There was a time he would have agreed with them, would have approved what they had done. But now . . . he calculated the earliest time he might pay Leorah a visit.
If only it weren’t too late to call on her now. God, let her believe me when I tell her that those men were not sanctioned by me to say such things to her.
“Oh no.” He groaned. He could not call on her in the morning. He was attending the children’s education rally tomorrow. Would Miss Langdon be there? Would he be able to speak with her privately enough to address this matter? Let it be so.
Leorah dressed carefully for the rally. Mr. Mayson was sending a manservant with her, and he was not allowing Felicity to go along. There had been an incident at a political rally several weeks earlier during which a man had begun shooting. He’d been apprehended by some former soldiers standing nearby before anyone had been hurt, but it was fresh in Felicity’s parents’ minds.
“You look lovely, Leorah.” Felicity frowned as she helped her on with her yellow muslin spencer with pink trim. “I only wish I were going with you. I could watch Lord Withinghall’s reaction to you while you are ignoring him.”
“Oh, I shan’t ignore him. I shall walk right up to him and dare him to snub me.”
“You’re so brave, Leorah. Nothing frightens you. I wish I could be more like you.”
“You are very brave too. In fact, I see a great tenacity in you. If faced with danger, you would frighten someone twice your size.”
Felicity laughed, such a merry sound. “You could be right.”
“Besides, I don’t think I’m brave so much as . . . a bit cynical and angry.”
Felicity shook her head. “You are such an honest person, Leorah, and also quite modest.”
“I’m grateful your father is allowing me to go to the rally and is sending his manservant, but I do wish you could come and keep me company,” Leorah said. “We would surely have something interesting to talk over on the way home.”
“Just be sure to tell me all about it when you return.”
Leorah promised she would and stepped into the Maysons’ carriage.
She arrived to find that the rally was in a field by the roadside where someone had built a platform and strung a curtain over a length of rope as a backdrop.
Lord Withinghall stood in a small group near the stage. He was hard to miss, as tall as he was and wearing a black top hat. He was talking with an older woman with a cane and a large gray bonnet. Was it? Yes, it was Miss Hannah More.
Leorah approached them both as she had told Felicity she would, first greeting Miss More and then Lord Withinghall.
“It is lovely weather for a political rally. Lord Withinghall, I hope you and your speech are ready.”
“Yes, I thank you, Miss Langdon. And your friend Miss Felicity Mayson is well, I hope?”
“Oh yes. Her father thought it best if she stayed home. Men always feel free to tell women where they should go and with whom they should speak—or with whom they should not. Isn’t that so, my lord?”
Lord Withinghall looked into her eyes. “Yes, and some men overstep their bounds and pretend to act on someone else’s behalf when their actions have not been sanctioned.”
Leorah bestowed a smile upon him for that answer.
“And I am very sorry that you were put upon. I hope you at least will not hold it against me.”
“I have no notion what you are speaking of,” Miss Hannah More said in a loud tone, “but I shall go and sit in the seat my servant has brought me. Good day, Miss Langdon, Lord Withinghall.” So saying, she moved away to the chair her servant was placing at the front and center of the platform.
“Nevertheless,” Leorah said to the viscount, “I do not wish to harm your political career, for you are a decent person and a good leader, and Parliament needs all the decent members it can get. Therefore, I shall bid you a good day and not stand here talking with you and no one else.”
He opened his mouth as if to speak, but in that moment his name was called, and Lord Matherly and Lord Crenshaw hustled him up to the platform.
Lord Blakeney introduced him, extolling his many virtues as well as touting his impressive record of never being absent from a vote and always voting according to his infallible sense of morality and adherence to God’s law.
He did look tall and regal and authoritative standing up in front of about two hundred people with his speech in his hand. Indeed, he was very well spoken, and Leorah drank in every word as he pledged to help the poor to educate their children so that they could have a better future. He promised to do what no one had been willing to do up until then, which was to pass a law making it easier for all towns and villages to open schools that would be available to everyone for low or no cost, schools for girls as well as boys.
Leorah positioned her parasol to block the rays of the sun that were feebly penetrating the clouds overhead. The Maysons’ servant stood guard an appropriate distance away from her. On the other side of her, several men stood watching Lord Withinghall. The nearest one was rather short and nondescript, wearing the worn, slouchy clothing of a workman. He kept his hand in his coat pocket.
The crowd applauded for Lord Withinghall at the beginning of his speech, and a few people cheered at various other points. Leorah could not resist clapping her hands, and her heart soared at the sincerity in his voice and his earnest expression.
Leorah glanced around. There were very few women at the rally, but the ones who were there were bluestocking spinsters who gazed at Lord Withinghall as if he were the King of England—or at least the Prince Regent. Truly, his new valet had done an amazing job of making him more fashionable. And he did stand very tall and with great confidence—he had obviously had a lot of practice speaking in front of a crowd—but it was the earnestness in his eyes that was attracting them like moths to a flame. They could not look away.
At least, for Leorah it was the earnestness in his eyes. Did the other women’s hearts flutter as they wondered if he was looking at them? Did they wonder if he thought they were pretty or thought of them at all?
These ladies had rejoiced that Lord Withinghall had decided not to marry the cold and formal Miss Norbury, and they dreamed of what it might be like to be the viscount’s wife. They wondered if he would ignore his wife, spending all his time on politics and parliamentary duties—or if he would show the same passion for her that he did for his work.
Or so Leorah imagined.
Lord Withinghall continued to speak about the bill he was introducing in the House of Lords and the great benefits that would come from the widespread education of those who previously could not afford education for their children.
Leorah could not help noticing how tense the man beside her seemed. He took off his flimsy hat and wiped his brow on his sleeve. His back was stiff, and his movements seemed exaggerated and slow. And all the while he kept his right hand buried deep in his coat pocket.