With the renovation of the narthex complete and Basil married off, 1895 also brought a national incident very close to home in the Southampton parish house. Emil and Leander kept close tabs on the Oscar Wilde trial occurring in London at the time. They usually reserved their political discussions for their private time, but it was Mrs. Dawson who brought up the situation at luncheon one afternoon.
“It’s a shame, putting that man on trial,” she said, pointing to the story in the newspaper lying on the table.
“You think?” Emil said.
“What a person does in their own home is nobody’s business,” Mrs. Dawson explained between bites of her sandwich.
“I didn’t know you had such a strong opinion about the subject,” Leander said.
“I don’t follow much, but when the news hits close to home, you c
