Giles decided not to go to the flagship to report on the sailors he had rescued. Looking through his telescope at the decks of the ship of the line revealed that it was again crowded with the people who had that morning come eagerly to enjoy a day on the water with a competition to keep their interest. They now looked a bedraggled, fractious and unhappy lot. They would, without doubt, make the lives of every one of the Nevsky’s officers from Admiral to midshipmen miserable. Instead, Giles recruited Lieutenant Pirov’s help in visiting the sick bay to try to cheer-up the men who had been rescued. It was only when he had finished having a word with each of the survivors that he realized that the Russian sailors’ main reaction to him, which was also Lieutenant Pirov’s, was amazement that such a senior officer would even think about their well-being.
That evening, as Giles completed the day’s addition to his ongoing letter to Daphne, he reflected on how unsatisfactory it was to communicate with her in this way. He had had no news of her since her coach had disappeared down the road in Chatham, and he had received none about the activities in Dipton or even of her report to Sir David MacDougall. Had the baby been born yet? If so how had the birthing gone? Was it a boy or a girl? Even more importantly, had Daphne come through the ordeal unscathed? Perhaps he should take the seat in Parliament as Sir David had suggested. It would probably keep him in home waters and, even if he could visit Dipton only infrequently, he would receive news regularly. This thought made him wonder if the by-election had been called. He had expressed to Daphne his lack of interest in becoming an MP as he had to Sir David McDougall. She and her father would, no doubt, have taken him at his word and nominated someone else. Who might it be? How he longed for news!
Chapter XX
Geoffreys returned late in the afternoon two days after Daphne had given him his mission. He must have been in the saddle almost the whole time.
“Did you see Sir David?” Daphne asked as soon as the groom was shown in.
“Yes, my lady. I arrived at the Admiralty near noon yesterday. Sir David was not there, but his secretary thought that he was at Downing Street.” Daphne was surprised that Geoffreys had not been left to kick his heels for hours in the standard Admiralty way. Perhaps they reserved that treatment for navy officers.
“I went to Downing Street immediately, but the clerks there said Sir David was with the Prime Minister. When I told them that the message was urgent and that you had required me to get it to Sir David as soon as possible, they relented and took it into him. I am afraid that I fell asleep while waiting for word of whether there would be a reply.”
“Well, what happened then?”
“I was woken up by Sir David himself. He gave me a letter for you. Here it is. And one for the commanding officer of the Army regiment which is bivouacked near Ameschester. I am to deliver it immediately.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“Not really, my lady. I did overhear the Prime Minister say to Sir David, ‘This is serious, David, very serious. Can’t just have chaps stealing seats in the House. And it will be a lot easier to deal with if it can be stopped before this stooge is elected’.”
“Thank you, Geoffreys. I think you should ride to Ameschester right away. Cook can give you something to eat as you go.”
Daphne opened the letter as Geoffreys turned to go on the next part of his mission. The message was short.
Dear Lady Ashton,
Your letter has caused quite a bit of disturbance to the Prime Minister and myself. Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention.
We are taking the following steps to right the situation.
First, Mr. Justice Amery, of the Court of Queen’s Bench, has agreed to become the electoral officer for Dipton. He has been given a warrant to hold the election using the proper list of electors.
Second, in his name we have issued a new election notice with a revised list of electors. The list is the one you sent to me with the name of Lord Ashton substituted for Mr. Gramley’s. Mr. Justice Amery will be bringing the revised list with him.
Third, Mr. Justice Amery will be travelling by post chaise and should arrive by the evening of the day before the election is to be held. He will be bringing with him his clerk and two specially commissioned bailiffs. I have taken the liberty of suggesting that they stay at Dipton Hall since the Inn may be a place of disturbance on Election Day. If this is inconvenient, I hope you will be able to make other arrangements.
