Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(37)

“Never,” Henry said. “What’s this all about, anyway?”

“A small symbolic demonstration,” Maude said. “It’s time we sent a clear message to our Imperial overlords that we will no longer tolerate their tyranny, and with the governor in town, the timing is apt.” It seemed strange to hear such fiery rhetoric coming from such a delicate-looking creature, but I supposed that must be her camouflage, the way Henry’s absentminded amateur scientist persona was his.

“You know about the tea tax?” Theo asked.

“Yes, that’s why the rebels won’t drink tea,” I replied.

“There’s a ship in the harbor with a load of tea, and we aren’t going to let it be unloaded to be taxed,” Maude said. “We’re going to reject British tea and all the taxes it represents.”

“Only there’s one tiny problem,” Camilla said. “We can’t get to the ship.”

“That’s what was going on at the harbor last night,” I guessed.

“The mission was a failure,” Maude said. “We couldn’t get past the security, and we drew enough attention that I’m sure the security will be tighter now.”

“Then perhaps you need to rethink this mission,” Henry said.

“Says the man who robs trains,” Brad said.

“Yes, and when we nearly got caught, we stopped for a while. We didn’t go back to the same place to try again. What are you even trying to accomplish?”

A larger crowd had formed around us as people stopped their drinking and dancing to come listen to the discussion. The music stopped playing, and even the musicians joined the circle.

“Last night’s failure doesn’t have to mean the end of our venture,” Camilla said, raising her voice to address the whole group. “We can still make our point about taxation. Yes, I know it’s purely symbolic. Tea has been unloaded and the import duty paid before. But the royal governor is here in Boston, so he would surely hear of this action. We must make our voices heard!”

“And what happens then?” one of the few men not dressed as a Mechanic asked. “Do you really think we’ll suddenly be granted seats in Parliament, or the social order will be altered? Or will they tighten their grip even more?”

One of the men dressed like a Mechanic stepped forward, and if I hadn’t already been sure that he was no true Mechanic, his speech would have given him away. He sounded too polished, almost affected. “Oh, we might make the Empire angry? What will they do to us? Take away our representation in Parliament? We don’t have any to begin with. Raise our taxes? How much higher can they go? Every good we could possibly need is already taxed. Control our press? Try publishing something without the official stamp. Limit our choices in the way we live our lives? That’s been happening for centuries. What can they do to make our lives more miserable?”

There was a spattering of applause, and a few shouts rang out in the room. Once that response had died down, one of the more conventional-looking people stepped forward. “Ask the people in New York. They were under martial law, with movement around the city restricted.”

“That was because of the Rebel Mechanics, not us,” said a woman dressed as a Mechanic.

Her opponent didn’t miss this fact. “And who do you think they’re going to blame?” he asked, gesturing at her attire. “You’re doing this dressed as Mechanics. That’s going to make them clamp down on the city. We’ll have warships in our skies and soldiers billeted among us.”

“But that won’t affect our people.”

I could hold my tongue no longer. “That’s not fair at all!” I blurted. “Do what you want, but be brave enough to take the consequences for yourselves. You can’t go pretending to be Rebel Mechanics and then not care what ills might befall them while you remain unscathed.”

The silence that followed my outburst was unsettling. Into it, Henry said mildly, “Verity is here as a liaison of the Rebel Mechanics. We’ve been trying to convince them that we have common interests and that they can trust us. Now, I’m not so sure. Really, wouldn’t it make more of a statement to take action as magisters? The governor expects the Mechanics to make noise. I can assure you it would shock him to the core if he knew his own people were turning against him.”

“It doesn’t matter at all since we can’t get to the ships,” Brad said. “We were hoping Henry might have a solution, but it appears he doesn’t, since he’s rather more confrontational in his illegal actions.”

“What, exactly, are you running into?” Henry asked.

“There’s a magical barrier blocking access to the ship,” Camilla said. “Nothing we tried could break it. We don’t even know for certain what lies beyond that. My hope is that since the barrier is so secure, the ship won’t be as tightly guarded.”

I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring it up. Would the Mechanics want to cooperate with the magisters, and what good would come of it for them? On the other hand, this might be a way to bring the two groups together in Boston and perhaps gain some funding for the Mechanics. I caught Henry’s eye, and I could see from his face that the same thoughts had crossed his mind.

“If you’d thought to include the Mechanics instead of merely impersonating them, they could have taken care of this for you,” I said.