“Yes, that is the difficulty.” Eleanor scanned the room for Adeline Littleton, whose husband had solved the problem. It was always better to speak to the person who had firsthand knowledge, but Eleanor could not find her. “I do not see the person you should talk to, but I can tell you what her husband did. He paid the families for any work the children missed due to attending school and then had a cart come around to pick them up in the mornings.”

“What a brilliant idea,” Lady Lytton said. “I do not know why neither of us thought of it.”

A lady Eleanor thought she remembered joined them. “Good day. I am Serena Beaumont, a friend of your sister Grace.” The woman, who had a light, lyrical Scottish accent, smiled at Eleanor. “I have not seen you in years. That is what comes of living in Yorkshire and all of us being so busy with our families.”

Eleanor remembered her the first year they were in Town. When Matt and Grace wed. “It has been a long time. I am glad to see you again.”

“I am happy to meet you again.” Lady Beaumont smiled with her eyes. “Aside from that, I heard you were interested in what you could do about the people suffering due to the Cinderloo killings.”

“I am. Very interested.” Eleanor glanced at Lord Montagu’s mother and sister. “I hope you do not mind this discussion. I wish to find a way to help them.”

“Not at all.” Lady Lytton indicated her mother with a hand motion. “We would like to know more as well.”

“Thank you.” Eleanor moved so that her back was not to any of them. “I know there is a group that is raising funds and other things, but what I would like to do is raise enough to buy a mine and run it humanely. The work will never be easy or particularly safe, but surely there is a way to manage the enterprise so that the workers are sufficiently paid.”

“My husband acquired a mine in Yorkshire,” Lady Beaumont said slowly. “He has complained about the managers. They are, apparently, always trying to find a method of enriching themselves and can be more than a bit brutal.”

“What if one hired a mineworker to run the day-to-day business?” There had to be a way to make that work. “They know what has to happen to make the mines safer and what a sufficient wage would be.”

“My understanding is that they are uneducated and cannot read or write,” Lady Montagu said.