“Yes, your Ladyship,” she said, still looking down and trembling now. She wondered if Edward Blake had even remembered her. He had been very drunk that night.
“You have done well,” Lady Blake went on. “And while you are working here I want you to regard this house as your home. You are indeed, one of the family here, we wish our servants to be satisfied.”
“Thank you, Lady Blake,” she said.
“That will be all,” her Ladyship said. “You can return to your duties.”
Mary practically raced from the room. The unexpected entrance of Edward Blake had completely upset her. She hurried down the broad hallway making her way to the shadowed rear of the house.
She was on her way to the stairs leading to the kitchen when out of the shadows there sprang a figure to block her way. It was a smiling Edward Blake.
In a low voice, he said, “Hello, Mary!”
“Please, sir!” she said, frightened and embarrassed at the same time.
The handsome young man gently laid a hand on her arm. “I mean you no harm. I’m delighted with your country freshness and beauty!”
“Your mother would be angry if she saw us talking!” Mary protested.
“I’m not so sure,” Edward said. “In any case I wish to be your friend.”
“Then let me go about my work!” she said, trying to push her way by him.
“One moment,” the handsome blade said. “I heard mother telling you that you are to have Tuesday off.”
“That is true.”
“You need someone to show you London,” he said with a smile. “I shall do that. I’ll meet you outside and we’ll have a jolly time!”
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t be right!”
“Why not?”
“I don’t really know you! You’re the son of the house! I’m only a kitchen maid!”
“I vow the prettiest I’ve ever seen,” Edward Blake said. “I beg of you, don’t be such a snob. Remember next Tuesday. I shan’t forget! I’ll be waiting in a carriage up the street when you leave the house!”
“Please!” she begged again. And this time he defied her by again taking her in his arms and kissing her. The kiss was brief and with a soft laugh he let her go.
She rushed down the stairs, the fierceness of his kiss burning her lips and the memory of his handsome, laughing face vivid in her mind. She knew that it was wrong that his attentions to her should please her, but she had to admit they did. How, she wondered, was it possible for a girl like herself not to be flattered by the interest of such a young gentleman?
Emma was waiting for her when she returned to the kitchen. The red-haired girl gave her an astonished look, saying, “My! You’ve got a regular sparkle in your eyes! What did the mistress say to put you in such a good mood?”
Mary smiled lamely. “She was very nice to me.”
“Must have been,” Emma said with a hint of suspicion. “I’ve never seen you look so happy since you came here.”
“She told me about my day off.”
“When?”
“Tuesday. I’m to have my first half-day next Tuesday,” she said.
“Bother!” Emma said disconsolately. “I hoped we might be getting the same afternoon together. Though I might have known better. What good is a day off if you have no one to go out with and no where to go?”
Mary said, “I imagine I can get around a little on my own.”
“London is a big city,” Emma told her. “And a wicked city as well. You ought to have someone to see you safely around. I wish I had a sister or somebody to come meet you!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Mary protested almost too quickly. “I’d prefer to be on my own. I need only wander about the streets near here.”
Emma stared at her. “You are a queer one! Do you mean that?”
“Of course, I do,” Mary said, blushing. “I rather like to be on my own. I often went for long walks in the country on my own. Even in the woods.”
“This is not the country!” Emma warned her. “Let’s get on with our work. See if washing some greasy dishes won’t wipe that smile off your rosy-cheeked face!”
Mary was happy to be occupied so Emma wouldn’t ask her any more awkward questions. She had surprised herself with her almost instant refusal of any company which Emma might be able to offer her. As she bent over the pan of dirty dishes she wondered guiltily if she had done this because she was anxious to meet Edward Blake?
But this was nonsense! Worse than that, it was madness! The handsome young son of the house had surely been teasing her. It was ridiculous for her to expect him to keep his promise. By Tuesday he would have forgotten all about her, this handsome young man with the pick of London beauties at his beck and call!
