Gertie Golden Girl Pt. 14

Chapter 14 ULTIMATUM

Gertie collapses and taken into critical care

As soon as Gill reached her Standhope Winter Bank office first thing Monday morning, she heard from her secretary Kelly that Jake was back in the bank and was in the print room, but he hadn't taken off his coat so was likely to disappear soon.

Jake was deep in conversation with the pretty girl labelled 'Christina' when Gill stopped at the print room doorway, but all of the things she had prepared to say to the man she loved evaporated, as she witnessed the girl let out a squeal before throwing her arms around Jake and giving him a joyous hug. Hardly appropriate manager-staff behaviour, especially considering their age difference.

Gill blinked back tears and started to backtrack, but bumped into Gerald Standhope, her boss, who gently dragged her fully into the print room with one hand behind her back.

"Ahh, Gill, you are just the person I needed to see, Kelly told me you were heading this way," Gerald said to her, then called out, "Jake! Aunt Gertie's in hospital, Sir Michael's been trying to get hold of you all morning --"

"Oh gosh, Gerry, I forgot to change the SIM card in my phone, what ward is she in? --"

"I'll tell you what I know on the way over, Jimmy's moving the car out front."

"I'll let everyone on my side of the family know through Sally, Uncle Gerry," Christina brightly volunteered.

"By all means, Chrissie, dear," Gerald replied, "do please let them know, but you know how Aunt Gertie would hate any fuss."

The young girl nodded in acknowledgement, pulled out her mobile and started swiping and tapping on the screen.

Gill stood there thinking, 'Aunt Gertie, Uncle Gerry, Chrissie, rest of the family, Sir Michael?' She was completely bewildered with what was going on in addition to seeing her lover in the arms of another.

Jake collected his coat from the back of a chair and moved towards Gill.

"Hi, Gill, my love," Jake said, squeezing her shoulder, and kissing her forehead with a lingering kiss, "you're a sight for sore eyes. I was just coming up to see you after I'd caught up with Chrissie. I've just told her she was officially in charge of running this print room from now on and that the next trainee would be her assistant. Come on, if Gran is asking for you, well, then you need to come with us too."

"Yes, Gill," Gerald insisted, "Sir Michael told me she was particularly insistent that you come with us."

"But I've--" Gill spluttered.

"Kelly's cleared your appointments for today," Gerald said, ending any protest, "Jimmy'll be sitting on double yellows waiting for us."

"But if Chrissie's taking over here," Gill said to Jake, "where are you going?"

"Winstone's of course," Jake replied, "come on, I'll explain after we make sure Gran's all right."

Down the corridor and into the lift, Jake held tightly onto Gill's hand, while Gerald explained that the doctor, Sir Michael, had said Gertie was undergoing tests and that they were not to be too alarmed at this stage, but she had been insistent in calling the three of them to her bedside immediately.

Gill remembered that Sir Michael was Jake's skin doctor or plastic surgeon, but it appeared from the conversations that he was Gertie's general practitioner, too.

When they reached the car, Gerald formally introduced Gill to his driver, an upright middle-aged man called Jimmy, which she thought odd. Jimmy explained to Gill with a grin that Chrissie was his youngest daughter, which didn't do any more to explain to Gill what their relationship to anyone else meant at all.

Gill felt too intimidated by her boss's presence in the car to discuss her personal life, especially with Gerald concentrating on briefing Jake on various bank events over the past week, especially odd when Jake wasn't employed by the bank and was moving on to a rival bank's premises presumably to run their print room. Even Jimmy chipped into the conversation from the front seat of the limousine, saying that he had sorted out the Istanbul end with the perfect man and back-up assistant for the job. Gill was only grateful that Jake maintained a firm grip on her hand throughout and occasionally patted the back of her hand with the other, and twice, during breaks in the conversation, leaned in to ask her solicitously if she was all right, to which could only wordlessly nod her affirmation in spite of her completed bewilderment at the way the day was going.

Jimmy dropped them off at a quiet side door at the hospital, where a distinguished and smartly dressed man in a pinstriped suit stood to meet them, holding a fire door open for the new arrivals to pass through into the building. No introductions were clearly necessary towards the other two, but he extended his hand to Gill.

"Miss Gillian Moorhouse, I'm Sir Michael Rahn, welcome to my hospital. It is my pleasure to meet you at last and I hope that your next and future visits would be on less grave occasions. Now, please follow me."

He led them along a number of corridors through to Gertie's private room. Gerald strode in front next to the good doctor, asking about what tests were involved.

Jake was still holding her hand and whispered to Gill, "Michael is my skin doctor that I told you about and he still insists on checking me over a couple of times a year. He's itching to get his hands on me with the new laser technology that is available but he is honest enough to admit that there is nothing pressing that needs doing."

"That sounds good," Gill replied, "and he's also Gertie's doctor?"

"Yes, of course, he's our family doctor."

It was a small, plain room, part of the ICU department, that they were directed into, and Gertie was sitting up in bed, propped by numerous pillows. A monitor registered her heartbeat and another, at the end of a lead attached to Gertie's finger, displayed her temperature, which to Gill looked normal. There were no intravenous drips in view, Gill noted. A nurse removed herself from the room on the faintest of nods from Sir Michael. A short, fat bald man, however, stood patiently in the corner, a portfolio folder in his hands, its red ribbon fasteners hanging loose.

"I am all right, there's really nothing to worry about, just in for tests hopefully, but the vultures," Gertie looked pointedly at Sir Michael, "insist I stay in bed for a few days. That'll be all, Michael, we have family matters to discuss."

"I think I'd rather stay and keep an eye on you, ma'am," the good doctor replied, staring down Gertie's glare, "if you don't mind of course, and taking doctor patient confidence into account."

She nodded her concession to him with a smile and turned to Gerald.

"OK, Gerry, what have we got?"

"It depends on what Jake has managed to do, really, Aunt Gertie, we haven't even broached the subject yet. With Jake's 18, your 13 and my three percent, we are presently 17 percent short of a majority. The hostile bid is led as expected by Winstone's and they appear to believe they have the upper hand. I have spoken on the quiet to several of the underwriters involved this morning but their blood is up, this amalgamation coming to the market has the vultures holding their breaths wondering whether to sit on the fence or circle to feast on the results. While we've experienced tentative overtures before, back in 2008, this is the only hostile proposal we've had in living memory. Jake, what have you managed to arrange in the last week?"

