“Come in,” the voice said, and Elise turned the knob to see Lord Dorsten behind an imposing desk.
“Well, well. What have we here?” Dorsten said with a smirk. “Not what I was expecting, but always a nice surprise to see your pretty face. I’m surprised Weston let you out to play.”
Disgust crawled down Elise’s spine as she saw the gleam in his eye. Bracing herself and standing straight, Elise knew addressing him head on was her only option. She would not be cowed by his revolting manner.
“I’ve come to ask you to consider voting in favor of bringing the Whig bill to the floor for debate.”
A startled look crossed Dorsten’s face, surprised by the topic. “And why on earth would I do that?” he asked, quickly recovering.
“Because it’s the right thing to do. I know that’s a foreign concept to you, my lord, but in a civilized society, all good ideas should be allowed to be debated.”
“Did Weston send you here as his little errand girl? What, he thought I’d be more receptive to a pretty face?”
“On the contrary. Lord Weston does not plan to seek your vote, as he does not believe you’re the type of man who should represent what the Whigs stand for. That being said, what’s at stake is too important and I won’t let his feelings for me hinder progress. You don’t need to vote in favor of the bill, only for opening debate on its merits.”
“Again, I ask, and why should I do that?” Dorsten snarled.
“Because if I wanted to, I could ruin you,” Elise said as calmly as possible.
Throwing his head back, Dorsten laughed. “How exactly do you think you would be able to do that? I don’t know what you think you have on me, but who would believe the words of a ruined little hussy over a lord?”
“I would simply let others in thetonknow how you treated a respectable lady. What you’ve never seemed to understand is the nature of my ruination. I’m not some loose woman who was caught in a compromising situation, what you assumed when hearing the label applied to me. I was helping an injured footman at a ball and was looked down upon for taking him into a side room for treatment.” Elise thrilled to see the color draining from his face.
“From the start, many protested my treatment and exclusion from polite society, as I had not done anything truly wrong. It really was a case of wrong place, wrong time. That’s why I was still invited to Lady Waterston’s the evening you encountered me. You see, I still had many friends working on my behalf. Just as I still do now. What you are unaware of is that currently a campaign is being waged on my behalf to restore my name and reputation so I might return to polite society. By all accounts, it’s going quite well, so I’m not sure how people will react to your attempted assault of me.”
Standing quickly, Dorsten was deathly pale. “I’m so sorry, my lady,” he spluttered. “I didn’t know. You can’t blame me for that.”
“Can’t I?” Elise asked, tilting her head. “The truth is, it shouldn’t matter if you knew or not. How a woman acts or how others see her should not matter in terms of the respect she should be given. Even if I had been ruined in the way you believed, it wouldn’t make it acceptable for you to do as you pleased with me. Women are still in possession of their own minds and can make their own decisions. Even if a woman has been compromised by a man, that does not mean she is fair game.”
Shaking her head, Elise felt a command of herself she hadn’t in a long time by standing up for women everywhere and reclaiming her power from this small man. She would never cower to him again. “Do better, Lord Dorsten. Be a better man, and that starts with allowing a fair debate on the ideas regarding reform. You allow that to happen and no one ever needs to know what a shameful excuse of a man you have been before now.”
Turning in triumph, Elise walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
* * *
Stunned, Reid watched as Lord Dorsten and several of his closest cronies voted in favor of opening debate on the bill the Whigs had put forth.
Walking past him at the end of the lively session, Dorsten leaned over and said, “Close your mouth, Weston. You can thank your little minx for that.”
What did he mean by that? He could only have been referring to Elise, and Reid was nervous to learn what she had done. Distracted, he wasn’t quite as present when he, Fitz, and Henry were approached by several lords in the hall to remark on the argument for reform they had put forth in the chamber.
Henry was jubilant as they headed to their offices to disrobe. “We have to go celebrate, why don’t we head to the club for dinner and drinks?”
“I’d love to, my friend, but I have to see Elise. She’s returning to Dorset tomorrow and I want to say goodbye.” He also needed to ask her what exactly she had done to secure those votes, though he wasn’t sure he was prepared for the answer.
“Of course. Do give Elise my best. I know Grace is so looking forward to meeting her once the season starts.” Henry gave him a final smile and slap on the back before going to find Sidney to join in their revelry.
Rushing from Westminster, Reid hailed a handsome cab, too impatient to wait for his own. When he was close to Pelham’s house, he hopped from the carriage and ran down the final stretch of the road. Pounding on the door, a footman answered and pushing past the baffled attendant, he called out for Elise.
“Reid, what on earth! What’s wrong?” Elise said, coming from the library.
“What did you say to Dorsten?” he asked, slightly out of breath.
Elise’s entire face lit up. “Does that mean he voted in favor of debate?”
“Yes, he did. As well as some of his friends. What did you do?”
“Now don’t be cross with me, but I went to see him this morning before the vote and told him it was the right thing to do. I also may have told him that if he did not, I would share what had happened between us and ruin his reputation now that mine is on the rise,” she added with a sly smile.
