Chapter 3
Catherine’s mind whirled while the gentlemen began discussing the particulars of the fortune, the wills, and the law. She did a quick mental calculation and realized that if that money was in the funds, it would provide her with the same income as her father received. In fact, it would be more, because she wouldn’t have the expenses of maintaining the houses and fields of the estate.
The idea was utterly astonishing. The largest dowry she had ever heard of was Miss Annabelle Spur who was the only daughter of the man who owned most of Meryton. When she married five years ago, she was the talk of the neighborhood for months, because her twenty-thousand-pound dowry had attracted a baronet’s son from a neighboring county.
Most of the young ladies in the neighborhood of similar status as Catherine had dowries ranging from one to five thousand pounds. Occasionally, someone would inherit money from a distant relative, but other than Miss Spur, Catherine had never heard of an amount exceeding ten thousand pounds.
Fifty thousand pounds was ridiculously large for the daughter of a simple estate owner like her father.
An idea suddenly hit her. Once there was a gap in the conversation, Catherine piped up, “Papa, this means we can split it up and give all my sisters dowries. Won’t that be wonderful?Mama always complains about us not having anything to live on if you die. This way we can all be taken care of.”
The strange solicitor and Uncle Phillips looked to Papa, clearly wondering how he would respond. “You could, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” he said. “If you keep it all together, you could maintain a very comfortable style of living for you and any remaining unmarried sisters if I die. If you split it up, however, each of your sisters would have a significantly reduced income, and some of it would be lost when any of them got married, further reducing the remaining ones’ ability to support themselves.”
“What would happen to it if I got married, then?” asked Catherine.
The strange solicitor was the one who answered. “It would become the property of your husband. You could make arrangements in the marriage contract to attempt to prevent him from using it, but doing so is rather difficult.”
Uncle Phillips said, “Usually, what happens is that the principle is left in the funds and the interest of it becomes your pin money. Then, when your husband dies, you get the principle back and can leave it to whomever you choose. That, at least, is how your mother’s money was handled. It is a very common thing.”
Papa said, “We will not do anything with it right now. You are too young to understand the situation well enough to make any decision. We will simply let it grow, and we can discuss it when you are ready to come out.”
Catherine had forgotten that the money would grow until her father had mentioned it. “Papa, can you save the interest and at least use that for dowries for my sisters?”
Papa looked at her sternly, and Catherine began to wonder if she was asking too much. Perhaps she really was too young to be discussing money. “This is very important to you, isn’t it?” he asked.
Catherine nodded her head firmly. “Yes, it is,” she said. It was one of two things that her mother bemoaned frequently, and Catherine wished to make her family happy.
“Very well,” Papa said. “For now, we will let it roll into the principle, along with the money you received from Mrs. Parker. When one of your sisters is on the brink of marriage, we can address the question again and decide on an appropriate amount. Will that do?”
Papa had not truly acquiesced to her idea, but he hadn’t denied it either. Catherine decided it would have to do for now. “Thank you, Papa,” she said.
Another decision she made from that conversation was that she never wished to marry. Ever. There was nothing that could induce her to place all her money, wealth that would save her family, in the hands of someone who might not care as much for her mother and sisters as she did.
~~~~~
Despite the enormity of the wealth that was now Catherine’s, nothing much changed in her life. She still spent her days sewing, painting, reading, and visiting her friends. It felt odd, yet when she thought about it, there was no reason for her life to change. What use is a tremendous fortune to a young girl only thirteen years of age?
A month after Catherine suddenly inherited fifty thousand pounds, Papa once again called her into his study.
Once she was sitting, Papa said, “How would you like to go away to school?”
“You’re sending me away?” Catherine couldn’t believe her ears. Why would her father and mother wish to send her away from them?
“No, no,” he said quickly. “Not unless you wish it.” Catherine calmed down a bit, and he continued. “I have recently heard of a small exclusive school for wealthy young ladies. Most of the students are highly ranked young women who have lost their mother, so they cannot be educated at home properly. A couple of them, however, are girls whose fortunes are likely to place them in a higher society than that to which they were born, so they need to learn certain standards of behavior that they might not learn at home.”
After thinking this through, Catherine said, “I see. And you wish me to go, because I fall into the latter category.”
“I wish for you to go only if you want to,” Papa reiterated. “Do consider, however, that with your dowry, you would be an attractive spouse for some very wealthy men, perhaps even men of rank. Your mother and I have no connection to that kind of society, but by going to school, you could make the kind of connections necessary to find a suitable husband. Additionally, you would learn many things we cannot teach you. For example, I have heard that they have an exceptional painting master working for the school.”
Since Catherine had no intention of ever marrying, she did not care about making connections. The idea of learning from a good painting master, however, was tempting. “Where is it?” she asked.
“The school is in London,” he replied, “though they will occasionally take trips elsewhere, to the seaside and to Bath,among other places. It varies depending on the season and the whims of the headmistress.”
“Would I be able to come home for Christmas and for the summer?” asked Catherine.
“Of course,” he said. “In fact, I insist upon it.”
“It sounds expensive,” she said.
