Mary Ann could see Nathaniel turn red in embarrassment and she almost felt sorry. But then she remembered how he had disrespected her and quickly reminded herself that he deserved the embarrassment.
"I am very sorry for what I said," Nathaniel said, even though it was obvious from his facial expression that he would rather not apologize if he could help it.
"That's better," Sam said before he led Mary Ann back to the center of the bar.
"You really didn't need to do that, Sam," Mary Ann said to Sam even though it had made her feel good that he had stood up for her.
"What nonsense are you saying, Mary Ann," Sam said and from his voice, it was obvious that he was still very angry at what had happened. "These disrespectful scoundrels always seems to think that they can say anything to you with no consequence. It's about time someone put these men in their place and if no one does it, I will gladly rise to the occasion."
Mary Ann smirked. “Any second and I might have made him cry, Sam.”
Sam chuckled at that. “Ah, yes. I didn’t doubt you for a second. Perhaps I truly wasn’t needed there at all.”
Mary Ann tried not to make her sadness shine through her smile. "Perhaps. But thank you for standing up for me."
As if a tap had been turned on, Mary Ann was tired again. A day never passed by without a man — or woman — making a terrible comment about her. This had always been her reality as far back as she could remember. At this point, she had learned to choose her battles wisely especially since she couldn't keep throwing stones at every barking dog.
"How do you cope with comments from men?" Sam asked suddenly, "And don't you dare lie to me. I know that you are still living in that unsafe dilapidated house so I implore you to talk to me."
She waved a dismissive hand, distracting herself with the mug before her. She wasn’t in the mood to drink. "Actually, I'm coping just fine."
Her nonchalant tone didn’t deter him. "Mary Ann, I've implored you several times and I'm going to do it yet again. There is a free room just across the street. It might not be much but there's a bed and other necessities and I'm sure you would prefer it to where you are currently staying. It isn't safe out there for you and you know it. Just look at it and you might find it to be something you want," Sam said.
Mary Ann rolled her eyes. Her usual protest was right on the tip of her tongue. "I will only take the room if you allow me to work for you here. You are already doing a lot for me without allowing me do anything for you. I could never agree to taking up a room when I know fully well that you won't allow me to pay you back."
"Ah! Stubborn Mary Ann, what will I do with you?" Sam sighed.
Mary Ann grinned, responding with only a simple shrug. Sam had done a lot for her and she had never been able to repay him. This would be a start, she knew, to being able to give him back all the things he’d helped her with. Without either one of their prides getting in the way.
She heard the tavern door open. The hum of chatter buzzed louder but she didn’t bother to turn. She only continued to twirl the ale in her mug, watching her features twist within the liquid. She wasn’t the same Mary Ann in her head anymore. As her mind drifted, her daydreams grew stronger, until she was once again the Mary Ann who was leading an admirable life.
Thomas was more than grateful to be out of the scorching sun. Even though the tavern wasn't a lot to look at, it at least afforded him shelter. He’d only been away from the house for a short while and he already couldn’t bear the heat and dust any longer.
Sitting on the hard wood that served as a bench at the tavern, Thomas looked around at the tavern, he was pleased to see that he blended in well with the rest of the tavern's patrons. A few had looked up at him upon entering but now they seemed not to care about him anymore.
I wonder what Mother would say if she were to see me now.
She would be appalled. And though she was quite a progressive woman, Thomas doubted she would be comfortable knowing he was here. She would say the same thing James had, mentioning hoodlums and bandits. Perhaps she would even accentuate her point by saying Thomas could not hide that he was a Duke if his life depended on it. She would laugh, but she would be utterly serious at the same time. Humor tickled him at the thought.
Thomas stole another look at the clothes that he wore and he nodded with pride. The clothes and boots were similar to what a commoner would wear. He feared it would not make him blend in as well as he hoped, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
He’d been walking around through the town and he couldn't help but be incredibly impressed by everything that he was seeing. He realized how little he knew of the life of commoners. The ease with which they all navigated as they went about their day-to-day life. Uncomplicated and free — unlike the members of the gentry who couldn't do whatever they wanted due to the numerous rules that they had to abide by.
Thomas was eventually taken out of his reverie by his parched throat. For a moment, he wondered why the tavern owner hadn't come to him yet to ask for what he would like to take, but then, he realized that things were done differently from the gentleman’s clubs he was accustomed to.
Looking at the center of the tavern, he saw a young maiden who seemed a little younger than he was. She was the only one at the table so he could tell that she was the attendant. In order to get her attention, Thomas waved with his right hand with a smile. She was busy doing other things so she didn’t notice him.
Finally, the maiden looked up and their eyes locked. He finally got a good look at her — and what he saw stole his breath away.
