“Not one,” I said, “but I don’t, of course, want to be ragged if it can be avoided. Shall I pledge myself to get votes for all the unmarried women in the constituency, or ought I to go further?”
Titherington looked at me severely. Then he said:
“It won’t do us any harm if Vittie is made to smell hell by a few militant Suffragettes.”
“After the hole he’s put us in about temperance,” I said, “he’ll deserve the worst they can do to him.”
“In any ordinary case I’d hesitate; for women are a nuisance, a d——d nuisance. But this is going to be such an infernally near thing that I’m half inclined—— It’s nuts and apples to them to get their knives into any one calling himself a Liberal, which shows they have some sense. Besides, the offer has, so to speak, dropped right into our mouths. It would be sinning against our mercies and flying in the face of Providence not to consider it.”
I had, up to that moment, no reason for suspecting Titherington of any exaggerated respect for Providence. But there are queer veins of religious feeling in the most hard-headed men. I saw that Titherington had a theological side to his character and I respected him all the more for it.
“Here’s a letter,” he said, “from one of the suffrage societies, offering to send down speakers to help us. As I said before, women are a nuisance, but it’s just possible that there may be a few cranks among that temperance lot. You’ll notice that if a man has one fad he generally runs to a dozen, and there may be a few who really want women to get votes. We can’t afford to chuck away any chances. If I could get deputations from the Anti-Vaccinationists and the Anti-Gamblers I would. But I’d be afraid of their going back on us and supporting Vittie. Anyhow, if these women are the right sort they’ll pursue Vittie round and round the constituency and yell at him every time he opens his mouth.”
I took the letter from Titherington. It was headed A.S.P.L. and signed Lalage Beresford.
“Are you quite sure,” I said, “that the A.S.P.L. is a woman’s suffrage society?”
“It must be,” said Titherington. “The letter’s signed by a woman, at least I suppose Lalage is a woman’s name. It certainly isn’t a man’s.”