Page 19 of An Inventor and An Inconvenience (Gentleman Scholars #5)

F aith arrived at Mrs. Henderson's shop early the next morning, cradling Jasper's latest teaching device carefully in her arms. The mechanical model was deceptively simple in appearance—a series of interconnected gears housed in a brass casing—but Faith had seen the hours of careful thought that had gone into its design.

"He didn't have to do this," she murmured, setting up the device on the worn wooden table. Yet he had, spending precious time away from his mining invention to create something purely for her students' benefit. The thought brought warmth to her cheeks even in the cool morning air.

Mrs. Henderson appeared with her usual pot of tea.

"Another of Lord Jasper's clever contraptions?" She eyed the device with a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Though perhaps we should be more discrete about using such... noticeable teaching aids."

"The girls learn so much better when they can see and touch the principles we're discussing," Faith said, though she understood the widow's worry. Their discreet training sessions had grown again, from six young women to ten in recent weeks, drawn by whispered word of the practical instruction in household management and industrial applications.

Lucy arrived first, as always, followed closely by Mary. Both girls' eyes widened at the sight of the brass device.

"What does it do, Miss Faith?" Lucy asked, moving closer to examine it.

"It demonstrates how force can be multiplied and redirected," Faith explained, her heart warming at their obvious curiosity. "Here, let me show you..."

As more students arrived, Faith guided them through the basic principles of mechanical advantage. Jasper had designed the device brilliantly—each gear could be manipulated independently or in conjunction with others, showing how small movements could create larger effects.

"It's like the kitchen winch!" Annie exclaimed suddenly. "The one we use to lift heavy pots of water. Is that why it doesn't feel as heavy as it should?"

"Exactly!" Faith beamed. "The gears distribute the force, just like—"

A sharp knock at the door made them all freeze. Mrs. Henderson hurried to answer it, returning moments later with a troubled expression.

"Miss Jameson from the bakery," she reported. "Asking if I've noticed an unusual number of serving girls in the neighbourhood lately. Says there's talk about improper gatherings."

Faith's stomach clenched. They'd been so careful about appearances, but perhaps the excitement over the lessons had made them careless. She quickly helped the girls pack away their materials, making sure Jasper's device was well hidden.

After the students had departed, Faith found another note tucked under the doorframe. Her hands shook as she unfolded it:

Your persistence in defying proper social order cannot be tolerated. These unnatural gatherings must cease immediately, or we will be forced to inform the university authorities of your activities. Consider how this scandal would affect your father's position.

The threat to her father struck deeper than any concern for herself. How could she justify risking his reputation? And yet, looking at the careful notes her students had taken, seeing their growing confidence and understanding...

She thought of Jasper, how he'd recognized that his work could serve multiple purposes. He could have focused solely on impressing his father and the investors, but instead he'd seen the potential to help others learn.

A memory surfaced—Jasper bent over his workbench, explaining how he'd simplified the mining mechanism into something that could teach basic principles. "Sometimes," he'd said, "making something more accessible actually improves the original design."

Faith smoothed the threatening note, her mind working rapidly. Perhaps, like Jasper's gear system, there was a way to redirect the force being applied against them. If they could make their activities appear more conventional while maintaining the substance of their lessons...

"Mrs. Henderson," she called softly. "I believe it's time we expanded your millinery business."

The widow looked up from where she'd been pretending to arrange ribbons. "Oh?"

"Yes." Faith's voice grew stronger as the idea took shape. "After all, a proper lady's maid should understand the principles of physics—for maintaining delicate machinery like curling tongs. And arithmetic is essential for managing household accounts."

Mrs. Henderson's eyes brightened with understanding. "A completely respectable endeavour, teaching young women the skills they need to advance their positions in service."

"Exactly." Faith gathered her teaching materials, including Jasper's device. "We'll need to be more careful about appearances, but we won't stop. These girls deserve every chance to learn, even if we have to disguise it as something more... acceptable to Society."

As she made her way home through the bustling streets, Faith barely noticed as her mind was full of plans. She would need to adapt their lessons, perhaps create some sort of display of conventional women's work to maintain appearances. And she would need Jasper's help to design more teaching tools that could pass as standard household implements.

