Chapter 202 – Full Steam Ahead

David Mackintosh waits with my carriage, outside on Moray Place, and I jump up beside him.

“Destination this morning?” asked David.

“Printworks.”, I said.

David acknowledges the command with a crack of the whip, and the carriage hurtles along the streets of Glasgow. David, my coachman, is a champion jockey, so I get the thrill of speed and storming start to the day. We pull into the yard, and I disembark, and I pick some gravel up and feel the rough stones through my fingers.

The new printworks complex has been moulded into harmony, with Alexander as its conductor. He appears with his foreman, clipboard and pencil behind his ear. I cough lightly, attracting their attention.

Alexander looks over with his usual stare, “Good morning.”

“I see you are focussed.”

“Nothing less is required. We are on double shifts until we finish all the production. Our new facility is at full tilt.”

The invigorated workforce, assembled by Alexander and expanded in record time, is so busy they ignore the tour party around them. The organ grinder has pre-warned them, and they are on parade and we inspect every operational practice.

“How are you and Mary getting along?” I ask.

Alexander stops, smiles and claps, “I have no idea how you found her.”

“Mary is the greatest secret of them all.”