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His life would change for the better that day, James knew it.

He had chosen well. The offer came to him weeks before, but he dared not accepted it right away.

James pondered for days about the cons and pros before making a choice. Once determined, he quit his former job as lawyer and counselor of his old employer, some upstart metal merchant always in distress due the relentless pirate attacks to his cargo ships.

He was always boasting about his dreams of rising to fortune soon, and how all he needed was James' help and more time.

Unfortunately, he had run out of both.

The company was already drowned in debts, and it was tainted by the incompetence of its owner and his opportunistic associates, to whom James had helped behind his boss' back every time he wasn't able to remunerate his monthly payment.

It had been a prosperous couple years at first , and he had been treated well, but now the company's glory days were long gone and no ammount of optimism would change that.

James had to leave it behind and move on.

It wouldn't last long anyway.

After bidding a brief farewell, James departed to meet his new employer.

Something inside James almost wavered at the sight of the poor man crying and begging him to stay. He offered him to double his pay and name his firstborn after him. It was only James' counsel what kept his associates from feasting on his shares like hungry crows, after all.

"I'm sorry."

And without taking pride in his actions, James turned his back on him.

It had to be done.

Sentiments and loyalties would only hinder his advancement.

Besides, he had the feeling Lord Ascot would be his most profitable boss to date.

James confirmed it the moment he saw the manor as the carriage took him across the green fields. Farther to the north, he caught a glimpse of a garden labyrinth and a clear pond with rowing boats.

Typical luxuries of gentlemen with too much money on their hands.

The carriage stopped at the manor's doors, where a nervous servant wearing a waistcoat was waiting for him.

"Mister Harcourt, if you please follow me. Lord Ascot will receive you this instant."

James nodded and followed in silence.

Lord Ascot was a family man, James could tell by the many portraits of a woman with a stern look and a snobbish man of his age.

A sentimentalist, sensed James, though it was too soon to reach conclusions.

The servant led him to a studio and knocked the door before entering along with James.

"Lord Ascot, Mister Harcourt is here." The servant bowed.

The Lord, an aged man of sober features, thanked and dismissed the servant. He didn't take his eyes from a map that covered the entire desk.

James approached Lord Ascot and offered him his hand.

"Lawyer James Harcourt. A pleasure to meet you, sir." James said in the same manner he had done with his numerous previous employers. He had done it so many times that the words came out of his mouth as if he was a talking automaton.

Lord Ascot inspected the map a few more seconds before finally accepting the handshake. He smiled, but James didn't reciprocate the gesture.

"Mister Harcourt, I'm glad you accepted my offer." Lord Ascot inspected James as closely as the map. "For one so young, you have quite the reputation. How old are you, lad?"

"Twenty-two, sir." At first, James wondered what kind of reputation backed him.

But did it matter?

Whatever it was, it had helped him land a job in one of London's most successful companies.

He needn't or wanted to know more.

" You are younger than my son Hamish, but still twice as responsible. Perhaps you could give him counsel; some friendly advice from someone closer to his age may help him widen his vision." Suggested Lord Ascot with a cheery mood.

James shrugged.

He was a lawyer, not a friend for rent.

"Perhaps. I'd rather counsel the board first."

Lord Ascot frowned at James.

He didn't seem angry, just confused.

"Are you alright, lad?"

"Yes." James said dryly.

He wondered if he had been too direct. Lately, it had become a bad habit of his.

"Of course." Lord Ascot went behind his desk, took out some archives from the counter and handed them to James. "Here's all the information about our Company: our yearly profits, estimated losses, prime products and our associates. Make sure to read it well, and shall you need anything else, ask me right away."

"I will." James made a small reverence and prepared to leave. " I must go. Goodbye, sir. I'll make sure to prove useful to this company and to the board."

Not having anything else to say, James turned on his heels and went to the door.

He saw Lord Ascot trying to offer him a cup of wine.

He wanted to start a conversation, but James didn't.

They had spoken the essential.

The rest was a waste of time.

"By the way, Mister Harcourt."

James stopped with his fingers already on the knob.

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow I'll be having a celebration. It is a big occasion, you see. My son will propose marriage to the daughter of one of my former associates. A great man he was, Charles Kingsleigh. He would have been so proud."

Lord Ascot's eyes shun with nostalgia.

James confirmed it.

His new employer was a sentimentalist.

"My sincerest congratulations to your son."

"Thank you." Lord Ascot saw the young lawyer was about to leave, so he quickly added: "You are new to my company, and all of my associates will be there. You'd do well to go too, lad. It's a golden opportunity for you to get to know them."