"Oh, I bought the lot that the Winter-Perez family held in Standhope Winter and was granted a year's proxy on their Winstone's holding, so end of problem, really. I had to sell all the Bolivian mining interests and the Argentinean ranches, as we had discussed, plus the Andes ski resort, which I was a little reluctant about, but used as a tipping bargaining chip it really couldn't be helped."

"You have proxies for a majority of Winstone's?" Gerald asked, rubbing his hands together, his face beaming.

"Yes, Jamieson secured 40% of the current board, plus our combined 25% gives us control of Winstone's," Jake replied, "and Winstone's has 18% of Standhope Winter so we now have a 52% winning position on the Standhope Winter defensive side. I doubt if the board meeting on Wednesday will be anything other than a formality, the bid will be withdrawn by Winstone's today. Jarvis may have already heard rumours of the bad news by now."

'Winstone's? Jarvis? Wayne Jarvis presumably? Board Meeting?' Gill thought, 'what's going on? And now Jake's let go of my hand!'

"Capital!" Gerald exclaimed, "I'll get back to work then! Aunt Gertie, I'm so glad to see you looking so well, but then I always assumed you would be." He reached over and kissed his aunt on the cheek. "I'll send Jimmy back to pick you both up," he declared to Gill and Jake, "while I go and help security move my office. See you later, and my heartiest congratulations, my dear." He kissed Gill on both cheeks, which he had never done before, and departed.

Gertie thought that Gill looked absolutely stunned by what was going on around her.

Then Gill turned around to face Jake and found that Jake was kneeling on the floor, looking up at her expectantly.

"I know this isn't the most romantic place to do this," Jake said, "but the right time is the right time wherever that is, I suppose. Miss Gillian Moorhouse, I know that I love you more than any man can love any woman, and that I have long imagined this magical moment, ever since I first met you. I once believed this possibility was beyond my wildest dreams. Ever since you have allowed me to enter your life, my love for you has only been inflamed by you and I want to be with you forever. Would you do me the honour, my dearest Gill, to become my lawful wedded wife?"

He took her hand and with the other hand withdrew an antique ring box from his pocket, flipping it open one-handed, revealing a huge deep-blue-tinged diamond set in a gold band. "This was my mother's ring, the stone reset into the same gold, newly recast to your size. I managed to pick it up from the jewellers before they opened officially this morning. But if you feel you would prefer another --"

"No! No! Your mother's ring? It's perfect... of course I'll marry you, Jake, I love you, but what about Izote?"

"Izote? From Dartmoor? Oh, she's a business partner of, well, ours now. As you know, they maxed out their high street bank loans as a start-up business with little collateral. When they asked our advice on their financial position we both identified that they were insufficiently capitalised and needed more cash to develop the accommodation capacity to make he business immediately viable. It's a sound investment and, with us as silent partners, leaves Rawlyn and Izote free to run the business themselves without undue interference. I thought in time, once she's finished school, Jenny could take my place on their small board of directors. That's what merchant bankers do, Gill, we see the potential beyond the initial balance sheet and make the impossible happen."

"But I oversee any new business at the bank and I didn't see any proposal --"

"That, sweetheart, is because I personally loaned them the money from my, well now our, own accounts."

"But you went away, you left me, and were totally out of contact."

"Yes, I'm sorry, I went away, but it was because Wayne was living in your house --"

"On the sofa, Jake, you know he said he had nowhere else to go. I would never --"

"I know, sweetheart, of course you wouldn't knowingly give anything away, nor would I but we had to be careful. We only promoted Wayne to CEO of Winstone's in the first instance to give him enough rope and, as expected, he speculated on world markets and lost a fortune, or at least a fortune on paper."

"On paper?" Gill was even more bewildered, "what does Wayne have to do with Izote?"

"Nothing at all, sweetheart. But, we've been monitoring Wayne Jarvis and my facilities management team worked the computer interchange to make it appear as though he was trading on the futures market when he was not. We have had programmers working round the clock intercepting and gathering evidence. He has been losing money for some time. It came to light late last year, but we couldn't track down the evidence. It identified a loophole in Winstone's online security."

"Wayne, my Wayne? OK, not mine exactly, but the kids' father, you are saying that he was using the bank's money to speculate?"

"Yes, we figured he was using the bank's money in private transactions, making profits, which he creamed off for himself and paid the bank back within the accepted settlement period, and scrubbing the books to hide the transactions. But then he started losing money and he covered his tracks by stealing from other accounts and hiding the transactions."

"But how?" Gill asked.

"He used dormant accounts, stealing from people who rarely accessed their accounts. Some savers just draw interest, while other accounts have balances that remain idle for years. Winstone's security was archaic, but we suspected something was going on and, as soon as we tightened up and identified the stolen accounts, whoever was doing it shut down their activities for a while. We had no evidence, so we needed to set up a 'cookie jar'."

"We tightened up, sorry, who's 'we'?" A puzzled Gill asked.

"Me, Gran and Gerry already had between us about 25 per cent of Winstone's Bank. Gran and Gerry gave me voting proxies on their shares and I set about buying more and persuading more than half of the board to put my private secretary Jamieson forward for co-option to the board back in December. Through Gran's influence with Winstone's board, we retired the old CEO and appointed Wayne in his place, sat back and watched for him to start his tricks again. Then he did the completely unexpected. He had held a limited-by-invitation board meeting two weeks ago, during which he blamed the bank's losses on his predecessor and managed to get the board's agreement to put together a takeover bid for Standhope Winter, to disguise the losses from the City within the enlarged group. And then he shut down the bank's print room, locking Sally out and breaching their contract with SWN."

"So you couldn't talk to me with Wayne around?" Gill asked, "although he was only there the weekend while we were away together and he only stayed the Sunday night on the sofa and we kicked him out on Monday."

"It was essential that he had no inkling of what we were doing. If he bothered to look at the shareholding in Winstone's and, being a private bank there were only a dozen holders on the register, which we held off on the updating of as long as we could. As you know, I had already chanced a brief meeting with Wayne Jarvis at Jenny and Clay's request, but once he moved in, well...."

"So you weren't worried about him and me, and stayed away from me for that reason?"

"Absolutely not. I know I can trust you, Gill. I know we love each other and we each only needed a small push to commit to each other for life. You are no longer the insecure woman you were at Christmas when your marriage collapsed, you are a confident, beautiful woman who knows she is adored by her family and me, not necessarily in that order."

Gill smiled and pulled him in for a kiss, "Yes, I am that woman, or if not exactly, at least you make me feel like I am. I was worried about us all this week, but I do love you."

