“What about the people, Your Grace?” the man asked.
There might already have been some discomfort around the table, but it escalated at this point. There were murmurs, grunts, and sideway glances. Some openly tried to avoid the Duke’s gaze, but he pinned each man in place, anyway.
“Tell me, then, Horace, about how you dismissed three of your workers without wages a week ago, too close to the holidays.”
The merchant looked genuinely shocked that Adrian knew about his actions. He certainly had not shared this information with the others at the table. It seemed that this tradesman was more focused on selling fineries and turning a profit than keeping his workers happy and on his staff.
Adrian’s scalp prickled as a sense of annoyance clogged his mind.
Just look at him. Mr. Horace Greenville has the audacity to look innocent in the face of what he did to those poor people. Has he not one shred of common human decency?
Disgusted, Adrian turned abruptly away from Mr. Greenville and focused his keen stare on another.
The man next to Greenville shifted uneasily in his seat and his hands shook as he reached for his mug.
“You. Mr. Thomas.” Adrian stared directly at the man.
“Yes… Your Grace?” The Adam’s apple in Mr. Thomas’ throat bobbed as he gulped out the simple reply. His trembling hands moved away from his cup, and he plastered them to the tabletop.
“Did you think that the best way to punish an erring apprentice was to give him a few lashes? The boy merely made an error that would affect your income, but you did something that could affect his health.”
The man’s face paled, but he made no reply.
How could he possibly defend his actions?
Adrian wanted to roar his disapproval, to shout at Mr. Thomas, and demand an explanation but the man’s movements were so fluttery that Adrian knew any response he produced would be practically incoherent. He had been caught out and now must suffer the embarrassment of knowing he had displaced the Duke.
For a moment, Adrian contemplated pushing away from the table and exiting the inn, but he was not finished.
Not yet.
These men had behaved abominably, and he would not rest until they knew how much their transgressions had displeased him.
“You,” he said to the miller, “should be fair with your pay.” Then, he turned to the butcher. “Do you want to have to be put to work all night just like the boys, ages twelve to sixteen you force to do so?”
He also noted one squire who embezzled the rents. Each man looked guilty, speechless. Some muttered something that suspiciously sounded like prayers.
Adrian raised his eyebrow at that. “Really, Albert? Shouldn’t you have been praying when you were considering paying your workers less than the usual fees?”
Fitzgerald and Barker alone were exempt from Adrian’s rebukes. They had both, in the past, committed similar offenses and sat through the same sort of castigation.
While those two men were currently exempt from Adrian’s harsh words and piercing stare, the others were stunned. Everyone became quiet and deathly still.
Adrian did not mean to make this meeting uncomfortable, but he didn’t have a choice. Many of these men could afford to pay their workers and still earn profits but most decided not to. They were consumed by avarice and greedily lapped up theirown profits, then had the nerve to come to his inn and play the braggarts.
To put it mildly, Adrian was disgruntled. He would have thought that some of these men, other than Fitzgerald and Barker, would have behaved justly and treated their employees with mercy. But almost all of them had failed him and the people.
“This village,” Adrian continued, “as you should know, is under my care. It is not acceptable to profit from the efforts of others without ensuring they are properly compensated for their work. Please be assured that such matters do not go unnoticed. I see everything that happens in this county, gentleman. Never forget that my eyes are always watching.”
Nobody responded. He glared silently, making them squirm.
“You will make amends, of course,” he said, “as this is the primary reason I asked to meet with all of you. Your workers deserve better salaries and treatment. Those who were let go needlessly will be rehired. The boy who was flogged will be treated by the apothecary.”
Several mouths dropped open. Adrian could not tell if the gentlemen were dismayed or if they meant to argue.
At any rate, no one dared disrupt him.
“I expect you gentlemen to hear this censure and take my words to heart. Do not make false promises and swear to enact change.Simply do the right thing. Otherwise, the consequences next time will fit your crimes proportionally.”
