Winning the Covert Lady’s Heart (Ladies Covert Academy Book 3) by Jenny Hartwell

Author:Jenny Hartwell [Hartwell, Jenny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, romance, Historical
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2023-07-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Lydia stifled a yawn, surprised she was still so sleepy given all the hustle and bustle of the reformers gathering in her foyer.

The pamphlets had arrived earlier that morning. Young Timmy was delivering stacks to each woman from the box the printer had sent them in. Agatha was organizing the reformers into groups of three, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Smythe—who Lydia was relieved to find was up for a bit of good trouble and secret keeping—had suggested locations around town where working-class Londoners would be congregated and convenient for the reformers to approach.

Lydia was to be with Agatha’s pregnant daughter Grace and Harriet. Timmy was quite disappointed when told he would not be able to join his mother, but Harriet had calmly explained that if she were to be put in jail again, she would need Timmy to come and rescue her.

“But I don’t know how to break you out of jail!” Timmy had fretted.

Lydia had knelt down to his level and asked him a very important question. “Do you know what it means to pick a lock?”

Timmy shook his head, eyes wide.

Lydia glanced up at Harriet, who gave her a nod of approval. Lydia continued, “It’s a way to open a locked door without a key. And,” she paused for dramatic effect, “I know how.”

Timmy’s eyes gleamed.

“If you like,” Lydia said, keeping her voice casual, “I could show you what I know when we get back. That way, if you ever do need to rescue your mother from prison, you’ll know how to unlock the door.”

Timmy bounced on the balls of his feet with excitement. “Now I’ll always be able to get into mama and father’s bedroom.”

Lydia stood up and gave Harriet a quizzical look.

The woman blushed before leaning close to whisper, “We’re not the sort of people who lock doors in our home, but on occasion when my Harry wants a bit of privacy—for the two of us at night, if you catch my meaning—and we’re reasonably certain Timmy is asleep, well…”

Lydia’s face grew as hot as Harriet’s looked. She cleared her throat before replying, “Perhaps I’ll merely give Timmy a demonstration so he’s not able to…go where he shouldn’t.” She recalled something Harriet had mentioned and asked, “Your husband’s name is Harry?”

Harriet shook her head in amusement. “What a pair we are, Harriet and Harry. When I was pregnant, some in the village suggested we name our child Harvey, but thankfully, better sense prevailed.”

“It’s not too late,” Lydia teased. “Perhaps someday you’ll have a daughter, and you can name her Harmony.”

Harriet laughed, but then Agatha clapped her hands to get the group’s attention.

“I know we’ve gone over the plan, and we are prioritizing our safety,” their leader said, standing on the top step of the wide staircase. “But I just received a letter this morning from one of the leaders at the Blackburn Female Reform Society.”

Murmurs came from the group. The Blackburn Reformers had been the first all-women organization to form in the reform movement. This group, created in their hometown of Stafford, had been modeled after it.

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