He matched his pace to hers, savoring the nearness of her. She smelled of disinfectant, and her auburn hair was limp and her clothes creased, but he didn’t think he’d ever seen a more beautiful female. He really had no idea if his mother planned to keep her near, but he would suggest it to her at the first opportunity. At least he didn’t have to worry about her disappearing of her own accord. There were a few advantages to a woman being in police custody.
A guard opened the door for them, and he escorted Miss Miles back into the courtroom. No one noticed their return because the judge was chastising Whittaker and his bunch again. Some of the women on the back row moved over to make room for Elizabeth, and he relinquished her to them with regret. The next time they met, all the rules of propriety would be back in force, and he wouldn’t be able to hold her in his arms.
At least not at first.
He found a spot along the back wall to stand, just behind her. He wanted to stay close in case she fainted again, he told himself.
A murmur of surprise rumbled through the courtroom, distracting him from thoughts of the luscious Miss Elizabeth Miles. The judge banged his gavel for silence, and when he had it, he gave them his decision. Like all judges, he had to explain his reasoning and cite some laws, but in the end, he said all the women would be remanded to the custody of the superintendent of the Washington jail.
Judge Waddill had to bang his gavel again for order, and the government’s attorneys jumped up and announced they would appeal the verdict.
“In that case,” Judge Waddill said, taking obvious delight in thwarting their maneuver, “all the prisoners are at liberty to be paroled to the custody of their legal counsel until such time as the appeal has been heard.”
“No!”
Gideon glanced at Elizabeth in surprise. Had she really said no to being released?
Mr. O’Brien was thanking the judge, but Elizabeth was signaling that she wanted to speak with him. The women around her started whispering, probably questioning her about why she’d protested being freed, and when she’d whispered back her reply, they all started waving for O’Brien.
Having little choice, O’Brien asked for a moment to confer with his clients. The judge allowed a brief recess, during which no one actually left the courtroom while the women conferred, first with each other as Elizabeth explained her concerns, and then with their attorneys. Gideon tried to join them, but a couple of the guards escorted him back to the spectators’ side of the room, where he sat down beside David again.
“What’s going on?” David asked.
“Apparently, the women aren’t too happy about being released.” Miss Miles hadn’t been, at least.
“That’s ridiculous! Why wouldn’t they want to be released?”
Gideon figured he knew. He’d just explained it to Elizabeth out in the hallway.
After a few more minutes of hushed discussion among the women and their legal counsel, O’Brien and his cohorts returned to their seats, and the judge called everyone to order again.
“Your honor,” O’Brien said. “I have conferred with my clients, and they have reminded me that many of them have come from great distances to join in the demonstrations at the White House. They would all like to return to their homes, but if the appeal is not decided in their favor, they will have to return to Washington to serve the remainder of their sentences. Their only other option is to remain in Washington until the appeal is heard, at great expense and personal inconvenience. Therefore, they would like to be allowed to remain in custody at the Washington jail to serve out the remainder of their sentences while the appeal is being decided.”
The judge considered this very unusual request and allowed that he could see the logic in it. Hearing no objection from the government’s attorneys, he again remanded the prisoners to Warden Zinkhan’s custody.
Gideon managed to catch Elizabeth’s eye across the crowded courtroom, and to his gratification, she smiled.
? ? ?
Elizabeth wondered what the Old Man would say if he knew how happy she was at the prospect of staying in jail. But after she’d gone to so much trouble to get there, she couldn’t lose her safe haven just yet. She was still amazed at how easy it had been to convince the other women to stay in jail, and thank heaven Gideon Bates had given her the idea. At least they’d be going to a slightly more comfortable place and the hunger strike could end. Anna wouldn’t last much longer if it didn’t. Neither would she, come to that. Now she could get her strength back and be ready to make her escape when they finally were released.
The guards were rounding up the women now, herding them to the wagons. They’d be going straight to the depot to catch a train to Washington. Elizabeth pushed her way through the milling women to find Anna. She still lay strapped to the stretcher, but she was smiling up at Mrs. Bates when Elizabeth reached them.
“We’re going back to Washington,” Anna told her.
“I know. You’re going to get better now. It’s just a few more hours.”
“How are you, Elizabeth?” Mrs. Bates asked. “I was so frightened when you fainted.”
“I’m fine,” she lied. Her head still felt as if someone were hitting it with a mallet, but she didn’t see any point in complaining. All the women were miserable. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I can’t believe I’m doing better than both you girls, but yes, I’m fine, too.”
They had no more time to talk. Two guards picked up Anna’s stretcher and they had to hurry to keep up. The trip to the station was one final agony of bouncing on wooden seats over rutted roads, but at last they were on the train. Elizabeth got Anna tucked into the seat beside her, and Mrs. Bates found them as the train pulled away from the station.
“How long do you think they’ll let us stay at the jail?” Elizabeth asked her.
“What an odd way to put it,” Mrs. Bates said, taking a seat across the aisle from her. “You sound as if you want to stay in jail.”
She did, of course, but she said, “I’m just wondering how long until the appeal, because surely, they’ll let us go then. I’m worried about Anna,” Elizabeth said, surprised to realize it wasn’t a lie.
“I’m worried about her, too, but it won’t be much longer before they let us all go.”
“It won’t?”
“Oh no. Only a matter of days, I expect. They can’t force-feed forty women any better at the Washington jail than they could at the workhouse, and they can’t afford for any of us to die just a few blocks from the White House.”
Elizabeth managed not to flinch. “Then we’re continuing the hunger strike.”
“Of course. It’s our most valuable weapon in the struggle. I know it’s hard, but it won’t be much longer now, I promise you.”
“What about Anna?”
Mrs. Bates glanced over to see if Anna was listening, but she appeared to be asleep. “I’m going to tell her she must end her strike. She’s proven how brave she can be, and the rest of us can carry the burden from now on.”
“She won’t listen,” Elizabeth said.
Mrs. Bates reached across the aisle and took Elizabeth’s hand. “We won’t let her die, I promise you.”
The train ride from the courthouse in Alexandria to Washington wasn’t long, but when they pulled into the station, the guards told the women to remain in their seats.