Chapter Thirteen

Thursday evening

Aaron stood in Sir Walter Scott’s salon. It was packed to capacity with the elite of Edinburgh’s gentry, minus the troublemakers. At least his grandmother, the Dowager Duchess Sarah, wasn’t there. His brother and several of his friends sat among the mixed audience and could be relied on to prevent any ugliness that might threaten to arise. Sir Walter had also placed two tall, well-formed footmen on either side of the salon doors.

Sir Walter remained at the head of the room with Crystal by his side, looking rather pleased with himself. He had confided in Aaron that after Lady Crystal’s speech, his salon had become famous throughout the city.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I seek to keep your minds awake and your desires asleep. Many of you have heard of our speaker, Lady Crystal Wilding, and her radical views on the rights of women. Tonight, I hope you will welcome her thoughts into your hearts and minds.” He gave an elaborate flourish of his hand for Crystal to proceed.

Crystal stepped forward to speak, and Aaron’s heart beat faster. He was so proud of her, of the way she stood with her head held high, so sure of her right to be there and in what she had to say, despite its controversial nature. She wore an elegant emerald-green gown, the bodice molded around her bustline with a gold leaf motif decorating the edges of the fabric. Her skin was luminous, her gaze sharp with intellect, totally focused on the audience. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Many of you here had little to say about who you wed, yet marriage was surely one of the most important events of your lives.” She stopped and looked around the room.

“Indeed,” said Lady Hamilton, casting a sideward glance at her husband. At least she wasn’t a troublemaker like his grandmother, apart from the fan throwing.

There was a murmur of agreement from the audience, who sat with an air of expectation about them.

“I believe it is time this changed. Instead of arranged marriages, I think the young should be allowed to meet and get to know their potential partners over a longer period of time.”

“How is that any different from the assembly dances or doing a season?” asked a lady sitting near the front.

“I believe men do not reveal their true character when they are so closely chaperoned. Well-heeled ladies collect proposals as if they are sugar candy, then their parents decide on the match. I would urge that marriages should not be arranged and that men and women should be allowed to spend time with each other without a chaperone, if they both wish to do so.”

A rumble of horror echoed across the chamber.

“If a woman meets a man without a chaperone, she instantly loses her reputation,” Crystal argued. “But it takes time for people to get to know each other. Adults should be able to meet without the constant need for a chaperone to watch their every move. Society treats women as if they are delicate flowers only allowed to bloom when the sun shines. But the truth is, women are intelligent and strong. Young women need to understand what the contract of marriage means before they enter into it. Many would not marry if they knew they could end up prisoners in their own homes.”

The room was alive with nods of amusement and moans of agreement from some of the ladies in the audience, clearly much to the disgust of some of the gentlemen.

A well-dressed elderly gentleman rose from his chair, his face flushed.

“Your question, Lord Hartford?” Sir Walter Scott said.

“I have no question, but a comment. Lady Crystal, you speak as if men are beasts,” Lord Hartford said, his voice big and booming, as was, clearly, his anger.

Aaron’s body tensed, and he glanced at Will, who stood close to the man.

“Open the door,” cried a voice from outside the salon, accompanied by a thumping sound so loud the door trembled.

Aaron frowned. The salon was bursting at the seams. Every chair was taken, and people stood all around the sides of the room. Who was this rude person with the manners of an ill-bred fool, expecting to be let in at the last minute?

There was another thump on the door, and Aaron wondered if the wood would splinter.

“Tell whoever it is that we are full,” Sir Walter commanded, “before they break down my door.”

The audience chuckled at that.

One of the footmen opened the salon door.

In sailed the Dowager Duchess of Lomond, who brushed the footman’s protests aside. “Lord Hartford, you are as loud as you are tall. I have it on good authority from Lady Hartford that you are most certainly a beast, but she doesn’t complain. Now sit down and let the lassie speak, for we’ve all come to hear her, not you.”

Lord Hartford’s face turned a shocking shade of pink, and he sank into his seat while the audience roared with laughter.

Aaron groaned. If ever there was going to be trouble tonight, it had just arrived in the form of his grandmother. He shot Crystal a glance. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head.

He went to find the dowager a seat, but she waved him off and headed straight to the head of the salon, stopping in front of an occupied chair. She glared at the occupant, a young dandy. The man moved with alacrity, and the dowager took his seat. “Proceed,” she ordered Crystal with a wave of her hand. “I’ve come to hear your speech on women’s desire. Perhaps it will explain my grandson’s interest in you.”

Aaron let out a groan, though he tried to suppress the sound.

Crystal didn’t flinch at his grandmother’s rude comment. Instead she stared straight at the audience. “Perhaps I should explain before I continue with my talk that Lord Lyle is generously sponsoring me in my charitable work with young girls employed at a weaving mill, covering their wages while I teach them to read and write. They would have no hope of any learning other than their craft if not for Lord Lyle’s kindness. In time, I hope to expand my teaching to other young women, so in the future I will need more sponsors and volunteers to assist me.”

Many women in the audience clapped at this, and Aaron sensed she had the women on her side.

“Now to the subject of desire.” Crystal nodded at his grandmother. “When I spoke last week, I realized that the men in the audience thought I was encouraging promiscuity. I’m not. I simply think in marriage, love is important. We women love strongly and passionately—think what lionesses women become when protecting their young. But we need to be very, very sure in our choice of partner because, unlike men, with one careless decision, we women stand to lose everything.”

Most of the women in the audience stood and clapped, the sound of their fervor deafening.

“Hear, hear,” called out a lady. “Well said.”

Some men sat stonily in their seats, frowning their discontent, but for Aaron, her words made sense. It would require time for some men to take it in.

He stepped forward clapping, too, as did Sir Walter, Will, and Aaron’s friends. To his shock, his grandmother was standing, too, applauding and nodding at Crystal.

Aaron could hardly believe his eyes.

After her talk was finished, many of the women crowded around her, some offering to teach the poor, others simply wanting to tell their stories and meet her.

The pride he’d felt for her intensified when he realized that Crystal had managed to do the almost impossible—she had found herself a female champion in the dowager duchess. His grandmother could open every door in Scotland for her, and many in England.

His admiration for Crystal swelled his heart. He wanted her. In so many ways.

And for the first time in his life, the stray thought went through his mind that marriage might not be so bad…if he could spend it with a wonderful companion like her.