It was a small one and rather out of the way, near Abbey Churchyard. Through the door came the familiar and much- loved scent of tanned leather and foxing papers. She waited quietly among the tomes as a middle-aged man, obviously the owner, spoke with a customer—a quite distinguished-looking one. The customer looked about fifty years old. He could have been older, but his vibrant good looks seemed to disguise his true age. He had gray-white hair-that was curled and fashioned without powder and grease. He possessed a straight nose and a firm mouth. Despite the wrinkles that circled his lids almost until they reached his cheekbones, the man had dark piercing eyes that were quite arresting.
"Fanny Hill. Bawdy, you say?" the customer said to die shopkeeper and laughed as he flipped through a plain cordovan-bound book. She noted how incongruous his oddly stained hands were with his finely embroidered golden waistcoat.
"Quite so, but don't let on to that sister of yours that you got it here! That Mrs. Gibbon—if she can't hover over you as if you were a child, she's just not happy." The shopkeeper cracked a smile.
"That she does," the handsome man agreed. "Mary's a fine woman, but I admit I'm content to just visit now. Seven years I've been away from the Circus. And you see," he added slyly, "I have found in London that there are advantages to be had —such as not having to worry about letting the family come to call at certain critical moments!"
Both men broke out in laughter. Suddenly the shopkeeper noticed her presence and raised a respectful eyebrow to the customer as he asked Brienne, "Can I be of assistance?"
"I . . . ah . . ." Suddenly she was nervous. The customer was looking straight at her, and she found she could not meet his eyes. They seemed to scrutinize every aspect of her appearance, from her creamy wind-chapped cheeks and the faint lavender crescents under her eyes that proclaimed her exhaustion to the way her breasts were held tightly under her stays. His inspection did not aid her deflated self-confidence. Brienne began haltingly, "I am seeking employment. Naturally, I can read and write. I've read all the great volumes, such as . . ." Droning on with her well-rehearsed speech, she detached herself from the words and was then able to steel herself for the rejection that was sure to follow. When she was through, the shopkeeper's rejection was quick and complete, and she headed toward the door, feeling completely disheartened.
"Wait." She heard the command and abruptly stopped near the door. The voice was not that of the shopkeeper but that of the aging customer. When he walked toward her, she did not know what to expect. He took her by the shoulder, and as if she were made of stone and alabaster, he swept his stained hand across the smooth flesh of her face, examining every plane and hollow. "Hold still and let me look at your eyes." He turned her face to the dimming afternoon sunlight that came through the shop's window. Receiving no help from the owner, she glared at the older man balefully.
"Do not touch me!" she demanded, feeling overly sensitive to a man's touch, any man's, after her experience with Avenel. She backed away from the eccentric gentleman and reached for the door handle.
"Will you sit for me?"
"Sit for you?" she questioned, her hand on the oak door.
"Would you like me to paint your picture? Perhaps in a meadow, sitting under a willow? No! That wouldn't be right for you. Perhaps then . . ." Brienne suddenly realized that the dirt on the man's hands was not dirt at all but the pigments that the man handled in his profession.
"What is the salary? Would it be adequate?" she asked.
At this question the bookseller laughed. "Oh yes, the salary, Tom," he interjected. "You wouldn't want the poor child to starve to death right on the canvas!"
"Salary! What an abomination!" The customer turned to Brienne, goaded by the other man's teasing. "Look, miss. You cannot expect payment! After all, it's you who should be paying me! Here now, since I have taken a fancy to you, I shall do the portrait for free if you just give me your time."
"I'm afraid that I haven't the time or the luxury to sit for you. But if there were a salary—"
"God, no! I have never had to stoop so low as to pay for a model. You flatter yourself! Do you know I can easily exact one hundred pounds a head?"
The figure left her amazed, but she knew it was futile to speak of the subject further. She needed to be independent; therefore, she needed to work. She was not a well-heeled lady but an impoverished spinster. She'd had no job offered to her today, and she couldn't spare the time to sit for a painter when she had work to do for Mrs. Whitsome. "I am sorry." She opened the door and walked out to the street.
