Which was why, three days later, the Admiralty sent a messenger—not to London, not to Parliament, but directly to Shropshire Foundry.
Phillip was in the drafting hall, surrounded by apprentices sketching boiler schematics, when Henry burst in holding a sealed envelope.
He didn't knock.
He also didn't look calm.
"Phillip," he announced breathlessly, "they sent another one."
Phillip looked up from a cross-section drawing of a propeller shaft. "Another what?"
Henry held up the envelope, eyes wide. "From the Admiralty. Personally addressed. And this time— sealed with the Prime Minister's crest."
That made Phillip pause.
He wiped his stained hands with a cotton rag and took the letter. The red wax seal gleamed against the envelope—an unmistakable emblem of authority: crossed quills and laurel leaves.
He broke the seal carefully.
Inside:
Lord Phillip Wellington,
The Admiralty Board and the Cabinet desire a formal presentation regarding your proposed naval engine project.
