The ball ended at midnight, and on the carriage ride back, the partners, as usual, shared the news they had gathered.
In these times, with the spread of “gentlemanly spirit” or “chivalry,” the social and family status of noblewomen and young ladies was already quite high, and the concept of “ladies first” was deeply ingrained in daily life.
However, to be frank, women in this era still generally had little say; they were not eligible to vote in elections, and their role in social interactions was often limited to “fostering relationships,” making it difficult for them to directly participate in or influence the exchange of interests among men.
In a sense, there was a feeling of being “held high,” yet in reality, being “kept on a shelf.”
“Working women” who appeared relatively successful, like Inessa or Lina, now belonged to an emerging group among women.
Some noblewomen “scoffed” at this, believing that participating in such mundane affairs was undignified, but many ladies and young women began to yearn for “a job or career of their own.”
While voting rights were out of the question for now, participating in charitable endeavors or serving as directors or trustees in companies or organizations became a new trend among noblewomen—though most still only handled “socializing” or simply “occupied a position commensurate with their status,” without being responsible for specific management.
Conversely,
Because the ladies and young women did not directly participate in those internal dealings, and their right to know was not low, the information they inadvertently revealed was very much worth collecting.
“It feels like the upper echelons of Richmond society have reached a certain understanding or consensus regarding what happened with the Cathedral. At first, some people would inquire about the inside story behind the incident, but now almost everyone has fallen silent—tonight, a young lady even wanted to ask us about it, but her mother gave her a look, and she immediately changed the subject.”
Lina’s most common persona recently was probably that of a “freewheeling socialite.” Some uninformed people might think her partner status only came from her “just happening to invest in the Detective Agency’s shares.”
Many people had come to her in the past few days to inquire about inside information. The Detective Agency’s current stance on what happened “that night” was basically “listen only, don’t speak, don’t ask,” but this did not prevent the partners from evaluating the situation in reverse.
Wayne’s confirmed situation was similar: “Tonight, ‘Papa Biddle’ also confirmed this. At least the Beaton Family was involved in the incident, and the Federal Army might also be involved. Combining this with previous rumors, at least some politicians, state militias, and Richmond’s City Hall were direct participants.”
Inessa was considered quite “well-informed,” but even she seemed to have truly never seen a situation like this:
“This matter is truly strange. If it was a ‘rebellion,’ then the Cathedral’s reaction was a bit too calm; they didn’t even try to pursue the supporters and indirect participants behind the rebels. But if the Cathedral wanted to control the situation, many Father Tyrrells in Virginia’s plains parishes were purged.
“From the newspapers alone, those people were just a small list of names. However, within a parish, a Father Tyrrell familiar to the faithful suddenly becoming a rebel would actually have no small impact, but the Cathedral did not consider this. Normally, even if the Hunter Association cleans up out-of-control individuals, the publicly released news is usually ‘suddenly passed away due to illness.’”
Lina had also initially suspected this might be a conspiracy by the Cathedral to eliminate dissidents, but this speculation was quickly challenged.
First, Bishop Corleone himself died in the incident, and then the succeeding Father Tyrrell did not seem to be “of the same ilk” as Bishop Corleone. Conspiracies are normal, but the victor of a conspiracy should always “gain something,” not “sacrifice himself and not replace his successor.”
Fortunately, Wayne was generally more “forward-looking”: “Since people from all sides are involved, and everyone is now tacitly choosing to ignore this matter, as long as the situation is not currently targeting us, we should simply continue to pay attention. Doing our own work is the main business.”
The current situation, for the Detective Agency, was in some ways even “beneficial.”
Father Tyrrell clearly intended to use the Detective Agency, but his degree of decentralization was actually greater than that of Bishop Corleone. And after the Cathedral changed bishops, the local intelligence organization did not seem to have taken retaliatory actions against the Detective Agency, and not even a potential “rumor” had surfaced.
Wayne did not think this situation would last indefinitely, but as long as there was time and opportunity, Virginia still seemed far from being “unlivable”—in fact, it seemed to have more potential.
...
“Corleone is trampling on everyone’s conventions and tacit understanding! Many people might not have known about his illness, but we all did. To allow him to be publicly buried as a bishop after doing such a thing, that is the true ‘rebellion.’”
At an estate in Prince William County, Virginia, several local Father Tyrrells hosted a dinner for Bishop Jonathan Crownz, who was passing through.
Because the Bishop, who was on his way to Richmond to preside over a ceremony, had been traveling and arrived too late, the “casual chat” after dinner had only just begun.
Compared to the seemingly quite angry local Father Tyrrells, Bishop Jonathan Crownz’s reaction was calm: “The College of Bishops has reached a consensus; there is no room for further discussion on this matter.”
The voice of objection instantly rose: “What College of Bishops? They are all Northerners! They are completely on Corleone’s side, of course, they are happy to see us Southerners suffer.”
Around the table, where food had been replaced by various desserts and fruits, whispers also began to rise.
Contrary to the political sphere, slave owners could represent “many votes,” including those of their slaves, but they themselves were still only “one believer” in civilized society. Factory owners, while unable to dictate which politician their workers voted for, could very likely have “dozens or hundreds of believers” in one factory.
The right to speak in the Church was, to a certain extent, determined by the “number of believers within a parish.”
Of course, there was also the influence of money, but it was clear that wealthy individuals could not donate ten percent of their income to the Church every year, while devout common believers might actually do so, perhaps even more—the latter far outnumbered the former, and they were often more willing to provide various services and voluntary labor to the Church without expecting anything in return.
Thus, broadening the perspective, from an overall view, the Church would obviously place more importance on the Northern states, which had larger populations and were comparatively more industrialized.
And if Tiriels could govern parishes with more believers and more complex actual situations well, their chances of becoming bishops and entering the College of Bishops would naturally be greater.
As one of the few “Southern faction” bishops in the College of Bishops today, Bishop Jonathan Crownz’s attitude at this moment seemed quite ambiguous:
“Suffered a loss? Are you trying to say that Tiriel is not one of us Southerners?”
The other party was slightly tongue-tied, “I don’t mean that, but…”
Bishop Jonathan Crownz calmly cut him off:
“Regardless, for Virginia, the bishop’s position returning to the hands of us Southerners is a ‘step forward.’ We all understand what Corleone did, but pursuing it now is meaningless.”
The other party reluctantly accepted this ‘reality’ but still couldn’t help but argue, “Are Corleone’s actions not going to be pursued to maintain the Church’s dignity? Do Bazzini and the others have to be called ‘traitors’ from now on?”
“Let me just tell you my private opinion.”
Bishop Jonathan Crownz took a sip of red wine, “That was just Corleone’s personal action, not the local Cathedral’s fault. You can also have your ‘personal actions.’ But I am not informed and will not participate.
“However, you need to be careful. You should all be aware of what many so-called ‘Northern Father Tyrrells’ have experienced. Corleone has been in Virginia for so many years; even if he is dead, his subordinates may still be able to produce evidence against you.
“Do not point the finger at the entire ‘Church,’ and do not get yourselves trapped, and certainly do not make me look bad during the ceremony.”
