Gertie Golden Girl Pt. 06

Chapter 6: ENGAGEMENT

Johnnie and Gertie announce their engagement

Like the Dorsets, the Winters used a smaller, much more intimate family dining room where they enjoyed their family luncheons and evening dinners, and it was to this room that Maisie led the couple, even though Johnnie clearly knew the way there already.

"Mr John, begging your pardon, Sir," Maisie said, as she led the happy hand-holding couple to the stairs, "but we still have a reduced staff here at the minute and it is one of us jobs to supplement the waiting staff, in particular to any of Miss Gertie's needs but also help serve if the number of guests is larger than today. It is a simple and informal family luncheon today, just the two light courses, and I am informed that Miss Gertie has been trained by Miss Eveline in the rudiments of formal dining but I will be on hand to help if I see a need or if I am called upon by her for any reason. I will stand by the wall out of the way until needed. When you all retire to the sitting room, where I believe Lady Standhope wishes to speak to you both privately, I will catch up with dealing with Miss Gertie's soiled morning clothes and laying out what she needs for the afternoon, when I understand you will be wanting to use the motor car to show Miss Gertie around the village and the church and churchyard."

"Thank you, Maisie," Johnnie smiled at the girl's back as she led the way down the staircase and, unseen by the maid, he winked at Gertie, "I will acquiesce to your interpretation of your particular duties with regard to my fiancée, but beg your indulgence if your duties impinge upon the time I wish to spend with Miss Gertie."

"Of course, Mr John, I am sure that I will find other occupations to engage me when either of you consider necessary," she replied, "just tell me and I will disappear."

"I'm sure you will, thank you, Maisie," Johnnie smiled in return.

Maisie stopped at the open doorway of the luncheon room and waved the couple through before following, closing the door and moving to stand by the wall near the door.

"Ahh, Johnnie, you are late, we have held back luncheon to await your arrival," said his mother as she rose from the table where she sat next to her husband and walked towards them. Her husband smiled crookedly at the newcomers but did not rise.

"My apologies, Mama, but I must take all the blame," Johnnie owned up to his mother, "I was totally engaged in discussions with Gertie which prevented us from readying ourselves after our morning ride and I allowed the time to escape us until the luncheon gong caught me by surprise. Even then, I was rather tardy in getting changed and Gertie and her efficient lady's maid were patiently waiting on me."

"Well, that's what happens when you refuse to have a man assigned to help you get dressed and properly set out and look after your apparels," his mother gently admonished. She then turned to Gertie and walked towards her, her own arms outstretched to hold both Gertie's hands, "And look how well turned out you are, well done, Gertie, my dear, and how rosy cheeked you are from your riding this morning, having witnessed how well you sit ahorse from the rose hill beyond the west garden."

"Thank you, Ma'am, I did enjoy the horse ride, but I'm a little stiff now."

It was then that Lady Standhope noticed the ring about her neck and turned her head to where her husband, Lord Standhope remained sitting, "Oh look, my dear, our grandmama's engagement ring is hanging around Gertie's neck, our young man has finally chosen his bride."

She took Gertie into her arms and embraced her warmly, then kissed both her cheeks. "Well, my dear Gertie, welcome to the family, you better start calling me Mama from now on. Now, come and meet Papa."

"But, Ma'am, we are only unofficially engaged."

"Of course you are my dear, as far as the public are concerned, they would consider five weeks of courtship most improper for any couple to consider preparation for a lifetime spent together, but we are not ordinary people, are we not?"

"No, you are extraordinary, really extraordinary," Gertie admitted, "But I am but an ordinary girl, not extraordinary in any way. I mean, I am perfectly happy but... how can I possibly carry this off? How could I be accepted into this, this exalted company, or society at large? I'm the daughter of a boilermaker and was brought up in the East End of London, near enough to the Bells of Bow that they could keep me awake at night just from the wind blowing through the tower...."

