BOOK 4: PREPARATION / CH. 22:BLACKWOOD CABINS

TUESDAY, 12TH DECEMBER, 6.45AM

“John, love?” Sarah prodded her husband.

“mmm?”

“Cup of tea for you. Wakey-wakey.”

“doihaveto?” he mumbled.

Sitting on the bed, she intertwined her fingers with his. [Yes, love. I need two decisions, and if we finish with them quickly you get a prize.]

[What sort of prize?]

[Guess] she thought as she kissed him.

“How can you be so wide awake at this time of the morning, you sparkly eyed enchantress?” he said, looking in love and wonder at her face.

“I told you about Blackwood cabins on Carbon-carbon's land.”

“Your little holiday paradise which needs the new cameras?”

“Yes. First question, can we go up there? For New Year?”

“Straight after Teresa's wedding?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose so. Why?”

“So I can have a good reason to get the cameras installed before Christmas.”

“OK. That sounds like good logic.”

“Next question. I've narrowed it down to two options for the cameras. Which one?”

“Advantages, disadvantages?”

“The more expensive ones have the best security on the market, plus far better night vision, and a long long guarantee. They're actually what IHM has. Really they're over the top, but the reliability issue is what attracts me. Plus, it's easy to link them into a proper security system, which if Carbon-carbon buy the place I might be tempted to suggest. The other ones are decent, but a less reliable brand, maybe a one percent chance of failing per year. They're perfectly adequate, as long as they work. But with an eventual sixty cameras, that poor reliability is going to mean a new camera every couple of years. If carbon-carbon does buy the place, then I'm going to regret buying them.”

“I thought you'd only buy them if Carbon-carbon can't buy.”

“If the impact happens and clientele drop with everyone feeling the pinch, then there's a high chance the company goes cap in hand to carbon-carbon for a reduction in land rent or faces bankruptcy. At that point, Carbon-carbon would be able to insist on a fifty-one percent share, or something like that.”

“What's the price difference?”

“Ten good cameras, or fifteen adequate ones cost the same. But looking at the map, ten cameras is going to be about the bare minimum you can get away with without leaving some of the old cameras isolated, and even then it's going to be marginal for some of the cameras — they'd be connecting to other cameras in other valleys. Fifteen would let me replace all the cameras up either of two of the valleys and down to reception.”

“And how much does the controller cost?”

“Hopefully I get one free. They offer that, sometimes.”

“And if not?”

“Equivalent to two good cameras.”

“So, to make it work, and do a good job for Carbon-carbon in the future when the current owners go broke, you get fifteen of the good cameras, don't you?”

“You think so? It's more than we budgeted for last night.”

“Sarah, like you said, Carbon-carbon almost certainly gets the cameras in the end. Think of it as an investment.”

“It's only almost certain if the impact happens.” Sarah said.

“If Carbon-carbon make a bid once, the owners still might decide to offer it later on, mightn't they?”

“I guess so.”

“Then go for it. We can afford it.”

“We're going to need to rebuild a house or two some time, John.”

“I was thinking about that. First off, no one ever said we had to do it with a one-off payment from savings. Also, Karen and George are joining the civil service, so they won't need your house after their honeymoon. And most of the value of your house is in the security system and the memories, isn't it?”

“Yes. But the memories... some of those are soft toys and things I wouldn't put into our however many cubic metres of storage.”

“OK, so we can't do much to save the memories other than lots of photographs, but why don't we at least get the security system taken out, rather than try to rescue bits out of the debris? No. Scrap what I said about not saving things. While we're doing that, or even before, we can also empty it of everything, not just whatever will fit into government-provided storage, but let's rent some space in the tunnels from Kate, or something like that. What do you think?”

“I don't think, I know I love you. That's an excellent idea.”

“Then, when we're rebuilding, we can build one house, with a garden for the children. Speaking of which...”

“Yes, my love?”

“I was thinking that as long as we don't know you're pregnant by the time of the impact, then really, there'd be no harm done. So, I'm not opposed to the idea of trying to start a family in February if you'd like to.”

“I'd like that, John, I'd like that a lot.”

----------------------------------------

10AM

“So, Frank, have I been convincing enough?” Sarah asked her head trustee. Kate had been willing to let her have the day off to organise the purchase of the cabins, and she'd decided on a face to face meeting.

“I think you have, Sarah. But for two little details.”

“Yes?”

“Firstly, what's the impact going to do to the company?”

“With the current land rental agreement, there's still some on-paper profit to the company with an occupancy rate of thirty six percent, even with proper maintenance, but if the current investors have to service loans at say three percent, then they're going to be screaming at any occupancy levels below forty five percent. Personally, unless they drop their prices, I wouldn't be surprised to see occupancy rates cut in half, or even more, but I'm no expert.”

“How do you come up with that?”

“I'm guessing that people are going to be looking for value for money. They're going to guess that foreign travel costs a certain price, and they're going to say how come we need to pay almost the same amount for a week in a wooden hut as we would for a ticket to an exotic location and a week in a hotel. And if people have two weeks holiday then that comparison gets worse. It's a lovely place, but it's over-priced.”

“But if you drop the prices by much, then you're undercutting the campsite down the road.”

“Tough. Then they're over-priced too.”

“They're on carbon-carbon's land too, with prices largely controlled by the site rental fee.”

“Oh. I didn't know you meant a real campsite! But OK, I'm not opposed to carbon-carbon buying them out too, if that makes sense. Bring them under one management structure, a single pricing scheme, and combine the advertising.”

“You'd swap a nice steady rent from the companies for the uncertainty of the tourist trade?”

“At the moment, we've got a renter whose business practices are flirting with a devastating case of bad press because of poor maintenance. That would wipe out the company and probably blight the cabins for a decade, besmirch Carbon-carbon's name, and have knock-on effects for the economy of the whole New Blackwood area. I'd swap that for the tourist trade any day, and while we're under no obligation to be fair, I think it'd be right to warn the campsite we're taking over the cabins, and introducing a new pricing strategy, and ask if they'd like to be taken over too. I presume the capital invested in the campsite is pretty minimal anyway.”

“Well, they've got some buildings. If I remember correctly there's the reception-cum-shop, toilet blocks, and a cafe. Plus there's the roads and pitches, those would have a book value too. But it's certainly not as much as the cabins. I'd have to check their accounts.”

“So. Next question. How soon can it be done?”

“I'm sure we can have it all done and dusted in a couple of months.”

“Too slow.” Sarah said. “I've got a cousin going to stay there for her honeymoon over Christmas. I'd like the security cameras fixed by then.”

“You always did want quick results. You know there's no way we can force the present investors to sell.”

“I know. But, on the other hand, we can offer them a time-limited offer, with the implication that we can always wait until they've gone broke.”

“I'll make some calls, Sarah, and sound the current investors out.”

“I think that first, if you could find some tourist-trade expert to write half a page of doom and gloom for their company, then it might help them get the point. Or shall I do that?”

“You've got contacts?”

“Not that I know of, but there's a tourism research department at the university here.”

“Academics would probably want to do an in-depth study, and take a month at least.”

“Good point,” Sarah agreed, “do you have anyone?”

“I'll ask some colleagues. I expect I'll be able to come up with someone in a couple of hours. And I'll also collar an associate to write up the offer. We can't just give the present owners a couple of days though.”

“No. Would a week be long enough? I've got a contingency plan that if they won't sell, I'll make a booking and connected with it I'll pay for a few replacement cameras myself, in my persona of being extremely press-shy.”

“What do you mean, your persona? You are extremely press-shy.”

“I know. That makes it very easy to act that way.”

“You think your cousin needs secure cameras?”

“Frank, you were at my wedding.”

“Yes. And very beautiful you looked too, but what's this got to do with your cousin?”

“Karen, actually a third-cousin, was my bridesmaid, and I'll be hers. Please don't pass this on, but I've actually got two third-cousins, who are first cousins to each other and both engaged. In January, Karen and I will both be bridesmaids to cousin three, who's called Eliza Underwood.”

Frank's eyes registered his surprise, but nothing else. “Karen will be wearing the same dress I did — Princess Sarah's, as will Eliza, of course. So yes, I'm sure that Karen will not want her face showing up on the wrist unit of any curious teenager who might decided to become autograph-hunter or press-informant. She'll want those secure cameras.”

“Yes, she will. OK. Yes, I think a week ought to be enough.”

“Good. I'll book John and myself a long weekend up there, over the new year, then if the purchase falls through then I'll get the cameras changed.”

“Even if the purchase does go through, those cameras will need installing on the same timescale — the week after next.” Frank pointed out.

“I know. Should I arrange it whichever way it falls?”

“I think so, if that's OK? Carbon-carbon can reimburse you if the sale goes through. Just make sure the cameras are compatible with a decent controller.”

“Oh they are. No question of that.”

“You've picked them already?”

“Yes. I did some research last night, and we decided this morning. John decided that since there was a fair chance that Carbon-carbon would end up with possession of the site anyway, we'd go with my favourite brand. We could connect them into anything up to a full AI controller if we wanted to. If I'm going to be getting them whichever way it falls, then once I've booked my holiday, I'll start trying to convince the salesperson to give me a good offer.”

“Try suggesting that you're tossing up between them and their competitors.”

“I was thinking of doing that. I'm also thinking of telling them that I've convinced my trustees to try and buy the site, which would mean another forty-five cameras later on, but that sale isn't guaranteed, and this is my money.”

“If I was the salesman, I'd want to make that deal. You know it means Carbon-carbon has to pay full rate, don't you?”

“I do. Tough luck to Carbon-carbon's bottom line. They've got so much cash they can afford it.”

“It's your money in that company, Sarah.”

