A Lady's Undoing by Lorelai Ryan

Author:Lorelai Ryan [Ryan, Lorelai]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472095206
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Helena squeezed through the throng of women. She’d waited for her father to leave for the big parade and then headed to Mansion House, the Mayor’s final destination. The street was already full and the air was rife with chants and yells. As she manoeuvred through the crowd, familiar faces and some unfamiliar ones too, clutched her arm or offered their wishes of luck.

Helena knew it had nothing to do with luck. She would end the day in a prison cell. Worse, she would end the day with Arthur hating her. It was all worth it she told herself but she couldn’t bring herself to think about how angry he would be with her. She held back the sting of tears. Today she would be strong to the end.

As she neared the front of the crowd she stared up at Arthur’s mayoral home. She hoped he would not see her ruining his big day. That would certainly be too much to take, but the procession would already be on its way towards them.

There didn’t seem to be any police presence as yet but Helena knew they would be on the scene soon. She pulled out a chain from her bag and tied it around her wrists, looping it through the railings and padlocking herself to her fate. A fellow suffragette handed her a megaphone. Helena scanned the crowd hoping to see her father. He needed to realise that she wouldn’t buckle under his hand as her mother had. For a socialite like her father this was the embarrassing punishment he deserved.

‘Are you alright?’ One of the other girls called to her, shaking her from her thoughts.

‘Yes I’m fine,’ she lied. She knew she was following her destiny but this was a permanent goodbye to Arthur and whatever could have become of them.

‘Are we ready to go?’

‘On your signal.’ The other woman didn’t look scared at all and she had a lot more to lose. She was married with two young children yet she was putting the importance of suffrage ahead of all that. What Helena shared with Arthur was nothing more than lust. She had to cling to that thought or else she would have pulled free from the chains and run into his arms, abandoning the protest.

‘Votes for women,’ Helena began the chants.

‘Votes for all,’ the crowd replied.

‘Men must listen,’

‘Or else we’ll make them.’

Helena noticed the first sign of the procession in the distance. Some of the women started spitting at the ground or at policeman as they arrived on the scene. Others set light to their banners causing shrieks and shoving in the crowd. For the first time Helena felt scared. This was the pinnacle of her life, she was breaking the law and she was going to be locked up. It was only the start of the long fight ahead of her. She had to keep chanting to keep her mind from the gravity of what she was doing.

‘Our freedom is a lie.’

‘Votes will make us free.

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