Flora and Rollo left with the maid, and soon a pair of maids bearing trays with covered dishes arrived. They unfolded a small table in front of my chair and arranged a bed tray for Lady Elinor before leaving us alone. I’d barely eaten two bites when she said, “Now, Verity, I want to know everything about you.” Thus began a far more comprehensive interview than I’d gone through when I was being considered for employment. Lord Henry might have had more success in hiring governesses if he’d turned the task over to the children’s aunt rather than to his housekeeper.

And yet I didn’t feel at all unnerved by her questions because she sounded like she was truly interested and not judging me. Being bedridden, she must have been starved for company. I found myself liking her more and more as our conversation continued. It seemed as though only moments had passed before the maid appeared to tell me that the men were about to join the ladies in the drawing room.

“I suppose you must go do your duty,” Lady Elinor said. “It’s a pity because I’ve so enjoyed our chat, and you and I both know that our Flora would never be tempted by those Montgomery boys, no matter how handsome they might be. But appearances do matter. Tongues would surely wag.”

I returned to my post, and as Lady Elinor had predicted, Flora was ignoring the handsome Montgomery boys, her back turned to them while she chatted with her friend and her friend’s mother. Rollo and the boys appeared to be discussing the merits of various airships.

I focused my attention on the governor and General Montgomery, who sat so close together that their heads almost touched. They seemed to be trying to speak softly, but they were the sort of men who were accustomed to making themselves heard in a crowd and they had deep voices that carried well. I didn’t have to strain to overhear their conversation.

“The police haven’t been of much use?” the general asked.

“Oh, here and there they catch the odd rabble-rousing incident among the rebels,” the governor said. “The trouble is, the police don’t seem to care all that much. They must sympathize. They do tend to come from that class. And there’s not much they can do as long as the Mechanics aren’t technically breaking the law. I’m sure they’re up to no good with those machines, but we can’t arrest them for building them.”

“You think the military is the answer?”

“I’m not sure what the answer is, but if we don’t stop these rumblings now, it will be more difficult later. It can’t hurt to remind the Mechanics who’s in charge and the people what they’d be up against if they joined these Mechanics and rebelled. Just a little show of force.”