Emily reached for the paper, and had it in her hands when Jenkins returned with Jack’s kidneys and her fruit compote. The butler glanced at her and smothered his disapproval with difficulty. In his day ladies did not read anything in the newspapers but that which their husbands gave them, which would be the court circular, the marriages and obituaries, and if they were fortunate, the theater criticisms and reviews. Political opinion and commentary was not suitable for women. It excited the blood and disturbed the imagination. He had once been so bold as to remark so to Lord Ashworth when he had been alive, but unfortunately he had been disregarded.
“Thank you, Jenkins,” Jack said absently, and Emily echoed his words with even less attention. Jenkins withdrew with a sigh.
“I know it,” Emily said, ignoring her breakfast and beginning to read. “ ‘There is no question that when Her Majesty’s Government created a police force to serve the citizens of London, it made a brilliant and decisive step for the good of every person in this teeming heart of the Empire. But is this present-day force what these men had in mind?
“ ‘In the autumn of 1888 there was a series of gruesome and terrifying murders in Whitechapel which has gone down in history as among the most savage in all human experience. They have also gone down in history as unsolved. The very best our police can do, after months of investigation, is say “We do not know.”
“ ‘Is this what we deserve, is this what we are purchasing with our money?
“ ‘I think not.
“ ‘We need a more professional force, men with not only dedication but the skill and education to prevent this sort of crime from recurring.
“ ‘We have an empire which stretches round the world. We have conquered and subdued wild nations of warriors. We have settled lands in the frozen north, in the burning south, the plains of the west and the jungles and deserts of the east. We have planted the flag on every continent on earth, and taken law and government, religion and language, to every people. Can we really not control the unruly elements of our own capital city?
“ ‘Gentlemen, we must do better. We must change this sorry story of incompetence and failure. We must reorganize our forces of law and make sure they are the best in the world before we become a laughingstock, a byword for incompetence, and we will have every criminal in Europe descending upon us to make good his chances.
“ ‘We do not need the soft options of the Liberal party. We need strength and resolve.’ ”
Emily put it down with disgust. She should not have been surprised and indeed she was not, but it still made her angry. She looked up at Jack.
“It’s so stupid,” she said helplessly. “This is all just words. He doesn’t make any actual suggestions. What else could Thomas do?”
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “If I did I would be the first to go to him and tell him. But it isn’t only finding the solution.” He bit into his deviled kidneys and savored them with pleasure. He waited till he had swallowed the first mouthful before he continued. “It’s finding the solution that society wants,” he finished.
“Which is what? Some lunatic escaped from Bedlam that we can all disown, and say it has nothing to do with us?” she retorted, stirring the compote viciously. “If it isn’t, then we can hardly blame Thomas.”
“Emily, my dearest, people have blamed the messenger for the contents of the message as long as history has been recorded. Of course they can—and they will.”
“That’s childish.” She swallowed a mouthful and it went the wrong way. She nearly choked before recovering enough to glare at him.
“Of course it is,” he agreed, pouring her a cup of tea and passing it. “What has that to do with it? You don’t have to be in politics long to know that an awful lot of people’s reactions can be childish, and we usually cater to the very worst of those once we begin trying to beat each other.”
“What are you going to say against Uttley? You’ve got to say something. You can’t let him get away with this.”
“I don’t think Thomas will thank me for defending him—” he began.
“Not Thomas,” she interrupted. “You! You can’t sit here and let Uttley bring the battle to you. You’ve got to attack.”
He thought for several moments, and she waited with difficulty, eating the rest of her compote without tasting it.
“There is no point whatever in talking figures to people,” he said thoughtfully, setting down his fork as his meal was finished. “It has no emotion.”
“Don’t defend,” she argued. “You can’t defend effectively anyway. All the criminals caught don’t amount to anything compared with the ones that are still at large—not in people’s minds.” She swallowed. “Anyway, it’s bad to look defensive. It isn’t your fault that the police are inefficient. And don’t let him push you into a position where people imagine it is.” She reached for the silver teapot. “Would you care for some more?”
He pushed forward his cup and she poured for him.
“Attack him,” she went on. “What are his weaknesses?”
“Fiscal affairs, the national economy …”
“That won’t do.” She dismissed it out of hand. “It’s boring, and people don’t understand it anyway. You can hardly talk about shillings and pence on the hustings. People won’t listen.”
“I know that,” he agreed with a smile. “But you asked me what his weaknesses were.”
“Why don’t you do what Charlotte did?” she suggested at length. “Pretend to be naive and ask him to explain himself. You know he can’t abide people laughing at him.”
“That’s very dangerous—”
“So is his present attack on the police, and through them on you. What do you have to lose?”
He looked at her thoughtfully for several moments, then slowly his face relaxed and his eyes lit with
