Three days passed before Phillip saw Crown Prince Adrien again.
Fonseine's delegation spent much of the interim touring Parliament, meeting with the Board of Trade, and navigating the dense thicket of British bureaucracy. News of Adrien's presence spread quickly; by the week's end, London's coffeehouses were filled with murmurs:
"The Crown Prince of Fonseine here for the Iron Road!"
"Will Britain export locomotives? Will we lose our advantage?"
"Is this the beginning of a new alliance—or a new rivalry?"
Phillip ignored the gossip as best he could. Imperial Dynamics had grown too large, too important, too visible for him to indulge in rumor. Every hour was consumed by reports from Shropshire, Manchester, Birmingham, and the new workshops rising along the Thames.
Still, he could not deny a certain tension in the air—one that had begun the moment Adrien stepped foot in London.
It wasn't hostility. Not yet.
