Mack spent the meal carefully probing for details and creating the illusion he agreed with Mr. Olms’ stance without actually voicing it. At one point, Mack glanced down the table and found Winnie watching him with a speculative frown.
He sent her a reassuring smile, but she looked away without returning it. His smile faltered, but he threw himself back into the conversation with Mr. Olms. By the time dinner was finished and the guests were putting on their coats, he had pried the secret out and was feeling smug.
On the walk home, his aunt chattered happily, but Winnie’s cheer was forced. When he touched her arm in concern, she stiffened, confounding him further. As soon as they arrived home, Jenny disappeared into the kitchen. Winnie hovered at the foot of the stairs, unwilling to look at him.
“Well, goodnight,” she said stiffly, and started up the narrow staircase.
“Don’t you want to know what I found out?”
She stilled on the bottom step, but she didn’t turn around. “What I need is for you to explain why you were so chummy with a well-known anti-suffrage supporter.”
His lips parted in surprise at the tremor in her voice. “It was obvious Mr. Olms was there to cause friction, so I thought I was doing you a service by distracting the man.”
She swung around and met his gaze. “I heard what he was talking about, and to my shock, you didn’t disagree with him.”
“Winnie, no. I was playing him for a fool.”
“I can’t help but feel you’re playingmefor a fool.”
Her words settled in his stomach like boulders. For weeks hehadbeen covertly working against her, but he hadfinallyfound the right path forward.
And she didn’t believe him.
A wave of tiredness swept over him, but he shoved it aside. “Have you heard of Reverend Roy Lipscomb?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s a leading anti-suffragist currently on a whistlestop tour around the nation.”
“That’s right. And he’s coming here.”
“Washington isn’t on his itinerary. We checked.”
“That’s what he wants the suffragists to believe. During dinner, I got Mr. Olms to reveal the date and location of a male-only event.”
Her throat worked as she absorbed the information. “Why would he tell you?”
“Because I convinced him I shared the same beliefs.”
“But you don’t.”
“Hell, no.”
She examined him another moment. “Would you have told me if I hadn’t demanded an explanation?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I was going to tell you the second dinner finished, but you were acting strangely, and I thought it should wait until we were alone.”
“Oh.” She uncrossed her arms and fiddled with a red curl dangling over her ear. “I was mad at you.”
“I see that,” he said dryly. “To be clear, I support woman suffrage. I supportyou.I don’t want to be involved with Mr. Olms’ association, I don’t want to report on the event, and I was always going to give you the information. Knowledge is power, and your suffrage society deserves to wield that power in whatever form you desire.”
Winnie took a deep breath, a determined glint overtaking her suspicion. “That we will. I already have ideas, starting with storming this all-male event.”
He chuckled. “That’s exactly what I thought you’d say. I’ll write down all the details in the morning.”
“And I’ll get them to Clem as soon as we return to Seattle.”
They stared at each other in silence, the moment stretching into awkwardness.
“I know it’s difficult for you to trust men’s intentions, but I’m trying,” he said finally. “And I’ll keep trying.”
