The Aristocrat's Lady (Love Inspired Historical) (7 page)

As their carriage arrived, she was still trying to calm Toby. Inwardly, she kept trying to calm herself.

“You will be at my side the entire time, and we can sit in the very back of the gallery. It cannot be so crowded there, and it will be easier to leave. I promise
I will listen to everything you tell me. There must be
some
women who come to support their men. We could sit where they sit. We would not be conspicuous there,” Nicole pleaded with him.

Toby may have given in, but he was still deadly serious. “’ave I got your word the minute I say we need to be leaving, we go? You won’t go a questioning my judgment?” His English became worse the angrier and more worried he got.

“I promise, Toby. Thank you so very much.”
Thank you, Lord, for getting me over this first hurdle! Keep us safe, Father.
She wanted Toby to allow her to hear the speech, and she thought this might just be a step in overcoming her own cowardice.

When they stepped from the carriage, the Parliamentary guards were directing dignitaries and visitors to the correct entrances. Fortunately, Nicole was so engrossed in making this work that she did not care what others around her were doing. She heard the buzzing voices, but Toby noticed the surprised stares and began to rethink the outing. “Lady Nick…”

A guard stopped them, questioning their intentions.

“Sir, we are here to listen to Lord Devlin address the House,” Nicole said in her haughtiest voice. She hoped it would intimidate the man.

It did not.

“Mum, you may enter to the left there. That door leads to the upper galleries. But if there is not enough room for all of the gentlemen who wish to attend, the women must make way.” The guard was insolent, even
adding under his breath, “Women in Parliament! Next they’ll be asking to join the gentlemen at White’s!”

“Toby, let us go. Be sure we are in very secluded seats, and we shall leave as soon as Lord Devlin speaks.”

Her thoughts turned from leaving, however, as soon as they entered the indicated door. Nicole held on to Toby’s arm tightly, but excitedly whispered, “Toby, do you not feel awed? Tremendous decisions are made here that affect all of England.” Her tone was reverent and her senses heightened as she concentrated on the power that seemed to emanate from the room itself. Oh how she wished she could see it!

“I’m more concerned with getting you settled, my lady, so don’t be distracting me with your talk of ’igh and mighty England.” Toby mumbled that the “upper gallery” didn’t seem that much safer than the crowd below. “I don’t know, Lady Nick, you can still see right good from back ’ere. What if one of them gents from down there notices you?”

“Do not worry, Toby,” she said again as they settled into the hardback chairs. Nicole could smell the wood-paneled, hallowed halls of the famous room. She imagined the great and heated debates that had gone on there. A sense of wonder overwhelmed her.

In the midst of her awe, she heard his voice from the floor below in a clear and powerful tone. She had not been listening to the much-regulated procedures of the institution so she missed his introduction. Unexpectedly, his voice made her tingle and the pride she felt in knowing him caused her heart to race.

“Gentlemen,” Lord Devlin began in a deep baritone, “I am aware that the topic I am about to address is not important to most of you, so I will be as brief and concise as I am able. However, I shall do my utmost to make you understand my views. And I pray that after you have heard me, you will seriously consider voting for the veteran reform I propose for next month.”

Devlin spoke in a voice she had never heard from him. He was obviously good at public speaking, and he sounded convincing and forceful. The resonance of his voice was masterful. She waited with bated breath for his expansion on the topic.

Suddenly his words stopped, but she could hear him moving about, directing quiet comments to specific individuals. When he spoke again, he did not sound the least bit nervous, but authoritative and deliberate.

“Many of you know my views on pension payments for the soldiers now returning home from the war in France.” His voice reverberated around the quiet room. The silence was almost immediately broken by groans from spectators below and around her. Truth to tell, she had a difficult time keeping a groan from escaping her own lips. She sat stunned, hoping against hope that he was on the side of the poor soldiers. She prayed he did not align himself with the many who felt the returning soldiers should cope on their own. She quickly turned her attention back to his speech.

