That evening, Viscount Olivier emerged from the ballroom, exhausted.
But once he climbed into the carriage waiting outside Count Sheremetev's Estate, leaned back, and popped a piece of sugar into his mouth, a relieved smile appeared on his face.
At the ball, he had finally reached an agreement with Nikola Rumyantsev. Rumyantsev would buy a 20% stake in his Donbas coal mine and ironworks for 130,000 rubles—more than 500,000 francs.
By his company's valuation, Olivier stood to lose roughly 50,000 francs on the deal. Given how rapidly the company was growing, the real loss was greater still.
But the Crown Prince had instructed him to do it, so he had.
In fact, he had already sold off—or practically given away—large blocks of shares to powerful Russian figures such as Duke Kurakin and Prince Yusupov. He now held only 15% himself.
These men wielded real power in Russia. Nikola Rumyantsev's father was an Imperial Marshal, Duke Kurakin had immense influence in diplomacy, and the Yusupov family held sway across southern Russia.
Though Viscount Olivier had lost hundreds of thousands of francs, he was thrilled. The Crown Prince had promised that, once Olivier returned to Paris, he would join the Industrial Development Fund as one of its Twenty Commissioners. That was no small distinction in France's business world.
The Crown Prince had also told him of vast coalfields in central Westphalia, where his company would receive priority mining rights.
He had read in the newspapers that the North German Confederation had signed an agreement with France. French companies could invest and build factories there, and the states of North Germany would even recognize French patents.
Years ago, he had taken the Crown Prince's advice and ventured to Donbas with a hundred or so workers. In just eight years, he had earned more