"And I love you too, Gill, but I must leave you now and ensure the takeover at Winstone's is a smooth one. And I want to be the one to personally tell Wayne what is happening to him."

"Will he go to prison?" Gill asked, wondering about the effect on her children and his new baby.

"What, the father of my soon-to-be-stepchildren? Oh no," he chuckled, "he's going to manage the Middle East business from the Istanbul branch, starting on Monday."

"Ah, that's where Istanbul comes in. I heard you talking in the car. But isn't that a dangerous part of the world for a Westerner?"

"Speak to Jimmy, he'll reassure you of Wayne's safety, he has hand-picked two guys to accompany him at all times."

"Jimmy the driver?"

"Yes, he's a member of the Nicholls family, our family, darling, you'll meet them all soon enough, long before the wedding. Pretty well all the print shops' staff, the IT contractors, the bank's drivers, the cab drivers, the security staff, caterers, cleaning staff, etc are family or connected by marriage, working for my, our companies. I must be off, do you want to walk down to the car with me?"

"I'd like a quiet word with Gill first, if I may, Jake, dear," Gertie said from the bed, "girls' talk you know... essential girls' talk."

"Of course, Gran, I was forgetting the presence of Barrington. Gill, would you and your lovely children care to join me for dinner tonight at our apartment?"

"Yes, of course, that would be lovely, what time?"

"I might be a little late and, I guess, you might be too; Gerry will explain your new role. I'll ring you later once I reset my phone and give you some idea once I have assessed the situation at Winstone's. Just let yourself in using your thumbprint, OK?"

"OK."

"Say you'll stay the night, love; Clay and Jenny have already packed enough clothes and will be picked up from school by our cab company. My cousin Belinda spoke to them at their schools this morning. Kelly should have the forms for you to fill out for the school, so that our cab company can collect the kids. They'll have sorted out what rooms they want as their bedrooms by the time you get home, I'm sure. You OK with that?"

"Yes, darling, I'll see you when you get home," Gill said. "And is it Jimmy, Sally and her husband that want to move into my old house that you mentioned to me last week? Because they can as soon as I pack my personal stuff. I'll leave it fully furnished."

"Thanks, Gill, Sally will be relieved. Actually, it is only Sally, Grant and her sister Chrissie that want to move into your place; Jimmy's taking the Janitor's flat at our place. He's your driver now, so it will be handy all round to have him and the company limo on the premises."

Gill still looked dizzy, "My driver?"

Jake kissed and hugged her; "Gerry will explain everything when you get to the office. I'll send Jimmy back to collect you after he drops me off at Winstone's. See you tonight, my love."

He kissed Gertie on the cheek before leaving, "Now, don't overtax yourself, Gran, I've got this covered. You just rest and get well, we have a wedding to arrange and I want you on the front pew behind me."

"Of course, dear," Gertie assured him, "I'll only keep her a couple of minutes, besides Michael is here to ensure I do not overdo it. I'll be home for the weekend and I want you all to come up and stay at the Manor."

'Of course we will." Jake nodded to Barrington and Sir Michael, finally squeezing and kissing Gill's left hand as he went by her and departed.

"Come and sit here, Gill dear," Gertie patted the side of the bed and turned to address Barrington, who was already walking forward, "do you have both the documents ready, Barrington?"

"Both, Gertie?" he asked and, on her nod, continued, "of course," handing them over to Gertie.

"Are these the pre-nups to sign?" Gill asked.

"No, of course not, dear," Gertie assured her, "we don't, well we haven't so far, gone down that distasteful route. If you feel it necessary or events warrant, you could of course opt for that. But I don't think you will need to. Barrington's daughter Caroline was originally earmarked to look after your legal matters as your private secretary in future, only she is presently on holiday in Africa with her family. Now, circumstances have changed suddenly so we have rather been caught on the hop. Caroline is good, brilliant in fact, she has a young family and is about your age, maybe a couple of years younger, so I think you should develop a working rapport quite quickly."

"Ahem, if I may be so bold?" Barrington asked, pausing until Gertie nodded him to continue, "I have spoken to Caroline this morning and she is available to return at any time if need be, but I assured her that I would make myself completely available to you in the interim. Your secretary at the bank, Kelly, has been given all Caroline's contact details and has booked appointments for her to see you immediately upon her return. Kelly is currently organising the moving of your office into Gerry's old office, while he is moving into the office next door so that he is conveniently on hand. And my daughter Caroline, who has given me three delightful grandchildren, is about eighteen months your junior."

"All right," Gill said, "reaching for the folder Gertie offered, "but I like to thoroughly read all the documents before I sign them."

"Of course you must, my dear," Gertie said soothingly, "but these two papers are only single-sided pages with minimal writing on them." She paused while Gill opened the folder, "That first sheet is a form of proxy so you can vote for the 13% of Standhope Winter Bank shares currently registered in my name. That is just in case there remains any attempt to takeover or merge the company at the board meeting on Wednesday, but we don't think that will happen now, after Jake's sterling efforts in South America. You will of course be voted in as joint chief executive with Gerry at that board meeting. Gerry will stay on at the bank, on a part-time basis, ready to take over during your honeymoon and if... if you fall pregnant, for example. You do want a child with Jake don't you, my dear?"

"Er, yes, a couple, if possible, he's such a sweet man, our children would be... well, amazing. But, what's this about being joint CEO? I've only been a department manager at the bank for three months or so."

"Gill, even I know that you virtually ran that department for two years prior to taking over as department head. No, you have impressed and been tracked throughout your career and earmarked as a future leader of the bank, and not just because Jake has been fond of you for all these years. This is a family decision, which he has deliberately kept out of. I thought he avoided the discussions because he was generally disinterested in the bank, despite his success as a businessman in every other field he has entered. Once he brought you into his life, my dear, the reasons for his reticence became all too apparent, as did by implication his true opinion of your worth, confident that you would be regarded as outstanding without any influence at all on his part. So, this sheet has already been witnessed by both Michael and Barrington, will you sign the proxy?"

"Yes, of course, this is quite the most straightforward and agreeable document I've ever signed," she scribed her signature, noticing as she held the paper with her left hand how brightly the blue diamond shone, "it is just that all this is just so much, almost too much, all at once. And this ring, it is so lovely and, being engaged to the man of my dreams, I am almost at a loss for words."

