A Commercial Enterprise Page 12

  The housekeeper gasped hopefully and Mr. Jordan stared at her. “You have?” he asked in amazement.

  She smiled. “What would you say if I told you I intended turning Lexham House into an exclusive hotel?”

  Her words fell onto a stunned silence.

  Chapter 14

  Mrs. Hollingsworth’s lips parted in astonishment, and the other servants looked askance at one another and then at Caroline. Mr. Jordan was rendered speechless for a moment, but then he recovered. “You cannot possibly be serious, Miss Jordan! You mean to turn this great house into a—a hotel?”

  “I am perfectly serious, sir.”

  “It’s quite out of the question.”

  “Why? Does it contravene the terms of the will?”

  “Not as far as I can say on the spur of the moment, but it is by far too risky a venture!”

  “But I have nothing to lose, Mr. Jordan, as you yourself have pointed out. You told me to play my uncle at his own game, and that is exactly what I am doing. Until this morning I still had sympathy with my cousin Dominic’s dilemma, but after his conduct at the Oxenford I no longer have any sympathy for him whatsoever. I believe I have thought of an admirable solution to my predicament, and if I possibly can, I will go ahead with it.”

  “But to turn this princely residence into a hotel ...” he began.

  “A hotel such as I envisage is very respectable, sir, for who can find fault with establishments considered suitable for the Czar of Russia and his sister, for occasions like the Duke of Wellington’s banquet, and for the solemnization of important society marriages, like that of Miss Seymour and Lord Carstairs? The terms of the will demand that I live here for six months, that I open up the entire house, and that I do all this without incurring any debt whatsoever. As a hotel, I must hope that the house will pay for its own upkeep—and there is nothing in the will to say that I may not do that.”

  Mr. Jordan clearly thought she had taken leave of her senses. “But you are a lady, and ladies do not involve themselves in commercial enterprises of any kind!”

  “Except when the devil drives, sir, and as far as I am concerned, he most certainly holds the reins at the moment.”

  “And I do not believe,” he continued as if she had not spoken, “that society would accept such a wild venture! Not in Mayfair!”

  “Because this has been until now the town residence of the Earls of Lexham?”

  “Yes.”

  “But what was the Oxenford originally if not a private residence? And the Clarendon, the Pulteney, Mivart’s, or Grillion’s? Were not they also private and exclusive houses?”

  “Maybe they were, but now they are in male hands, Miss Lexham, owned or managed by men who were formerly great chefs, experienced and knowledgeable house stewards or butlers. You know nothing of such things, you are a young lady, fresh from the country, and green as to the ways of high society.”

  “Do you tell me, sir, that these men know more about the running of a great house than a woman like Mrs. Hollingsworth? I cannot agree that there is some mystery about running a hotel, a mystery known only to the male of the species and which a more than competent housekeeper cannot hope to solve. Running a private residence with many titled and wealthy houseguests must be the same as running a hotel, with similar guests—what do you say, Mrs. Hollingsworth?”

  The housekeeper was startled at being asked to express an opinion. “I—er—agree with you, madam, there cannot be a great deal to choose between the two situations.”

  Mr. Jordan was appalled that the sensible and practical housekeeper was apparently allying herself with the lunatic plan. “Mrs. Hollingsworth,” he exclaimed, “I am surprised at you!”

  “But I must agree with Miss Lexham,” explained the housekeeper, “for her idea is not as wild and impossible as it at first appears.”

  Caroline was triumphant. “There!”

  Mr. Jordan took a cross breath. “I still say the whole thing is harebrained, for you have not considered anything in detail. In order to throw open the doors of this house to guests you will have to employ a full complement of staff; staff must be paid, Miss Lexham. You will also need to heat the whole house, for it is a long time until the warmth of late spring and summer, and you will need to illuminate it, which will require a great deal of fuel and candles. And then we come to the not insignificant matter of food and drink. Guests of consequence expect fine French cooking and excellent wines; they also expect their own servants, to be fed and accommodated. No, Miss Lexham, your idea is out of the question, it simply cannot be done.”