"Yes, sir."

"There will be music and dancing too. Many of the guests will be close to your age, so I'm sure you'll find it easy to enjoy yourself."

"Yes, sir." James replied, not exactly happy of being dragged to a celebration of the sort. "I'm sorry, but I must see to other matters. I'll meet you again tomorrow. Farewell."

With that, he left.

He walked his way home, as the carriage driver was too busy chattering with the servants.

Once in his apartment, James spent the rest of the day reading Lord Ascot's papers and analyzing possible strategies to make the company prosper.

He went to sleep immediately after, as he had nothing better to do.

The idea of having to attend to Lord Ascot's celebration kept him awake for a while. He hated those meetings, but he had no choice but to attend. He didn't want to offend his new employer with his absence.

If he did, he would lose his job.

James couldn't take that risk.

It was all he had after all.

"James." Hamish took a sip from his glass of wine. "May I call you Jim?"

"No."

"I am glad to see my father is hiring people from our generation, Jim. We already have enough decrepit old fools as associates, don't you agree? And nothing so old should be allowed to meddle with the matters of my future company. "

James shrugged. It was seldom he disliked someone so much and as quickly as Hamish.

Was he truly Lord Ascot's heir?

It was a pity.

"Not that I resent them, I know they mean well, but there comes a time for everyone to set aside and make room for younger and better men like ourselves. It's only natural. After all, the judgment of a senile man is no more sensible than a woman's." Hamish laughed at his own wit.

James looked to the other side and sighed. The idea of boring to death in the company of Lord Ascot and his associates seemed like paradise in comparison with putting up with Hamish any longer.

"You don't speak a lot, do you Jim?"

"No."

They remained in silence.

"Jim, are you still here?" Asked Hamish, noticing the lawyer's indifference.

"Sadly."

"What was that?"

"I said yes." James' had to make use of every ounce of his patience to remain cordial. He wished he could run away and leave behind that red-haired twit before he continued with his conversation, if his stupid blabbering could still be labeled as such.

Hamish looked at him from head to toe with disgust.

"What a shame. I thought we'd understand each other, but now I see you have the soul of a bitter old man. That's sad. Are all lawyers like this, or is it just you Jim?"

"You shouldn't generalize so quickly. Otherwise, people who met you would think the Ascot family is all the same." Said James, hoping Hamish would understand the implication.

He certainly had overestimated Hamish's perception. Instead of an insult, it felt like a compliment to Hamish, who felt his ego rise up to the clouds.

"We are charming and noble people indeed." He proclaimed, as if he was a king about to be crowned. "Maybe you are not so bad after all, Jim."

"It's James."

Lady Ascot's interrupted, and announced to Hamish that the Kingsleigh women had finally arrived.

"We are not even married yet, and that woman is already making me wait." Hamish scoffed. "May you find a better prospect to marry, Jim."

Much to James' happiness, Hamish was soon gone along with Lady Ascot.

The dancing took place, and Lord Ascot suggested James to find a partner and join in. Maybe he could ask one of the twins, or the other Kingsleigh daughter, Margaret, whose husband was too busy talking with another woman since the celebration started.

James thanked the invitation, but he declined.

He instead asked Lord Ascot for his permission to be in his studio and have access to some documents James wanted to study.

"I appreciate your dedication, lad." Lord Ascot said. "But don't overwork yourself. Try to have fun while you can."

"Yes, sir." Said James, and five minutes later, he was in the studio, surrounded by piles of books and papers, as if they were his fortress against the party in the garden.

People with fortunes had the luxury to waste their time and money on those idle matters, but men like James had not that privilege.

Fate could turn its wheel against him at any moment.

One step in the wrong direction and his career would fall apart, and he would end up like many others of his young fellow lawyers, begging for the alms of some minor lord that only fed them his crumbles.

A few minutes passed, filled only with the repetitive analysis of the accounts of the company's associates. Eventually, a servant came looking for him, saying Hamish would now propose marriage to Kingsleigh under the gazebo, where all the guests could see.

"I'll be there." Said James.

The servant believed him and left.

Poor fool.

Instead, James put his work aside and decided to inspect the map Lord Ascot had studied with so much interest the day before.

"The map of the world." James said as he checked the several routes traced across the seas. They led to distant lands.

Rangoon? Jakarta?

Too risky for good business, he feared.

Lord Ascot was a mad man for having considered those routes in the first place. James would abandon the company if his Lord still was determined to pull them through.

