Chapter Text
From: Adam Bell [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: A Request
My darling girl,
I know your dissertation keeps you busy, but could I tempt you to come to Paris at your earliest convenience?
The nursing staff here are tyrants. They won’t permit me a glass of anything remotely civilised with my evening meal. Apparently, “alcohol interferes with medication.” I maintain it improves the experience.
I grow weary of my own company and your cheerful face would be a most welcome reprieve from this temple of suffering and boiled vegetables.
Uncle Adam
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: A Request
What are you talking about? What nursing staff? Are you in hospital??
—---------------------
From: Adam Bell [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: A Request
A minor heart episode, my dear. Apparently, my heart found the Parisian summer too beautiful to bear and needed to recover in a hospital for the past week.
Please come to relieve my boredom before I take up smoking to scandalise the nurses.
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: A Request
A heart attack?!!
—---------------------
From: Adam Bell [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: A Request
“Attack” sounds so dramatic. I prefer “episode” – it suggests refinement.
Yes, there are monitors. Yes, they beep. At regular intervals – a tedious, tortuous sound.
Must I tempt you with macarons to ensure your presence by my side?
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A Request
Macarons are unnecessary. I’m booked on the next train.
—---------------------
From: Adam Bell [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A Request
I’ll be waiting by the window (if I can convince the dragon matron to let me into my chair).
And I beg to differ. Macarons are imperative given my present condition. Plenty of lemon and raspberry please.
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: A Request
Naturally. Classics only. Have you seen those hideous modern flavours? Matcha in a macaron?
Meanwhile, behave. If you are discharged for insubordination before I arrive I shall be quite cross.
—------------------- TWO WEEKS LATER —---------------------
From: Henry Lennox [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Subject: Marlborough Property - change in administration
Dear Mr Thornton,
Please be advised that my client, Adam Bell, has appointed his caretaker Margaret Hale as trustee of the Adam T. Bell Trust. Kindly address all future communications to me, with a copy to Miss Margaret Hale at [email protected].
We look forward to your continued tenancy of the Marlborough House office space in the Bell Trust's Marlborough Mills complex.
Best regards,
Henry Lennox
Lennox & Associates
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: William Latimer Sr [email protected]; Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: FW: Marlborough Property - change in administration
Bill,
See below - Bell has appointed a new trustee. His health must be failing rapidly if he needs a caretaker to manage his affairs.
In any case, I’m about to get started on the Marlborough office renovations I mentioned when I saw you at Hamper’s the other night. Construction contract is attached. Please review ASAP. Contractor begins work on Monday.
JT
John Thornton
Thornton Textiles Ltd.
—---------------------
From: William Latimer Sr [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: Marlborough Property - change in administration
John,
What renovations?
I assume you recall that you need your landlord’s consent before starting any renovations to the property. I’m certain I mentioned this before, but I’ve attached the relevant provisions of the lease for reference. And you cannot touch any of the grounds outside your leased space without express, written permission.
It’s imperative that you have your contractor hold off on any work until we’ve obtained formal consent from Bell’s Trust.
I’ll be out of the office for the next four weeks for that damned knee replacement. Need to be back to full health by summer so I can get back out on the links. I’ll get you out there one day yet, my boy. You know what they say: all work and no play. Did I mention Ann’s foursome is in need of a new member?
I’ll leave you in my daughter’s capable hands.
Bill
Latimer & Latimer
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Cc: William Latimer Sr [email protected]
Subject: Landlord consent for repairs
John,
Always a pleasure to hear from you. Your latest presentation to the Milton Chamber of Commerce was quite impressive.
Please send me the details of the renovations you intend for the Marlborough office and I’ll pass them on to Mr Lennox. (Let’s call it ‘repairs’ rather than ‘renovations.’ In my experience, these old trustees can be quite protective of their properties.)
Give me a ring anytime to discuss. Or happy to chat over a drink any night this week.
