Page 58 of Lady of Providence
And with that, he brushed past her and out the door, refusing to take even one glance behind him as he stormed out of the house.
CHAPTER27
Elizabeth gave herself one day. One day in which she stayed at home, lay in bed, moped around the house and ate far too many sweets. At first, the despair was nearly overwhelming, encompassing her to the point that she was nearly incapable of doing anything else. When it threatened to overtake her, she set her jaw and determined that she would not give in.
Instead, she let the misery simmer, and in pushing away the grief, it began to turn, to take shape as something else entirely.
It began with anger. All of the frustrations that had been building inside Elizabeth, that she had refused to acknowledge or discuss, burned inside of her, to the point that the fire threatened to consume her. She didn’t wholly blame Gabriel — her own stubbornness, her life’s circumstances, her fickle heart was as much to blame.
And so, she decided to do something about it.
After her day of melancholy, Elizabeth woke with purpose. That morning she dressed in brilliant green silk, so unlike the somber, careful colors she had selected until now so as not to stand out or garner any particular attention as a woman. No, today she had much to see to, and she would use her femininity to her advantage.
She strode through the doors of the bank with purpose, climbing the stairs, saying her hellos, but with less of a smile than usual. When she found her office, she nearly jumped in surprise, as she had almost forgotten about Mr. Brant, who she had moved from downstairs to be her secretary. Her primary goal for his appointment had been to keep away unwanted visitors, but on his first day, he had proven quite resourceful.
"Good morning, Lady Elizabeth," he said, jumping up from the desk, an eager smile on his youthful face. "I trust you had a lovely day yesterday?"
It was difficult to keep from responding to his enthusiasm, and Elizabeth returned his smile despite her mood.
"It was a necessary day, Mr. Brant, that much I can say."
He seemed confused but nodded.
"I have correspondence awaiting you on your desk. I was unsure of whether or not I should open it, but I am happy to respond to anything you would like me to. There are a few urgent memos regarding clients of the bank who wish to speak to you.”
"Thank you, Mr. Brant. Can you please arrange a meeting for me with Mr. Bates and the senior clerks for later this afternoon?"
"Yes, of course."
"Thank you."
The correspondence, fortunately, was primarily good news, until she came to the last letter. Another client had chosen to leave the bank. Elizabeth sighed and placed her head in her hands. She hated to admit it, but Henry might be right. She may not be the best leader of this bank after all or, perhaps she needed to start doing business differently — for otherwise, she may allow it to fall to ruin. Her grandfather would be so disappointed.
Elizabeth heaved a sigh, drumming her fingertips on the tabletop. Perhaps she should find someone else to take her place. But it certainly wouldn't be Henry.
Later that afternoon, she sat at the table with Mr. Bates and the senior clerks in front of her. It wasn't a particularly strange ask to have them all meet with her, though typically she provided them with more notice.
"Thank you all for coming here today," she said. "I have a question to pose to you, and I would ask that you keep our conversation here confidential." At their nods, she continued. "I wish to confirm that as the senior partner, I have the power to confirm, deny, or replace any other partner of the bank."
Shocked expressions stared back at her. Whether or not it was within her ability was one thing — the fact that she was actually considering such a thing was clearly another.
Mr. Bates was the first to regain his voice.
"Certainly, you have the power to do so, Lady Elizabeth," he said. "You may name or remove any partner you like. When your grandfather named the Duke of Clarence partner, he used his own authority to do so. He also at one time asked a similar question as you are posing now, though I cannot recall what the outcome was, nor did he ever tell me which partner was in question. He did, however, discuss the possibility of termination."
Elizabeth thought back to her conversation with him all those years ago, of a partner who was working against the bank along with one of the clerks. She wished she knew what had come of that situation. Was either of them still within the bank, other Brutus-like turncoats working against her? The problem was, she had no idea who she could trust, who she could ask. Perhaps her grandmother might know.
"There are two partners who I wish to remove," she said, and the four heads swiveled back toward her, each man clearly uncomfortable with her words.
"Will these partners be replaced?" Mr. Larkin asked.
"They will," she confirmed. "I will name the replacements in due time. We will first deal with the dismissal. Tell me, what is the protocol?"
They outlined the procedure for her. She would first draw up a written dismissal, then meet with the partners in question to provide it to them or send it by messenger if a meeting was impossible. All of the bank’s partners would then need to be informed of the decision and sign the final paperwork for it to become official. In the meantime, the clerks would draw up the necessary documentation.
"If the partners are being replaced," Mr. Larkin continued, "The partnership passes on to the replacements. If not, then we must determine how the appropriate shares will be allotted to each remaining partner."
"Thank you, Mr. Larkin," she said. "That is all very straightforward."
