How could he have known one of the reasons for my distress? “It was worse than anything I imagined,” I whispered, relieved to have the opportunity to talk about it. “To think that they live like that while we live like this.” I gestured around the room, although the study was hardly the best example of opulence in this mansion.

“If it makes you feel better, I am no slumlord. When I became trustee of the estate, I made sure we didn’t own any of those hellholes. I tried to purchase some of those properties, with an eye to improving them and asking a fairer rent, but they’re so profitable that none of the owners cared to sell at a price I could spend on Rollo’s behalf. I had to find other ways to help.”

“You helped today. Your money bought a splendid lunch and candy.” That candy may have saved the lives of some of those children. Without it, I might never have persuaded them to leave the fight and board the bus.

“Did the children enjoy themselves?”

I remembered them running and playing on the grass, and smiled. “Yes, I believe they did.”

“Good! Now you’re looking more yourself again. You gave me quite a fright when you arrived.”

“Thank you for being so kind to me.” This time I managed to stand without his help, or without him trying to keep me seated.

He rose with me. “I’m glad I could be of service.”

I returned to my room to find my bag already there. I’d dropped it when I fainted, and one of the servants must have brought it up. With a rush of panic, I opened it, fearing that someone might have searched it, but everything was as I’d left it, my notebook and Mechanics’ insignia still safely hidden.

I ran a bath and peeled off my clothes, then soaked until the water cooled. Dried and dressed in my nightgown, with my damp hair loose, I sat at my desk to write my article while the impressions were still fresh in my brain.

It was easy to depict the plight of the slum children and their delight at the day out. I had no trouble summoning outrage at the British troops who had shot at children who wanted nothing more than to see the airships, even though I sympathized with the fear they must have felt at seeing that mob rushing toward them. I was at a complete loss, though, for how to describe the confrontation with the general. I didn’t want to report the lie as truth, but exposing the lie would only hurt the cause. I may have had doubts about some of the rebels’ tactics, but I had become an even more fervent believer in the cause of liberty.