incorrect, madam. Blackbirding no longer flourishes in New Guinea. The Kaiserliche Marine has seen to that,â Kessler said with a nervous glance at Governor Hahl.
âIâm afraid I must correct you Hauptman Kessler, blackbirding is still a menace. Even along this coast. Some of my best workers have been taken west of Simpsonhafen. The Australian pirates run to the protection of the Royal Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine does little to stop them,â Doctor Parkinson said dispassionately.
âDoctor Parkinson is unaware of the new squadron on its way from Samoa under Admiral Graf von Spee. I can assure Miss Pullen-Burry that the Kaiserliche Marine and His Imperial Majestyâs government are doing everything in our power to stop this most disgraceful enterprise,â Governor Hahl said reassuringly.
âI am glad to hear it,â Miss Pullen-Burry said. âIf the civilized races do not act in concert then our poor example will be copied by the less fortunate denizens of this world.â
âHow long have you been in Herbertshöhe, Miss Pullen-Burry?â Doctor Bremmer asked.
âI have been here a week and I shall stay until the end of the month. I plan also to venture to New Ireland and perhaps into the interior of New Britain,â Miss Pullen-Burry replied with a smile.
Will was not so disguised in drink that he failed to notice Kessler gave Governor Hahl a look of concern.
âYou plan to venture into the interior?â Doctor Bremmer asked, surprised.
âYou do not approve, sir?â Miss Pullen-Burry asked.
âWe have few German females in our colonies, but the highlands are no place for a gentlewoman. I mean no offense, madam, but even if the natives can be restrained from their bellicosity, they are . . . one hardly knows how to say it . . .â
âYes?â Miss Pullen-Burry asked.
âThey wear no clothes and they copulate without shame. You would be exposed to affront,â Kessler said.
âHauptman Kessler, in these days of militant feminism one must not be overly gallant. The striving for womenâs votes continues, not just in England but across the civilized world! In New Zealand women have been enfranchised and the heavens have not poured out their wrath. Indeed I often think how the angels must weep to see how things are managed nowadays in happy Christian Europe,â Miss Pullen-Burry said.
âWould you have had women serve in the late war, Miss Pullen-Burry?â Will asked.
The dessert course was being brought in now. It was ice-creamâ a treat Will hadnât tasted since London.
âPerhaps the late war would have not have taken place had women been allowed to give their views on the relations between the Boer farmer and the English one.â
âSurely you are not of Mrs. Pankhurst and her ilk?â Governor Hahl asked, taken aback.
âYou are amazed that women revolt at the idea of being chattels, sir? Mr. Campbell-Bannerman would do well to recruit sound women to his cause. But I expect nothing from a government that winks at the seditious gospel of Kier Hardyism and is careless of how it imperils the lives of our fellow subjects and threatens our supremacy in India.â
Will shook his head. She was an odd mix of high-Tory spinster and bluestocking suffragette. No, perhaps not so odd. Her face was pink with annoyance and Will was wondering if he could somehow set her off in an apoplectic fit when Queen Emma came back into the dining room. The gentlemen rose.
Queen Emma sat and with a wave dismissed the remaining servants save for the men operating the fan. She let the cool air from the melting ice waft over her for a moment. âOf course you know that Kabakon and the other islands in the Duke of York group are famous as haunts of the Night Witches,â she said to Miss Pullen-Burry, presumably continuing a conversation from earlier in the day.
âI did not know that,â Miss
âIâm afraid I must correct you Hauptman Kessler, blackbirding is still a menace. Even along this coast. Some of my best workers have been taken west of Simpsonhafen. The Australian pirates run to the protection of the Royal Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine does little to stop them,â Doctor Parkinson said dispassionately.
âDoctor Parkinson is unaware of the new squadron on its way from Samoa under Admiral Graf von Spee. I can assure Miss Pullen-Burry that the Kaiserliche Marine and His Imperial Majestyâs government are doing everything in our power to stop this most disgraceful enterprise,â Governor Hahl said reassuringly.
âI am glad to hear it,â Miss Pullen-Burry said. âIf the civilized races do not act in concert then our poor example will be copied by the less fortunate denizens of this world.â
âHow long have you been in Herbertshöhe, Miss Pullen-Burry?â Doctor Bremmer asked.
âI have been here a week and I shall stay until the end of the month. I plan also to venture to New Ireland and perhaps into the interior of New Britain,â Miss Pullen-Burry replied with a smile.
Will was not so disguised in drink that he failed to notice Kessler gave Governor Hahl a look of concern.
âYou plan to venture into the interior?â Doctor Bremmer asked, surprised.
âYou do not approve, sir?â Miss Pullen-Burry asked.
âWe have few German females in our colonies, but the highlands are no place for a gentlewoman. I mean no offense, madam, but even if the natives can be restrained from their bellicosity, they are . . . one hardly knows how to say it . . .â
âYes?â Miss Pullen-Burry asked.
âThey wear no clothes and they copulate without shame. You would be exposed to affront,â Kessler said.
âHauptman Kessler, in these days of militant feminism one must not be overly gallant. The striving for womenâs votes continues, not just in England but across the civilized world! In New Zealand women have been enfranchised and the heavens have not poured out their wrath. Indeed I often think how the angels must weep to see how things are managed nowadays in happy Christian Europe,â Miss Pullen-Burry said.
âWould you have had women serve in the late war, Miss Pullen-Burry?â Will asked.
The dessert course was being brought in now. It was ice-creamâ a treat Will hadnât tasted since London.
âPerhaps the late war would have not have taken place had women been allowed to give their views on the relations between the Boer farmer and the English one.â
âSurely you are not of Mrs. Pankhurst and her ilk?â Governor Hahl asked, taken aback.
âYou are amazed that women revolt at the idea of being chattels, sir? Mr. Campbell-Bannerman would do well to recruit sound women to his cause. But I expect nothing from a government that winks at the seditious gospel of Kier Hardyism and is careless of how it imperils the lives of our fellow subjects and threatens our supremacy in India.â
Will shook his head. She was an odd mix of high-Tory spinster and bluestocking suffragette. No, perhaps not so odd. Her face was pink with annoyance and Will was wondering if he could somehow set her off in an apoplectic fit when Queen Emma came back into the dining room. The gentlemen rose.
Queen Emma sat and with a wave dismissed the remaining servants save for the men operating the fan. She let the cool air from the melting ice waft over her for a moment. âOf course you know that Kabakon and the other islands in the Duke of York group are famous as haunts of the Night Witches,â she said to Miss Pullen-Burry, presumably continuing a conversation from earlier in the day.
âI did not know that,â Miss
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