The sun shone with a promise of hope. Nathaniel leaned closer to Amanda in their parked landau. “Look at the headline. They are calling it, The Peterloo Massacre. Taylor writes, ‘Courage triumphed this week in St. Peter’s Fields. Good men, women, and children died in hopes of a better life. They did not fight. They did not resist. They stood with hopeful courage, boldly, and were struck down by the hands and swords of our own magistrates and cavalry. Their deaths, their injuries, their very blood spilt on the stones in front of St. Peter’s Church has been noted, and will be remembered. We will laud them heroes. We commend them to God as England’s finest.’”
Amanda wiped a tear from her eye.
A light breeze ruffled the papers, and the sun filtered through the trees above. Nathaniel continued. “The paper gets better with each page turned. Here, Taylor printed a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Apparently Shelley heard about last week’s events and penned this off immediately. He calls it, ‘The Masque of Anarchy’.”
As Nathaniel read the poem, Amanda’s hands went to her heart, and she closed her eyes. Nearing the end, Nathaniel read:
“Let a vast assembly be,
And with great solemnity
Declare with measured words, that ye
Are, as God has made ye, free.”
“That is everything,” Amanda said. Nathaniel took her hand in his and smiled before finishing the poem.
“Rise, like lions after slumber
“In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!”
“It is beautiful.” She sniffed.
“I agree. Taylor said the Examiner refused to publish it. They said the public wasn’t ready for such sentiments.”
“Ridiculous. This kind of thing is just what they need.”
“Taylor snatched it up quickly. It made the second page, before your latest drawing, might I add.”
Amanda bumped him softly with her shoulder, and together they silently read lines of the poem once more, thinking on the brave people who had inspired it.
Tears flowed freely from both of them, neither bothering to wipe them away. Amanda broke their silence first. “God made us free, Nathaniel. That’s what Henry Hunt said that day by the church. Those words burned within me, caught fire in my very soul. I knew from that moment I would never be the same.”
“When I see others suffering, without food or a place to live, I feel an obligation to help them. How can I live like I do, when my very lifestyle and the laws which I help create and uphold keep men in an impoverished state, unable to rise or make anything for themselves?”
Amanda’s heart lifted in hopeful satisfaction. Here was the Nathaniel she’d dreamed of: the man with her same passions and desires and view of the world. “And you are working for change. Look at all you have done already. So many people.” She stopped. Memories still too close and sharp overwhelmed her. Her throat hurt from the effort to swallow the emotion. “And what’s more, we can make a difference still. What Charlie said . . .” She stopped again, emotion overcoming her. She put a hand up to her mouth, squeezing her eyes together.
Nathaniel reached over and took her hand in his. “You can feel sorrow. Let it come. I miss him terribly too. He was a dear friend, and I relied on him heavily in the Liberty Seekers.”
Amanda squeezed his hand. “Molly is beside herself. I do believe they would have made a life together, and it would have been a good one.”
Nathaniel had found Thomas and Molly shortly after he had left Amanda. Molly had collapsed at the sight of Charlie’s body. Thomas had held her and brought her safely back to the family at Aunt Elda’s home. She had been incapable of work the past week. And Amanda had little emotional room to comfort her, but the two had cried together most nights.
Nathaniel, somber, nodded and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. They sat together in his landau, in the shade of some trees. The pleasant day comforted them. And as they breathed deeply the beauty of the green park and the blue sky, Nathaniel whispered, “Amanda, look up.”
When she did, her heart felt lighter than it had all week. A large flock of sparrows had landed in the branches above them, some flitting from one branch to another, most resting and filling the air with their song.
“My father gave me sparrows in a cage when I was a young girl.”
“If only he had known then what havoc that would cause.”
Amanda laughed. “I think he’s resigned to my daring ways.”
“Not at all.” Nathaniel humphed. “He warned me plenty and told me your life is in my hands now.”
Laughing, Amanda sank back against him. “Handed me over, has he?”
“You know,” Nathaniel said pensively, “Charles was the second-bravest person I’ve ever known.”
Amanda turned to him with a slight frown. “Oh? I would think working on Bender’s team for all that time and saving both your life and mine would merit . . .” She stopped, noticing a twinkle in his eye. “And who, may I ask, do you think is the bravest person of your acquaintance?”
He leaned forward and stared into her eyes. “Many rose to greatness these past few months. Terror brings forward the heroes among us. But I am thinking of one in particular, and that is you, my dear.”
Amanda sat back. “Me? Well, I . . . what?” She was filled with a sort of wonder and guilt all at once. His praise felt undeserved. It was undeserved. She smiled. “Well, now we both know you are speaking nonsense.”
Nathaniel shook his head. “No, I am all sincerity. Since I have known you, you have done remarkable things. You helped us capture the majority of Jack Bender’s gang at Cato Street and even aided in the death of Bender himself.”
