under their scrutiny. “I went to school with his daughter Gloria. And when I was looking for a company with which to invest, naturally I first investigated a concern that was familiar to me.” She smiled at the count. “Their ships do not hold a candle to the Zeppelins, though, I am happy to say.”
The count smiled back and waved the letter. “It seems he has been making a world tour in his newest model, seeking to drum up publicity.”
“This seems a strange stop to make, then,” Mr. Penhaven observed. “A little out of the way, wouldn’t you say?”
“Not if you bring reporters with you,” Davina countered. “The world comes with them. Count, I am afraid our dinner en famille is about to be augmented by several orders of magnitude. May I offer our mess hall once again, and recommend we move dinner to tomorrow evening?”
He bowed to her gracefully. “If your chef will agree to working with mine, we will put on an event that will give these reporters something much more interesting to write about than Meriwether-Astor’s creaky old ships.”
The door opened and another messenger came in. “A pigeon for you, your ladyship.”
Davina tore open the envelope, scanned the letter, and raised her eyes to the heavens. “We may as well invite the governor of the territory and be done with it. This is from Isobel Churchill. She is on her way from Edmonton with what she says is an order from Prime Minister Darwin himself that we suslf his is fpend production of our diamonds pending a hearing of the Esquimaux’s case before the Bar.”
“Poppycock!” the earl exploded, taking the letter as if its contents would wither to nothing under his furious glare. “The prime minister has no such authority—particularly since the diamonds for Her Majesty’s thirty-fifth anniversary tiara are being cut and finished as we speak. I’m sure she would have a thing or two to say about a suspension, particularly since she chose the stones herself.”
“Not to mention the fact that our mine is not under Esquimaux control,” Davina said more mildly. “It seems I may have to reveal my parentage to the dear lady after all this time, and settle the matter.”
“That is your choice, my dear.” The earl touched her cheek, his temper fading as he regarded his wife with fondness. “You have the family and Her Majesty behind you, whatever you decide.”
“I am not ashamed to let it be publicly known to Isobel Churchill … and twenty foreign reporters.” Davina raised her chin and looked positively wicked. “Perhaps I might even upstage Mr. Meriwether-Astor’s world tour.”
Chapter 15
Claire found Alice shortly thereafter, pacing to and fro in the gondola of the Stalwart Lass. She lost no time in telling her about Frederick Chalmers—and about Mr. Penhaven’s suspicions concerning his activities.
“I ain’t going to judge him one way or the other,” Alice said after a short silence, during which Claire wondered if she were revising the appearance of the dream figure she had called Pa for most of her life. Adding shadows and angles. Taking away a certain amount of the glow.
Or perhaps she was merely wondering about the presence of a woman in his life who was not her mother.
“I ain’t interested in his politics. I’m just interested in whether he’s my pa or not, and if he is, why he went away and left me and my ma.”
“The question is, how do we find him without raising the ire of the mining people? It would not do to be seen consorting with one whom they consider a saboteur.”
Alice’s gaze was uncompromising. “Are you afraid, Claire?”
Alice’s inability to prevaricate could sometimes produce most uncomfortable results. “Not afraid, no. But our situation is rather delicate, both of us being guests of the Dunsmuirs.”
“I’m not really a guest. I’m here under my own steam.”
“But you’ve eaten at their table—and will again, if the ball tomorrow night goes off as planned.”
“I don’t have to go to that. Would rather not. But we’re getting off track. How are we going to find my pa?”
“That nice boy who was guiding us mighed ge”
Claire gazed at her in admiration. “What an excellent mind you have, Maggie. The very thing. How difficult can it be to locate a Texican man in an Esquimaux village? Let us ask the ground crew to unload my landau at once. We shall be back for dinner before anyone notices we are gone.”
Within half an hour, the thing was done. While Tigg, who was given