Tap, tap.
“If that’s some arcane pagan ritual for summoning divine intervention,” he said softly, “I devoutly hope that blood sacrifices aren’t required.”
“I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor,” she replied.Tap, tap.“I’m thinking . . .”Tap, tap.
The sound struck him as a distinctly human echo of the steel-and-brass brain churning away on the other side of the room.Man versus machine.As someone dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, he couldn’t help but applaud the momentous advances that curious minds like his own were making. But he wasn’t blind to the pitfalls of Progress, and its potential for bringing out the worst as well as the best in mankind.Good versus Evil.Those two opposing forces seemed to be woven into the very flesh and blood of humanity.
Forcing us to fight a never-ending war between the light and dark sides of our nature.
It made Charlotte and her courage seem even more extraordinary.
After another moment, she paused and cocked an ear. The Computing Engine was slowing, the noise dying away to a series of clicks and chirps. “Lady Cordelia, if you and the professor have finished your work, it would be best if you both join in our council of war. There is, as you’ve shown, strength in numbers.”
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to kick those dastards in the . . .” Cordelia paused, realizing that Raven was right beside her. “In a spot that will hurt like hell.”
“Aim for the bollocks,” counseled the boy. “A man drops like a sack of stones when you hit his privies.”
Sheffield gave an involuntary wince.
“I shall keep that tidbit in mind, should the occasion arise,” replied Cordelia. “Come, Professor,” she added on hearing a loud thump from behind the Engine. “Lady Charlotte is summoning us to plan a strategy to beat the devils at their own game.”
Sudler extracted himself from the machinery and made his way to the table, blinking owlishly. As he took a seat, Cordelia plucked the grease-smeared spectacles from his nose, cleaned them with a napkin, and returned them to their perch.
“By Jove.” More blinks. “The dratted dog has eaten all the ham.”
“There’s more in the kitchen. Shall I go get it?” volunteered Hawk.
“Please do,” answered Wrexford. “But if I see one more sliver of it going down Harper’s gullet, you’ll both be banished to the mews.”
Charlotte’s tapping had ceased. “Let us turn our thoughts from filling our stomachs to something even more elementally important—ensuring that the high and mighty don’t gorge themselves on greed because no one will hold them accountable for their misdeeds.”
Sheffield shifted his chair and in a hushed murmur quickly explained to Cordelia and Sudler what they had missed.
The professor adjusted his spectacles. “I don’t see how we, a small band of individuals, can bring them to justice. Lady Cordelia is of the opinion that she and I might be able to buy her brother’s release from their clutches. But to be honest, I fear that is wishful thinking.”
“It won’t be easy,” replied Charlotte. “But it can be done.”
Wrexford was aware of all eyes turning to him. “I concur,” he said without hesitation.
For the look of gratitude that flickered beneath her lashes, he would have gladly agreed to journey to hell and back.
“It will require boldness and courage,” he continued, “but we have that in spades.”
“Thank you, Wrexford.” Pencil poised above the paper, Charlotte pursed her lips. “Let’s first address freeing Woodbridge from Argentum’s control. To do that we need two things—the money to repay the loans and the official documents that he signed making him the sole owner of Argentum Trading Company.”
A cough from Sudler. “That’s only making me feel even more pessimistic.”
“It shouldn’t,” remarked Sheffield. “I have a feeling that Lady Charlotte has a plan, and in my experience, that bodes ill for any miscreant.”
“I do,” Charlotte said. “As Wrexford is fond of saying, one merely needs to apply logic to a problem, and it usually becomes simpler. To wit, let’s take the money. All the arbitrage trading Lady Cordelia and the professor are running for Argentum is generating a constant source of it. And my guess is that it’s being deposited into a bank account somewhere, until it’s time to purchase a bill of exchange to sail with a corrupt ship captain for the next round of buying opium in India.”
“A bank account set up for Argentum Trading Company in order to have Woodbridge take the blame if anything goes awry,” mused Sheffield.
“Our thinking aligns, Lady Charlotte,” said Wrexford. “I’ve already begun making inquiries into which of the smaller private banks cater to a less than scrupulous clientele.”
“And I plan to meet with Jeremy in the morning, sir. He’ll likely have some ideas, as well,” Charlotte replied. To Cordelia and Sudler, she explained, “Lord Sterling is an old friend, and his recent involvement in expansion plans for Mrs. Ashton’s mills has given him experience in financing commercial enterprises.”
“Excellent, excellent,” said Sudler.
