Chapter 11 Chapter 11 "Oh, Mary, what are you doing..."
“Oh, Mary, what are you talking about? Mr. Price said long ago that it wasn’t necessary.” Hearing Mary’s words, Mrs. Price, who was knitting a sweater on the chair, almost made a mistake with the yarn she was knitting. She simply put down the sweater she had been knitting for many days, which was still missing two sleeves.
“But, dear Mother, this time we don’t need Mr. Price’s money. General Maxwell is willing to sponsor us.” Mary swayed her arm around Mrs. Price’s arm, using the excuse she had prepared beforehand to coax her. “Didn’t you always say that Mrs. Gregory always brags to you about Lucy and Jane at school? That’s why I immediately agreed when the General mentioned it.”
"Oh, Mrs. Gregory has nothing else to boast about. Their daughter is not as pretty as you, not even as pretty as Susan. The General must have more money than he can spend. You are his goddaughter, and he should think of you too. I hope Sir Thomas and Mrs. Bertram think of Charles in the same way. But it's a bit strange. He could have had Miss Smith teach Miss Maxwell and you two at the same time, instead of wasting this money. Perhaps it's just too much trouble to send a carriage to pick you up. Anyway, the General can afford it."
Mrs. Price, unaware of the true source of the money, grumbled, "If you all go to school, I won't be able to manage all the housework. Sam, Tom, and Charles are getting more and more unruly."
Mary quickly promised that Mrs. Price wouldn't need to worry about those troublesome accounts; she would continue to manage them. Susan also repeatedly said that she would help her mother with chores after school. Since her daughters had said so, although it would be inconvenient for her, Mrs. Price finally didn't object anymore. Since her mother had tacitly agreed, there shouldn't be much of a problem with Mr. Price, since his money wouldn't be used. However, Mr. Price returned home and threw a tantrum over it.
“I think you’ve been blinded by vanity. You’re daughters of the Price family, not some noble ladies. What’s the point of going to a girls’ school, especially one run by Mrs. Johnson?”
Mr. Price had long been dissatisfied with Mary's occasional unruly behavior. A good girl should stay at home obediently to serve her father and take care of her brothers, and after marriage, continue to serve her husband and take care of her children—this was their natural duty. These girls' schools now only taught superficial things, completely encouraging these girls to be vain and competitive. The Gregory family had wasted so much money sending their two daughters to school; a despicable businessman was even buying his daughters musical instruments like pianos.
He was well aware that a good education would benefit his daughters' reputation in the marriage market, but he didn't think it was necessary. After all, the Price family wouldn't give his daughters a dowry of pounds, and going there would only encourage their unrealistic expectations and turn them into arrogant and ignorant women. Wouldn't his two daughters become his biggest burden in the end?
Besides, she was going to a school sponsored by Mrs. Johnson! This woman doesn't have a good reputation in Portsmouth! A woman of humble origins used her beauty to get Sir Johnson to marry her, and after the Sir's death, she still wanted to control her husband's family property and even clashed with the rightful heir to the property. How can anyone trust a school run by such a morally corrupt woman?
Therefore, despite Mrs. Johnson's substantial sponsorship and the school's excellent facilities, enrollment remained extremely low. While this was precisely why Mary chose it, it was clear that Mr. Price's attitude was the complete opposite of his daughter's. He feared she would embarrass him in public, especially since Mary was so beautiful and easily tempted, requiring proper guidance.
And so, everyone in the living room watched as Mr. Price roared, his eyes wide and face flushed, his mustache swaying with each loud shout. Sam, Tom, and Charles hid in fright, while John and Richard helped Mrs. Price, who nearly fell from the shock, to her feet. Susan, too terrified by her father's rage, remained standing beside Mary, though her back was already soaked with sweat.
Only Mary saw through her father's bluster and weakness. He didn't mention General Maxwell at all, so it seemed that the lieutenant was not without his concerns. Then she was not afraid!
She said slowly and deliberately, "Father, but I have already promised my godfather. If I go back on my word, how can I ask him for help with William and the other brothers' affairs in the future?"
Mr. Price was stunned. His beard had stopped trembling, his face was flushed red, and he squeezed his mouth open for a long time without uttering a single word.
After a while, he finally came up with a reason: "Even a general should respect my opinion. I am your father. You can tell the general that you need to stay at home to take care of your brothers and cannot leave."