"By damned, you will be!" the painter shouted at her rashly, making her flinch with embarrassment. She turned the corner to go home and didn't see the painter reenter the shop and slam his hand onto the bookseller's desk. Remorse showed on his weathered visage, and he ran out the door to find her. But she wasn't privy to the regret that softened the man's stormy eyes when he saw that she was nowhere to be found.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
"Love! Get up! Mr. Harcourt is here!" It was late in the morning before Mrs. Whitsome came into her bedchamber. The housekeeper peered as Brienne sat up, startled from her nap.
"My God! I am such a chit. What time is it? You must surely want to beat me!" Brienne cried remorsefully as she scrambled from the mussed coverlet and frantically tried to smooth it. "I haven't even raised the blinds in the drawing room yet!"
"No, child. It's already been done."
"Oh," she answered in a small voice. "Never mind the beating, then. I shall give myself one for you."
"Now, that just wouldn't do."
"I'm truly sorry. I don't know what came over me. I was just going to the drawing room when I suddenly felt tired. I only meant to rest a minute." Brienne rubbed her forehead. She didn't understand the illness that had been plaguing her. It was erratic and unwelcome. At times she had never felt worse; she felt so very tired, she thought she would drop where she stood. But then, only yesterday, Cook had told her she never looked better.
"Don't worry yourself, love." Mrs. Whitsome stared at her oddly.
"Nonetheless, you must tell Mr. Harcourt that I haven't time to see him, for I am so very busy making up my extra work." To the housekeeper's delight, the gentleman had called several times since she'd first arrived in Bath, and although Brienne found Mr. Harcourt quite pleasant, she felt too guilty about her undone tasks to take time for a visit.
"Now, that especially wouldn't do." The matron patted her curls, which were held securely beneath the frills of her cap. "It's tired you've been these days, love. How so?"
"I really haven't a clue. Perhaps it's the weather. It's been a cold spring." Looking into a small baroque mirror hung over a kidney-shaped table, Brienne straightened her mussed hair.
"But I've noticed the evening brings you into fine form. I daresay, it seems the morning is the worst time for you."
"Aye, it does." Brienne finished in the mirror and smiled sheepishly. "What's to be made of it?"
"Oh, nothing! Nothing, I'm sure! So come, let's see your gentleman caller." The housekeeper whisked her out of the room, but Brienne noticed lines forming on the matron's already wrinkled brow. Her stomach tied in a knot, she followed the housekeeper down the stairs, trying all the while to shrug off a sense of foreboding.
"Mr. Harcourt! Please, sit," Brienne greeted him in the servants' main room. With the roar of the huge fireplace in the background, they sat together on an Irish pine bench. Acting as chaperone, Mrs. Whitsome, as custom had it, lowered herself into the portly, blackened Windsor chair.
"Good day, Brienne, Mrs. Whitsome." Ralph Harcourt nodded to both women, but his eyes were for Brienne alone.
"The weather—is it quite cold?" Brienne asked, noticing his spruce velvet topcoat was wet.
"Yes, it's a bloody miserable spring we're having." Suddenly, he reddened at his unintended coarseness, but then winked at Brienne. She stifled a giggle, thinking that their stiff, proper behavior in the company of Mrs. Whitsome contrasted so
sharply with the way they'd met.
Trying to turn the conversation away from his faux pas, Brienne asked, "So, pray tell, what have you brought for me today? Do not plead innocent—you've already given me an indecent amount of gifts, and I fear propriety will soon force me to hand them back over." Brienne laughed as she took his proffered package, wondering if it contained another book of Shakespearean sonnets or perhaps some satin ribbon for her hair. His gifts had always been in the best of taste, yet were always spare enough in expense that she and Mrs. Whitsome both felt she should feel no discomfort in accepting them.
Handling the package, Brienne noted that the box was too small to hold a book. Since it was relatively light, she supposed it might contain dried rose petals to be placed in the famille rose bowl in her room or perhaps some steel pins, of which any woman would be happy to have more. When she untied the bow, the lid of the box tumbled to her skirt. Inside, nestled in several pristine wads of cotton wool, something caught the light from the fire. She gasped at the brightness.