“Not yet, it's not, or at least, I don't control it.”

“Oh, I think you're doing pretty well. How's your venture into diamond-data storage going?”

“Sorry, I should have told you. Batch number one sold out, even the ones which I considered failures, which means that I can let you have the seed capital back when you want.”

“What about batch number two?”

“That's what the profit's for, isn't it?”

“You're saying that you've made a hundred percent profit?”

“No. But since you're asking, it would have been a hundred and forty five percent profit, once the patent and manufacturing costs are accounted for. But I let a couple of rings go to influential friends at cost, and gave a trial sample to internal Security at only ten percent profit. That means that I made a hundred and two percent profit. Oh, no, hold on, I sold my ex-employer a five year exclusive sales licence for trade in Restoration, I'd forgotten that. A hundred and twelve percent profit on the whole venture so far, and I put that back into batch two. Half of which is already sold.”

“Sarah, it seems to me that you have a functioning business venture, as well as a steady job at the only place around here that will still be standing after the impact.”

“I guess so.”

“In which case, young lady, then once you've submitted your accounts, I'll be turning over the trust to you.”

“Oh! That's a bit sooner that I was expecting! I thought I needed to have a steady job for a year.”

“Or demonstrate sufficient business acumen to show that the year's delay is not necessary.” Frank said.

“Frank, quite simply, I'm not sure I'm able to cope with it as well as everything else I'm busy with. Would you stay on, please?”

“Sarah, I've been thinking of retirement.”

“Oh.” Sarah said, crestfallen.

“But, I think I could stay on a bit longer, certainly until your year is up, as long as you make the major decisions. I'll admit that over the last year I've been using your trust to give Colin in the room next door the experience of handling a major client's interests. He's not been making the decisions on his own, of course, I've been double checking everything. But I've only had to correct him once.”

Colin was Frank's junior partner. Sarah had met him before, and wasn't surprised that Frank had let him take some of the strain. It made sense. But she needed to investigate that mistake.

“What did you have to correct him on?”

“It was.. shall we say an investment opportunity which looked good on paper, but I was reasonably sure you wouldn't approve of it.”

“So, not so much a failure to investigate fully, or do his maths right, but a failure to consider my attitude towards the business venture?”

“Yes.”

“What was it, a nightclub?” Sarah asked.

“No, nothing quite so blatant. I think I'll ask Colin to explain where he wished to invest that particular three million, Maam.”

“By all means.” Frank pressed a button on his desk “Colin, could you come in please?”

When Colin came in, Frank said “Colin, I believe you've met Sarah Williams? She's the heir of the Smith trust. Colin shook her hand and asked “How may I be of assistance?”

“I was asking Frank about your performance in handling the trust.” Sarah said. “He said that he'd overruled you on just one decision, and when I asked him about it, he said that he would rather you explained the investment he didn't think I'd agree with.”

“Very well, Maam. It was a publishing house, privately held, with a steadily growing list of titles and profits, who had reached the limits of their present site. They approached us, knowing that we handled some clients who might be interested in a 49 percent share of the company in exchange for funding their acquisition of a larger site.”

“Why didn't they just take out a bank loan?”

“They felt that servicing the bank loan was too expensive, and would limit future re-investment of profits. They looked for a long-term partner, looking to see their investment grow as well as the company increased in value, which it has been doing year on year at twenty percent per annum. The proposal was that, after five years, sixty percent of the value of the company will be floated on the stock market and the partner would have free choice as to it being their shares or not.”

“I see. So in effect either party could end up with a large but minority stock holding. And in the mean-time, there would be no dividend paid?”

“That is true, Maam.”

“And are any of the current investors drawing a salary?”

“No maam, not as such.”

“That sounds ominous.” Sarah said.

“The present investor is a man in his sixties, maam. The staff are relatives. So, while he himself has no direct income, it is certainly of benefit for his family.”

“And the salary level is established by majority vote amongst the shareholders?”

“That is true, maam, at least in the proposal.”

“So, worst case scenario is that he could increase salaries to a point that the company was worthless in five years time and my shares had no value at all.”

“I challenged him on this, Maam. He appeared honestly contrite that this was possible, and immediately suggested that either salaries should be set by unanimous agreement of the shareholders, or that for a proportionally larger investment then he would offer a higher proportion of the company.”

“OK, But still the best case is that growth continues at twenty percent, per annum over five years.”

“Yes, maam.”

“Over a five year period, what benefit would his family derive from the company in terms of income?”

“Urm, approximately half a million, Maam. But the pay-scale is not at all abnormal, and workers deserve to be paid.”

“And if I invested three million, I would receive approximately four and a half million in profit, without any work, but with a risk. I think the rate of return is rather on the low side, since there's no dividend and there's only the share price, but I suppose it's acceptable, assuming I like the publisher. So, tell me more about the books they publish. I assume it's a niche market?”

“Not really niche, maam. They mostly publish novels, but also some more philosophical titles. Some are quite well known.”

“Can you name some?”

“I have a list, Maam, I'll bring it up.” He called up the list, and Sarah looked at it. Reprints of various atheist philosophers, some of which, she knew from her philosophy course, were hard to obtain. There were also various authors who'd she heard spoken of in sermons — mostly negatively. There was one slight oddity — they'd reprinted the comic works of Douglas Adams, which seemed to poke fun at everything, including atheism, but she supposed they were certainly non-Christian.

“Colin, I can see that the philosophy works are filling a gap, and yes, I recognise some of the authors. I can see that the company has been doing well. However, Frank was a hundred percent correct in his perception that I wouldn't approve. In fact, I'd be happier if the company went bankrupt than continued to grow. I believe their tag-line is 'spreading the atheist message' is it not?”

“Yes maam. I understand that you don't agree with that philosophy?”

“Colin, I'm a committed Christian. If you like then some time when I'm free I'll very happily try to convince you that all of atheism's arguments are 'a load of dingo's kidneys', to quote one of the authors they're reprinting. Now, though, we're talking business, so if you find an opportunity to make a sensible investment in a company with a tag-line more along the lines of 'spreading the Christian message' then I'll be interested, even if the rate of return isn't quite so good. Let's face it, Christians aren't as concerned about making money as atheists; we've got better things to look forward to, so it's not surprising that Christian-run firms don't make quite as much as they could.”

Frank laughed. “Sarah, can I tell Colin about the little project you've just made a hundred and forty five percent profit on in five months, with steady growth expected?”

“You may, in general terms, Frank. But that's different. I'm innovating in a brand new and very very niche market. The growth is steady at the moment, but necessarily limited. Therefore, my customers expect to pay over the odds to keep the market small, and the secret safe.”

“I thought you'd patented the process, though?” Frank asked.

“I did. One very small but critical part of the process. And I had help in phrasing it. An expert in the field would understand what the patent is about, and what the result is, but there aren't that many experts in the field, and the application of the result wouldn't occur to most experts.”

“Sarah, so I don't overstep the mark, can you tell Colin yourself?” Frank asked.

“Yes, but before we totally leave the principle here: I don't want to support anyone promoting a faith or for that matter anything else I don't agree with, whatever the rate of return. Also, you might not recognise some groups who claim to be Christians but wouldn't fall into my definition of the term. So, general rule: if you have an investment opportunity which is linked to a particular philosophy, religion, faith, ethical or political position, then I would expect to be asked about it. Clear?”

“Yes maam.”

“Now, Colin, what follows is privileged client information, under your professional code of practice. Clear?”

“Clear, maam.”

“I've worked out how to use a gem diamond to store enough data to make it into someone's ID. Unless it becomes known, this means that a diamond ring, necklace, or cuff-link can secretly serve as an I.D. for the discerning businessman or woman, and contrary to popular belief, they are far less likely to be snatched or mislaid than the typical wallet or purse. Hence giving my customers a nice extra line of defence against I.D. theft.”

“But if it becomes known, then any stolen diamonds might get checked to see if it's someone's ID?”

“Exactly. And diamonds start to become something that gets stolen to order, just in case. Which is another reason not to make them commonplace. I'm working on an assumption that no more than one in fifty thousand gem diamonds sold should have this done to them. But that still leaves me with quite a lot of potential sales growth, and I'm planning to let supply and demand adjust the price, with a limited production rate.”

“That's your right as a monopoly supplier.” Frank agreed. “Just don't get too greedy, or you'll end up defending your patent in court.”

“Not personally I hope.” Sarah smiled at the lawyers.

“No. But I'd advise you not to let your diamonds sell for more than about five times their gem value, nor keep your jewelers waiting too long.”

“No, of course not.” Sarah agreed. “Is there anything else to discuss?”

“I don't think so. The next trustees meeting happens to be in a week, could you let me have the year to date accounts by then?”

“I'm sure I can.” She made a note on her wrist unit.

“Goodbye Sarah. Well done, I'm sure your father would be proud of you.”

“Thank you, Frank. You've taught me well.” She stopped half way to to door, concerned, “Oh, is it still Bob Coal in the office at Carbon-carbon?”

“Yes it is. Why?”

“How's his health? The poor guy's going to suddenly get a lot more work to do, isn't he?”

“Yes he is. But on the other hand he'll probably enjoy the change from the routine. Last time I talked to him he said he was fighting fit, very thankful for the steady low-stress job, but sometimes he thought he wouldn't mind a bit more of a challenge now and then.”

“Good, I'm so glad. Tell him I said 'hi'. You know it's my fault he got that job?”

“No. I thought your father said he needed a good long rest.”

