully placed himself at his side, watched anxiously, determined to miss nothing, occasionally whispering to his father, demanding to know a name.

Gervase had appeared at the Hall on the day after the birth and death, upset to have missed the excitement but pointing out, repeatedly, that his sister had set the next day as the most likely for her delivery, and, if she did not know, then who could blame him for being behind the fair?

Lord Liverpool was present, no doubt mourning the four thousand a year to Party funds that had just passed away; almost the whole of the Cabinet was ranged behind him, though Wellington and Canning were actually prominent at his shoulder in a very overt political statement. Goderich, also ambitious, eased in behind them. Several senior Whigs occupied the front row on the other side of the grave, making another point.

The lawyer and member, Mr Clapperley, was present with his son, stood behind Lord Liverpool, being a lesser figure in his administration; unless Robert was much mistaken, he was sniffling, holding back tears. It was perhaps the first demonstration of humanity and decency Robert had ever seen in the horrible little man; he must remember to catch his eye and offer his thanks to him later.

Far at the back, outside the wall of the graveyard, stood every adult from the estate together with their older, more responsible, children; their heads were uncovered and a number were shedding tears in an actual sense of loss, not mere courtesy to the dead and fear for the future. The old lord had spent much of his time at the estate and knew many of his people; the new man was a far more distant figure and lived in London, which boded ill for them, they suspected. Next to them in a solid block, shoulder to shoulder against the world, a dozen men and women from Burton, watched, stared rather, faces veiled - mourning or gloating, Robert could not tell.

The carriages led the genteel to the Hall for the funereal baked meats - not a feast because it was incumbent on those present to remain sober. Ordinary mortals made their way to the tithe barn where Robert had arranged for a massive meal to be available, food for every villager and an excess for the many sight-seers who would have walked in from miles around to see the nobs assembled.

Tables had been set out in the four biggest rooms of the Hall, furniture borrowed from all of the houses of the area, and some two hundred were eventually seated and presented with plates containing still-warm food - an achievement for which the whole staff must be rewarded, Robert told Captain Thame.

The brothers presided, one to each room and the new Lord Star in the fourth, expressing their thanks to every man who had travelled to reach the estate and ensuring that the chaises of those who must return to London that day were drawn up close to the doors.

Lord Liverpool ate hurriedly and congratulated Robert on the good weather that had blessed the funeral - he did not seem surprised that the sun had shone upon him.

Perhaps, my lord, you could favour me with a few minutes of your time when you are next in London?

The Prime Ministerial request amounted to a command and Robert instantly assented; Liverpool left, grimacing slightly as his habitual indigestion - the inevitable result of years of gobbled meals - asserted itself. One of his staff, anonymous in a black coat, suggested to Robert that ten o'clock on Tuesday next would be an excellent time, my lord having fifteen minutes untaken in his diary then. He had not intended to be in London for a month, but saw no alternative other than obedience; he could have claimed the appointment to be inconvenient, but would have spent the next five years atoning for his lapse if he had.

Mid-afternoon saw the Hall empty of all except the family and the Stars, every one of whom was in attendance, with the exception of John who was still not officially in England or even alive.

Captain Thame, acting as major-domo for the day, suggested to Robert that the family should repair to the library where Mr Michael was waiting with the Will.

Chairs were set out around the large reading table, Michael at the side, Robert at the head of the table, Charlotte and Sir Matthew, James and Joseph in no particular order. The Dowager was still confined to her chamber with her infant, would not come downstairs for a few days, as all accepted, but Lord Paynton, her father, had been begged to take her seat, as propriety demanded.

A sad occasion, my lord, and one that I had hoped not to attend for many years yet, Michael commenced. The Will is known in its main outlines to all present, I believe, the late Lord Andrews having discussed it very openly.

They nodded in unison, all except Lord Paynton.

The Thingdon Estate is in entail, my lord, and falls to your trusteeship; also eighty per centum of the Roberts enterprises, held at your disposal while the interests of Mr Joseph Andrews are protected. Separately, the lands at Lutterworth, inherited from the late lord several years ago, descend to Mr James Andrews, to be held by him in entail in the male line, together with the lifetime income previously agreed and the disposal of the cotton mill near St Helens in Lancashire and the house owned by Lord Andrews outside Liverpool. To Mr Joseph Andrews falls, for his life, twenty parts of the income of Roberts Iron Founders and the Roberts Coal Mines and Roberts Shipyards; to his personal ownership and disposal, the cotton mill at Wigan and the sum of five thousand pounds sterling in cash. To Lord Andrews' daughter, Lady Star, a bequest of five thousand pounds sterling and the care of some or all of the great dogs of the Thingdon Estate, to be arranged as suits her convenience and that of the second Lord Andrews.

Michael smiled at the relief on Robert's face.

There are bequests and annuities to all of the domestic staff, as is proper, and provision has been made for the maintenance of my lord's responsibilities to his school in Dorset and those charitable institutions in the present care of Mr Saul Mostyn. You are aware of all of these, I believe, my lord.

