Fall of Giants

When he reached the Silverman residence Bonar Law was already there-and so was Perceval Jones, the member of Parliament for Aberowen and chairman of Celtic Minerals. Jones was a turkey-cock at the best of times, and tonight he was bursting with pride at being in such distinguished company, talking to Lord Silverman with his hands in his pockets, a massive gold watch chain stretched across his wide waistcoat.

Fitz should not have been so surprised. This was a political dinner, and Jones was rising in the Conservative party: no doubt he, too, hoped to be a minister when and if Bonar Law should become prime minister. All the same, it was a bit like meeting your head groom at the Hunt Ball, and Fitz had an unnerving feeling that Bolshevism might be coming to London, not by revolution but by stealth.

At the table Jones shocked Fitz by saying he was in favor of votes for women. “For heaven’s sake, why?” said Fitz.

“We have conducted a survey of constituency chairmen and agents,” Jones replied, and Fitz saw Bonar Law nodding. “They are two to one in favor of the proposal.”

“Conservatives are?” Fitz said incredulously.

“Yes, my lord.”

“But why?”

“The bill will give the vote only to women over thirty who are householders or the wives of householders. Most women factory workers are excluded, because they tend to be younger. And all those dreadful female intellectuals are single women who live in other people’s homes.”

Fitz was taken aback. He had always regarded this as an issue of principle. But principle did not matter to jumped-up businessmen such as Jones. Fitz had never thought about electoral consequences. “I still don’t see… ”

“Most of the new voters will be mature middle-class mothers of families.” Jones tapped the side of his nose in a vulgar gesture. “Lord Fitzherbert, they are the most conservative group of people in the country. This bill will give our party six million new votes.”

“So you’re going to support woman suffrage?”

“We must! We need those Conservative women. At the next election there will be three million new working-class male voters, a lot of them coming out of the army, most of them not on our side. But our new women will outnumber them.”

“But the principle, man!” Fitz protested, though he sensed this was a losing battle.

“Principle?” said Jones. “This is practical politics.” He gave a condescending smile that infuriated Fitz. “But then, if I may say so, you always were an idealist, my lord.”

“We’re all idealists,” said Lord Silverman, smoothing over the conflict like a good host. “That’s why we’re in politics. People without ideals don’t bother. But we have to confront the realities of elections and public opinion.”

Fitz did not want to be labeled an impractical dreamer, so he quickly said: “Of course we do. Still, the question of a woman’s place touches the heart of family life, something I should have thought dear to Conservatives.”

Bonar Law said: “The issue is still open. Members of Parliament have a free vote. They will follow their consciences.”

Fitz nodded submissively, and Silverman began speaking of the mutinous French army.

Fitz remained quiet for the rest of the dinner. He found it ominous that this bill had the support of both Ethel Leckwith and Perceval Jones. There was a dangerous possibility that it might pass. He thought Conservatives should defend traditional values, and not be swayed by short-term vote-winning considerations; but he had seen clearly that Bonar Law did not feel the same, and Fitz had not wanted to show himself out of step. The result was that he was ashamed of himself for not being completely honest, a feeling he hated.

He left Lord Silverman’s house immediately after Bonar Law. He returned home and went upstairs immediately. He took off his dress coat, put on a silk dressing gown, and went to Bea’s room.

He found her sitting up in bed with a cup of tea. He could see that she had been crying, but she had put a little powder on her face and dressed in a flowered nightdress and a pink knitted bed jacket with puffed sleeves. He asked her how she was feeling.

“I am devastated,” she said. “Andrei is all that is left of my family.”

“I know.” Both her parents were dead and she had no other close relatives. “It’s worrying-but he will probably pull through.”

She put down her cup and saucer. “I have been thinking very hard, Fitz.”

That was an unusual thing for her to say.

“Please hold my hand,” she said.

He took her left hand in both of his. She looked pretty, and despite the sad topic of conversation, he felt a stirring of desire. He could feel her rings, a diamond engagement ring and a gold wedding band. He had an urge to put her hand in his mouth and bite the fleshy part at the base of the thumb.

She said: “I want you to take me to Russia.”

He was so startled that he dropped her hand. “What?”