“He did, a very nasty case of burn-out at twenty-eight. Daddy had been telling me about how there needed to be someone closer to that site at New Blackwood, but it wasn't really a full time job. So when Mummy and Daddy were talking about Bob needing a rest one mealtime I suggested that he go there and since we were moving Bob Coal from selling diamonds to selling the occasional tree, we could call it Carbon to wood from carbon. They said that was too much of a mouthful and shortened it to Carbon-carbon.”

“All is revealed! I had wondered. I'll pass on the greeting. Does he know the company is named in his honour?”

“I've no idea. Bye!”

“Goodbye, Sarah.”

After she'd left, Frank said to Colin “And that is why it's a pleasure to work for clients such as her, Colin. She might be one of the richer women on the planet, but she is genuinely interested and concerned about people. If you ever lose her trust you'll not just lose a client, but a friend who'll stand by you in thick and thin. Most employers would have given Bob Coal his medical leave and then a severance package and thrown him on the dump. They created a job for him where he could start off at one morning a week and expand as he felt able.”

“So she's a soft touch?”

“Don't make that mistake, Colin. She's going to squeeze the poor camera sales people for all she can get and make them work for it. But they're going to come away thinking they've made the most wonderful deal of their year. And long term, they probably will have.”

----------------------------------------

Sarah liked face to face meetings, at least when she knew there wasn't going to be a crowd nearby, so once she'd booked the holiday, she walked to the outlet for the cameras, looking forward to some more negotiating. Since she needed to tell quite a lot about herself for this to work, she checked the floor of the shop for criminals or gossips. There were none, so she went in confidently. There were two sales assistants, a man and a woman, and no customers.

“Hello, can we help you?” asked the woman.

“I certainly hope so. I've just booked a holiday over the new year in a rustic cabin in a lovely part of the world. Wood-burning stoves, and all the comforts of home with better views. They've got cameras pointing at the wood stock, so they can refill it when needed. However, I've learned that these cameras are not exactly secure. Does this brand mean anything to you?”

The woman looked at the piece of paper Sarah showed her, drew her breath and said “They're not exactly what I'd call competitors of ours.”

“You're being polite, I can tell.” Sarah said.

“Yes. I am. I've not proven it myself, but I'm informed that any ten year old with a stepladder can access the entire network.”

“I've heard roughly the same. And also that it's easy to use that access to turn camera number into physical location. So, the other piece of information you need to know is that I'm what the press call a recluse. In other words, I'm totally fed up with the requests for interviews which I've had approximately weekly for the last ten years. I've also got some friends with very recognisable faces, who are also planning to go there. So, I don't want a reporter ruining my holiday, and nor do my friends. Can you help?”

“I'm afraid I still don't quite understand where we come in, Maam.”

“I'd like to replace a portion of their camers so that I can have some peace and quiet, and no reporters. Obviously, I'd get the owner's agreement for this, along the lines of a contract which says I give them some security cameras worthy of the name and in exchange they guarantee that when I and my friends and family come to stay they make sure we're in the cabins where we have some privacy. We're talking mesh networked, fixed cameras. It's a limited electrical supply, but there is one to each cabin, so there's no need for solar or wind power. Here's a map of the topography. The guy who needs access is here. I think ten cameras is going to be too few without isolating some of the existing ones, but ten of your cameras was my initial budget, I can see it working with fifteen, but ouch! I don't want to go across the street to your competitors, but fifty percent over my original budget for cameras, plus a controller? That's going to be painful. So that's part of the help I want from you: how many cameras can we get away with replacing, what can you give me as a discount, and how about a controller to sweeten the deal?”

“Without a site survey, we're going to be partially guessing on the numbers, Maam, we'd have to be conservative.”

“Accepted.”

“And as for the discount, I don't know. There have been offers of a controller with fifteen cameras, but that was for a short period only. We'd need to get approval from head-office to extend that offer to you, and frankly I expect they'd say no.”

“I understand. Now, my husband and I will be buying these cameras with our hard-earned money which is in reasonably short supply, but there's an extra piece of information I've not told you yet which might make head-office say yes. The land these cabins are on is owned by Carbon-carbon land management, which is held in trust in my name. The cabins are run by another company, and quite frankly they're not doing it right.

"I can't get at the money in the trust yet, but the trustees listen to me and I've just convinced them that there's a good business case to buy out the cabin company. Carbon-carbon are therefore going to put in a bid to do that today or tomorrow, depending how fast my trustees can pull it all together. That purchase will take a while though, at least a week, even if it goes through. And I need those dodgy cameras replaced by Christmas. If Carbon-carbon gets the land next week, then I get my money back, and then Carbon-carbon upgrades the rest of the fifty-something cameras at full price. Obviously if I go across the road to your competitors, so does Carbon-carbon.”

“So, you're saying that if we manage to reach a deal here, there's an order for forty more cameras to follow?”

“If the purchase goes ahead, yes. And a proper controller, and if it were me then I'd say they should put in a proper AI security system to watch out for unwelcome visitors disturbing the clients, not just a recorder to make sure some back-packer doesn't steal a couple of logs, but there might be other opinions, I don't know. If today's offer is rejected, another option is that Carbon-carbon waits for the tourist trade to collapse after the impact, and buys out the cabin company when they're on their knees. But I don't want that to happen, people get hurt when companies go bankrupt. Either way, though, Carbon-carbon gets the cabins, the cameras get upgraded. But there is the chance that they won't sell, and don't go bust, so don't cut your quote so thin that you're actually making a loss on the deal.”

“Thank you for your concern, maam.” the woman said.

The man said “We'll call it in and I certainly hope we're going to be able to help you. But they're going to want to verify what you've told us. I'm sorry, if you could give us your name, and the name of your trustees.”

“That's perfectly all right.” Sarah said. “I'm Sarah Williams, nee Smith. Frank Packer and partners are managing the trust.”

“Thank-you. I hope this won't take more than a few minutes. Would you like to wait, or perhaps come back later once we've prepared the quote?” the woman asked.

“Well, I'm going to look like a real idiot if the company categorically refuse to accept the cameras after I've bought them. So, how about I wait for a nice offer from head office that'll say I can go ahead, and a conservative number of cameras to replace, and then I go away and convince the cabin company they want new cameras while you work on putting together the formal quote? I'm assuming that your company will be installing them, by the way.”

“Thank-you maam.” the man said “If we close the deal, here, that probably means me, unless we delegate to someone nearer. Before Christmas, you said?”

“Well, before the end of next week, actually. The terrain is rather rugged, but there are all-terrain vehicles at the reception. Hopefully they'll let you borrow them or the site-manager can get a driver for you.”

“So, with uncertain transport times between sites and getting there, plus training the site-manager, it's got to be a whole day. If I pencil it in for Thursday of next week, would that be soon enough, Maam?”

“That would be wonderful. Thank-you. Oh, actually, since I'm here, would you be interested in quoting to decommission the security system in my parental home? We'd rather it wasn't smashed by the impact. That'd be January, I guess.”

“Probably. How complex a system are we talking?” the man asked.

“Top of the range AI system fifteen or twenty years ago. Lens detector, lots of cameras, external and hidden-internal. It doesn't have autonomous sleep-gas release, but it'll call in to the police and they can authorise it.”

He let out a low whistle. “I can do a survey, Maam, but I think head-office will need to issue the quote, and send out the team if you pick us. Sleep-gas systems are out of my league.”

“OK. Well, let's concentrate on the map, then. For scale, this part of the site is about ten kilometres by ten, with the cabins at least a kilometre apart. As you see, there is this main valley leading to the main road, and then the side valleys, here, here and here. Just in case, I'd like to plan for two possible valleys, because one of the reasons the company needs buying out is they're cutting corners on maintenance. The site manager probably knows about some cabins that he's not keen to put guests in, so I'd like you to listen to him about where to put the cameras when you get there.”

“Very well. Let's have a look.” He scanned map and fiddled with different combinations for a few minutes. “I'd think this valley, and that one there.”

“Not these two?” Sarah pointed to her original plan.

“But what if this cabin isn't usable? It's crucial for both of your valleys without this other cabin here, and we can't take both of them or the current mesh falls apart. Yours might just work with ten cameras, but it gives both networks a common point of failure, and you end up needing an extra five cameras to provide a back up route. But, if you accept from the start that we're going for more than ten, then either of these gives us the chance to do a proper mesh without disrupting the current system. And if the contours are right, then we're probably going to get away with twelve cameras on either valley. The only thing that worries me is that in either case, the end of the string here and here are out on a spur until the whole network is replaced. I'd like to suggest that if the purchase doesn't go through, we put a solar powered repeater on the other end of the valley here. The repeater is only a quarter of a camera's price, but it would give you a far more reliable network.”

“This is why I've come to the experts. Thank you. Would the repeater be a good thing even with the rest of the network in place?”

“It would mean that most of the network had triple redundancy, maam. That's reasonable for a bank, or where you might expect sabotage, but a little excessive just for checking wood stocks. But then, so is double redundancy assuming the links are not marginal. It's not like our cameras are going to fail as regularly as our competitors. I think I'd insist on triple redundancy for their system. And of course, if your desire to see an AI security system were to come to fruition then not having triple redundancy for just the price of a repeater would be a foolish economy.”

Sarah laughed. “You, sir, have just made a good point, though you didn't mean to. The reason for having the cameras is to gain privacy, though, not to protect wood. I have no desire for my friends' holiday — honeymoon in fact — to be interrupted by the site manager coming to check on the wood because the link has gone intermittent. Nor for the owners to say 'your secure cameras couldn't keep a signal, so we've put the old ones back.' Therefore, since the cabins are in woodland and who knows what happens when the wind blows the trees around, I'm not settling for anything less than double redundancy. Put the repeater in. I expect that Carbon-carbon won't be able to place the order for more cameras before Christmas in any case. They're going to have enough to do fixing the other things on the little to-do list.”

