The other script didn’t even have a working name assigned. It features me as a very young Prime Minister of England. New to the office there is a new serving maid at 10 Downing.
She is very pretty, of course, and has been chosen for her intelligence and flair for languages. She serves tea for high-level visitors among other things.
There is a growing attraction, always growing, all these attractions, between the two. A visiting US President tries to bully the Prime Minister into yielding on various policies. The PM is about to do so when he walks in on the President making some very untoward advances against his secretary.
In a speech the next day he takes a very firm stand against the President's policies, which gains him enormous favor with the British Publics and the young lady.
The President leaves in a huff.
The young lady thinks she has to leave her job. I don’t quite understand why, and leaves him a note on Christmas Eve.
The PM gets the note and immediately sets out to find the young lady at her parent's house. He knows the street name but not the house number.
There ensue comedic scenes of people answering their door to the Prime Minister. He finally finds the right house.
The whole family is going to a Christmas play at their children's school. The PM and secretary end up backstage and kiss, just to have the curtain open.
He teaches her on the spot how to do the Queen's wave and grin and bear it. Happily ever after ending. The only part of the script I worried about is where I had to do a dance scene coming down a set of stairs.
Both scripts sounded interesting and I called my agents and told him to proceed with negotiations.
I did call Nina in Switzerland just to talk. We were on the line for a long time. She wanted to know all the details of the two movie scripts. I did tell her I had to be an escort at a formal Ball on Saturday so I couldn’t fly over.
That started an inquisition about who I was escorting. I told her about being given my marching orders. I didn’t think she needed to know that she was a pretty young lady who was a fan of the actor Ricky Jackson.
I had learned this from Dad when he described interactions with other women to Mum. They just didn’t need to know irrelevant details which could cause unwarranted stress. Especially to the male.
Oxford has a bus line and like most buses, they have huge advertisements on their sides. You can imagine my surprise when I saw one with a picture of my sister Mary extolling her latest clothing line.
I wonder if I have had my picture on a bus, I have never seen it if so. No, I wasn’t jealous, just worried that the little kid may get overexposed.
Well, maybe a little.
On Thursday I met the Duke, his lawyers, and my lawyers at my bank as soon as the bank opened.
Altogether it was going to take seven people to put this deal together. Extra lawyers were needed because of their knowledge of Spanish and British property law.
There was also a Spanish law firm specializing in property on standby for a phone call in Madrid.
The Duke greeted me as though I was his long lost son. Well, he nodded to me as he said, “Sir Richard.”
I think that was as demonstrative as he ever got. He and Bob back at the ranch would have got along just fine.
I did ask him why the Spanish government was holding so hard on the property liens.
“It’s the land value, Sir Richard, whoever owns it stands to make a fortune.”
“Is there a gold mine to be developed?”
“Better yet two major highways meet on a corner of the land and the area has not been developed.”
“You mean this is all over a truck stop?”
“You Americans are so blunt, but in a word, yes. I had hoped to develop it to recoup my fortune. I got behind on the taxes and the wolves have started to circle. They paid off someone in the tax department so I’m not allowed any extension or settlements.”
“Furthermore no Spanish bank will lend money against the land. The only offer is from the people who want it cheap, they are offering shillings on the pound.”
The lead lawyer recapped what we were to accomplish today.
First I, Sir Richard, would loan the Duke the funds to pay off his tax liens. These funds were to be transferred immediately to the law firm in Spain who was standing by to receive a cashier's check from the Duke. They would immediately go to the tax office and pay off all money owed.
This started the ball rolling. It took an hour for that to take place. Once that occurred the second step started.
The Duke sold the land and all buildings to Jackson Enterprises free and clear. I wrote a cheque for twelve million pounds. The Duke thought it was to be for eleven, ten for the land to pay off his English debts, and an additional million for operating capital.
When he inquired why I was paying more than I asked I replied that girls were expensive to raise. I think I became a legend in banking and legal circles at that statement.
“Besides, I think our mutual friends would think it was the right thing to do.”
“My cheque was immediately deposited in the Duke's account where he then wrote a series of cheques to clear his debts.
The Duke was not a demonstrative man so I said nothing about the tears running down his cheeks. The lawyers were so busy with their
