"Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." Walter Cronkite

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Chapter Twelve

Kit did not sleep well at all. The argument he had with his father kept filling his mind. He still felt such anger towards his father, at the same time feeling guilt as he was the son and was therefore meant to concede.

Kit could not concede though. In doing so he would simply be falling into his old habits. Instead, Kit filled his mind with thoughts of the journey ahead.

It would not be easy. It would be difficult and morally compromising; Bernard Murray's insight had proven that. Kit would not only need to appeal to the everyman, but to the wealthy, the prejudiced, and the gentry as well.

Kit would need to find a way to please everyone, which was universally acknowledged to be an impossible task.

Those thoughts were what kept him up for the rest of the night.

Was he taking on too much? Was he too ambitious? Who was he to challenge and champion such reform? He was nobody of consequence.

Certainly, Kit had gained a little fame over the summer having prevented the prince's assassination, but that did not mean that he was experienced enough to sit in parliament.

Olivia believed that he could secure the vote. She had such blind faith that her vision of the world would come to fruition. What if he disappointed her as well? Kit did not think he could take disappointing his father and Olivia. That was altogether too much.

But what if he could not find his words when it truly mattered? What if, when the moment came, Kit did not know what to say? Panic filled Kit's body at the thought of being seen as stupid by others.

That feeling, to Kit, was simply unacceptable. He had spent his first fourteen years of life feeling stupid. Kit remembered feeling such worthlessness at the point in his life. He was stupid, and not worth wanting. But in learning to read, in having a man in a far superior position take a chance on him, Kit had found his worth. He had found his confidence, and he had made something of himself.

Granted, being a university educated factory owner was not his goal, Kit had still achieved it. A chance was all he needed. That was all anyone needed.

Kit exhaled as he settled into his pillow. The panic seemed to pass as he renewed his sense of purpose in his mission. Kit was entering parliament to give those who would not normally see the helping hand of an MP a chance.

Kit fell asleep imagining the look of pride in Olivia's eyes if he managed to get himself elected. He would make her proud. His father, too.

***

"Wake up!"

Kit woke with a start to see a frenzy of red curls brushing over his face as his bedclothes were pulled back.

"Get up, get up!" Olivia said excitedly. "Come on, the carriage is downstairs. Our cook has packed us breakfast. Get dressed."

Kit sat up with a start to see that Olivia was fully dressed as she began to gather the few possessions that Kit had brought with him. Her blue gown appeared sturdy and practical, and she was already adorned with a brown travelling cloak. Her red hair was loose and wavy down her back.

Kit liked her hair like that.

He then suddenly realised he was in rather an embarrassing state of undress. "Olivia!" he hissed. "I am not wearing any trousers!" Kit's nightshirt barely covered his thighs.

Olivia's blue eyes flicked to his legs, and she giggled, her cheeks flushing. "Well, er, you go on and get dressed then, and I shall wait downstairs."

Kit was quite conscious of the fact that his height made his legs appear rather thin. They were not the muscled tree trunks that women's romance books described the ideal man having. They were not the most attractive part of his anatomy, and for Olivia's first time in seeing him in any state of undress, he would have preferred her to see something that looked less like stilts. Next time he would try to be a little more impressive.

Kit stopped himself. Next time? "Good God, man," he chided himself. "Have a little more respect." Olivia was trusting Kit with her reputation. He could not be imagining the two of them in compromising situations.

No matter how pretty and lovely her hair looked this morning.

Kit had nearly kissed her once already. He could not let what happened in his father's study happen again. Besides that one moment of vulnerability, she had given no indication of affection for him. Kit could not betray her trust in him.

Not unless she gave him permission. Kit sighed as he pulled on his trousers and found his boots and coat. He was human after all.

As Olivia said goodbye to her aunt, and promised to write, Kit felt another sting of guilt. He had almost expected his mother to appear on the Murray's doorstep and beg him to come home. But she did not. Kit expected Cassian was still too angry to let Faith leave. Kit knew he would need to make amends with his parents someday, but it would not be until he had something to show his father.

"You look after her," Lorna said in a warning tone to Kit, once Olivia was already inside the carriage. "This is not a joke to her. She could get hurt."

Kit took heed of Lorna's warning. "I do not intend to disappoint her."

Lorna's brown eyes softened. "I am sure you won't. But Olivia has big dreams, too. Don't forget that."

Kit nodded. Olivia's dreams were to see change. In being elected, he could not disappoint her.

"It feels real now, doesn't it?" Olivia said excitedly as the carriage pulled away from the house.

"Are you ready?" asked Kit.

Olivia grinned. She held up a well-loved copy of Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen. "Olympe and I have been ready for years, Kit."

As the hours went on, Kit and Olivia began to discuss his goals for the election. Of course, it would first be prudent to get to know the people he would be representing. Then he could present them with his plans for the future.

There was a reason so many of the poor could not read or write, and that was simply because they needed to work to feed their families. Education was secondary.

"It is a vicious cycle," remarked Kit. "They need to work, and their children to work, and so their education is sacrificed, but a higher paying occupation is a possibility when literate."

"The compensatory idea that you came up with yesterday was brilliant," replied Olivia. "If wages were higher, children would not need to work, and they could be in school longer."