Such ideas were nice as long as they stayed as dreams, not as serious considerations for the future of a company.

James had played with similar aspirations in his teens, about traveling to the other side of the world in search for all sort of adventures.

Juvenal aspirations he was glad he had grown out from.

Yet, it felt good to think of the times when he had longed for something more than just fortunes.

They seemed so long ago.

"Better that than to end up in the streets." James snapped out of his thoughts and walked away from the map.

He had no time to waste on the crazy aspirations of Lord Ascot; he had a job to do and dreaming about the past wouldn't get it done.

James went back to his books and documents, and found comfort in them, even if it was hollow and monotonous.

Time passed, a few hours maybe, and the servant came back again.

He looked distressed.

"Please, Mister Harcourt." He pleaded. "Lady Ascot will blame it on me if you don't go."

James groaned and went to the gazebo.

Along the way he saw the twins talking with the other guests, their voices too loud and expressive.

Apparently, from what James could catch, the proposal hadn't gone as planned and the Kingsleigh girl had ran away, leaving Hamish standing like a fool in front of anyone.

James smiled.

Funniest thing he had heard in days.

He also saw Lord Ascot and his wife talking with a blonde woman.

"Ah, Mister Harcourt. Glad you decided to join us again." Lord Ascot put a hand on his back, while his wife glared at him. "Helen, this is James Harcourt, the new lawyer of the board. James, this is Helen Kingsleigh, mother of my future daughter-in-law and widow of Charles."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Kingsleigh." James put a hand on his chest and bowed his head.

"What a charming young man." Said Helen, with a faint smile brightening her sad face.

The compliment took James by surprise. He couldn't remember the last time someone had referred to him as anything else other than boring and quiet, even less charming.

It felt good.

"Thank you."

"Helen, I do ask you not to praise his behavior as something admirable." Lady Ascot spat. "Curtsey and charm are something to be expected from all our employees, not some tricks the lawyer pulls out of his sleeve to make up for his low-key impudence."

"My dear, please." Said Lord Ascot.

"Of course, I apologize. If you excuse me." James made a reverence and retreated back into the crowd.

He feared he would cause a scene if he stayed in the presence of Lady Ascot.

He knew he had only tasted a drop of her venom.

Nobody went looking for him.

It was for the better.

One of the twins was eyeing him from afar when the Kingsleigh girl returned.

She was almost as pale as him.

Her blue dress was covered in mud; her golden hair was messy and full of leaves and sticks.

She also had nasty looking scars on her arm.

Where had she gone to?

A battle?

Her family and Lord Ascot worriedly asked her if she was alright.

She claimed she was, but James had his doubts.

"I'm sorry, Hamish. I can't marry you. You're not the right man for me. And there's that trouble with your digestion."

James almost drew blood from biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. A few people saw him and giggled, but thankfully they were his only witnesses.

He had no idea what she was doing, but it was rather amusing to see Hamish so taken aback.

He watched her as she spoke with several of the guests, including an old woman with a perturbed appearance, the twins, her mother, her sister and even Lady Ascot.

James didn't find the whole matter as funny anymore.

Had she lost her head?

Perhaps she had suffered a fall and needed some time to rest before she could think clearly again.

James was about to speak up his idea when Lord Ascot talked first.

"You've left me out." He said to her.

"No, I haven't sir. You and I have business to discuss."

She spoke with enough eloquence, all things considered.

"Shall we speak in the study?" Offered Lord Ascot.

James felt a twinge of fear. Was his boss serious, or was he just playing along?

"Oh, by the way." Said the Kingsleigh girl, and lifted her dress to reveal her missing stockings and do a weird dance that offended most of the guests.

James was too disconcerted to feel any offense at all.

He watched her go to the same study he had been before, with Lord Ascot going after her.

Hamish had a hissy fit and his mother had to calm him down, while Miss Kingsleigh and her other daughter worried about the state of…

What was her name?

He had heard it whispered among the mouths of the gossip guests. He made an effort to remember.

"Alice." He muttered.

Now that there would be no wedding in the future, the celebration was as well as death, so there was no reason to linger around anymore.

James thought of Alice as he walked back to his apartment.

Not all of his thoughts for her were gentle. He didn't feel offended by her behavior, but her way of proceeding was too strange for him to embrace, even less to understand.

She had thrown away the prospect of a stable life offered to her on a silver platter.

It was careless, even foolish.

Had he been in her place, the thought wouldn't have crossed his mind, even if it meant putting up with someone like Hamish for life.