Her heart quickened at the thought of seeking his assistance again. She couldn't deny that their collaborations had become the highlight of her days, that his genuine interest in helping her students meant more to her than she cared to admit.

Another memory surfaced—the way his eyes had lit up when she'd grasped a mechanical principle he was explaining, how his hand had brushed hers as they sketched improvements to his designs. She pushed the thoughts away firmly. She couldn't afford such distractions, not with so much at stake.

And yet, as she clutched his teaching device closer, she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, like his clever gears, their separate paths might somehow work together to create something greater than either could achieve alone.

~~~~

The bell above the shop door chimed early one morning, bringing Mrs. Henderson from her workroom. She found Faith and Meredith engaged in intense whispered conversation with a well-dressed woman they recognized as one of Oxford's more progressive hostesses.

"Mrs. Henderson!" Faith's eyes shone with suppressed excitement, while Meredith's usually composed features betrayed similar anticipation. "Lady Fanbroke has the most fascinating idea about expanding our... millinery training program."

"Indeed?" Mrs. Henderson raised an eyebrow at their visitor.

"My dear Mrs. Henderson." Lady Fanbroke glanced around before lowering her voice. "I understand you've had remarkable success teaching young women certain... practical skills. I wondered if you might consider offering similar instruction to some of my senior household staff?"

Mrs. Henderson exchanged looks with Faith and Meredith, the latter's librarian's eye already calculating the additional resources such an expansion might require.

"What sort of practical skills did you have in mind, my lady?" Mrs. Henderson asked.

"Oh, household management, of course. Nothing improper." Lady Fanbroke's smile held surprising mischief. "Though I understand your methods of calculating household accounts are particularly thorough. And your approach to understanding mechanical principles in domestic machinery is quite... innovative."

Understanding dawned on all three women. Another ally, and an influential one.

Meredith leaned forward slightly, her normally reserved demeanor giving way to cautious optimism. "My lady, might I ask what prompted your interest in our... training methods?"

"Several of my friends have noticed how efficiently your... students manage their households. How quickly they solve practical problems that would once have required calling in expensive specialists." She set down her cup. "We've also noticed how many of these young women seem to understand principles that were considered quite beyond them before receiving your instruction."

"Proper training in household management requires understanding the principles behind daily tasks," Mrs. Henderson said carefully.

"Exactly!" Lady Fanbroke leaned forward. "Which is why I'm proposing we establish a formal Household Management Training Institute. With proper patronage, of course. Something entirely respectable that couldn't possibly raise eyebrows."

Faith's eyes widened. "You mean—"

"I mean that several of us are prepared to offer financial support and social protection to expand your program. All in the name of improving domestic service standards, naturally."

Lady Fanbroke's expression turned serious. "Some of us remember our own governesses, Mrs. Henderson. Remember being told that certain subjects were beyond our understanding, certain questions improper for young ladies to ask."

Mrs. Henderson felt her throat tighten. "I see."

"Do you? Good."

Lady Fanbroke pulled out a list of names—women of influence who had already pledged their support. "We can't change everything at once. But we can create space for knowledge to grow, protected by the very social conventions meant to contain it."

After she left, Faith, Meredith, and Mrs. Henderson stared at each other in stunned silence.

"Did that really just happen?" Faith whispered.

"It seems," Mrs. Henderson said slowly, "that we're not the only ones who've learned to hide revolution in respectability."

She picked up Lady Fanbroke's list, recognizing several names as former students of governesses like herself—women who had been denied knowledge in their youth now working to make it available to others.

"We'll need to be careful," Faith said. "Balance the advanced instruction with enough traditional content to maintain our cover."

"Yes." Mrs. Henderson smiled, remembering the young governess she'd once been, trying to slip calculus lessons between music practice and embroidery. "But we've had rather a lot of practice at that, haven't we?"

They spent the rest of the morning planning how to expand their network while maintaining its carefully respectable facade. Every new ally brought them closer to their goal of making knowledge accessible to all who sought it, regardless of gender or class.

It wasn't the dramatic revolution Mrs. Henderson had once dreamed of as a passionate young governess. But perhaps this quiet transformation, spreading through Oxford's social fabric like water through soil, would ultimately grow something even more remarkable—a garden of learning that could flourish in the most unexpected places.