Augusta sat in the large, imposing chairman's seat, her expression a mask of serious authority. Across the large polished desk sat two of the establishment's most senior advisors, their own faces a mixture of confusion and deep concern.
"Reduce the workers' wages?" one of them, Lord Ashworth, finally asked, his voice full of a shocked disbelief. "All of a sudden? Baroness, with all due respect, how does that make any sense at all?"
"We are in a time of crisis, my lord," Augusta replied, her voice calm and even, as if she were explaining the most simple and obvious of facts. "And we must all share in the suffering in a time like this. Is that not our job as the heads of this great establishment? To lead by example?"
