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Ramon appeared in the hallway. “Sir, you have a guest. Earl Daxon is here to see you.”
“Is he in the study?” Arthur asked. Ramon nodded. “Fine, I’ll be there in a minute. Bring us tea please, Ramon.”
Arthur walked towards the study thinking about all the possible ways that he could deal with the problem. When he entered the study, he found Richard standing next to the roaring fireplace, thumbing through the contents of his book.
“You’re reading a novel?” Richard asked, raising a brow when he heard Arthur come in.
Arthur shrugged. He hadn’t been to a bookstore in a long time. One of the walls of the study was filled with books which had become his sole companion after he had stopped going out. “This is the only interesting one I have at hand.” Lydia was the book-reader and he had built the shelves for her. The old Arthur was hardly a reader.
“Looks good and rather salacious,” Richard said to him with a grin.
Arthur had half a mind to roll his eyes at his friend. He took a seat next to the fireplace while Richard took the other. “So, what brings you in?”
Richard produced some papers. “I want you to sign this. This is for the new land that we have purchased in the Colonies.”
Arthur took out his glasses and started reading the fine print while his friend waited patiently.
“Looks good to me,” he murmured. Arthur trusted him. They had gone to Eton together, and later Oxford, and his boyhood friend had decided to buy lands that would bring them fruitful investment in the long term.
“Read through the last clause again. I hope the new contractor we’re signing with isn’t trying to fool us,” Richard said.
Arthur shook his head after he was done. “We’ll be fine.”
Richard grinned but then grew sober when he caught the worry in his friend’s face. “What’s bothering you?”
Arthur looked out the window for a few moments before taking the crumpled flyer out of his pocket and producing it to him.
“What is this?” Richard asked frowning.
“We met a few women on the street today. They were advertising their new music hall.”
“And Nora wants to go?” Richard asked, quickly realizing the heart of the matter.
Arthur nodded “In fact, she is insistent about it. Something happened, and I made her rather upset. I can’t bring myself to say no to her,” he explained.
“I can take her if you want to.”
Arthur shook his head. “Visiting the hall is not the point of the matter, but I know that once she goes, she’ll keep wanting to do it again and again. I don’t want to encourage her. You know I can’t stand to be around music. Sooner or later, Nora would catch on and that’s the last thing I want.”
“So, what do you want to do about it?” Richard asked.
The answer came to him swift and sudden. “How much did I keep away from the profit of last quarter?”
“About three-hundred pounds or so,” Richard said. “But why do you ask?”
Arthur gave him a determined look. “I’m going to buy the music hall. That will hopefully put an end to my difficult situation.”