“Mrs Williams, I've just spoken to head office.” the woman reported, having returned from the back office. “We hope that your trustees are able to complete the purchase either in the near or more distant future, and in that hope we're able to offer you a complimentary controller with the first five cameras and a twenty percent discount on any cameras you require after that. We're also able to offer a ten percent discount on installation charges.”

“Thank you, thank you very much! Subject to the owners accepting the cameras, you have a deal. Twelve cameras and a solar powered repeater, installation pencilled in for Thursday of next week.” Sarah said, the male assistant nodded. “Could I have a copy of the two suggested options?”

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“Of course Maam, they're on here.” He passed her a small data crystal, which she loaded onto her wrist-unit and passed back.

“It's a pleasure doing business with you. I'll get in contact with the owners, my lawyer will fill in the gaps on a contract to wave under their noses, attach the maps, and hopefully I'll be back by mid-afternoon to complete the purchase.”

“It's a pleasure doing business with you maam. We'll look forward to seeing you.”

“I'll be in touch about the decommissioning in the new year, have no fear.” Sarah said as she left.

“Do we tell your brother-in-law we've just met Sarah Smith?” the man asked his wife.

“I don't think so. She doesn't like reporters. What's that about decommissioning?”

“Her parental home has what sounds like a fifteen year old class one-S system. She doesn't want it to still be there when the house gets smashed by the impact.”

“Since a one-S system is worth ten times the cost of any house I've lived in, I'm not surprised. Hidden cameras? Sleep-gas?”

“Yes to both.” he said.

“That's going to make a mess.”

“It is. But then, so's the impact. That reminds me, has your sister agreed that we can store stuff in their loft?”

“Yes, didn't I say?”

“I didn't hear if you did. Sorry. You know, I expect there's others thinking of decommissioning systems, don't you? I was thinking we might as well shut up shop after Christmas.”

“I expect you're right. I hadn't thought of it, but I expect that you're going to be very busy.”

“I expect you are too. We'll shut the shop and give people a number to ring. It's not like we're going to need stock.”

“Let's talk to head office. We're clearly going to need help to decommission Mrs William's system, but if just one tenth of the bigger systems I've installed in the last decade were to get decommissioned, that's a lot of work.”

“Yes. So, we talk to head office, get a team down here, or at least on stand-by. Send a notice to our customers about their options. Estimate the cost per item — I mean, it's not worth recovering the wires, I presume.”

“No. Wireless cameras they can just take down themselves, of course.”

“Yes. Wired too, as long as the system's totally dead.”

“So we can offer a basic course on doing it yourself, say Monday evenings, for a nominal fee. We keep the normal quotation-based service, and maybe something in between, where you charge for call-out, plus so much per camera, and so on up to a certain complexity?”

“And we don't offer the quotation service for small systems if it looks like we're going to be too busy.”

“Agreed. I think we will.”

----------------------------------------

“Hello, Blackwood Cabins site office, Henry speaking.”

“Hello, Henry I've got an unusual query related to my booking.” Sarah said, having found the number for the site manager.

“Oh yes, maam, how can I help?”

“I understand from customer reviews that you've got cameras pointed at the wood-piles, and they're not exactly the most secure on the market.”

“Well now, that's true. But then the wood pile isn't exactly the crown jewels is it?”

“No. But personally speaking, my privacy is. The thing is, I've been hounded by the press for the past ten years, since my parents died, and I really don't want some reporter to recognise me when I go and get some wood and decide to sit on my doorstep until I give an interview.”

“Well, I suppose I could turn off the camera, maam, but then I'd have to check the wood pile daily in person. We've had piles being stolen, see, that's why they put the cameras in.”

“I've actually got a better solution. Partly it's for me, partly for a relative who's staying with you fairly soon.”

“Well, don't tell me any more if you don't want me to know who, we've only got two bookings for Christmas and three over new year.”

“What! In that beautiful place, that's a crying shame. You need more customers!”

“You've been here before, then maam?”

“I've got very fond memories of family holidays there, plus photos to prove that it's not just rose-tinted memories.”

“Well, there's been some changes since, did you say ten years ago? There weren't many cabins back then.”

“No. We camped actually, that was summer, of course. I saw the cabins being built.”

“Oh, well, we've fifty-seven cabins now, and I expect the trees are taller.”

“I'm sure. But, since that was half my lifetime ago, it might look like they've shrunk to me. But anyway, I don't want interview requests, and by the time my relative arrives, she's probably going to be quite a celebrity. I don't want her honeymoon ruined by press or autograph hunters. So, my plan is to replace twelve of your cameras with secure ones — a whole valley-full, so the networks both still work and you can check the wood, but no one else can see who's collecting it. The different valleys all have roughly the same mixture of sized cabin's don't they?”

“Yes, yes. We thought it was best that way.”

“Great. So, you'd need to find space for an extra controller on your desk, or wall, but otherwise, can you see a problem with that idea?”

“Well, I can see a problem with paying for it!”

“I've just managed to get a good deal from the suppliers. I'll arrange that side of it, and for them to be installed, they're currently suggesting Thursday of next week, if that's OK?”

“Yes, that's fine.”

“So, in exchange for giving the cameras, all I'd want is a contract to make sure that my friends and relatives and I get put in the cabins without the wide open cameras, and if you decide to charge extra for those cabins then we don't pay extra.”

“You've thought this through, I can see, maam. I can't see a problem with any of that.”

“Wonderful. Now, obviously I'll need someone's signature on the contract. Would that be you?”

“Me? No! I guess that'd be my boss, Maam.”

“Can you put me in touch with him or her?”

“Yes, yes. I'll just call ahead, get his OK to passing out his contact details, if that's OK. Can you tell me your name?”

“Oh, of course. I'm Mrs Sarah Williams. I've got a booking for over new year.”

“Oh yes, Mrs Williams. I see your booking. I'll send you the details to the number you're calling from now?”

“Yes, please. No, actually, could I call you back? I hate waiting for calls.”

“Of course, Mrs Williams, I know the feeling. It's not so much the waiting, but the wondering if you're going to get the call, isn't it?”

“Exactly.” Sarah said.

“Give me a few minutes to call him, maam. I'll try and call you before you call me.”

“Thank you, Henry.”

----------------------------------------

“Mr Webb, Henry here.”

“Every time you call me, I get worried, Henry.”

“Sorry about that, sir. Nothing worrying this time. I don't think, anyway. A downright eccentric request from a customer.”

“Out with it, Henry.”

“Young woman, name of Mrs Williams, doesn't like the way anyone with a stepladder can see what's on the cameras. She'd like to replace a valley-full of them with something more secure before she or a relative get here, in exchange for a contract that says she and her relatives get them when they stay.”

“That's it?”

“Yes.”

“Where's the catch?”

“Oh, she also says that if we decide to charge extra for cabins with secure cameras, she gets it at the normal price.”

“Now, who would ever think of doing such a thing?”

“I don't know. But it's worth thinking about, since if we had them already, she'd obviously be willing to.”

“I was being facetious, Henry. If some cabins are better than others, anyone sensible would charge more for them. Not that I can see the owners going for it.”

“So can I give her your number?”

“Yes, please Henry.”

----------------------------------------

“Hello, Blackwood Cabins, Matt Webb speaking.”

“Hello, Mr Webb, Sarah Williams speaking.”

“Mrs Williams, Henry tells me you'd like to invest in the company.”

“Pardon?” Sarah was shocked. Had Henry found out who she was somehow?

“A valley-full of cameras sounds like quite an investment to me.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn't think of it like that. More of problem solving. And I got a discount, so it's not costing me nearly as much as the list price would be.”

“I'd love to know how you managed that.”

“Ah well, that comes down to bribery and corruption.”

“Urm, Mrs Williams...”

“Sorry, I was joking. I told them that I'd like to buy their cameras, but there was that inferior product on sale over the road for so much less, and I couldn't really afford theirs, but it would be such a shame... and so on. They cut their profit margin quite a lot to keep the deal. I'm sure it helped that security cameras aren't exactly on everyone's must-buy list in Restoration at the moment. I got the feeling I was their first customer for a week.”

“Oh. I understand.”

“So, my proposal is that, on Thursday of next week, they come and visit your cabins, chat to Henry about which cabins are better candidates for your more paranoid customers, and replace twelve of your bottom of the range cameras with my nice reliable top of the line ones, and install a little solar-powered relay on the other side of the valley just to make sure that the signal is loud an clear even if some trees fall in the wrong place. Henry gets to make some space for the cheapest controller the manufacturer makes, which is still probably a few notches above what he's got at the moment, and I get a signature on a contract my lawyer is drawing up beside me now.”

“And that contract would specify what exactly?”

“On my part it will specify the cameras exactly, and their number, and two scenarios for placement which would be verified by the fitter on the ground. On your part, you will guarantee that within your power, whenever I, my friends or relatives come to stay, then you will allocate us cabins with secure cameras, and that compared to your standard prices you will not charge us a premium. It also states that you will not use my name or photo or that of my friends or relatives in any advertising or promotional material unless you get explicit written consent.”

“In other words, you allow us to make a bit of extra profit from your investment, by charging others to use them, but we can't trade your privacy for an advertising opportunity.”

“Exactly, Mr Webb.”

“Now, the part that worries me is 'my friends and relatives'. It occurs to me that 'friends' is rather a vague term, and that some people claim to have thousands, and as for relatives... that needs defining too before someone claims that we're all related.”

“Very sensible. Now since one of the relatives I'm concerned about is a third cousin, might I suggest that we define relatives to people who are limited to people sharing a common great-great grandparent, or similar degree of relationship through a single bond of marriage?”

