5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
B yron trudged up the steps and entered the door to the Greeley & Company workroom. His breakfast meeting with Mr. Thorpe, a store owner he’d hoped to persuade to stock Greeley & Company goods, hadn’t gone well. With his luck such as it was, he wasn’t surprised. Still, his failure hit hard.
He could only hope Lizzie had good news for him. He strode toward the beauty in question. Just the sight of her eased some of his tension. “Could I speak to you in my office for a moment?”
Those crystal-blue eyes stared up at him. “Of course.”
She followed him to his office, and he closed the door behind them. “Take a seat,” he offered. As soon as she sat, he dropped into his own chair.
Lizzie leaned forward. “I heard from Ruby that you’ll be sending your father overseas for treatment. Does that mean you’ve resolved your financial issues?”
Byron groaned. If only that were the case. “Unfortunately, no.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and his face heated with shame. “Worse, I couldn’t bring myself to tell my family what’s happening with Greeley & Company.” He grimaced. “I really want to do what’s best for my father. If sending him to a sanitorium can restore his health, I have to find a way to make it happen.”
“How? You’re already struggling to pay back the loan that is due in less than two months.”
He nearly groaned again. “I don’t suppose you found anything at the bank.”
“I searched my uncle’s office, with the exception of his safe. It was locked tight,” she admitted in a gentle voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t find anything regarding your loan.”
Although she was probably relieved she hadn’t found evidence against her uncle, her sympathetic expression spoke volumes.
“When we first met, you mentioned that your father was the one who worked with the bank to get the loan.”
“Yes, my father obtained the loan four months ago. At the time, the hosiery machine needed major repairs we couldn’t afford.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Now the amount due has doubled.”
“When I was at the bank, I asked my uncle a few questions, and he said he only works directly with their most influential customers. Are you sure the loan was with Uncle Eldon? Perhaps another bank employee had a hand in this.”
Of course she still believed her uncle must be innocent. She had yet to see proof that said otherwise. “The loan agreement had Teague’s signature as does the forged document.”
Not that she would necessarily take him at his word. As it was, he was grateful for the risks she’d taken for him, although as much as he hated to admit it, she’d only done so because of the job he provided.
“If my uncle did arrange all this …” Her brow furrowed. “Why you? Greeley & Company isn’t a large business.”
“Good question.” He blew out a breath. “If I fail to pay the loan, the bank will sue me for the amount due. I’ll have no choice but to sell our assets to pay it off. While the payment due may not be as large as a loan taken out by a larger company, the bank”—or rather Teague—“would profit well from the scheme. Maybe small businesses like Greeley & Company are targeted because we don’t have the resources to fight back? Yet, I’ve failed to find any business owners who are in the same predicament, and I’m beginning to think I never will.” It made no sense. Out of all the loans The Boston Trust Company had issued, why change his?
“Then perhaps you should ask your father if he remembers anything unusual about the agreement or how the bank treated him when he requested the loan.”
“He’s ill. I don’t want to add this burden to his shoulders.” Byron rubbed a hand over his face. “He’s trusting me to run Greeley & Company. This is my responsibility.”
“You don’t have to tell him that Greeley & Company is having problems. Just ask him if he remembers the details of the loan and what his relationship is like with the bank.”
Byron frowned. “He’ll wonder why I’m asking those questions. He’ll likely suspect something is wrong.”
“You can assure him all is well.”
His father might still worry. “I don’t know. I’ll think on it.”
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth for a moment. “What if you filed for bankruptcy?” she finally said.
“Filing for bankruptcy would only be a last resort.” A lump formed in his throat. Most viewed bankruptcy as something bordering on criminal. “Even if we could stay in business, Greeley & Company’s reputation would be ruined. What suppliers and customers would continue to work with a company that couldn’t pay its loans?”
“Still, if you claimed in the courts that my uncle changed your loan agreement—”
“I have no proof.” Byron shook his head.
He took in the look of concern on her face, and his heart warmed. She offered advice and empathy toward a man who was accusing her own beloved uncle of treachery. “I should have never gotten you involved in this. I’m sure my charges against your uncle seem outlandish to you. Do you even believe I’m telling the truth?”
Her silence lasted too long for comfort. He pasted a conciliatory smile on his face. “Forget I—”
“I do believe something happened with your loan, but I’d prefer to believe it has nothing to do with my uncle. I’d also like to help you uncover the truth. I’m just not sure how.”
Warmth spread throughout his chest, and his smile became genuine. “Why do you believe me?”
“I see the employees in your workshop. How happy they are, and how much you care for them. It’s obvious to me that you’re a good person who’s trying to do his best for his family and employees.”