"And I," Lady Standhope retorted, "was born the fourth daughter of a poor journeyman watchmaker the that very East End and I sang and danced in a chorus line for my supper long before my Charles saw something in me that he liked and learned to love. We may be Earl and Countess, Lord and Lady, Gertie, but first we are human beings with feelings and, because we count ourselves among the other Lords and Ladies, and are only a couple of steps from royalty, so we can do just what our hearts tell us to do. Now tell me, did my son Johnnie here ask you to marry him and at the same time offered you this ring to wear around your neck?"

"He did, he placed on my finger first, to check the fit, it is a little loose," Gertie smiled at Johnnie who stood quietly smiling, now standing next to his seated father, who Gertie now realised was in a wheelchair, a rather grand one, but a wheelchair all the same.

"And you accepted his proposal? Now, why did you do that, my dear?" Lady Standhope asked her gently.

"I did accept, and I did so because I love him and I believe he loves me."

"You couldn't say no, then?"

"No, not then I couldn't, but now we're not alone in our little bubble and declaring... well, now I have to face the world and the euphoria wears off, I suppose--"

"You suppose nothing of the sort, my girl." Lady Standhope was firm. "Johnnie loves you, you love Johnnie, we, all of us will love you. You're family now and you will call me Mama and my husband Charlie here, you will call him Papa, all while you're here at the Manor, or at our London home, or we are together alone or with the staff here. You are unofficially family to the general world, but that will change in time. The staff are all close-lipped and will maintain your cover until the official announcement is made at... mmmm... Christmastime, I think, that will be the perfect time, a gift for us all. Is that all right with you, Johnnie, dear?"

"Perfectly, of course, Mama." Johnnie replied and embellished his word with a confirming nod.

"But--" Gertie stuttered.

"No buts, Gertie, what is done is done and you are now one of us. Naturally, you are worried about how you will fit in with us rich toffs and all our fabulously wealthy friends, when you feel that you lack the breeding, well, there's no such thing as breeding. That fool Hitler filled his stupid head and his mindless followers with all that damned nonsense and we soon made short work of those ideas! Fitting in, being 'one of us' is really nothing about where your from but where you are heading, it's all about using applied knowledge to make you comfortable in any setting and we know that you are bright, quick to learn and not at all as stupid as most ordinary people are who do not continually try to improve themselves. Evie tells me that you are coming on a storm with her training, and we can always accelerate that until you are comfortable in any company or situation that you are likely to find yourself in. I can appreciate that you are also concerned about being a poor girl among everyone else in our company, who is rich, well, that is easily fixed. I will ring Barrington this afternoon and he can drive up tomorrow. Mmm. Barrington has just had a baby, well, Barrington's wife has and it wouldn't be at all fair to either of them to drag him away on a Sunday. Johnnie, can you stay here until Monday or Tuesday?"

"Sorry Mama, a little problem at work, the State of Hungary, if you remember?"

"Damn it, yes. Those slippery Communists," Lady Standhope said, then added in an aside to Gertie,

"Never trust a negotiator who creates mischief and says he is only being a complete bastard for the good of his people, when we all know he is only doing what he thinks is good for himself."

"Evie's coming up isn't she?" Lord Standhope said, although Gertie thought it was a barely audible mumble, as if the Lord's lips were affected by too much to drink. However, his diction was so sharp that Gertie could understand every word.

"If Evie is to stay a day or two, I could stay on here Monday and Tuesday and go back with her?" Gertie suggested.

"Of course," Lady Standhope clapped her hands in approval of the suggestion, adding, "and now that you are engaged, my dear, even unofficially, this would be the perfect time for you to move in and live with the Dorsets. This is no slight on your parents, my dear, but at the Dorsets you could continue your training unabated and from there be slowly introduced to the people we need to have on our side and already fascinated by your charm and sweet, open nature before the official engagement is announced."

Lady Standhope called across to Maisie who stood alert by the door, "Mary, would you mind--"

"Maisie, Mama," Gertie interposed, "apparently we have too many Marys here."

"Indeed we do, or once we did," Lady Standhope nodded, "Maisie, with Miss Gertie's leave, I wondered if you might summon my secretary to the Library? No immediate hurry, say just after luncheon if it is convenient?"

"Of course, my Lady," Maisie curtsied, "I will only be a few moments, Miss Gertie."

"Thank you, Maisie."