“So you'd like to include your third cousin, her husband, parents in law, his siblings and so on? That sounds like quite a list!”

“It does, doesn't it? I'm sure it would help your occupancy rates, which as one business person to another sound totally abysmal at this time of year. Would you like a limit on the number of qualifying bookings per year?”

“Yes, I do believe that I would.”

“Very well, sir. Pick a number. Bearing in mind that if the number gets reached then the people I'm thinking ought to qualify might decide to go elsewhere.”

“Fifty per year?”

“Fifty what? Cabin-weeks, or person-nights?”

“Cabin weeks.”

“Agreed.” Sarah said “Teresa, limit the friends and family clause to fifty cabin-weeks per year, please, and send.”

“Teresa being your lawyer?”

“Yes. Current draft on its way to you now. You don't need any co-signatures?”

“I certainly hope not. Fortunately the owners have never thought of this sort of thing. I run the company, but my hands are partly tied: I can't exceed strict limits on advertising or maintenance. I can't adjust wages, and I can't adjust prices. Since your contract doesn't say I'm going to do anything along those lines, then I'm pretty sure I can sign it. And I'm giving it a quick read, wow you meant top of the line cameras didn't you! I'm happy, and I've signed it. And sent it back. Very nice speaking to you maam. If the owners decide I've just overstepped my authority by securing better cameras in exchange for not adjusting prices for you, then quite frankly they can have my resignation. I'm rather fed up with them.”

“You're running a holiday business, but can't adjust prices in line with demand?” Sarah was shocked.

“No. They've decided that they want a very simple formula to figure out what their dividend will be based on how full the site has been. I've told them again and again that we'd get better occupancy with a flexible pricing scheme, but they worked out their little formula and think it's wonderful. Sorry, I shouldn't be telling you this.”

“Thank you for the contract. No, you probably shouldn't be telling me this unless you want to keep your job when I buy the company.” Sarah said with a happy tone. “Any of them interested in selling to someone with a brain on their shoulders?”

“Individually, I doubt it, Maam. Please don't joke.”

“Do you speak to Bob Coal at Carbon-carbon very often?”

“When I pay the land rent.”

“I expect he'll be in contact soon. Tell him Sarah said 'Hi' and then tell him what you'd do with the company if you had free rein. Make it good. I do hope your investors see reason.”

Matt Webb found himself going cold. “Mrs Williams, what have I just signed?”

“Exactly what you thought you were signing, Mr Webb. I plan to visit soon, my third cousin plans to visit on her honeymoon over Christmas. We both value our privacy. The cameras will be installed to that end. But I sincerely hope that the short-sighted policies you're being forced to pursue don't continue, because I'm quite convinced that skimping on stove maintenance means the company is doomed otherwise.”

“I tend to agree, Maam. The stoves are designed for efficient heating, not tolerance for shoddy maintenance.”

“So, since the good name of the New Blackwood and Carbon-carbon is tied to your company, I've asked Carbon-carbon to offer to buy your investors out, and change company policy.”

“And Carbon-carbon land management listens to you?”

“Indirectly, yes. I'm told it becomes more directly quite soon.”

“Do I take it I have the honour of speaking the heiress to the Smith estate?”

“I trust you will not mention my personal involvement.”

“Of course not, Mrs Williams.”

“Good. Mr Webb, Bob Coal can tell you that my family's ethic has always been intelligent management of resources and care for our people. As yet, of course, you are not in that category, but perhaps next week you will be, so I'll tell you now. Trust and integrity are very important to me. I am far more interested in a long-term sustainable future from an investment in a company than a quick buck. If you think you will do well, making short-sighted policy decisions, then look for a new job. If you do not know if your policy is short sighted or not, seek advice. If you plan to profit from breaking trust, do not expect to work for any company I have any influence over. If you plan to work with integrity, then I hope you will be with us a long time.”

“Maam, do I understand you to be saying that if you take over the management of this company, there will not be any, urm, rationalisation of staffing?”

“I wasn't aware that you had any staff except yourself and Henry.”

“My wife is part-time accountant. Actually she also helps with other tasks around the office too.”

“Very well, then Mr Webb. Please describe to me what your role in the company structure is, at present. That is to say, where does your working week go?”

“I am required to prepare a monthly report for the shareholder's meeting. Each month this consists of a personal inspection of the inside of each cabin, some time when it's not occupied, of course, in order to identify any maintenance needs. By this they mean scuffs on the floor, peeling paintwork, nicks to chair legs, loose screws, and so on. Any remedial work that's needed, I normally carry out myself, since Henry is busy around the site, and it is just as fast to do it myself as to show him. I would estimate this inside work takes half an hour per cabin on average. I am then required to check the outside of the cabin. Which takes another quarter of an hour, or so. Adding in the travel time from cabin to cabin, when I am required to report on the state of the paths and roads, I would estimate that I spend approximately one and a half weeks on this... reporting task.”

“It sounds more like a care-taker's role to me.”

“It was impressed upon me that it must be done by me personally, maam.”

“I see.”

“I also prepare a presentation on an item of interest for the shareholders about what is growing at the moment or the history of the area.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Maam. Again, this is required of me.”

“Could you describe the owners to me. They don't seem like the typical investors.”

“Oh, they're not investors, maam. They inherited the company after the previous owner died. His wife, who's in her sixties, and the twins — unmarried daughters. I, ah, understand there was some difficulty at their birth. The maintenance contract was awarded to favourite a nephew, I believe.”

“And the previous owner left them the company to provide them with an income?”

“And I was employed to do various tasks that the mother felt were necessary, yes. The twins say 'yes mother' quite a lot.”

“I'm sorry, I have completely misunderstood the situation. I was under the impression that the company was being mismanaged by money-grabbing businessmen. It's just they have no idea, do they?”

“Not really, maam.”

“I still want to take over, but I'll need to discuss the approach with Bob. Thank you so much for your candour.”

“You're welcome, maam.”

Sarah called Frank first of all. “Frank, cameras are done, but I think I should call Bob. I've just heard who the current owners are — the widow of the previous owner and her two daughters, who might not be all there from what I've just heard. They've tied the administrator's hands and make him do talks about nature and stuff at monthly meetings.”

“So, not so much a business take-over, but a concerned talk?”

“Yes. Do you think Bob can do it?”

“I'm sure he can.”

“Great. Should I talk to him, or you?”

“You've got the information, Sarah. Keep me informed and tell me what the deal you negotiate is. Consider this to be a final test, you handle it your way, I'll keep out of it until you need something signed. And once I've signed it, then I'll listen to your report, and Bob's and give you marks out of ten, and report on that to the other trustees too.”

“Ooh, no stress then! This sounds fun.”

Sarah called Bob immediately.

“Hello, Carbon-carbon land management, Bob Coal speaking.”

“Hello Bob, Sarah used-to-be Smith, now Williams here.”

“Hello Sarah. I see you're causing waves in our tranquil waters.”

“Sorry about that, Bob.”

“Oh, I don't mind. I told Frank not so long ago that I'd like more of a challenge. I didn't quite think that buying out Blackwood Cabins would be part of it, though.”

“I've just been speaking to Mr Webb. I understand from him that a simple commercial bid is not exactly the best approach. Do you know the current owners?”

“No. I've heard Matt moaning about his hands being tied and having to do the rounds to keep them happy.”

“From what he told me, they're the wife and twin daughters of the previous owner. He mentioned a difficult birth. I presume by that he means the daughters might have some learning issues.”

“Well. I didn't realise it was them, but, yes. In that case, I do know them, at least from a distance. The mother is a stickler for neatness, and the twins have a mental age of about ten, I'd say.”

“I presume they were left the company to give them an income.”

“And to pay for support for the daughters, I'd imagine.”

“Any idea how to tackle the take-over?” she asked.

“I'd guess sending them with this complicated report Frank's sent me detailing the 'Post-impact economic predictions with specific emphasis on reduction in tourist trade volume.' isn't quite going to work.”

“Not really. But off the top of my head... Urm I've got no notes here so you'd better record this, I suggest telling them that we expect the tourist trade to dry up for several years after the impact. That's not bad news for me personally, I've got my fingers in too many pies, and a well-paying job. But I'm concerned what it would do to them. Her husband left her the company to keep provide for their needs, I'm sure, and I'd like to make that a reality. But there need to be changes. I don't like skimping on maintenance. It's very short-sighted, and one day one of those stoves is going to go bang. Henry's doing what he can, but Blackwood cabins must give the maintenance back to the someone who understands the stoves, i.e. the manufacturer. I'm reliably told they're not making a profit on maintenance contracts at all, so any savings just means it's not being done properly. If they insist on not getting maintenance done properly, then I'm going to invoke the improper use clause in the rental contract, rendering it null and void, and cancel the exclusivity contract. It'll cost me legal fees, and the cancellation value of the contract, which I think is a million, but I don't care. I'm not risking having a stove blow up and kill someone on Carbon-carbon's land. I'd also like to alter the way that Blackwood cabins are rented out, drastically, so that more people can enjoy the lovely cabins that they've been looking after so well. That land is /so beautiful/ it needs to be seen and enjoyed! I'd want to have a pricing formula which adjusts prices up if the cabins are filling up quickly and down if they're not, until they do. That sort of pricing is totally unpredictable in terms of what income they'd get, but it'll mean more people staying. In a slack year they might be paying less, maybe even much less. That would be a problem with their rental contract — there might be ninety five percent occupancy but no dividend left after the land rent's paid.

That's really tricky to put into something as crude as the rental contract. Two companies really can't be as flexible as one can be, unless the rent is somehow worked out per day, which gets horribly complicated, keeps accountants paid and everyone else confused about whether they're being cheated or not. I don't like that option at all.

