Wrexford knew that many of the traditional men of science who studied chemistry and physics looked down their noses at their colleagues who had a passion for engineering mechanical innovations, dismissing them as mere craftsmen rather than considering them erudite thinkers.
Wrexford suspected it was due in part from jealousy. The wordengineeringderived from the Latiningenium, which meant “cleverness,” and men like James Watt and his partner Matthew Boulton had earned great riches from the patents on their steam engines.
“What is that infernal racket?” asked Sheffield.
“You’ll see in a moment,” he answered. After turning down one of the side corridors, the earl paused at the first door and rapped loudly, hoping to be heard over the metallicclack-clackemanating from inside the laboratory.
“Come in, come in!” called a muffled voice. “But do watch your step.”
Wrexford and Sheffield entered, both of them nearly tripping over an undulating oval formed by a pair of curving steel tracks that were fastened to the floor. They looped under a massive worktable, around a storage cabinet—
From behind it suddenly clattered a foot-high iron carriage belching steam from a smokestack rising up from its front as it raced through the curve.
Sheffield hopped out of the way and watched it speed back under the table, where a rumpled figure was crouched, peering at his pocket watch.
“Excellent, excellent!” exclaimed the fellow after the carriage gurgled to a stop. “Mark my words, we’ll soon have goods and people moving smoothly along roads of rails, rather than bumping over ruts—and at far greater speed!”
“Quite impressive, Hedley,” murmured the earl.
“Yes, Puffing Billy here is a model of my latest innovations—a locomotive with piston rods that extend upward to pivoting beams—”
“Fascinating,” interrupted Wrexford. “But might I ask for a few moments of your time to look at something?”
“I’ve always time for a man of curiosity like yourself, milord.” Hedley crawled out from under the table and tugged his coat into place, setting off a prodigious cloud of dust. “Pray, what is it?”
“Actually, that’s why I’m here.” Wrexford moved to the work desk and unrolled the drawings. “I’m hoping you might have some ideas.”
The engineer patted at his pockets and fished out a pair of spectacles. “Let me have a look.” He came to stand beside the earl and began to page through the drawings.
Sheffield remained where he was, and crouched down to make a closer inspection of the metal tracks and the still-steaming Puffing Billy.
“Hmmph,” grunted Hedley, his brows tweaking up in surprise. “Differential equations.”
“Which means?” asked the earl when the engineer didn’t elaborate on the cryptic statement.
“Which means the man who scribbled in the margins has a very advanced understanding of mathematics.”
Or woman, thought Wrexford.
More grunts followed as Hedley shuffled back and forth between several of the more detailed drawings, then ran a hand through his shaggy hair, leaving the strands standing in spiky tufts. “Ingenious.”
He looked up. “Where did you get these?”
“At the moment, I’m not at liberty to say,” replied the earl. “But I’m hoping to get some answers from you concerning its design.”
“I’ll do my best.” The engineer traced a finger along a series of geared levers. “Though I confess, I’ve never seen anything quite like this.” He blew out a breath. “The intricacy of the components rather boggles the mind. I’m not quite sure how one would actually fabricate all the parts . . . that is, assuming it’s not just a pipe dream.”
Perhaps it was merely an opium-induced hallucination, thought Wrexford. He had heard that the members of Lady Cordelia’s intellectual salon included some very eccentric individuals.
But if it was real . . .
“Let’s assume it’s not a flight of fancy. Given all the numbered wheels, it looks to me like it might be a machine for doing advanced mathematical calculations. In your judgment, is that technically possible?”
Hedley made a face. “Up until seeing these drawings, I would have said that no mind could envision a design able to perform such complexities. But now . . .” He lifted his shoulders. “But now I’m not so sure.”
The earl considered what he had just heard. “You’re familiar with the best mathematicians in all of Great Britain. Who do you think is capable of such a feat?”
A wry laugh. “I can’t say any of us mere mortals are that advanced in our thinking. But since you wish for a few names, allow me to think . . .” Pursing his lips, the engineer slowly shuffled through the papers again, studying both the technical diagrams and the equations written in the margins.
