Beth through time, p.9
Beth Through Time, page 9
John’s face softened. “You just enjoy it when you can use me as a pillow.”
Rose shrugged. “That is an added bonus.”
11
The Foundling Hospital
Dark clouds blanketed the skies today, bathing the entire world in a diffused gray. To combat the cold wind that keened as it whipped through every crevice and piece of insulation, I wore a thicker dress with an added shawl thrown around my arms instead of my regular summer wear of thinner muslin dresses.
Despite the dreary weather, I was excited to see the duke again. Although, a small voice in the back of my head told me that I was being foolish, that the duke would never entertain me if he knew the truth. My nerves got the better of me, and I could not stop fidgeting with the courser fibers of my shawl.
Anne gently smacked my hand. “Stop teasing the tassels before you unravel the whole lot.” The carriage wheels clattered beneath us as we traveled across town.
“Right.” I stilled my hands and pulled the shawl tighter around me. “Anne, do you think I am being foolish?” My voice was nearly lost in the howling wind that raced past the black carriage.
“A bit,” Anne said, being one to never mince words. “However, I cannot tell you what to do. Although,” Anne furrowed her brow, “I would not follow Melinda’s words blindly either. Who knows what reasons she has for being here? Most of which likely have nothing to do with you. All I can ask is that you are careful. And, I suppose, that whatever you do that it is your decision.”
I leaned sideways and enveloped Anne in a hug. “Thank you for being my friend.”
“You are welcome,” Anne spluttered out before turning her head to hide the crimson shade creeping up her face. She glanced out the window.
On my side, I could see rows upon rows of houses as we headed further into the city of London. We were nearly at the rendezvous location; the Brunswick Square Gardens.
The carriage jolted to a stop, and the driver knocked on the side of the carriage.
Edmund waited for us on the sidewalk.
“Why did you want to meet us here?” I asked, popping my head out of the opening. Edmund held out his hand and helped me down the two steps and onto the ground.
After safely helping Anne to the street, he said, “I have enjoyed getting to know you, but I feel like you do not yet know much about me. Today is all about rectifying that.”
I raised my brow. “And how were you planning on doing that?”
“By showing you what I do in my spare time. Come along.” His face crinkled as he smiled, brightening up the dreary day. “I hope you both are ready to work.”
“Work?” Anne looked to me with questions in her eyes.
Edmund chuckled. “Yes, I volunteered us to help at the Foundling Hospital.”
“I have heard of charitable events happening there, but I do not believe I ever heard of a lady or a lord volunteering their time to work.” Anne righted her cap and narrowed her eyes at the duke.
Edmund nodded. “I like to be hands-on. To help where it matters. Of course, donations are helpful for organizations to help those in need, but when those events are held in lavish venues with everything the ton is accustomed to, how could one ever really empathize with those born without the advantages of wealth and titles.”
“You speak as if you are not a member of the ton yourself,” I remarked.
The duke let out another chuckle. “I am merely invested in providing resources for the less fortunate. It is a cause very near and dear to my heart and one I fully support when I am at my home in Ireland.”
The ribbon beneath my chin loosened, and I grabbed a hold of my straw hat before it could blow away. Embarrassed, I glanced up at the duke. His dark eyes watched me as a smile tugged at his lips. I straightened the hat and retied it while continuing the conversation. “That is very admirable indeed. Is that not so, Anne?”
“Very,” Anne agreed.
“Which charity do you support in Ireland?”
“My main focus goes towards providing assistance for single and widowed mothers and the upbringing of orphans.”
The duke’s words warmed my heart. While I did love fashion and other perhaps frivolous things that I was accustomed to, I was not unaware of the disparity between John’s and my lifestyle and that of the common man. Though John was a generous landowner who ensured that his tenants lived as comfortable as possible and now with the addition of Rose’s school, we also worked towards getting their children a better start in life. It was perhaps small, but change had to happen somewhere.
“What drew you to those causes?”