If we merge the two companies, then we could even employ someone full-time as care-taker for the cabins, and probably Henry would need help all year round. I'm certain I would be able to keep the cabins going during the lean years, and we'd get customers. Even if it meant cutting the cost per weak down to a tenth of the current price, that would give Henry and the rest employment, keep people turning up at the coffee shops in the town and so on. That's my dream, that's what I call land management — not extracting every penny every year, but making sure that it keeps people in jobs even in the lean years, so when the good times are back people are still there and it's still a lovely place to go. With proper year-long occupancy levels, I can get a good enough return on the investment when things go well that no-one goes bust when they don't.

So, I'd like to offer them five options: In all of this, I'm going to consider the value of their company as the book-value plus last year's dividend. It's a bit dumb, it's certainly generous, but at least it's simple to work out for everyone. Number one,

I pay them the value of the company according to the value on the accounts, plus last year's dividend. They take the money and invest it somewhere else, or even buy an annuity. Number two: jointly, we pay for the company to be valued professionally and we pay them for it, again, they invest it somewhere else. It might be more or less, personally, given the lack of maintenance on the stoves, I'd expect it to be less, because there's an unknown level of damage to a key part of the infrastructure. Number three, I don't pay them anything for the company, but in exchange for their stake in it I contract to pay them an indexed link income the rest of their lives, equivalent to last year's dividend. I've no idea how that compares to an annuity, but I'm certain that it's better than the income they'd get from just holding on to the company, especially if they keep on mismanaging it like they have been. Number four: I pay them half the value of the company, and half what I said in three. Number five, which I think is probably bad news for everyone, but I acknowledge they might feel an emotional tie to the cabins and everything her husband worked for. I pay them half the value of the company, and the other half becomes a non-voting share in Carbon-carbon, based on dividend equivalence for last year. If they ask why dividend equivalence, show them how generous I'm being. I think that's a silly idea for them because, quite frankly Carbon-carbon is going to barely break even in the lean years. I think it's a silly idea for me because I'm not going to demand they bail out Carbon-carbon if it's making a loss, but I share my profit when it doesn't. If they ask why they don't get a vote, it's because firstly, there's no point, since I own the rest, and secondly they've shown hardly any business sense at all so far, so don't deserve one.”

“Wow. Sarah, it sounds convincing, it really does, but can I just play them the recording? I don't think I can match your passion.”

“Of course.”

“And if they say no?”

“Then, Bob, either they present you with a maintenance contract with the stove manufacturer stating that all stoves will have a remedial service and repair in the next month and then regular services at the recommended interval thereafter, or I call in the legal team.”

“Deadline for that?”

“One week. Talk to them today if you can. Either they accept one of my five options or they say no and show you the signed contract.” Sarah said. “They've had their chance. Mr Webb's been warning them again and again, and they've refused to listen.”

“OK. Now Frank told me to offer the campsite a similar deal. Where does that stand now?”

“Do you know who owns shares in it?”

“No.”

“Then just in case it's the same family, I guess we'd better find that out pronto. I presume you can give me a company name?”

“Yes. Blackwood camping.”

“If I didn't know the countryside was called New Blackwood, then I'd call that ominous. Dum de dum de dum dum dum, here we are... 'Blackwood camping is a private owner-operated business on land in the New Blackwood.' So according to this the owner is the manager, owner and everything.”

“Then I know the guy. I'd guess he's approaching sixty.”

“Well, check with him that it's true. You never know. And tell me about the site. Full?”

“Yes, when it's warm enough to camp. Prices dependant on time of year.”

“Ah, sanity at last!”

“Yes. So, what if he wants to keep ownership?”

“He can. His risk. This offer isn't so time critical, but if there's a deal then it's done and dusted by mid-January. Tell him I'm anticipating a lean few years for him, and I'm making a take it or leave it offer. The amount we offer is the book value from his last audited accounts, plus dividend, like with the cabins. Or a professional evaluation, for which he pays half, like before.”

“So, do I hide the fact that you're after the cabins?”

“No, that's part of his motive for sale. Tell him I'm planning on buying up the cabins, and what I'm going to do to the cabin prices.”

“What if he hears about the other options?”

“Tell him I'm a soft-hearted fool for widows and the helpless, but he's not either, plus it's my land and if I want to I can camp anywhere I like on it except his patch. In other words, I want the cabins, not so much the campsite.”

“And if you get the cabins, and so the exclusivity deal is gone, can he build cabins? I know he's asked and I had to say sorry, they can't do tents, you can't do cabins.”

“Hmm. Interesting question. I'm open to the idea, if he names the right rental price. But insist that he has to rename his campsite. I'm not going to put up with Blackwood cabins and Blackwood camping with cabins next door to each other. Life would be much less confusing with a single company.”

“And if he asks who's going to run the campsite when you buy it?”

“As in fishing for nice regular employment?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting question. It's seasonal work, of course.”

“His house is on-site.”

“Oh! I didn't remember that. Hmm. So if we buy him out then we're also buying his house?”

“I'd guess so.” Bob agreed.

“Gets complicated, doesn't it?” Sarah said with a sigh.

“Yes.”

“OK, Bob. You've run carbon-carbon very well for the last ten plus years. You know what a business model is, you know cash flow and all the rest. I'm really not planning to move you unless you want a move. Frank's given me a free hand on this little spending spree, and I'm deciding that campsite deal is going to be a Carbon-carbon negotiation, and I reserve the right to be pleased or a bit miffed at you as appropriate when the accounts come in, but you're still an old family friend.”

“So I've got a free hand?” Bob asked.

“Can you think why not? I mean, Carbon-carbon's got the cash just sitting there. Invest in a campsite or not as you feel fit, hire help as required, try to get me a good deal, but I can imagine you'll need to dig a bit deeper than what I said about the offer, if his house is involved too. So, feel free. I will need some of the cash though. I've definite plans for making some of the cabins fit for royalty, security wise.”

“When you say fit for royalty, what exactly do you mean?”

“Partly, I mean those wood-pile cameras. They're a wide open system, which is no good at all if you've got a recognisable face. I'm changing twelve of them next week, since we're going to stay there soon, and so is a cousin who'll have just had some celebrities at her wedding. And assuming you get your hands on those cabins for me, then I've committed you to upgrading the rest of the cameras to the same brand. Nice reliable expensive ones of course. But the other part is that Mummy and Daddy left me an AI security system with a 'Dear policemen, can I sleep-gas these attackers?' function. I like it a lot, unfortunately there's an asteroid aimed right at it. So, what if that was moved to Blackwood cabins and supervised at least some of them? I know I'd feel safer there knowing that if someone tried something silly it wouldn't be an hour plus before anyone could respond at all, but they could get safely gassed by remote control.”

“What about the issue of cameras inside the houses? Some people would be nervous of the guy in the office getting too nosy.”

“At work, the AI has an automatic modesty-protection system. No cameras when people are undressing or undressed. I'm assuming that could be loaded in. Actually I'd probably put a total block on the AI relaying inside pictures to the console unless there was an emergency. That'd need external certification of the code, of course.”

“Where on Earth do you work that people are routinely undressed, Sarah? The mind boggles!”

“Oh, it's got a medical wing.”

“Oh. That's a relief. What's the place called?”

“Bob, do you want to know something you can't tell your wife? How is Christine, by the way, sorry I forgot to ask?”

“Christine's fine, Sarah. Enjoying the countryside, doing some painting again.”

“That's good.”

“What do you mean I couldn't tell her?”

“You'd get in big trouble if you went reporting it. I got security clearance and everything to work there.”

“Can I tell her that?”

“What, that I've got clearance? Yes. Are you at home around new year, Bob?”

“Yes, why?”

“We're going to be in one of the cabins for a few days. It occurs to me we could drop by and say hello.”

“Who is the other half of 'we', by the way? I'm guessing he's called Mr Williams.”

“His name's John. Clear Sky survivor the elder.”

“You've known him a long time then?”

“Hardly. We met in early summer, I knew his name, but even then didn't realise it was him until I heard his metal leg. We got talking, fell in love ridiculously quickly; we tend to blame God for that, since He dropped some really big hints early on, and we have been thoroughly enjoying married life since July.”

“By all means come and visit. Hopefully we can avoid talking about work stuff.”

“I certainly hope so. I'll leave you to strike avarice into the hearts of elderly ladies then.”

“Thank you for that task, Sarah, I hope the result pleases you.”

“Bye, I've got to go and complete the purchase of some cameras.”

“Bye Sarah, it's been nice talking to you.”

Bob disconnected. Long phone-call, lots to do, and no palpitations. Maybe he really was fit.

“Who was that dear?” Christine said, coming in from the garden. She'd been painting snow scenes.

“Sarah Smith, Williams now. I've got to go and convince Mabel and the twins to sell up. Did you know they currently own Blackwood cabins?”

“No! She never said. I'll come too.”

“Please.”

“How are you?”

“I'm feeling fine, love. Maybe I really am recovered, like you've been saying for years.”

“Well, since it's your first real bit of cut-throat enterprise in years, take it easy.”

“Not exactly cut-throat. Sarah's offering them five different options for selling. Plus another two she doesn't want them to go for.”

“What are the other two?”

“Carry on the way they're running things — badly by the way, dangerously badly, in which case Sarah's going to repossess and close them down, or let Matt service his stoves like he keeps saying needs doing.”

“Mabel's not going to like any of the options is she?”

