Chapter 39 "Is the matter resolved?" ...

"Is the matter resolved?" Richard asked, leaning against the doorway as he watched Kate walk out of the room.

“It’s not exactly a solution, it’s just a forced arrangement. Kate probably won’t be able to find a job in London, so it just so happens that the two of us are paying to keep her here.” Mary looked at her brother helplessly. “If Mother continues to feel that it’s a loss to pay a reliable servant the wages and things he deserves, then the Price family will never find a servant who will treat the master’s affairs as their own.”

But Mrs. Price's mind wasn't easily changed, and Richard, having tried to persuade her for so long, knew this all too well. He now admired Mary; if it weren't for her trip to Mansfield, the welfare benefits she had secretly distributed without her parents' knowledge would never have been exposed—her ability to keep a secret was truly remarkable.

He paced back and forth in the room, thinking for a long time, before deciding to discuss the secret with his dearest sister. He pulled Mary into his room, took a sealed box from a locked cabinet, opened it, and inside was a small box. Richard took out a velvet pouch from the pouch, which was no bigger than the palm of his hand, and handed it to Mary.

What's inside? It's wrapped so securely. Mary opened the small bag, and two cornflower blue gemstones with a velvety sheen appeared before her eyes. She approached the candle to examine them closely, only finding the candlelight insufficient to see if the gemstones' color was pure enough. Even in such light, the beauty of these gemstones had already captivated her heart.

"Did you bring these back from India?" Mary asked Richard. "If they were just two gems, there shouldn't have been so much need to hide them for so long. Is there anything else?"

“That’s right,” Richard lowered his voice, “You know I always bring wool with me when I go to India and sell it to a big client. Since I plan to travel between England and India twice more and then stop going by ship, this time I wanted to go with that big merchant to see the northern princely states, and he agreed.”

"Our group kept walking until we reached the border state of Punjab. The pagan king of this state was a heroic figure, but we still managed to defeat him. I could sense that the locals respected him very much. It is said that he is now planning to fight against the Afghan dynasty. Out of curiosity, I hired a guide to wander around the area, hoping to find an opportunity to interact with the King of Punjab. Instead, I encountered a hunter from Afghan-controlled Kashmir."

Richard paused for a moment at this point: "I saw that man using a blue stone to light his pipe, and I felt that the stone was unusual, so I asked him where it came from and bought it. He told me that there had been a landslide in the mountains of the Zanskar Valley in his hometown of Kashmir, and that he had picked up the stone there, as it was particularly convenient for lighting a pipe."

“Kashmir Sapphire!” Mary exclaimed.

“That’s right, it’s a sapphire.” Richard didn’t understand the meaning behind Mary’s exclamation. “I took the stone back to Calcutta and found a gem cutter who told me it was a very high-quality sapphire rough. After processing to remove impurities and retain the gem as much as possible, I got two gems, the larger one close to ten carats and the smaller one over five carats.”

He looked at the gemstone in the candlelight and said, mesmerized, "You'll only understand what I saw when it was in the sunlight. It was so beautiful! That captivating blue was more beautiful than the deepest cornflower petals, as soft as the finest velvet, as radiant as peacock feathers. I've never seen such a bright blue before." The gemsmith kept asking me where I got the gemstone, but I gave him a few vague answers and hurried back with the merchant ship.

Richard was somewhat agitated. He grabbed Mary's hand: "Do you understand? The hunter said there are still many such rocks on the mountain where the landslide occurred. If it weren't so dangerous to go to the border again, I wouldn't have come back like this. This news certainly hasn't leaked out yet, because there's going to be war there soon. But for the time being, I don't dare to go to India by merchant ship again."

It was incredible. By sheer coincidence, Richard had discovered the world's finest sapphires—the Kashmir sapphire mine, which was supposed to have been discovered in the mid-to-late 19th century. This news was far too significant for Mary to process. She clutched the two gems tightly in her hands, remaining silent, and the room fell silent for a moment.

