Mr. Loughton turned to Emily and the rest of the group, his expression apologetic. “I’m terribly sorry, but if it’s already printed, there’s nothing to be done.”
Emily’s heart sank like a big lump of lead. She didn’t need to look at Callum to know what a terrible blow this was. She could feel his despair as though it were her own. Something had to be done. One way or another she had to find a way to make this right.
A thought struck.
“What would it cost to purchase all of those pages?” she asked.
Mr. Loughton drew back. He frowned. “I beg your pardon?”
“Emily,” Papa murmured. “You’re surely looking at more than fifty pounds here.”
“I can’t afford that right now,” Callum told her, his voice grim.
“Neither can we,” said Westcliffe and Corwin.
Maybe not. Butshecould.
“I’m guessing the only reason you’re unable to pull the pages, is because it would be too expensive,” she told Mr. Loughton. “I understand that. Paper isn’t cheap. But what if I wished to purchase all of the pages with that review printed on them? How much would you charge me?”
Mr. Loughton’s eyebrows shot toward his hairline. “I don’t know. I’d have to make a calculation. But to be honest with you, my lady, I cannot afford to sell those pages. It’s not just a question of money, you see, but also of time. We’d never be able to get the paper out by tomorrow morning if we have to re-print a replacement page this late in the day. Doing so would require reworking the layout since the objective is to remove the review. We’d have to find something of a similar size to fill the vacant spot.”
“That’s not a problem,” Emily told him. “I’ll just write a new review. One that fits the exact space left by the one we’re removing.”
“You haven’t even read the entire book,” Callum said.
“I don’t need to.” Emily turned to him with determination. After all he’d done to help her, she would do this. “It’s written by you and your friends. Based on what I’ve read so far, I’m sure the entire story will be a delight. It’s certainly a gamble I’m willing to take.”
He looked skeptical. “Are you sure?”
“Without question. My initial review was written in anger, Callum. It never should have been read by anyone other than me.”
“I appreciate your saying so,” he said with a hint of being slightly reassured, “but it doesn’t change the fact that we cannot afford to do as you suggest.”
“And even if you could,” Westcliffe said, “Mr. Loughton did just inform us that there’s not enough time.”
Yes. The time would likely prove to be the greatest challenge of all. Emily’s mind whirled. She bit her lip and glanced at Corwin. “You’re acquainted with a publisher, are you not?”
He raised his chin and rocked back on his heels. “I am.”
“Any chance you might be able to convince him to print the page in question?”
“Possibly,” Corwin said, his expression pensive.
“How long would it take for you to find out for certain and meet us back here?” Emily asked.
“An hour or so, I should think. Give or take.”
Emily nodded. “Please do it.”
“Hold on,” Callum said. “There’s no sense in setting a huge undertaking in motion when we’re not even able to pull the pages.”
Emily turned to Mr. Loughton. “Can you please get me the price of those pages?”
Callum raised an eyebrow as though impressed by her persistence.
Well, she would not be giving up. This was too important.
Mr. Loughton and Mr. Conrad removed themselves to a desk where they proceeded to make some notes on a piece of paper. When they finished, Mr. Loughton approached her and said, “We’re looking at four thousand pages at roughly one farthing a piece, plus the cost of replacement paper which more or less doubles the cost. By my estimation, that comes to roughly sixty-seven pounds.”