She was on the short side but what the maiden lacked in height; she made up for it in voluptuousness and beauty. Long-brown curls surrounded her face and the curls fluttered around as she moved around. Even though Thomas wasn't sitting across from her, he could see that she had a well-defined face that was quite pretty.
Thomas couldn't remember how long he sat there drinking in her looks but when he finally came back to his senses, he realized that he still had his hand in the air like a fool. He quickly brought his hand down but then their eyes met yet again.
This time, they both held gaze for several seconds. Thomas was struck, unable to think. He felt himself smile, then opened his mouth to speak though he hadn’t a clue what he planned on saying.
Before he could though, she frowned slightly at him before she moved away, dismissing him entirely.
Chapter 4
It took a long while for Thomas to finally lose his temper. The maiden kept doing everything else besides giving Thomas attention. It was ridiculous and if it hadn't been that Thomas had just gotten into town, he would have thought that he had somehow offended the maiden a while ago.
Thomas finally decided that he had had enough when the lass went ahead to attend to another man who had gotten to the tavern after Thomas.
"Miss," Thomas called loudly. That got the attention of, not only the maiden, but nearly everyone else in the tavern. He watched her alone, however, feeling a spark of satisfaction when she frowned at him once again. She turned to face him fully, looking a bit displeased. He inclined his head to the side, an indication that he would like for her to approach him.
Again, she ignored him.
Frustration sprouted within him. He about to rise to his feet when a short and bald man came in from some door at the back of the tavern and then sat with the girl. They both began to chat animatedly, like they both had no care in the world. The girl leaned toward the short man, whispered something in his ear and the man burst out laughing hysterically. This only managed to grate on Thomas' nerves even more.
At this point, he decided to resign to fate as he stared at the girl and the short man. As annoyed as he was at the attendant, he couldn't help but be fascinated by the maiden and how she carried herself. Though her gait was odd, it was the oddness that drew to him. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her legs but he wondered if perhaps she wore unusual shoes.
Suddenly, the maiden — who had been talking to th
e short man earlier — looked up and she locked eyes with Thomas for the third time. This time, however, her look was full of disdain and annoyance. She raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner while staring at Thomas with displeasure in her eyes.
Suddenly, the girl rose from the stool where she had been sitting and she began to walk toward him.
Thomas had been planning on giving her his order once she was close enough to hear him. But the closer she drew, the more he forgot about his thirst and hunger. Having only seen her from afar, his thought had been that she was quite striking as a woman. However, now that she was closer to him, he realized that in fact, she was one of the most attractive women he had ever seen.
He never knew such beauty existed among commoners. Besides her curly-brown hair that was presently glistening in the sun, she had striking brown eyes that complemented her hair nicely. Her nose was just moderate for her body structure and her high cheekbones made her rosy cheeks even more pronounced. Her luscious lips were quite full, her sharp jawline somehow softened her hard eyes. His heat skipped a bit, then another.
Before he could get a hold of himself, he began wondering how her lips would feel against his. This and the sight of the outline of her body made his stomach turn, but not in the way he had expected. He wanted her, it felt odd but he was sure of that. He tried to get it off his mind but something else happened. He could feel his trousers tighten around the groin.
This cannot be happening, can it?
"You, scoundrel!" came a surprisingly pleasant voice, waking Thomas up from his reverie.
"What?" he muttered as he realized what was going on around him. The young chit whose physical attributes he had been admiring was sitting across from him now, her eyes hard even as she gave him a bright, false smile. Despite the animosity he felt, he was back in his fantasy with the girl smiling at him this time and bringing her lips closer.
"What?” she echoed, huffing a laugh devoid of humor. “Are you really asking me what now? I should be the one to ask you that question since you have been ogling me ever since you walked right into this tavern."
“Ogling?” he blurted out. Not for a second did he think he had been ogling but… Thomas huffed a laugh, quite similar to hers, when he realized how true her words were.
"What is so funny?" the brown-haired lass asked, her irritation stark.
"This is very ridiculous,” he said with a sigh. “I only held my hand up to attract your attention to be served. That is all.” He didn’t think she would like it he mentioned that his thoughts had turned to other things after that. “I did not expect to be dismissed so rudely, however.”
"Are you a jester?" brown-haired maiden asked, shooting him terrible looks.
"I assure you, I am quite serious,” Thomas responded. “Though I cannot say I have not been asked that before.”
The brown-haired maiden seemed to be at a loss for words. She ran her eyes up and down the length of him, her open distrust and disdain so strong that Thomas didn’t know what to say. For a second, he wondered if she might have found him out. Though he wore commoner’s clothing, his style of speaking was quite distinct. Why did I not think of that before?