“Richard, have you considered that this news can’t be kept secret forever? Since you were able to buy them from hunters in Punjab, others might obtain these sapphires using similar methods. As long as someone discovers that these stones can be exchanged for money, the news can’t be completely kept secret. Even if there’s a war there, once the war ends, the gem mine will be controlled by the victorious prince, and we simply don’t have the ability to obtain the maximum benefit.”

Mary looked at the gems in her hand again. It was lucky that these two gems ended up in Richard's hands: "Why don't we sell the information to someone who has the ability to do so?"

Richard sighed reluctantly, “You’re right, how could a small businessman possibly swallow such a huge profit? So, when we get to London, we’ll sell this information? To whom? The one who was just made Marquess of Hastings in London (referring to Francis Rodden Hastings, who was the then Governor-General of India)? How can we get in touch with such an important person? Should we go through my uncle? I don’t want to get into any trouble because of this information.”

“No matter who you sell this information through, you have to carefully consider their character. Those big shots are often insatiable.” Mary was unfamiliar with the situation and dared not offer any advice. “Be very careful, lest you not only fail to make any money from the information, but also lose those two gems in the end.”

After saying that, she reluctantly put the gemstone back into the velvet bag and returned it to Richard. Seeing the delight in Mary's eyes, Richard smiled, took out the smaller one, and handed it to his sister: "I think it suits your eyes very well. Take it, consider it your dowry from your brother."

Good heavens, Mary felt like the happiest girl in the United Kingdom at that moment. She simply couldn't refuse Richard; who could say no to such a beautiful gem? She actually owned a Kashmir sapphire—a dream she could never have imagined in her past life!

She went to bed happily that night, and the next day she was still in a cheerful mood. However, when she told Mrs. Price about Kate, the lady's feelings were quite different from her daughter's.

"Take Kate to London? What will happen to the house then?" Mrs. Price was dumbfounded. She only wanted to control the disobedient maid, not replace her. After all, she had heard from her neighbors how lazy the other servants in Portsmouth were.

“Mom, didn’t you say Kate was disobedient and tried to ride roughshod over you? Richard and I took her away. She’s new to London, so she definitely won’t dare to disobey anymore.” Mary looked like she was sharing her mother’s worries. “As for home, there are still more than three months. Kate can give Lily a good training. Lily is almost twenty years old. She’s not willing to be a maid forever, is she?”

What could Mrs. Price say? She thought for a moment, figuring it would be easy to find a maid in Portsmouth, and agreed to her daughter's plan. In any case, Mary was back, and she had something to entrust to her daughter. Christmas was approaching, and those troublesome bills were starting to get to her head again; Mary had to take over.

Mary was completely unconcerned about her mother's attempt to shift the blame; she had been in such a good mood since the previous night. After seeing Mrs. Price's chaotic accounting, she decided she should ask Kate instead.

In the end, the calculations showed that there were many unnecessary expenses compared to when Mary was in charge. Mr. Price alone had spent more than thirty pounds more on wine over the past six months. Clearly, Mrs. Price hadn't improved at all over the years. Fortunately, there were fewer people in the household, and the house now belonged to William, so there was no need to pay rent, and in the end, the expenses didn't exceed the budget.

Aside from the bills, Mary didn't take on any other household chores. After all, Mrs. Price would just make a mess of the house again once she left, so why bother? She'd rather spend her time in Portsmouth on her own business.

On the day before Christmas, Charlotte visited the Price family, and Mrs. Price warmly welcomed her.

"Mary, how did I do? I didn't waste those articles you wrote, did I?" Charlotte said with a smile, her confidence buoyed by her recent experience of handling things on her own.

“It’s a wonderful surprise! The results have completely exceeded my expectations.” Mary pulled Charlotte to sit on the sofa and whispered, “My dear friend, you know that Susan has stayed in Mansfield and won’t be coming, and I’ll probably be going to London with Richard at the end of March, so our business may often need you to support it alone in the future. Susan asked me to transfer all of her share to you, and I will also give you another 10%, which, together with your current share, will be 25%.”

