Chapter 56. Richard, as the younger brother...
Richard, the younger brother, is envious of his older brother's good fortune. He is now in a dilemma: he has to choose between using his money to buy a small property or a mansion.
Considering that he spent most of his time in the city handling business, Richard needed a more impressive mansion, so he ultimately decided to buy a house first. He looked at many houses on Bond Street, Harley Street, St. James Street, and other areas, not only for himself but also for William.
Since this matter wasn't urgent, he could patiently compare the pros and cons of each house. In terms of convenience, the house on Bond Street where he currently lived was the most convenient, as it was the closest to his sewing machine shop.
Unfortunately, there were no suitable houses for sale on Bond Street. The few available were either too small or too old, neither meeting his needs. So he went with a real estate agent to Harley Street, but that was a bit far from his shop. However, there was a house there that would have been perfect for William.
Richard ultimately chose St. James Street, a prime location in the heart of Westminster, near Whitehall. The residents here were all gentlemen and ladies of high society, so naturally, a guarantor was required to purchase such a house.
Richard found Sir Edward, and the general laughed immediately upon hearing the familiar place name. It turned out that his friend Colonel Brandon also lived there, and the mansion that Richard had his eye on happened to be next to the colonel's house.
What else is there to say? After learning about the situation through Colonel Brandon, Richard contacted a real estate agent and lawyer and quickly bought the mansion, which was worth nearly 10,000 pounds. After buying it, Richard only had a little over 1,000 pounds left in his savings.
The house is very new, with all the latest amenities. The owner put a lot of effort into building it, so Richard doesn't have to put in much effort after buying it.
Now that the house was bought, the proper pomp and circumstance had to be prepared. In addition to the existing housekeeper, cook, maid, servant, coachman, and coachman, Richard hired a male butler and a personal male servant, entrusting the house's renovation to the male and female butlers.
By the time the house on St. James Street was fully completed, William had received orders to go to sea again, and his wedding to Anne had to be postponed. Only Mary and John were invited to Richard's new house.
“I think this place is already perfect and has everything you need. Such a spacious and beautiful house, you must need at least twenty servants.” John walked in from the spacious foyer, looking enviously at the huge banquet hall on the first floor that could be used to hold a ball, admiring the exquisite decorations in the rooms, and as he spoke, he toured the living room, study, billiard room, game room and other places where the host and guests spent their time on the second floor.
“It’s not that exaggerated. Including the two butlers, I’ve hired sixteen servants in total,” Richard replied with a smile. “Mary, you can’t continue to live with Sir Edward any longer. Even though Anne is about to become our dear sister, as your brother, I have the right to invite you to live here. And you, John, this place is very close to your office. You don’t need to continue renting.”
“Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I couldn’t wait to move in.” John wasn’t going to stand on ceremony with his brother; he planned to live with Richard until he settled down and started his own family.
Mary readily agreed, finding it much more comfortable to live in Richard's house than with her godfather.
In her opinion, the Georgian-style house was very well-equipped. She chose one of the five bedrooms on the third floor, John chose another, and the largest master bedroom was naturally reserved for Richard. As for the servants' quarters on the fourth floor, John and Mary did not go up to check them out.
Once Richard had fully moved in, he hosted two parties in his new home. One was for his business partners, and John, who had also moved in, attended.
The other party, besides the siblings, only invited Sir Edward, Mrs. Maxwell, Anne and her family of three, and their neighbor Colonel Brandon. This time, Mary served as the temporary hostess.
Mr. McDonald was not invited to either of the two gatherings by Richard. He and Mrs. Russell suspected that their plans had been discovered. Instead of reflecting on his impure motives for befriending Richard, Mr. McDonald cursed Price for looking down on him after climbing the social ladder.
From Anne's blindness to Mary's ungratefulness, and then to Richard's heartless alienation, the accumulation of past grievances caused Mr. McDonald to speak recklessly.
“Mrs. Russell, it seems your charm has failed you. Richard Price is only thinking about climbing the social ladder, and he may be planning to use his pretty sister to get close to a wealthy man. He has no interest in women at all.”
Mrs. Russell wasn't too bothered by her mishap. She had also made some other wealthy acquaintances in London, and instead laughed, "You should have been prepared. Why are you suddenly making sarcastic remarks?"
