******
“You’ll be glad to know Mrs. Sheppard made it through the night. “ The goliath of a man standing on the other side of the oak desk did not sound like he was very pleased. His name was King Dick, and never had a man been better named. He looked powerful, he sounded powerful, and as Prime Minister of New Zealand he was. Luckily for Miss Braun, he was not the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
Eliza found she didn’t have the energy to respond as she should have. She had changed her clothes, but hadn’t had a chance to have bath since Oamaru. Her hair still smelt of smoke and blood.
A government airship had been sent to evacuate Kate to Wellington, and after that it had been a bit of a blur. Luckily for the suffragist it would have reflected badly to have the government leave a prominent lady such as herself to die in a tiny town after such an event.
Douglas had accompanied his mother to hospital, while Eliza numbly went to meet Mr. John Hall with the petition in the trunk. She’d barely said two sentences to him, and though he had called after her, she had no reply to give him.
The summons by the Prime Minister would have usually engendered at least some nervousness, but all she could think of was Kate’s face covered in blood.
Richard Seddon, not used to being so ignored, cleared his throat again, leaning over the desk. “I don’t think, Agent Braun, you realise how much trouble you are in. Not only did you pursue a case without permission from your superior at the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, but you also killed a member of Parliament, and caused a fire in a boarding establishment!”
She knew what he wasn’t going to say was the real reason he was so angry with her was that she had succeeded in getting the petition to Wellington, and that come Monday morning he would have to deal with that in parliament. King Dick was not known for his appreciation of Kate Sheppard’s efforts.
“Even more unfortunately,” Seddon said easing himself into his chair, while Eliza remained standing, “I can do nothing about it, since the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is directed from London and not from New Zealand.” He grunted at that, again making his opinion known without a word.
At that moment, Eliza didn’t care. She loved what she did, but she could not shake the recollection of Douglas’ face as he followed the stretcher into the hospital. She knew what he had to be thinking. Eliza had said she would protect them, and now his mother hovered on the brink of death. Her job, which he had always seen as a silly fancy, had suddenly become much more serious.
The Prime Minister waited for a moment, for some reaction. When there was none, he slammed his fist on the desk. Eliza did jump at that.
“Damnit woman, I can’t get you demoted, but there is one thing I can do. You have to leave immediately!”
“Pardon?” She shook her head as if emerging from a London fog.
King Dick grinned, with an expression that would have looked better on a crocodile. “You have to leave, and by Jove, I’ll do everything to make sure you never set foot in this country again. We don’t need your sort of feminine derry doing here.”
“But...” Eliza was wondering if this nightmare was never going to end, “This is my home!”
“Not anymore.” He pulled a sheef of papers in front of him. “You’re being reassigned to the London office of the Ministry. And if you ever come back to our fair shores, Miss Eliza D Braun, you will be arrested as a public menace, the murderer of Mr. Henry Smith Fish, and arsonist of the Valiant Hotel.”
She had never pleaded for anything in her life, but suddenly she understood how much she loved New Zealand—just as it was about to be snatched away. “Please, sir,” she gasped out. “My family are here, the man I love—I can’t leave forever. I just can’t!”
His look was as cold as an Antarctic winter. “Then don’t. Spend your time in a prison here for the rest of your life.”
The grim reality began to settle over her. She had won, but she had lost. She could not disgrace her family, Douglas or the Ministry. It had to be London then.
However she was not going to leave without getting a last word in. Now it was her turn to lean over the desk. “I’ll go then—but I hope one day Richard Seddon, you learn how painful it is to lose all you love—including your country! Think of me when that day comes!”
With that she turned on her heel and marched out of the Prime Minister’s office. She would go and find Douglas, and send word to her family what had happened. It was going to be hard indeed to be parted from them and him—but what other choice did she have? None. None but to be the scapegoat for others rage.
She comforted herself that maybe things would alter, maybe the suffragists would change things, and it would not be men in charge forever. Maybe one day there would be a woman in King Dick’s place.
That thought and one other warmed her as she strode out of the parliament buildings. Monday was not yet here, and the petition would be presented. She would stay that long at least, book passage north once it was over. She wanted to see the faces of all those menfolk when Kate and the suffragists’ success was revealed.
It would make the leaving easier—or if not, at least worthwhile.
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