The maid scampered off out the door, she was quick but she glided along as if moving effortlessly and without undue haste.

"She's a good girl, Gertie. I knew you'd both get on well together. Treat her with respect, listen to her advice, especially where you find yourself uncertain about anything, but without allowing her to think that she is running you rather than serving you, and you will be fine. It is quite sweet that you will be learning your new roles together. Now, you must come over and meet Papa. Although we have told everyone that he retired from the bank due to heart problems, the poor dear has had a stroke, so he is somewhat disabled all down his left side. He has had to learn how to walk again and he cannot walk very far without a stick and the stroke has noticeably affected his speech and hearing, but his mind is just as sharp and incisive as it has ever been. He has rather overdone it with the morning walk to the far end of the rose garden, so he is resting his legs for now."

"I understand, Mama."

"Of course you do, good girl."

After luncheon, Lady Standhope asked Gertie to join her to share a pot of tea in the Library, for about half an hour, before she went off with Johnnie to explore the nearby village of Standhope.

When they arrived at the Library they found an earnest young man already awaiting them there. He rose from the comfortable chair that he sat in, holding a notebook and pen in one hand, and addressed Lady Standhope with a slight bow.

"Ma'am, I understand that you sent for me."

"Indeed, Collins, thank you for your patience in waiting for me."

He answered merely by the slightest nod of his head.

"I would like you to meet my future daughter, Miss Gertie Thornton, her engagement to Mr John is for the immediate future unofficial and unlikely to be announced outside of the family circle until around Christmastime, but we do need to set a few things that we spoke about a few weeks ago in motion."

"Of course, Ma'am," he replied with another slight bow.

Collins turned to Gertie with a smile and another nod of his head, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Thornton, may I offer you my congratulations for your engagement?"

"Thank you, Mr Collins, you are too kind," Gertie smiled back at him.

Collins turned back to face Lady Standhope, "Ma'am, shall we sit at the table, it will be easier for me to make notes?"

Lady Standhope nodded her acceptance of the suggestion and they all sat at what Gertie would once have thought was just a fancy old table, but under Evie's comprehensive tutoring she guessed it was made of walnut with ebony inlays, very finely but with quite severe lines, either late French Directoire or perhaps early English Regency but felt she would have to examine it in more closely in private to be sure.

Collins turned to a page in his notebook marked by a thick rectangle of card. Gertie noticed that there were several pages separated by cards for easy reference. Collins looked up and saw that both ladies were smiling at him. He spoke directly to Gertie.

"Miss Thornton, I knew that you were coming here this weekend and Lady Standhope and I have already discussed some of the things we would need to do as soon as you and Mr John became engaged and therefore you became an important part of the family. I have marked the pages I need to refer to in readiness and have reminded myself of the tasks which need to be set in train. Ma'am," he turned to Lady Standhope, "I took the liberty to ring Mr Barrington yesterday and informed him that he should put himself on notice to be ready when called upon to visit here either over this weekend or possibly on Monday morning, or if that was inconvenient to the parties here, that alternatively that we would wish to see him at his offices in Cheapside during the week."

"Cheapside?" Gertie asked, "I saw Cheapside earlier this year and it was a total wreck from the bombing."

"A rebuilding programme is presently in place, my dear," Lady Standhope explained, "but Barrington & Co set up offices in Cheapside in the 1860s I believe and they became rather attached to their property. When the Kaiser started bombing London from Zeppelin airships during The Great War in 1915, Barrington secretly excavated downwards to create seven floors below their offices and completely 'tanked' every single floor individually, rather like submarines, to protect them from below, basically the high water table which is maintained by the ebb and flow of the tidal Thames, and also protect them from above by raising the original three floors to seven floors in case of bombing in any future war. There is some beautiful symmetry to the design of the building, and it worked very well, although some damage was caused to the upper floors during the Blitz, the basements were perfectly safe as well as preserving all the records and deeds that they hold on our behalf."

"Who is Barrington?" Gertie asked, "you mentioned him before lunch and I meant to ask but then we got into more interesting conversations with... Papa, and the thought went completely out of my mind."

