That was a surprise. Gwen listened as Natalia filled her in on the gossip behind the Carnegie marriage. Andrew Carnegie was much older than his wife, who nagged him incessantly to retire so they could enjoy his remaining years together in Scotland. That couldn’t happen unless Andrew cut ties with Carnegie Steel, which was why Louise was so adamant that the company be sold.

But Gwen knew Mrs. Carnegie was an advocate for female education, so she might be persuaded to assign Liam her votes to support the college. If that happened, Gwen still needed to find an additional three percent.

“What can you tell me about a Russian count who owns four percent?” she asked Natalia.

“Count Sokolov. He’s completely insane.” Natalia said it with a hint of amused frustration, and Gwen suspected she might be teasing again. Strange. She’d never thought of Natalia as someone with a sense of humor.

“Genuinely insane?” she asked.

“More or less. He’s irrational and impossible to deal with. He lives somewhere in Siberia, and I’ve never met him. I think the rural isolation has done him in.”

“How does he learn about the issues that are being voted on at the bank?”

“He generally votes as I suggest.” She winked at Gwen. “It’s almost as though I’ve got a four-percent stake myself.”

“And could you be persuaded to use your influence with the Russian count to vote in favor of continued funding for the college?”

Natalia shook her head. “It’s hopeless. My father is ready to stop funding the college after next year, and you’ll never be able to gather enough votes to override him.”

Gwen glanced pointedly at Liam, who stood on the far side of the deck playing shuffleboard with some of the other men, then back at Natalia.

Natalia set down her book, her face painfully sad. “So Liam is already breaking ranks and voting with Frederick. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“I agree,” Gwen agreed. “The only way you or I can influence the bank is to lean on the men to vote the way we want. I would like your help getting the Russian count to vote in favor of extending the funding for the college. Blackstone College admits women. From the day it opened, we never had antiquated rules that kept women in the kitchen or told them they had no place in a boardroom. Natalia, we need your help keeping the college alive.”

Natalia’s eyes darkened as she stared at the men on the far side of the yacht. She looked fierce, angry, and determined.

“I think I can get you four percent from the Russian count,” she said, and Gwen’s heart soared.

Against all odds, she suddenly saw a path to win permanent funding for the college.

31