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You withdraw to your cabin and have Mitzi draw a bath for you. On the Empress, there is no need to heat the water separately - it has a steam boiler that allows hot water to be drawn in every cabin. Letting your skin soak in this luxury, you close your eyes and immerse yourself fully into the water. As your ears disappear below the surface, the hubbub of the airship subsides and all that is left are the faint, low, rhythmic thuds of the propellers. You are alone with your thoughts.
You turn over in your head what would happen next. A private supper - nothing unheard of, but you would need to find a way to minimize rumours that are sure to follow. The goal is to scout out his cabin. Perhaps learn more of this sudden source of wealth. Even if you achieve nothing else, getting better acquainted might put you in a better position to strike in the future.
You do feel a bit guilty for hiding your true purpose from him. For all you know, you are about to ruin him. Alejandro has done nothing but be a gracious host to a foreign noblewoman whom he just recently met.
But Newt has promised a very handy payout if you secure this unknown despatch you are supposed to be after. The monetary compensation almost matches the price you can get for selling off the necklace. But much, much more importantly, he has promised you to return the letter. Of course, you will be burning the letter the moment you get your hands on it, and you will have nothing to do with Newt again. From the moment the letter ceases to exist, your debt becomes more or less irrelevant. You can live off the prize from this job all the way until you are married to Frederick within a year or two, and at that point the debt will be a thing of the past. You will spend the rest of your life as a von Ortmueller, becoming a Grafin (countess) when Frederick's old man kicks the bucket.
Every time you do a task for Newt, someone implicated in that gets ruined in one way or the other. Alejandro will just be another name on that list. So why does it feel so different?
