thought of that ages ago,” she whispered back. “When I went out for air I sent a boy round with a note saying we’d decided to stay at your house for the night instead.”
It was nearly midnight when the vote was taken and, before anyone said Aye or Nay, Lily knew it would not go in their favour. The men below looked tired and cross: a fug of blue pipe-smoke and cigar-smoke hung in the air, and the men who were in favour of the women’s vote would not hold out all night against those who so eloquently opposed it. They wanted to sweep the matter away, to be done with it so they could go home to their beds, beds no doubt occupied by docile wives who never questioned their place.
“We’ve lost, we’ve lost,” Mrs. Ohman muttered under her breath as the men recorded their votes one by one. Mrs. Peters put her face in her hands when the tally was recorded: fourteen votes in favour of women’s franchise, seventeen against. And then the session was over, and the members below filed out of the hall, and the ladies in the gallery did the same. They were quiet now, shoulders sagging, hats no longer jaunty. No thought of singing, now.
Outside, the night sky was black and the air cool and bracing. Only Abby seemed to have any spirit left. “Out ’til after midnight!”she said, squeezing Lily’s arm. “What a lark! Don’t worry, we can slip in through the servants’ door. I’ve promised Sadie a pair of silk stockings if she keeps quiet.”
Lily watched as the women moved away in twos and threes, stepping into waiting carriages, disappearing into the night without calling goodbyes to each other, as though they had not even the spirit left to be civil. “What happens in the morning?” she said, falling into step beside Abby. “You’ve sent a message saying we’re at my house. What will your mother think when we come down to breakfast in the morning in your house?”
“Silly Lily, always worrying,” Abby said. “You read the Bible so much, don’t you know ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’? Tomorrow will look after itself. I’ll be sure to think of something.”
Lily
CHAPTER NINE
T HE DAY AFTER the vote in the House of Assembly, Lily walked home from Abby’s house where, as Abby had predicted, Mrs. Hayward was already out by the time they rose and did not question at which house the girls had spent the night. Back at her own home, Lily found her own mother lying down with a damp cloth over her eyes. She asked in a faint voice whether Lily had had a nice time at Abigail’s. It seemed the deception had worked perfectly.
But to what end, Lily wondered. She had deceived her parents, gone somewhere Papa would never have approved, believing she was there to watch history unfold. Instead she had listened to learned and wealthy men talk about women and their place in the home. Mrs. Ohman, Mrs. Peters, and Lady Thorburn, who had all seemed so strong and confident when speaking at Temperance Hall, were reduced to chidden little girls. It scarcely even mattered that fourteen men had voted in favour of the motion: once the bill was defeated it felt as if every man in Newfoundland had told the ladies to stay in their place and keep silent.
In the early afternoon, Mrs. Ohman came to Lily’s front door.She gestured to her carriage, pulled up in front of the Hunts’ door. Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Withycombe, and Martha Withycombe were inside. “Come for a drive with us,” she said. “Disappointment shared is disappointment halved, I’ve always believed.”
“Last night’s vote will set back the cause of temperance ten years,” said Mrs. Withycombe as the carriage rolled down King’s Bridge Road.
“Not to mention the cause of women’s emancipation,” said Mrs. Peters.
Mrs. Withycombe frowned. “Well, perhaps if the members of the Assembly hadn’t got the idea that we were going to push for the full franchise next, they would have been more eager to give us the vote in the local option.
It was nearly midnight when the vote was taken and, before anyone said Aye or Nay, Lily knew it would not go in their favour. The men below looked tired and cross: a fug of blue pipe-smoke and cigar-smoke hung in the air, and the men who were in favour of the women’s vote would not hold out all night against those who so eloquently opposed it. They wanted to sweep the matter away, to be done with it so they could go home to their beds, beds no doubt occupied by docile wives who never questioned their place.
“We’ve lost, we’ve lost,” Mrs. Ohman muttered under her breath as the men recorded their votes one by one. Mrs. Peters put her face in her hands when the tally was recorded: fourteen votes in favour of women’s franchise, seventeen against. And then the session was over, and the members below filed out of the hall, and the ladies in the gallery did the same. They were quiet now, shoulders sagging, hats no longer jaunty. No thought of singing, now.
Outside, the night sky was black and the air cool and bracing. Only Abby seemed to have any spirit left. “Out ’til after midnight!”she said, squeezing Lily’s arm. “What a lark! Don’t worry, we can slip in through the servants’ door. I’ve promised Sadie a pair of silk stockings if she keeps quiet.”
Lily watched as the women moved away in twos and threes, stepping into waiting carriages, disappearing into the night without calling goodbyes to each other, as though they had not even the spirit left to be civil. “What happens in the morning?” she said, falling into step beside Abby. “You’ve sent a message saying we’re at my house. What will your mother think when we come down to breakfast in the morning in your house?”
“Silly Lily, always worrying,” Abby said. “You read the Bible so much, don’t you know ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’? Tomorrow will look after itself. I’ll be sure to think of something.”
Lily
CHAPTER NINE
T HE DAY AFTER the vote in the House of Assembly, Lily walked home from Abby’s house where, as Abby had predicted, Mrs. Hayward was already out by the time they rose and did not question at which house the girls had spent the night. Back at her own home, Lily found her own mother lying down with a damp cloth over her eyes. She asked in a faint voice whether Lily had had a nice time at Abigail’s. It seemed the deception had worked perfectly.
But to what end, Lily wondered. She had deceived her parents, gone somewhere Papa would never have approved, believing she was there to watch history unfold. Instead she had listened to learned and wealthy men talk about women and their place in the home. Mrs. Ohman, Mrs. Peters, and Lady Thorburn, who had all seemed so strong and confident when speaking at Temperance Hall, were reduced to chidden little girls. It scarcely even mattered that fourteen men had voted in favour of the motion: once the bill was defeated it felt as if every man in Newfoundland had told the ladies to stay in their place and keep silent.
In the early afternoon, Mrs. Ohman came to Lily’s front door.She gestured to her carriage, pulled up in front of the Hunts’ door. Mrs. Peters, Mrs. Withycombe, and Martha Withycombe were inside. “Come for a drive with us,” she said. “Disappointment shared is disappointment halved, I’ve always believed.”
“Last night’s vote will set back the cause of temperance ten years,” said Mrs. Withycombe as the carriage rolled down King’s Bridge Road.
“Not to mention the cause of women’s emancipation,” said Mrs. Peters.
Mrs. Withycombe frowned. “Well, perhaps if the members of the Assembly hadn’t got the idea that we were going to push for the full franchise next, they would have been more eager to give us the vote in the local option.
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