He closed the file and carried it over to the desk.
Miss Latimer smiled. ‘Ready for the next one?’
‘Ye…yes,’ he stammered.
Briefly heading out the back, she returned holding a tan-coloured file, entitled Militant Suffragettes 1913. ‘Here we are.’
‘Thank you,’ he responded, returning to his seat, wondering if he had entered a parallel universe. He wasn’t sure which version of Miss Latimer he preferred; this one unsettled him tremendously.
Turning the first page, Morton was greeted with a typed preface from the Criminal Investigation Department of New Scotland Yard: ‘In view of the large number of disturbances and outrages committed by suffragettes in the Provinces, the Assistant Commissioner thinks it desirable to furnish Forces with portraits and descriptions of persons connected with the movement who may be likely at any time to engage in militancy. They should be kept entirely confidential.’
Morton couldn’t help but grin, completely certain that he would find Grace among the subsequent pages, which were filled with dozens of names and photos of ordinary women who took part in suffragette militancy.
Mary Richardson, age 31, height 5ft 5in, complexion pale, hair and eyes brown, nose rather long and hooked. Calls herself a journalist. This woman has been convicted several times of wilfully damaging the windows of public buildings, etc. Her last conviction was for damaging, with a chopper, the ‘Rokeby Venus’ at the National Gallery.
Catherine Wilson, age 31, height 5ft 1in, complexion fair, hair brown, eyes grey. Has been twice convicted of wilfully damaging plate glass windows and once being found on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose, i.e. she was found in the House of Commons in male attire with a riding whip in her coat pocket.
Mary Lindsay, age about 24, height 5ft 6in, complexion pale, hair brown, eyes blue. Has been convicted of assault; she assaulted Lord Weardale with a dog-whip. Rides as Joan of Arc in suffragette processions.
Freda Graham, age about 26, height 5ft 6in, complexion fresh, hair and eyes brown. Has been convicted of assault and was concerned in the outrage at the National Gallery when she damaged five pictures. She has also thrown a bag of flour over a Cabinet Minister. During her last imprisonment she is believed to have taken drugs to cause sickness and so procure her release, and her health is now suffering from the results of an overdose.
Batten Poole, age about 23, height 5ft 5in, complexion fair, hair dark, eyes grey, slim build. In close touch with the leaders of the Movement and took a leading part in the Deputation to Buckingham Palace. She has undergone a course of Ju-Jitsu and teaches it to members of Mrs Pankhurst’s ‘bodyguard’.
And then she appeared.
Grace Emmerson, age about 37, height 5ft 4in, complexion fresh, hair light brown, eyes brown. Lived with the leaders of the Brighton WSPU and was active locally. Convicted of assaulting the Prime Minister during the 1911 incursion on Downing Street. Has not been seen actively since February 1911.
The photograph which accompanied her description was not a particularly flattering one. She looked thin and pasty and was being supported by the arm of an unseen woman to her left. The brick wall behind her, and the fact that she seemed unaware that she was being photographed, led Morton to believe that it had been taken surreptitiously during her time in Holloway.
He re-read the entry, curious again as to why she seemed to have suddenly ceased her militant activity in 1911. Could it have been connected to whatever happened at Linden Grove? he wondered.
Morton photographed the page then continued flicking through to the end.
He returned the document to Miss Latimer’s outstretched hand.
‘Thank you,’ he said, making his way quickly towards the glass door.
‘See you again soon,’ Miss Latimer called after him. ‘Good luck with the baby. You could always call her Deidre.’
He turned and nodded nervously. ‘Bye.’
Never ever, ever, ever would he blight his daughter with the cursed named of Deidre. Never.
He was definitely suffering from some sleep-related problem, he decided, as he took a seat at one of the computer terminals, of which at least fifty were in the room. He navigated his way through to the digitised photographs of Minnie Turner.
The first picture—a posed black-and-white image—was of Minnie facing to the side as she tended to a vase of flowers. She appeared to be around thirty years of age, with a smart white shirt and dark dress. Her face, looking down at the flowers, was mournful, sad.
The next image was a sepia head-and-shoulder shot, taken several years later with Minnie gazing sternly into the camera. She reminded Morton of a tough Victorian school mistress. Zooming more closely into the image, he spotted that she was wearing the portcullis brooch which signified that she had been imprisoned for the cause.
Another sepia image followed. It was taken outside of Sea View, with the house name clearly visible on the two pillars and between which stood Minnie Turner. She looked to be in her mid-forties.
Clicking on to the next photo, Morton saw the front of the house in its entirety. In the bottom right-hand corner was written in black ink, ‘Miss Turner WSPU’. In the bottom left was written ‘Sea View, Brighton, 1911’, the very time when Grace had been living with her.
Morton smiled as he photographed the image. In his mind he could clearly see Grace walking up the short flight of steps inside the tall Victorian property—a house bubbling with the rhetoric and ideals of suffragettes, both permanent and transitory. He imagined the excited conversations, plotting and planning that must have occurred within those walls.
The final two images were of Minnie Turner’s Votes for Women sash and a close-up colour photograph of her portcullis brooch, beside which was a piece of card with the words: ‘Spent four months in prison for throwing a brick through a
