She was perfectly prepared for the bank to try to dissuade her from cashing in the bonds, and to counsel extreme caution over the proposed plan. What she was not prepared for – what she angrily realized she ought to have foreseen – was that the bonds, if cashed before their expiry date which was two years away, would not yield anywhere near as much as she had calculated. There were penalties for early redemption and, to compound the problem, the bonds themselves had suffered from the disastrous economic situation of the last couple of years.
‘They’d recover if you left them,’ said the Small Business Adviser, whom Nell was trying not to think looked as if she had just left school. ‘The interest would roll over and mount up in the last twelve months, like endowment mortgages used to. See now, going on the figures you’ve given me, you’re several thousand short of the amount you want. It’s not a huge sum, though, and it’s not necessarily unreachable. We could see if a short-term business loan might be accepted. To cover that shortfall.’
‘I’m a bit hesitant about that. If I’m going to draw on these bonds and have a loan on top …’
‘Yes, you wouldn’t have much of a safety net, would you?’ She nodded, obviously understanding this, and flipped to another screen on her laptop. ‘You’ve got that separate fund for your daughter with us as well, haven’t you?’
‘Yes, but that’s cast-iron untouchable. I used one of my husband’s insurance payouts for that.’
‘It’s looking fairly good,’ said the adviser, turning the laptop so Nell could see. ‘Enough to put her through university comfortably, or provide a deposit for a house.’
‘Or backpack round the world,’ said Nell, smiling.
‘And why not? I’ll do a printout for you so you’ve got up-to-date figures for that.’ She set the printer whirring, then said, ‘I like your concept for these two shops, though. I think it could be profitable, and I hope we can work something out for you. That idea you’ve got about using the annexe behind your own shop for weekend courses – I love that.’
‘I’ve organized those courses before,’ said Nell, grateful for this approval. ‘When I lived in Shropshire. It works well – you book people into nearby pubs and hotels, depending on what they want to pay, and hold simple workshops and even have a visiting speaker over the two days of the course. Bookbinding or the history of glassware or something like that. And perhaps throw in a conducted tour around a suitable historic house in the vicinity.’
‘I’d sign up for all that,’ said the adviser. ‘I think though, at this stage you need to get some more exact figures. The cost of assigning the lease to you and a builder’s estimate – maybe even an architect’s as well – for knocking the shops into one unit. Once we’ve got that, we can make a more precise forecast and go from there.’
‘That would be sensible,’ said Nell. ‘Godfrey – Mr Purbles – has already asked the landlords for a figure on the lease. And I’ll get quotes for the work – he’s recommended a builder, as well. As soon as I’ve got those I’ll contact you again. Thank you very much.’
‘I haven’t helped much so far,’ said the business adviser.
‘No, but you’ve clarified things. And you’ve been encouraging about the whole idea. That means a lot.’
She went back to Quire Court, still undecided, and spent the next hour unpacking some pieces of glassware she had acquired at a house sale the previous weekend. Beth had come with her to the sale and had loved the tension and the excitement of the auction. They had chosen the pieces they wanted beforehand and Beth had been entranced by the bidding procedure. It was pretty cool, she said afterwards, to have a mum who did things like that.