Timing Her Love Very Ill (A Surfeit of Sisterly Affection #2)

Chapter Nine

Having an official patent in her name still felt surreal to Kitty.

What made her so special, above other educated women with inventions of their own? The answer, of course, was a (future) husband with a title and the (apparently shockingly rare) belief that she deserved credit for her work. Mrs. Longbottom had entirely too many stories of women whose relations claimed influence or contribution toward the invention, whether or not it was actually true.

Not wanting to tempt Fate, she remained quiet over breakfast. There would be time to boast later, when the patent was filed, approved and official. Besides, this was still Mary's trip.

Uncle Gardiner had already departed for his warehouses, and Aunt Gardiner had sent the children out for a morning walk with their Nursery Maid, so the house was comparatively quiet. Papa rustled his newspaper, "Apparently you are for a series of lectures today, Kitty. Do you know where?"

Catherine swallowed her porridge before answering. "It is being hosted by Eton, mostly for their older students who are due to graduate for Cambridge or Oxford, to make sure they don't forget everything in their excitement. Ladies are allowed to watch from the viewing gallery, but Mrs. Longbottom will be with me.”

Set about an hour’s travel outside of London proper, Eton was strictly an all-male institution, but they were a Public school, and with the rising number of town-living students ( Oppidans , Papa had called them once) versus boarders, disputes over interactions with the fairer sex had arisen. Apparently, women being invited to attend a select few lectures, held after classes, was the compromise. Perhaps one day there would be a university for women [4] , but until then, or the opportunity to travel to one of the six existing Universities, all located at least a day’s travel away, Kitty would take what she could get.

Papa had been a Cambridge graduate, but as the only man currently at the table, had no-one to launch into a bout of alumni mud-slinging with. "I suppose it will do the lads good to realise that women are not a foreign species before they are launched into Society."

Mama laughed quietly, and gave him an arch look over her tall chocolate cup. Papa's lips quirked, "Yes, my dear, I well remember my own shyness as a new graduate."

Oddly enough, Kitty could easily envision that, as she exchanged curious glances with Mary. Papa was very much a recluse, and it was easy to imagine Mama, newly introduced to Society, lively and engaging and a potential social shield. Perhaps that had been the initial attraction for them, twenty years and more ago.

Mama did not comment on Papa's mannerisms, then or now. Instead, she tilted her head in consideration. "I promised Mary that she might have the morning to herself, before we return to the Modiste this afternoon, and you have made great efforts in socialising. Would you like a tour of the library? I am not one for lectures, but I can very well listen to you talk about books for an hour or so."

Mary practically wilted in relief; of all the Bennet sisters, she had most inherited Papa's dislike of excessive society. "I have letters to write, I will be quite content by myself, and you need have no fear of my feeling neglected."

Papa nodded, "In that case, I would be glad to tour the library with you, my dear, and you shall see that my book collection is not so very large, after all."

That was an old argument; Mama was firmly of the opinion that Papa and Lizzy could purchase more books only when they had the shelves to keep them, and that the sitting room was not to become a second book-room in the process. Catherine was quite sure that Lizzy's current plan involved improving the rather sparse Bingley library to her standards, and getting around Mama's restrictions that way. Kitty thought that her second-eldest sister would do better to find a husband with a library that would take her a lifetime to read through, instead, but otherwise kept herself out of the clashing opinions.

There were more exciting things to occupy her thoughts, today.

***

The journey to Eton was not as long as the overnight journey that Oxford or Cambridge would have been, nor quite as long as the trip from Hertfordshire to London, but neither could it be called short.

Mama and Papa departed for the Library, while Kitty enjoyed walking quietly with Sir Jasper until they reached the auditorium in which the lecture was to be held. Mrs. Longbottom guided Kitty to a side stair that led to a viewing gallery, where the ladies were to sit separately.

Kitty would have preferred a seat where she could have a clearer view of the writing on the chalkboard, but she could always ask Sir Jasper later. A young lady behind her, wearing spectacles, appeared to be of similar opinions. “I would prefer being able to see what the lecturer is talking about.”

Catherine turned in her seat. “I cannot make out the words, either, but I am sure I can sketch the concepts, if that would help.”