Olivia produced a slate from her satchel, just like the sort they had in schoolrooms. Kit almost asked where she had procured it, but she began to write sums. "The war tax," Olivia began, "takes money from each person's income to fund the British effort against Napoleon. The poor, as they stand, are taxed little to none based on their pathetic income. Right now the government receives nothing from these people. But if funding were given to their masters to increase wages so that their children could attain higher qualifications, just imagine the thousands, no, the millions of people that could be taxed for the government's benefit. The revenue would appease anyone."

Kit could practically see Olivia's brain racing. "You know that is not a popular method," he reminded her. The rich did not like handing over anything from their yearly income.

"I know," Olivia huffed, "but these people speak the language of pounds, shillings, and pence. Imagine this. Your father has, what, five hundred workers?"

"Thereabouts."

"Let us pretend that each worker has three children, just an estimation," continued Olivia. "That is fifteen hundred children. If each of them are able to improve themselves through education and attain a job earning, say, two hundred pounds a year. Ten percent of that will be taken in tax. That is twenty pounds for each of those fifteen hundred children. That would ..." Olivia began scrawling away on the slate, "thirty thousand pounds from your father's worker's alone!"

Kit was speechless at Olivia's quick arithmetic. With just an idea, she had raised thirty thousand pounds. No matter the ill feeling towards taxes, when it was not coming out of their own pockets, the rich could not deny that the possibility of such revenue was exciting, and it was a potential way to move forward with their plans.

Olivia seemed to notice Kit's silence. "Oh, well, it is just an idea."

"A brilliant one," remarked Kit, finding his tongue.

Blood filled Olivia's cheeks once again and she turned away from him bashfully. "I understand now, better than I did, about how we need to give something for everything we take."

"What are we going to take?"

Fourteen was minimum age for boys to leave school, Kit and Olivia decided. At that age, they would be able to seek work, an apprenticeship, or continue on with their studies. For girls, it was sixteen.

"Perhaps a college should be established. We could seek private donations, and make it free of charge for those who cannot afford to seek study at more expensive institutions," Kit mused. "Girls especially could attend, and learn to be writers, or poets, or teachers. Whatever they want."

Kit's thoughts wandered to his younger sister, Lucy. While she was privileged financially, it was highly unlikely that she would be successful in the same circles that Emma would be. Perhaps a college like that would be beneficial to her as well. She could pursue anything she wanted.

"A college?" Olivia repeated softly, snapping Kit out of his daydream.

"Bad idea?"

"No!" cried Olivia, shaking her head vehemently. "It is my favourite one yet," she said proudly. In her excitement, she had moved closer to Kit, their legs now touching through the fabric of their clothing. Olivia's cheeks were nearly as red as her hair as she looked at him, her blue eyes betraying her nerves.

For a moment Kit saw that vulnerability he had seen in his father's study. Olivia rarely gave anything away, but he could see it. He had only made that promise not to compromise her mere hours ago, but she was making it increasingly more difficult by the second.

Olivia was so powerful and intelligent, which only increased her effortless beauty. The mysteriously vulnerability that she tried so hard to conceal only increased Kit's interest.

Kit was staring at her. He had not blinked, knowing this because of the dryness he now felt in his eyes, but he did not want to look away. What was she going to do?

Instead of moving even closer to him, as Kit had willed her to do, Olivia moved away. She exhaled a breath she had been holding, looked down and her lap and said, "Being a wife and a mother should not be the only path in life for a woman. There should be choices. There should be opportunity. That is what I want."

---

Thanks William Pitt the Younger for introducing income tax in the UK *insert laughing emoji*

I'm usually not bored doing my research for stories but bloody hell, is there was way to make taxes more interesting? Lol

Thank you everyone for your unbelievable kindness on the last chapter. It meant so much to me, you have no idea. I still miss my baby like crazy, but I do feel like we're finding our way back to normal. 

Do you want to hear a funny story? I'm sure you've missed my hilarity at the end of my chapter's not. 

So I was at the airport the other day picking up someone, and I had to go through security. So I put my bag down through the scanner thing and walk through the metal detector and all was fine, but then they pull my bag aside, and I'm thinking, crap I'm going to prison. I'm such a worse case scenario person hahaha. I see what the lady is pointing at in my bag and I'm immediately embarrassed. 

Story time. I love Harry Potter. Obsessed. Read everything, all the books (but mentally repressed Cursed Child) and seen the movies countless times. (Side note - new Fantastic Beasts trailer yessssssss). Anyway, so I have Harry's wand on my car keys, it's quite long, maybe 20cm (8 inches). 

Back to the story. So she's pointing at Harry's wand in my bag and the security guy opens my bag and pulls out my car keys. Meanwhile, I'm mortified. Instead of taking it away, which I was really afraid of because I paid good money for that, he proceeds to start casting spells on people. 

The airport security guy, in the middle of the airport, while bomb checks are being done, starts pointing my wand at people going "Expelliarmus!" omgggg. It was so funny. Have a good airport story to tell now. Could have been my future husband hahaha. 

Okay, I'm off to bed. Work tomorrow. Hope you liked the chapter :)

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