“I don't know. I've got Sarah's little off the cuff speech that I was supposed to deliver. She's letting me play it instead. It's full of passion and concern and vision, convinced that those beautiful cabins Mabel's husband made need to be full of people, all year round, so they can enjoy the wonders of creation here. I think Mabel might admit she's met her match, or at least her equal. I'd say she's met her match and then some. Sarah's got herself a loving husband, a well paid job at somewhere hush-hush involving her getting security clearance. Frank tells me she made over a hundred percent profit on a little side venture this summer, and by the sound of it she's got a real faith too.”

“Praise God.”

“And they're planning a stay in the cabins over new year. I said they'd be welcome to visit.”

“Of course they would be. It's ages since I saw her.”

----------------------------------------

“Hello, Mabel, it's Christine and Bob Coal here. We're on our way over if that's OK. Could we have a word please?” Christine called

“Hello Christine, is this about the Christmas pageant?”

“No, Mabel, Bob's been asked to talk to you about something work-related. I never knew you owned those cabins up in the woods!”

“Oh, I'm getting an official visit from the landlord am I?”

“Sort of. I'll let Bob explain.”

“I'd better say yes then, hadn't I? Will I need to clear the decks? The twins are doing colouring in the reception room. I expect the place is a tip.”

“I'm sure we can sit round your kitchen table instead, Mabel. I know we won't mind.”

“The proper place is the reception room though.”

“Mabel, you know Bob's not been well. I think the kitchen would be better for us, really. If you go seating him in front of all that polished wood then I'm pretty sure it'll be worse for his blood pressure.”

“What about mine?”

“I don't know, Mabel. Would the reception room make you feel more comfortable, or would you be checking the wood to see if the twins had accidentally marked the table? Bob's told me a bit about what its about and you're going to need to concentrate.”

“You're right, Christine. I hate to think what's happening to the table, let's meet in the kitchen.”

“OK, we'll there in five minutes. Oh, Bob said it's not required or anything, but you might want a copy of the last audited accounts on hand.”

“Oh? They're not putting the land rent up are they?”

“He hasn't said anything about altering the land rent to me. Oh, what's that Bob? OK, he says they're not putting it up, but part of what he's saying is related to the land rent, although that's not really the main point.”

“Well, I'm relieved about the land rent, at least. All those numbers get too complicated for me.”

“We'll see you soon, Mabel.”

“See you soon, Christine.”

Christine disconnected and drew a breath. “We've got the kitchen table, and you've also got a hint, Bob.”

“Yes, oh joy of my heart?”

“Be serious!”

“I'd rather not. Serious is stressful.”

“That's the hint. Mabel said 'all those numbers are too complicated for me.' If one of Sarah's options means Mabel doesn't need to think of numbers, then that'd be a marvellous plus point.”

“There are several options along those lines, actually.”

“Let's hope Mabel doesn't mind the egg on your tie then.”

“Where's the egg?” he said looking down “Come to think of it, what tie?”

“You wanted some humour, dear, that was my poor attempt at it.”

“Should I wear a tie?”

“No dear. You don't want Mabel to think of funerals.”

“Oh, I love you, Christine. I don't know where I'd be without you.”

“Yes you do dear. You'd have lots of pretty flowers to look at, maybe some baskets to help make, and a big fat nurse to plump your pillow.”

“Thank you, Christine, for standing by me.”

“'In sickness and in health', remember? I wasn't expecting the sickness quite so soon, but it's nice to think you're healthy enough to do this.”

“I think I am.”

“Good. Let's pray before we go in.”

----------------------------------------

“Hello Mabel.” Bob said. “Before I get to business, has Christine ever told you about how I got here?”

“She said that you had blood pressure problems, and your employer sent you up here for a rest.”

“Both are true, but I also had a nervous breakdown. I was a big high flier in the international diamond trade; closing deals worth tens of millions was pretty much every day at the office, then there was a big deal, far bigger and more complex that any before, and I was taking notes and making calls to three people at once and something broke. I reportedly said something along the lines of 'those purple hippos are flying like butterflies' and collapsed on the floor.”

Mabel shot Christine a look “I had suspected there might be something along those lines.”

“The reason I'm sharing this with you is that rather than just handing me over to the health insurers and terminating my contract after the required time, my employer split off Carbon-carbon land management from the parent company, set us up in our house, and set it up so that I could do as little or as much work as I felt capable of doing, starting with one morning a week. The rent from your cabins and the campsite basically looked after itself, and if I felt up to arranging some deals for trees then I could, and if I didn't then I could tell people, no, sorry, not this month.”

“You're saying that you've got a most generous employer.”

“Yes. I had. Unfortunately, just after he set that up he was killed in the Clear Sky bomb attack. Sarah, their daughter was one of the two survivors. She's now happily married, has a job she claims pays very well, and is showing as much business skill as her father. She is about to take over the family company from the trustees.”

“And she's about to kick you out if you don't start showing some muscle?”

“What? No! It was her idea to post me up here in the first place, and is very concerned I don't over-do it. I'd say she's got her mother's compassion and her father's business skills, just maybe not his drive.”

“Then why the story?”

“Because, as far as I can work out, young Sarah has booked a holiday in your cabins, learned some things she doesn't like, looked at your accounts, found how dependent you are on getting enough customers, and got worried for the future of the company, and therefore by implication Carbon-carbon. She thinks that after the impact people won't be spending on holidays, and she's not alone. I've got a complex report here predicting a that people nationwide will be feeling the pinch for a long time as government spending goes to rebuilding Restoration and everything else. The holiday business is going to be a real cut-throat market with everyone dropping their prices in search of custom.”

“So she's going to lower the site rent?”

“Ah, no. She's not at all happy with you about the stove maintenance, and wonders if you really want to continue running the company. She thinks it would be much more stable if Carbon-carbon owned it.” Mabel drew an angry breath to reply to that but Bob said “Before you comment, just let me play you what she said to me, about an hour ago. She did tell me to record it and said I could play it back to you.”

“OK. I'll listen to what your patron says.” Mabel said. Not in the best frame of mind. And listen she did. Carefully, wincing at some bits.

Bob turned off the recording.

“That last comment was a bit disrespectful.” Mabel said.

“I'm sorry, it was a bit forthright, I should have warned you that initially the recording was for me to take notes from, but I asked her if I could play it to you.”

“Oh it's all right. She's probably right. Matt's been telling me the same thing though more politely of course.”

“She offers you a week in which to decide. You can choose one of her five buy-out options, you can decide not to sell and get a contract with the manufacturer to give the stoves a remedial service in the next month, followed by routine services at the recommended intervals, or you can face a legal battle to keep the company. She didn't point out, but I will, that the bad press associated with a legal battle would probably put off a lot of customers, even if you won.”

“So, she thinks she's got us over a barrel.”

Christine spoke: “No Mabel. She thinks that you've got yourselves in a situation where you're in deeper water than you think and is afraid that you're going to drown and ruin a lot of livelihoods, including your own. She is offering you a way out. She also doesn't want the slightest chance of anyone being killed by an explosion, which, given her history, is perfectly understandable.”

“I need to talk to a legal advisor don't I?”

“You can if you like, Mabel. But I'll tell you something for free,” Christine said “I've just been looking it up. An index-linked annuity is going to give you a return of about three percent. What was your dividend as a percentage of the company value last year?”

“I don't know. I've got the accounts here, but I can't make much sense out of them, really, which number is the value? I can't see it.”

“There's lots of different ways of valuing a company, Mabel.” Bob explained. “Some are based on how many orders you've got, what bills you need to pay and that sort of thing, and how well an expert thinks you're going to perform in the next year or so. That's what you'd get out of a professional evaluation, and a lot of it is subjective. He could be optimistic or pessimistic and it would affect things quite a lot. By splitting the fee, Sarah's saying that she'd like to keep the evaluator neutral, but also hiring an expert for a day's work — which it probably is, at least, is going to cost a reasonable amount, so it's only fair that we split the cost. To get an easier number, Sarah's proposed that we value the company by what the accountant's written the value of things down as, you know, the stoves, the cabins, and so on. That's either based on what the company paid for something, adjusted by reducing it's value based on it's expected life, or by what they call fair market value, in other words, what you'd be able to sell it for. Since you go to jail for submitting false accounts, Sarah is assuming the accounts are right, and that the value on the books is true. Now, the book value says nothing about how much the reputation of the company is worth — which is a massive factor in the tourist trade, or how much income the company could give you. So, she's saying that on top of the book value, she'll offer you last year's dividend, that being some sort of measure of how much those other things are worth to you.”

“I see. But I don't see book value anywhere in the accounts.”

“It should be called something like 'fair market value of capital assets'.” Bob said.

“Oh, I see it. Almost exactly two million, see?”

“And you got a dividend last year of this much here, I hope, almost a hundred thousand.” Caroline said.

“Yes, that's right.” Mabel agreed.

“So, option one is Sarah pays you almost two point one million. An index linked annuity would give you about sixty three thousand between the three of you, as long as you're alive and as long as the insurance company doesn't go bust, (I say that because of the impact). Option three beats the annuity hands down, I'd say, but that depends on whether you think Sarah might go broke before you or the twins die.”

“Is that likely?”

“Well, she'd have a very hard time doing it, unless she invests everything in interstellar travel or something crazy. No. I don't think she's going to go broke.”

“Option four is there so we can not have all our eggs in one basket?”

“Yes. But an annuity isn't the only way to go, you understand. It's just one way of turning a pile of money into a regular income for life.”

“Very well. I'll think about it. One question. If I go with Sarah's option three or four. If I die then the full amount goes to the twins?”

“I'd have to check. If you split the money and bought three annuities, then each would be linked to one person's life. I would assume that Sarah's assuming the same. Actually, I think there's nothing in Sarah's plan which says you all have to make the same choice. I think she was talking to you as individuals, based on share ownership.”

