Chapter 78. Richard brought Mary and Susan...
Richard drove Mary and Susan back to Harry Street, and William and Anne were also happy to hear that Charlotte's matter was completely resolved.
When Anne saw Mary and Susan return, she asked, "I thought you would let Mrs. Black move in. It's too unsafe for her to live alone in a hotel."
"We tried to persuade her to do the same, but Charlotte was afraid of causing you trouble."
They sat down and condemned the Browns, but soon changed the subject. Mary pulled Richard into the study, and Susan knew she was going to talk to him about that important man.
Seeing that Mary remained silent in the study, Richard grew impatient and asked, "What's wrong, Mary? Didn't you say you had something to tell me? Is it about the garment factory's ready-to-wear sales? Smith really isn't good at this. Should I help you find someone else to handle this?"
Mary said calmly, "I've already discussed it with Charlotte, and she'll be in charge of this. She has the experience."
“Charlotte, she’s a widow now, it’s not convenient for her to go out during the mourning period,” Richard advised.
He knew his sister didn't want to hear arguments that women weren't suited to be factory managers. After all, Mary had done just as well as him while he was away from London. Although factory expenses had increased, worker efficiency had improved significantly, and profits had actually grown.
“Richard, we all know what happened. This identity was originally intended to resolve Mr. Brown’s troubles. I don’t think he’ll be able to come to London again, right?”
“He’s already decided to give up on this daughter, so of course he won’t come back,” Richard blurted out, then realized his mistake. “How do you know Mr. Brown came?”
“I not only know that Mr. Brown came, but I also know that someone else helped with this matter.”
“I knew that if more people knew about this, there would be a risk of it being leaked. Unfortunately, Mrs. Black found out, so I had to ask her to keep it a secret. I never expected her to be so unreliable.”
"It would really hurt me if Charlotte and you were both hiding this from me!" Mary glared at her brother angrily.
“I was going to tell you, but His Highness the Duke told me not to,” Richard said helplessly to his sister. “He told me several times, how could I not take it seriously? Mary, my dearest sister, I think this prince has no ill intentions towards you, but he seems to have some concerns and doesn’t want you to know about this.”
Mary remained noncommittal: Concerns? As a man, he held the initiative, what was there to worry about? If anyone should have concerns, it should be the woman.
If only she could enjoy dating without getting married, Mary thought about the constraints placed on women in the 19th century and felt she shouldn't have any hope for it unless she didn't care about being seen as a socialite.
After thinking for a moment, Mary tentatively suggested, "Richard, do you think I should write a letter to His Highness and ask him what he thinks?"
“You’re crazy. A lady shouldn’t correspond with men so casually.” Even though the Duke of Devonshire liked his sister, Richard never considered allowing Mary to communicate with this lord in private.
Mary raised an eyebrow. She didn't think that corresponding with a man meant anything, but since Richard was so opposed, she put the plan aside for the time being.
In the time since they returned to London, besides Charlotte's affairs, everyone was most concerned about the visit of their new friend, Mr. Hawthorne.
Mr. Hawthorne came with his mother, Mrs. Hawthorne, who was about the same age as Mrs. Price and seemed like a very reasonable woman. During their visit on Halle Street, she spoke highly of Mary and Susan to Mrs. Price and Anne.
In the old lady's words, "Miss Price and Miss Susan Price are like the most delicate roses in the garden. Mrs. Price must be very proud to have two such beautiful daughters, because the beauty of her daughters is a testament to the beauty of their mother."
Mrs. Price was delighted by her flattery and told her that she had an older daughter who had married the second son of her brother-in-law, Sir Thomas, and her sister, Lady Bertram.
"That's a wonderful match, Mrs. Price. What does Mr. Bertram do?"
"He's a pastor in Mansfield, which is a good job. I heard he earns over a thousand pounds a year," Mrs. Hawthorne always asked, her pride evident. Mrs. Price felt a real connection with her.
“How enviable! I believe your second daughter will bring you even more glory.” Mrs. Hawthorne glanced at her son, who was chatting with Susan. “As for Miss Susan Price, don’t you think she and my Charlie are a perfect match?”
Mrs. Price was already extremely pleased with Mrs. Hawthorne and had no intention of contradicting her new friend.
Mary, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand Mrs. Hawthorne's way of speaking and whispered to Anne, "Although this old lady has been telling us, both openly and indirectly, that Mr. Hawthorne has his own house in London, the way she talks has diminished my good impression of her son."
"This is a common tactic, which at least shows that Mr. Hawthorne really likes Susan very much, which is why he specially sent his mother to cultivate a good relationship with her."