“I think highly of you as well.” Not only was she beautiful, but she was kindhearted and understanding. “You’ve been doing a lot for me lately, and I’d like to return the favor. If you need help with anything, please let me know.”
Lizzie gave a mirthless laugh. “Can you convince my aunt to stop her matchmaking efforts?” She frowned. “The ball she’s planning for me is less than two weeks away.”
“That soon?” His gut twisted at the thought of all the men who would try to gain her attention.
“She’s eager to marry me off as soon as possible.” Lizzie clasped her hands together in her lap. “She’s worked more quickly than I expected in putting this event together. Maybe she’s been thinking about who she’d like me to marry for quite some time. No doubt, she’ll only invite a select few to the ball, those she’s handpicked as acceptable, or rather those I’d find most unacceptable.”
“You can’t mean that.”
Lizzie’s shoulders slumped. “The last suitor she mentioned was a preacher.”
“He’s unacceptable because he’s a preacher?”
She jerked upright. “Yes! He’ll have me praying night and day to save my soul since I’m sure my aunt told him all about …” Her eyes flared wide, and her cheeks flushed.
“All about what?” From her reaction, it could be no small matter.
“Nothing.”
He arched a brow. Would she really leave it at that?
She cleared her throat. “She’d tell him all my faults,” she finally clarified.
“Ah, and what faults are those?” As if she had any. Still, he couldn’t help teasing.
“That I’m headstrong and wicked.”
“Headstrong, perhaps. Wicked? I find that hard to believe.”
“You don’t know me all that well.”
“Not yet.” But he wanted to. “I take it you’re not on the best terms with your aunt.”
Lizzie raised her chin, a bit of pluck showing itself again. “She’s never liked me.”
“Why?”
“She had a falling out with my mother before I was born. And after … well, she never approved of how I was raised.”
“I see.” Living with the woman had to be difficult. “You seem to get on well with your uncle.”
“I think he took pity on my mother.”
“Pity?”
Lizzie glanced at her hands, unclasped them, and raised her chin high once more. “She was in a poor circumstance for quite some time.”
“Have you lived with your aunt and uncle long?” he asked, eager to learn more about this enticing woman.
“Ever since my mother passed five years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Lizzie nodded.
“What about your father? Is he alive?”
She maintained her silence and averted her gaze.
“I’m sorry to pry.” Perhaps he’d gone too far in his questioning. He smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood. “As for keeping your aunt from matching you with someone you’ll hate, marry me, and your problem will be solved.”
Her gaze shot back to him, and her mouth dropped open slightly.
Honestly, he’d rather focus on courting her instead of dealing with the mess Greeley & Company was in. “At least invite me to the ball. Maybe I can fend off whichever suitors you object to.”
Lizzie smothered a laugh. “My aunt would be furious if I invited my own guest.”
“Do you care if she’s furious?” They didn’t seem to get on well anyway.
Lizzie’s smile grew. “No. Consider yourself invited.”
Getting home took a bit more time these days. Byron couldn’t bring himself to hire a hack when every dollar he saved could be contributed to the sum needed for his father’s recovery.
The hissing gas streetlamps lighting his way, he continued his trek down the sidewalk, his destination in sight, when he spied a fine carriage outside that same building. As he crossed the street, someone stepped down from the conveyance. Eldon Teague, the man he least wanted to see.
What did the snake want now?
Teague set his sights on Byron and waited for his approach.
“Why are you here?” Byron asked once they stood mere feet apart.
Teague scowled. “I understand my niece is working for you.”
“She is.”
“Fire her.”
The demand didn’t come as a shock. Still, he had to ask, “Why? She’s good at her job and seems to enjoy the work.”
“She has no need to work. She’ll be getting married soon,” the older man growled.
“Miss Finn told me she doesn’t want to get married. She’d rather earn her own money and be independent.” Although he had to admit even he hoped she’d change her mind about getting married someday.
Teague grunted. “Nonsense. I know what’s best for my niece.”
Lizzie was a headstrong woman. Did Teague honestly believe forcing her to bend to his will would yield favorable results? “Why don’t you listen to what she has to say? I would think she knows better than anyone what will make her happy.”
“What do you know of it? Stay out of our business and stay away from Lizzie.”
Byron stood tall. “If I don’t?”
Teague’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps your loan will come due sooner than you’d thought.” His cold stare bored into Byron. “What if it comes due in two weeks instead of six?”
Byron’s pulse sped. “You can’t do that,” he blurted, knowing full well the man could do whatever he wished.
“Don’t underestimate me,” Teague ground out.