Tuesday came. It was a gloomy, foggy day and some of the day’s gloom affected Mary’s spirits. The afternoon to which she’d looked forward so eagerly was going to turn out dull and uneventful. She was sure of it. Even the weather was not favorable.
As soon as lunch was over and the dishes cleared away and washed she went down to her room and washed and changed into her best dress, a soft blue merino with delicate lace ruching around the neck and wrists. Emma stole a moment from work to see her on her way.
“You look real nice!” Emma said, kissing her on the cheek. “Mind you don’t wander too far and keep a sharp eye out for strangers.”
“I shall,” she said, tying on her bonnet. “I doubt I’ll be gone long.”
As she left the house by the service entrance she realized she was actually trembling with excitement. She tried to put the vision of Edward Blake from her mind but it would not vanish. And as she started down the street she saw there was a carriage waiting by the curb and her heart began to pound wildly under the modest blue gown.
Mary knew she should turn around and go right back into the house. She was trembling now not only because she was excited but also because she was frightened. Had young Edward Blake indeed kept his word and come to meet her? If so, it was bound to cause trouble. She was certain neither of his parents would approve. But she doubted whether the reckless young man worried about their approval.
She’d almost come abreast of the carriage when the door nearest her opened and Edward Blake alighted and bowed to her.
“At your service, Miss. Guided tour of London, personally tailored to suit your needs!”
Mary gave him a worried glance. “You ought not to have done this!”
“I told you I would!”
“But I didn’t think you meant it!” she protested.
Edward Blake’s handsome face showed only good humor. He said, “You’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and I want to show you London.”
“You will only get us both in trouble!”
“No one need know about it,” he assured her. “We shall have a wonderful afternoon and become good friends. And no one will be the wiser if you quickly step into the carriage.”
She hesitated and then obeyed him. She sat nervously in the shadowed interior of the vehicle which smelled strongly of horse. Edward settled in beside her and bade the driver to start the vehicle on its way.
He glanced at her in the semi-darkness and took one of her hands in his. “I have given the driver his instructions and after a short tour we’ll have luncheon at a favorite haunt of mine.”
She warned, “I don’t think we should be seen together.”
He laughed. “Don’t be concerned. None of my family’s friends frequent this place. And no one will recognize you since you’re a stranger to the city.”
Mary listened to his earnest arguments, aware that what he was suggesting was wrong, but at the same time flattered by his attention. Imagine — being escorted by a bona fide Corinthian on her first free afternoon in London!
“Do you know the Prince Regent?” she asked Edward Blake a little breathlessly.
He scoffed, “I’ve often been at events he has attended. He’s a bloated monster! Nothing to look at, I promise you! And not at all intelligent. He’s at Brighton at the moment!”
She said, “Is he often there?”
“Much too often for the good of the country,” the young man said. “People think that because Napoleon has been defeated we’ll have nothing more to fear. And of course that’s a lot of nonsense! But enough of serious discussion. I make it a point of honor never to tax the delicate ears of a lovely lady with anything that might conduce to boredom.”
Pointing out the window on her side, he said, “That’s a section of the famous Covent Garden. There’s an open market going on in front of the building.”
Mary looked out and was amazed at the number of people gathered there, hawkers with their stands of fruits, vegetables and flowers, and crowds of buyers haggling over their wares. She said, “It’s busier than the yearly Fair at home!”
He laughed. “I promise you London is busier than that little village of yours on any day!”
The driver headed the carriage away from Covent Garden in the direction of the new Drury Lane Theatre, John Adams Street and the Adelphi with the Royal Academy of Arts. They halted on the new Waterloo Bridge and as she marvelled Edward Blake pointed out various landmarks of the great city. It was a thrilling experience for the little country girl and she soon forgot her fears in the enchantment of it.
They returned to the carriage and he said, “Now we must go to lunch. I’m taking you to a private club where I’m well known!”
“Then your family will be bound to hear about it!” she protested.
He laughed. “What a nervous little creature you are! I vow they will not hear of it! I’m known in this place but it is not a club which they patronize! It is … rather special!”