“All of us in this room owe our very freedom to the men who are returning now and who valiantly, and
voluntarily,
fought to keep that freedom. For too many years these brave men have been coming back to their
homes and families who have tried to hold things together without them.
I
believe they should begin receiving a stipend from the government to help them get back on their feet.”

Nicole’s heart thundered an applause that would have drowned out any actual ovation!

But such an ovation did not occur.

A male voice from the floor below interrupted her thoughts with a loud bellow. “You will break us, man! We have not the funds to pay men for doing duty they have already done. They were paid while fighting!”

A gavel sounded while a stern voice reprimanded the gentleman who had interrupted. “Let me remind you, sirrah, that Lord Devlin has the floor.”

Devlin patiently answered his detractor, “I am aware, my lord, that England’s coffers could not stand up to full pensions for all of our fighting men. What reason would I have to bankrupt England’s treasury? That is not my intention. Many who fought were your own younger sons and thereby had some wealth of their own to come home to. My bill is intended for those in need, and all I ask is that you read it and digest it before next month’s vote.”

It irritated Devlin that these rich and powerful men begrudged stipends to the war veterans. However, now was not the time to show his disdain. He continued in an authoritative tone, “My proposal is for three separate groups of returning soldiers. The first group is men without families who come back whole and perfectly capable of working. In those cases, I propose we would not have to pay any pension at all. We would set up a
government bureau to specifically get these men settled into jobs as soon as possible. We have such agencies to find middle-class females employment, yet we have no such provision for our men.”

Nicole could not have moved a muscle if she tried, so intent was she on hearing his next words.

“The second group will be those men who are whole and unhurt but have families who have been trying to keep their farms or businesses going while they were away. I propose in those cases, the families be paid a monthly stipend for six months to one year. It would be capital they could invest back into their living.” The members started to rumble once again. “Consider, gentlemen,” he had to speak louder over the din, “that many of these soldiers are tenants on our lands. That can only help
us
in the long run.”

He must have felt the impatience of the crowd that even she could discern. He did not take a breath as he continued. “Gentlemen, you will need to read my proposal fully. When you read it, I believe you will conclude that my range of figures for the stipend amounts are well worth the effort these men gave us. All I ask is that we recognize that those men risked their lives for us all. Some of them have been gone for years at a time. I do not see that one year of monetary help from us would be too great a drain on our resources.”

Nicole jumped as a voice very near to her in the upper gallery shouted down to Lord Devlin, “I can’t wait to hear your third part, Guv’nor. Do we give them all silver plates to eat on, too?” A riotous guffaw started
in the gallery as merchants and businessmen slapped each other on the back in agreement.

The gavel pounded several times along with a shout of the stentorian voice behind the bench: “Order, I want order, now!” As the crowd quieted, the voice continued, “We will have no more of these interruptions from the gallery, or it will be cleared immediately. Is that understood?”

Toby nudged Nicole. “It may be time to go, Lady Nick. I think ’is lordship ’as seen you and ’e looks worried.”

“Toby, he is worried because he cannot make this roomful of selfish fops understand his plan.” She didn’t give Toby time to start in again as she listened to the raised voices below.

“Lord Devlin, are you going to continue?” the harsh speaker asked.

“Yes, your grace, I apologize. The third part of my plan
will
be the hardest and most costly for England, yet I believe the soldiers have paid no less a price.” He paused for emphasis. “The third phase consists of two groups. First are men who will come home, but will not be whole in body. They will have lost limbs, or sight, or have been too seriously injured to work. The second are families of men who were lost in the war. Without the heads of their households, many have been thrown out into the streets, or worse, into debtor’s prison. In my opinion, these groups deserve pensions for
life
.”

The uproar was incredible. It reverberated off the oak walls and seemed to echo back upon him. “For life?” one voice called over the tremendous noise. “You
are mad!” cried another. A third yelled, “How are we supposed to pay for the problems we have in America if we are funding soldiers who are no longer fighting?”

