January 10, 1866, early morning.
On the platform of the Washington train station, a steam locomotive was spewing thick white smoke. This black steel beast let out rhythmic gasps, its massive driving wheels waiting on the tracks to release their power.
Anna Clark stood on the platform, holding a small Morocco leather handbag.
Behind her, two porters were laboriously loading three massive Louis Vuitton trunks onto a 'Pullman' luxury sleeper car.
Those contained part of the belongings she was taking with her.
Twenty gowns for different occasions, a complete set of French cosmetics, a crate of books on sociology, and a slightly rose-tinted dream about New York.
"Anna."
Secretary Thomas Clark stood at the carriage door, his overcoat collar turned up to block the wind and snow. The newly appointed Secretary of the Interior looked a bit older than he did in the office.
"Once you reach New York, don't cause trouble. Listen to Catherine, do you understand?"
Clark reached out to help his daughter straighten her hat brim, which had been ruffled by the wind, speaking with some concern.
"After all, it's not Georgetown; it's a jungle of money and desire. The rules are different from Washington. Although Felix's home is safe and you've stayed there for a while, you must learn to read the room."
"I know, Papa."
Anna said with some impatience, feeling dissatisfied at always being treated like a child by her father.
"I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I'm going there for work, not to attend balls."
"I hope so." Clark sighed.
"Remember, watch more and speak less. Matters of work aren't as simple as when you were studying. Catherine will be a good teacher, but you still have much to learn. Use your eyes and ears to see what the real world is like."
At that moment, the whistle wailed.
Anna hugged her father and then boarded the train.
Thomas watched his daughter board and waited until the train slowly set off before returning with his servants.
Meanwhile, on the train.
The interior of Anna Clark's carriage was the height of luxury. Mahogany-paneled walls, velvet seats, and even gilded gas lamps.
This was a symbol of the prosperity the North enjoyed after winning the war.
As the train slowly started, the domed buildings of Washington receded outside the window.
Anna sat by the window, watching the snowy landscape fly past.
Her heart was racing.
To a twenty-year-old girl, Felix was not just a successful businessman, but more like a puzzle.
His aloofness at dinner parties, his political maneuvering in her father's study, and the image of the family-oriented partner in Catherine's letters were all intertwined.
She wanted to solve this mystery again.
Seven hours later.
The train pulled into the New Jersey terminal. Passengers needed to transfer to a ferry here to cross the Hudson River into Manhattan.
When Anna stood on the ferry deck, looking at the city on the opposite bank lighting up with thousands of lamps in the winter dusk, she felt a sense of awe once more.
This place changed every day; it was a hundred times more boisterous than Washington.
On the Hudson River, countless barges and steamboats shuttled back and forth. Cargo was piled as high as city walls on the docks—cotton, coal, timber, machinery, and more.
The air was thick with the smell of coal smoke, seawater, and money.
A black carriage was parked at the dock exit. The understated 'Argyle' crest was printed on the door.
"Miss Clark."
Frost stood by the carriage and tipped his hat in greeting.
"The Boss is in a meeting; Madam sent me to pick you up."
"Thank you, Mr. Frost." Anna got into the carriage.
The carriage then began to drive onto Fifth Avenue.
The streets here were wider than in Georgetown, and the buildings on both sides were taller.
Although there was snow on the road, it wasn't muddy because dedicated cleaners were sweeping it away.
Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Argyle Residence.
The doors opened, and a wave of warmth rushed out.
Catherine stood in the center of the hall, wearing a well-tailored deep purple wool house dress, not holding a child. She looked more mature than before; in the gentleness of a new mother, there was an added touch of the mistress's authority.
"Anna." Catherine smiled and opened her arms.
"Catherine!"
Anna threw herself forward like a little bird.
The two embraced for a while.
"Welcome to New York." Catherine released her and looked her up and down. "You've lost a little weight, but you look well."