Fourth, we are arranging for a company of the Ameshire Regiment of Foot to be at the election place to quell any disturbance that may arise as a result of the enforcement of the correct electoral procedures or the dubious nature of the voter’s list that has been issued. We are enlisting your messenger to carry these orders to the officer in command at Ameschester.
Thank you again for your assistance.
I remain, madam, your humble servant
David MacDougall, KB
Daphne was surprised that Sir David had been able to move so quickly. It sounded as if the fraudulent election would not go forward as Sir Thomas Dimster intended. She could, of course, accommodate the judge who would be overseeing the election, but propriety suggested that he would be better housed at her father’s house, Dipton Manor. She would have to share the news about how the election was being changed with her father in any case, and she was sure that he would be happy to provide the needed accommodations. She sent him a note to tell him about the reply she had received from Sir David and about the need to accommodate the judge. Mr. Moorhouse, however, soon came over to Dipton Hall, both to discuss the situation with Daphne and to welcome the judge.
Mr. Justice Amery did not arrive until late in the evening. He was a small man, slender and with graying hair that he wore tied back in a cue. He had a high pitched, soft voice. He had been travelling all day, but was still alert because, he said, he had slept much of the way. He was hungry as were the men he had brought with him and was happy to enjoy a supper, which Mrs. Darling had quickly prepared when he arrived, and which he shared with Daphne and her father. He had first made sure that his instructions to the soldiers had been conveyed,
Mr. Amery turned out to be a good conversationalist. He showed a genuine interest in Dipton and also regaled them with tales of amusing things he had observed while presiding in court. Daphne warmed to him. She had been afraid that Sir David was sending them a fierce and strongly opinionated man to enforce the true requirements of the electoral process. He did frustrate his listeners by steadfastly refusing to discuss what had happened to change how the Dipton election would be conducted. All he would say was that he had issued a new election notice and a new list of electors. He had told Geoffreys to post them wherever the original had been posted. It would supersede Sir Thomas’s notice. All he would say about it was that it would be wise for Mr. Moorhouse to be present at the Inn at two o’clock.
The next morning Daphne really did not want to wait, as was proper, for some man to come and tell her what happened at the Dipton Inn when Mr. Justice Amery confronted Sir Thomas Dipton. She certainly could not mingle in the crowd that would be assembling in the inn-yard for the election. However, she could easily persuade her former lady’s maid, Elsie, who was now the wife of the innkeeper, Carstairs, and was running the Inn in his absence, to let her watch from an upstairs window.
Daphne arrived at the Inn an hour and a half before the election was supposed to begin. That was none too early, for already some eager men had assembled in the inn-yard primarily to imbibe from the casks of ale and stout, which were available to those who would vote for Mr. Longshank. Some men were also gathered at the inn door waiting for the proceedings to begin. Daphne hesitated as soon as she saw the gauntlet that she would have to run to reach the Dipton Arms.
“Come to see the fun, Daphne?” Mr. Jackson had come up from behind her as she waited.
“Yes. But I don’t fancy forcing my way through that mob. I suppose that you are going to scold me for walking here so soon after giving birth.
”
“Why should I? It’s good for you. But you may be wise not to plunge into that group by yourself in order to get to the door. Would you like me to escort you? There may be one or two catcalls, but nothing more this early in the proceedings. We can just wait until that lot goes into the inn-yard to get at the ale.”
“That would be very good of you. How are your new and rich mothers-to-be doing?”
“As well as may be expected since they won’t follow my advice. Strenuous exercise beyond a leisurely walk seems to be beyond most of them. I warn them that having me as their midwife won’t ease the pains of labor if they do nothing to get ready for the delivery except buy fancy clothes for the baby and themselves, but they just nod their heads and seem to think that hearing the advice is sufficient. At least they or their babies are somewhat less likely to die than they would with that butcher Verdour and they haven’t been confined in advance of the births. Now, I think the coast is clear. Let’s go.”
