Only a Lady Will Do — Sarah Richmond

Call me Julia. I don’t stand on formality. Mother and Father think I still need a chaperone, even at the age of twenty, so I must sneak out of the house with the aid of my French maid. Unhappily, I’m putting her in more jeopardy than myself. If I’m caught. Father will send me off to rusticate with relatives in Scotland, but he’ll sack my maid and, well you know the only kind of work a woman without references can get.I’ve taken up the cause for women’s suffrage and joined the Women’s Social and Political Union. Our purpose is clear: we want the vote. Only when women are able to vote will social justice become of first importance in England.I met George Russell at one of our WSPU demonstrations outside the member’s entrance of the Commons. Even though he’s a bit stuffy and old-fashioned, there’s no doubt he sympathizes with our cause. I must convince him to help the suffragists by reading our list of demands before the CommonsGeorge Russell at your service as a new member of the House of Commons, standing for Upper Chutney. I live with my two children, Henry and Marigold, and my mother. Mother would like to marry a famous Egyptologist and run off to Thebes and is determined to find me a wife before she leaves.I’ve been introduced to many fine candidates from good families, ladies who show even temperaments and the ability to be an excellent hostess. The search continues.Julia Ballard is another kettle of fish. She has the ability to send my blood pressure soaring. Willful, spoilt by indulgent parents, and argumentative, she badgers me constantly about bringing her demands for women’s suffrage before the Commons. Much as I sympathize with her cause, there is no public support for the franchise. Will she listen? I think not!What will become of Julia and the other women who seek to disrupt law and order I cannot say, but naturally, I fear for her safety and well-being. Laws must be obeyed and order maintained. And I can’t allow Miss Ballard to pull me into one of her schemes. I will lose the confidence of my constituents and my esteemed colleagues in Parliament and be cast adrift, and then I won’t be of any use to anyone.Meanwhile, I’ll do what I can to keep her out of trouble. A gentleman could do no less.