"The Lord in his wisdom—" Mrs. Whitsome was heard to sputter, and then she abruptly left the room to give them privacy.
"Mr. Harcourt." Brienne swallowed.
"Ralph, princess. My name is Ralph." He took the huge blue-fired emerald ring from its nest and held it out between his thumb and forefinger.
"Uh, Mr.—Ralph . . ." Brienne stammered, trying to gather her wits.
"Yes?" He smiled a warm, tender smile. Gently his hand went about her tiny waist, and he placed a kiss on her cheek.
"I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll be my wife, princess. All you have to say is yes."
"I'm a servant. I haven't even a dowry."
"The Harcourts have been Bristol merchants as long as there's been an England. We've more gold than we know what to do with. I have no need for my bride's dowry." He slipped the ring onto her left hand.
Brienne stared down at the magnificent jewel, yet all she could think of was how happy this was going to make Mrs. Whitsome. Silently she berated herself. This will make you happy too, she thought. Studying the magnificent emerald, she tried to picture herself as the wife of the man before her. She was sure that they would make a good marriage. Ralph Harcourt was generous and honest. He would give her a home. And there she would be secure and well loved. They would have beautiful children, blond and fair. So what was bothering her? She frowned. Why had she had a vision that her children would be dark, with stormy gray eyes, just like their father— She gave a start. What could she be thinking of?
Nervously, she glanced at Ralph, who was gently turning her face toward his. He's going to kiss me, she thought distantly. Oh, please, let it be wonderful. Feeling his lips upon her own, she moved her body closer, wanting a more soulful kiss. She wanted to feel the fire in her loins that she'd felt whenever Avenel had kissed her; she wanted to feel desire coursing through her veins like molten silver. Opening her mouth to him, she desperately deepened the kiss on her own, trying with all her heart to kindle a desire that had been repressed since that night in March. She felt Ralph's surprise as his hand tightened around her waist. He kissed her fully, letting his tongue search the sweet recesses of her mouth until his sense of propriety finally seemed to tell him to stop.
When they broke apart, he leaned his forehead against hers. "Who are you, princess?" He took a deep breath. "You kiss like—"
"I'm a servant. Just a servant." Brienne turned from him to hide her stricken face. The kiss had been nice, but it had been nothing like— Suddenly anger flared in her eyes. Why did she have to think of Avenel Slane at a time like this? Damn him! she cried to herself. Damn his soul to hell! Had his lovemaking ruined her so that she could never find pleasure in another man's arms?
Ralph interrupted her thoughts; his deep voice demanded an answer. "Brienne, you are no servant. Although you dress like one and perhaps have the dudes of one, I know it's a facade. From the very first day I looked at you, all I could see was your gentle manner and your noble beauty. You have a past, my love. I know it. Just tell me what it is, and on my honor I will not judge you."
"I can't think now." She put a hand to her head.
"All right, then." He stood up. "You may tell me after we are wed."
"No, wait!" She bit her lip. "You would dare marry me, not even knowing what is in my past?"
"I would dare anything for you."
"But my past could be . . . terrible." She dropped her eyes.
"Then we would bear it together." He forced her chin up and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "I love you. Do you doubt me?" When she shook her head, he continued. "That won't change, no matter what."
"Please, Ralph, you must let me think." Her hands shaking, she pulled the ring from her finger. "Your offer is more than I deserve. I must have time to think."
He took the ring back. Sadly, he nodded his handsome golden head and retrieved his hat from the bench. "Send me a note when you have your answer, then. I'm at The White Hart."
As she watched him depart, she felt her heart fill with sadness. What had gone so wrong in her life that she hadn't jumped at this wonderful man's proposal? she asked herself. Avenel Slane, that was what. With grim frustration, she sat down and hung her head in her hands.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A fortnight passed before Brienne saw Ralph Harcourt again. It was a cold and rainy day, but she had promised Mrs. Whitsome that she would go to the market and buy some aniseed for Cook. The housekeeper had been crestfallen for days after Brienne refused Ralph Harcourt's proposal of marriage, and Brienne had tried to cheer up the elderly matchmaker, but it had been to no avail. Gossip had it that the wealthy merchant's son suffered greatly from the rejection of an unknown young woman and was now seen in the company of a Mathilda Geddings at the Lower Assembly Rooms. So with Mrs. Whitsome's heart broken, Brienne had left for the market, promising to keep her hood about her along with her wits.