Ann
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]
Cc: William Latimer Sr [email protected];
Subject: Re: Landlord consent for repairs
Ann,
Details of the renovations are attached. All of this work is time sensitive and absolutely necessary. The courtyard drainage is abysmal. Please handle getting the necessary consent ASAP.
Email is the best way to reach me.
JT
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]
Subject: Marlborough – Renovation Consent Request
Hi Henry,
My client, John Thornton of Thornton Textiles Ltd., intends to undertake essential repair work at Marlborough Mill office. Details attached include pipe work, guttering, and courtyard drainage improvements.
Please provide confirmation of landlord consent as soon as possible.
Regards,
Ann
Latimer & Latimer
—---------------------
From: Henry Lennox [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: FW: Marlborough – Renovation Consent Request
Dear Margaret,
How are you? How’s Paris treating you? I hope you are allowing yourself some time between caring for Adam and managing his affairs.
London has gone back to its usual shade of grey and mediocrity since you left. I think I might come to Paris, if only to seek your services as tour guide and translator. A quiet dinner in a warm little café sounds like an excellent prescription for us both.
I imagine stepping into Adam’s role as trustee must feel daunting. You know I’m here to make that transition easier. On that note, I need your signoff on proposed repair work at the Marlborough property. I’ve reviewed the summary (attached) and it all seems sound. In fact, your tenant has volunteered to handle repairs to the courtyard – work technically outside his responsibilities per his lease. If he’s offering to improve the property at his own expense, I’d advise you to accept. As the saying goes, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Henry
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: Marlborough – Renovation Consent Request
Hi Henry,
Paris is rather overrun at the moment – tourists, artists, and even philosophers in cafés. You’d hate it. I suggest you remain in London.
What do they mean by “level part of the cobbled yard?” That sounds ominously vague. I will not approve any work that interferes with the original stones or alters the façade in any way.
Thanks,
Margaret
—---------------------
From: Henry Lennox [email protected]
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]
Cc: Margaret Hale [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Hi Ann,
My client seeks clarification on the drainage proposal and confirmation that no alterations will be made to the brick façade or cobbled courtyard.
Kind regards,
Henry Lennox
Lennox & Associates
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]
Cc: Margaret Hale [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Hi Henry,
Only minor and essential alterations are planned to the façade – chiefly, replacement of worn gutters. As for the courtyard, only a section near the entrance would be re-laid to prevent water pooling.
As I mentioned, the proposed repairs are all essential to prevent further damage to the property.
We look forward to your client’s favourable response.
Regards,
Ann
Latimer & Latimer
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Please also clarify about “vehicular access.” It seems the tenant wants to level the courtyard to extend the parking area.
If that is the plan, then the answer is no. Those cobbles have been there for two centuries and bothered no one. Their unevenness is part of their charm.
Also what about the noise? The Higgins family rents the former counting house as a residence. They have small children. I cannot agree to anything that disturbs them.
Margaret
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Subject: FW: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
John,
See correspondence below. As predicted, the new trustee is not keen on any modifications to the property. She seems to have Bell’s arrogance.
Any way we can tone down the repair request? Do you intend to create a new parking area in the cobbled courtyard?
We’ll get the consent you need; just need to navigate the crusty old folks first.
Ann
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Ann,
The cobbled courtyard may look charming but it is a medieval drainage nightmare. It predates basic plumbing and behaves accordingly. The proposed “levelled” area will fix that and provide additional parking and better access. A win-win, if you want to phrase it that way. I don’t suppose they want my clients to trip on their way in the door. That’s a civil claim waiting to happen.
Neither Bell nor this new trustee have been anywhere near the Marlborough property in years. They ought to trust my intentions in bringing it into the modern age.
JT
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Hi Ann,
I’m still waiting for clarification regarding the cobbled yard and noise levels.
Unless these points are addressed, I will not consent to the repairs.