  Caroline was not defeated yet, for she had found an ally in the housekeeper, and she detected a crack or two in the lawyer’s argument. “Sir, it seems to me that you are guilty of a faulty memory.”

  “Faulty? In what way?”

  “You declined earlier to accompany me on a circuit of the house because you had done several circuits when compiling the inventory. During those circuits you are bound to have seen the stocks of wines, candles, and coal in the cellars, stocks which I do not believe are entered in the inventory. Am I right?”

  He colored just a little. “You are right, Miss Lexham.”

  “So, we will take your other arguments. Staff can soon be hired, and even I know that they are not paid for the first three months of their employment, nor are the tradesmen who supply food and so on. I’ll warrant that reluctance to immediately pay bills applies more in London than it does in Selford!

  “As to any other consideration, well, the house contains everything in the way of accommodation for both guests and servants, it has immense supplies of crockery, cutlery, bedding, and other such things, because it has always had to provide for large parties of guests and their servants. There will be no difference whatsoever, Mr. Jordan, except that from now on those guests will pay for the privilege of lodging here.”

  “And the small matter of providing French cuisine? No hotel worth its salt would dare to open its doors to the haut ton without being able to boast the services of a French chef.”

  “Chefs are surely not impossible to find.”

  “My dear Miss Lexham, you dismiss this culinary matter too lightly. Last night at the Oxenford you saw how important Duvall is. Society expects the finest cuisine, they expect to pay four guineas for such meals, for that is what the Oxenford charges, and they expect to enjoy for their money the work of a Duvall, a Carême, an Escudier, or an Ude. Such men do not come two a penny. Have you any idea how much they may command?”

  “No,” she confessed.

  “I happen to know that the Earl of Sefton pays Ude three hundred pounds a year, that sum being supplemented by the promise of two hundred guineas for life when Ude retires. The sum offered to Carême by the Prince Regent was astronomical and far in excess of that. You cannot possibly contemplate opening this house as a hotel unless you have such a chef, Miss Lexham, and in order to lure one here you will need money—which I need not remind you is the one thing you do not have.”

  She was silent for a long moment. All eyes were upon her, but she was still resolute. Her plan was possible, it gave her a chance to meet the terms of her uncle’s will, and she would never be able to forgive herself if she turned her back on it. Slowly she reached up and unfastened her grandmother’s necklace, laying it gently on the surface of the table before her. The sunlight pouring in through the windows flashed blood red on the rubies and made the chased silver gleam with an almost blue light.

  Mr. Jordan stared at it and then slowly raised his eyes to her serious face. “I beg you reconsider,” he said gently. “For it is my belief that you are about to cast this precious, beloved item away, and to no purpose.”

  “I am set upon my course, Mr. Jordan, and as I will need money, the necklace must be sold.”

  “It will not finance you for six months.”

  “No, but it will give me the finance to begin. I trust that the hotel would soon begin to support itself.”

  He looked helplessly at her, seein
g the determination in her eyes and feeling in his heart that the idea was doomed from the outset. “Miss Lexham, you speak as if you regard success as a matter of fact!”

  “I don’t, sir, I promise you that.”

  Still he could not give up. “And what of your cousin the earl? He is hardly likely to stand by and let this happen to his house—’’

  “My town house,” she interrupted calmly. “For the next six months, anyway.”

  A glimmer of humor touched his eyes at this, for he recognized his own words. “Very well, your town house. It matters not, for in the end it comes to the same: the Earl of Lexham will not let you proceed.”

  “Can he stop me?”

  “Not legally, but I doubt very much if he is a man to let such niceties stand in his way.”