The market along the Avon was spilling with goods. Everything from caged green monkeys from Antigua to an even greener hogshead cheese from Chester could be had for the quibbling There were makeshift stalls fragrantly laid with salted pork, dried jerky, and sausages. Wily hags freely bartered their summer-dried herbs, hiding their potions smelling of prohibited gin under the counter until a gent with a "sickness" came to call.
Brienne procured the aniseed easily, bothering neither to haggle the fee down nor to shop the other stalls for a better price. Her trips to the market had always seemed a small adventure to her, distracting her from the bothersome headaches that had plagued her ever since she had run from Osterley. But today the stalls seemed to wreak of strong, offensive odors. Whereas before the sweet smells from the taffy man and the winery had always tempted her, now they made her head feel light. Watching the rabbit can pass by, her stomach turned uncomfortably.
Walking away from the stall, she bade the seller a hasty farewell. She turned to the edge of the sprawling market near the waterfront and walked quickly to the embankment, hoping the chilly river breeze would steady her senses enough so she could endure the walk back home. There were people everywhere; some built makeshift fires to cook their suppers and others just wandered along through the crowds, searching for a wealthy, wayfaring gent whose purse they could lighten. As she passed the back of the harnessmaker's, she heard a female giggle and then some cooing.
"Lovey, not to worry. You'll be taking a bite out of him soon."
"And you'll cling to me, won't you?" a man's voice rasped sarcastically. "When I have everything back, you will expect to be my queen."
"I'll stay with you, lovey. 'Twas a sign I knew when I found you here, keeping watch on The Crescent. If my brother hadn't been kicked out of that fair in Bristol, we'd never have—" There was a great moan and her voice was muffled.
"Do not remind me of it!"
"But, lovey, when you get the house back, you'll come around. I know it. And then I will be countess." Brienne heard a lewd sucking noise.
"I'll beg for it now, if that be what you want, lovey." The woman cooed again, and the man laughed unpleasantly.
Thinking the rather obscene conversation to be of no concern—just a maid's dalliance—Brienne had almost turned- away from the stall when two bodies showed themselves amongst the new pieces of a leather hackamore.
Fear rose in her like poisonous, liquid mercury. The man was dressed like a commoner, with a once-fine, soiled, and patched topcoat, threadbare hose, and worn-out gaiters. The last rime she had seen him, he had been wearing the heaviest of satin with the most elaborate embroidery. But there was no mistaking him, from his laugh, which she had heard a thousand times in her nightmares, to his hands, long and completely white from his nails to his wrists. Horrible, effeminate hands, hands of death, she thought as she held back a sob. The man she saw in the harnesser's was none other than her father! And the woman he was caressing publicly through her loosened stays was none other than her former maid at Osterley, Annie!
The man looked up as a snake does when it senses a mouse. Seeing this, Brienne quickly backed away and screamed silently. Her breast beat wildly with her terror-stricken heart. God, ob God, oh God, she whimpered as she stumbled along the embankment, trying to put distance between her and the earl. Suddenly, despite her churning stomach, she tan and ran as if for her very life.
"You've changed your mind, princess?" She stifled a scream as she slammed into a solid, masculine form. Looking up, she shed tears of relief when she saw the handsome, boyish face of Ralph Harcourt. "What is it, love? Why are you running?"
"My hood!" she cried in terror.
"Your hood?"
"My hood! Cover my hair! My God! You must cover my hair!" She clutched wildly at her back, trying to snatch the hood up. Ralph quickly helped her pull the material over her locks so that the startling burgundy color was completely hidden from view. "Take me away from here. Please, Ralph. Take me away!" Brienne sobbed into his cuff.
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