“I still don’t think Susan needs to make a decision so soon.” Although John and Richard had verified Mr. Hawthorne’s situation, Mary still felt that Susan didn’t need to get married so quickly. Unfortunately, judging from everyone’s current attitude, it seemed that they had already tacitly accepted that Mr. Hawthorne was going to propose to Susan.
While Mary and Anne were chatting, Mrs. Hawthorne had already started talking to Mrs. Price about the young couple's future after their marriage. Mrs. Hawthorne said that once her son got married, she would go to Devonshire to keep her cousin, Mrs. Smith, company.
“If my husband were still alive, he would be so happy to see Charlie get married. I think all young people with stable incomes should get married as soon as possible.”
Mrs. Hawthorne left Halle Street in high spirits, feeling that her visit had been very fruitful. Everyone could see the atmosphere between Mr. Hawthorne and Miss Susan Price; all that was left was a marriage proposal, so she kept urging her son on.
The son felt uneasy. He truly loved Susan, but Mrs. Hawthorne's visit was not arranged by him.
The old lady had always hoped her son would marry a wealthy young lady, and upon learning of his affections for Susan Price, she inquired about her. Although the young lady lived at Mansfield Manor and she didn't learn much about her, the fact that Miss Mary Price had a dowry of £60,000 had already spread throughout London.
Mrs. Hawthorne naturally assumed that the difference in the sisters' dowries wouldn't be too great, and that Miss Susan Price's dowry would probably be around thirty or forty thousand pounds. Fearing that the Price family might not agree to the marriage, she made a special trip to visit them.
Driven by this mentality, the old lady went out of her way to flatter Mrs. Price. Her strange behavior made her son realize that his mother had misunderstood Susan's situation.
Mr. Hawthorne knew Susan's general situation when he was in Devon, and also knew that the young lady's annual income was less than three hundred pounds (profits from the sewing machine company and interest on her savings). This was a considerable sum, but it might not be enough to meet Mrs. Hawthorne's expectations.
By the time he discovered Mrs. Hawthorne's misunderstanding, it was too late. Fortunately, he wasn't a fool and didn't intend to tell his mother the truth. Instead, he planned to propose to Miss Susan first. After all, he was financially independent, and his mother couldn't control him anyway.
Mary and the others had no way of knowing these inside stories. William had already gone to sea again in September, and Mary was currently busy at the clothing factory making patterns for several newly designed women's clothing items.
With Charlotte's help, the management of the garment factory became more meticulous. Unlike Thomas Smith, Charlotte, who was also a woman, understood the needs of the female workers in the factory better.
For example, regarding the discomfort women experience during their menstrual periods, although Mary considered everyone's discomfort and provided cotton pads for the female workers, the workers were simply too embarrassed to ask for leave because of Mr. Smith.
After Charlotte took over management, she proactively announced that female workers experiencing severe menstrual discomfort could apply to her for time off. It was precisely because of such small gestures that the female workers in the garment factory developed a basic level of trust in this new female manager.
In addition to clothing production, following Charlotte's suggestion, Mary added corsets as a new product. With this expanded clothing range, Oxford Street was no longer dominated by menswear.
Charlotte divided the shop into two parts, hired two beautiful female shop assistants to be in charge of women's clothing sales, and provided changing services for ladies in the shop. The sales of women's clothing gradually became comparable to those of men's clothing.
As sales increased, Mary began designing more new women's clothing, attracting many middle-class ladies who were too lazy to make their own clothes. Perhaps for the time being, ready-to-wear clothing still needs to rely on a strategy of low profit and high volume, and cannot shake off the label of "low price", but mid-range clothing has gradually appeared in this store.
As a result, Mary has been attending fewer parties lately, hoping to design more dresses that will be appreciated and that can lead fashion trends.
Besides the classic Regency style, she also drew inspiration from later styles, designing a dress with a defined waist and a naturally draped skirt, which looked very similar to later tea dresses. This dress was popular with some fashion-conscious young ladies, giving the Oxford Street clothing store its initial reputation.
Seeing Mary and her friend Charlotte bustling about, Susan, while attending parties with Anne, wanted to help them out. However, having been out of the business for four years, she often couldn't keep up with Mary and Charlotte's train of thought.
“Mary, Charlotte is truly remarkable. Looking back, she had so many ingenious sales ideas when we were in the hat business.” Susan said somewhat dejectedly, “And I, now, am even less of a help to you.”
“Susan, if you keep training, you won’t be much worse than Charlotte. I haven’t asked you yet, how are things going between you and Mr. Hawthorne? He asked you to dance twice at the ball last night.” Mary noticed her sister’s disappointment and changed the subject.
Susan's cheeks flushed at the mention of Mr. Hawthorne: "I was just about to tell you that he's coming to visit today."
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