CHAPTER one I knew it would be difficult, but I never dreamed it would be impossible," Elizabeth Miles Bates said, staring at the letter she''d been reading. Her mother-in-law looked up from her knitting. "Are you talking about passing the amendment, dear?" "Yes, I am. I''ll never understand those people who are so dead set against allowing women to vote." "What does Miss Paul''s letter say? And I''m sure she doesn''t say it''s impossible." Alice Paul was the leader of the National Woman''s Party, the more radical of the two organizations that had been working for Woman Suffrage. Their demonstrations outside the White House had gotten many of their volunteers jailed. Elizabeth and her mother-in-law were among them.
"You''re right, she doesn''t say it''s impossible," Elizabeth admitted, "but it is going to be nearly impossible. I thought that since thirty-five states have already approved the amendment, we could easily get the one more state that we need to make it the law of the land, but Miss Paul makes it clear that there is only one state left that might actually approve the amendment, and that state is Tennessee." Mother Bates frowned. They both knew that almost every other Southern state had already rejected the amendment, and Tennessee was likely to join them. "Why is she so sure it comes down to Tennessee?" "Since eight states have already rejected it, that leaves just five states that could approve it. We know North Carolina and Florida will never approve it, and the governors of Vermont and Connecticut have refused to call a special session of their legislatures even to vote on it. That means Tennessee is the only possible state left." "If only we hadn''t lost in Delaware," Mother Bates said sadly.
"That was such a disappointment. We were so sure ." "Then we must be sure we will win in Tennessee. Is that what Miss Paul advises?" Elizabeth looked down at the letter she still held. "Not exactly, but she is calling on all her volunteers to help in whatever way they can." Mother Bates stopped her knitting needles and stared at Elizabeth. "Did she ask you to go to Tennessee?" "Yes, she did," Elizabeth said with a sigh. "That''s a great honor.
She knows how effective you''ve been in convincing legislators to vote for the amendment." Elizabeth and Mother Bates had traveled to several other states to help lobby for the amendment. "Not in the South, though," Elizabeth reminded her. "Then Tennessee will be the exception." Elizabeth looked at the letter again. Miss Paul was quite eloquent in her praise of Elizabeth''s ability to convince reluctant officials to support Woman Suffrage. If only she knew that Elizabeth''s skills came from being raised by a con man to become a con artist herself. She could lie without blinking and charm even the most unappealing gentleman.
When she had married Gideon Bates, she had thought her days of conning marks was over, but she had found her skills could come in handy in getting justice for people who could never get it any other way. She had used those skills several times to help her friends. It had been almost a year since she''d run a con, though, unless she counted lobbying politicians for Woman Suffrage, which she probably should. "I don''t know what Gideon will say," Elizabeth murmured. "What I''ll say about what?" Gideon asked as he came into the parlor. "Darling, I didn''t hear you come home," Elizabeth said, jumping up to give him his welcome-home kiss. Mother Bates tactfully averted her eyes. "How was your day?" "Boring as usual.
" Gideon was an estate attorney, so he rarely did anything exciting. "And don''t change the subject. What is it you think I''ll have something to say about and is that a letter you''re holding?" "It''s from Alice Paul," his mother said helpfully. Elizabeth sent her an exasperated look, which she ignored. "Ah, I see. Where does Miss Paul want to send you now?" he asked, taking a seat on the sofa and pulling Elizabeth down beside him. "Tennessee," Elizabeth said. "In the summer? It gets awfully hot down there in the summer.
" "It gets awfully hot in New York in the summer," Elizabeth countered. Gideon shrugged. "I''m just warning you. Why does she need you in Tennessee?" "Because it''s our only hope." Elizabeth and Mother Bates took turns explaining the situation and how dire it now appeared. "Does Miss Paul really believe Tennessee will approve the amendment?" he asked when they finished. "We don''t know, but I think we can all agree that they must," his mother said. "I hope they know that," Gideon said with a grin.