Charlotte opened her mouth, about to loudly refuse, when Mary shushed her and pointed outside. Mrs. Price was upstairs talking to Richard and hadn't noticed what her daughter was saying in the living room downstairs.

“It’s not just for you. Anne is about to graduate, and without her constant recommendations at school, I can’t guarantee how many noble ladies will still buy our hats. If I don’t go back to Portsmouth, apart from drawing the designs, I’ll have to rely on you and Aunt Taylor for almost everything else. So I’m also prepared to give her another five percent. What do you think?”

"I have no problem with you giving it to Aunt Taylor, but why are you transferring so much to me? And Susan, you two pulled me in together, and now she's just quitting like that? That's so disloyal!" Charlotte said angrily, seeing that her two friends were planning to abandon her.

“But Charlotte, you definitely won’t give up on this business, right?” Mary knew perfectly well that there must be a reason why Charlotte had been working so hard lately.

“Of course, I want to prove to Dad that girls can do business just as well. Why should the Brown family business be handed over entirely to David? And he’s lost money on several deals, and Dad wants to use my dowry to make up for it. He didn’t say that before!” Charlotte’s eyes were full of resentment.

Charlotte's resentment was more dazzling than her sweet talk about her father and brother in the past. No matter the era, there are girls who don't want to be kept in the family, which made Mary feel that she was not alone.

Mary snapped out of her daze and was about to continue persuading Charlotte when she heard Mrs. Price coming downstairs. She then pretended to be discussing Fanny's wedding with Charlotte.

"Oh, are you still talking about Fanny's wedding? Although I didn't see it myself, I'm sure Sir Thomas will make sure everything is perfect. But Mary, your wedding will be even more perfect. General Maxwell and his wife think of you often and will surely send you a gift."

Mrs. Price seemed to recall the grand scene and smiled with a hint of pride. She walked up to the two girls and asked, "Charlotte, I think you probably already know that Mary is going to London next year to accompany Miss Maxwell, and her friends are always thinking of her."

“Mrs. Price, I just found out about this. I should be happy for Mary, but I thought she would stay with me longer this time.”

"There's nothing we can do about it. Young women like you should take advantage of this free time to visit relatives and friends. Once you're married, you won't have so much leisure. I heard Mrs. Gregory say that your mother, Mrs. Brown, also plans for you to enter the social scene early."

Mrs. Price remarked, "Perhaps we'll hear good news from you when the ball is held in Portsmouth the year after next. Your dowry must be at least three thousand pounds."

“Oh, Mother, let’s not talk about this. Charlotte and I are still young!” Mary was embarrassed by Mrs. Price’s inquiries.

“You’re almost fifteen years old now. When I was your age, I was already thinking about what kind of husband I wanted.” After saying this, Mrs. Price remembered that she hadn’t mended the sleeve of Charles’s torn dress, so she went out of the living room and started looking for the sleeve.

After her mother left, Mary shrugged helplessly at Charlotte: "I hope you don't mind, but I always feel that ever since Miss Gregory next door got married, she's been constantly calculating the wedding dates of every young lady around us, especially now that Susan is no longer in the house."

“Mrs. Price wasn’t wrong,” Charlotte paused, thinking of her parents’ attitude at home, “My parents did intend for me to enter society at sixteen, and I used to look forward to it. What girl hasn’t secretly wondered what her first ball would be like? But now…”

“Then you should agree to my arrangement even more, Charlotte. If you don’t want to listen to your parents in everything, you have to have your own income. After taking over the share of the business we’ve given you, you’ll also need to take on more responsibility, won’t you? We can’t let you work for nothing, can we?” Mary persuaded.

The more like-minded the friends, the clearer the division of profits should be when collaborating. If she continues to take Charlotte and Aunt Taylor's contributions for granted, it might be fine for a day or two, but problems will definitely arise in the long run. Mary doesn't want to lose her friends in the end, which is why she insists on redistributing the profits.

