Chapter 73 Don't be fooled by Margaret's presence in Mary's...
Despite Margaret's impulsive behavior towards Mary, she was not foolish; on the contrary, she was quite intelligent. However, even for a noblewoman like her, her future depended on her future husband.
Not everyone can navigate a group of men as skillfully as the previous Viscountess of Melbourne, and even help her husband gain a title and rank. Margaret didn't consider herself as capable as her aunt Georgiana, and didn't expect to become a behind-the-scenes advisor to influential figures in politics in the future.
She had always hoped to marry her virtuous cousin, hoping to have a happy marriage in high society and become a duchess without any effort.
If she were to marry into another family and have a philandering husband, like her two aunts, the Duchess of Devonshire and the Countess of Bethborough, and be estranged from her husband, wouldn't she also be ridiculed and mocked by the world?
When Henry Wentworth Fitzwilliam suddenly arrived at Althorp Manor and began to fawn over her, she realized that her father had other plans for her marriage.
“Dear Frederick, Father has completely given up on that idea, hasn’t he? Does he now want me to marry into the Fitzwilliam family?” Margaret dared not ask her older brother John, who was almost old enough to be her father, so she stopped Frederick to ask.
“Oh, Margaret, I think you should know that even without Miss Price, your cousin had already rejected Father once. I think Henry is a very good man; as the heir to the Earl, he is the object of many men’s affections.” Frederick was afraid that his sister might do something rash, so he quickly tried to persuade her, “Speaking of which, Wentworth is one of the largest private residences in England, not much less impressive than Chatsworth.”
“Don’t worry, I met him at a ball in town before, and I have no problem with him.” Margaret, of course, knew Frederick’s good intentions.
Because of his desire to establish the largest private library in Europe and the huge sums he has spent acquiring various books, the Earl of Spencer is now two to three hundred thousand pounds in debt. In comparison, the Fitzwilliam family, which merged with the Wentworth family, is much wealthier.
They owned a significant amount of land in the north, with numerous underground coal mines. Earl Fitzwilliam was both a large landowner and a coal mine owner, making him one of the wealthiest nobles.
Henry, the heir to the Earl, was naturally considered a golden bachelor by many. If he hadn't been quite fond of Margaret, Earl Fitzwilliam might not have chosen to marry Earl Spencer.
Margaret had a premonition that he would arrive at Althorp Manor, and now she was just asking Frederick one last time to confirm it.
Upon receiving the confirmation, the noblewoman did not weep as her brother had expected. Instead, she calmly returned to her living quarters and treated her potential fiancé with even greater tenderness. Margaret was quite certain that within three days, the lord would propose to her.
After they finished chatting and finally returned to her room, Margaret took out a quill and wrote a letter, which she asked her servant to send to her dear cousin, Countess Carlyle, the next day.
The next day, watching the servants take away the letters, Margaret thought to herself that as a noblewoman, even if she couldn't marry her cousin, the Duke of Devonshire, there was still the future Earl of Fitzwilliam waiting for her. As for that stubborn Miss Price, she could only hope that Miss Price would recognize her worth as clearly as she recognized her own surname; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to blame herself for ending up with nothing.
Mary was unaware that a noble lady was judging her worth in her heart; she had been busy writing letters to her relatives and friends lately.
Richard wrote to her that Thomas Smith had opened a clothing store on Oxford Street as she had instructed, and the ready-made clothes produced in the factory were popular with ordinary people as soon as they were launched.
For middle-class families on the margins and upper working class in London, who couldn't afford sewing machines yet, these new clothes were more neat and tidy than those made by tailors themselves. The wide variety of clothing stores saved them time in buying fabric and finding tailors, greatly benefiting these busy working-class people.
If there's anything lacking, it's that the store currently sells mostly menswear, or rather, workwear. Because there are more styles of womenswear, the factory initially chose the simplest and most popular styles for production.
Thomas Smith, the manager, was a craftsman by trade. He could manage the production of the garment factory well, but he couldn't manage the sales of the garments at the same time.
How can one find a trustworthy person? The key is that this person must be willing to obey. Mary considered training her maid, Kate, whom she felt was always a courageous and thoughtful girl. Unfortunately, Kate had been a maid for too long and was unwilling to leave Mary.
