The Snads of Marinarus 9
It wasn’t long before Edward became a going concern in Charlestonaffairs. Much as he personally despised the slave trade as such, he became the local factor. Many absentee owners and investors of the slave ships didn’t like to have to wait for their money with the lengthy auction and collection process. If a planter decided to pay for a slave with a certain amount of pounds of tobacco or rice then the investor had to wait for these staple goods to be physically sold before receiving money. So Edward would purchase such interests at a discount for he had plenty of ready cash and by shrewd dealing and a little luck was able to make a return on investment of about twenty four per cent per annum. On top of all this he spent about four days a week in private legal practice and once he’d won a few cases and his reputation for ruthless courtroom work was spread, he made over five hundred pounds a year at this profession. Edward riley thought to himself that you could learn anything well given a hundred and fifty years. Yet he was popular because he left his arrogance and sarcasm in the courtroom. He was rapidly a deacon in the church and his new young son Timothy was fussed over by his Mercy as well as many of her new friends. Because he’d gone into the factoring business and private law practicehe never had to show his letters of recommendation to anyone. It was obvious that Edward knew more about the law than the judges that he pled cases for. The years passed pleasantly enough and he finally purchased a lovelyhome in the most prestigious part of Charleston. They had three black servants. When he’d purchased them from other owners he immediately freed them and paid them nominal wages. He treated them in the same way that paid servants in England would have been treated. The servants turned out to be extremely loyal and would have done anything Edward asked. He explained to Mercy he wouldn’t permit a person to be a slave in his house. On this point Mercy certainly agreed. In quick order they had a daughter Tabitha and another son, Arnold. Deepdown inside Edward knew it was futile. He was simply building up an estate for his children before he would have to slip away again. This time however, he made use of the wigs and through a fortunate occurrence, learned how actors made themselves look older. It had been a client who was a rascal and an actor of all things. This disreputable character showed him how to use make up in such a way to add age to his face. The seventeen thirties ran into the forties and the forties into thefifties. The seven years war shattered Europe and America as the English and Prussians banded together to take on the French, Austrians and Russians. In the new world the French and allied Indians caused great problems in upstate New York and western Pennsylvania. But in sunny Charleston life was quiet and still prosperous for the Spencer family. His children were grown and married as the war continued. Edward always marveled at how quickly the years fled by. It seemed likeonly yesterday that Mercy had been a young blushing bride. Now in 1759 she was practically an overweight drudge. She was forty-five and fading fast. He suspected she had some kind of health problem but the local doctors couldn’t find anything amiss. She still held his affection with her lustrous eyes and he could still see the girl behind the matronly woman that made his life so pleasant. Of course Mercy assumed that Edward was fifty-nine and he played thepart. He had a walking stick with a silver knob to keep in line with his station. He wore a wig and never took it off until the candle was put out at bedtime. He decreased his love making frequency complaining of a singular lack of energy. It was easy to fool everyone else but Mercy started to realize that he still looked and felt much younger than fifty-nine years. At first she thought she was just fortunate as she looked in dismay into the looking glass at her deteriorating appearance. She tried to loose weight but it was in vain. Mean while Edward was slim and well muscled and she noticed that he carried his cane more than lean on it. She watched him closely over the next three years and on New Year’s Day in 1763 she confronted him in the privacy… Read the rest of The Snads of Marinarus 9
Author: Will Buster
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