Charlotte was eventually persuaded, and as she left the Price family, Mary thought that her childhood friend might one day do something that would surprise her.

After Christmas, the new year passed quickly. Mary felt that she hadn't arranged everything yet, so she and Richard, along with their maid Kate, boarded a carriage to London.

It was already late when they arrived in London. Richard had the maid wait at the house John had rented for him, and planned to take Mary to General Maxwell’s House in Grosvenor Square first.

This luxurious and beautiful house is no less impressive than any other house in London with a similar history and reputation, displaying the grandeur befitting a general, and is in no way inferior to the mansions of the noble families in this square.

General Maxwell was able to buy this house thanks to Anne's uncle, a spendthrift baron who, after inheriting the family business, became addicted to gambling and had to sell the London property to his former brother-in-law, moving to the countryside. As the servant led Richard and Mary to the porch, Mary could feel the pride of the male servant working there.

When they were led into the living room, they could see that the hanging glass chandelier seemed to be decorated with gold, the walls were covered with velvet wallpaper and decorative paintings by famous artists; the furniture was in line with the current general's wife's consistent aesthetic, all of them the most fashionable and exquisite styles... It seems that General Maxwell made quite a fortune during the war, Richard thought to himself.

Upon hearing the servant's announcement, Miss Anne Maxwell was already waiting for her friend in the sitting room. She was tall, with shapely arms and a wheatish complexion, unlike the pale skin typical of upper-class women; she was a lively and pretty girl.

The two girls embraced tightly as soon as they met. Anne looked closely at her long-separated friend: just like before, Mary's face was still as smooth as Chinese porcelain that had traveled across the ocean, and her lips were as red as delicate rose petals. The journey had given her face a natural blush, making her even more beautiful.

Before the two girls could express their longing for each other, footsteps approached. "Oh, dear Mary, I haven't seen you for years. My lovely little one, let me see what you look like now!" Mrs. Maxwell entered the living room to see her goddaughter.

When she saw Mary, the general's wife paused for two seconds, then said, "Good heavens, if my friends knew I had someone like this in my care, they would go crazy. Mary, you're fifteen this year, aren't you? You must stay in London. You don't have to wait three years; all the young men of Great Britain will be going crazy for you at the ball."

Mary was a little embarrassed by these words. She didn't reply, but fortunately, the general's wife didn't need her to answer and simply sat down on the sofa.

Richard, who was standing nearby, quickly bowed to the general's wife. A handsome young man like him was always popular wherever he went. Since it was getting late, the general's wife invited him to stay for dinner.

They sat together and played a few rounds of Whistler. Anne and Mary couldn't have a private chat, so they agreed to talk after dinner. Anne had a lot to tell her friend.

A short while later, the general returned and warmly welcomed his goddaughter, telling Mary to make the place her home and stay as long as she wanted.

Everyone sat down together for dinner, a feast of cuisines from around the world: chicken curry from India, imported Portuguese ham, imported Bologna sausages, imported Parma cheese, imported Russian caviar...

After such a sumptuous dinner, when Richard returned from Grosvenor Place to the apartment John had rented for him on Grubb Street, looking at the four white walls of his dwelling, the flames in his heart burned even brighter. The rent on Grubb Street wasn't too expensive; it was a hub for many unknown, impoverished writers, poets dreaming of instant fame, and struggling, low-level publishers and distributors.

Richard's current rent is about five shillings a week, which isn't expensive for a temporary place to stay. He's saved nearly two thousand pounds during his years as a sailor traveling between England and India; even if he deposited it all in the bank, the interest income would be roughly equivalent to John's annual salary.

But upon seeing General Maxwell's mansion, Richard couldn't help but think of the sapphire mine again, and he almost risked it, only managing to calm himself down with great difficulty. Mary, unaware of what her brother Richard was thinking, was chatting with Anne in her room.

"You don't know, I've had a really bad experience lately," Annie said, resting her chin on her hand in frustration.

