‘Wake up. It is time.’

‘I am sorry, sisters. My time in Woking prison has weakened my body. I have barely slept for any length of time over the last three years.’ Gertrude looked at her carers; both were in tears.

‘What brutes they were. How could they?’

The leader of the Rankinists laughed. ‘Very easily. The solitary confinement was the worst thing. But I did not let the loneliness break me. Quite the contrary. It strengthened my spirit, for I had the time to formulate my plans.’

‘We admire you so, Gertrude! You are an inspiration to us all.’

The leader of the Hartley and District Women’s Social and Political Union sat up on the chaise longue where she had been napping. She tried to get up, but then thought bett...

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