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entirely true.  One of
them did say the blindfold he used felt like silk.  Noteworthy it would seem in
a rural town where most men wear scarves made of wool if they wear them at all.”
    “If
that’s all the description three victims managed to collectively produce, then
it would seem that blinding the women, even momentarily, served his purpose,”
Tom said.  “And, I’m sorry Rayley, but I don’t read anything symbolic or grand
into the gesture at all.  If you don’t intend to kill your victim, and there’s
no evidence suggesting that this particular rapist is warming up to murder,
then your most pressing task is to make sure she doesn’t see your face.”
    “But
I quite know where Rayley is going,” Geraldine said, suddenly jerking to
attention in the manner of a mechanical soothsayer at a traveling fair.  “There
are certain acts of dominance, are there not, which are designed to break the
spirit?  The binding of the hands is one, and taking away someone’s sight or
hearing is another.  I’ve seen it with the suffragettes.”
    “The
suffragettes?”  Trevor asked cautiously.  It was a bizarre non sequitur even
for Geraldine.
    She
nodded and leaned forward to place her teacup on the table.  “Do you all recall
that dark day when I was arrested at the protest about allowing women to row on
the Thames?  You surely remember, Trevor, for that’s the very afternoon the two
of us first met.  And Emma, you and Gage had to come down and give them money
so they would let us all out.”
    “They
posted your bail,” Trevor corrected her. “You always make it sound like a bribe
or some other sort of impropriety when you say it that way, Geraldine.  You
simply must try to remember the proper wording.“
    “Indeed,”
said Geraldine.  “Posted bail.  Anyway, Emma and Trevor remember, but for the
rest of you, there is this most ridiculous law that states women cannot take a
boat out on the Thames and my committee for the expansion of women’s rights went
down to the waterfront to protest.  Only they sent out the coppers to arrest us
and thus dear Trevor and I became intimates.”
    “I’ve
always wondered at how the two of you initiated your friendship,” Rayley said. 
“Welles usually isn’t the type to mix in high society.”
    Behind
Geraldine’s shoulder, Trevor made a rude gesture at him, to the great amusement
of Davy. 
    “As
always, I admire your pluck, Auntie,” Tom said. “Women should most certainly
have the opportunity to capsize into the Thames right along with the men.  But
what on earth do suffragettes have to do with blindfolds?”
    “We
had chained ourselves to a tree,” Geraldine said, “and when the coppers put us
in the wagon they left us bound up.  One of them in particular was a most rude
young man and he said something along the lines of if we wanted the chains,
then by God we should have them.  And then he said he didn’t want the ladies to
be cold so he pulled down our hats and raised our mufflers so that we couldn’t
see and could barely hear.”
    “Gerry,”
Trevor said in genuine surprise.  “You’ve never told me this part.”
    “What
was the name of that man?” Rayley said.  “Do you recall, Miss Bainbridge?”
    Gerry
impatiently shook her head.  “It was years ago, darlings, and that’s not the
point of my story.  When we got down to the station and Trevor came in to take
our statements, he was so respectful and such a gentleman, that it was like the
rain suddenly stopped and the sun broke through the clouds.  And then of course
Emma arrived and gave him the money to let us all out.  But I raise this memory
for one reason alone.  During the time we were chained and rendered unable to
fully see or hear…it was no more than a few minutes, a wagon ride across town,
but the man’s cruel mission was accomplished.   We were all of us lessened by
his actions.  Cowed.  Humiliated.  I went into his wagon one sort of women and
came out quite