  “Then his interference is something to be coped with if and when it occurs. Oh, Mr. Jordan, don’t you see that I have to do this now I’ve thought of it? Now that I’ve been in this house, it means far more to me than I would have dreamed possible, and if I give up without a struggle, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

  “And there is more; Sir Henry Seymour said to me last night that when I came to London, I came home, and that is very true. I don’t want to go back to Selford; I loathe it there. I want to stay here; this is where I feel I belong. I must do everything I can to keep this house; it may be the only chance I ever have of changing the course of my life. Please, at least say you understand.”

  He saw there was no point in further argument, for she did indeed mean to go ahead with her plan, her commercial enterprise. “And is there nothing at all I can say to instill wisdom into your pretty head?”

  She smiled. “Nothing whatsoever.”

  He nodded heavily. “Very well, I capitulate. I have grave doubts and reservations, but I will do all I can to help you.”

  “You will? Oh, dear Mr. Jordan!” she cried in delight, forgetting both herself and his dignity by flinging her arms around his neck.

  The servants’ eyes widened at this uninhibited display, but Mrs. Hollingsworth saw it as still more evidence that Philip Lexham’s warm, open, and genuine nature had been passed on to his daughter.

  Caroline turned to the housekeeper then. “You will help me too, won’t you?”

  “Oh yes, Miss Lexham, have no fear about that.”

  Caroline smiled, biting her lip a little ruefully. “Mr. Jordan was right about one thing; I certainly do not know the first thing about the running of hotels or great houses.”

  “I believe I know all that is necessary. We will begin by engaging staff. Advertisements must be placed in the correct publications and the various tradesmen informed. Tradesmen are very useful for such purposes, for they put word about in the hope of benefiting in the form of orders.”

  Mr. Jordan cleared his throat. “Miss Lexham, nothing can be done until the necklace is sold, for until then you will have no money at all.”

  She picked it up and pressed it into his hands. “Will you sell it for me?” She smiled a little wickedly then. “I am sure a lady should not participate in anything so mercenary and vulgar!”

  He laughed. “You are incorrigible, Miss Lexham, quite incorrigible.”

  * * *

  A short while later, Caroline was being conveyed back to the Oxenford in the lawyer’s chariot. She was still in a state bordering on elation; it seemed that her plan could not fail, for it had only to succeed for six months! She had arranged with Mrs. Hollingsworth that she would return to Lexham House that very day, cutting short the duration of her stay at the Oxenford, and she did this in part to avoid any further meetings with Hal Seymour. She tried to push all thought of him from her mind, but that was impossible, for in a very short time he had stolen her heart completely, which made the pain of knowing what he had said of her all the more distressing.

  Mr. Jordan had placed his chariot at her disposal for the rest of the day, and so she instructed the coachman to wait for her outside the Oxenford as she did not intend to be long. As she entered the quiet vestibule, however, the porter informed her that Mr. Bassett wished to see her immediately. There was something in the porter’s manner which told her that her meeting with the majordomo was not going to be pleasant, and she went apprehensively to the dining room, where she was told she would find him.

  The dining room was deserted, and so she heard the sound of raised voices before she entered and recognized them as belonging to Mr. Bassett and Gaspard Duvall.

  The little chef was obviously very angry. “The kitchens are not satisfactory, monsieur!”

  “And I say that they must suffice!” replied the equally cross majordomo.

  “I am a master, a genius, not a slave! A banquet of the size and importance as that for the Duc de Wellington requires finer facilities than those you provide here!”

  Mr. Bassett endeavored to take a little of the heat out of the argument. “I agree with you, monsieur,” he said in almost conciliatory tones. “And I understand your predicament, but in order to meet your demands it would be necessary to close the hotel completely while the kitchens were rebuilt. That is simply not possible, for how can we close our doors when we have accepted many functions such as the banquet and Miss Seymour’s wedding. Be reasonable, monsieur—-”

  “Reasonable? Reasonable?” cried the infuriated chef, obviously quivering from the tip of his floppy beret to the toes of his elegant shoes.

  “Please, monsieur,” pleaded the anxious majordomo, who was beginning to fear that the chef would resign, which would be a devastating blow to the Oxenford.