"What's wrong? I thought you wouldn't have to worry about anything after leaving school. Could it be that another troublesome person like Miss S has appeared?" Mary asked curiously.

"It was even worse than that. Do you remember when I told you that someone wanted to match me up with Mr. Crawford? You know, I was only fifteen years old then. Although it ended with that gentleman's initial lack of cooperation and later disgrace, these people never gave up."

"You mean the general's relatives?" Mary was very familiar with the general's family through their long-term correspondence.

“Who else could it be? They’ve always been hoping my father would climb the social ladder. It’s not enough for them to keep promoting him. This time, they think they’ve found a good one and figured out what my father is thinking. You know, even though my father didn’t get a title and there’s no restricted inheritance for the Maxwell estate, who wouldn’t be tempted by such a large fortune?” Anne smiled bitterly.

As a female heir, Anne was already the object of countless eyes when she was only ten years old (at that time, the general was forty-five years old and considered unlikely to have a male heir). After she turned sixteen, even before entering social circles, these covetous gazes became even more blatant.

These bastards who want to eat up the family fortune—who told the damned British law to always protect men's interests! Even with equity law to handle the division of property for married women, it's difficult to fully protect women's vital interests.

Mary almost sneered: "Who have they put forward this time? Another playboy, perhaps?"

“No, after what happened with Crawford, they felt that such people were simply uncontrollable. In fact, General Crawford was not someone they could command either. That general was a notorious hedonist; he even declared that young men with property should not marry too early.” At this point, Anne remembered what Mary had said in the past and laughed.

The two girls said in unison, "Young women with property should not get married."

“However, that’s not always the case, Mary. If a handsome, outstanding young man proposes to me, and I happen to like him too, why should I stay single?” Anne countered, trying to persuade Mary.

In Mary's view, marriage was nothing more than a legal way for a man to acquire slaves. It was precisely because of this that single women became the object of ridicule in a male-dominated society. But wealthy single women could support themselves perfectly well, so why did they have to get married?

“This time they found someone who seems very ambitious. He’s related to the Maxwell family, so he’s practically one of their own. That guy was very polite to my father.” Anne pursed her lips. “I think he’s a bit hypocritical and pretentious, don’t you think? The real men who work at sea aren’t like that.”

As Anne spoke, her thoughts seemed unsettled, clearly remembering something. Unfortunately, Mary didn't notice; otherwise, that expression would surely have aroused her suspicion.

After confiding her troubles to her friends, Anne felt much better. Anyway, her father wasn't planning on letting her enter the social scene for the time being. She was annoyed but not too worried. Maybe in two years, that gentleman would already be married to another lady.

At her godfather's house, Mary did not yet meet the ambitious general relative Anne had mentioned. While chatting with Anne, she did not forget her original purpose for coming to London and tried to ask Anne where skilled craftsmen gathered in London. Unfortunately, Anne had just left the secluded girls' school and did not know these things.

While Mary was trying to gather information, Richard, eager to make a name for himself, wasn't idle either. John had already helped them find several skilled craftsmen by checking files in other departments, but Richard needed to personally inspect these craftsmen to determine their skill level.

Richard used his time in London to visit one craftsman after another, neglecting even social engagements. After investigating their relationships, he selected a few reliable craftsmen to sign contracts with. However, after asking around, he discovered that Mary's designs were still too difficult for these craftsmen; it was impossible to build purely mechanical machines entirely by hand.

It wasn't until a watchmaker named Thomas Smith saw some of the blueprints that he asked curiously, "Why don't you take this bulky mechanism apart?"

Richard suddenly had a flash of inspiration. That's right, there's no need to find just one craftsman to build the machine. They can build it separately, which will also make it less likely to leak secrets. The bulky body can be cast in a machinery manufacturing factory and then assembled later. The delicate metal parts can be crafted by craftsmen.

He immediately hailed a horse-drawn carriage to go to Grosvenor Square to tell Mary the good news.

