We apologize for the lack of forewarning, but we are bound by both legal contract and good manners to enquire as to the situation of our estates and finances. After leaving them in your capable hands, we trust all is well.
We also wish to convey our gratitude to you for your guardianship over our estates, few would be able to manage as you have, yet you have endured. For this, you have our thanks.
Should you require further assistance, we will endeavour to see what we can do.
Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Whitehall
To: The Steiners
From: Elizabeth Hall
My dearest gentlemen,
The unexpected arrival of your letter rises my spirit and quenches my worries. I am truly elated to know that you are alive and well. I have noticed that you have entitled me as a "lady", and while I am flattered, I must correct you: I have not been made a lady. As I am still unmarried, simply "miss" would fit my current standing.
Your fortune has not remained the same during your absence, because I have undertaken an effort to increase it. I sold Las Palmas Deuterium Ltd, my little processing plant on Exeter if you have forgotten, to some Zoner when I took office and before Bretonia abandoned the planet. It was doing well at the time, hence the sale acquired me some sizeable capital, but it went bankrupt when Exeter's trade connection with the civilised world was unexpectedly severed. Of course, the Zoner could not have known that this would happen. Neither did I, but I was in the position to use the events that happened to my advantage and I saw no good reason to abstain. I invested these funds into the BMM's cobalt mine developments on Sprague, along with some of your own, which I hope does not bother you, because the investment has been fruitful so far, and it will soon compensate for the relatively inconsequential sum that I have spent, and I expect it to multiply several times in the near future. I must stress that this income is not all going to me, but that each of us profits fairly and proportionally to the sizes of investments, which were equal. As of your estate itself, I have not changed much, but I hope that you do not mind that I have repurposed some rooms that you were not using to expand my wardrobe. You certainly understand that a woman of public significance such as me cannot wear the same dress every day.
My political ventures have been arguably successful, but recent events forced me to resign in October. Thanks to the indispensable help from Mr Nathan Graham, the (sadly) former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and an overlapping of interests with Liberty, my government has managed to bring Bretonia's economy back to its feet and somewhat stabilise it. You must have also heard of our liberation of Edinburgh and of the less fortunate consequences that this has, together with their recent war with Kusari, had for the Gallic Confederation. The Confederation has dissolved and those of the Enclave that avoided our justice are now in control of Gallia. My government managed to reach an understanding with Kusari after this, a mutual defence pact, but this had a negative effect on my ratings. I intended to blame Lady Mountbatten, the Foreign Secretary, for the idea of working with our former enemies, while I would take the credit for the reconciliation, but the very opposite took place. I doubt that Lady Mountbatten had any part in this twist, simply due to her level of competence, and I think that the causes are accidental and external. Her penchant for the bottle caused somewhat of a diplomatic incident at the conference, which is in fact something that I was looking forward to because it would give me a pretext to replace her, but I underestimated how much Her Majesty cared for her just for being born into nobility. I am loyal to Queen Carina and I would not by any chance bring myself into conflict with Her Majesty, so I had to resign. Gallia refused to pay us reparations when my government demanded after the conference with Kusari and invalidated the Leviathan Accords, and this undoubtedly played a role in the drop of my ratings. Nevertheless, you will find that my term in office has not diminished your wealth, quite the contrary instead.
I am looking forward to meeting you in person again and placing my gaze on your strong, decisive, manly faces.
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia
We address all women who display competence in their duty as 'Lady', regardless of whether they are of higher birth or not. Your objection to term is noted.
If our finances are used for wise investments in the rebuilding of the house, then we see no reason to stop you. William will verify what has been said with the accountants on Cambridge but we won't bother investigating every angle, we trust your word. However we do have one directive: £20,000 is to be spent on the construction of a school on planet Gran Canaria for children of Zoners and Edge Worlders, we also allocate a further £10,000 for the procurement of books, equipment and staff for this school. If these funds are insufficient then we will open more funds, but as it stands, we deem the total to be a worthy amount.
We are sorry to hear of your misfortune within parliament, things are seldom what they seem within the halls of power. What do you intend to do now? Do you require our assistance? We don't have much influence within Bretonia anymore, except perhaps within the University, but we will do what we can if you seek our help. While you may not be on the best of terms with those within Westminster, if you could quietly pass on our regards to Lady O'Brian, the Lord Oakington if Victor remembers rightly, we would appreciate it.
In the meantime, we have desperately avoided reading the papers or watching the news, we don't know what's been happening geopolitically, but we firmly believe we are the last people you want to seek advice from.
Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Whitehall
To: The Steiners
From: Elizabeth Hall
My dearest gentlemen,
I must admit that your suggestion to help fund a school on Exeter confuses me. I have already mentioned it -- we have abandoned the planet. It is not ours any more. I understand that during his SIS career Victor may have heard some rumours about me, but I assure you that I most certainly did not sell my dignity for credits when I lived on Exeter so I could fund my education. This is slander spread by my enemies who are jealous that I am better educated than them, and nothing more.
I have taken a break from politics and these days I have been busy managing your holdings and our investments. I have tried, somewhere I succeeded, somewhere I did not, and I fear that I am starting to settle down. Since you are privy to my DNA test results, you must understand that I do not wish to carry over my genetic condition which I inherited from my father, to a new generation. Who would want a wife that will not bear his children? Who would want a wife that might just suddenly drop dead in the middle of a conversation? If I settle down, I will doubtlessly become a spinster. I must never settle down, I must return to politics, but now the circumstances are unfavourable. The new government is bound to commit mistakes, and until their sum reaches a critical level, I will be increasing our wealth. There has been a rise of nationalism in Bretonia, and although nationalists are weak for the moment, I understand that Bretonia is a fertile ground for such ideas, and they might cause trouble in the future.
I have not spoken with any of the Admiralty since my resignation, especially not with that crude drunkard of a Redmond, but I respect O'Brian and I will send her your regards if I see her. I thank you for your offer of help, but I am an independent woman now and I can manage on my own. All I wish, and I wish it more than anything, is to see all of you again. Where have you been and when are you going to return?
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia
We are aware of Gran Canaria's loss, the school we speak of is our way of an apology. It was out of desperation that Edmund gave the order to take the planet, and although few if any believed him, William did speak the truth when he said we intend to release the system at war's end. Whatever happened after our departure isn't wholly clear to us, but what is clear is that those living there deserved better than we gave. We were unwilling at the time. So, we intend to correct that mistake as best we can. This school is to provide the most impoverished children of Gran Canaria the best education Bretonia can offer, free of charge. That is our wish and, with respect, our order.
We believe you to be wise in your thinking. Time away from politics has given us some time to reflect on the decisions we made while in positions of power. It has also made us realize that power is, if nothing else, exhausting. Victor in particular has enjoyed not worrying about the house, which is a nice change of pace for him. As for your personal predicament, we will keep an eye out for a suitable suitor for your, although your personal genetics are unlikely to worry the right person. You shan't become a spinster, we promise you that.
Nationalism is not surprising, but it is somewhat worrying. Appeasing the crowd may be the most popular decision, but such actions are apt to lead down very dark roads. We are not in a position to offer any great insight, however as all know: Pride leads to arrogance. Whomever leads the next government should possibly adopt a more...humble policy of governance. But as mentioned; we are not in a position to offer much insight.
We have taken a holiday to Rheinland, and it is from here that we send you these letters. It is...nice, to return to our father's home and it has been very long overdue. As to when we will return, well. Our name does not mean much anymore, but those who remember will no doubt remember it well. We may, depending on certain circumstances, decide to return. But it seems at the moment, everything is in hand.
Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Whitehall
To: The Steiners
From: Elizabeth Hall
My dearest gentlemen,
I will use your funds for the patronage over the school, as you said. However, £30,000 is far from sufficient, even if we take the lower price of labour on Exeter in account. With everything that you have requested in mind, I think that the sum would be closer to a million. Are you still sure about this?
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia
Alfred has not really kept up with the times when it comes to money and value, you are quite correct in regards to accurate pricing. Therefore £2.5 Million has been allocated for the task with an additional £500,000 for other expenses. I hope this is slightly more sufficient.
Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Whitehall
To: The Steiners
From: Elizabeth Hall
My dearest gentlemen,
This is more than sufficient. I will make sure that the students receive the best Bretonian education programme. If we are to return to Exeter one day, I would prefer to use soft power over Dagon's marines. I wish you an easy life in Rheinland, but I still selfishly long for your return.
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia
We feel it necessary to inform you that due to certain letters received, we will be returning to Cambridge in 2 days. Please inform the staff to make ready for our arrival.
Message Class: Textual
Encryption: Whitehall
To: The Steiners
From: Elizabeth Hall
My dearest gentlemen!
You must know that I am elated and exhilarated to the limit that my heart can beat! My bosom quivers from excitement and my body is full of... little butterflies! Yes! Come! I will have the servants make tea as soon as I hear that you have landed!
Representative of House Steiner
Kingdom of Bretonia