Robert nodded, they were all properly in hand.

Provision for the Dowager Lady Andrews and for my lord's daughter, Verity Frances Jane Andrews, is as follows, the arrangements provisionally made prior to the birth all taking effect. The estate in Norfolk, near Cromer, recently purchased from the executors of the late Lord Castlereagh, and known as The Lodge, is to be Lady Andrews' in freehold. The sum of twenty thousand pounds is placed in Trusteeship to her daughter, the income accruing to Lady Andrews until her daughter's majority or earlier marriage. Trustees to the Fund are to be Lord Andrews and Lord Paynton, with their assent?

Either could have refused the duty, but such would occur only in the rarest of circumstances and would occasion much scandal. They signed the documents passed to them.

I will instruct Captain Thame to journey to the Lodge at his early convenience and to set in hand any and all works that may be regarded as appropriate.

That is outside the remit of the Will, Lord Andrews, but I have no doubt it will be appreciated.

Paynton murmured his thanks on his daughter's behalf.

There are other personal bequests, which amount to a significant sum and are to be met from a fund that Lord Andrews had set aside from the income he drew annually from the businesses. To Sir William Rumpage, one thousand pounds and the same to Mr Alec Fraser, together with his thanks for their services and an expression of his respect for them. Captain Thomas Burley to receive five thousand pounds, and his children, including those as yet unborn, one thousand each to be received at their majority, the income compounding in trusts, myself to manage them, reporting annually to Lord Andrews; the sum of five thousand pounds has been dedicated to this. The remainder, amounting to three thousands and a few hundreds, to be given to a lady known as Judy, with the message that although he had never met her he had conceived a great affection for her; Lord Andrews is requested to make the gift. Finally, my lords and lady and gentlemen, his dear love to you all.

Michael put his papers together, rose from the table and bowed himself out. Robert escorted him to the door then turned to the others.

A few words before we leave the room, sister and brothers, and to you my lord.

They settled back in their chairs, waited while tea and coffee were demanded and brought in.

The question of residence of the Dowager first of all, Lord Paynton - she will remain here, in the Hall, while she wishes, whether that be one month or ten years, and she will be welcome in Mount Street, where there is a substantial nursery. My father had no great liking for London and so gave no thought to a Town House of her own; that lack can easily be supplied, my lord.

You are very generous, my lord.

Family, my lord - my little sister must remain known to us all, much in our company.

Both will always be welcome in our houses, Sir Matthew stated, Charlotte agreeing at his side.

James, your income is known to you and discussed at length. Please be aware that should you receive an appointment as a Minister of the Crown - which may not be an unlikely event - then the family would ensure that your income remained suitable.

James took a few seconds to assimilate the implications of that speech, then made his thanks, though saying he was not at all sure that he was the material Ministers were made from.

You are an Andrews, brother!

Joseph, have you any plans for the immediate future that might interfere with your running of your mill?

I have no plans at all, brother, but will be in frequent contact with Lord Star in any case. No doubt he will be able to manage the mill for me if the need arises, if, for example, I was to travel abroad for any length of time. I know that he intends to make that offer to James. I will, for the while, continue to work at Roberts, if I may.

You are more than welcome, brother, and certainly do not need my permission.

Joseph managed a smile.

Charlotte, and Sir Matthew, the question of the dogs arises. I must, I think, in respect to Mama, retain two breeding couples - but I will be very happy to arrange transport north for the remainder.

They may roam the fells, Robert, and will, I have no doubt, be very happy in the mountain air. I shall regard Papa's bequest as made entirely for their benefit, having expected nothing of the Will, bearing in mind the very generous portion I brought to my marriage.

Sir Matthew agreed - they had had no legitimate expectations.

Nor illegitimate either, my lord, Charlotte added.

Robert chose not to comment further.

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What of your mother, Thomas? Have you a dower house or will she retire to a coastal town for her declining years?

Neither, Robert. I had taken a wing of Freemans for my family, as is not uncommon practice for the heir, and my father had in effect taken the other, the public rooms in the central block shared. Nothing needs to change and my mother will stay in her own chambers in the house that has for many years been hers. Elizabeth can foresee no difficulties.

It occurred to Robert that there would be no problems because Elizabeth would not permit them; she demanded, and enforced, a calm, civilised existence.

We must make arrangements to take our seats, Thomas. Parliament will sit for another month and I must be in London at Lord Liverpool's beck next week. If we appear in the House then all will be made tidy; failing that we will have to wait till January.

It was not a legal necessity that they must actually sit in the Upper House - there were many backwoods peers who never appeared in their whole lifetimes - but it was not unwise to announce to the political parties that they existed and would occasionally speak and cast a vote. Their businesses could benefit from government contracts and they had brothers who might be blessed by official patronage - they did not need to actively seek bribes, for they would be given in the hope that they might be effective, casting bread upon the waters, as it were.