He wracked his brain for something to say, for a way to convince her that he was like all the others. But before he had the chance to, she leaned back and folded her arms, not bothering to hide her skepticism.
“Very well, then,” she said, her voice almost a snarl. “Let us say you speak the truth. That does not deny the fact that you were indeed ogling me just a short while ago.”
Thomas kept his eyes on her face, even though she had folded her arms under her chest and had pushed her bosom up as a result. They peeked over the top of her shirt. He wondered if she did that on purpose. No man could possibly ignore such a sight.
"Forgive if I caused that impression,” he said, keeping his tone level and unbothered. “I am afraid you are not quite the type of woman that I would ogle."
Will she believe such a lie? I shouldn’t let this drag on for much longer.
"Moreover," he continued, "my taste in ladies is slightly more refined than you. Therefore, you can be rest assured that you have no cause for worry."
Even though she continued shooting daggers at him with her eyes and the only thing that betrayed her emotions was the embarrassed flush that had crept up her cheeks. It was such an endearing sight that Thomas didn’t know whether or not to take back his words. His trousers grew infinitely tighter.
"Our eyes met several times," she argued, her fingers tightening on her arms. Her cheeks grew redder still, but Thomas had a feeling it was more anger this time than embarrassment.
"Yes, I cannot deny that.” Though he wished that wasn’t so. “But as I said earlier, it is simply because I was trying to get your attention in order to be served.”
"Ah, so you make it habit of staring at young women assuming they will answer to your beck and call.”
Thomas’ brows shot to his hairline. “That is quite insinuation, Miss—”
She didn’t bother to provide her name. She only looked at him. He had no doubt that if she could put her boot to his chest, she would.
He cleared his throat. “Perhaps, had you attended to your duties in the manner you should have, I would have found no need to stare.”
The moment the words were out his mouth, Thomas realized his error in admitting to her earlier accusation. She grinned wickedly at him, clearly noticing it as well. "And what are those duties, Stranger? Pray, tell me."
"Well, you are now proving my point,” he pushed on. He rarely ever found himself in an argument with a woman and he wasn’t sure how to maneuver it. “Are you really an attendant if I have to tell you how to perform your duty?"
Pushing her like this was only making his trousers problem worse but he missed talking to someone who could look him in the eyes. He admitted reluctantly to himself that he fancied how she was moving when she talked.
"Are you really a smart-tongued traveler who wandered into this tavern?" she shot back without a second of hesitation. Then she leaned over, her eyes narrowing to slits. "You know nothing about my life or my duty so I advise you to watch your mouth."
"How spirited," Thomas murmured. "If only you could transfer this same aggression into doing your job."
"I'm warning you, scoundrel!” Her words were nothing but a hiss, her true anger shooting out of her. “Watch your mouth or I’ll fix it for you."
"Very well!” Thomas raised his hands in surrender. "I have no reason to argue any further with you. Now, will you not attend to me?"
"Perhaps things would have been much smoother for you had you had the common sense to ask for what you want without waving at me like a fool," she said in equal vein.
Anger sparked within him. It wasn’t the first time she was calling him a fool and he wasn’t going to let it go this time. "Perhaps if you had used those eyes God gave you, you would see when someone is in need of you," Thomas insisted.
The brown-haired maiden seemed amused now for a reason that he couldn't quite understand. She had a nice set of teeth, he noticed, though he couldn’t fathom why he cared.
"I do not know where you think you are, Mister,” she said to him. “But this is not a French coffeehouse."
“I am well aware of that.” He had been to enough expensive salons to know that this tavern looked nothing like any of them. "But that doesn't mean you should lack the basic skills to relate with your patrons. A good attendant would come up to me once I had entered and ask me what I wish to have."
"You really are stubborn, aren't you?" She shook her head, her lips tilting into something that should have been a smile but only filled Thomas with wariness. “My suggestion to you would be to yell your order at the top of your voice the next time you think to visit. That's exactly what the other patrons have been doing."
"What?" For some reason, he couldn’t think of a single thing he could say in response. "That is rather… uncouth, don’t you think?”
It was then that the brown-haired maiden did the unexpected. She bent her head back in loud laughter. It made her eyes crinkle dramatically while her white-teeth sparkled. Though she was laughing at his expense, something that had never happened to Thomas before, he couldn’t help appreciating how lovely she looked.
Thomas was relieved when she finally stopped laughing.
"If I didn't know better, I would have taken you for some noble with your mannerism," she said.
Thomas was suddenly alarmed by her words. He had clearly not taken as close care as he should have.
With that, she rose and walked away from him. At first, Thomas wasn't sure if he should feel good about what she said or feel terrible. For one, her words insinuated that she did not think him to be a nobleman, which meant that his disguise was really effective.
A Fiery Duchess for the Dashing Duke: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 3
