The Speaker of the House bade Mr. York to read the petition in full.
After doing so, Mr. York concluded by requesting a limit of ten and a half hours of hard labor per day, with an allowance of half an hour for breakfast and an hour for dinner.
This time, the cries of “Hear, hear!” were muffled by a loud roar of dissent.
A gentleman with an enormous cravat sprang to his feet. “The House condescended to form a select committee upon this very subject two years ago. Their report indicates that the workers in manufactories arenotoverworked. This petition is none of our concern.”
“Not overworked?” Kuni said in disbelief.
“Mr. Curwen,” the duchess muttered in disgust.
“It is not the House that should act as children’s protectors, but their parents. Such oversight is simply not a matter for the government. If parents do not like to see their children in cruel conditions, then they are the ones best positioned to remove them from it.”
“Such rubbish!” the duchess fumed. “As if an otherwise penniless family forced to work at the only employment in their district would have anychoicein the matter! He means for their only options to be exploitation or starvation?”
Kuni was flooded with gratitude for the men and women who tended the picturesque hills of flowers she loved so much. The farmers and fishermen and dairy maids without whom the palace could not supply their long, lavish meals. She could not help but wonder what the lives of laborers in her home country must be like.
An ally stood. “Once I was made cognizant of the injurious nature of my factories’ previous mode of regulation, I took immediate action to correct it. Pursuit of profit and good Christian values need not be enemies. I am most anxious to concur with Mr. York’s proposed remedy.”
“Sir Robert Peel,” Chloe whispered.
“Gentlemen!” A new man rose to his feet. “These arguments are unnecessary and immaterial. The petition brought to us by Mr. York is signednotby the allegedly exploited laborers themselves, but by uninterested parties in their community. Therefore, the document and its topic bear no grounds in this chamber.”
“What hypocrisy!” Chloe sputtered. “This twaddle is nothing more than a flimsy, barefaced excuse to discount the opinions of—”
Mr. York leapt to his feet, but was interrupted by the Speaker of the House, who called for a summary vote.
When the vote was through, Kuni frowned at an unfamiliar rebuke. “What does ‘ordered to lie on the table’ mean?”
Bleakly, the duchess’s head disappeared from the aperture. “It means no.”
Kuni jerked her head out as well to stare at Chloe. “It meansno?”
“It means they won’t amend the laws. They won’t even create a new committee to consider it. They don’t think it merits their time.”
Which meant everything the Wynchesters had done…was for nothing. All those people whose hopes—and lives—depended on that petition…
“But the men agreed to the facts,” Kuni stammered. “Small children. Long hours. No respite, even for food. And dangerous conditions.”
“Sometimes, two sides can agree on the facts of a matter, without agreeing whether those same facts sum up to good or evil.”
“How could it be good?” Kuni sputtered. “The imbalance of power is laughable. People with no other options rely on the manufactory for survival, whilst the owners can simply employ new workers. Their pockets stay lined with gold, no matter what path they take.”
“Aha,” said Chloe. “You have discovered why the other side does not find it evil.”
“How can they sleep at night?” Kuni burst out.
“On very, very comfortable beds,” the duchess answered wearily.
Kuni’s body ached with disappointment. Her chest was hollow, and her stomach churned with acid at the realization that nothing was going to change.
“So that’s it?” Her vision was blurry. “We just leave those poor people to starve…or be mangled…or die?”
“Not at all. We tried to bring reform through proper channels, but Wynchesters never make a plan without a contingency.” Chloe’s chin rose. “If a clean fight cannot happen, then we’ll just have to get our hands dirty.”
Kuni’s breath hitched. “You mean…there might still be a way?”
“There’s always a way.” Reverently, the duchess touched her hand to her chest and lifted her fingers toward the rafters.