The corner of Edmund’s mouth lifted. “I suppose you could say that it is a cause that I grew up with.” His words piqued my interest, but that was all Edmund said on the matter, leaving me wondering why supporting single mothers and orphans could be important to a duke.
Edmund glanced up at the gray sky before turning to us with a mischievous smile. “We should venture inside before we are caught in a rainstorm or before we are blown away by the wind.” Edmund pushed the handle and opened one of two gate doors in the large wrought iron fence that blocked in the main courtyard in front of the Foundling Hospital.
We entered the courtyard, heading for the central building which was flanked by two other large dorms. We crossed the vast space to the front door. It must have been noon already since some children were playing outside despite the weather; three boys in miniature versions of a military style uniform were tossing marbles along the pavers and another was using a spinning top while onlookers marveled at the sight. A group of girls in servants’ getups were playing hoops under the watchful eye of one of the nurses.
The nurse, looking rather severe, nodded as we passed her by and entered the hospital. A young woman at the front desk jumped to standing once she spotted us, brown curls peeking out from underneath her white nurse’s cap. She straightened her white apron and moved around the heavy desk to greet us.
“Welcome, Your Grace and ladies. Head nurse Margaret has informed me that you would like to assist during lunch. If you could please follow me to the kitchens?”
We followed the young nurse to the kitchens where we were handed aprons. Anne looked bemused as the duke put his on without hesitation. I swiftly followed.
“What can we do to help?” I asked the young woman.
“This is where I leave you. I have to return to the front desk,” the nurse said. She pointed at another woman switching out what appeared to be large troughs of slop onto a rolling cart. “You can help nurse Hettie to dispense the food to the children.”
Nurse Hettie was a woman of few words. In a brisk pace, she rolled the cart of food through the hallways, while doling out small slips of information.
“The boys are housed in the left wing while the girls are in the right.”
“We are helping with feeding the boys today, then?” Anne said.
Nurse Hettie uttered a sound of agreement, while her shoes squeaked along the floor. Before we reached the dining hall, I became aware of a cacophony of noise that became ever louder as we neared the double doors. A sound that only a bunch of boys crammed together in a single room could produce; plates clanked against tables, and the high-pitched prattle of who knows how many combined voices of young boys echoed from the rafters.
“The boys receive schooling until they become of an age where they can either be apprenticed or join military service,” Hettie provided.
“What about the girls?” Anne asked.
“They also receive schooling with additional attention to the female arts after which they can go into service and make a proper life for themselves. Now,” Hettie scraped her throat loudly, dimming the noise the boys were making. The orphaned boys, perhaps four or five in age, pointed their attention to the nurse.
Hettie rolled the cart to the front of the dining hall and raised her voice. “If you can all create three orderly lines.”
Edmund helped set out the food while Hettie handed each of us ladles.
“Make sure to give each child one large scoop of the meat.” She pointed at the slop. “And give them a scoop of the vegetables and add a piece of bread.” Her shrewd eyes glanced over us, deciding whether we understood what needed to happen. We must have made the right impression because with a nod of her head, she said, “Right, I shall return to the kitchen and will be back in a short while. Good luck.”
I crossed eyes with Edmund and raised my brows. “Good luck,” I muttered while the first children lined up with their empty plates.
Soon, the three of us were too busy scooping slop onto plates and handing out buns to think about anything else.
Edmund’s face was bright as he smiled and welcomed each child that held out a plate towards him. While handing out food to the young boys myself, I could not help from glancing at the duke. He seemed lighter, more at home here than anywhere else I had seen him. Soft light from the high ceiling windows teased his dark hair, showing bursts of amber and gold threaded throughout. His arms flexed as he scooped portions of food.
“Can I have some food, miss?” I had to tear my eyes away from Edmund. I flashed a wide smile and bent towards the small boy in front of me. Green eyes peeked up at me from an unruly head of tawny hair, a metal tray clutched in his tiny hands. He smiled up at me a bit hesitantly.