Mr. Jackson took Daphne’s arm and they walked unhurriedly to the door of the inn. Elsie welcomed them warmly, but rather distractedly. She was anticipating a brisk business as the crowd gathered. She had dozens of pies baked, which were now ready to be served from tables already set up in the yard. Mr. Longshank’s agent had ordered her to make the food ready just before the election was to start. Anyone who voted for his candidate was to be rewarded with a pie, as well as more of the ale or stout that the candidate was already providing to potential voters. So far, Lord David had ordered nothing though he was in the yard, as was Mr. Longshank. Her brother-in-law was busily greeting people, apparently quite unaware that the voters’ list included very few people who were likely to support him, at least not without a better reward than what Mr. Longshank was providing. Both candidates seemed to be oblivious of their rather unpleasant earlier meeting.
“It is a pity,” said Elsie. “Everyone in the bar the last few nights agreed that Lord David would make a very much better MP, but that strange list seems designed to prevent him from being elected. I, myself, don’t like Mr. Longshank, but it hardly matters. I can’t vote and even Carstairs couldn’t if he were here since his name is not on the list. It is very strange.”
“It is that,” Daphne responded, “but it is also not over and everyone is in for some surprises. I cannot tell you what they are, but you can expect to lay out your pies, whatever the outcome, for if Mr. Longshank won’t pay – and I won’t be surprised if his agent breaks his commitment to you, I will pay for everyone to have one and to provide some more ale and stout. I think we will still have something to celebrate in Dipton. You should set your cook to making some more pies as soon as she can and anything else that can be provided easily. They will be needed starting about two-thirty. Now I’d like to have a room facing the yard from which I can watch the proceedings.”
“I’ll be leaving now, Daphne,” said Mr. Jackson. “Since I am not on the elector’s list, I have no desire to be here for the election and see all these men become the worse for drink.”
Daphne turned to him and said in a low voice, “I hope you will stay, Mr. Jackson. I think you will find that the list that is used is quite different from the one posted and your name will be on it.”
“What have you been plotting, Daphne?”
“I cannot say, because the man who is going to be in charge of the election told me to keep it secret. That is so that Sir Thomas and Mr. Longshanks will not be able to do anything about the surprise that is planned. I am sure you will find it amusing.”
Elsie took Daphne to a room that overlooked the inn-yard, and laid a table for a light luncheon that Daphne could eat as she watched the scene below her. The yard was filling up steadily, not only with men who were on the electors’ list but others as well. There was a certain amount of bad feeling expressed as those who were without a vote found that they would be expected to pay for their ale. Daphne had thought it better not to tell him about the latest developments in case his conscience might lead him to warn the Longshank forces of what was afoot.
Just as the clock on the Church tower began to strike two o’clock, Sir Thomas, accompanied by a pair of large, tough-looking men and a clerk, entered the inn-yard heading towards a low platform he had had built in anticipation of conducting the election. At the same moment, from outside the yard a bugle call sounded, followed by the rat-tat-tat of a drum. Then a band struck up a march. This was accompanied by the sound of marching feet. What was happening soon became evident to everyone in the inn-yard as a military band appeared at the entrance. It stood marking time as a company of soldiers marched past them and, entering the yard, proceeded along the sides of the square until they entirely encircled it. Each of the soldiers had a musket slung over his shoulder with a bayonet already affixed to it. When they were all in position, the cry came to first present arms and then to stand at ease. The effect was that the crowd in the inn-yard was now surrounded by armed men. They were standing at ease with their feet apart, but with bayonetted muskets in their hands. The soldiers appeared to be fully alert. When they were in position, Mr. Justice Avery entered the yard. He was dressed in the robes of his office as a judge, including a full-bottomed wig. He was followed by two other men in antique and rather flamboyant uniforms, some clerks, and a platoon of soldiers.