“That’s right, we should have thought of this sooner.” Mary quickly disassembled the blueprints again. “Richard, remember to sign confidentiality agreements with those craftsmen. If all goes well, they will be the backbone of our factory in the future.”

From that day on, Mary and Richard anxiously counted down the daily progress of the sewing machine's production. Soon, the foundry produced the cast iron body, but the success of the sewing machine depended on the parts for the crucial components.

In addition to high wages, they also offered bonuses to all the craftsmen who made the metal parts. As long as the machines could run successfully, everyone would receive an extra reward, which greatly increased the enthusiasm of the craftsmen.

Before the results were in, Richard could go to the factory outside London every day to oversee the sewing machine production progress, while Mary was going to accompany her godmother and Anne on holiday to Bath. They planned to spend the entire summer there, and the general's wife loathed the stench of London in the summer.

They didn't encounter anything particularly interesting in Bath. Neither Mary nor Anne were part of high society and couldn't attend any of Bath's balls, which diminished much of the city's charm. However, just before leaving, they ran into an acquaintance Mary had heard so much about: Miss Crawford.

That day, Mary was strolling through a shop with her godmother and Anne when a fashionable and pretty young woman and an ordinary-looking, amiable woman suddenly walked over. Mary didn't know who these two people were until they greeted Anne, at which point Mary realized that the people in front of her were Miss Crawford and her sister Mrs. Grant.

When Anne introduced her—"This is my father's goddaughter, Miss Price"—Miss Crawford and Mrs. Grant were both taken aback. Miss Crawford looked Mary up and down for a long time before saying, "Miss Price, you are much prettier than any Miss Price I know."

“Miss Crawford, I think you’re referring to my sister, Mrs. Bertram,” Mary greeted Miss Crawford calmly.

Miss Crawford's expression changed drastically: "Oh, yes, I've heard." After saying this, she stopped talking, and Mrs. Grant exchanged a few more pleasantries with them before leaving.

“Mary, there must be something I don’t know about this. Besides Mr. Crawford’s matter, is there something else?” Back at the hotel, Anne shook Mary’s hand. “I remember hearing that Mr. Crawford declared to his friends that he was pursuing another lady…”

Mary, who was enjoying the Sallylo bread that her servant had bought, quickly said, "Let's not talk about that gentleman anymore. Anyway, he didn't accept her advances."

"It's good that no one was fooled, but Miss Crawford was being far too petty. It was clearly her brother's fault." Anne recalled Miss Crawford's strange expression.

Mary was reluctant to discuss the young lady's private life, thinking that it seemed Miss Crawford and Edmund's relationship in London hadn't crossed any lines and hadn't become common knowledge, which suited her impression of the young lady—she always left herself some leeway.

At the time, she didn't realize that she, Anne, and this young lady would have other connections in the future.

Around the end of August, during their last week in Bath, as they were preparing to leave, Mary received a letter from Richard. The first hand-cranked lockstitch sewing machine had been successfully assembled in that humble factory on the outskirts of London, and he couldn't wait to tell his sister the good news.

At this moment, Mary was eagerly anticipating returning to London, and thankfully, the general's wife finally set off two days later.

The day after returning to London, Mary and Richard went to the factory in the suburbs. The moment of final inspection had arrived. She loaded the needles, threaded the fabric, and laid it out.

Richard watched Mary operate the machine intently. As the handle turned, the needle moved up and down with the precise coordination of a series of gears. The needle tip pierced the fabric, each piercing feeling like a hole in his heart. The interwoven coils eventually left a beautiful trail on the cotton.

“We succeeded, didn’t we?” Richard stared at Mary without blinking, as if awaiting judgment from heaven.

Mary was equally excited. She nodded, speechless. "Fantastic!" Richard wanted to shout. He'd been anxious lately, sometimes dreaming of the machine's success, of buying a large house and bringing Mary to live with him; other times imagining countless failures, of his savings eventually running out, forcing him to take the risk of selling the gem mine's information... Fortunately, they had finally succeeded!

