Rebel Magisters (Rebel Mechanics #2)(60)

*

Any ease I’d gained from knowing that Henry had acted so as to keep the governor unaware of our plot was lost the next morning at breakfast when the governor announced that we were cutting our trip short and would be returning to New York that afternoon. “I have had some unexpected business come up that I must attend to,” he said. Had he learned about the letter, or was he merely dealing with the situation behind the letter?

I was too busy helping the children pack and getting their trunks loaded on the baggage carriage to spend too much time fretting. My next worry was about Henry—could he successfully hide an injury while feigning illness, all while so close to the governor?

That turned out not to be a concern at all. The governor offered to let Henry stay until he recovered from his “illness” and then travel home on his own when he felt well enough. Much to my surprise, the governor had already sent for Henry’s valet to look after him, which made me feel much better. Matthews was used to having to deal with Henry’s scrapes, and he would arrive not long after we departed.

I made one last visit to Henry under the guise of making arrangements for the children’s activities for the next few days. “You know what to do,” he whispered.

“Yes, as soon as I get the chance. It will be much easier once I’m home.”

“You can write the story based on the letter and show the letter as proof to your contacts, but don’t hand it over to anyone. I imagine I’ll get inquiries in the aftermath, and I want to be able to show it. This is a story you‘ll want to hand over as directly as possible. No leaving it in a drop.”

“I know. I also won’t write it under my regular pseudonym.”

He leaned his head back against his pillow and closed his eyes. “I know. You’re well-versed in this activity, perhaps even more than I am. But this is so critical. This could be the spark that begins a revolution. We can’t do anything to jeopardize the opportunity. I just wish I could be there.”

“It’s probably better that you aren’t. That’s less suspicion on you.”

“And perhaps more on you.”

“Nonsense. I’m practically invisible. No one suspects me of anything.”

*

In spite of what I told Henry about being above suspicion, I felt acutely conscious of my deception while in the governor’s presence on the airship. I kept telling myself that he barely noticed me, so there was little chance of him being able to tell merely from looking at me that I had his letter detailing the scandal tucked between the pages of my Bible.

The problem was, he did notice me. I felt him watching me throughout the day as I reviewed lessons with Rollo and read with Olive. “You are quite a good teacher, Miss Newton,” he said when we took a break for afternoon tea. “I must say that I initially doubted Lyndon’s choice when he hired you. You seemed far too young and inexperienced when he could have employed so many fully qualified, experienced tutors, but you do seem to have a knack for it.”

There was a genuine compliment buried in there somewhere, so I meekly said, “Thank you, Your Grace. They are capable and eager students.”

“I imagine you were a good student, yourself.”

“I suppose I was. I liked to read. I still do.”

“Any thought of following your father into academia?”

“I’m not sure that’s the life for me.” I had been considering applying to a women’s college before my mother became ill, but since that avenue was no longer an option for me and since I had other interests now, it was probably best not to get into those details.

“I’m surprised your father let you get away without at least a try at it.”

I was sure he was trying to be complimentary, but now he was pushing right where I was trying to evade. “He believes that this experience is good for me,” I said, keeping my tone neutral.

“You have siblings, don’t you? I seem to recall your parents saying something about children.”

“Yes, Your Grace. But they are all much older than I am. They left home while I was still a small child.”

God bless Olive, she kept the governor from pressing further by saying, “You’re the baby, too, Miss Newton? Were your brothers as mean to you as Rollo is?”

“Hey! I’m not mean!” Rollo protested.

“Sometimes you are,” Olive said, quite somberly. “You make fun of me and you hide my dolls.”

“I hid your dolls once! And I gave them right back.”

Their grandfather, who probably hadn’t experienced sibling bickering in decades—if ever—abruptly hid himself behind a magazine once more, ending the uncomfortable conversation. As relieved as I was, I also felt rather guilty that I would be airing his dirty linen when he was trying so hard to be kind to me. It was hard to imagine a man in such a lofty position taking such interest in a mere governess. I had to remind myself that he represented a regime I despised, and he had the power to make life better for so many people, but did not do so.

*

We began making our gentle descent into New York the next morning while we were finishing breakfast. The children ran to the windows, and I forced myself to follow in a more dignified manner, although I was almost as eager as they were to see the view.

My previous flight over Manhattan had been in the Mechanics’ much smaller vessel and at a much lower altitude. Even though we were coming in for a landing, when we crossed the island we were still higher than the Liberty had traveled. I couldn’t see details on the ground, but I could see the pattern of the streets and the occasional larger landmark. “Can we see our house?” Olive asked.