and you know your own mind, I hope yound,during will inform me of it.”
“I will, sir. And … thank you. You do not know what this means to me.” Her voice trembled as she struggled with tears.
He smiled, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon as if it were the future. “You would be surprised.”
And then he walked off in the direction of the galley, humming a jaunty tune that Claire recognized as one of the polkas the orchestra had played on the Margrethe.
She turned to the viewing window, hardly able to believe that the mighty Count von Zeppelin, one of the finest engineers of the modern age, considered her so valuable that he was willing to give her and the girls a home for the next four years, in hopes that Claire would add her mind to the storehouse of intellect his firm already possessed.
Ahead, the horizon widened, encompassing the vast oceans of water and air through which Athena steamed steadily, doing brilliantly what she had been designed to do.
It was an amazing offer—one that had been prompted by affection as well as appreciation and faith.
Faith, the substance of things hoped for.
Claire could not remember anyone—save perhaps Polgarth the poultryman—ever having faith in her. And now look. She was rich in people who possessed it. The Mopsies. Andrew. The count. Alice. Perhaps even the Dunsmuirs, whom she hoped would regain their faith in her once the Meriwether-Astor affair was settled for good.
She had been through some perilous times, it was true. She had learned and grown and was no longer that shy, unsure, untried girl she had been when Snouts had pulled her from her landau outside Aldgate station.
She was a woman now. A lady of resources, of intellect—and of faith in herself and the ones she loved.
Maggie and Lizzie crept into the navigation gondola and joined her at the window, passing their arms about her waist and snuggling against her, one on either side. Rosie perched on Maggie’s other shoulder, settling there as comfortably as if she were in her own garden.
“All right, then, Lady?” Lizzie asked, peering ahead into the vast sky that enfolded them and beckoned, even as they sailed majestically on.
“Yes, Lizzie.” She hugged them both close. “It’s more than all right. In fact … I think it’s going to be wonderful.”
Chapter 28
Palace of the Viceroy
Charlottetown
All Souls’ Day
My dear Claire,
I hope youme="+0"> will allow me to apologize for slipping this missive under your door in this clandestine fashion, but it seems to be my last resort. Amid the joy of Tigg’s arrival with the Dunsmuirs here in Charlottetown and the latter’s subsequent rapprochement with you, then the meeting with the Viceroy for your testimony in the case—to say nothing of the pigeon from Her Majesty herself!—it has been a mad several days in which I have found it utterly impossible to contrive a moment alone to speak.
Hence, a letter.
I must confess that I share both your excitement and your apprehension over this new stage in your life. But I know also that you will manage famously, and so will the girls. Count von Zeppelin has offered you a marvelous opportunity and you must let nothing stand in the way of making it everything it can be. Have no fear as to the welfare of the children remaining in London. I shall visit often and make sure that they want for nothing.
When the time comes, I shall see you off at the airfield, waving farewell with a full heart. (Note: If you are going to keep Athena, Tigg suggests that we see about Snouts & co. building a mooring mast in the field next to the cottage.) Then I shall address myself to finishing my long-neglected dissertation and rebuilding the Malvern-Terwilliger Kinetick Carbonator and filing all the patents appertaining thereto, including yours. Four years will pass quickly—four years in which we will both achieve a measure of our dreams, and prepare ourselves for what may come after.
Claire, I shall say only a word of my feelings here. I do not hesitate to be honest, for you deserve nothing less, but neither do I wish to burden you at the moment you have the chance to fly. You are a special woman with special gifts, and I do not mean to stand in your way. So I shall say only this:
When you return to England in triumph, your diploma in hand, for your last summer in London before beginning your career, you will find me waiting, my