Gertie patted her hand, "That ring was Maudie's engagement ring, too. Maudie was my first husband Johnnie's grandmother. It is 1.44 carats, one of the deepest blue diamonds ever found and absolutely flawless. It was purchased in its raw state in the 1880s and studied for many months by the jeweller commissioned for the work before the stone was cut and polished. Maudie first wore it in 1885. She passed it to me in 1953 and I gave it to Jake's father Colin to give to my daughter Mary when they became engaged. You are its third recipient in the family. My first engagement ring will be passed onto you when I pass, so you can give to Clay when he finds a girl worthy of him; it was Nelly Standhope's engagement ring, she was Johnnie's great-grandmother and she passed it to Johnnie when he was about eight; it was one of the original bag of diamonds that the first Jacob Weinstein brought away from his family bank in Mainz that the French burned down in 1798."

"Gosh!"

"This will all seem a bit overwhelming for a couple of weeks, dear, while we get you up to speed. Belinda will help you, but remember that you never have to tackle anything alone. We are a family and we can and do rally round to help. Jake is all about family. It will get a whole lot easier, dear, believe me. All this wealth and power are merely minor distractions that have to be attended to from time to time, but most of it runs like a well-oiled machine. You can call on a range of resources that can give you the help and advice you need and rely on to carry out your instructions discreetely and to the letter. Leaving you able to concentrate on fulfilling your life in happiness with Jake and your immediate family."

Gill smiled her thanks, and Barrington took the proxy from her to put in his bag."I will be at the board meeting with you on Wednesday, ma'am," Barrington said, "just in an advisory capacity. I expect it to only last five minutes or so for your appointment to your new position to be made, now that Jake has secured Winstone's. My partner, Jamieson, is waiting for him to, shall we say, smooth over any ruffled feathers at Winstone's."

Gill looked at the other form, again a very simple one, but this was showing the transfer of ownership of the shares of Standhope Winter & Company Merchant Bank in the name of Gertrude Elizabeth Albury, formerly Gertrude Elizabeth Winter, to Gillian Louise Moorhouse.

'Winter,' Gill thought, 'of course! It all started to make sense! Gertie, Jake, Gerry, they were all descended from the founders of the bank. Standhope Winter was their, now her, family business.'

She looked up at Gertie."What's this mean, Gertie?"

"I think you better call me Gran from now, dear, Jake always does," she smiled.

"OK, er, Gran, but what is this?"

"This was my total shareholding in the Standhope Winter bank, dear, I have no further use for it. After all, I was only keeping it until I could pass it onto you."

"But, I'm only just engaged. I'm not married to Jake yet, we've not even set a date. How can you --"

"Oh! You are not thinking of jilting my lovely grandson at the altar, are you Gill?" Despite the words, Gertie was smiling broadly, the words gently mocking.

"No, of course not, I love him." Gill said.

Gill did, of course she did. Her career, the wealth, the power, none of it mattered a jot when looked at from the viewpoint of perpetual financial security. All that really mattered was love and family.

"Of course you love Jake and he loves you," Gertie agreed gently. "In time, of course, you will pass this share ownership on to the bride or groom of the progenitor of the next generation. That may be Jake and yours future natural son or daughter or, if you are not blessed in that direction, then it might be Jenny or Clay's future spouse."

Gill nodded her understanding; family really meant the complete family.

"You and Jake will have to decide the who and the when, but hopefully not for another twenty to forty years or so. But these shares, and many other holdings which will eventually pass to you in my will, means that you will receive a regular income that is completely separate from your bank salary that you can save, spend, or give away. You will never have to rely on handouts from your husband, such unbalanced marriage partnerships went out with the early Victorians. This type of arrangement, makes the spouse individually wealthy it is an act of faith, of trust. It has worked perfectly in the family for well, almost a hundred and fifty years. A marriage of equals is by far a much stronger unit than one of master and slave, or husband and poor second-class wife. It was explained to me many years ago both by my husband's mother, and my dear friend Evie, that the gift of great wealth gave the spouse a degree of independence and equality that would otherwise cause tension in an unequal marriage. It means that if Jake ever became unreasonable or abusive, you would have sufficient resource to tell him to stuff it in his pipe and smoke it!"

Gill and Gertie laughed, and she signed the form without further hesitation and handed it to Barrington who, with the slightest of smiles, slipped it into his briefcase.

"I'll pop this along to the registrars now and get the paperwork moving, we should have written confirmation of the legal transfer by the middle of next week at the latest. Er... would you like to know the valuation of the shares now, ma'am?"

"No, I really don't think so, Mr Barrington, the bank is a private not a public company, which means I cannot sell them to anyone without the approval of the majority of shareholders and, as I am unlikely to ever realise their value, I suppose I do not really need to know."

"Oh, go on Gill," Gertie gently nudged her, winking, "Barrington is absolutely meticulous in these matters, so I bet he's dying to tell you how much you are now worth."

"Go on then, Barrington," Gill smiled, "tell me, pray, what are these bank shares worth?"

Barrington smiled, "Thank you ma'am. Can I first just say that our firm are at your disposal at any time, our fees reasonable, considering our infinite level of service, and in any case paid for out of a central trust fund, so there is never any need on your part to hesitate. We have worked with your family since the Germans invaded Paris..." He chuckled, enjoying a private joke, "not 1940 of course, but the previous time in 1870, so you can be sure you are our top priority at all times. This folder, which I will leave with you, was prepared by Jamieson on Jake's instructions. It sets out in detail all the holdings in his personal name, and in the possession of the various family trusts, which you both now control. There's quite a lot to read through, although the South American portfolio will need rebuilding once Winstone's is on a firm footing again. Fortunately, you own the local airport and have a stranglehold over the Andes ski resort, so it should return to the fold soon enough.

"This single sheet here sets out your personal holdings. The shares your new grandmother has generously signed over to you are 13,000 six-penny shares, issued in 1863. Nominally this is worth £325, but the last estimation of their value from the latest set of accounts for 2014/15 was rather conservatively put at £280 million --"

Gill gasped. Gertie gripped her hand. "It's only numbers, dear, only numbers. You deal in numbers all the time at work, these just happen to be... your numbers. Please go on, Barrington."

"Thank you, Gertie. Ma'am, in line with family policy of maintaining a growing reinvestment in the bank's reserves, you will be required to draw only 25% of your annual dividend, which last year amounted to £2.4 million."

"Oh, £600,000 is a tidy chunk of change," Gill joked, to offset the rising queasiness in her stomach at the very thought of so much money, more than three times her current salary, "I could buy that frock I saw in Miss Selfridges last week --"

"Ma'am, the £2.4 million is the 25% of your dividend. Your bank salary as CEO will be shared with Gerry, for the time being. He has agreed to draw £400,000, leaving you with £800,000, he hopes that will be acceptable."

