jock123 Moderator
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#6 · Posted: 2 Dec 2017 11:26
Good questions!
While the likes of you and I probably don't have the problem of owning a large country estate, and traveling extensively fro extended periods of time (I may be making an unwarranted assumption here - you might be the Duke of Marlinshire for all I know, and spend your life globe-trotting with the jet-set... ;-)), many wealthy people have homes (even more than one) in which they don't live for much of the year.
In those circumstances it is not unusual to have a person that is employed to run the house in their absence - an estate manager, a major-domo or butler is often the sort title used.
Nestor will look after the cleaning and upkeep of the house, and be responsible for the activities of any staff or tradesman who are needed (we know that there is a gardener involved in looking after the grounds, for example, so Nestor will undoubtedly coordinate with them about what is to be done).
He will have bills to pay, correspondence to write - both to the suppliers of goods and services, and to the Captain to keep him up-to-date with goings on at the estate - and whatever other paper-work is needed will fall to him. He also forwards the post to the Captain and Tintin on their travels (Haddock tells us so in Tintin in Tibet).
Presumably his wages are paid directly into a bank account by the Captain, using a direct-debit type arrangement; if not, then perhaps the Captain has his solicitor pay Nestor, which might be useful if Nestor has to undertake any work on the house which needs legal consultation, or for which the cost is very high.
The duties are maybe not onerous by some standards, but there is a full-time occupation there, even if at the very least it's just just in keeping an eye on the property, making sure that nothing goes wrong, and making it less of a target for thieves.
By some standards, Nestor is doing a lot just by being on his own.
I remember listening to a radio programme about an American lady living in New York, who had inherited a lot of money and property when she was very young. She had a fully stocked mansion in Los Angeles, which had belonged to her father, with staff, who kept the house prepared – decorated with fresh flowers, polished, kitchens at the ready, etc. – so that she could arrive at any moment... ...and she never went there. She grew up, grew old, and died, without having set foot in it.
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