Her wistfulness suddenly made sense. “Are you comparing yourself to a dragonfly, Jess Wainwright?”
She studied her soup, letting it drip from her spoon. “Perhaps I am.” She raised her head, a fierce look in her eyes.
“What you are trying to accomplish with my niece and nephew and your other students has not escaped my notice. Indeed, it is what captivated me in the first place, my little dragonfly.”
“What is it you think I am trying to accomplish, Mr. Morgan?” She asked, obviously determined to ignore his endearment.
Cad leaned forward and placed his own elbows on the table, mere inches from hers. “I think you are trying to show them there is a bigger world out there, that it is theirs for the taking. You teach for the same reasons I organize.”
“The world can be very unfair to those who don’t have the tools to combat its injustice. I am lucky that our sister Arie taught all of us to read - that our mother taught her. I am lucky to have been raised in a family of sisters who value inquisitiveness and independence. I want to share those values with my students. Especially the girls in my care. To show them their future needn’t be constrained by marriage vows and childbearing.”
Cadoc nodded. “As I said, we are motivated to achieve the same goal. Awareness that there is another path than the one the idle rich would confine us to. The working class has a capital the rich need to survive - our sweat and labor. Without them there is no industry or progress. Parliament would do well to remember it. Especially in regards to the mining community.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Yourworkonbehalfof the mining community when you’re here in Cumbria can’t be very effective,” Jess observed.
“My inventions have given miners better lighting, and eliminated the need for drammers and other child laborers like the one I once was. They’ve also provided me with the resources to bend the ears of politicians and journalists sympathetic to my cause, and given me leverage to insist on certain working conditions before I’ll sell what I’ve made to anyone in the business.”
“How can you be sure they don’t simply revert to their former practices when you’re gone?”
He grimaced at her question. “It’s a risk. But to my knowledge, it’s only happened on one occasion. The owner had a revolt on his hands when he tried to reinstate the previous working conditions. He quickly saw the error of his ways.”
“I applaud your commitment and determination, Mr. Morgan.”
“At least something I’ve done has earned your approval,” he said with a wry smile.
Jess laid her spoon across the top of her bowl and propped her chin in her hands. “I’ve finished my meal, so perhaps you’ll find other ways to redeem yourself. Showing me your library would be a wonderful start.”
He set his own spoon down, crossed his arms and raised a brow. “My library? You mean for me to share my other inner sanctum?”
Jess fluttered her lashes at him. “Good sir, I’ve had multiple reports of its treasures and I am eager to see them with my own eyes.”
Her dinner companion laughed. “My niece and nephew greatly exaggerate its grandeur. But, come along.” He stood and pulled her chair away from the table. Jess slipped her hand through his arm with an eager smile.
When he pushed the heavy oak doors wide open, Jess clasped her hands and whirled about to take it all in.
It was a treasure trove. The gas lamps on either side of the desk and in the corners shown softly on the floor to ceiling bookshelves that lined the walls. Jess strode closer and set her hand against the wheeled ladder propped in the corner.
“May I investigate?”
“Of course. I’m gratified that something else about me has met with your approval.”
“You have so many resources at your disposal, resources that would be extremely welcome in my classroom.”
“I’d not deny your students access.”
“I’d like a closer look at the top shelf - I spy a copy ofDesiderata.”
He bowed slightly. “Be my guest. Consider my library yours whenever you need it.”
Jess took her skirts in one hand and climbed to the second step from the top.
There was an entire shelf full of natural sciences translations behind her. She should be focused on them, not the width of his shoulders or the determined glint in his eyes when she turned to face him.
“You just gave me leave to use your library,” she said, her voice laced with suspicion.
“Indeed I did. Do you know why, Jess?”
