“Oh, are you, now?” Colin pulled out a chair and folded his lanky body into it. “That’ll be a challenge.” He waved the waiter over to our table. “Luigi, a bottle of your finest house red for our table, please.” The waiter left, then returned and poured ruby-red liquid into glasses and distributed them around the table. Colin picked up one, took a sip, and said, “Ah, last week was a very good week for the grapes.” He then raised his glass high in the air. “A toast to our great endeavor.” We all clinked our glasses together, then drank. The wine was sweet and fruity, but left a bitter aftertaste.

After we’d placed our orders, Alec fixed me with a steady gaze and an amused smile. “So, Verity, you’re going to talk us out of our plan, are you?”

“Well—I—um,” I stammered, feeling much less confident than when I set out. I broke eye contact with him and pulled myself together. “I’m worried. You didn’t hear the way they talked. It’s too dangerous for children.”

“You’re right, it could be dangerous,” Alec agreed solemnly, “but it’s more dangerous without the children. There’s already unrest in the colonies. Nobody likes the new taxes or the new laws, but most people don’t do anything about it other than complain to each other. If royal troops harmed colonial children, it would be like lighting a powder keg.”

Aghast, I asked, “Is that what you want? For children to be hurt so people will become angry enough to revolt?”

He shook his head as he reached for my hand and gripped it fiercely. “No! Not at all. But they don’t want it either, so they won’t confront us with children there.”

“You’ve got to admire the irony,” Colin said, tilting his chair back and stretching his long legs under the table. “They’ll be using weapons and uniforms to remind the colonists that they rule them. We’ll be using our machines to brighten the lives of poor wee children who so seldom get the slightest breath of fresh air or sliver of sunlight in their dark world. Whose ‘show’ will win people’s hearts and earn loyalty? They’ll have to try some other way when this fails.”

“We’ll have to hope Verity can overhear that bit of information, too,” Lizzie said with a grin.

“I hope you’re not counting on that!” I said, dismayed. “It was pure chance that I overheard what I did. It’s unlikely that I should have another opportunity.”

“Your chances are better than any of ours,” Alec said somberly. Still holding my hand, he rubbed his thumb back and forth across my knuckles, which made it difficult for me to think properly. “And you don’t have to worry about the children. We’ve got plans for any eventuality.”