Fall of Giants

Fitz sat in a green leather armchair. To Ethel’s surprise, Albert Solman was there too, in a black suit and a stiff-collared shirt. A lawyer by training, Solman was what Edwardian gentlemen called a man of business. He managed Fitz’s money, checking his income from coal royalties and rents, paying the bills, and issuing cash for staff wages. He also dealt with leases and other contracts, and occasionally brought lawsuits against people who tried to cheat Fitz. Ethel had met him before and did not like him. She thought he was a know-all. Perhaps all lawyers were, she did not know: he was the only one she had ever met.

Fitz stood up, looking embarrassed. “I have taken Mr. Solman into my confidence,” he said.

“Why?” said Ethel. She had had to promise to tell no one. Fitz’s telling this lawyer seemed like a betrayal.

Fitz looked ashamed of himself-a rare sight. “Solman will tell you what I propose,” he said.

“Why?” Ethel said again.

Fitz gave her a pleading look, as if to beg her not to make this any worse for him.

But she felt unsympathetic. It was not easy for her-why should it be easy for him? “What is it that you’re frightened to tell me yourself?” she said, challenging him.

He had lost all his arrogant confidence. “I will leave him to explain,” he said; and to her astonishment he left the room.

When the door closed behind him she stared at Solman, thinking: How can I talk about my baby’s future with this stranger?

Solman smiled at her. “So, you’ve been naughty, have you?”

That stung her. “Did you say that to the earl?”

“Of course not!”

“Because he did the same thing, you know. It takes two people to make a baby.”

“All right, there’s no need to go into all that.”

“Just don’t speak as if I did this all on my own.”

“Very well.”

Ethel took a seat, then looked at him again. “You may sit down, if you wish,” she said, just as if she were the lady of the house condescending to the butler.

He reddened. He did not know whether to sit, and look as if he had been waiting for permission, or remain standing, like a servant. In the end he paced up and down. “His lordship has instructed me to make you an offer,” he said. Pacing did not really work, so he stopped and stood in front of her. “It is a generous offer, and I advise you to accept it.”

Ethel said nothing. Fitz’s callousness had one useful effect: it made her realize she was in a negotiation. This was familiar territory to her. Her father was always in negotiations, arguing and dealing with the mine management, always trying to get higher wages, shorter hours, and better safety precautions. One of his maxims was “Never speak unless you have to.” So she remained silent.

Solman looked at her expectantly. When he gathered that she was not going to respond he looked put out. He resumed: “His lordship is willing to give you a pension of twenty-four pounds a year, paid monthly in advance. I think that’s very good of him, don’t you?”

The lousy rotten miser, Ethel thought. How could he be so mean to me? Twenty-four pounds was a housemaid’s wage. It was half what Ethel was getting as housekeeper, and she would be losing her room and board.

Why did men think they could get away with this? Probably because they usually could. A woman had no rights. It took two people to make a baby, but only one was obliged to look after it. How had women let themselves get into such a weak position? It made her angry.

Still she did not speak.

Solman pulled up a chair and sat close to her. “Now, you must look on the bright side. You’ll have ten shillings a week-”

“Not quite,” she said quickly.

“Well, say we make it twenty-six pounds a year-that’s ten shillings a week. What do you say?”

Ethel said nothing.

“You can find a nice little room in Cardiff for two or three shillings, and you can spend the rest on yourself.” He patted her knee. “And, who knows, you may find another generous man to make life a little easier for you… eh? You’re a very attractive girl, you know.”

She pretended not to take his meaning. The idea of being the lover of a creepy lawyer such as Solman disgusted her. Did he really think he could take the place of Fitz? She did not respond to his innuendo. “Are there conditions?” she said coldly.

“Conditions?”

“Attached to the earl’s offer.”

Solman coughed. “The usual ones, of course.”

“The usual? So you’ve done this before.”

“Not for Earl Fitzherbert,” he said quickly.

“But for someone else.”

“Let us stick to the business at hand, please.”

“You may go on.”

“You must not put the earl’s name on the child’s birth certificate, or in any other way reveal to anyone that he is the father.”

“And in your experience, Mr. Solman, do women usually accept these conditions of yours?”

“Yes.”

Of course they do, she thought bitterly. What choice have they got? They are not entitled to anything, so they take what they can get. Of course they accept the conditions. “Are there any more?”

“After you leave Tŷ Gwyn, you must not attempt in any way to get in touch with his lordship.”