The Unseen(25)

The local meeting hall had been decked out in purple, white and green; from the sashes, flags and swags of bunting that hung from every banister and balustrade, to the sprays of flowers in vases that stood all around, dousing the air with their scent. Huge banners wafted gently overhead. One proclaimed: Who Would Be Free Themselves Must Strike the Blow! Another bore the graceful likeness of Emmeline Pankhurst, and praised her Daring Rectitude, calling her a Champion of Womanhood. There was a bustle and a hum of excitement, and Cat and Tess stayed on their feet at the back, overawed by the grandness of the ladies seated towards the front, who seemed to know each other well. Never before had they been in the same room as upper- and middle-class women, and yet been on the same footing as them. For Tess, that was enough. It was enough to be counted as a person, to count for something for a while. But for Cat, it was the words that were spoken, the arguments she heard that night from the various speakers, that shook her to her very core; seemed to shake her awake for the first time in her life.

‘A man may be drunk, or mad, or a convicted criminal; he may be lame, unfit for military service, or a keeper of white slaves, and yet he may vote! A woman may be mayor, or nurse, or mother; she may be learned in medicine, and be a doctor or a teacher; she may work and support herself and her family in industrial factories, and yet she may not vote! A soiled dove may be taken, if she is found to be infected by venereal disease, and kept against her will for many months until the infection has been treated, and yet there is no penalty for the men who have frequented and infected her! A husband may beat his wife, and indulge all his many urges upon her body, and she has no recourse to refuse him. A man may philander before he weds, and try himself with several female partners, and still he may go on to make an honourable partnership – and yet these women he has known are cast out by society!’

At this Tess had giggled, and coloured up, and Cat shushed her, gripping her hands to still her.

‘While only men can vote, only men’s economic grievances will be addressed by the government of this country. Our opponents point out that we have not the earning power of men: well, how can we have when all the most lucrative and important positions are barred to us – by men? As long as a woman has no political power, then she will have no economic power, and will remain at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to earnings. Until parliament is made responsible to us as voters, none of these inequalities, none of these imbalances will be addressed! They say that if we have the vote, women will no longer listen to men, and all will descend into chaos. We say, why should men not listen to women for once? Comrades! Spread the word! Give up your time; give up your money if you can. Raise up your voices and make yourselves heard!’

There was enthusiastic applause, and then the presentation of a medal to a frail lady, whose brown dress matched the brown hollows under her eyes, and who had recently come out of prison for disrupting a Liberal Party meeting. The woman pinned the medal to her dress, then spoke in a reedy voice of her ordeal, thanking her sisters for all their support, and vowing to fight on. She was given a standing ovation.

‘Let’s go, Cat – we’d better. It’s almost four o’clock,’ Tess whispered urgently, as the speaker stepped down.

‘Not yet. I want to ask what we can do!’

‘What do you mean, Cat? Do about what?’

‘Did you mean for this to be our first and last outing, then? Don’t you want to help them? Be one of them?’ Cat asked incredulously.

‘Be one of them?’ Tess echoed, with a startled smile.

‘You heard what she said! Why shouldn’t we have the vote? Why should I earn less than the hall boy, when I am older and have worked longer and hold a higher position than he?’

‘But … it’s not for the likes of us – we’ve got duties to attend to. Look at all those rich women! They’ve the time and money to take part. What have we got?’

‘And we’ll always have no time, and no money, and duties to attend to, if we never do anything about it. Don’t you want to be part of something?’ Cat demanded, giving Tess a little shake. Tess’s eyes were wide, and she swallowed, but in the end she nodded.

‘I do, Cat. If you’ll be there with me. I do want to be part of it,’ she said, looking up at Cat with gentle wonder.

‘Good.’ Cat smiled. ‘Come on. Let’s ask what we can do.’ They gathered leaflets, and paid a penny for a copy of Votes for Women, and learnt the whereabouts of their local WSPU office, where they could go and pay a shilling to join, and sign the declaration of allegiance.