  Caroline peeped into the room and saw the little Frenchman hesitating. She too believed he must resign, but incredibly he did not; he turned on his heel and walked swiftly toward the door, muttering darkly to himself as he pushed past without seeming to see her. He was so unlike the man she had last spoken to in the garden that she could only stare after him in surprise.

  After a moment she looked into the room again and, seeing Mr. Bassett wiping his brow with a handkerchief, judged that it would be all right for her to approach him to discover what it was he wished to say to her.

  He turned as he heard her approach, and he stiffened visibly. “Ah, Miss Lexham.”

  “You wished to speak to me?” She could not help noticing that he did not offer her the courtesy of a seat.

  “It will not take long, madam, for I merely wish to inform you that your presence is no longer required at the Oxenford.”

  She was completely taken aback. “I beg your pardon?”

  “You will be expected to leave immediately,” he went on coldly. “And the sum paid for your stay will be reimbursed to the proper party. That is all.”

  Her indignation flashed into light. “It most certainly is not all!” she said icily. “I expect to be told why this disgraceful request is being made.”

  “I am not compelled to give you any details, madam, but will say that we have received complaints about your presence.”

  “From whom?” But even as she asked, she dreaded that she would hear him say Hal’s name.

  “The identity of anyone concerned is not your business, madam,” he replied, his tone very superior as he looked down his pointed nose at her.

  “On the contrary, sir, it is very much my business.”

  He saw the light of angry, determined defiance in her gray eyes and decided that telling her would remove such misplaced impudence and would almost certainly hasten her departure from the premises. “Very well, Miss Lexham, I will tell you. I have this morning received strong complaints from three persons of rank and consequence: Lady Chaddington, Lord Fynehurst, and the Earl of Lexham, your kinsman. All three objected to your presence in this respectable establishment as you are not a person of either quality or good character, and they informed me that unless you were ejected forthwith, they would see to it that they and their friends and acquaintances did not patronize the Oxenford again.”

  Not a person of either quality or good character? Her eyes
darkened with anger at such an appalling insult, but she was glad that at least Hal and his sister had not joined in this exhibition of petty and unnecessary spite. Hal may not have been as open and genuine as he had made out, but she was sure that Jennifer had meant every kind word and action the night before.

  The majordomo drew himself up importantly. “I trust that the situation is now perfectly clear, madam. Such persons as I have mentioned cannot be ignored, and I therefore have no choice but to—”

  “On the contrary, sir, you have every choice, but you have decided that although their complaints are unwarranted and untrue, and although I am innocent and very much the injured party, I am not of sufficient consequence to warrant consideration. You, sirrah, are as despicable as they!”

  Giving him a glance of proud disgust, she turned and walked away, her head held high, but as she hurried up the grand staircase, her eyes brimmed with hot tears and her cheeks flamed with the humiliation and injustice of being treated in such an unkind and disgraceful way.

  At the top of the staircase, she halted to look back down at the elegant vestibule with its gracious furniture and attentive page boys and footmen. Defiance stirred her then. She would not allow them to treat her as if she did not matter! She would show them! She would show the Marcia Chaddingtons, Dominic Lexhams, and Oxenfords of this world that she was a person to be reckoned with after all! She would not scuttle out of London because they wanted her to; she would stay and she would make a success of what Mr. Jordan called her “commercial enterprise” and soon all London would be talking of the new Lexham Hotel and its unusual owner!

  Chapter 15

  But her moment of bravado began to shrink to a more timorous apprehension as she packed her few belongings into her valise. Glancing around at her magnificent apartment, the enormity of what she was contemplating began to truly dawn upon her; indeed, the sheer audacity of it made her wonder if perhaps Mr. Jordan was right after all and she had taken leave of her senses. Why, only a day or so before she had had qualms about setting off for London at all, and now here she was, determining to embark upon turning a great London mansion into an exclusive hotel.