James knew first hand there were worse things to endure in life than snobbish relatives.

"Alice." James repeated, this time with some annoyance.

Why couldn't she have done as he did, and embrace a life that made up with stability what it lacked in joy?

"I don't understand you."

And so he pushed her out of his thoughts.

It was for the best.

She was making him doubt, and doubt had no place in his profession or in his life.

James just wished Lord Ascot wouldn't take her business proposals seriously.

A dreamer, after all, had no place among the realm of merchants.

If she wanted to belong, she would have to get rid of those childish dreams first.

Otherwise, she wouldn't last.

It was a fact of the real world.

James knew it, and she should too.

James was summoned by Lord Ascot two days after the failed celebration. He met with his boss in a relative good mood.

He was eager to share his many ideas on how to dispose legally of the weakest associates of the Company, and how to keep the profits safe and growing.

The subject of conversation however, proved to be of a much different nature.

"Absolutely not. This is madness and it will ruin us." Exclaimed James.

"No need to get so angry, lad. I just ask you to keep this information secret for now."

"I´m sorry Lord Ascot, but as lawyer of the board, it is my duty to inform them of your hasty decision at once. They must know."

Lord Ascot blocked his way with his arm. He remained gentle, though no less authoritative.

" You must understand that the members of the board are all intelligent men, but they are trapped in their old ways. They wouldn't agree to this if they knew."

"Neither do I, sir." Replied James.

"Then maybe you are trapped in the old ways too." Said Lord Ascot.

James frowned.

"Do you think I'm against it because she is a woman?" James asked, without giving time for an answer. "It is quite unusual, but irrelevant. A pair of hands are valuable if they are useful, not if the chest behind them is flat or round."

Lord Ascot laughed.

"A rough way to put it. Why then are you so opposed to the idea?"

"A travel to China, leaded by someone with no knowledge about navigation or business procedures? It sounds more like the start of a bad joke than a serious proposal from a company."

"Alice has a decent perception of how to manage herself at sea and how a trading company works. Knowing Charles, I'm sure he told her many stories about his adventures at sea and how he planned to carry out his trading ideas. Trust me, she'll learn and handle herself fine."

James had enough information to put the pieces together.

He should have known.

"I see. You are trying to pay tribute to your former associate and friend by humoring his daughter's dreams. A fine sentiment, lord Ascot, but we are a company, not a wish factory. We cannot afford to take these risks."

James knew by the expression of his lord that he had touched a raw nerve.

"Charles Kingsleigh, a man of many ideas but no common sense, judging by the state of his accounts at the time of his death." He continued. "I'm sure he was a good man, but you cannot let-"

Every muscle on Lord Ascot's face tensed.

"You know nothing of Charles, lad. Do not speak of him with so much liberty. One of my biggest regrets in life is not supporting his expeditions when I had the chance."

Ah, it made sense now. So those plans on the map about exploring the world were never of Lord Ascot, but of Charles Kingsleigh.

The apple hadn't fallen far from the tree.

It was James' duty to guide Lord Ascot stray from those sentiments and bring reason to the whole matter.

If that didn't work, he knew a way for him to get out of that mess not empty handed.

"Whatever your reasons, I'm bound by my ethical code to inform the board of anything that may harm our interests, sir. I'm sorry, I wish we could reach to an agreement."

First, James would let his words sink and disturb his lord's mind, and the he would proceed to tell him the amount necessary to keep his lips sealed in front of the board.

A cheap trick, but it worked every time.

Instead, Lord Ascot laughed sardonically.

"Trying to bribe me while preaching an ethical code. Mister Harcourt, your reputation is well earned." Lord Ascot said with malice and pity, as if he was a parent finding comfort in scolding his child. "To be this young and so crooked... No wonder you are so miserable."

It was like a stab in the heart for James.

So that's how everyone saw him? As some sort of wretched lawyer for hire, little more than a mercenary they unleashed whenever their companies were at risk.

The wound cut deeper because all was true, and James knew it.

Lord Ascot, now free of his anger, regretted his harshness and tried to apologized, but James tried to leave the studio before he could talk.

He slammed the door open and hit Hamish with it. He had eavesdropped on them for only heaven knew how long.

After recovering, he grabbed James by the arm and leaned closer to him.

He was grinning.

"Don't worry Jim, I support you. Let's bribe the old man and then tell the board all about his folly. We'll gain their trust and respect." Hamish whispered to James. "My father and his precious Alice deserve it for what they've done to me."