"Yes, yes, that is more than generous, but this quick promotion, won't that put everyone's back up?"

"With 13% of the equity, Gill, believe me, no one is going to be affronted by you running the bank," Gertie answered, "besides, you are extremely well respected by all at Standhope Winter. I am sure you will be the only one with any doubts, and Gerry will be there part of the time if you have any questions, or Jake will always be willing to offer advice at the end of the line."

"But what about your dividends, Gran, losing all that income?"

"It just means I can finally start to draw my pension. I assure you that I won't be going short, my dear, I will still be able to spoil my adopted grandchildren whenever I want to."

"But I'm just an ordinary girl, from Pinner, my parents lived in a semi-detached, not a luxury penthouse."

"That brings me to my next point --"

"Gertie," Barrington interjected, "if you have finished with me, I'll get off. Miss Moorhouse, do call me if you need anything, day or night, Kelly already has my numbers."

Gill held out her hand, "Thank you Mr Barrington, if we are going to be working together, please call me Gill."

He shook her hand and smiled, "Thank you, Miss Gill, it has been a joy to meet you.... Before Jamieson was up to speed, I used to look after Mr Jake's interests. I believe he is a remarkable young man and I wish you every happiness for the future. All our futures are in your capable hands and we are delighted to be at your beck and call at all times so that this happy relationship can endure and prosper."

Gill nodded. As he left, Sir Michael, who had just answered a call on his mobile, stirred and moved towards the door, saying, "I'll pop back to see you later, ma'am, and Miss Moorhouse, I will have someone contact your office for you, Jennifer and Clayton to come in for a full check up." He left, closing the door behind him.

Gertie turned to Gill, "Barrington's firm is only the second law firm we have dealt with, the first when the bank was founded here in London in 1820, lasted fifty years until a catastrophic falling out let Barrington's great grandfather in. The reason for the split is lost in the mists of time but that old law firm subsequently vanished without trace. Barrington & Co has an acute sense of history. Ninety-five per cent of Barrington's business is with the family, their advice is totally reliable, their response and discretion absolutely impeccable."

"I see. What was your next point, Gran?"

"We are a private family, Gill, we keep under the radar as much as possible. Our public life restricted to certain commitments which Jake will soon inform you of. I am afraid that once married you will have to undertake most of those that I have performed for the last sixty years."

"I understand," Gill said, realising that her new grandmother was probably suffering from failing health.

"No, I don't think you do, exactly. We are a family business, and Jake has injected his father's Nicholls' family into the business in a unique and dynamic way, revitalising the overall business in new directions. Just after Waterloo, following a nomadic existence in war-torn Europe, the first of four Jacob Weinsteins set up Weinstein Merchant Bank, mostly dealing with immigrant textile businesses in the East End of London, later investing heavily in Lancashire. It evolved into the materials supply business too, heavily into growing cotton."

"Weinstein's?"

"The name was changed in 1914, dear, following a lot of anti-German feeling, even though the family had been English for nearly a century. Standhope Weinstein already had Winter as a family name, so the business became Standhope Winter and Weinstein's Orient became Winstone's."

"Where did Standhope come in and who were Weinstein's Orient?"

"In the 1840s the firm expanded, inviting Lord Standhope in as a junior partner. Lord Standhope brought with him a substantial landholding in the southern United States in exchange for heavy financial investment, changing the name to Weinstein & Co. By the 1860s the two families had begun to intermarry, so the bank became Standhope Weinstein. The second Jacob set up Weinstein's Orient in Istanbul to exploit cotton growing, first in Egypt and later in India, eventually using the Suez Canal for shipping home. When the Ottoman Empire declared war in 1914, Orient moved to London. Both banks changed names for the same reason. They have always been separate businesses, but they were mostly owned by the same people, all of them family."

"Which is why Jake had shares in Winstone's?"

"Yes, dear. That folder you have lists Jake's personal holdings, which will become both yours when you marry. But that is a drop in the ocean. Most of the family holdings, like Jake's apartment building, for example --"

"The whole building?"

"Yes, the whole building. That is held by a family trust. The family designed and built it in about 1927, I think. Yours and Jake's apartment was valued for insurance purposes last year at £16.3 million, which is for rebuilding your floor and replacing all your contents. That, and all the costs associated with it are all held in trust. The trusts are private companies that pay proper taxes, as they should, but are not subjected to death duties, so the assets remain in the control of the family through the Trustees. There are lots of trust funds and provisions which are set up for every eventuality, such as my retirement, and your retirement, other funds for your children, your future children, and their future children. Gill, you will never ever have to worry about putting food on the table. Woman didn't have careers in my day so I devoted myself to charitable work, much of it spent in this hospital, which the family built in the 1860s. You are more than capable of running the bank and, like Gerry, when you feel you have run your course, or want to do something else, paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, you have the freedom to do whatever you want."

"This seems so bizarre. I have worked at the bank for 12 years, yet someone like Christina, who has been there a week, has more idea of what is going --"

"That, my dear, is because Chrissie is family, on your fiancé's paternal side, as you are family now. It is all a question of bringing you up to speed. Has Belinda been in touch yet?"

"Yes, I'm seeing her later this week."

"Good, she will concentrate on your role outside the immediate family and the business. She'll cover the necessary etiquette, introduce you to the people you need to know, how to handle the press, etcetera. Now, how do you feel about private education?"

"I am all in favour but Wayne said --"

"Forget Wayne Jarvis. Forget him for now anyway. He'll do his penance in Turkey and the Middle East, and be kept on a very short leash for about two years, three if he misbehaves again. Then he'll be brought back here to work in the business, somewhere to be decided. He will not be a CEO again; he was only temporarily over-promoted in order to catch him red handed. Sales and entertaining clients seem to be his natural forte, with little or no access to pots of cash. Now, back to private education. So, if Jennifer and Clayton have home tutoring as soon as possible to bring them up to scratch, you'd have no objections for them to go to Roedean and Charterhouse respectively in the autumn term?"

"No, of course not, that would be a dream come true."

"Excellent, the tutors have already been secured and one of the apartments on your ground floor will be converted into classrooms this week, ready for next Monday start. Now, Cheryl and her baby, you've never actually met them, have you?"

"Wait, schoolroom in the building?"

