The Privateersman (A Poor Man at the Gate Series Book 1) (30 page)

“Reverend Nobbs? My name is Andrews, sir, as I am
sure you will have guessed!”

The reverend, short, fat, benign, long widowed and
very close to seventy, simpered mightily – his living was in the gift of the
Thingdon Estate and he had a list of repairs to his parsonage as well as the
desire to request permission to fee a curate to do the work of the parish while
he retired to spend a last few years in a genteel boarding-house at Leamington
Priors, taking the waters and living quietly and cheaply. He was, besides, very
pleased to have been informed of the discomfiture of Smythe, whom he had
heartily disapproved of while being able to do nothing about him.

“I believe you have been described to me already,
sir! Have you met the Marchioness and Ladies, Verity and Anne, sir?”

They exchanged bows and smiles, three sets of
eyebrows raising as one as Tom’s face creased.

“I am pleased to meet you, Mr Andrews, particularly
in this place, sir.”

“The pleasure is mine, your Ladyship. I can only
regret that this ‘particular place’ has not been honoured as it should have
been by the estate in recent years and assure you that, in common with a number
of other failings, it will be remedied, ma’am.”

A few more words, bland and meaningless, and they
parted, the ladies to an ancient open carriage, Tom to the modern and luxurious
confection Rockingham had had built for his own comfort, still bearing a rather
ornate – and wholly spurious - coat of arms.

“Lady Verity is the elder of the two girls,
Quillerson?”

“Yes, sir – twenty-one or two, I believe. Her sister
is just eighteen, and is generally regarded as the prettier of the two,
beautiful, in fact.”

“Perhaps, I saw more character in the elder lady’s
face, and she seemed a very pleasant, friendly girl.”

“She always has a word for everyone, sir.”

“I thought her very attractive – I am surprised she
is not wed. Is she affianced?”

“No portion, sir – she would not come with a
thousand pounds, I believe. Besides that, sir, she is said to be educated and
intelligent and to possess a quick tongue – the taste is for vapid, simpering
misses, sir.”

Tom said no more – she was a tall girl and very well
made and her face quite charming – blue eyes that would laugh, high cheek bones
and a strong jaw, all under a good forehead and a mass of auburn hair, almost a
redhead. A pity that she was far too well-born for him even to talk to – he
would otherwise have been very glad to further his acquaintance with her.
However, perhaps his wealth and new status might one day allow him to cross the
great social divide.

Then he admonished himself for daring to fill his
head with such flights of fancy.

# # #

Book Two in the Series

(Available in all ebook formats)

The second ebook in the, ‘
A Poor Man at the Gate
’
Series’, follows Tom Andrew’s rise to the fringes of political power and social
respectability. All seems to be going smoothly until a shady character from his
dubious days in New York at the time of The American Revolutionary War,
unexpectedly turns up in London. This was never a part of Tom’s plans. Is his
past catching up with him, and will it spell disaster for
his
love life, and political ambitions?

Here’s a short excerpt
from the start of
Nouveau Riche
:

“Thingdon Hall’s new owner, Mr Andrews, is a change
from Mr Rockingham, Mama – not, I think, another in his mould, considerably
less of the provincial dandy and definitely not handsome!”

“A welcome change, my dear; well turned out, the
London touch to that coat, no provincial tailor cut that cloth, and the scar
must have been gained in the American war. Mr Telford told Papa that Mr Andrews
had been a sailor then and had made a first fortune from prize money.”

The Marchioness seemed inclined to approve of the
mushroom, to Lady Verity’s surprise, she had never heard her to be in favour of
the lower classes before, particularly when they had so forgotten their place
as to possess money.

“Which was very respectable, Mama, but he has since
become very rich from mills and things - money-grubbing!”

“So we are told – but he is definitely not a vulgar
person in himself – well dressed, correctly spoken, courteous and not
bumptiously pushy like Mr Rockingham, the previous owner. Certainly no instant
invitation to ‘come and share his mutton’!”

“Mama, he did not!” Lady Verity was scandalised at
this revelation of the depths of Rockingham’s uncouthness.

“He certainly did, my dear – your Papa and I passed
Mr Rockingham on the road to the village and he waved to us, introduced
himself, shook Papa’s hand and told us how pleased he was to meet us, now he
need not go to all the fuss and bother of calls and cards and that sort of
nonsense! Papa was not pleased, especially when he named Smythe, his agent, to
him and expected him to be greeted!”

“I was not at all pleased to be given a very
friendly smile by that gentleman, Mama! Mr Andrews has at least removed that
particular menace from our society. Ridding the place of Smythe was a godsend”

“Yes, and very quickly – another point in his
favour. He is, of course, unwed, and must be in need of a suitable lady for his
estate.”

Lady Verity’s eyebrows, and chin, rose in
indignation, her shock of auburn hair flowing with her head movement, her
normally laughing, blue eyes, glaring in exaggerated outrage.

