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There was a brief silence between them.
“How can we stop this? Do you have any ideas now that it is only but a whisper in the streets?” Kenneth asked, his voice laden with worry.
“I really do not know.”
Kenneth mulled over the information Leonard had given him.
“Well, is it possible to identify the chief instigators amongst these groups? So I can meet with them and quell their rage. Show them the bill I’m trying to get passed in parliament and have them know that violence isn’t the answer,” Kenneth asked.
Before Leonard could respond, the Duke walked into the study and cleared his throat. Kenneth simply stood to his feet while Leonard turned around to face the Duke.
“Your Grace!” Leonard greeted.
“Leave us be. My son and I have matters to discuss,” the Duke announced, dismissing Leonard without acknowledging the valet’s salutation.
“Of course, Your Grace,” Leonard said, and walked out of the study, leaving both of them behind.
“I thought you were entertaining friends to dinner,” Kenneth remarked.
“Well, they are currently having dinner downstairs. I came here to invite you to join us.”
“You came up here to invite me to dinner? Personally?” Kenneth sounded shocked. “Come now, Father. What is the exact reason for your visit?”
Of course, his father was lying about his exact reason. Any number of servants, including Leonard, could have been sent to summon him to dinner. “So I heard what happened in parliament,” his father said.
Kenneth simply stood and watched his father without a response.
“You should have listened and done exactly what I told you to do. Now, not only have you gone and made a complete mess of yourself in parliament, you have embarrassed this family,” the Duke asserted in a stern tone.
I beg your pardon? An epidemic on our hands that I am trying to avert and you are worried about family reputation?
If only his father knew what Leonard had just told him and how important this bill was.
If only the rest of the Lords in parliament knew as well.
They would have been running wild to get the bill passed. If what happened in France a few decades ago was being whispered in the streets, Britain’s high society had a serious problem on their hands. An uprising was scary business.
And they aren’t even aware.
“Really, Father? That is all you have to say? That I embarrassed you? Well, I’m sorry if I have ruined your family’s stellar reputation in place of actually trying to do some actual good in this world,” Kenneth retorted in disgust.
“You know exactly what I mean, Kenneth. Don’t change this into a morality debate for goodness sake,” the Duke said in exasperation.
“But I didn’t make this a morality debate. You did when you placed family reputation above the good of the common folk,” Kenneth fired back.
“I did not turn down your bill in its entirety, Son. I only asked you to change a few things in it in order for it to get passed in parliament.”
“No. You asked me to change a few things to get your continued support, Father. There is a huge difference. Not to mention that what you asked me to change would have transformed the bill totally, into something I didn’t recognize. How will that have accomplished what I originally intended it to?”
“My goodness!” the Duke exclaimed while rubbing his temples to relieve stress.
“Here we go,” Kenneth remarked knowing fully well what came next. They had similar arguments so many times he knew a tirade came after his father’s temple rubbing.
“You know what the problem is? You are too stubborn for your own good! Too obstinate to realize that you are the one standing in your own way! Too thick-headed to get over this ridiculousness of caring what happens to common folks. Get over this fantasy, Kenneth. The common folks are the common folks. You are a Marquess and son of a Duke. Start acting like it,” the Duke railed.
“Well, at least now we know what you think of the common folk, their plight, as well as this bill.”
“Enough!” the Duke bawled.
