Darwin leaned forward. “Physical problems?”
“In animals. In the case of my own family, I may be referring to mental problems. Please be assured, I do not find it easy to talk of these matters.”
“I understand. And you should be assured that although you have our full sympathy, you will receive from me—from all of us—the most logical and dispassionate analysis that we are able to provide. Nothing, of course, will go beyond this room.”
“Thank you. I will try to omit nothing, no matter how painful or personal. I am thirty-one years old. I have one sister, Helen, eight years younger than I. My parents died within six months of each other, three years ago. The family estate of course passed to me, but Helen is unmarried and she and I both live at Newlands. That is the family home, one hundred and seventy years old. It was badly in need of renovation, and Helen and I undertook to accomplish that when the property passed to me.
“We restored the crumbling mortar—”
“Excuse me.” Darwin held up a pudgy hand. “You say, ‘we restored.’ I suspect that you did not perform the work yourself. Would you clearly distinguish between your own acts, and those accomplished by others?”
“If it helps. We brought in workmen who restored crumbling mortar and replaced lost brick—the whole of Newlands is brick-built, except for twin towers of stone, one on the north and one on the south side. We had much of the woodwork replaced, wherever we found dry rot. Do you need to know the cost of these actions?”
“Was it a significant drain on your finances?”
“Not really. We have land and revenues in other parts of Dorset. Both Helen and I are fortunate enough to possess substantial independent means.”
“Then let us continue. If necessary we will return to consider finances.”
“The rebuilding that I have described took a long time to accomplish, but six months ago we were ready to take the next step: refurbishing the interior. New drapes, carpets cleaned or replaced, re-upholstering of furniture, and so forth. In this area, we knew that Helen would receive little help from me. I am not, technically speaking, color-blind, but I am close enough to it for my color aesthetic to be worthless. She, on the other hand, possesses a strong artistic sense. We agreed that I would be involved in financial decisions, but all other choices would be hers.
“Naturally, selections could not be made while sitting at Newlands. Helen would have to travel to Dorchester, twenty miles north, or even as far as Bristol, seventy miles away, where a wide variety of materials and designs were available. I had no qualms about that. She has travelled before without me, even to the Continent, and Helen has always had considerable independence of spirit.” Solborne paused and took a deep breath, giving the impression that there was a lot more to be said on the subject. The listeners waited patiently.
“For example,” he said at last, “I do not know your views of either politics or foreign affairs, but as mark of Helen’s independent views, let me say that while I greatly oppose last year’s revolt of the American colonies, she rejoices in it.”
Darwin glanced at Watt, Pole, and Boulton, before he replied. “We are of mixed opinions. Myself, I hope for the ultimate success of the breakaway colonies. The more troubling question is, will it lead to other revolutions, closer to home?”
Matthew Boulton nodded vigorously and leaned forward. “That is exactly what I tell Erasmus. We are all of us firm monarchists here—quiet, Jimmy.” Watt had made a sound between a grunt and an asthmatic wheeze, and Boulton turned to him. “I know that you favor the Young Pretender, but still you crave a monarch, even if he does not happen to be King George. Mr. Solborne, I have travelled much in Europe since the revolt in the Americas. France is stirring. There is unrest and fear in the royal families of Bavaria and Bohemia. The Margrave of Brandenburg has formed a special guard to seek out revolutionaries. Where will it end? Where should it end?”
“We will certainly hold that debate—on another occasion.” Darwin held an open palm out to Jacob Pole, who sat frowning and waiting for his turn to speak. “Peace, Jacob. The floor belongs to Mr. Solborne.”
The visitor, unfamiliar with the digressive give-and-take of Lunar Society members, had been sitting bewildered. At Darwin’s “If you please, continue,” he nodded.
“As I was saying, despite her young age and strong opinions, Helen is familiar with the ways of the world. Or so I thought.”
Solborne fell silent again, until Darwin coaxed him: “Tell us about her. What does she look like, what are her interests?”
“She is as fair as I am dark. Friends have told us, it is an astonishment that two so different in appearance could be born from a single womb. She is short in stature, even for a woman. Helen claims five feet, but I suspect the final inch. Dainty in features and form. Men apparently find her attractive, since she turns heads at every market, fair, or gala. They pursue her. She sheds them with ease.”
“She lacks interest in men?”
“Say rather, that Helen is more interested in other things. I mentioned her artistic sense. That is secondary to her interest in philosophy and her gift for mathematics. Few men can tolerate more than five minutes of Euclid, Archimedes, Spinoza, and Newton. They come, they listen, and they leave shaking their heads. So when Helen made a visit to Bristol to examine brocades, and wrote to say that she had been given an opportunity to see the demonstration of an extraordinary mathematical device, I was not in the least astonished—not then, or when she extended her stay by three days to learn more of what she had seen. I was, however, much surprised one week later, when she returned to Newlands. She was not alone. She had with her Professor Anton Riker of Bordeaux, and his extraordinary calculating engine. Have you heard of it?”
The others turned to Darwin. His grey eyes were thoughtful, and in them stirred something that Jacob Pole at least had seen before: an overwhelming and insatiable curiosity. “I know of the calculator built by Monsieur Pascal over a century ago,” he said slowly, “which performed addition and subtraction by mechanic device. I am familiar with the improved version constructed by Herr Gottfried Leibniz, a generation later, which also permitted multiplication and division. But the name of Professor Riker is new to me.”
“As it was to me, and to Helen. She insisted that the professor, together with his machine, visit Newlands. Let me say that initially I was surprised by the appearance of a guest, but not disturbed. It was only later that my aversion to Professor Riker developed.”
“His description, too, if you will.”
“Above middle height, and thinner than Colonel Pole. According to Helen, his eyes are grey with a tawny center and he possesses a gaze of peculiar intensity, but I cannot speak to that myself since he has not once met my eye. He has an accent to his speech, something I think of Central Europe, but I do not have ear or experience enough to place it. He is courtly and charming in manner, but it seems the false charm of a dancing master or an actor.”
“Seems to you.”
“You are very perceptive, Dr. Darwin. Helen and I disagree strongly. She cannot see beyond his brilliance, which in truth appears to be very great. The performance of the Riker calculating engine defies description.”
“I will nonetheless request that you attempt it.”
“I knew you would. Here.” Solborne reached into a pocket of his leather jacket and produced a folded sheet of paper, thick and the color of clotted cream. “This is not my drawing. It is Helen’s.”