It sounded as if Hamish admired him and considered him his friend.

James felt no flattery, only disgust.

Not for Hamish, but for himself.

"Now's our chance, Jim." Said Hamish, nodding towards his father. "He won't be around for long anyway."

James pushed him away with more forced he intended. Hamish crashed again the wall and fell down.

"You rotten…" James muttered, but couldn't say more.

He was one to talk.

"Hamish!" Lord Ascot went to his son's aid. Hamish put on a façade and claimed his back was hurt.

James stepped back little by little, and when Lord Ascot looked at him, he escaped.

He caught the attention of the servants, but nobody went after him.

Questions and doubts plagued him as he ran back to his apartment, following the same path he ever took. The routine was so inscribed in his body it didn't need his mind to guide him home.

Nothing was certain for him anymore.

Had he truly injured Hamish?

Why had he tried to bribe Lord Ascot?

There had been no need or thought in it at all. It was just an impulse he blindly followed.

Was he fired?

Was his career over?

Would he end up in the streets again?

Was he crooked?

Was he miserable?

To the last two he knew the answer. He had known it for years.

But it didn't matter!

Better to be miserable in emotion than in coin. James knew that well.

That was his creed, his path to a peaceful life. It had worked well for years.

So why doubt about it now?

Why?

Why?

"James."

Alice gently put her hand on his arm. James slowly calmed down and his breathing settled.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, take all the time you need."

"No, I'm alright. I just hadn't thought about it much."

That was true. That had been a dreadful day for James, one when he thought all he had worked for, his whole life would go to waste.

Just remembering it drained a lot of his energy.

To add to his distress, there was his fear of what Alice would think of him now.

He had been honest so far, but he knew that honesty was always double edged. It cleaned dirty consciences but also drew people away.

"I wish I had met you at the celebration." Said Alice slowly. "We could have laughed at Hamish and his digestion together."

She hoped to hear James laugh, but he remained serious.

"You wouldn't have liked me then."

Alice had to admit he had a point.

"I don't think you would have liked me either."

"For a while, I didn't."

Alice didn't know how to feel about his statement.

"Because I decided to set sail?" She inquired harshly, though she wasn't surprised. Her decision hadn't made anyone happy except for herself and Lord Ascot. "Because a woman with wild ideas would be the end of the company?"

"You would never ruin it, Alice." James said. "All I said about the risks and my obligation to inform the board were lies I told Lord Ascot. The company was doing well, and it wasn't going to fall apart by your daring expedition."

Alice calmed down, though deep inside, she remained upset.

"I don't understand. We hadn't even met face to face or talked to each other. Why did you resent me so, James?"

"You were following your dreams and taking risks." James declared without looking at her. "I couldn't stand it. I thought it was insulting, I thought that dreamers were all pampered fools wasting their time, money and opportunities in their banal whims, as if everyone else had the privilege to do the same."

James rested his elbows on his thighs and rubbed his forehead.

"Or maybe that was an excuse I used to trick myself as I tricked my clients. Maybe I was a bitter coward envious of anyone who dared to try what I dared not. That's the kind of man I had become."

For the first time in a long time, Alice didn't find the right thing to say.

If she claimed that James was exaggerating, it would not only be insulting, but also an understatement.

If he said that's the man he had been, Alice could only believe him. He spoke with too much honesty for her to think something else.

Outside, afternoon came and turned the sky orange. The train wasn't going to move until night, or perhaps until the next morning.

There was no point in worrying about the Ambassador anymore, though Alice still wished to go to Pekin to sell the grand father clock.

They still had plenty of time to talk, and that was good for James, because he still had plenty to say. Among it, there was the part he feared the most.

"The next day, I sent a letter to Lord Ascot, promising I wouldn't tell anything to the board." James continued. " I thought he was going to thank me and say I was fired, but he invited me to see your parting."

Alice remembered that day. His mother, Margaret, Lord Ascot and even his wife... they all had been there.

"You weren't there." She said , not finding James' in her memories.

"I was." Corrected James. "I saw you sail away from afar, and I kept watching until the Wonder was out of sight. I wanted to get closer, but-"

"Let me guess, your pride kept you from doing it."

"To an extent, yes. But there was something else ... someone rotten."

Alice needn't ask. She knew.

He had gotten in her way too.

"Hamish."

"Yes. It was the first of the many times he would come to me with his ideas and plans in the three years you were at sea. I soon learned he had more wit than I thought." James looked at Alice. It was the first time he did since he started his story. "And that he was just as crooked as me."