Chapter 51

Robert had a possible solution. "Either the ground is very absorbent, and the water seeps through, or the geology is limestone, and there are underground rivers conveying the water to the sea. One could test that by measuring the salinity of the ocean about a kilometre from the shore. Where an underground river meets the ocean, the salinity level will drop markedly, due to the freshwater input. I am not sure how we could run these tests, though."

The Personalia voice intruded, "That is not a problem, Robert. A Landership can land on the water and cruise up or down the coast, testing – I would in this case say tasting – the water for salt. If there is a marked difference at any location, this can be noted for your mapping."

Ebenezer de la Torre was sitting in his study, fretting. The budget wasn't working out as well as he expected. With all the expenditure on the farm operation, the income would not come until the crops were sold, yet he had to find the cash to build a large storehouse for all the seeds likely to be coming from Earth. Once again, enough sales income would not be in until long after the expenditure on the building, advertising, and delivery costs. He could not expect to be paid in advance, and his cash reserves were now very low. They were needed for household expenditure over the next few months.

After a while of holding his head in his hands, with his elbows on the desk, he decided to let Euphemia and Isabella know the bad news. Calling them through to his study, he showed them the figures.

"As you can see, we can cope with running the farm for the year, until our crops start selling, but we don't have enough cash reserves to be able to build the storage warehouse for the seeds we hope to sell.

This means that unless we can borrow funds from somewhere, we are not in a position to take on the seed distribution service. I have tried the Bank of Rehome, but they lend funds in small amounts to individuals, to make the greatest impact on helping the community. They do not do commercial loans for businesses."

Isabella had nothing to say, knowing nothing much about finance, but Euphemia was different. She murmured, "I could try Daddy, perhaps."

"Eh?" Ebenezer was surprised. "I though you were not on speaking terms with your parents."

"Strictly speaking, yes. Actually, it was Mummy whose bad books I was in. Daddy always stayed out of the arguments between me and my mother. As he once said to me in confidence, "I have to live with your mother, so I can't be seen to be siding with you. I still love you, even though I can't show it overtly, Phemie."

So I could have a quiet chat with Daddy, to see if he can help us out. Do you mind if I do that, Ebenezer, my love?"

"Any port in a storm, darling. Have a go, and see what you can do. Oh, and I forgot to mention to you girls, we have an invite to a social gathering of the directors of Rehome Fertilizers. It is tomorrow evening, immediately after the business closes for the day. We are using the boardroom: cheese, wine, and canapés, I understand. Mary Kempe is organising the catering, so you will be well fed."

Euphemia got to work, digging out the number for her father's personal phone. She fired off her call, and listened to it ring on Earth. It rang, and it rang. She was becoming annoyed by the time it was answered, but she reminded herself that she was doing the asking. "Daddy? It is Euphemia."

Her mother's voice came over the phone. "Euphemia! How are you, darling?"

Almost shocked by this effusive response from her estranged mother, she answered cautiously, "I am happily married to Ebenezer, mother. We are farming in the colony on Rehome, and I am expecting my first child."

"How marvellous! I am so pleased for you, my darling. I am sorry I was nasty to you, all these years ago. I have been looking after your father for some time. He took ill, got confused, and went downhill rapidly, suffering dementia. He had to go into a nursing home when he no longer recognised me and I could not cope with him and his unfortunate behaviour. He died in August, but I didn't have a current address or phone number for you, so I couldn't tell you. I am sorry about that, Euphemia. It made me realise how wrong I had been. Can you forgive your old mother?"

"Mummy, I am terribly sad about Daddy, and of course I forgive you. I was always ready to forgive you if you relented on your attitude to me. I was hoping Daddy could help with an investment opportunity here, but now..."

"I am afraid, darling, that almost all of our assets went into caring for your father. Nursing homes are terribly expensive, I discovered. There is enough left for me to be able to keep our home, and Daddy's pension fund keeps me able to cover the household accounts. As to any investment, there is nothing for that, my dear. I wish there was, for you deserve better than I gave you. As long as you are happy, dear, is all I care about now. Is this the same Ebenezer who worked at the United Nations; the man that you kept refusing to marry?"

"That's him, Mummy. He gave me an offer I could not refuse: Marry him and join him on Rehome, or he would just marry another girl who wanted him."

"Well done, girl! So you jumped in, and got him; and the other girl got the heave-ho?"

"Not quite, Mummy. It was either he married both of us, or he just married her. I feared losing him entirely, and said yes. Isabella is a lovely girl, and we get along well. We are both expecting Ebenezer's babies, and the farm is doing well. We just need financing for a new business we want to take on."

"Golly, child. Two women marrying one man? Isn't that illegal?"

"Not here, Mummy. The law here works on love, rather than ancient rules. If you love each other, it is acceptable, as long as there is no close genetic affinity between male and female."