Byron had been attempting to get a new copy of the loan agreement from the bank ever since the original had been stolen from his office. He’d figured that even if the new document stated the higher rate, at least he could prevent another change from happening by keeping his copy well-protected. Not surprisingly, the bank had put him off time and again. No doubt it was Teague’s doing. “I don’t understand. Why Greeley & Company? Out of all the loans you issue, why did you change our agreement?”
“I don’t like being backstabbed,” Teague said in a clipped tone.
“What do you mean? How have I—?”
“The reason doesn’t matter anymore. Stay away from my niece.” His threat issued, Teague turned his back on Bryon and climbed into the carriage, leaving Byron staring after him.
The fact that Teague had come himself to issue his threat was surprising. The man’s confidence must know no bounds to be so bold as to confront Byron in the street. But what did Teague mean by his comment about backstabbing? Byron had never met the man before the loan agreement was stolen and changed. Did his father know something about this? Perhaps Lizzie was right. He should ask his father about the loan.
Byron entered his family’s home and headed straight for his father’s bedroom. He paused before the door when he heard hard, wheezing coughs coming from inside. His father was weak, but he needed to know.
He opened the door and approached his father, who was sitting up in bed. “Are you all right? Can I get you anything? Something to drink?”
His father held up a hand and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, spots of blood staining the cloth. A few moments later, his father’s coughing subsided. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” he assured Byron.
“Are you sure? I can ask Dr. Fletcher to come by again.”
“There’s no need.” His father waved his hand. “Don’t bother the man. There’s nothing more he can do.”
Guilt pressed in. Indeed. The only thing that might help his father would be to send him away to a sanitorium.
“Have a seat. You’re the one who looks worn out lately. Is there anything I can help you with?” his father offered.
When Byron hesitated, his father sighed. “Please. Sitting inside this room day in and day out is making me go mad with boredom. Give me something to think about.”
Byron sank onto the chair by the bed. “Actually, I do have a few questions for you.”
“Good. Ask away.”
Bryon racked his brain for the best way to approach the topic. “Do you know Eldon Teague by any chance?”
“I do. Back when our hosiery machine needed to be fixed, I took out a loan with him.”
“Was there anything special about that loan?”
His father grimaced. “At the time, no other banks would provide us with the funds we needed. Even Teague initially rejected my request.”
“What changed?”
His father idly scratched his gray beard. “He approached me and offered a loan on the condition that I sell our products at a reduced cost to the Howell & Harmon store.”
Odd. “Why would he request such a thing?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t question him. I was simply happy to get the money needed to keep our business going.”
Howell & Harmon. He remembered seeing the discrepancy in prices by chance. At the time, he’d thought it had been in error, so he’d contacted the store and changed the prices to what was charged to everyone else. They’d complained, but he’d stuck to his guns. His breath caught in his throat. He’d inadvertently broken his father’s promise to Teague. “Nowhere in the agreement does it mention such a condition. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it.” His father frowned. “It isn’t written in the agreement because the change in prices was a side deal I made directly with Teague. It had nothing to do with the bank.” His father’s expression turned to one of concern. “What’s happened? Has something come of it?”
“No. Teague reminded me that the loan is coming due in six weeks, and I wondered why a bank president would have handled our loan. That’s all. I hadn’t even noticed that Howell & Harmon’s prices were different from the others,” he lied. If only he hadn’t noticed. At the time, he’d thought he’d done well discovering the discrepancy and correcting it. Why hadn’t he asked his father if there’d been a reason for the price difference?
His father coughed a bit more, and weariness settled over his features.
“I should let you rest.”
At his father’s tired nod, he helped him lay down and covered him with a blanket then slipped from the room. Byron stared at his father’s door for a minute. If only he could do more for him.
Shaking his head, he trudged to his own bedroom. Teague had said the original reason for modifying the loan agreement didn’t matter anymore. So, lowering the prices again would do no good. Then what should he do next?
He entered his room and sat down on the bed. As much as he wanted to protect Greeley & Company, he couldn’t bring himself to fire Lizzie. Not only had he promised her a job, but he wanted to help her achieve her goals. Instead, he could ask her to take some time off. Or, if she could manage it, she could do her work at home or at Greeley & Company’s warehouse. He had confidence she would find a way to continue working and still appease her uncle.
As for Teague … He’d made a personal visit to make his demands. Did he always do his dirty business that way. Were there other business owners who had received a visit from him when they’d complained too much about his dirty dealings? Perhaps, perhaps not. Still, it may be worth the time to follow Teague to see where he went and who he talked to. If Byron could discover any nefarious activities Teague was involved in, he might be able to use that information to his advantage. Taking that step was a long shot, but at this point, he’d grasp at straws if he needed to.