“Oh! No, that'll never do. I don't need much money, it's the twins who do, well paying for the care team.”

“But you have the majority share?” Christine said.

“I've got seventy six percent. Would you please ask if we can alter the split?”

“Of course, I can call her now. But I'll step outside for privacy, if you don't mind.” Bob asked.

“Go ahead, Bob, Christine and I can talk.”

Bob stepped outside, and called Sarah's number. “Sarah, the girls are busy colouring at the moment, we've been talking to their mother, who I'd assume speaks for all, legally. She's interested in your options three or four, I think.”

“Remind me Bob, which ones were those?”

“Option three is your endowment equivalent, which I presume you know is going to cost you roughly speaking a hundred thousand, index linked. Option four is half of that, half in cash.”

“OK. I said it, I meant it. I'm just pleased they're going for it.”

“She is, but there's a hitch. She's got seventy six percent of the shares, the twins share the rest, but their care-team is the big expense. She asks can she adjust the share?”

“Oh, sorry. I wasn't clear. I'm not playing that 'who's most likely to die first' game. Share-based initial division of the hundred thousand, then one dies it's divided equally between the others, just like if there were real regular income-bonds involved. I'd set it up that way, except that there's no way I'm going to issue an index linked regular income-bond that they might get advised to sell. By the way, to keep everyone including the accountants happy, if they go this way, then the income-bond type contract is going to be drawn up with GemSmith holdings, then there'll be an internal trade for the nominal value of the bond with Carbon-carbon in exchange for Blackwood Cabins, and Blackwood cabins will become a trading name of Carbon-carbon.”

“And the nominal value will be two point one million?”

“Yes.”

“OK, the accounts can stand that.”

“And the maybe one million for the campsite, and still have money over to fix those cameras.”

“Oooh, my cash reserves!” Bob said.

“What do you want them for anyway?”

“Urm, buying up campsites, cabin companies, cameras, and if I understand you correctly, expensive security systems. But maybe also putting in a cable car to the peak.”

“Seriously?”

“Not very, yet. But I walked it once. The views are fantastic.”

“Longer term goal?”

“Hot drinks at the top, ski slope to the bottom.”

“Do you really get enough snow?”

“Probably not. We did last year which is what started this dreaming.”

“I have a crazy idea for you to consider.” Sarah said.

“I'm listening.”

“Don't bother with the cable-car for now, but do put in a ski slope.

Make the top of the run accessible by tractor or ATV, not disturbing the cabins but accessible from them. I don't know if you can arrange it, but maybe have one run which splits and ends up with one end going to the cabins' reception, another to the village, and another to the campsite?”

“I don't know. Can you imagine the queues at the end of the day, cold skiiers turning up at reception.” Bob pointed out.

“Maybe the people in the cabins just get a cross-country route to their place, then, it becomes a ski resort for the campsite and town?” Sarah pondered.

“I think I've got it!” Bob exclaimed “I don't know if it works with the geography, but how about a cross country route to the cabins from above, so people can go back up at the end of the day and ski back to their cabins?”

“And ski down to reception to get a lift to the village. That would be easy to arrange, the road to reception isn't that steep, according to the map.”

“But to get to all the cabins, that ski run would have to start at the peak, wouldn't it?”

“So we're back to your cable-car idea? Making it quite a gamble if there's not enough snow.”

“I like the idea of the ski slopes without cable-car. OK, the running costs would be higher, but the capital would be far less. There's nothing even remotely passable up to the peak that say a tractor could drag a cart load of skiiers up?”

“I'll look into it, Sarah. No deadline, I presume?”

Sarah laughed. “I can give you one if you like. Try and plot a route and maybe I can convince John to give it a go when we're up there. By all means get some locals to help.”

“I wasn't asking for one, but I'll give it a go.”

“It's low low low priority, Bob. Really, this isn't the time to try to start a whole new tourist industry in the area, is it?”

He snorted “Not really. I'd better get back to Christine and Mabel.”

“Mabel being the mother?”

“Yes.”

“I won't keep you then. Bye.”

“Good bye, Sarah.” He shook his head, in wonder. Brainstorming with a Smith again. It did feel good. But what a crazy idea! Maybe it was so crazy it would work. He was still smiling as he went in.

“From the look on your face, it's good news.” Christine said.

“It is, yes. I'm afraid I misled you, Mabel. Her offer is that the hundred thousand would initially be shared between you according to shares, but on the death of one then that persons sum would not stop, but would be divided among the survivors. The contract would be with her holding company by the way, not just Carbon-carbon.”

“Well! I'll sleep on it but I think we're going to be taking option three. I must say, no more worries about stupid numbers sounds a wonderful thought. Yes, that's certainly a reason to smile.”

“Actually, Mabel, I was smiling at a crazy brainstorming discussion we had, after she'd put me right on that.”

“Oh?”

“About whether it would be possible to take people up to somewhere near the peak, say by tractor, and then they could ski down to the village or clients could ski to the cabins.”

“Oh, that's been done before.” Mabel said.

“And it worked? I mean, people tried it, had a fun time and wanted to do it again?”

“Oh yes. It was one of my late husband's ideas that the cabins could be reached by ski if someone could ever be persuaded to do those runs again. That's why some of them are in otherwise odd places. Up hill or flat to the peak, downhill to reception.”

“What stopped the runs?”

“The normal thing: old age, stubbornness, death. Mr McKenzie got too old, and didn't want to have anyone else driving his tractor, or crossing his land in theirs. Then he died, his farm got bought up, and someone put a nice new house across the old route.”

“Isn't our house on some of what Mr McKenzie used to own?” Christine asked, who'd heard his name before at Church.

“Yes dear. This was ages ago, when I was a teenager. We'd queue up along what's now your front drive, climb aboard his trailer, drive through your living room and that pond Mr McKenzie put in when he decided he wouldn't be doing the drive any more, and thought he'd like to do some fishing, I'd forgotten that — that's why no one else could do it. Then from there, we went up to the ridge just below the peak.”

“Thank you for that very valuable information, Mabel.” Bob said.

“How valuable?” she asked, curiously.

“Oh, approximately one thousand in cartographers fees and feasibility studies.”

“I should have kept quiet then, shouldn't I?”

“No, Maam. That's not how my employer does business. I merely need to ask you to either point at some landmarks or draw a line on a map, and then I can reimburse you suitably for your time, effort and knowledge as a expert consultant.”

“I'll do better than that, young man! I've got some photographs from the top around somewhere, they ought to show the route.”

“That would be excellently excellent!” Bob enthused, almost dancing with glee.

“Is he always like this, Christine?”

“That's the man I took as my husband, Mabel. He hasn't been quite like this since he became sick.”

“Well, take him away now dear, please, before he knocks something over and makes a mess. I'll call you when I've found the photos. And about the other matter.”

“Thank you, Mabel. Come on Bob, calm down, or you'll hurt yourself.”

“But it all works out, don't you see?”

“Yes, Bob. I see. Now, I want you take a deep breath and repeat 'it's not worth ruining my health over' three times.”

Bob took a deep breath and said “I love you too, Christine.” very calmly, and gave her a kiss. She could see his eyes were still sparkling with enthusiasm, and she kissed him back; it was nice to see him like this. Very nice.

“Have a very good afternoon, Mabel.” Bob said, still holding Christine round the waist. “I'm going invite my beautiful wife for a relaxing stroll in the countryside.”

Mabel shook her head at their behaviour, thinking they looked just like a pair of newly-weds, “Be careful you two, or it'll all end in tears. Mostly due to empty tummies, full nappies and hurt knees, of course, so that's not too bad.”

“Mabel, what a suggestion! I'm shocked!” Christine said, with a smile.

“Don't be, dear, you've been married long enough. Just do make sure you're near a hospital when the time comes, just in case. We were stupid and were camping up in the hills. See you at Church on Sunday?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good, I'll see you then if not before.”

“Good bye, Mabel.”

----------------------------------------

Christine dialed Sarah's number. “Sarah, it's Christine here, not Bob.”

“Oh, is everything OK?” Sarah asked, concerned.

“Yes, everything is wonderful, for once. Bob's just having a little rest. I rather wore him out, I think, poor man. I just wanted to tell you that the tractor-based ski lift has been done before, Mabel's just sent some photos from her youth. The cabins were even planned with skiing down from the ridge in mind. She also wrote asking us to thank you for lifting an enormous weight off her shoulders, and say that she doesn't need to think about it any more. She's very keen on the idea of not having any responsibilities except her daughters. The only question she has is wouldn't it be better to pay off what's left of the mortgage on their home with a lump sum. And then, if she does that, what to do with the rest of the million in cash. I know it's not one of your options, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to offer her ten percent in cash, and then the rest as regular income, or if there's anything special about half?”

“Nothing special about half at all. What have you been doing to wear out Bob?”

“He's back to his old self, with this cabin deal working out, and the ski-slope idea, Sarah. Full of bubbling enthusiasm, life, and grand schemes. He's got his confidence back. I've missed him a lot.”

“Oh! So you had a nice romantic dance around the house? Entirely fitting! Congratulations on having your husband back in full working condition.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Do you know Frank, my trustee?”

“I've heard the name.”

“OK, well he's going to sign up the contract, since technically I'm still not in charge, but Frank's told me to go ahead and arrange things as I like on this deal. He's going to give me marks out of ten, apparently and report to the other trustees, who decide if I get to do this more often.”

“You think you'll be this involved in the future?”

“Probably not. Why?”

“Bob said it was brainstorming with you which really convinced him he was better. I think he'd miss it if you told him that was a one-off.”

“Oh, I'm normally happy to brainstorm!”

“Thank you Sarah, God bless.”

“God bless you, and your marriage, Christine.”