Mary sat uneasily as the carriage rolled on. They were now in narrow, quiet streets and when the driver brought the vehicle to a stop and Edward helped her out she saw they were at the door of a modest three storey house, its windows all shuttered. She was at once relieved that it did not seem too public a place. There was not a single soul in the narrow street at the moment.
Edward gave the driver some instructions which she could not hear. As the carriage moved away Edward took her by the arm and led her to the door of the house, saying, “I promised you it would be quiet. I’m sure you’ll like it here.”
“What is the name of the place?” she asked.
“Twenty-Four Kittery Street,” he said. “It is operated by a Mrs. Wade, who is fairly famous in London.” He lifted the brass knocker several times and waited for his summons to be answered.
The door was opened slowly by a solemn, thin woman with a cap on her graying hair and a fan in her hand. She looked ill at ease until she recognized Edward Blake and exclaimed, “Lor’, if it isn’t young Mister Blake!”
“The same,” Edward said agreeably. “This young lady and I wish to have luncheon and a long talk in private. I have promised her you have the best food and the greatest seclusion in all London!”
The thin woman chuckled and struck him with the fan in a playful manner. “How you young gentlemen do go on! It
is
good to see you again!”
“Then you have a room for Miss Scott and myself? And some of your famous food?”
“The room is there, as you well know,” the thin woman said. Her grin showed scraggly, blackened teeth. “As for food, you’re welcome to share the cold mutton and port me and my girls are having at this very moment!”
“What more could we ask?” Edward said in his mocking manner. “Let us go upstairs at once and pray bring us the food quickly, Mrs. Wade. Both the young lady and I have worked up an appetite from sight-seeing. Miss Scott is a country girl new to London!”
Mrs. Wade stood back for them to enter the dark hall and said, “New to the city, is she? With you as her guide I’m sure she’ll soon learn its ways!” And she emitted a tittering laugh once more.
As they mounted the stairway behind the woman Edward said, “You see, Mary, even the famous Mrs. Wade thinks highly of me as a London guide. How fortunate you are to have me take an interest in you.”
“I did enjoy the tour,” Mary said, a little overwhelmed by it all and thinking how strange the customs were in the city. She had expected to be taken to a dining place crowded with people rather than to this quiet house.
“Here’s the room you always prefer,” Mrs. Wade said, opening a door to a pleasantly furnished room. She bustled forward and lighted several lamps. Mary was made uncomfortable by the fact that the chief piece of furniture in the big room was a canopied bed with large mirrors on the wall opposite it. But she noted there was a good-sized table with chairs around it in one corner of the room, which was evidently for the serving of meals.
“Excellent, Mrs. Wade,” Edward said and handed the woman several bank notes. “Don’t be long with the food!”
“I’ll have it sent right up, Mister Blake,” the thin Mrs. Wade said with a coquettish smile and wink which sat oddly on her bony face.
When they were alone Mary said haltingly, “This is a strange sort of eating place.”
Edward removed her pelisse and waited for her to take off her bonnet. “You will remember I said it was a club. They also happen to serve excellent food. The bed is here for members who wish to remain overnight.”
“I see,” she said, feeling a little less nervous. She gave him her bonnet.
“Pray use the mirror to adjust your hair, if you feel the necessity of it,” he urged her as he hung her outer garments on a nearby rack.
She went to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She was pleased by what she saw. She surely was attractive and if her clothes were not of the latest city style at least they looked well on her. She arranged the wind-tossed ringlets of her hair so that they fell down smoothly on either side of her flushed cheeks.
Edward came to stand beside her in front of the mirror, and in truth they made a handsome couple. She wondered for a magical moment if perhaps he might be her Prince Charming. Would he present her to his family and demand that they accept her as his wife? The thought made her breath come faster and brought a sparkle to her wide gray eyes.
He smiled at her gently in the mirror and his arm went around her. As if to make real the fantasy she’d been indulging in, he said softly, “I’m in love with you, my dear little Mary, don’t you understand that?”
She looked up into his face with astonishment. “How could you be? We know so little about each other!”