Valor Under Siege (The Honorables) by Elizabeth Boyce

Author:Elizabeth Boyce [Boyce, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2016-07-24T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The following morning found Norman looking down the length of Weatherhill Lane. Located on the eastern edge of Fleck, the stone-paved street was lined on one side with houses, while the land dropped away on the other side of the road to overlook a dell, through which ran the millstream where Sir Seymour had suffered his accident the previous day.

Each house on Weatherhill Lane had only a scrap of garden, but the residents had made the most of their little portions of earth. He unlatched the gate of the first house and stooped to pass beneath an arbor draped with wisteria vines. A middle-aged woman in a plain brown dress with a white apron tied about her waist answered his knock with a white apron tied about her waist.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Good morning, madam,” Norman said, touching the brim of his hat. “My name is Norman Wynford-Scott, and I am standing for the vacant Commons seat here in Fleck.”

“Are you now? Hmm.” She gave a nod of approval. “I’ve lived in Fleck all my life, and no one standing for Parliament has ever bothered coming to my door. Would you like to come in?”

“Jess, who’s there?” called a man’s voice.

“Mr. Wynford-Scott,” the woman returned over her shoulder. “Standing for Ben Jonson’s seat, he says.”

“What?” There was a clatter of crockery, and then the man of the house appeared, wiping his palms down the front of his waistcoat. “The Whig, are you, young man?”

“Yes, sir.” Norman extended his hand. “Norman Wynford-Scott, at your service, sir.”

“John Gregory, at yours. My word, that’s quite a grip you’ve got there, young man. I suppose you’re here to persuade me to vote for you.”

Norman chuckled. “I would be honored to have your vote if you feel I’ve earned it. Mostly, however, I wanted to introduce myself and ask what issues are on your mind and discuss what the government can do to help address those problems.”

Husband and wife exchanged an impressed look. Gregory placed a hand on his chest and mummed a chest pain. “The Lord might as well take me now, for I’ve seen it all. A politician asking what he can do for me!”

They passed a lively ten minutes discussing matters ranging from taxation to refuse disposal. Mr. Gregory shook Norman’s hand again before he departed and pledged his vote. Norman was smiling wide as he knocked on the next door. Robin Alderly had offered to come along with the registry of electors so Norman would know ahead of time who dwelt in each house, but Norman preferred to do things this way, learning about Fleck’s constituents from the people themselves, rather than from a ledger.

In the next house dwelt two spinster sisters. There was no vote there for Norman to earn, but that did not stop them from voicing their opinions on civic matters large and small. “Agatha, what was it you said about the window tax? Do you remember? Oh, a year or so ago, I suppose. No, I didn’t think to mark the date! It was so clever, Mr.

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