“Is Cass coming?” Rose asked, and Abby stiffened.
“No, she doesn’t like to,” Abby replied. “There was… an incident…” She bobbed her chin to their right and Rose followed her indication. Rose hadn’t noticed the men in dark blue uniforms striding around the perimeters, scowling at the women as though they were prisoners and the officers there begrudgingly to keep them in line.
“Who are they?”
Garrett scowled. “The vice squad. According to them, reminding people of the inherent humanity of women is so shocking it would lead to the moral downfall of the citizenry.”
Rose blinked and stared at the men in question.
“And then they’re the mashers,” Abby said. “A bunch of drunks like to show up and harass the women who come to these things, and Cass… stands out.”
“She’s at the back with Mrs. Restell, distributing literature on contraception,” Garrett said.
The crowd murmured with collective anticipation, and Rose swung her hungry gaze forward. Ben stepped up to the podium and drew folded papers from his pocket, spreading them wide and lifting his chin.
Rose’s breath caught. He was a vision, his dark hair gleaming almost blue in the brilliant sun that gleamed like a spotlight in a theater, his broad shoulders commanding and quietly powerful beneath a tan jacket and matching waistcoat. His rosette, identical to Rose’s and Abby’s and to those of nearly everyone in the crowd, glowed.
“The plight of women in New York will never improve until women can elect those who will represent them, who will establish laws…”
His words poured over her, his gruff tone giving way to a smooth baritone as they wove a spell around the women gathered. As Rose stared at him, shefelta pull she couldn’t name. She wanted to be close to him, to hear him speak and learn more about his mind.
Rose slid forward; years of maneuvering ballrooms had given her ample practice at gliding through packed rooms; indistinct murmurs of apology and gracious smiles granted her access to the front of the pack, where she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other women.
Ben paused, dropping his gaze for a moment, and when he lifted his head again, his eyes glinted in the light. “My wife would still be alive today had we been able to find safe and affordable contraception.”
The crowd collectively sucked in its breath, and Rose’s stomach dropped.His wife? He’s a widower?
“We knew carrying a child would put her life in danger, but because of the restrictions put in place by the Comstock Laws, we could not secure contraception. When we discovered Aiko was expecting our child—”
Ben turned his head to the side, and even from the distance Rose saw the rapid rise and fall of his chest. She wanted to be next to him, to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. Despite barely knowing him, something in her chest broke open hearing his story, connected her to him in a way that defied logic.
“We lived each day in fear,” he managed. “I wanted to celebrate the life we created, but I knew it would take her away from me. And when that fateful day came, two months early…”
He trailed off, and the women sniffed softly, dabbing their tears. The irritation she felt towards Ben for his rudeness and, at times, open hostility for her, ebbed. Had she experienced the pain he had, she would be devastated, not speaking about it to a crowd.
Clearing his throat, Ben spoke again, and his voice carried over the park like that of a masterful priest delivering a homily. “My wife and child will not die in vain. I have dedicated my life to ensuring no woman will suffer the same fate, and I will not rest until women can vote and elect people who will represent their needs. Join this fight in honor of my wife Aiko and my son Hotaru. In honor of the thousands of women whose stories those in power will never hear, unless we tell them.”
The crowd erupted in furious applause that echoed off the bridge and buffeted her from all sides. This was what it meant to be part of a movement, something bigger that swept her along on its tide. She wanted to lose herself in it, to drown in the battle, to join Ben in taking up arms to avenge his wife.
She barely heard his introduction of the next speaker through the ringing in her ears, the thrumming of enervated blood in her veins.
“I have seen how women suffer at the whim of men,” Mrs. Belmont said, her voice sounding as appropriate for a drawing room as a political rally. “Until women’s voices are heard, we will forever be second-class citizens, and women like Mrs. North—” She gestured at Ben as he descended the three stairs into the crowd, “—will suffer. The time has come for change!”
A loud cheer rose around her, and Rose cried out as well, clapping as she felt a warm flush course through her body. Surrounded by women, hearing these words, she felt invigorated,aliveand bursting with purpose for the first time in—could it be that she had never felt this way?
She registered the touch of a large hand against her lower back with a start. “What are you doing up here?” She turned toward the sound of the gruff words and glared, as Ben’s fierce expression did nothing to tamp down her zeal. “Let’s go.”
“You were brilliant.” She gripped his lapel and gave it a sharp tug. “And I’m not leaving.” She looked back at the stage and ignored the growl from behind her.
“I have it on good authority,” Mrs Belmont continued, “that Representative Linden intends to introduce additional provisions of the Comstock Laws, increasing penalties for the use of contraception to include jail time.”
The crowd rumbled as one, the energy palpable. Rose trembled and Ben pressed closer.
“You are leaving.” Ben gripped her elbow, his touch firm but not bruising, commanding but careful, as he pulled, but Rose dug in her heels. “This is about to get bad. You don’t want to be here.”
“How bad could it be? Besides, isn’t the entire purpose of this gathering to prove that women do not need to be subject to the whims of men simply because a man says so?”
Ben’s mouth opened to speak, but a ruckus to their right cut him off, drunken shouts loud enough to stop Mrs. Belmont in the midst of her speech. The speaker shielded her eyes as she scanned the crowd for the disturbance. She stilled and stiffened when she spotted the source, still out of Rose’s vision.