"I have a quire of tiny lined notebooks with a gross of short pencils, perfect for keeping handy in even the smallest purse to make notes in," Lady Standhope said, "and pencils mean no risk of leaky ink. Jotting little notes is a great way to keep track of things and take no criticism, just point out that what people are telling you is important enough to remember and the short note helps keep everything in mind. I will get Maisie to collect some from my office at her convenience. As for Barrington, his firm is Barrington & Company, they are lawyers, barristers primarily, specialising in company law, English, Scottish and International company laws, financial practices, trading laws, taxation liabilities and mitigation measures and all that, but they also have chartered accountants as partners within the firm, they do a lot of auditing, investigating for internal irregularities and discrete evaluations of other companies for advising on investments, fraud, and any kind of chicanery. Horace Barrington is the senior partner and he was my legal and financial advisor and had been since he took over my accounts when his grandfather retired about twelve years ago. Barrington did take six years off, because of the damn war and his desire of 'wanting to be useful and do his bit', so his grandfather came out of retirement to help out during the rest of the war until Barrington was demobbed. As of lunchtime today, however Gertie my dear, Barrington is now exclusively your legal and financial advisor."

"But I don't need a legal or a financial advisor, I don't do anything that I need worry about breaking any laws or financial practices, nor do I have anything other than a Post Office Savings account with less than five pounds in it, and I've only actually had a bank account for about four weeks with roughly ten pounds in it, my wages for the past month, as Evie never gives me a chance to spend any of my own money that the bank pays me weekly."

Lady Standhope and Collins glanced at each other and shared knowing smiles. Gertie noticed.

"What is being cooked up for me here?" Gertie demanded suspiciously.

"I assume, Collins," Lady Standhope looked to Collins for confirmation, "that you took comprehensive notes of my recent briefing with Barrington?"

"I did indeed, Ma'am," he smiled back at her, "and I marked the pages with those notes earlier with another card so I could find it immediately by feel without even looking for it. Ah, here we are. Would you like me to give Miss Thornton a brief precise of the whole meeting, or to simply go to the rabbit, or rather the final er, valuation figure?"

"Oh, I think it's time to pull the rabbit out of the hat, Collins, also, although the engagement is presently only at a stage where one's family and the staff that need to know, Miss Gertie is now not only a member of this family but for about the last hour and a half, she has become your employer, so by our family convention...."

"Indeed, Ma'am," Collins confirmed with a nod.

Collins shifted his position slightly so he could give Gertie his full attention.

"Miss Gertie, by way of introduction, before we get to 'the valuation figures', my name is Alan Collins. I am aged 22, am married to my childhood sweetheart and we have our second baby on the way hoping to arrive around Christmastide. I am actually distantly related to the family you are joining, a second cousin once removed by marriage to Lady Standhope. Her ladyship very generously paid for my education and I believe she wanted me to go to university after my two years of Army service ended two years ago, but I trained both for Chartered Governance and Company Law up to barrister level without actually taking the bar. As well as being a Personal Secretary I am the Company Secretary of twelve companies started and run by the Winter family. Currently, my wife and I live in a cottage on the estate here but we can move to London if you wish or somewhere conveniently close to wherever you and Mr Johnnie decide to settle."

"Mr Collins, this is all far too bewildering for me," Gertie said, "I really have no idea why I would need a secretary. As for where I live, I just assumed that I would live wherever my husband lived, be that at his London flat or wherever else in the country that he lived."

"That would be here, my dear," Lady Standhope said, "This is your main home now and, once married your quarters will be slightly realigned so they will be better suited for a married couple and, hopefully in time, for a larger family."

"Yes, I suppose so...."

"Then, Miss Gertie, let me just tell you that your bank account with just ten pounds in it at the moment will quickly undergo a significant change. Barrington reported to Lady Standhope on the thirteenth instance of October 1948 that your portfolio was worth just over two million guineas, that is two million one hundred thousand pounds, which is made up of a large number of ordinary and debenture shares spread across dozens of different companies, including government securities like War Bonds, Treasury Notes, company debentures as well as more lucrative investments like shares in your banks and other similar vested interests. Now, the principal holdings of these various securities are held in trust, and these are--"