Thanks,
Margaret
—---------------------
From: Henry Lennox [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: FW: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Margaret,
Please don’t directly write to the landlord’s representatives. It muddles things.
If you have questions, just call me, okay? Let me talk you through it and follow up with them.
Henry
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Cc: Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]; John Thornton [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Hi Margaret,
We are merely repairing poor drainage and adding extra parking. Truly, the modifications will be a win-win for all parties. Mr Thornton notes that the uneven courtyard may be charmingly medieval but it is also a liability concern.
Respectfully, as you have not been in Milton in years, you may not appreciate the present condition of the property. It has not aged as gracefully as your memories of it. It is sadly out of date and my client merely seeks to bring it in line with modern expectations.
Work hours will, of course, be standard daytime only.
Regards,
Ann
Latimer & Latimer
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]; John Thornton [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Hi Ann,
Thank you for clarifying – it appears the planned repairs are far more substantial than we were initially led to believe.
And thank you for relaying Mr Thornton’s views on medieval surfaces and modern expectations. Please let him know that it is not the maintenance of the courtyard that concerns me but its continued existence.
I do not share the modern enthusiasm for paving over and leveling everything. If Mr Thornton wishes for office space with smooth floors and sharp corners, then I would - respectfully - suggest he look for newly constructed buildings.
I, on the other hand, am rather attached to old things.
Thanks,
Margaret
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: FW: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Is the woman serious?
Also, you did forward them my detailed plans, correct? I don’t like to be accused of misleading anyone.
JT
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Subject: Re: FW: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
All the relevant documentation was shared. Whether she actually read it is another question. Often with older clients, they see phrases like grading details and project specifications and their eyes glaze over.
Ann
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Miss Hale,
There was no attempt to mislead. The proposed work is necessary to stop the courtyard from flooding, add extra parking, and ensure no one breaks a limb attempting to admire it.
Trust this addresses your concern.
JT
—---------------------
From: Margaret Hale [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Mr Thornton,
Thank you. My concern is not addressed. I am less worried about hypothetical limbs and more about the very real loss of an historic space. Additional parking is not, in my view, an adequate justification.
Margaret
—---------------------
From: John Thornton [email protected]
To: Margaret Hale [email protected]
Cc: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: FW: Marlborough Repairs – Clarification Required
Miss Hale,
Respectfully – a historic space is of little use if it is underwater half the year.
The proposed work keeps it from flooding. Parking is a fringe benefit, not the purpose.
JT
—---------------------
From: Adam Bell [email protected]
To: John Thornton [email protected]; Margaret Hale [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: The Courtyard Crisis
My dear people,
The courtyard was laid in 1800 – the same year Napoleon was plotting to conquer Europe and England was discovering steam.
It has survived empires, industry, and even played host to a workers' riot in the 1850s – a spirited chapter in Milton’s history by all accounts. It must not fall to a parking area dispute.
Perhaps you should all meet and sort it out?
- Adam Bell
—---------------------
From: Henry Lennox [email protected]
To: Adam Bell [email protected]; John Thornton [email protected]; Margaret Hale [email protected]; Ann Latimer [email protected]
Subject: Re: The Courtyard Crisis
Excellent suggestion, Mr Bell.
May I propose a Zoom conference on Wednesday afternoon at 2pm?
Kind regards,
Henry Lennox
Lennox & Associates
—---------------------
From: Ann Latimer [email protected]
To: Henry Lennox [email protected]; Adam Bell [email protected]; John Thornton [email protected]; Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: The Courtyard Crisis
Henry,
Confirmed for Wednesday at 2pm.
Regards,
Ann
Latimer & Latimer
—---------------------
From: Adam Bell [email protected];
To: Ann Latimer [email protected]; Henry Lennox [email protected]; John Thornton [email protected]; Margaret Hale [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: The Courtyard Crisis
Splendid!
The last time tempers flared in that courtyard, someone threw a rock. Let’s aim higher!
- Adam Bell