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This did not bode well, Guy thought, as he walked down the narrow hall towards Corbyn’s office. He knocked, acknowledging the agent who was standing guard.
“Enter,” Corbyn barked.
Hawthorne gave him an encouraging smile before he opened the door. Guy followed him into the room and closed the door behind him.
“It is about time you returned,” Corbyn grumbled from his desk. “Did you complete the assignment?”
“I did.”
Corbyn gave him an expectant look. “Did the trade union pose a threat to the Crown?”
He glanced over at Hawthorne, then said, “They did not.”
“They didn’t?” Corbyn asked. “Didn’t your note indicate that the coal workers formed a trade union?”
“They did.”
“And did you discover who was communicating between the various coal mines?” Corbyn pressed.
“I did.”
“Yet you don’t believe they are a threat?” Corbyn questioned.
Guy shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
Corbyn’s eyes narrowed. “I will give you one minute to explain yourself, or you are dismissed.”
“A few of the townsfolk did organize a trade union on behalf of the coal workers, but it is not very organized.”
“Sometimes that makes them even more dangerous,” Corbyn pointed out.
“That is true, but the intent of this trade union is to act peacefully by using a strike to achieve their purposes.”
“A strike?” Corbyn repeated. “Do you not realize how expensive a strike could be to the owners of the collieries?”
“I do, but the coal workers are only performing the strike to force the owners to alleviate their work conditions.”
Corbyn sighed. “I see what is going on here,” he said. “You spent too much time in Anmore and grew sympathetic to their plight.”
“That is true.”
“Your job is not to empathize with the people, but to protect the Crown.”
“With all due respect, I can do both.”
Corbyn leaned back in his seat as he turned his attention towards Hawthorne. “What do you make of this?”
“I must side with Stewart on this.”
Corbyn’s brow lifted. “Pardon?”
“Before we left Anmore, Stewart took me to the colliery, and I witnessed small children exiting the pit,” Hawthorne said. “They were covered in dirt, and some of them had bruises on their tiny frames.”
“I am not going to contest that coal workers have a difficult time of it, but forming trade unions is illegal,” Corbyn reminded them. “It has been that way for years.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Guy argued.
Corbyn gave him a blank stare. “Agents do not have the luxury to decide that,” he said. “We are employed by the Crown to ensure their interests.”
