The Serpent and the Scorpion Read Online Free PDF

out an uneasy rhythm to the silence between them, and her head started to ache. “I just need more time,” she repeated, staring bleakly into the fireplace.
    She heard him approach and felt the warmth of his hand through the light woolen weave of her dress as he pressed it against her shoulder.
    He kissed her softly on the nape of her neck.
    “Your hesitation is my answer.”
    Ursula swung round to face him. She gripped his hands in hers. “It is not my answer!” she retorted fiercely.
    “Neither is your previous assertion that you love me but cannot marry me.”
    “But it’s true.” Her voice sounded small.
    “It may be true,” he responded, “but it’s not enough for me.”

Three
    Office of the Women’s Social and Political Union
Clements Inn, London
JANUARY 1912
     
After hours in front of the long trestle tables lined with duplicating machines, cranking out copies of Votes for Women, Winifred pulled Ursula aside and asked if she would stay for a meeting with Lady Winterton. Preparations were under way for Mrs. Pankhurst to speak at the following Monday afternoon meeting at the London Pavilion, but Ursula was preoccupied with the breach between her and Lord Wrotham, as well as her upcoming business trip to Egypt. Nevertheless, for Winifred’s sake, she agreed to stay.
    Winifred perched on the edge of a wooden desk, her boots propped up on one of the chairs, and signaled for Ursula and Lady Winterton to take a seat.
    “Thanks for staying,” she began. “I’ve been asked by Christabel Pankhurst to chat with you both about a project we need help with. This”—Winifred held up a piece of paper—“is a communication sent to our sisters in Portsmouth. It uses our usual codes and gives details of a protest on Thursday, coinciding with Churchill’s inspection of the Royal Naval Dockyards.”
    Ursula frowned; she was not aware of plans for any such protest, and she was only vaguely aware that the WSPU had taken to using special codes to thwart the police.
    “It was only a test,” Winifred confirmed. “We wanted to see whether the police were intercepting our messages. As you know, the police continue to watch us closely—they’ve been seen photographing us at events—even in Holloway Prison—and we’re growing worried they may be mouting efforts to infiltrate our ranks and preempt our activities.”
    “What happened with the test message?” Lady Winterton asked.
    “We believe it was intercepted and decoded. We know that the local police were planning to bring in additional men as a precaution.” Winifred pulled out her pipe from her jacket pocket and proceeded to stuff it with tobacco. “I think this shows that we urgently need to address the issue of secrecy in our communications; otherwise, the police may soon be able to discover and preempt our every move.”
    Lady Winterton shifted in her chair. “Not an idea I would relish,” she commented.
    “No,” Ursula agreed.
    “The Pankhursts want us to try come up with a better system—but we must do so in complete secrecy. It is vital that we do not disrupt WSPU operations or, more important, let anyone who may be a police informer find out what we’re doing.”
    Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel were the leaders of the WSPU and proponents of the new wave of militancy.
    Winifred prodded the bowl of her pipe with her finger and waited for the news to sink in.
    “Now Mrs. P and Christabel have already made it clear that we are entering a new phase of militancy,” Winifred added. “The WSPU needs a strategy that uses the element of surprise, even shock, to our advantage.”
    Ursula chewed her lip thoughtfully. “What do you propose?” she asked.
    “You are two of the smartest women I know,” Winifred responded, lighting her pipe. “Lady Winterton, I’m sure we can put your linguistic skills to good use.”
    Having had an excellent tutor as a child, Lady Winterton was fluent in French and German as well as Russian (her