The Return of the Raven Mocker by Donis Casey

Author:Donis Casey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, Inc.
Published: 2016-10-14T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

How Sophronia Threw a Wrench in Alafair’s Carefully Laid Plans

Martha pushed her empty soup bowl away. “Have you seen the Index today, Mama?”

“No, Alice’s paperboy hasn’t come by for days. He’s likely sick. Why? Is the war going badly?”

“No, just the opposite. It looks like the Hindenburg line is crumbling. Mr. Kirby thinks Germany can’t last much longer.”

“Oh, that’s the best news I’ve heard in a while!”

“The paper also said that the suffrage amendment failed to pass the Senate by two votes.”

Alafair knew the Constitutional amendment granting the vote to women was a cause dear to Martha’s heart. “I’m sorry, honey. But they knew it was going to be close, didn’t they?”

“Yes. But I was hoping against hope. The reasons they come up with to not pass it are so stupid. Some Suffragette in Montana spit on the flag so all Suffragettes are anti-American?”

“Martha, I doubt if anybody really believes that. I think they’ll get back to it and it’ll pass when the war is over.”

“It’ll be something else after the war. Just wait and see. Ma, why do men think they need to control women? What do they think we’re going to do? Sneak out of bed in the middle of the night and murder them all? It’s men who are dangerous, to my observation. Look at this horrible war. If women ran the world there wouldn’t be any war.”

Alafair gave Martha a speculative glance before she replied. Martha had been asking some version of this same question since she was a little girl. Alafair was beginning to wonder what sort of answer Martha wanted from her. It didn’t satisfy her when her mother told her to go about her business and ignore any slights and insults that some misguided member of the male race inflicted on her. Even though Martha was happily married to a man who, as far as Alafair knew, treated her as an equal, she had been growing increasingly discontent with her lot over the past few years. The fact that the suffrage movement had stalled seemed to have added a layer of cynicism to Martha’s view of the world. “Not all men are like that, sugar.”

Martha sighed. “Oh, I know it. Don’t listen to me. I’m just in a horn-tossing mood.” Her eyes welled and a tear spilled down her cheek. “I miss Streeter. He’s always on my side.”

Alafair stood to give her a hug. There was not much else she could do. “You need to go home and get some sleep, sugar. Things will look better in the…” She paused and cocked an ear toward the parlor. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Somebody is on the front porch. Law, I hope one of the girls hasn’t taken a notion to get up and take a stroll.” She hurried into the parlor with Martha on her heels. A quick check found both the Kelleys and the orphan girls in their beds. Alafair was heading for the front door when it opened and Sophronia stepped in.

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