Suddenly one man stood up and the others quieted for him. “Lord Devlin, what you propose is outrageous. Why, on some of my estates, several poachers have already been caught because you give them the excuse of ‘not being able to find work.’” The “hear, hears” chimed in around the room. “What have you to say to that?”

Nicole was so proud of him. He kept trying to convince a room full of opposition, while at the same time trying to still the crowd into reason. “I agree with Lord Faversham. Poaching
has
begun, and as far as I am concerned, a criminal is a criminal whether veteran or not. However, my hope is that this plan will keep the soldiers who cannot work from turning to a life of crime.”

He seemed to recognize that they were losing their patience. He finished his speech very quietly. They
had
to lower their voices to hear him. “Gentlemen, I appreciate the time you have given me today and ask that you consider my words as you read my proposal. I spent some time with our soldiers on the continent and have personally seen the hardships they bear. I will not tax your patience with those details now, but I would ask that we not make them face conditions just as hard when they return to the home they fought for.” He turned and faced the bench. “I thank you for your time, and I bow before your grace and this House.”

Conversation broke out everywhere, and Toby demanded they leave. Nicole was compliant; she had
heard enough. Lord Devlin was not like the other men she had met in London. He was an honorable and just man who would fight for a cause, whether popular or not. In her eyes, that was much more important than handsomeness or charm.

She kept hold of Toby’s arm, occasionally brushing into others because of her thoughts on Devlin’s speech. They finally entered the light of day, and Toby ordered their carriage before the bulk of the attendees had left the building.

Nicole suddenly heard her name called through the milling crowd and recognized Lord Devlin’s voice as he neared them, almost out of breath.

In a dangerously low voice and with tightly clenched teeth, Lord Devlin spoke to the pair. “Lady Nicole, what do you think you are doing here? Confound it, woman, no one knows when a speech will incite a riot. You should never have come.” He had her by the arm, and she could hear his anger very close to the surface along with what she thought was a tinge of concern in his voice. “Toby, why have you let her come here?”

“Didn’t
let
’er do anything, my lord. I told ’er myself she was asking for trouble. When Lady Nick gets an idea in ’er ’ead, it’s more than me that can stop ’er. Think I ain’t never tried?”

“
I
should have found a way of stopping her,” Devlin muttered as he handed her into her waiting carriage and stepped in after her. “I will escort you home, ma’am. I still have a few choice words to say to you.”

Toby chuckled as he climbed onto the top with John Coachman.

Inside, Nicole clapped her hands then rested them against her heart. “You can be as angry at me as you want. I do not care. I would not have missed that for anything in the world. You were magnificent, my lord, and I am so proud of you. You fought for justice for your fellow man, and I know how hard that is to do in the face of rejection and disapproval.”

“Nicole…”

“No, listen,” she interrupted before he could berate her. “I was amazed at your understanding of the soldier’s plights. Will you tell me about your proposal in more detail? When did you visit France? I should like to hear about it. I always hear people glorifying war but I am aware it always seems to be done by men who have never actually experienced battle.”

“I begin to understand Toby’s frustration. I must remember to apologize to him.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I am not going to get through to you how stupid it was to go there alone, am I?”

“I was not alone. I had Toby and the Lord,” she said absently. She could not get her mind off his words, and she could only wonder at him for wanting to be
her
friend! Oh, how she wished she knew more of him so they could talk beyond the everyday platitudes. She felt they could be even better friends, eventually allowing her to reveal her own secrets to him.

He continued his tirade with much less air in his sails than before. “You had a servant? And it was a lone servant at that.” Devlin ran his hands through his hair in frustration again. “Toby would not have been able to fight an angry mob and get you to safety at the same
time, despite your hero-worship of him. And I have yet to see your God pop out of nowhere to stop an oncoming danger. Do you not understand how worried I was when I saw you in the gallery?”