~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A few days later Hurst told his son to join him. They were to travel into Cheapside to meet with a man of business in one of his warehouses.
“There are two reasons we are on our way to see Mr Gardiner,” Hurst explained. “I have investigated him. He is as honest as anyone and has a Midas touch with investments. I intend to have him manage about half of our discretionary funds. At the same time, men like him with extensive connections can be valuable assets in our line of work. For now, this is only a business meeting. You have to be very careful about recruiting someone who will be a good source of information, and it takes time and trust, which has to be built.”
Before his son could reply, the coach came to a halt at the entrance to a warehouse which, according to the sign was Gardiner and Associates.
The two Hursts observed that the large warehouse was well organised and they were led up a flight of wooden stairs which brought them to the offices overlooking the operations below. When they were shown into the clerk’s office, both Hursts were taken aback by seeing two extremely pretty girls seated at a desk seemingly poring over ledgers. The girls gave them a glance before returning to their tasks.
“Mr Hurst, welcome,” Gardiner stated as he exited his office to welcome the man with whom he had an appointment.
“Mr Gardiner, I trust my bringing my son is acceptable. He is my heir, and I want him familiar with all aspects of our holdings,” Hurst stated as he offered the man his hand.
Gardiner was in his early thirties, had sandy blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. There was no mistaking the intelligence in his looks.
“Your son is welcome.” Gardiner saw that both men had been looking at his nieces. “Janey, Lizzy,” he called. The two girls put the ledger down and joined him. “These two spritesare my eldest nieces. Miss Jane Bennet, and Miss Elizabeth of Longbourn in Hertfordshire. They are my sister’s and brother-in-law’s two eldest daughters of five. Janey and Lizzy, Mr Ignatius Hurst of Winsdale and Hurst House and his son…?”
“My son, Master Harold Hurst,” Hurst completed.
After bows and curtsies, the Hurst men followed Mr Gardiner into his office. Both were amused at the impertinent look the younger Miss Bennet had gifted them.
An hour later, they left after Hurst became Gardiner’s newest investor. When they exited the owner’s office, the two girls were no longer present. They looked at Mr Gardiner quizzically.
“I am sure my wife, Mrs Madeline Gardiner, came to collect them. They both love helping me in the office. Jane, the elder of the two, can look at a column of numbers and spot what is wrong in seconds, and Lizzy has a memory that when she reads something once, she can recall it word for word, even years later,” Gardiner explained.
“How old are they, if you do not mind telling me?” Hurst enquired.
“It is not a secret. Jane was fourteen this January past and Lizzy turned twelve early this month,” Gardiner related. “I thank you both for the confidence to make a sizeable investment with my company.”
“I am the one who should thank you for accepting me.” Hurst shook the tradesman’s hand, as did his son, and after farewells, the two men left.
Chapter 2
“You asked to see me, Mr Hurst,” Richard Fitzwilliam stated when he met with his friend’s father in a reading room at Cambridge. He could not imagine why Mr Hurst, who Harry—he knew he had reverted back to Harold, but to Richard he would always be Harry—said was a civil servant, was calling on him at the university.
It was early May 1803, a little more than three weeks before Fitzwilliam and William graduated. Fitzwilliam had attained honours, but his cousin would graduatesumma cum laude, a new honour Cambridge had adopted, begun the previous year at Oxford.
“I did. If it was just my son who had given me a glowing report of your abilities, I would not have approached you yet, as his opinions could be biased given the close friendship he has with you and your older brother. However, I have received reports from many other sources, and you are exactly the man who would enhance those who work for me,” Hurst replied.
“I am joining the Royal Dragoons as a second lieutenant, especially now that the war with France has commenced. With all due respect to you, Sir, I have no desire to sit in an office and examine paper on my desk all day,” Fitzwilliam responded firmly.
“That, young man, isnotwhat I do, nor is it what the men and a few women who work for me are about. I need your solemn promise, on the threat of being charged with treason, that you will never repeat what I am about to tell you, not even to Lord Matlock. I know you are a man of honour, so I worry not that you will go back on your word if you give it.”
Fitzwilliam was intrigued. At the very least, what would it hurt if he heard the man out? “You have my word of honour; I will repeat nothing without your express permission.”
“Like much of what we do, having offices in those of the Navy Board is what we want others to see. We serve the crown directly but let me begin with this. If you are looking for glory, this will not be for you. However, it is service of the highest order. It began…” Hurst told the younger man all from the time King George II started the clandestine organisation until the present, listing some of the principal operations in which they had been involved. As hard as it was, Hurst told about how Fitzwilliam’s late uncle used to be the commander of the group. He did not gloss over the reasons for Lewis de Bourgh’s dismissal and his title being rescinded. Once he had told all, Hurst sat back and allowed the young man to absorb what he had been told.
“My Aunt Catherine never told any of us that her husband had been stripped of his title.” Fitzwilliam shook his head. He knew his father’s older sister did not always have a close relationship with the truth, but this was beyond the pale.
“That is not all she hid. The shame got too much for her late husband, and he killed himself while hunting. From the reports we have, it was an obvious suicide, but to avoid losing the de Bourgh properties and holdings, your aunt paid the beaters, gun bearer, and gamekeeper to swear it had been a tragic accident,” Hurst repeated.
“She could be arrested and tried for fraud if this became known.” Fitzwilliam paused as he remembered something Mr Hurst had said close to when he had told about his late uncle. “There was not a word mentioned of an attempt to kidnap Prinny, or that it had been foiled. And you say that Harry isone of your operatives? I was always convinced he was not the soft, indolent man who was easily foxed.” He took a moment to cogitate again. “If I agree to come work for you, as you said, directly for the crown, will I not be in the army?”
“My son told me that he believed that you were the hardest to fool regarding his persona, and he was sure you did not think he was who he presented himself as. That is one of the reasons I want you to work with us. As far as the army goes, you will join the Dragoons, but as a captain. After your initial training, you will be seconded to work at the Navy Board to ostensibly be a liaison officer coordinating with the navy,” Hurst revealed.
“May I have a sennight to consider your offer before I make my choice? It has been some years now that I dreamed of being an officer in the regular army. However, serving King and Country was always very important to me, and it seems that I would be doing that in a much more direct way. That my name would not be known, like yours was not when you foiled the plot against the Prince of Wales, does not discourage me.”
“That is a reasonable request. I will wait to hear from you. Send a note to Mr Hurst at the Navy Board in Somerset House. All it needs to say is yes or no. I hope it will be the former, as I believe you would do very well with us. By the by, had I thought you a glory hound, like your late uncle, we would never have had this discussion.”