He quickly calmed down from his euphoria: "The most important thing now is to apply for a patent, and then we can start a company as planned and sell this machine to tailors in the United Kingdom and even the world..."

“Tailors? No, no, no. Have you forgotten what we discussed a few years ago? Although the Luddite movement has calmed down this year, tailors will still resist these machines that have taken away their livelihoods.” Mary shook her head.

“They can make clothes faster with machines. If we don’t sell them to them, who will we sell them to?” Richard looked at his sister. Machines produce clothes, but if they can’t find a market, they won’t make any money.

“You’ve forgotten how much our mother, Mrs. Price, worried about sewing so many clothes. Sewing machines are, of course, sold to all the ladies and young women in the United Kingdom who value quality of life. They will change the lives of every middle-class family, lighten the burden on ladies, and make tedious housework more enjoyable,” Mary said with a smile, thinking of the advertising for household appliances in later generations.

Considering the current aristocracy's curiosity, she added, "As for those noblewomen, we can produce gilded sewing machines specifically for them. Our goal is to ensure that every wealthy family has a high-end sewing machine as a decoration. If someone doesn't have one, it means they're out of touch."

“Then our machines will definitely sell out. For those nobles, no amount of money is as important as their face.” Richard grinned.

"Including the craftsmen's wages and bonuses, and the price of custom-made chassis molds at the factory, what is the production cost of this machine?"

Richard calculated the price and said, "This prototype is not cheap. Including the cost of the custom mold and the failures, I've already spent more than forty or fifty pounds. Ordinary people simply can't afford it. We have to sell it to those luxurious nobles, as you said. However, once we have the mold, we can place orders with the foundry in bulk. Large-scale manufacturing will definitely reduce costs, but those delicate parts still need to be slowly crafted by artisans."

They discussed pricing for a while, ultimately deciding to complete the patent application first, and then determine the price of a regular sewing machine after determining the final production cost through mass production. Seeing that it was getting late, Richard took his sister back to Grosvenor Place.

The next day, John and Richard, having received the news, went to the General's Mansion to pick up Mary. Together, they would go to the Supreme Court to submit the patent specifications and drawings. Mary planned to apply for patents for every area that could be patented under current law, so she brought a thick specification book.

“We won’t take the taxi; we’ll take the general’s carriage.” Mary blinked. “I told the godfather last night, and he reminded us that the first sewing machine produced in the factory must be presented to the Prince of Wales.”

At this time, England's first patent law, the Statute of Monopolies, had been in effect for nearly two centuries, allowing inventors of countless new products to obtain exclusive protection for up to fourteen years by applying for a patent certificate. However, the Patent Office, responsible for patent applications, had not yet been established, and the issuance of patent certificates remained the prerogative of the King. The success rate of applications was heavily influenced by political background and financial resources, so Mary had to seek the support of her Godfather.

General Maxwell wasn't particularly surprised by his goddaughter's latest invention. Firstly, Mary was already fifteen years old, and she had been inventing a washing machine since she was six. Secondly, he knew Mary had been making hats for years, so he naturally assumed she drew inspiration from her sewing work. The open-minded General Maxwell was happy to help the young people and gave his goddaughter his business card.

At the High Court, they found the clerk in charge of the work, submitted the documents, filled out an affidavit stating that the patent application would not infringe on any other person’s existing patents, and paid the £150 patent application fee.

The clerk looked at the applicant's name in surprise—Mary Price—and blurted out the question: "This machine was actually invented by a woman?"

“That’s right. Do you have any questions? Miss Price is the goddaughter of General Edward Maxwell and the niece of Sir Thomas Bertram. Inventing is just her hobby.” John introduced her while skillfully handing a tip to the clerk.

The clerk glanced at the beautiful young woman standing to the side, her face hidden by a veil under her hat. Before she could say anything to make things difficult for them, she could only mutter, "How amazing. Well, women can only stay at home and study sewing all day. I've never seen an applicant like this in all my years of work."