"My goodness, how unusual! However, I wish you well, Euphemia. Please stay in touch. I shall keep your father's phone handy, just for when you call. You will tell me when you make me a grandmother, I hope?"

"I will, Mummy. Thank you for being so nice. I like it."

She closed her phone, and went to find Ebenezer and Isabella. She found them cuddling on the sofa of the living room. Her husband looked up at her, enquiringly. She blurted out:

"Daddy is dead! He died last year. At least Mummy is no longer angry at me. The nursing home costs made a large dent on the family finances, so there is no investment coming from that source, Ebenezer. I am sorry."

"I am sorry to hear about your father, darling. It was worth calling, just to find that out, and to know that you and your mother are speaking again. We shall look for another source of finance."

Isabella insisted on Euphemia replacing her on the sofa, to get a supporting cuddle. She then suggested, "I have a little nest egg, Ebenezer, from what I saved up working for you. It is around a thousand dollars. You can have that, if it helps."

"No, Isabella love. We are talking large sums – around a hundred thousand dollars, I expect. Just hang on to your nest egg, for emergencies."

Euphemia was doubtful about attending the social event, but the other two would not hear of it. Isabella told her, "I need you to keep me straight on the social rights and wrongs, Euphemia. I will be more secure if you are there with me." Ebenezer told her, "This is our first social gathering at the business, so I need both my loves to be with me, so I can show you off to the others, with pride. Please do it for me, my darling Euphemia."

She buckled under this pressure, so they travelled to Metropolis and got to the business premises shortly before closing time. Angelina Frederickson was at the door to welcome her guests, and was effusive in her welcome to Euphemia and Isabella. "Girls! You managed to bring Ebenezer to the do; well done. This event is particularly for the spouses of the directors, so I was worried in case some of the directors would wriggle out of coming. Get Ebenezer to take you up to the boardroom. The table is already laid out with drinks and comestibles, so dig in. I have to be here to greet the others as they arrive."

Gradually the other directors and their spouses filtered in to the boardroom, and the chattering became intense, with so many ladies present. When Mary Kempe arrived with the Governor and his other wives, Bob Kempe discovered that he was not the centre of attention here, as he was merely a spouse of a director. Delighted at this freedom, he soon discovered that it meant he was also free to help himself to food and drink, instead of fending off people wanting something from the Governor. He met Pam Humbert's husband, and they enjoyed the anonymity of being mere spouses. They talked of their children, their jobs, and life in general.

Ebenezer found himself chatting with Trevor Defreitas, the group chairman. He got Euphemia and Isabella to come and say hello, then Trevor introduced his four wives. Trevor regaled him with the funny story of how he had been misidentified as the agent of "The Montford Sisters", and how he had accepted the appointment by default. "They actually sent me a fee as the agent for the girls! I was shocked at how much it was; not because it was coming to me, but as it was a small percentage of the royalties due, it meant that my ladies were getting a huge sum in royalties!"

Ebenezer laughed. "That was a windfall, all right. When do the ladies get their royalty payment?"

Trevor declared "It arrived in the bank yesterday. It bowled over the girls. It turned out my fee was five per cent of the gross, so their bank account has been credited with almost one million, four hundred thousand dollars net. That should keep my babies in nappies for a while!"

"Good grief! That is a huge amount. How come?"

"Sales in the English-speaking world were considerable, but if you think that more than a billion people use English, then sales, mainly computer downloads, to a tiny percentage of them is a huge total. Add in music playing on radio stations and other media, and the money adds up. There must be more potential, for the company now wants a new video of them; this time cuddling their babies, which makes the lullaby visually more poignant. I expect they will earn at least as much again."

"My goodness! And here is me worrying about finding a hundred thousand. Are they interested in investing in a business?"

"What business, Ebenezer? Speaking as their agent..." He smiled in apology at his joke, then went on, "I expect they would be interested. Give me the gist."

"I have the opportunity to set up as the official distributor for a seed merchant on Earth – the firm that supplies my own exotic seeds. They have provisionally agreed, but I need to build an environmentally-controlled warehouse for storage of seeds, tubers, etc. At the moment, all my cash is tied up in the farm, so until the crops are sold, I need to borrow to build the warehouse and get the business off the ground. Euphemia is going to run it, so she can tell you more."

"Sounds a reasonable proposition, Ebenezer. Hang on a moment. Amelia?" He beckoned to his eldest wife, who came to join them. "Yes, dear?"

"Ebenezer's wife, Euphemia, needs an investment of about a hundred thousand dollars to set up a seed distribution business, selling to farmers on Rehome. We thought you girls might be interested in it as an investment, for a share of the business. I reckon it would be a long-term but worthwhile use of your funds."