"It will be convenient for you all around. Besides it is time Jake lost this urge to be a recluse living in a mausoleum, and filled that lovely building full of families again. You will have to give him a shake from time to time, remind him of his responsibilities. He may be a brilliant businessman, but he's not always to be allowed to be the boss, not when he gets home anyway. Now, Cheryl and the baby?"

"No, I haven't met her, Gran," Gill admitted. "I suppose I blamed her and the baby for ending my marriage."

"I know dear, that's easily understood, but you need to look at the bigger picture now. Wealth and position brings with it... certain responsibilities. After all, what is done is done, but are you absolutely certain you know exactly who the seducer was and who the victims are, and I mean all the victims?"

"This is a little like your second husband and his other family isn't it? You were determined to have a tolerable relationship with the other woman and continue a close one with the children, didn't you, Gran?"

Gertie smiled, nodded and patted her hand again, "I did, still do and it's really for the best, dear."

"And I suppose this means that you've met Cheryl?"

"Indeed, I had lunch with her round her place last week, I don't like going out evenings any more and so we timed our meeting during the baby's afternoon sleep time, although I managed to play with him for a bit while Cheryl got the little mite's milk ready. The baby's quite bonny. He's half-brother to your children, remember, and, on the face of it Cheryl looks like she's a good mother, having to cope on her own much of the time."

"I'll arrange to see her soon, Gran," Gill sighed.

"Your secretary Kelly has her mobile number and will arrange a mutually convenient time."

"Mmm, Kelly seems to have some questions coming from me when I get back."

"Oh, Kelly's completely on your side, dear. I think she's loyal to you and I think she's a treasure. If she wasn't so supportive or wasn't up to the task of being the CEO's PA she wouldn't be the one moving your stuff to your new office."

"So, she sent me down to the print room so that the three of us would be there at the same time. Of course, she said Jake hadn't taken his coat off so I had to hurry, but his coat was on the back of his chair."

"Timing was essential my dear. Kelly never walked past the print room, I rang her just before Michael rang Gerry. Now, back to business. Did you know that Cheryl was the most promising intern of the group that Winstone's took on the year before last?"

"No, I didn't. Mmm, so what you're hinting at is that once her baby can be left with a childminder, Cheryl could begin our bank's trainee programme, starting at say, two short days a week, nine 'til three to fit in with the baby's needs and go on from there? If I introduce a crèche fully staffed with qualified childminders we could attract the best banking staff that would otherwise be abandoned."

"Gill, dear, as soon as I met you I recognised you were the ideal woman for Jake, and a future matriarch for the family, the whole family, once I've gone."

"Well, don't go too soon, Gran, I need you and you'll be sorely missed, by me, and by us all."

"Thank you, dear. I assure you that I intend to be around for quite a while."

Sir Michael knocked on the door of the side ward and entered, addressing Gill, "Your driver is here, ma'am".

"Thank you, Michael," Gertie said, "I think we're all finished here. I'll see you at the weekend, Gill."

"I don't suppose you will still be here by visiting time tomorrow, Gran?"

"No, dear, I'm just staying overnight for Jake's benefit really, then I'll go home for breakfast. Please come to dinner at the country house on Saturday evening, Jake knows where it is, so we can all sit down in a civilised environment and talk seriously about arranging the wedding."

"All right, Gran, I can see where Jake gets his delicious deviousness from. You are both remarkable people. Any more surprises for me before I go?"

"Not from me, dear, but sit down with Jake tonight, I'm sure he'll fill in all the gaps."

***

Gill walked down the corridor with her new driver Jimmy. He was quite chatty, talking about Gerry sharing what is now her car. He was telling Gill that one of the two guys appointed to look after Wayne in Istanbul was a Turkish Cypriot who had served as an NCO with the British Army and was married to a Nicholls cousin, spoke the local lingo well and knew his way around the Middle East like the back of his hand, while his partner, although not family, yet, was 'well experienced', he said, in foiling kidnap attempts.

But Gill wasn't really listening; she had so much running through her head.

***

Sir Michael watched Gill and Jimmy disappear through the door and down the corridor before turning to Gertie.

"Well, I think that went quite well, ma'am, all things considered. She seems a sweet girl."

"She is, Michael. Anyway, when we are on our own, why don't you call me Gertie like you do when you're my guest, be it London or Derbyshire?"

"Because here you are in my environment and my rules apply, I can't allow myself to call you anything other than Ma'am or Your Lady, ma'am."

"Tosh! You're just miffed because I've taken one of your hospital beds --"

"I don't mind the bed, but I draw the line at you bringing your chef to my kitchen, I had a full-grown revolt on my hands just now."

"Sorry, Pierre is so impulsive, but I've gotten used to his cooking. Have you thrown him out on his ear?"

"No, he's now got the rest of the staff eating out of his hand and getting them to follow his recipes and food preparation methods for today's lunch and dinner. They'll never be the same down there after this!"

"Ha! Pierre has a full measure of Gallic charm," Gertie grinned, "so, you're not sore about me using this ward --"

"Ma'am, I'm well aware that your family founded this hospital for the poor of East London, 150 years ago, and you have been our leading benefactor over the years, but the Lady Standhope Wing has much better appointed rooms than this."

"Well, I could hardly dupe my love-sick grandson into a meeting with the love of his life, to either shock them by my imminent demise into getting back together or fall back on banging their bloody heads together, in a wing of the hospital with my name plastered all over it, could I?"

"I suppose not.... Anyway, the funny thing is, you didn't need to do any of this because it looks like His Lordship was going to propose to her at the bank this morning anyway!"

"Yes, he'd had the ring refurbished and in his pocket all ready to present. I should have known better than try and second-guess my grandson!"

"Lord Standhope has certainly been a stubborn and determined character ever since I've known him as a child, but I couldn't help notice that several of his shirt buttons were undone today, which I think is a first. I believe Lady Gill is going to be the making of him."

"Me too. I like her a lot. It's going to be fun seeing her children blossom under our care too."

"I know I signed both those papers Barrington brought here before they arrived, ma'am, but I thought you were only going to give her the proxy today and hold back the share transfer?"

"I was, but Jake's marriage proposal and Gill's acceptance to the engagement, has changed all that. Those shares are merely a token, just a drop in the ocean, but once she has accepted that the money is meaningless figures, she can remove that from the equation and put her trust in the immeasurable community of family. I received my gift of those very same shares in the bank from Johnnie's mother the same day I was engaged to him, and engagements in those days had to be at for at least eighteen months to prevent tongues wagging. Hopefully, Belinda will persuade Jake and Gill to marry before this spring is out. I will give Belinda a call in a moment.