"I'm here to work, after all." Anna puffed out her chest.
"By the way, Catherine, where is my office? I mean, the Charitable Foundation."
Catherine smiled, a smile that contained a meaning Anna couldn't quite grasp.
"No rush."
Catherine took her hand and led her toward the dining room.
"Let's eat first. Felix might be back very late tonight. He's been busy settling some old accounts these past few days."
At the dining table, it was just the two of them.
Silverware glinted under the candlelight. The food was exquisite: pan-seared cod, roasted veal steaks, and a type of canned fruit served in a glass jar.
"Those are yellow peaches," Catherine introduced.
"As you know, Felix started his business with canned goods, and now this has become another signature product of the Argyle & Co. Foods."
Anna took a bite; it was very sweet.
"Catherine," Anna put down her spoon, "Felix... I mean Mr. Argyle, is he usually at home?"
"Rarely." Catherine cut her steak with elegant movements.
"He's on the top floor, or in the study. Sometimes, even when he's physically at home, his mind is on the railroads in the Pacific or the cotton fields in the South."
Catherine looked up at her close friend.
"Anna, since you're here, there are some things I should say upfront."
"This is the Argyle home. Every brick and every grain of rice here was earned by Felix and I through calculation and risk. My job is not just to enjoy this wealth, but to help him protect it."
Catherine's voice became serious.
"The Charitable Foundation is not a place for noble ladies to have afternoon tea; it is an institution. It manages the flow of hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars. We need to audit every account to ensure every penny is spent where it counts."
"Where it counts?" Anna was puzzled.
"Yes." Catherine wiped her mouth.
"For example, whether that money is used to buy flour for orphans or is swallowed by some greedy middleman. Or if it's used for certain necessary 'maintenance' work."
"You'll see." Catherine stood up.
"Tomorrow morning at eight, Edward will take us to the office in Lower Manhattan. Don't be late."
Anna watched Catherine's departing figure, and suddenly the yellow peach in her mouth didn't taste as sweet.
She realized that this place indeed was not Georgetown.
The women here didn't read poetry. They read ledgers.
The next day, Nassau Street, Lower Manhattan.
It was only two blocks from Wall Street, on the edge of the financial district. A four-story gray brick building bore a bronze plaque:
Argyle Charitable Relief Foundation
Anna, dressed in a sharp gray suit, followed Catherine into the building.
She had imagined a charity organization to be a place with nuns, nurses, and many unfortunate children.
Or at least an office filled with a warm atmosphere.
But unfortunately, it was not, and Anna's fantasy was shattered.
It was more like a bank.
In the lobby on the first floor, dozens of accountants wearing arm sleeves were bent over high tables, rapidly clicking abacuses and slide rules.
Some were also cross-checking project progress together.
The only sounds in the air were the rustling of papers and the scratching of pens on paper.
"Anna, this is the accounting center."
Catherine introduced the place to Anna as they walked.
"All charitable funds allocated from Argyle' companies, including Umbrella, Militech, Lex Steel, and Metropolitan Trading Company, must first be gathered here. Then, according to the charity projects in each area, they are distributed to orphanages, schools, and hospitals in various places."
They arrived at an office on the second floor.
Catherine pointed to a desk piled high with documents.
"This is your position, Miss Vice Director."
Anna walked over, sat in the chair, and enjoyed the moment, then picked up the top document on the desk and began to read it.
It was a monthly report from the "Argyle First Orphanage" in Charleston, South Carolina.
"Anna, the first thing you need to do is review the content and data in this report."
Catherine sat behind the large desk opposite, picking up a cup of coffee.
Anna sat down and opened the document.
Initially, everything seemed normal. Flour procurement costs, milk expenses, teacher salaries, and even expenses for buying winter clothes for the children.
These numbers gave Anna a sense of satisfaction from doing good deeds.
But when she turned to the last page, her fingers involuntarily stopped, and her mind was filled with some doubt.