On entering the inn-yard, the judge called out in a large voice, “Sir Thomas Dimster. In the name of the King, I hereby arrest you pursuant to a warrant on the charge of treason to the state and of fraudulently conspiring to misconduct the election for the First Member of Parliament for the Borough Constituency of Dipton. You will be bound over to face trial at the next assizes in Ameschester. Sheriffs, carry out the warrant and secure that man.” He pointed directly to where Sir Thomas stood on his platform and Mr. Justice Amery’s two specially uniformed followers, stepped forward with the soldiers to climb the platform. They took the baronet by his arms and marched him off the platform and out of the inn-yard. The crowd stood thunderstruck at this development. Before they could recover their voices, the judge mounted the platform, held up his hands for silence, rather unnecessarily, and addressed the crowd.
“Residents of Dipton. I must report that Sir Thomas Dimster, who was appointed returning officer for the election called by the House of Commons, has been arrested because he adopted a different method of choosing electors than that established both by the terms of the original creation of the Constituency and by the long tradition of how Members of Parliament are chosen by this riding. These actions constitute an act of treason for which Sir Thomas will stand trial in the next assizes in Ameschester. Despite this plot, the election will proceed today in accord to the proper list of electors that together with the revised notice of the election has been posted in prominent places.
“The candidates for the First Seat in the House of Commons for the Borough of Dipton are the Honorable Mr. David Giles, vicar, of Dipton, and Mr. Andrew Longshank, solicitor, of London. As I call your name, please make yourself known and state your vote.”
Daphne had been afraid at first that Mr. Avery’s light tenor voice would not be able to command attention and respect. She had to acknowledge that she had been wrong. Though his voice was light, his measured delivery made his pronouncement more ominous and commanding than a full-throated baritone would have achieved.
Voting was rapidly completed with so few electors on the list even though Mr. Moorhouse had to repeat his vote based on each of his eligible properties and, for each of Giles’s holdings, it had to be established that Viscount Ashton was not present. Only Dr. Verdour cast a vote for Mr. Longshank. When every name on the list had been called, Mr. Justice Avery declared that the Honorable Mr. David Giles had been elected. Glancing at a note that had been handed to him, he continued by announcing that new casks of ale and stout had been opened and that pies and other confections were laid on tables outside the inn, all being a gift from Vicountess Ashton. As news of what was happening spread through the community, many men who had been exclud
ed from the fake voters’ list had drifted into the inn-yard. They were mostly people who would have voted for Lord David if they had had the chance and they now quite clearly outnumbered the men who were to vote for Mr. Longshank. The latter, who had mainly attended due to the promise of free drink and food, accepted the outcome cheerfully. Since the free beer and food that was the main reason for their being there was being provided anyway, they were quite happy not to protest the election. Indeed, the scene in the inn-yard was so peaceful that the captain in charge of the army detail ordered his soldiers to stack their arms and enjoy the celebration. At that point, Daphne decided that she should leave. Mr. Moorhouse, Lord David and Mr. Justice Avery all decided to follow her example before things became too rowdy. The latter did give his clerks permission to join in the festivities, but only after they had made sure that the records pertaining to the election were safe.
Dinner at Dipton Hall later in the day was a festive occasion, even though only Lord David and Mr. Justice Avery joined Daphne and her father. The judge turned out to have a lively curiosity about the community into which he had been thrust and a droll sense of humor. He kept them amused by a string of anecdotes about incidents in court that hardly met the dignity that was supposed to be reserved for formal judgment.
When the appropriate time came for Daphne to withdraw, Mr. Moorhouse intervened to say that, when she was the only female diner, she usually stayed to participate in the conversation that occurred over the port. So the cloth was withdrawn, the decanters of fortified wine were placed on the table together with plates of nuts and dried fruit, and the butler directed the footmen to place the glasses. The servants then all left while Daphne settled into her place at the table with the men gathered around her. Daphne’s participation was probably most unusual in Mr. Justice Avery’s experience, but he accepted the situation with equanimity.
A War by Diplomacy_At Home and At Sea, 1804 Page 24