“You, Phoebe Winters, do not need luck,” Aurelia said with a loving smile as she squeezed her niece’s hand tightly. “You simply needed a nudge in the right direction. With your intelligence and your determination, you can do anything you set out to do. Now go.”
Phoebe rose, rounded the table to bestow a quick kiss on her aunt’s cheek, and then set off to Fleet Street where she would put all to rights.
* * *
“What do you mean,we must pack it all up?”
Collette’s voice, slightly shrill, rose over the din of chatter in the writer’s pit. Phoebe had known she would be one of the few who would question her, and she was prepared for it.
“I have reason to believe that some of the nobility, who are not exactly enamored with us, may attempt to put a close to our publication,” Phoebe explained calmly. “And we all know what that could mean for us, do we not? I do not want to lose this paper, and I am assuming that none of you do either.”
Most in the room nodded, a few voicing their agreement with her, to which she was pleased. Rhoda stood next to her in support. The two of them had spoken privately beforehand, determining the best message to share with their small group of writers. They didn’t want to lose any of them, and in fact, were doing all they could to protect them and their livelihoods.
“We have kept all of your identities concealed as best we can,” Rhoda said, though she herself was perhaps most at risk as Jeffrey knew of her name. “So you should have nothing to fear as individuals. We do not believe that legally anything can be done to bring about our demise as a business; however, when powerful lords band together, well, it seems nothing is impossible.”
Phoebe noted quite a few worried stares from around the room, and she attempted to smile reassuringly.
“We have not much to move, should the need come, as we are still a small operation, and of course we do not utilize our own printing press — that connection is actually what hailed to our discovery. At any rate, our address is now known, and we do have some supplies, and of course copies of the paper itself and material for upcoming editions. I suggest we pack much of it away so that if we must, we can easily move it from the building until we find new premises to where we can relocate.”
“Is the building not rented in your name, Miss Phoebe?” one writer asked, and Phoebe nodded.
“So your name is known then.”
“I have been discreet, but yes, it is likely.”
“We appreciate how much you are risking,” said Rhoda, who knew more of Phoebe’s identity, and likely suspected more regarding her relationship — or previous relationship — with Jeffrey than any of the others would, with the exception of Julia, who had come in as well when Phoebe had written to her of the urgency of their meeting this morning. Julia now eyed Phoebe with a crestfallen expression covering her face, and Phoebe knew that the romantic Julia was likely just as, if not more so, upset about Phoebe’s loss of love than the potential loss of the newspaper.
“It’s worth it,” said Phoebe with emphasis, and she looked around the room at each writer. “Sometimes something bigger than yourself comes along, and you have the unique opportunity to be a part of it. It can be difficult to see this through the day-to-day tasks, but what we are doing could create change and affect the lives of so many women. Women who are in marriages in which they are beaten, who have no rights for themselves or for their children. Women who feel alone, hopeless, in whatever situation they find themselves in. Or women who simply need something to help them pass the time, to show them that this world is made for more than men.”
She saw heads nodding, and her spirits began to rise slightly, knowing that her words were taking effect.
“All we can do — besides a little packing — is continue in our work, with the knowledge that our words are being read, understood, and discussed. I wish to thank each and every one of you for the work you do in making this not only the best women’s periodical in England, but the best periodical of all.”
The room broke out into a round of applause, and Phoebe smiled at them all, hoping her words rang true. Finally, sensing the mood had somewhat lifted, Phoebe returned to her office, needing to decide her own next course of action.