Now this matter of the Occasional Conformity Bill. What would be the outcome? As far as Abigail could see, the greatest controversies in the country were concerned with religion; and the trouble over the Conformity Bill was an example of this. The Test Act had demanded that all public servants partake in communion in accordance with the rites of the Church of England when appointed to their posts; after that they might attend at intervals or not at all, but go to the services they preferred. This Act passed in the time of Charles II was typical of that monarch’s desire to placate two schools of thought at the same time. Occasional Conformity was all that was needed. The Tories had wanted to abolish this act and in its place set up another which was far less tolerant. This was the Occasional Conformity Act and would impose large fines on any person who took office and performed an act of conformity and afterwards attended a dissenting service. A second visit would make the offender liable to even heavier fines and banned from his office for three years.
Anne was a High Tory, a fervent churchwoman; and she had been convinced by her Tory Government that the Act of Conformity was necessary to the welfare of the state. Strangely enough the Lords had thrown out the Bill because William III had been a Whig and during his reign he had created a large number of Low Church Bishops.
And it was this act of creating four new Tory peers in order to pass the Bill through the Lords which had brought Sarah’s Whiggish principles into the fore and sent her hurrying to Court.
As Abigail left the Queen and the Duchess together she was not thinking so much of the rights and wrongs of the Bill as to the power which Sarah held over Anne. What happened now would be significant. Sarah was not only pitting herself against the Queen but against the Tory House of Commons.
As soon as the door shut on Abigail Sarah turned to the Queen.
“These matters are of too great an importance to be discussed before servants,” she said.
“Hill is most discreet.”
“I know it. It was for that reason I brought her to you. And I can see that she is giving satisfaction.”
“Such a good creature!” The Queen settled happily into her chair. How much more pleasant to talk of the virtues of dear Hill, for whom she had to be so grateful to her dearest Mrs. Freeman, than politics.
But Sarah of course had not come to discuss serving women.
“I confess, Mrs. Morley, that I was most disturbed. If men are going to be created to pass laws what are we coming to.”
“It has been done before.…”
“It may have been done before! You think that a good reason for repeating an iniquity? Mayhem and murder have been done before, Mrs. Morley, but that does not mean it is good and reasonable and right to do them again.”
“Mrs. Freeman misunderstands me.”
“I misunderstand nothing! This Conformity Bill has been thrown out of the Lords … so your ministers have advised you to create four new Tory peers in order to get it through. It must not be.”
“It is already being done.”
“I’ll not have it!”
Anne was astonished. She had longed to see Mrs. Freeman at Court, and now she had come there was this trouble. She had no intention of arguing. She hated argument. But even dearest Mrs. Freeman could not decide matters of state policy merely by demanding to do so.
“Well, Mrs. Freeman, come and sit beside me,” said Anne. “I want to hear all your news.”
“My news is too sombre, Mrs. Morley. For these last months I have thought of nothing but my loss.”
“My poor, poor Mrs. Freeman. There is no one who can understand that like your unfortunate Morley.”
“But,” said Sarah fiercely, “we have to grow away from our grief. It is selfish to mourn for ever.”
Anne flinched a little. It was most exciting to have the dazzling and beautiful Sarah with her, but just a little uncomfortable.
“I came to you because I have to talk to you about this disgraceful matter. Four Tory peers! It is a scandal. If you are going to create four Tory peers you must at any rate create one Whig peer. I shall insist on that.”
“My dear Mrs. Freeman, this is a matter for our ministers.”
“This is a matter for us,” corrected Sarah.
She began to pace the apartment while she expounded the follies of the Bill. It was iniquitous. It was intolerant. Anne repeated placidly: “It is a matter for our ministers.”
“Ministers!” stormed Sarah. “What concern have they for anything but their own advancement? We need to keep a firm grip on ministers. You will remember how difficult it was to get the Prince’s grant through. That was ministers for you.”
“I do remember and I shall be eternally grateful to you and Mr. Freeman for working so hard on the Prince’s behalf.”
“You will also remember that that grant was passed with a majority of one vote and that had not Mr. Freeman and I worked day and night it could never have come to pass and Mr. Morley would be some hundred thousand pounds a year the poorer.”
“We shall never, never forget the pains you and Mr. Freeman took, and I do assure you that both Mr. Morley and I can never express our gratitude. I remember my dear George was so ill at the time. Dear Mrs. Freeman, his asthma gives me the greatest cause for anxiety. I was nursing him at the time. Do you remember? I really believed I was going to lose him. I thought that fate was going to strike yet another blow at your poor unfortunate Morley.”
“That was when your ministers needed a little prodding and they got it. Now here is another occasion.”
“But, dear Mrs. Freeman, I declare you have become a Whig. I do not share your affection for those gentlemen—and I can tell you that it is a great sorrow not to be able to share everything with my dear Mrs. Freeman.”
“Let us get back to this matter of the peers.”
“Dear Mrs. Freeman, it really is a matter for our ministers.”
Sarah thought: I shall scream at her if she says that again. There she sits, the old parrot, not listening, not paying attention once she has found her parrot phrase, “It is a matter for our ministers.” We shall see, Mrs. Morley, we shall see.
“I suppose Godolphin is partly responsible for this,” said Sarah.
Anne did not answer and Sarah thought: And I have allowed his son to marry my daughter! I have brought him into our circle and this is how he repays me!
“He is our minister,” Anne reminded her.
Anything, thought Sarah, rather than send the fat creature off on to that minister refrain.
“I will speak to him,” said Sarah.
“One cannot be held responsible for one’s relatives,” Anne reminded her. “I know how grieved you were when Sunderland voted against the Prince’s Bill. I believe he was one of its greatest opponents. And my poor George suffering so with his asthma … fighting for his breath, and Sunderland working up feelings about him in the Lords. I remember thinking at the time: And this Sunderland is my dear Mrs. Freeman’s son-in-law. I shall never like that man again … but it does not make me any less fond of my dearest Mrs. Freeman. Nothing could change my affection for her.”
“I shall speak to Godolphin; I shall write to Mr. Freeman. If these Tory peers are going to take their places in the Lords then there must be at least one new Whig peer.”
“It is really a matter for the ministers.”
Infuriating old fool! thought Sarah. It is time I was back.
She had bullied Godolphin who could never stand up to her; she had written to Marlborough. They both advised caution. But when had Sarah ever been cautious? She was beginning to realize that she had been foolish to shut herself away from affairs. Marl was a genius, but he was not so perceptive as she was, and Godolphin was too timid. Neither of them—Tories that they were—had grasped the fact that they needed the support of the Whigs if they were going to carry on the war because the Whigs represented the commerce and finance of the country.