“Of course.” I scooped a good portion of meat, vegetables, and bread onto his tray. “Enjoy your lunch.”
“Thank you, miss,” the boy said as he left the line and another took his place.
By the end of lunch, my back was aching, and the front of my apron was covered in stains. Judging by a feeling of tautness on my cheek when I spoke, I even had some dried-up food on my face.
I was probably a dreadful sight, but the experience had been worth it. Feeding the children and working beside Edmund had been something entirely new for me. And seeing how sincere, caring, and hardworking he was did some strange things to my insides.
Oh, who was I kidding, Edmund was working his way underneath my skin. Though, I did my best to not dwell on the fact that I was deceiving him.
We said goodbye to the roomful of boys which was relatively subdued as they all shoveled the food into their mouths. I wondered what happened in their brief lives to get them here. From what I remembered, the children were chosen based on a lottery system. Some of them might be orphans with no family members to turn to while others were the result of by-blows from respected gentlemen, given up by their unwed mothers to avoid ruin. My heart clenched at the thought of giving up my own child. My eyes rested on the small tawny-haired boy who was taking a large bite out of bread. I hoped he would grow up to be happy and healthy.
Edmund pushed the now empty cart in front of him and rolled it down the hallway, back to the kitchens.
“Ready?” Edmund asked once we had returned our aprons and I managed to request a wet rag to wipe my face. Hettie, the nurse, dumped the soiled aprons into a laundry bin while another handed me a wetted cloth.
“Yes,” I said, wiping at my cheek. “Are we to return home?” I added the cloth to the laundry bin and swiped my palms across the front of my dress.
Edmund’s eyes flashed to Anne. “I have one more thing I would like to do, if you ladies would be so kind as to indulge me. Do you think you have the time?”
“I am certain we can find the time a bit longer,” I hurried to say. I shot Anne a specific look. “We do not have any other immediate plans.”
Her head shook slightly, and I could tell she was stifling a laugh. Perhaps I had sounded a bit too eager. But I could not help it, I wanted to spend more time with Edmund. “I suppose we could,” Anne added.
“Marvelous,” Edmund said, righting himself. His teeth flashed as he grinned at us. “I have been meaning to take a stroll along London Bridge, and I reckoned now would be lovely, to give us a chance to stretch our legs.”
“During a storm?” Anne raised a brow. I kind of agreed. The straw hat that was a gift from Edmund had nearly blown away earlier. But if it was what the duke wanted then I was not going to say no.
I cleared my throat. “It might be refreshing, wouldn’t you say?”
Edmund’s eyes crinkled. “You read my mind. A good breeze to blow the cobwebs away.”
We said goodbye to Hettie and the other nurses in the kitchens, then walked past the front desk.
“Come again,” the brown-haired nurse said, standing up. “Thank you for assisting with lunch; the children appreciate it.”
“I enjoyed helping out,” I told her.
We crossed the threshold into the now empty courtyard.
“We should perhaps have an umbrella ready?” Anne said, glancing up at the sky. The gray clouds blanketing the heavens had darkened even more.
Now that Anne mentioned it, the outdoor smell had changed to something fresher and wilder. The scent of incoming rain tickled my nostrils. The wind had also picked up speed, lashing at my hair. I pulled my shawl around my shoulders and tied a small knot in the front so I would not lose it in a sudden gale.
Even if I did not want to, I had to admit that going for a walk did not seem like the brightest idea.
“Perhaps we should postpone our walk of the London Bridge to another day.” I did not yet want to say goodbye to the duke, but traversing the bridge while raining did not sound wise, especially with the regular heavy traffic. A carriage wheel hitting one ill placed puddle and my entire dress could be soaked.
Edmund inclined his head, his charming smile warming my heart. “The decision is yours, as always, but if you shall indulge me, I will make certain it will not be a waste of your time.”
When he gazed at me with his dark eyes, how could I not agree. “Oh, alright.”
