Page 14 of To Tempt a Scandalous Lord
Effia canted her head to the side. “You are attending the Talbot ball tomorrow, are you not?”
“I am, but I fail to see—”
Alicia swallowed the rest of the words because she did, in fact, grasp the point Effia was hinting at.
The Marquess of Inverray would be present at the ball. He had already secured her supper waltz, a request that had left her annoyingly breathless.
Patting her mouth with a napkin, Alicia attempted to gather her thoughts. “Do you think I’m withholding this new editorial because I will see Lord Inverray at the ball? Do you think I will somehow fall prey to his charms and thus revise the arguments I have written?”
“Yes,” Effia said baldly. “And I think if he or others complained about what you’ve written, you will feel guilty, so you’re trying to avoid such a conflict.”
“I’m doing no such thing,” Alicia growled, launching herself to her feet. She prowled to the window and then stopped, pivoting sharply to face her friend again. “I feel too deeply about these points to allow the marquess’s charm to silence my voice.”
Effia leaned back in her chair and took another bite of her biscuit.
Smoothing her hand along the ribbon encircling her waist, Alicia inhaled. “Inverray is waiting for bipartisan support to submit a child labor bill for a vote.”
Effia snorted. “He’ll never get it.”
“A fact I believe he’s aware of”—she knotted her hands at her waist—“which is why I recommended he use thesehorrid chapbooks, as he calls them, to garner public support.”
“H-how?” Effia coughed and set her biscuit down. “How do you see that playing out?”
Alicia spent the next several minutes explaining her idea for how her essays could push the Marquess of Inverray’s child labor reform aspirations onto the floor of Commons, and then nervously awaited her friend’s reaction.
“It’s a good idea. I’ve never considered using our articles to enforce direct change, but…” Effia’s mien turned calculating. “It could work. But it’s going to take some maneuvering to keep you from falling under suspicion.”
“I know. Which is why I think this essay needs to be just as assessing as my past ones.” Alicia chuckled. “The chapbook writer is not supposed to know of his intentions, after all.”
“Indeed not.” Effia clapped her hands together. “This is a most encouraging turn of events. If we can use the Marquess of Inverray to advance our cause, however unwittingly, it would be reason to celebrate.”
The possibilities made Alicia’s heart feel three times its size.
“I’m proud of you, my friend.” Effia reached out to pat her arm. “This is an incredibly clever idea, and if you manage to execute it successfully, not only will it benefit the children we seek to serve, it will aid Lord Inverray as well.”
Alicia clasped her hands in her lap and smiled, touched into silence by Effia’s praise.
“After the dinner party at the Firthwells’, I’m determined to get this right.” She picked at her fingernail. “The knowledge that people are actually reading my essays, and not just as bits of entertainment, is invigorating.”
“Oh, you know there are those who read them merely to be entertained. Some readers enjoy your skewering of the candidates, even if you don’t do it maliciously. But you also call attention to topics they would normally ignore. If they want to be entertained, they cannot ignore your words. And all it takes is for a handful of hearts and minds to be softened, to demand reform, for Parliament to heed the will of the people.”
Alicia snorted. “You make it all sound so simple.”
“Do I?” The corners of Effia’s mouth tipped up. “We both know change is not easy, but you’re trying to encourage it nonetheless. You’re very brave, my lady.”
“No more than you.” She cocked her head. “And I consider myself more persistent.”
“Definitely persistent. But also brave.”
Effia’s sudden silence caught Alicia’s attention. “What’s wrong?”
She released a long breath. “Have you considered what would happen if you were discovered to be the author of these tracts? If the marquess were to determine your motivations? You’d almost certainly be ruined.”
Alicia’s mouth went dry. “I’m well aware of what I risk. We’ve already discussed it at length.”
“I know. I know.” Effia shook her head. “But as your essays are read by more and more people, the chances of your identity being revealed increase.”
“Well, then I need your help more than ever to ensure my message is forthright and clear, so if I am ever discovered, my ruination heralds great good.”
