Lady Rights a Wrong by Eliza Casey

Author:Eliza Casey [Casey, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

It was a somber group that set out from Danby to the memorial service at the Guildhall. The car was filled with silence as they jolted along the lane. Cecilia and Jane were joined by Bridget, who was allowed the afternoon off to go with her aunt, Mrs. Palmer, to the service. Their dark clothes matched the gray day outside, and even Jack stayed in his basket and was quiet, after his clamoring to go with them. Jesse, who sat up front with Collins, had also come along to assist them.

The day seemed stage-set perfect for mourning, the sky low and heavy with rain, the air full of a strange, electric tension. Cecilia smoothed her black suede gloves and wished it was over and she was back home in front of the fire with a good book. On the other hand, this was possibly her last chance to see all the suspects in Mrs. Price’s death in one place.

The village was quiet as they drove to the Guildhall, the shops blank behind their closed windows, only a few intrepid walkers on the rainy green. Cecilia knew many of the Union ladies had already left the village, but there were still several gathered on the Guildhall steps, handing out black-bordered copies of Mrs. Price’s eulogy. Their white dresses and purple, green, and gold sashes were bright against the dismal day, except for the black bands on their sleeves and their tear-streaked faces. Whatever Mrs. Price’s private shortcomings may have been, her inspiration would be so much missed.

As Cecilia stepped from the car, she noticed a few people gathered on the walkway, watching the proceedings. One of them was Lord Elphin, who seemed strangely shrunken and gray. No disdainful laughter today. He held his hat in his hands, and she didn’t see any of his bullyboys backing him up, so hopefully he had come to make some peace.

“Isn’t that the unpleasant fellow who was here on the night of the rally, my lady?” Jesse asked quietly.

“Lord Elphin. Yes.” She remembered how he and his men had behaved on that night, when one of them shoved Mrs. Price and the anger ran high. “He seems quiet enough today, I think.”

“He doesn’t have his gang to back him up,” Jesse said, watching Lord Elphin with narrowed eyes. “Do you think he had something to do with Mrs. Price’s death?”

She had wondered the same thing, many times. Would such anger, such hatred at the thought of women living their own lives cause him or one of his ilk to lash out like that? “I don’t know. He certainly seemed furious that anyone not a landed, white male might demand rights. Perhaps he followed her back to Primrose Cottage to argue with her?”

“Shall I talk to him, then? See what he says after a pint or two at the Crown?” Jesse asked. “I’m not landed, but I am a white male. Maybe if I hinted that I might share his views . . .”

“How clever, Jesse! It’s quite true that he’d be sure to tell you things he would never tell someone like me.

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