"They will when we tell them," his mother said. "We?" Gideon echoed. "You can''t think I''d let Elizabeth go to Tennessee by herself when I could help, too." Elizabeth gave her a grateful smile. Gideon frowned. "You need to know what you''re getting into." "We''ve done this before," Elizabeth reminded him. "Yes, but not when it was down to the wire like this.
Some of the other fights have been hard, but the Antis will bring out all their dirty tricks for this one," Gideon said, using the nickname for those who were anti-Woman Suffrage. "Politics can be an ugly business, and when so much is at stake, it gets even uglier." His mother smiled a little. "Surely, you don''t think those Southern gentlemen will do anything unpleasant." "Oh no," Gideon said. "They''ll be smiling very sweetly as they stab you in the back." "But we have to go," Elizabeth said. "After all we''ve done for the Cause, we can''t sit by now and just watch.
What if we lose in Tennessee? I''d never forgive myself for not doing my part." "I''m not saying you shouldn''t go," Gideon said. "And I''m very happy to see that you also aren''t telling her she can''t go," Mother Bates said with some satisfaction. "I wouldn''t dare," Gideon replied with a smirk. Elizabeth knew her father had warned him that forbidding her to do something only guaranteed that she would do it. "Then we''ll go." "And I''m going with you, too," Gideon said. "Do you think we need your protection?" Elizabeth said in surprise.
"Let''s hope it doesn''t come to that, but I''m sure the Suffs can use some male help. Those legislators can be difficult to track down, and they go places that ladies can''t go. As a member of the Men''s Ratification Committee, I feel it''s my duty to volunteer." "What about your law firm?" Elizabeth said. "We don''t even know how long it will take." "Mr. Devoss will insist that I go when I tell him I''m needed to protect my mother." "Gideon," Mother Bates scolded, but Elizabeth noticed her cheeks were pink.
Mr. Devoss was very devoted to her mother-in-law. "Do we know Mr. Devoss''s stand on Woman Suffrage?" Elizabeth asked. "I believe Mother convinced him to support it," Gideon said. His mother glared at him, but he ignored her. "Then he will certainly let you go to Tennessee," Elizabeth said. "It shouldn''t take very long, should it? Surely only a few days.
It will be a special session of the legislature and they''ll only be considering the amendment." "Do we know when it will be held?" Gideon asked. "Not yet. Miss Paul isn''t even certain the governor will call it. He''s afraid if he shows he supports Woman Suffrage, he won''t win his primary on ." Elizabeth glanced at Miss Paul''s letter to verify the date. ". on August fifth, so it will be after that.
" "Tennessee in August," Mother Bates said with a mock shudder. "Another reason the legislators won''t want to linger," Gideon said. "But won''t they need people there ahead of time to get the legislators to pledge their votes?" "According to Miss Paul, the Tennessee chapter of the Woman''s Party is sending their members out across the state to find the men at their homes and get their pledges." "So they''ll know how many votes they have even before the session starts," Mother Bates added. "What if they don''t have enough?" Gideon asked. "Then they''ll start trying to convince those who wouldn''t pledge or who seemed undecided to vote to approve," Mother Bates said. "And keep those who did pledge to vote for it from changing their minds," Elizabeth said. "No easy task, I''m sure," Gideon said.
"Don''t forget that very powerful forces are determined to stop the amendment from becoming law." "How could we forget?" Elizabeth said. "The railroads and the whiskey men and the textile manufacturers. They''re all afraid that if women get the vote, they''ll want to end things like corruption and child labor." "The whiskey men can''t still be worried that women would insist on Prohibition since we already have it," Gideon argued. Elizabeth smiled wisely. "It seems they''re worried women will insist that the laws are enforced." "Ah, I see," Gideon said.
"But Tennessee was already dry for years before Prohibition." "I hope you aren''t too surprised to learn that law wasn''t really enforced, either," his mother said. "I can see I should have gone with you on these trips sooner," Gideon said. "I''m hopelessly naïve." "Not hopelessly," Elizabeth said, patting his arm. "We''.