But the wheels will fall off, sooner or later, she thought. Vesperian and his investors were playing musical chairs for high stakes. When the music stops, and it will, who’s left out in the cold?
She’d seen it happen, back on Earth. Someone took out a loan, then another loan, then struggled to repay the interest…sinking further and further all the time. She’d known people who had been so deeply in debt that they hadn’t had a hope in hell of escaping. And they’d dealt with relatively small sums of money, hardly noticeable to the banks and credit card companies. What would happen if a giant corporation went the same way? It would be a nightmare.
“I don’t know,” she said. “And without further information, I’m not going to invest.”
“Mother banned Karan and Marian from investing,” Caleb said. “She told them they weren’t allowed to use any of their allowance to invest.”
“I don’t blame her,” Emily said. Karan and Marian would be annoyed, she was sure, but she suspected their mother was right to be wary. There was no way either of the girls would be counted amongst the major creditors once the hammer fell. “How did they take it?”
“Poorly,” Caleb said. His face twisted. “Their friends are bragging about scoring good deals, and they’re out in the cold.”
“They might have the last laugh.” Frieda dunked a chip into something that smelled like Tabasco, then nibbled it thoughtfully. “What happens if their friends don’t get their money back?”
Emily shrugged. A schoolchild’s allowance was nothing, in the grand scheme of things. A handful of cents wouldn’t amount to much. The teenagers would be embarrassed and humiliated, but there wouldn’t be any major consequences beyond annoyed parents…would there? She found it hard to believe that anyone in Beneficence would give their children that much pocket money.
“They’ll be laughing,” Caleb predicted. “And their friends will be hurt.”
“We should investigate.” Frieda looked up, interested. “How far can this possibly go?”
Emily considered it, carefully. She’d read about financial bubbles, but most of the details had slipped her mind. Even a relatively low-tech society could have a sudden upswing in share prices, followed by an equally rapid crash when the shareholders realized their mistake and tried to withdraw their money before it was too late. What would happen if investors realized Vesperian couldn’t repay them?
It would be bad, she thought, numbly.
“I don’t know,” she said, finally. “It would depend on too many factors.”
She forced herself to think.
How much did Vesperian actually own? His mansion…did he own it? If he was renting the building, there was no way he could sell it to recoup his losses and repay his investors. The railway and its rolling stock? Or…what else did he have?
She didn’t know. But she did know was that the only people who came out ahead in a pyramid scheme were the ones right at the very top.
“Don’t invest,” she said.
Frieda laughed.
“Good advice,” Caleb said. “I just hope my sisters listened.”
He paused. “I hope Casper listened,” he added, after a moment. “He was certainly old enough to make his own decisions.”
“I don’t think he would have had enough money to make a difference.” Emily took another bite of her burger, enjoying the taste. “Did Master Grave give him an allowance?”
“I don’t know,” Caleb said. He grinned. “Did Sergeant Miles give you an allowance?”
Emily shook her head. It had never occurred to her to ask for one. She’d taken enough cash with her to meet all her personal needs, given that the army supplied the sorcerers and their apprentices with food, bedding and everything else they needed. And she’d never been one to gamble. It wasn’t as if the other apprentices had invited her to any high-stakes games.
“He could have asked our parents for an advance on his inheritance,” Caleb mused. “But I don’t think they would have agreed.”
“Probably not,” Emily said. “How would that have worked?”
“Poorly,” Caleb said. “He was the Heir, after all.”
Emily met his eyes. “What did your mother say to you?”
“Nothing I can talk about here.” He shot Frieda a glance. “But we do have to talk.”
“I’m sure I can trust you to behave,” Frieda said. She glanced from Emily to Caleb, then looked at her watch. “There’s a train due in thirty minutes. I could wander off afterwards, leaving you two alone.”
“Thank you,” Emily said. She knew Frieda meant well, but her constant supervision was annoying. “We won’t do anything stupid.”
“Vesperian must be getting desperate,” Caleb mused, as he finished his burger. “I would have expected him to send you a formal invitation to dinner, not have one of his flunkies accost you outside a bank. It smacks of something put together on the spur of the moment, rather than a carefully thought out plan.”
Emily nodded. She hadn’t thought about it like that, but Caleb was right. By any reasonable standard, Vesperian should have wined and dined her before requesting a loan…and, perhaps, put together a better case. It sounded more like he’d taken advantage of an unexpected opportunity rather than planning everything down to the last detail.
Frieda had a different thought. “Did he really expect you to write him a bank draft at once?”
“Maybe.” Emily had met enough aristocrats to know they didn’t bother to pay much attention to money. A baron might run short of ready cash, but his lands and properties would eventually refill his wallet. And if he needed the money quickly, he could just squeeze the tenants until they pleaded for mercy. “Or perhaps he thought the mere promise of the money would be enough to save his bacon.”
She finished her burger and rose, carefully concealing a tip under the plate. The waitress would scoop it up before anyone else arrived. “Let’s go,” she said. “I want to see the railway.”
Chapter Ten