She started to protest the obvious, but he held up his hand.
“What’s more, your fliers have convinced a great many noblemen and commoners of the value of their own freedoms.”
Amanda looked down, unconvinced.
“And what would happen if they were to discover your identity? You have risked, you do risk everything to publish those.”
She waved her hand in front of them. “A trifling thing, really. What do they accomplish?”
“Don’t underestimate the importance of swaying public opinion, my dear, because that is exactly what needs to be done. We need to change people’s minds.”
Amanda added, “And their hearts.”
Nathaniel nodded. “And that is where you are most effective. But I am not finished with counts of your bravery. I understand we have you to thank for keeping the good people of Manchester and London away from the field on the wrong day. And it is because of you that we had such a large number of people come on the actual day. The Manchester Guardian and the Examiner are both printing the count to be at or around sixty thousand.”
Amanda opened her mouth wide. “So many!” But then her face pinched and tears threatened. “Oh, but Nathaniel, it was a disaster. Henry Hunt didn’t even get to speak. All those people, the cavalry.” Tears were coming again in earnest now, streaming down her cheeks.
“But a copy of his speech is printed here.” Nathaniel’s eyes were wet again as well, and he continued. “Those people did not die in vain. We lost eighteen, and many more were injured, close to six hundred.”
Amanda shook her head, hand over her mouth.
“But their sacrifices will bring change, just as Shelley said in his poem. When I bring my report to the House of Lords, I will tell them that good, decent, unarmed Englishmen were chopped down mercilessly and unjustly. That will bring change.”
Amanda saw a light in his eyes and felt the power of his conviction. Something began warming inside her heart. Dared she hope? Could Charlie and Mr. Taylor and Nathaniel be right? Could good things come from something so awful? She said, “We must make sure that it does bring change. We have a work to do. The Liberty Seekers are not finished.” She paused and glanced at him nervously. “That is, if you will have me?”
Nathaniel reached into his waistcoat pocket. “The better question is, will you have me?” And he pulled out a beautiful ring that sparkled in brilliance as the sun hit it.
Amanda breathed in rapidly and held her breath. “I want this, and you, with all my heart. But before I respond, I must know the answer to my question. Does the Liberty Seekers have a place for me?” She held her breath again. Oh, please.
Nathaniel searched her face and smiled in understanding. “You know, Amanda, I was watching you in the crowds of St. Peter’s. Long before Bender saw you, I saw you. It was as if my eyes were drawn to you wherever you were.”
She tilted her head, a question in her eyes.
He nodded. “When the women entered the field, all in white, they were a brilliant sight. Yet I saw your face. You shone as brilliantly as all of them. You longed for their cause; it was plain for all to see the work that you must do. I knew I was wrong. So abysmally wrong in how I’d thought about you before that moment.”
Amanda reached for him. “How could you know my heart when I gave you so little to go on?”
Nathaniel shook his head. “You gave me enough. You have worked for freedom from the moment you learned it should be available to all. I should never have doubted you.” He rested his hand on the side of her face. “Charlie was right.”
Amanda blinked back tears.
“You have much to give. So my answer is yes, the Liberty Seekers needs you. We need someone to head up our women’s efforts. We are adding a new purpose and mission to the group, and that is true universal suffrage.”
“That is just the work I hope to begin.” Amanda’s heart soared. “I have two fliers already planned—those women in white; what an inspiration. And so easy to draw. I could start with a banner . . .” Nathaniel’s eyes sparkled in amusement and pride. She stopped. “We can talk about our specific plans later.”
Chuckling, Nathaniel continued. “Liberty Seekers needs you, of course, but even more, I need you. I am not the man I’m meant to be without you by my side. I love you so completely I could not even be me any more without you. Say you’ll marry me, Amanda. Let us fly together.”
Her smile nearly split her face. She felt her heart might just expand outside her chest, she was so filled with joy. “Then my answer to you is also yes! Oh yes, Nathaniel. I want nothing more than to be at your side for the rest of my days. To think that I will also be working at your side, for the cause of freedom for all . . . I cannot contain my happiness.” A burst of joyful energy brought her to her feet in the landau, arms spread out to the trees above. “This is everything, everything I have ever wanted.” She spun on her toes and rested a hand on Nathaniel’s shoulder to steady herself.
Nathaniel laughed, startling the birds above them. He pulled her back to her seat and they watched the sparrows fly off into the sky until they were dots among the clouds.
“I have never felt more complete.” Nathaniel leaned in to kiss her just long enough to leave her yearning for more but not long enough to upset the sensibilities of the ton. And then he reverently placed his ring over her gloved finger on her left hand. “To the future Duchess of Somerset, to the Sparrow of the Liberty Seekers. We have work to do.”