New Gods of North America.

Chapter 706 Reconciliation
As the sun sets, the busiest time of the day for the detective agency members is about to begin again.

Wayne, with a peregrine falcon perched on his shoulder, was still watching Seth and the other scholars examine the small, manual printing press they had just bought.

Inessa and Lina had already left. The former was probably still worried that the hidden high-level extraordinary person or Jason would cause trouble again, while the latter was harder to guess and disappeared after noon.

In the city, a charity dinner aimed at sponsoring the education of local underprivileged children was beginning to welcome guests, with waiters and maids standing by in high spirits.
After all, some of the guests who might attend the banquet tonight are among the very elite in their respective industries, even in the whole city and Virginia.

With the influx of fashionable trends from the Old World, especially from the Kingdom of Windsor, many wealthy and powerful women in America began to pursue their own careers. However, unlike their husbands, these women had few careers that were allowed to be pursued in the public eye and that could also build their reputation. "Public welfare and charity" was the largest of these, without exception.

Incidentally, the second and third ranked industries are "art" and "collecting," respectively.

The dinner was hosted by Mrs. Letcher. While she didn't actually have much talent for organization, her title as the governor's wife still gave her considerable influence and appeal.

This stems partly from the unique advantages of "wife diplomacy." While husbands with sensitive positions might become too close without apparent reason, attracting suspicion from those with ulterior motives, the harmonious relationships between wives leading to frequent private interactions between several families are simply normal social interactions that no one can fault.

On the other hand, it probably comes down to historical origins. According to the aristocratic system that has been passed down for thousands of years in the Old World, women in most countries do not have the right to inherit titles or territories. Instead, their rights in the distribution of family property are reflected in their dowries, especially expensive jewelry. Therefore, noblewomen and young ladies naturally have the right to organize and participate in various social gatherings that are appropriate to their status; otherwise, those precious jewels would lose the opportunity to demonstrate their value.

In the United States at that time, a husband supporting his wife's career was an act that was "praised for doing so, and conversely, could directly lead to speculation of 'marital discord'." Therefore, husband and wife were of one mind, and Governor Letcher unsurprisingly also attended the dinner tonight.

The couple greeted guests at the entrance to the banquet hall inside the house, rather than at the main gate of the house, which some hosts would choose. This was not impolite, but not everyone is entitled to do so.

Mrs. Schwartz, the banker's wife, is a new and much-needed friend of Mrs. Leitch's. She seems equally enthusiastic about philanthropy and has provided Mrs. Leitch with considerable financial support.

So when the couple appeared, Mrs. Leitcher took her husband's arm and greeted them happily: "Welcome! Your presence adds to the splendor of tonight's banquet." After exchanging pleasantries, Mrs. Leitcher took Mrs. Schwartz's hand, and the two leaned close together to whisper intimately to each other.

Compared to the warm interaction between the two wives, the two husbands were polite and somewhat distant at this moment.
Mr. Schwartz glanced at the two ladies beside him who were chatting and laughing in hushed tones: “We admire your wife’s passion for public welfare. I plan to donate ten thousand US dollars tonight to support her philanthropy.”

“Thank you for your generosity.” Mr. Leitcher’s expression remained calm, with a polite and warm smile. He then leaned closer to him. “Andrew and his fiancée will also be attending the banquet tonight. If you have anything to say, please do so privately. Don’t embarrass our Secretary of State in public.”

"Don't worry. I always handle things with discretion," Mr. Schwarz nodded with a smile.

Despite already having a fiancée, the Secretary of State still has an affair with a beautiful widow who has inherited a large fortune, even putting him in competition with the younger members of the Beeton family.

On a smaller scale, a man with a fiancée is still considered a bachelor and has the right to pursue love. However, on a larger scale, in American politics, where "loyalty to family" is emphasized, being publicly exposed for pursuing a mistress is considered a breach of morality and a sign of incompetence in maintaining one's dignity. There are two types of scandals: one that spreads widely among the public but remains unnoticed in high society, and the other that is the opposite—the public may remain completely unaware until the very end, with the scandal circulating only within high society circles—the latter usually having a greater impact.

The Pryor family's marriage partner may lack in looks and charm, but their family background is certainly not bad. Using this matter as a bargaining chip, sacrificing the Secretary of State's future career and family stability in exchange for a temporary easing of a small conflict between them, is neither too lenient nor too harsh, which is just right.

The Secretary of State is, after all, a state official. Even though Mr. Schwartz has decided to strongly support his opponent in the upcoming election, causing him to lose power, he still has to guard against the opponent using the remaining time in office to find opportunities to target him.
Commerce falls right under the Secretary of State's jurisdiction. If the bank has any problems, the losses will be huge. Moreover, this Secretary of State's methods are indeed despicable. In just a few days, the Sailors Gang has been almost completely wiped out, forcing me to support a new gang leader and even have to recruit new people.

Otherwise, the smuggling channels he had painstakingly built up would be cut off at the crucial final stop in the dock area.

As guests arrived one after another, Mr. Schwarz, the banker, chatted with other guests in the banquet hall while waiting, secretly confirming the stage role he needed to play that evening.

The church's almshouse was one of the main destinations for the donations, and even Bishop Tyrell graced the occasion with his presence at this level of charity dinner; in the women's section, his own wife had already struck up a conversation with Mr. Pryor's fiancée, and several ladies were chatting together; and several politicians who were qualified to compete for the position of Secretary of State in the next term had also arrived one after another, and some of the scandals that Mr. Schwartz didn't even need to personally campaign for, as those with ulterior motives would naturally dig them up and make a fuss about them later.

The governor and secretary of state have never had a good relationship. Although Senator Walter is not currently in Richmond, he has been encouraging me to take action, and the cathedral recently accepted my donation, so I don't think he will take sides on this matter.
Even the city hall, which had initially been ambiguous, seemed to have completely lost the motivation to continue pursuing the matter after it hinted that the original sailors' property could be used as a "sacrifice" in the tax collection campaign.

So, temporarily appeasing Mr. Pryor with this matter shouldn't be a problem.

He probably wouldn't want to be embarrassed in front of these important figures by his easily emotional fiancée.

With everything prepared, the guests who made substantial donations at the dinner all received Mrs. Letcher's public thanks and a round of applause from the crowd.

Mr. Schwartz finally found an opportunity during the free time reserved for guests to exchange ideas to have a private conversation with the Secretary of State, who knew nothing about the matter and whose political career seemed to be slowly counting down.

"Fool. Do you think the reason the events at the previous hearing weren't leaked is because of something else? The reputation of the Price family is not something you nouveau riche who made your fortune through lending can tarnish!!"

To my surprise, the Secretary of State completely dismissed my reconciliation proposal. "The one who really crossed the line is you. Spend more money to save your life. Your involvement in smuggling contraband has been exposed, and the guests who are entitled to this are already holding their knives. When my ancestors were governors of Virginia, you ridiculous misers were probably still being expelled from the Old World by various countries."

"You should be grateful that this is a new continent; people will eat more civilly here."

(End of this chapter)