Page 47 of Rivals at Ashmore Castle

He looked up. ‘Eh? Oh, I don’t want to bother you with stuff, in your condition.’

‘Please bother me,’ she said, smiling. ‘I have so little to do “in my condition”. And if something’s upset you, I need to know about it.’

He gave her the look of fondness, as if he couldn’t believe he deserved her love – that was his usual expression, these days, when he talked to her. ‘Aye, that’s like you! I couldn’t want a better wife, nor find one if I searched the world.’

‘Yes, but what’s upset you?’ Nina insisted. She found his declarations a little embarrassing, welcome though it was to know how much he loved her.

‘Oh, it’s something at the factory. My foreman. Parker – an excellent chap – he came to me as I was leaving to say some female has been hanging around talking to my women and upsetting them.’

‘Some female?’

‘Aye, some woman or other, down from London – though Parker said she had a northern accent. One of these suffragists, talking nonsense to them about votes for women. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, getting ’em all stirred up about how bad they’re being treated by their employer. That’s me!’ he concluded, on a rising note of indignation. ‘As if I wasn’t known as the fairest employer in the town. Let ’em go to the foundry or the brewery or the coachworks if they don’t like working at my factory – that’d soon learn ’em!’

Nina felt a sinking sensation. A woman down from London with a northern accent? Surely that must be Aggie Summers. ‘I’m sure everyone knows you’re a fair employer,’ she said feebly.

His face was reddening. ‘Talking about equal pay! Equal pay for women!’

‘But shouldn’t they have equal pay?’ she said hesitantly.

‘And how d’you think the men would feel about that, eh? I’d have a walk-out.’

‘But if they’re doing the same work—’

‘They never are doing the same work, are they? It’s all a lot of nonsense dreamed up by those London intellectuals, sitting about in their salons.’ He gave the word a withering contempt. ‘Never done a day’s work in their lives, but they think they can tell hard-grafting folk how to run their businesses. I employ women at certain jobs because they’ve got nimbler fingers, but they couldn’t do the work the men do. And I pay them the rate the work can support. What good would it do paying ’em sky-high wages if I went bust and the factory closed? They’d all be out of work and on the parish. I’d like to see that suffragist woman preaching to ’em in the workhouse! Aye, and I’d be in there too, and who’d care for you and the baby? By golly, If I see her hanging around…’ His hands clenched and unclenched. ‘I’ve never hit a woman and I never will, but I’d be tempted! No, I’ll have her put in charge, that’s what I’ll do, and she can see how she likes it in a prison cell, preaching to the walls.’

From what Nina had heard, the new militant women of the WSPU liked being sent to gaol – it brought attention to their campaign – but she wouldn’t say that to Mr Cowling.

Polly came out with a tray and placed the glass of whisky and soda in front of him, and he took a bracing gulp and began to calm down. Nina waited until they were alone again and the redness had almost gone from his face, before she spoke. She was afraid that what she had to say might make him angry again, but she was not going to keep any more secrets from him if she could help it.

‘I think I know who the woman is,’ she said.

He was taking a second mouthful, tried to speak at the same time, and choked. He dragged out his handkerchief and spluttered into it, then wiped his lips and said, ‘How could you know that?’

‘Lady Clemmie has someone staying with her, a suffragist from London called Mrs Aggie Summers. She brought her here to see me one day.’

‘You didn’t tell me.’

‘Oh, it was just a social visit. She and Clemmie were talking about a deputation they’re taking part in to the prime minister about votes for women – Clemmie’s going to make a speech.’

He approved of Lady Clemmie. He couldn’t say anything bad about her. ‘Well, I suppose a deputation is respectable enough. She’s a perfect lady, is Lady Clemmie, she’d never do anything that wasn’t right. This woman must have imposed on her. Aye, a gentle soul like her would be easy prey to one of these coarse women that go about shouting their rights. Couldn’t you have a word with her, Nina love, put her on her guard?’

‘I don’t think I could do that. She’s older than me, she knows what she’s about.’

‘Did she know this Mrs – whatever – was going to go bothering my women?’

‘Um – yes, I think so. It was discussed.’ Nina was getting nervous. This was coming too close to home.

‘You heard them talking about it? And you never told me?’

‘I – I didn’t think there was any harm in just talking to people. I didn’t think you’d mind. They didn’t say they thought you were a bad employer—’

‘I should bloody well hope not! Oh, I beg your pardon. Forgive me. But, really, Nina, how could you think I wouldn’t mind strangers interfering with my factory hands?’

‘I’m sorry,’ she said, clasping her hands together, feeling tears come to her eyes. She wasn’t a weeper usually, but pregnancy seemed to have caused her eyes to become more often leaky. ‘I thought—’

‘You didn’t think, that’s the problem! Oh, now, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’m not angry with you. I can see how you’d be dragged along with it – those people can talk the hind leg off a donkey. And Lady Clemmie – well, you’d never question anything she said. But don’t get mixed up in any more flummery like that, will you? It’d make me a laughing stock if it got known that my own wife was working against my interests.’

She had to tell him. ‘I gave her money,’ she blurted. ‘For the Cause.’