Page 80 of Foes, Friends and Lovers
Len’s gaze had grown distant. Slowly, he nodded. “We don’t run the tannery at full capacity—we never have. But if there was greater demand…” He refocused on Gregory, and his expression brightened. “We could take more skins from Nene and also from Home Farm. Good sheepskin can be used for a lot of things that will free up more calf leather for the saddles.”
Gregory nodded encouragingly. “We’re working on another project that will hopefully result in the Home Farm selling more lamb and mutton, so that might work out well.”
“Excellent!” Len looked enthused. “Do you need anything from us to send to your contact regarding the saddles?”
They discussed what samples Gregory should send, then with that settled, he turned his attention to Isabelle and Nell. “Mrs. Sutton. Nell. I wondered if you had given any thought to contacting the librarians at Oxford’s colleges and also the university library, the Bodleian, regarding rebinding and re-covering those books that require refurbishing?”
Both ladies stared at him, then Isabelle shook her head. “We’ve never really thought about reaching beyond the local area.”
“But,” Nell said, “we’ve done a few libraries for some titled people—Lord Somerton and Sir Sidney Parrish.” She glanced at her mother. “Why not try for the college libraries? At least let them know we’re here and can do the job as well as anyone.”
“At least as well as the London firms the colleges almost certainly pay a pretty penny to.” Gregory smiled at the ladies. “Bookbinding in leather isn’t as common as binding and covering in cloth. That, I do know. I also know your leather is of exceptionally high quality. Put both those facts together, and I would say you have a good chance of gaining the right sort of attention and, ultimately, lucrative orders from Oxford.” He paused, then asked, “Would you like me to test the waters and see if there’s any interest?”
Isabelle and Nell exchanged a glance, then both smiled at him and nodded. “Please do,” Isabelle said. She glanced at her husband. “If the bindery can expand as well, we’ll use virtually every bit of each hide, and the profit per hide will increase.”
“And that,” Gregory said, smiling, “will be to everyone’s benefit.”
He and Caitlin took their leave of the Suttons, with both Len and Isabelle promising to send samples of the leather and their tooling for bound books to Gregory for him to use in seeking fresh markets for their goods.
As he and Caitlin started walking toward the weavers’ cottages, she studied his face, taking in his serious, calculating expression. “You’ve really thought…well, widely about the businesses, haven’t you?”
He glanced at her, then lightly shrugged. “Once I grasped what each business does and understood what they made, I could, to some extent, put myself in the owners’ shoes and look at their enterprises in terms of new possibilities.”
He paused as they turned onto the lane, then went on, “I realized that, even if the owners have only been living on the estate for the past five or so years, few of them are Londoners. Most wouldn’t know the Oxford colleges while, as an ex-student, I do. I know London, Oxford, Newmarket, and several other towns quite well. That gives me an advantage—a wider view, if you will—that no one else here has.”
Briefly, he met her eyes. “I realized that was what I could use to make my contribution to the Bellamy Hall estate.” He shrugged again. “Once I thought of it in those terms, it seemed rather obvious.”
She was impressed by how he’d drawn on his experience and applied his knowledge to improving the future for those at the Hall. Smiling softly, she linked her arm with his, and together, they walked on.
On Saturday afternoon, with Caitlin, Gregory went searching for Julia. They found her in the kitchen garden with Nessie, selecting vegetables for dinner.
With her basket virtually full, Nessie waved Julia off, and Julia turned to Gregory and Caitlin with an eagerness far removed from her initial hesitation. “Have you worked it out?” she asked Gregory.
“I think so.” As arranged, he’d met with Julia, the Hammersleys, and the Edgars yesterday and worked out what each business felt they could contribute to what Snibbs had informed him should be presented as a combined lot put to tender.
By the end of the meeting, Gregory had each business’s commitment defined. He’d seen the owners off, then had sat down to work out possible prices. That hadn’t been quite so easy; he’d needed to postulate every combination and work out the profits for each.
Checking and rechecking had taken him to lunchtime today. After luncheon, he’d buttonholed Caitlin and run through the possible tenders—the combinations of vegetables, fruits, bottles of cider, lamb and mutton—and the prices he’d calculated that, for each, would result in a sufficiently good profit.
She’d frowned and pored over every little detail. He’d sat back and watched her, rather anxiously, truth be told, but in the end, she’d raised a smiling face and informed him that he was brilliant.
He’d beamed back; no one had ever called him brilliant before, and for her to do so quite literally made his day.
Now, he outlined for Julia the proposals he’d prepared and gave her an idea of the likely returns.
Her eyes grew round, and she breathed, “That, week on week, would mean…” She blinked, then concluded, “Quite a lot.” She refocused on him. “Thank you!”
He grinned. “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got to get the manager of the Northampton Arms to agree.”
Julia beamed. “I have every confidence in Snibbs. He’s really rather good at appearing arrogantly officious.”
Gregory laughed. “He is.”
He and Caitlin took their leave of Julia, who wandered off to check on her carrots.
As he walked beside Caitlin toward the archway leading to the side lawn and, ultimately, the house, he was conscious of the pleasure of achievement, a warmth that had spread and taken up residence inside him.
He couldn’t remember feeling the like before.
