Courting Chaos by Lynne Barron

Author:Lynne Barron
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2017-03-30T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

After years spent hiding behind outrageous bonnets and ludicrous gowns, Harry found it rather liberating to toss off the shackles of fussy, feminine garments in favor of a pair of buff breeches, a powder-blue waistcoat and a gray brocade jacket with absurdly over-padded shoulders.

“Tell me again why you are sneaking into the House of Lords?”

“They are awarding the contracts for the expansion of the railway between Leeds and Liverpool.” Harry adjusted her hat, pulling it low in hopes of hiding her eyes and a good portion of her face in the shadow of the brim. “Charles has assured me it is only a formality as he has greased the necessary palms. Still, I would like to be present all the same.”

“Why are you concerned with the expansion of the railway?” Kate asked as the carriage on loan from Lilith turned the corner onto Abingdon Street. “Has it something to do with Mr. King and his mines?”

“There are no ore mines in Leeds, only coal, and we… That is, The British Consolidated Mining Corporation doesn’t muck about with coal. A ghastly business, coal mining.”

“Then why the interest in the railway?”

“I suggested Charles invest in a scheme to provide grain to the railway company.”

Miss Mary Katherine Price was nothing if not quick. “Lord Knighton’s grain?”

“Nearly two thousand acres of wheat upon which the viscount has wagered his future,” Harry replied with a strangled laugh at her own foolishness. “Irrefutable proof no good deed goes unpunished.”

“Harry, you haven’t set in motion a plan to ruin Knighton, have you?”

“The thought did cross my mind.” But only because Charles, bless his loyal, vengeful soul, had suggested it just the previous night. “Except Lord Knighton will not be ruined should the contracts be awarded elsewhere. After all, the grain will still be his to harvest. Surely whatever measly profits he garners from the sale will hold him over. Leastwise, until he marries an heiress and commences wasting, wagering and otherwise wiping out her fortune on wine, women and whist.”

“Still, it isn’t like you to turn the other cheek when you’ve been wronged,” Kate replied with her customary persistence. “Why, just look at the lengths you’re willing to go to in order to give Dunaway the comeuppance he so richly deserves.”

“Alas, I haven’t the wherewithal to add yet another plan to the numerous and varied plans I am currently juggling. As it is, I’m not entirely certain I am up to the task of keeping in the air all the balls I’ve got spinning just now.”

“If you aren’t intent upon vengeance and you haven’t a financial stake in the expansion of the railway, why have you dressed as a young dandy in order to sneak into the gallery and watch a roomful of lords with greasy palms make a show of debating a foregone conclusion?”

“If you must know, I have nothing else to do this afternoon.” The words might have been spoken in a foreign tongue, so wieldy did they feel on Harry’s lips.

Apparently, Kate found

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