"In the meantime, Barrington tells me my retirement fund has exceeded all expectations and therefore we can look again at those maternity wing plans you broached last year."

***

"Hi honey!" Jake's voice boomed out of Gill's mobile phone speaker, "Have you left Gran yet?"

"Yes, Jake, we left about ten minutes ago, Jimmy's taking me back to the bank now. How's everything at Winstone's? And, more to the point, how did your meeting with Wayne go?"

"Sweet. He went down like a leaky balloon when he found out we knew everything. I had to work every single trick in the book to build him back up again, so he'd toe the line rather than storm off in a huff. He has got one hell of an ego that man, I will give him that!"

"He can sell sand to camels, fridge magnets to Eskimos, and smile along with you while he robs you. He smiled while he robbed me of my dignity.... Jake, you had me worried last week, I really thought I'd lost you."

"Sorry sweetheart, but once Jarvis closed down the print room at Winstone's and locked out Sally and her assistant Chrissie, I lost my eyes and ears on what he was doing outside of his computer input. I really didn't see the bank takeover bid coming and I had limited time to find an effective strategy to counter. With Jarvis moving back in with you and the kids, well, I wasn't exactly sure of what his motives were, and how much he knew about the evidence we were gathering."

"So you kept away from us.... I can understand that, but why go to stay with Izote at Dartmoor? You must have known that I would think the worst --"

"I didn't know that Chrissie was going to tell you I was down there. It was just a business deal going on in the background. I only drove down to set up a line of credit with their bank in Okehampton and sign the agreements with the sisters at their lawyers' offices. My private secretary Jamieson was with me the whole time. I was in Dartmoor for maybe an hour or ninety minutes at most. The rest of the week I was in Peru and Chile realising assets and negotiating buying back the shares that were held by a branch of the family that moved there a couple of generations ago. While I was over there I turned off the phone's roaming facility, to remove distractions. My company has SIM cards on file for every continent. The Winter-Perez family are notoriously tricky negotiators, I was wishing you were there with me all the time. We could spend a week skiing in the Andes in August before the kids start their new schools in September."

"You still had me worried, hon."

"It was thoughtless of me and I will make it up to you, darling, even if it takes me half a century."

"You better!" she laughed, "So, what have you done with the father of the first two of my children?"

"Now he's become quite enthused about spending two years in Istanbul and he has a folio of Middle East projects that we've designed for him to study before he goes. He'll still be around for a few days, to possibly patch things up with Cheryl and to see the kids.... Wait a minute, what was that about first two children?"

"Well, hotshot tycoon, ex-copy boy, and my all-round heartthrob, how do you feel about becoming a father in the next year or so, maybe a couple of times over the next five years while I still can?"

"I feel really good about it, darling... really, that would be fantastic, a couple of kids like Jen and Clay would be awesome."

"Good, because I'm telling Uncle Gerry, and that's the first time I can bring myself to calling him by that name, that he's still doing three days a week for the foreseeable future and I'm going home early tonight and most nights for a while. How about your end?"

"Jamieson's got things buttoned up tight here, my IT guys are double checking they've replaced all the dummy accounts for the Jarvis Sting, and ensuring that all the real accounts are squared up. I think I can get away just after lunch."

"Good. Before the kids get home would be ideal.... Look, Jake honey, I've got an unrecognised number coming in on the phone, I better take it in case it's Gertie or maybe something to do with the kids being picked up from school. I'll see you soon then, bye sweetheart! I love you!"

"I love you too. We must sit down and talk tonight, there's a hell of a lot of things we need to go through, like family obligations that you really need to know about at the earliest. Until then, bye, sweetheart, love you!"

***

From her car, The Honourable Belinda Wheatier, also known among the county set as Lady Dorset, hung up after speaking to her Great Aunt Gertie and rang Gill's number from her stored directory.

She was so excited she could barely contain herself and the damn phone rang and rang and rang with an engaged call waiting tone before Gill picked up.

"Congratulations, Gill,... It's Belinda, sweetie.... Yes.... I just heard the wonderful news.... Do you have any wedding dates in mind yet?... Never mind, I'll be seeing you up at Aunt Gertie's country house on Saturday, we'll talk then.... I love organising weddings, but I believe in working from the end backwards.... That's right.... We are going to have soooo much fun with this. Where do you want to have your honeymoon?... The foothills of the Himalayas or the Andes?... A hiking holiday?... Not my idea of a honeymoon, too far from the beach for me, but for you two, well it's perfect and the former King of Nepal will be absolutely delighted.... Why? He loves crosswords and texts Jake all the time.... No, of course the ex-King's not a cousin, really Gill!... No, Great Aunt Mildred turned his grandfather's proposals down twice, besides mountaineering was only a passing phase for her before she took up flying solo biplanes and sailing single-handed yachts around the world. Now, do you want the wedding reception in Nepal or England? Gertie says we can have the wedding in the pretty little Standhope Parish Church of All Saints and hold the reception in the main ballroom at the Standhope 'Palace' in Derbyshire?... Of course it's not really a palace, it's Standhope Manor, but we've always joked about it being so ostentatious because it has more than a hundred bedrooms and three ballrooms... Gill?... You still there?... Gill?"

***

After a delightful lunch at the hospital and with everything major seemingly resolved, Gertie was relaxed but soon became bored and decided to ring both her households and sort out arrangements for the weekend.

The London household was updated with the news of Jake's engagement and that they would spend the weekend at the Manor; her London housekeeper Marie would ensure a small weekend case was packed for her and a couple of house maids would be despatched to meet her there. Gertie also confirmed an earlier conversation that, if the marriage of Jake and Gill went ahead as anticipated, after the marriage Hertie would probably close down the London home permanently and retire to the Manor, but would discuss this in more detail with the staff formally sometime next week. Of course, the London house staff were well aware of this being in the pipeline and that positions elsewhere would be found for them.

She called the housekeeper's number at the Manor.

"Standhope Manor Housekeeping," the call was answered crisply, Gertie thought, the telephone accentuating Clara's slight Northern Irish accent, the voice continuing without a pause, "Mrs O'Reilly speaking, how may I help you?"

"Clara," Gertie said gently, "it's me and I'm sure my name has come up on your screen."

"It has indeed ma'am, I was just pulling your chain, especially as I know you are in a particularly happy place at the moment," Gertie's housekeeper admitted, "I also have a unique ring tone when you call that Sean loaded up for me when I got my new phone a month ago."

"Unique ringtone?"