Because the accounts showed a huge expenditure, accounting for 40% of the total budget.
Project Name: Park Asset Preservation and Special Service Fees.
Recipient: Militech United Service Company Southern Branch.
Amount: $5,000/month.
"Catherine, I don't quite understand." Anna frowned.
"This... what is this? Five thousand dollars a month for security? That orphanage only has a hundred children. Are they housing the president or something?"
"And..." Anna pointed to the note below.
"It even says here 'Material Loss: Vanguard Model 65 pistol ammunition 2000 rounds.' Please, why would an orphanage need bullets?"
Catherine put down her coffee cup and looked at Anna, her eyes as calm as a still lake.
"Anna, think carefully first. Where do you think the orphanage is built?"
"Charleston."
"That's the heart of the former Confederacy."
Catherine stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the busy street.
"You know, the land there was converted from the confiscated property of an arsonist named Black. The surroundings are full of Southerners who would love to tear us apart."
"If Militech's security team wasn't guarding it, those children would be driven out on the first day, and the house would be burned down. Just like they burned our cotton warehouses."
"But..." Anna looked at the numbers, "Five thousand dollars is too much, that could buy so much bread."
"But those five thousand dollars buy the right to survive on that land." Catherine turned around.
"As for the bullets... they are used to 'reason' with 'guests' who try to climb over the wall."
Anna felt a chill.
"Does Felix... know about this too?"
"This is what he said in the first place."
Catherine walked over and placed a hand on Anna's shoulder.
"Anna, you need to understand something. At the Argyle Charitable Foundation, charity is not alms, but a part of order."
"We adopt these orphans, feed them, and teach them to read. When they grow up, they will be the most loyal employees of Militech, the most reliable workers of Lex Steel. They will be grateful to us, not to those old Southern aristocrats who treat them as cannon fodder."
"This is what Felix calls 'long-term investment'."
Anna looked at the report in her hand.
Those numbers, which originally represented warmth, now seemed like cold gears in her eyes.
"So what should I do?" Anna asked, her voice a little dry.
"Sign it." Catherine handed her a pen.
"Confirm that this money has been transferred to Militech's account on time. Then, write a report to Felix, telling him that the orphanage is running well, and the children have heating and a sense of security in winter."
Anna held the pen, her hand trembling slightly.
This was different from what she had imagined at the Washington ball.
It wasn't romantic at all; it was even a bit cruel.
But she remembered her father's words: "Go see the real world."
Was this the real world?
Anna took a deep breath and signed her name below the line "Approved for Payment": Anna Clark.
This was her first time truly stepping into Felix's logical world...
Three in the afternoon.
Felix arrived at the Foundation.
He had just come from a Standard Oil board meeting, still carrying the scent of cigars.
"How are you adapting?"
Felix stood at Anna's desk and glanced at the signed document.
"It's alright, doesn't feel too difficult."
Anna closed the folder, trying to appear professional.
"I've checked all the receipts. Except for that... special service fee being a bit high, everything else is reasonable."
"High?" Felix smiled.
"Anna, believe me, that's the most cost-effective insurance in the world."
"By the way, are you free tonight?" Felix suddenly asked.
Anna's heart skipped a beat.
"Of course, is it for a business dinner?" She was somewhat expectant.
"No." Felix shook his head.
"Tonight I'm going to the telegraph office. Down South... there's going to be a big operation tonight. Since you're now in charge of the orphanage's accounts, I think you have the right to see where those five thousand dollars are actually spent."
"I want to go." Anna blurted out.
Felix looked at Catherine, who nodded slightly.
"Alright, if you insist." Felix said.
"However, there will only be paper tape coming out of the telegraph machine. It might be very boring, and very bloody."
"I'm not afraid."
Anna stood up and grabbed her coat.
She wanted to see, wanted to see what kind of person the polite gentleman at the dinner party truly was in reality.