“But the godfather has already paid the money out of kindness, and we can’t let him down,” Mary continued. Mary hadn’t lied to Mr. Price; she had already asked Mr. Andrew, the general’s butler, to pay the school for the two of them, which was thirty pounds in total for tuition and books.
Having already paid the money, Mr. Price was completely out of options. He dared not disappoint General Maxwell's kindness under these circumstances; he was counting on General Maxwell to promote William and ensure his eldest son could smoothly become an officer cadet at the Royal Naval School in Portsmouth.
The commotion came and went quickly. Mr. Price, unable to control his daughter, vented his frustrations on other aspects of the house. As he sat down for tea, he would complain about the table not being clean enough or the water being too hot, leaving Mrs. Price and the maid running around like headless chickens.
John and Richard secretly winked at their sister Mary, who then went upstairs with her two brothers.
"What's wrong, my two dear brothers?"
“Oh, Mary, I can’t believe you have the courage to speak to Father like that. I think the Lieutenant is at his wit’s end with you. If only John and I had a reliable godfather like you.” Richard said in a low voice, “I’ve come to you for advice. You know, John has never considered working in the Navy. He’s always worried that Father will scoff at his career choice, so he came to ask you for advice on how to persuade Father.”
John was relatively frail compared to his brothers; this was often the case with twins, one strong and the other thin. Having grown up surrounded by Mr. Price's frivolous friends, he wasn't inspired to explore the sea like his brother William. Instead, he longed for the peaceful life of the countryside. Unfortunately, Price didn't provide the means for him to study to become a minister.
“That’s easy. Although you don’t have a good godfather, we do have a good uncle. Sir Thomas obviously can’t be of much help in the navy, but it’s a different story in other fields. John can just write a letter to the lord and ask him for advice. Be sincere and ask him to help you find a suitable job.” Mary pointed out an easy path for her brother without much thought, and John nodded repeatedly.
Mary turned to her third brother Richard and asked, "John's matter is settled, Richard, what about you? Would you like to join the navy?"
"I wouldn't mind making a living at sea, but I don't want to go to war and risk my life for those gentlemen of the United Kingdom. I just want to know how those merchants who travel between overseas and the United Kingdom make their fortunes." Richard's biggest wish was to become a rich man. He had watched his neighbors, the Gregory family, become much wealthier than the Price family through business since he was a child. Unlike Mr. Price, they didn't discriminate against merchants. If all else failed, he would become a crew member on a merchant ship and figure out how to make money first.
Hearing this, Mary's mood soured. She wasn't against capital, but in this era, the fastest ways to get rich were limited to a few methods: either extraordinary or heinous. The most profitable overseas trades almost always involved the ruthless exploitation and deception of the colonists, such as the bloody slave trade and the evil opium trade.
In 1807, the British Parliament passed an Act abolishing the slave trade, prohibiting Britain from engaging in the slave trade between Africa, the West Indies, and the Americas, but the trade remained legal in other regions. She couldn't care less about what others did, but Mary couldn't accept that her brother Richard would one day become a blood-stained colonial merchant. After a moment, she came to her senses: "If it's just about making money, you can do business just as well staying in the country."
“Of course I know, but we don’t have the capital, Mary. Everyone tells me that the only way to quickly accumulate capital is to go overseas.” Richard had already made plans. He and John were already over nine years old and it was time to think about their future. If they had been born into poverty, they might have already been child laborers for several years by their age.
Mary didn't continue the conversation on this topic. Even siblings are independent individuals. As a younger sister, two years her junior, she could offer advice to her brothers, but it was difficult for her to make decisions for them. When she returned to her room, her younger sister Susan came up and hugged her: "We succeeded, Mary. It's all thanks to you."
Susan smiled happily at Mary, who looked a lot like William. Her facial features softened when she smiled. They had always been the best of friends since childhood. Although she didn't understand why her sister said the money came from General Maxwell, she knew Mary had her reasons, and listening to her sister was always the right thing to do. Sure enough, Mr. Price believed it was the general's idea that forced him to agree to let them go to school.
Before the start of school, Mary and Susan needed to prepare the items required on their admission notices. Since Mrs. Price had no idea where to buy these things, she arranged to go shopping with her neighbor, Mrs. Gregory.
Although the eldest daughter of the Gregory family, Lucy, had already graduated from the girls' school, the second daughter, Jane, was still attending school. Despite the different schools, the items were largely the same. Mrs. Gregory was very experienced in purchasing these items and invited Mrs. Price to go to the market together the next day.
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