We crossed the courtyard and Edmund opened the gate to let Anne and me through. He moved between us as we walked along the sidewalk. I shivered a bit, and he placed his arm around me.
“Let us procure an umbrella before we venture to the bridge.”
We walked about a block until we reached a shop selling umbrellas. Edmund purchased a blue and white tipped one from the seller then we returned outdoors. He handed the umbrella to Anne who tucked the handle around the crook of her arm. Edmund held out a hand to passing traffic until a hackney cab stopped in front of us.
It was but a short ride to the London Bridge. I stepped out of the cab, nodding at the driver, followed by Anne and the duke. Anne remained behind us, swinging the umbrella in her hands as she gave us as much privacy as she could while still seeming proper. Of course, none of what we were doing could be called proper. But Anne was dead set on fulfilling her chaperon duties wherever she could so she was at the very minimum able to fulfill by my brother’s wishes, if not by heart, at least in spirit.
My arm hooked around the crook of Edmund’s arm. He smiled lightly, showing off his straight, white teeth.
“See here,” he said, pulling me towards the weathered, low, stone wall that lined the bridge on either side. I leaned my arms on the edge and glanced in the direction that he was pointing. From a few cloud breaks, a soft yellow sunlight burst through the darkness until it lit up streaks of water on the Thames. The entire sight was ethereal.
“This is what I wanted you to see,” Edmund whispered in my ear. “Most people enjoy sightseeing on a sunny day and, of course, blue skies and sun-soaked fields are pretty, but I have found that the most beautiful things reveal themselves when there is a hint of darkness.”
“It is lovely.” I leaned forward, peering out over the Thames.
“Yes, she is.”
I turned my head and caught Edmund gazing at me, his eyes soft and warm. Blushing, I swallowed to wet my dried-up throat. The sky rumbled and small droplets landed on my arms and on his hair and eyelashes. The duke appeared as something out of a dream. Before I knew it, the sky broke completely, drenching us in cold droplets.
Anne opened the umbrella and hurried towards us. “Come shelter underneath here.” The rain whipped down at us, turning our surroundings into a blur.
Edmund glanced at me, his smile devious as his curls plastered against forehead, weighed down by the rain. He held out his hand in invitation “Trust me. Let us run.” My eyes widened and I managed a quick nod before he grasped my hand and I followed him, feet pounding the pavement.
“Wait, what are you doing?” Anne called after us.
I burst out laughing while my slippers squelched against the wet stone. Edmund laughed with me. My dress was soaked and my hair was drenched against the sides of my face, but I did not care. Somehow the rain had made Edmund even more attractive; his hair an even darker, glossy black and his well-cut clothing wet and sticking to his impressive body.
We continued running until Edmund veered off and pulled me into one of the empty alcoves lining the bridge.
“Do you think Anne will be awhile?” he asked, breathless.
“I would imagine so,” I answered haltingly. My chest heaved as I struggled to catch my breath. It was nice to be out of the rain, sheltered beneath the small stone alcove. With the heavy lashings turning the outside into a blur, it felt as if the duke and I were in a different world.
Edmund closed the space between us, his eyes sweeping my body. “I hope you will forgive my imprudence, but I would very much like to kiss you.”
My heart thudded loudly in my chest. Water puddled at my feet.
“May I?”
“Yes,” I breathed only a second before he grasped my face and claimed my lips. We were both chilled, but soon a new kind of heat moved through me, warming me from my core. Our lips danced, and after opening my mouth, his tongue darted in and twirled with mine. His hand cupped the back of my neck and pulled me in tighter. I rocked against his body, swept up in his motions. Kissing the duke felt like it was meant to be. His touch set my skin aflame. Edmund’s nose brushed mine when he deepened his kiss, and everything around me faded away.
There was only him and me.
Slowly, he untangled his lips from mine so he could look at me. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” His eyes darted to my reddened lips, a smile tugging at his lips. “Thank you for letting me show you the London Bridge today.”
