she rolled it out.
Bella had been used to sharing her bed with her personal maid when she had one, but was glad of the truckle. She was grateful to have Peg Gussage as companion, but wasn’t quite ready to share a bed with her.
She deliberately asked for supper to be served in their room, because she also wasn’t ready to discuss her future with Mr. Clatterford. As they ate soup, she asked, “Do you mind where we live, Peg?”
“Me, ma’am? No. Anywhere’s new to me. This is delicious soup. So rich.”
Bella smiled. There was something to be said for a companion so pleased with everything. A lot to be said.
“Mr. Clatterford expects me to go to Tunbridge Wells, where my great-grandmother lived. It’s also where he has his business. But I want somewhere quieter.”
Peg spread butter thickly onto fresh bread. “Why, miss?”
“I didn’t run off with that man, Peg, but no one in the neighborhood believes me, and it’s not surprising. Silly Bella Barstowe ran off with a charming rascal and was discarded once her virtue was gone. She then multiplied her shame by refusing a decent marriage.”
“Squire Thoroughgood,” Peg muttered in disgust. “Thoroughly bad, in the opinion of most!”
“So I gather, but most people seem to think that any marriage is better than none for a ruined woman, and once I made it clear my refusal was absolute, my father allowed the story to spread around the area. From there, it could have gone anywhere by letter.”
“But four years ago, miss. It’ll all be forgotten.”
“I wish I could believe that.” Bella remembered her cooling soup and drank some. “It could be particularly remembered in Tunbridge Wells, however, because of my connection to Lady Raddall. She may even have spoken of it to friends. In outrage, I’m sure, but will people remember that, or just remember the shame?”
Peg pulled a face. “Happen you’re right, miss, but then what about your older sister? The one as married.”
“Athena?” Bella considered it, but only for a moment.
Athena lived near Maidstone, and it was to her she’d fled from Dover. Athena might want to take her in, for she had a sense of duty, but her husband saw Bella Barstowe as a destructive influence on his young daughters. Even if Athena persuaded him they should offer her shelter, she would be seen as a sinner and expected to be grateful and penitent all her days.
She couldn’t speak of such matters to a servant, so she simply said, “No, it wouldn’t do.” She finished her soup, trying to find some possibility.
It seemed a bold notion, but she wanted independence. Years of imprisonment made the slightest hint of confinement unbearable, but was freedom possible for a young lady of twenty-one?
Could she seem older, and even a different person, free of scandal?
“Perhaps I’ll take a new name,” she said, testing the idea on Peg. “And live in a quiet place, far from fashionable circles. A village, perhaps, where I can be mistress of my life at last, but far from curious eyes.”
Peg snorted. “If you want to avoid curious eyes, miss, don’t go to a village. There’s nothing the gossips like more than someone new to pick over. And the better sort as can read and write, they’re soon writing to their cronies everywhere asking why a pretty young woman might be hiding herself away in a village, no matter what name you use.”
“Oh, you’re correct, of course. But then what am I to do?”
“Go to a town, miss. People don’t notice so much in a town.”
A startling thought struck. “Why not the Town? London. Anyone could go unnoticed there.”
“London! Lawks, Miss Bella, I’d bust me stays to go to London. I might even see the king. Such a lovely young man, they say. And his dear, sweet little babies.”
Bella fought laughter. “I’m not planning a fashionable life, Peg.”
“That’s a shame, then, but it won’t bother me. Where would we live, though?”
Bella was at a loss, but then an odd
Bella had been used to sharing her bed with her personal maid when she had one, but was glad of the truckle. She was grateful to have Peg Gussage as companion, but wasn’t quite ready to share a bed with her.
She deliberately asked for supper to be served in their room, because she also wasn’t ready to discuss her future with Mr. Clatterford. As they ate soup, she asked, “Do you mind where we live, Peg?”
“Me, ma’am? No. Anywhere’s new to me. This is delicious soup. So rich.”
Bella smiled. There was something to be said for a companion so pleased with everything. A lot to be said.
“Mr. Clatterford expects me to go to Tunbridge Wells, where my great-grandmother lived. It’s also where he has his business. But I want somewhere quieter.”
Peg spread butter thickly onto fresh bread. “Why, miss?”
“I didn’t run off with that man, Peg, but no one in the neighborhood believes me, and it’s not surprising. Silly Bella Barstowe ran off with a charming rascal and was discarded once her virtue was gone. She then multiplied her shame by refusing a decent marriage.”
“Squire Thoroughgood,” Peg muttered in disgust. “Thoroughly bad, in the opinion of most!”
“So I gather, but most people seem to think that any marriage is better than none for a ruined woman, and once I made it clear my refusal was absolute, my father allowed the story to spread around the area. From there, it could have gone anywhere by letter.”
“But four years ago, miss. It’ll all be forgotten.”
“I wish I could believe that.” Bella remembered her cooling soup and drank some. “It could be particularly remembered in Tunbridge Wells, however, because of my connection to Lady Raddall. She may even have spoken of it to friends. In outrage, I’m sure, but will people remember that, or just remember the shame?”
Peg pulled a face. “Happen you’re right, miss, but then what about your older sister? The one as married.”
“Athena?” Bella considered it, but only for a moment.
Athena lived near Maidstone, and it was to her she’d fled from Dover. Athena might want to take her in, for she had a sense of duty, but her husband saw Bella Barstowe as a destructive influence on his young daughters. Even if Athena persuaded him they should offer her shelter, she would be seen as a sinner and expected to be grateful and penitent all her days.
She couldn’t speak of such matters to a servant, so she simply said, “No, it wouldn’t do.” She finished her soup, trying to find some possibility.
It seemed a bold notion, but she wanted independence. Years of imprisonment made the slightest hint of confinement unbearable, but was freedom possible for a young lady of twenty-one?
Could she seem older, and even a different person, free of scandal?
“Perhaps I’ll take a new name,” she said, testing the idea on Peg. “And live in a quiet place, far from fashionable circles. A village, perhaps, where I can be mistress of my life at last, but far from curious eyes.”
Peg snorted. “If you want to avoid curious eyes, miss, don’t go to a village. There’s nothing the gossips like more than someone new to pick over. And the better sort as can read and write, they’re soon writing to their cronies everywhere asking why a pretty young woman might be hiding herself away in a village, no matter what name you use.”
“Oh, you’re correct, of course. But then what am I to do?”
“Go to a town, miss. People don’t notice so much in a town.”
A startling thought struck. “Why not the Town? London. Anyone could go unnoticed there.”
“London! Lawks, Miss Bella, I’d bust me stays to go to London. I might even see the king. Such a lovely young man, they say. And his dear, sweet little babies.”
Bella fought laughter. “I’m not planning a fashionable life, Peg.”
“That’s a shame, then, but it won’t bother me. Where would we live, though?”
Bella was at a loss, but then an odd
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