I think, Thomas, that it will be incumbent upon us to be very right-thinking in almost every way. Our fathers were, by their very nature, out of the ordinary way of things, and expected to be so; we, on the other hand, will have far less leeway, will attract the reprobation of Society if we stray. Our words must be those expected of men in our position, and our thoughts must seem to be wholly unoriginal. We must be seen in the right company and in the right places, both in London and in our own Counties. Above all, we must not behave in any way that a gentleman might not!

Lord Star agreed - let stuffiness be the order of the day!

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How goes your Poor Law Union, Thomas? Would something like it work in an agricultural area or is it wholly of utility in the new towns?

Between five and twenty per cent of the whole population depended on the Poor Law for part or all of their living - there was no official body to collate figures and guesses varied wildly. The only thing that could generally be agreed upon was that barely one quarter of the population paid the Poor Law, and it was an increasing burden upon them.

'The poor ye always have with you', St John said, but he gave no receipt for the way to deal with them. The Union provides a part answer, Robert, and it cuts the cost drastically. It should work in the countryside, but less well than in town. Our paupers can scrape a little together for themselves - rag and boning or street cleaning or night-soil removal - but that is hardly possible in a farming area. Fear of the workhouse forces town families to pick up the pennies, but I doubt your people could, the opportunities are fewer. But the workhouse is cheaper than outdoor relief, that is for sure, so it is worth trying.

You are saying that one of the main functions of the workhouse is to terrify the pauper into finding an income? Does it not force many to crime?

Thomas shrugged - most paupers were drawn from the felonious classes in his experience; indeed it had been argued that to voluntarily be a pauper should in itself be recognised as a criminal act. He would make an exception for the elderly and the infirm, but he had little sympathy for the undeserving poor; it was the duty of every adult to earn a living, or to make one in some way.

Our problem is that a Union of the parishes will be almost impossible to achieve short of coercion. Finedon and Burton are at daggers drawn, rioting at the least provocation by long tradition; both will unite against Kettering, however, and neither will have anything to do with Irthlingborough, while the people to the east belong to the watery fens and probably have webbed feet. Local loyalties are almost absolute and are fiercely held; I do not know what might happen if the attempt was made to take the indigent of one village and consign them to a workhouse located in another.

Thomas laughed - there was as yet almost no such thing as a 'local' population in the industrial towns - almost every inhabitant was a recent incomer, as could be told by the mass of different accents to be heard in mills and streets.

You are saying, Robert, that they will let their own people starve in squalor, ignoring their plight, yet react with outrage if they should be forced away?

Exactly that, sir! They are highly patriotic, Thomas! Have you tried Plunkett's Irish whiskey, by the way? I can recommend it very enthusiastically - at least the match of brandy and it is definitely British.

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Robert paid a call on the Grafhams next day, in part to offer his thanks for their help during the painful days leading up to the funeral, mostly to beg advice of his grandmother and his uncle's wife, the Dowager and the Marchioness.

What would be the proper form for my wife, for the new Baroness? She is very unwilling to give the appearance of thrusting my step-mama to one side, of arrogantly striding in to claim the Hall as her own, and she is remaining with the children at The Gift for the meanwhile.

It was important to give the correct impression to the tenants and estate workers, all of whom had a loyalty to the dowager which must be brought by degrees to the new lady. A bad start would leave ill-feeling for decades.

Wait till Frances has been churched. After she has officially removed herself from seclusion then she can - and I have no doubt will - make a public show of welcoming her successor and of handing over her keys.

I do not believe she possesses keys, ma'am, Robert objected. I am quite sure the housekeeper would have them all.

The old lady shook her head - the younger generation lacked initiative and an appreciation of the need to make a show for the servants.

Borrow them! The mediaeval lady of the castle always carried her chatelaine, the keys to the great doors and the pantries. The mere lapse of five hundred years must not be permitted to interfere with the tradition of passing over that responsibility - the people will love it!

Robert dubiously accepted the advice; he supposed that he must make an effort to win over his servants, though he more than half believed that he had a simple right to their loyalty.

Discuss the matter with the lady herself as soon as you possibly may, Robert. She is intelligent and sensible - a sufficiently rare combination to be noteworthy - and will have no desire to create any difficulties. What will you do with The Gift, by the way?

Dower House, ma'am, is my first thought. Close to hand, modern and convenient and not too large, yet thoroughly respectable. I am sure that Sir Iain would be perfectly happy to see it used so. It would allow the Dowager to keep a contact with the area, which is I think desirable and fits in with the normal way of things.

And that, the conventions that must be followed, raises another issue, of course...

I have succeeded to my father's honours, ma'am, and now must live up to Society's expectations, you would say?

Very much so, Robert.

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James prepared for his return to London - the House was sitting and he felt obliged to be present - a week away was only to be expected but duty called him to return now.

I imagine I shall see less of you, Robert, but be sure that I shall be here or in Lutterworth whenever possible.

The implication was obvious - James did not believe it to be proper for Lord Andrews to work as a banker, to remain in business in London; for the heir it had been of dubious propriety, now that he had risen it was wholly ineligible.

Robert reflected that his brother would be reflecting the opinions he had heard from his company among the Whigs, who were generally held to be less old-fashioned in their