"Aye, it's a rather grand tune that sounds quite fitting as of coming from you but Sean wouldn't tell me where it comes from. A young maid smiled when she first heard it but she wouldn't tell me anything about it either. Still, I've got used to it now. So, you're ringing to tell me you're coming up with a big party for the weekend?"

Gertie wasn't that surprised that Clara already knew she was coming, the Standhope Winter households had a bush telegraph that was seemingly unrivalled anywhere else. Gertie had a surprise up her sleeve though.

"Indeed, Clara, my grandson has just got engaged, so there will be a large party. Jake's fiancée has two teenage children who will also be coming. I wonder if it would be possible to accommodate them in the family quarters and if you could find a convenient room elsewhere for me?"

"Indeed, Ma'am," Clara replied, "We did discuss this possibility a number of years ago and, a couple of months ago when I received news of Mr Jake and Miss Moorhouse's developing relationship, I found a nice room for you on the north side of the house in the middle of the first floor, convenient for the main staircase. I discussed the possibilities of turning the area into a suite with an entrance hall, spare bedroom, en-suite bathroom and sitting room with the Environment Officer of the local Planning Authority, who agreed with me that the conversion could be done within the parameters allowed by the Grade I* listing, so I managed to do the conversion within last year's Conservation Budget. Both the sitting room and main bedroom have original William Morris wallpapers and the Officer put me onto the company that cleaned up similar wallpapers in the offices of the House of Lords about a decade ago. They came hotfoot at the drop of a hat, keen to have a go at them and the walls have come up a treat."

"William Morris wallpapers?" Gertie asked.

"According to the accounts that the County Archivist kindly looked out for me, as all the ancient manorial record are stored with the County Public Record Office in Derby, the wallpapering dates from 1896, when the whole of the north side of that floor were redecorated using William Morris's papers in various designs printed between 1888 and 1896. Six of the other rooms still have the wallpaper intact and the cleaning company will return in the autumn with rather less urgency to clean those up. When done we'll open up those rooms for the public. The Environment Officer was quite excited and I expect we'll get a lot of visitor interest next season."

"So you are telling me that these new rooms for me are already started?" Gertie spluttered.

"They are complete, ma'am, I'll get your personal clothes etc moved today. It usually takes up to 64 days for approval of the planning applications, especially for historic buildings, but the Borough Planning Committee held an emergency meeting in the tearooms here, with the County Historical Society reps, made a site visit to the rooms and, as it was on the first floor, the Environment Agency nodded through their approval as there was no effect on flood risk. It's amazing what can be done when you can get the right people on your side. And I'll move Mr Jake's personal items into the main bedroom of the family suite and freshen up the second bedroom, whether needed or not, and the two further bedrooms for the children, Clay and Jenny. I had a word with the Stable Boy and he will give Jenny a chance to select a horse for her personal use while she's here. I know that Miss Moorhouse and Clay pony-trekked recently but do they ride well?"

"Not sure, Clara, I thought you'd know, actually," Gertie cackled.

"Oh, we'll find out all the ways we can make them feel at home, ma'am," Clara said confidently, "and while we are on the subject of home, I assume that Jake prefers to maintain his London penthouse?"

'He does, it was his mother's place and so yes, he feels very much at home there. I will be closing up the London house once Jake is married off and moving permanently to the Manor. Can you find space there for all the staff?"

"Aye, not a problem, your housekeeper Marie and I spoke last week about this and she told me that Jake would take on half the staff and we'd get the rest."

"My grandson is coming out of his shell," Gertie observed.

"Indeed he is, ma'am. Well, we've plenty of time to find out who's coming and where we can use them," Clara said, "Are you staying one more night in the hospital, or going home to the London house?"

"Staying one more night, Sean gets to do supper and breakfast before I let him go."

"Sean tells me me he is coming up this weekend, he's taken time off from his evening restaurant work," Clare said, "And he's been talking to Jake about a project in Islington."

"It seems Jake is becoming, not just shell discarder as you thought but maybe he's a Phoenix."

"Indeed ma'am, his lordship is beginning to blossom and it is a happy day for us all."

***

Gertie rang for a nurse and asked her to fetch her chef from the hospital kitchens at his convenience. About six minutes later the nurse showed in a tall youthful-looking man in a fresh, clean white linen apron into the room. He bent his head slightly, reverently, and removed his tall white chef's hat to reveal a head of shockingly tight red curls, making his face look even younger.

He spoke, "Madame Ladyship, oo 'ave called por moi?"

The nurse curtsied and departed to carry out her other duties and closed the door silently behind her.

"Seanpierre!" Gertie snapped, but with a smile, she had known her godson Seanpierre Picard-O'Reilly even before holding him at the font in the old chapel at Standhope Manor some 27 years earlier for his christening. "Knock it off, Sean, I've just spoken to your grandmother."

Seanpierre chucked, "Sorry, Gran Gertie, but the kitchen staff expected a show, so I gave them one. How was your Scotch Broth luncheon?"

"Excellent as ever," Gertie smiled, "now, stop changing the subject, sit on the side of the bed here," she tapped the spot with her palm, "and reveal what Clara has hinted at about Islington."

Seanpierre sat on the edge of the bed clutching his hat, leaned across and kissed his godmother on her proffered cheek, "Well, Jake has offered me a shop in St John's Street Islington from his property portfolio which is presently leased to a furniture maker who has gone out of business. It's a good size, in a great position, within an area that has seen new younger and more prosperous people move in and is close to a popular pub and only two minutes' walk from the Angel tube station."

"I might have known Jake is involved," Gertie smiled, "When is it available?"

"There's two years left on the lease but the furniture maker is using the closed shop as a warehouse while he finds buyers for his remaining stock, but Jake has offered him a deal on more suitable storage under the arches at Liverpool Street and help him relocate if he surrenders the remaining lease in the next three months. Add say another three months on gutting and refitting, I could open my restaurant in six months, so I have given a fortnight's notice to my evening job. I'd still be able to do your lunches and I'm cooking for you and your guests at the Manor at the weekend; Chef Charles is taking the opportunity of a weekend off to visit his mother at Worthing."

"Very well, Sean," Gertie patted her godson's hand, "head back to the kitchen and I'll see you for supper and breakfast in the morning, come and talk to me further about your project. What's for supper?"

Seanpierre's eyes lit up, "Slow-cooked belly of pork roasted on a bed of sliced and diced veggies to soak up all that lovely rendered fat, served with deep fried round chips and buttered baby turnips."

to be continued