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Caitlin swung her leg over her mare and landed lightly on the stable floor. The ride had been invigorating and the scent of horse comforting. Aunt May and Uncle Kieran had been tense over breakfast. She hadn’t heard the full story, but through the farewells to her great aunt and her cousins, she had sensed something about today’s stock market activity was making them nervous.
They always watched the stock market closely since floating their electronics business ten years ago. The company was now in Europe as well as the UK. Uncle Kieran had made his fortune since then. They were regarded as ‘new money’, but they didn’t seem to mind—this Scottish Lowland country estate and a flat in London, plus a personal wealth which they had never disclosed to Caitlin—but was substantial—was nothing to sneer at.
“Yoor uncle’s lookin’ for ye, miss.” Andy leaned over the stall door. “And we’ve taken on a summer hire to help me with the grounds for a wee bit. Giant of a man, ye will nae miss him.” Andy’s balding head shone in the morning light filtering through the stable’s high windows.
“Very well,” she responded over her shoulder as she left the stable. It was good news as Andy was an excellent groundsman but getting older and needing the help to maintain the large estate.
As she strode to the kitchen door, her mobile buzzed in her jacket pocket. It was Jan.
Milla has lost her Pension Fund.
What? How?
The Stock Market crashed. Haven’t you heard yet?
No.
People are losing money. Ask your uncle.
Okay.
Caitlin ran upstairs to her uncle’s study. The noise of the television came through the closed door—it was turned up loud. Aunt May glanced at her as she entered.
“Something terrible is happening.” Her aunt returned her attention to the news.
‘Stock Markets fall world wide. DOW, FTSE 100, S&P 500, Nasdaq, Hang Seng all down 55 percent since opening today.’ The BBC Television News ticker made its way across the bottom of the huge television screen on the wall of the study.
Uncle Kieran stared at the television, one arm across his chest as he stood, the index finger of his other hand tapped his upper lip and his brow furrowed. Something he always did when deep in thought. The main news item reported in-depth the current stock market crash and the resulting fall-out.
The tension in the room hung like a fog between its occupants. Aunt May, who usually never stood still, sat down heavily on the Georgian sofa and made a call on her mobile phone. Uncle Kieran rushed to his mahogany desk and opened his computer. Caitlin stood behind him and peered over his shoulder.
“I can move stock electronically,” Uncle Kieran muttered to himself. Caitlin guessed he was trying to prevent further losses. Her bottom lip pinched as Caitlin chewed it. She had grown used to the lifestyle she had with them, and quite enjoyed it, so different from her financially tight existence with her mother. But her uncle’s wealth had not come easily. They had both worked hard and she admired their work ethic.
“Are you okay, Uncle?”
“Oh, we’ll ride it out.” Uncle Kieran sounded optimistic.
“If we do, we’ll be the only ones!” Aunt May had a greater understanding of the vagaries of the stock market. Caitlin found herself inclined to pay more attention to her aunt’s comments.
“You’ll be alright even if you lose a chunk, won’t you?”
Aunt May glared at her. “The market has lost over half its value. Our net worth has dropped by at least thirty percent.”
“We’ll be alright, darling.” Uncle Kieran’s fingers clicked over his computer keyboard.
“My friend has lost her pension.” Caitlin stepped from Uncle Kieran at his desk and sat beside Aunt May.
“She’s not the only one. And there’s a run on the banks.” Aunt May pointed to the television. The live feed showed queues outside banks, people wanting to withdraw their money before the closure of banks lost it all. “We still have the cash in the safe, don’t we?” Aunt May asked.
Uncle Kieran nodded and pursed his lips, but his eyes stayed on his computer screen. “How much exactly?” Aunt May rarely discussed their finances in front of Caitlin.
Caitlin’s stomach twisted.
“Maybe twenty.”
She assumed he meant thousands.
“Is it as bad as last time, Uncle?”
“Hmm. Just a wee bit worse. It depends on how quickly it bounces back.” Distracted by his share reshuffle, he did not elaborate further.
“People lost their jobs and homes last time.”
“Aye, it may well happen again Caitlin. People seem to be exceptionally nervous about this one. Too many got hurt in 2008.”
“What about your business?”
“It’s alright at the moment, but if the companies that buy from us fold, or can’t afford my electronics then...”
At least hospitals were secure. You always needed nurses, right? She’d be okay job-wise but what about Uni? Her phone buzzed in her jacket again. Caitlin slipped out of the room, they didn’t notice her go; Aunt May’s focus was on the television reports and Uncle Kieran stared at his computer screen.
As Caitlin walked down the hall, the atmosphere of stress and mild panic she had sensed on entering the room stayed with her.
It looked serious. She passed works of art—some by famous artists—ceramics, bronze sculptures, and other collectibles, as she always did. But she wasn’t admiring them today. Her mobile buzzed again.
My father’s work has laid him off already. He’s checking he still has a pension.
It was Jan once more. Poor Jan, she still lived at home with her parents.
So soon?
Yep. It sounds like he’s not the only one.
Sorry.
Will have to get more shifts at work.
Yep.
What else could she say? Jan would think that she, The Duchess, would be okay because of her Uncle Kieran’s wealth. But this crash would diminish even that.
Caitlin stayed in her room for most of the day. She ventured downstairs a couple of times, but everyone was glued to the television, so she went back to her room, snuggled into her cushions on the four-poster bed, and continued reading for her university post graduate studies, trying to distract herself. She had little savings in her own bank account, having paid her own way through university and had only worked a little over a year as a nurse. She had gone to university to study nursing straight from school and her Mum, being a single parent, had little to spare and her inheritance had been small.
More text messages from Jan interrupted her reading. Other friends had lost shares and the rush on banks had caused some to close their doors only to announce by the end of the day that they had closed permanently. Two of ‘the big four’ banks had folded, including Caitlin’s. Wow, all her meagre savings gone in an instant! Other banks called mortgages in. Caitlin went downstairs to tell her aunt and uncle.
They were eating their dinner in front of the television news in the study. They never ate dinner out of the dining room.
“There’s rioting in London.” Aunt May abandoned her meal and placed the plate precariously on the edge of the Chippendale coffee table. It threatened to tumble onto the Chinese silk rug.
The television showed footage of a mob smashing the glass doors of a bank, shoving past security guards, and dragging staff out onto the street. Other clips showed people exiting broken shop windows with as many goods as they could carry. Crowds ran and the riot police were manoeuvring into position. Uncle Kieran picked up the remote and turned over to the Scottish news.
“Glasgow too!” Uncle Kieran’s voice held a shocked tone Caitlin had only heard once before when she told him of his sister’s death. The day her mother died.