“Because he met a really important person.” Mr. McDonald shook off Mrs. Russell’s hand that was around his neck. “That’s why William Price was promoted so quickly.”
“Even if he’s a big shot, he can’t have as much power as Miss Crawford’s uncle, General Crawford. In my opinion, you should focus on getting close to Miss Crawford now.” Mrs. Russell smiled.
Matthew McDonald knew Mrs. Russell was well-informed and wasn't surprised she said that. It was just a pity that Miss Crawford had no influence over her uncle. If he could use the general's influence, Captain Price would have no chance of being promoted.
William was completely unaware that someone harbored such a grudge against him; he was still at sea aboard the "Diana." His fiancée, Anne, was on St. James's Street inviting Richard and Mary to join her and her parents on a holiday to Brighton.
Anne's feelings about Brighton this year were very different from when she was here last year; even knowing that Mr. McDonald was here couldn't dampen her enthusiasm for the trip.
“Oh, Mary, you shouldn’t be staying with Richard. I’m so bored at home all by myself. Richard, you can’t keep taking Mary away from us when we get back from Brighton.” Anne clung to Mary’s hand, refusing to let go.
“William said the cruise wouldn’t be too long when he set off, so you won’t be bored after he gets back. Mary should stay with me during this time,” Richard joked.
They stayed at the same hotel as last time, and this time Mary had time to slowly appreciate the beauty of Brighton. Mrs. Maxwell also took the two girls to the beach.
The ladies were all in the small wooden huts, which also served as changing rooms, on the east side of the beach. They had changed into relatively loose bathrobes, which, in Mary's opinion, were almost indistinguishable from their everyday clothes, covering only their knees. They were all demurely soaking in the seawater, completely unlike the sea bathing Mary had imagined. Therefore, after soaking for a while, Mary couldn't wait to leave.
“Miss Price, what a coincidence to meet you here! Where are Mrs. Maxwell and Miss Maxwell?” Mary had just dried herself off with a towel and changed her clothes when she heard Miss Crawford’s voice.
Mary looked closely and saw that it was indeed Miss Crawford, who had just arrived at the beach. She replied, "They are still in the bathing area. You can run into them if you go in now."
"I heard Miss Maxwell and your brother are engaged. I wonder when we'll be able to hear their happy news?" Miss Crawford asked, seemingly unperturbed by Mary's coldness.
"That depends on William's vacation time."
“Yes, they need a vacation. Sailors’ wives are so great; they endure a lot of suffering that ordinary people can’t imagine. That’s why my dear aunt always told me when she was alive, never to marry a man in the navy, no matter what kind of promising young men people introduced to me from the navy, she couldn’t accept it. Mrs. Maxwell should know this all too well. Of course, Sir Edward no longer needs to go to sea, but poor Miss Maxwell still has to wait for your brother’s vacation.”
Miss Crawford's words were truly bizarre. Mary felt she wasn't a friend with whom she could exchange such thoughts, and she didn't want to continue talking to this young lady. Seeing that she wouldn't leave, she said, "Anne is indeed great. As for whether she's pitiful or not, you're not her, how could you know her own thoughts? Miss Crawford, you can't expect all these young men in the navy to never get married, can you?"
At this moment, Anne and Mrs. Maxwell also came out after changing their clothes. Miss Crawford did not answer Mary's question, but exchanged a few pleasantries with them and walked away.
"What did she just say to you?" Anne asked curiously when she saw Mary pouting at Miss Crawford.
When Mary told her about the conversation that had just taken place, mentioning William, Anne was even angrier than Mary: "Miss Crawford is really ridiculous. Who gave her the right to judge others so arbitrarily? I don't believe her future husband is perfect in every way."
Less than half a month after Anne finished speaking, the gentlemen and ladies of Brighton were talking about how Princess Victoria of Coburg (the sister of Prince Leopold, Princess Charlotte's husband) had given birth to a healthy baby girl for the Duke of Kent, Prince Edward.
At that time, people did not know that this baby girl would become their future monarch, and the first British queen to be called "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India".
Therefore, the birth of this baby girl caused less of a stir than another piece of news. Mrs. Maxwell told her stepdaughter and goddaughter in surprise, "You would never guess that Mr. MacDonald is engaged to Miss Crawford. Mrs. White just told me, and she heard it from Mrs. Stonoway. The news couldn't be more reliable."
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