Once she had done so, he handed her a weapon. “As you know, there is a button on the tip, so there is little chance of drawing blood. But I do caution you, this is not an activity for the faint of heart.”
“I have three boys at home who have made that abundantly clear. So far there are no missing fingers or limbs.”
He laughed. “Lord Wrexford tells me that I am supposed to make you, er, exert yourself. Is that true?”
“Yes,” replied Charlotte firmly. “Treat me exactly as you would a male pupil.”
His lips twitched. “As you wish.”
Charlotte was soon ruing her hubris. After showing her how to hold her foil and demonstrating the basic fencing stances, Angelo then proceeded to put her through a grueling series of drills that left her soaked with sweat and gasping for breath.
“You have great balance and athleticism, milady,” he announced with an approving nod, once he took pity on her and ended the lesson. “We shall make an excellent swordswoman of you . . . that is, once we put a little steel in your muscles.”
Fearing that she couldn’t manage more than an exhausted squeak, Charlotte merely nodded.
“You are lucky—you have excellent practice partners in your Weasels and Peregrine. “ He offered her a towel. “They are good lads.”
She accepted it with a grateful look and nodded in answer, still not trusting her voice.
Angelo chuckled. “You know, many of my male pupils would have puked after the workout I just put you through.” He gave her a jaunty salute. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Lady Wrexford. Your husband was right—you’re tougher than nails.”
“S-So why do I feel that someone has hammered a handful of them through my biceps?”
Another chuckle. “You may be a trifle sore tonight, but it will soon pass.” He stepped back and inclined a bow. “Until next time, milady.”
* * *
“Ashe,” repeated Wrexford. “Are you referring to Mademoiselle Benoit, the secretary of the Paris Society for Practical Science who is part of the French scientific delegation?”
Hamden dismissed the question with a brusque wave. “The French build aesthetically lovely bridges, but as far as I know, they are not making any notable innovations in the actual engineering of such structures.” He tapped his fingertips together. “Mind you, I could be wrong, but I think that the lady in question resides right here in England.”
“A lady? Trained in engineering?” queried the earl.
Hamden smiled. “Obviously, she didn’t attend Oxford or Cambridge. However, she comes from a very wealthy merchant family who believed in the importance of education for both their sonsandtheir daughter. So she’s as well-schooled as most men in science and mathematics. But more than that, she has a special flair for creating successful commercial ventures, as well as practical experience in running her husband’s various businesses, one of which fabricates machinery.”
He paused. “I believe that Carrick met her a little over a year ago while working on a construction project that she was funding, and my sense is that she took him under her wing, so to speak.”
“Interesting.” Wrexford was now on full alert. A clearly ambitious woman with business acumen and an interest in bridges . . . “Do you perchance know this woman’s name?”
“But of course,” answered Hamden. “She’s actually very well known in the engineering world, especially after she and her husband won a very handsome contract of £40,000 from the Royal Navy. They created an innovative design of copper nails and sheathing to protect the bottoms of naval warships from barnacles and hole-boring marine worms.”
A very handsome contract, reflected Wrexford. Given the woman’s obvious talent for making money, partnering with someone who was on the cusp of creating an innovative technology that would revolutionize bridge building could very well be worth a bloody fortune.
“And then, of course, in 1811 she received a patent in her own name for an innovation in bridge design.”
“A woman with a patent in her own name?” The earl was both surprised and impressed. As far as he knew, that had never happened before.
“Indeed. In fact, one so important that Thomas Telford asked permission to use her idea in the bridge design he is currently working on to span the Menai Straits.” A pause. “It will connect the island of Anglesey with the mainland of Wales, and thus be the longest bridge ever built.”
“The lady’s name,” urged Wrexford. “If you please, just give me her name.”
“Sarah Guppy,” said Hamden. “She and her husband live in Queen Square, Bristol’s most fashionable neighborhood, and are leading lights of the city’s high society. But my guess is that she’ll be coming to London for the Royal Institution’s conference on improving transportation.”
“Thank you,” said Wrexford. “You’ve been a great help.” It seemed possible that he had picked up a clue that would lead them to Oliver Carrick . . .
But he feared that Cordelia wouldn’t thank him for it.
CHAPTER 14