Just then, Charlotte sent a letter: "Dear Mary, as I grow older, my mother, Mrs. Brown, keeps mentioning that she hopes I will attend more local dances and stop going back and forth between the house and the corset factory. She thinks it's because my father went bankrupt that I had to run a business, and she can't wait for me to find a suitable husband and get married right now."
But I don't see what the point is. Almost every man I met in Manchester was thinking about how to get rich. If I still had a dowry of three thousand pounds, perhaps they would be willing to reluctantly marry me and consider me a suitable wife and mother of their future children.
As for now, just like you said, I feel like they're all after my factory. If I agree to marry them, I'll be locked up at home, and the business might end up in my dear husband's hands.
My father has stopped mentioning my marriage, and I can't help but suspect it's because he's discovered his daughter's income is nearly four times his. As long as I stay home, the Brown family can continue employing three servants and maintaining a relatively comfortable lifestyle. Should I thank him for not making me hand over the business immediately?
David, taken to work in the textile factory by his father, has become a completely different person—not for the better, but for the worse. He used to fall into people's traps only because of his indecisiveness; now he desperately wants to get rich—no, he wants to learn from those people how to get rich by any means necessary…
I saw how he treated the workers in the factory… He had become no different from those who oppressed the poor female workers, even more vicious. I found it terrifying. He seemed to care about me, advising my mother not to worry about my marriage, but I doubted his intentions just as much as I doubted my father.
Compared to Portsmouth, I feel my family has changed in Manchester. It's a horrible, alienating city, and I've started to doubt my own relatives. In that respect, perhaps my mother is the only one who hasn't changed… your friend Charlotte.”
The letter contained numerous corrections; Charlotte might not have written these things if the matter hadn't been so serious. Just six months ago, she had happily told him that business was booming and she had hired two more maids to ease Mrs. Brown's burden. Could it be that Mr. Brown knew his daughter was making a considerable amount of money because of this?
Unlike her, Charlotte never considered being wary of her father. Under current laws, if Mr. Brown were to take away her property, Charlotte would be powerless to stop it. With her brother's instigation, this was very likely to happen.
If it really came to that, Mary couldn't help but think that Charlotte was a ready-made manager. Compared to Thomas Smith, she understood women's clothing better and knew more about how to sell it; they had a pleasant working relationship before.
Charlotte just happened to be having trouble in Manchester and might be willing to move to London. Although the London market might not be as large as Manchester's in terms of producing cheap corsets, she was willing to provide Charlotte with a broader platform.
Mary took out a piece of stationery and quickly wrote: "My dear friend, don't always find fault with yourself. In my heart, you are still the courageous Charlotte. As for the changes in others, that has nothing to do with you. If things change and you feel something is wrong, please make sure to protect yourself first. Even if the conflict reaches a point where it cannot be resolved, nothing is more important than yourself."
Perhaps you would like to come to London. I am now staying at the house on William and Anne Hathaway Street, where my mother, Mrs. Price, also lives. Anne would love for more friends to visit… Love, Mary.”
When Mary returned to the city after her vacation, she planned to look at houses. Although everyone told her that a single woman living alone would only attract strange looks, and everyone suggested that she continue living with them, Charlotte's experience reminded Mary that having her own house was the most convenient thing to do.
Even if she doesn't live there for the time being, this house can serve as a place for her friends to stay. She doesn't need a luxurious mansion like the one Richard bought; something similar to William's house will suffice, perhaps even a little smaller, since she doesn't plan to get married or have children, and this house won't house many people in the future.
Now, Mary could only send the letter with trepidation and wait for her friend to reply.
She, William, and Anne stayed in Mansfield for more than two months. If it weren't for the invitation to a ball at Althorp Estate, they had planned to visit Devon in June while William was still on vacation.
Sir Edward's Rose Estate, a gift to his daughter Anne, was located there, not far from Exeter. Fortunately, William's holiday had been extended, and they now planned to depart from Mansfield in early July, stopping in Bath for a while to make up for Anne's inability to honeymoon there.
There was something else that made Mary especially happy: Susan would be traveling with them. During her four years at Mansfield Manor, Susan hadn't been anywhere outside Northamptonshire, or even more than three miles from Mansfield, all to be with her aunt.
Susan was naturally delighted to have this rare opportunity to travel with everyone, and Sir Thomas also encouraged his youngest niece to broaden her horizons by traveling with her brother, sister-in-law, and sister. Since Fanny would remain in Mansfield to keep Mrs. Bertram company even if she left, her aunt didn't object.
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