“He is also nameless, Mama!”

“Quite possibly, my dear – you would certainly not
wish to display him in the salons of Mayfair – which you, of course, have never
especially enjoyed as an unmarried damsel.”

“Are you by any chance suggesting, Mama, that I
might wish to display him
anywhere
?”

“Verity, my dear, you will not marry at all otherwise,
and that would be a pity, for you would like to be a mother, I believe. We have
no money, my dear; you have not caught a suitable husband in three Seasons and
will not catch one in this Season, so an unsuitable one is well worth
considering! The look in his eye said that you would not have to smile twice at
him – he certainly liked what he saw!”

Lady Verity was not flattered to be informed that,
after Mr Smythe, she was attractive to another very mere ‘mister’, one who
dirtied his hands with trade, moreover.

“They say he is worth a million, my dear – that
being the case he will be Sir Thomas within a year and could be Baron Andrews
in ten, provided he smiles at the right people.”

“And provided they did not faint at first sight of
him!”

“Yes, that is a problem, I will admit, my dear – the
scars on his face ensure that he will never be awarded the palm for elegance. I
will say that I could name you six young ladies of our order, girls known to
you, who have made matches with bankers, merchants, even a manufacturer, in the
past three years – men of limited charm in most cases and certainly no more
handsome than Mr Andrews. I liked the look of the man, I will confess – he
seemed both strong and polite, and probably kind-hearted – and I am sure I
would
love
his money!”

“Oh, Mama! Unworthy! He is no gentleman!”

“Not by birth, obviously – he will become whatever
his wife makes of him, and his children would be born to the purple, will mix
freely in Society. As well, my dear, the benefit to the Family would not be
small – your brother Jack wishes to become a soldier when he leaves Harrow this
summer, and will have to be content as an ensign of foot in an unknown regiment
and to live on a monkey’s allowance. And if Rothwell gambles away any more of
our funds there will be no Season for us next year.”

“So, I am to sell myself, Mama?”

Lady Verity was becoming more thoughtful than
indignant, she was well aware of the advantages a rich husband could offer and
had always known her duty to her family.

“Not at all, my dear – I much hope you will give
yourself in marriage to a man you esteem and can live happily with. I will not
mention ‘love’, for that is a much overrated emotion, perhaps better suited to
the lower orders of society than to us, but affection is another matter. I
would recommend you to try to meet and get to know Mr Andrews. If you then find
him intolerable, so be it, or, of course, if he finds no great liking for you –
the field will then be clear for your sister, Anne.”

Lady Anne had been listening open-mouthed and with a
frown on her brow.

“Oh, Mama! I could not! Is he very rich?”

Lady Verity stared with more than normal distaste at
her empty-headed, beautiful sister, thinking as so often that she would have
killed for hair and skin like hers, and committed suicide if she suddenly
gained a brain of her order.

“He is worth a million, my dear.”

“Yes, Mama, so you said. Is that a big number,
Mama?”

Nouveau
Riche - Book Two: ‘A Poor Man at the Gate Series.’
As a further
introductory offer, Book Two is currently heavily discounted on
Kindle. Andrew Wareham’s books are also available in all leading ebook stores.
Kindle Link:
http://getBook.at/Nouveau-Riche

The Duty and Destiny Series:
Published
in 2014, these superbly-crafted novel length sea stories are set in the period
of the French Revolutionary War (1793 – 1802). The series follows the naval
career and love-life of Frederick Harris, the second son of a middling
Hampshire landowner, a brave but somewhat reluctant mariner.
Amazon
- Kindle links to the whole series:

US/worldwide:

http://tinyurl.com/Duty-and-Destiny-Series

UK only:

http://tinyurl.com/Duty-and-Destiny-Series-UK

Author Bio

I graduated from university in 1968 with a degree in
Politics, Economics and Economic History, taught Economics and Economic History
for ten years, including a spell in Papua New Guinea, got bored and returned to
PNG as a trainer and operational police officer. I remained there with my
family, still keeping up my interest in Economic History - including
Australasia - then worked contracts in the Middle East until my wife's ill-health
and eventual death meant setting up a family base in the UK. History, and
collecting Victorian glass, my sole hobbies, apart from looking after three St
Bernards.

Published in late 2013, The Privateersman was my first
published novel. Since then I have written several more books in this series
with more planned for publication.
The Duty and Destiny Series
of books
were written earlier, but because of the big interest in the, ‘
A Poor Man at
the Gate Series
,’ my publisher urged me to revise the series for
publication. As long as people continue to read my books, I will continue to
write about history - a subject close to my heart.

If you have a spare minute, please visit Amazon and
write a few words about my book in the review section: Your objective feedback
will help other potential readers make informed choices.

Many thanks, Andrew

Amazon-Kindle
Review Link:
getBook.at/The-Privateersman

Future Releases:
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future digital book releases by Andrew Wareham, visit:

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