Today’s lecture was on transportation. The professor started by holding forth extensively on current modes of travel - primarily horse, boat, and carriage - but also delved into new developments to make the traversing of waterways more effective, and the progress some French innovators had made with the Hot Air Balloon. Next, came a long lecture on the potential power of not merely hot air, but steam.

There was a good bit of talk about natural sciences that Kitty lacked the education to understand, but she thought she grasped the concept. Some of the Eton boys looked to be falling asleep in their chairs, thankfully oblivious to the glares aimed at them by young ladies far more aware of the privilege such a lecture afforded. Kitty kept her voice low. “If I understand correctly, steam is intended to be a stronger version of hot air. Like the difference between... oh, a bird soaring on a warm updraft, and a boiling kettle.”

Her new friend nodded in understanding, much more familiar with birds and kettles than the professor’s talk of heat affecting the mass and acceleration of air. “Oh, so if there is enough heat and steam, it will be strong enough to move these pistons he speaks of, like a running stream on a waterwheel turning the millstone!”

One eye on the professor, Catherine pulled out her sketchbook, the description of a waterwheel making the pieces click into place in her mind, like the final piece of a puzzle. Pistons moved mostly up and down, but they could power a wheel, which then powered this theoretical ‘engine’... the cost of fuel to run such a device for more than a few minutes would be exponential, of course, but that was the point of innovation, to improve what was already known.

Kitty still far preferred sleighs and carriages, for one could hardly feed carrots to an engine, but in terms of transport... had she not been lamenting the distance that made the Universities of England impractical? The journey to Oxford could be made in as little as seven hours, with good roads and changing horses rather than resting them, but how swift might the journey become with a steam engine? What effect would it have on the moving of trade goods, or army supplies?

Sitting in the halls of educational institutions that would normally be forbidden to her, Catherine’s imagination exploded with possibilities.

***

They walked the short distance into town, finding a tea-shop that also served a more substantial lunch menu during certain hours. Mama and Papa met them there. Papa seemed more relaxed than he had been during the entire trip, after the visit to his natural environment. Mama was not his equal enthusiast when it came to books, but she was smiling, as if Papa’s delight inspired her own.

Conversation about the lecture carried them through lunch and several pots of tea. “Do you think these steam engines will replace carriages?”

Sir Jasper shook his head. “Not for everyday travel, or at least, not without many additional improvements. It will be too expensive for the average person, at least for the first few decades.”

Kitty nodded, “Take the whistling of a tea-kettle, and magnify it as many times as would be needed to move several wagon-lengths of iron. The smoke and noise alone makes a carriage the more attractive option, until they work out how to keep it from affecting the passengers.”

Henry winced at the idea, then laughed. “Good to know that we won’t be going out of business in our lifetime, then.”

Michael rolled his eyes at his younger sibling. “These new ideas are still years away from a working model, but speed is their main selling point, while a sleigh is predominantly for leisure. A racing curricle, on the other hand...”

“...Is a young man’s toy that has sent far too many to meet their maker ahead of schedule.” The speaker was the bespeckled young lady who had sat behind Kitty at the lecture, and was now trying to introduce caution to Michael’s enthusiasm. “I doubt that making it mechanical will decrease those odds by any significant margin.”

Catherine smiled, and used her foot to nudge an empty chair the young lady’s way. “Assuming the lecture counts as a prior acquaintance, I am Miss Catherine Bennet. Perhaps protective wear might also be invented?”

The young lady smiled. “Miss Amelia Harding. I have yet to hear a satisfactory answer to why, if we can invent new modes of travel, we cannot also invent travelling safely .”

Michael huffed. “A ship in the harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Every action carries some kind of inherent risk.”

Mrs. Longbottom interrupted, performing the rest of the introductions before Miss Harding could mount a rebuttal, most likely along the lines that ships were not meant to decorate the ocean floor in pieces, either. “We must be leaving soon if we wish to make it home before too late, but I hope you will call on us. I like a young lady willing to think and stand up for herself.”

Miss Harding smiled and curtsied. “I certainly shall, and I hope that at least you and Miss Catherine will return the visit. I am no bluestocking, but I am sure there is a balance somewhere between the lady academics, and those who would like to know more than a Ladies’ Seminary teaches.”

Kitty would have liked to attend a Seminary at all, but her own path of self- study had brought her this far, and Miss Harding seemed like a good friend to have. Sir Jasper went to settle their account, and Catherine smiled. “That sounds like a wonderful plan.”