Reforming Harriet

by Eileen Putman

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  About the Love in Disguise series:

  THE PERFECT BRIDE

  BOOKS BY EILEEN PUTMAN:

  Reforming

  Harriet

  Eileen Putman

  Kindle Edition

  Copyright © 2016 Eileen Putman

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. For permission requests, please contact the publisher.

  Formatting by Wild Seas Formatting

  Cover Design – BookGraphics.net

  First Edition, 1998

  Second Edition, 2014

  Third Edition, 2016

  Love in Disguise:

  Daring masquerades, with love as the prize

  In these tales of Regency intrigue, nothing is as it seems: A street wench masquerades as a debutante to fulfill a rake’s wager; an actress pretends to be a vengeful lord’s mistress to catch a killer. A noble war hero disguises himself as a much older man to woo an on-the-shelf spinster. An independent widow forces her disapproving business partner to pretend to be her fiancé — and teach her about passion.

  All are daring masquerades, with love as the prize.

  The books:

  The Perfect Bride

  The Dastardly Duke

  A Passionate Performance

  Reforming Harriet

  Summaries and previews are at the end of this book.

  www.eileenputman.com

  CHAPTER ONE

  Spring, 1817

  Loaf of Life. Elias squinted at the name spelled out in cheerfully crooked letters on a sign above the village bakery. From behind a cracked green door in grave need of paint wafted the odor of spirits — odd for a bakery on a Sunday morning.

  Elias trusted his nose. It, more than the lofty title he’d inherited, had made him rich. His nose had an unerring ability to sniff out distinctions among pepper berries, detect the subtle aroma of his favorite cassia plant, and judge which coffee beans would appeal to pallid English tastes. He had parlayed the gift of his nose into an uncanny ability to predict and inspire the culinary tastes of his countrymen.

  But while Elias had no difficulty detecting the fumes behind the door, he could not imagine why a bakery smelled like a brewery. Perhaps it was simply of a piece with this ramshackle village. The military had taught him that home was wherever a man could spread a pallet, but Elias certainly had no desire to linger in this dilapidated place. With any luck, his time here would be short.

  It was irksome enough that the trip to Worthington — a full two hours from London, even with his coach and four — had been necessary. That his business partner, the late Lord Frederick Worthington, had had the poor judgment to bequeath his share of their business to his spendthrift widow was the one nasty surprise of an otherwise fortuitous partnership.

  Elias tried the bakery’s door handle, but it did not give. Through the window, Elias could see someone moving about. He knocked firmly.

  He could not imagine why Freddy had given his widow his shares, or why the woman’s trustees were so rash as to permit her to control her own finances. Speculation had it that the crusty but shrewd Duke of Sidenham — a reputed hermit who preferred his castle on the cliffs of Cornwall to the refinements of town — had dictated the terms of Freddy’s will as a condition for betrothing his only daughter to a penniless viscount. Now Freddy’s merry widow was fast ruining Elias’s carefully constructed enterprise.

  Elias had called at Worthington Hall and been informed by a painfully withholding butler that her ladyship was not expected for some hours. Hoping to find someone more helpful, he had walked down the hill toward the village. It was mostly deserted, though he’d spied quite a throng of folk milling about the little church on the hill. Elias had no intention of venturing there. Churches made him uncomfortable — no, that was too mild a word. Indeed, he hoped never to set foot in one again.

  And so, he had strolled through the village amid empty shops and shuttered windows until his nose unerringly guided him to this ridiculously named bakery and its pronounced odor.

  Elias tapped his foot impatiently. No one had responded to his knock, so he rapped once more. He had no intention of being put off by a tipsy baker. As he weighed whether to give the door a decisive shove, it suddenly swung open — seemingly of its own accord, for no one stood at the threshold. For an uneasy moment Elias imagined himself back on the Peninsula, every sense alert for ambush. He quickly banished that thought, but was nevertheless wary as he bent slightly to clear the top door frame and entered the shop.

  “No need to pound,” admonished a cheerful voice. “Everyone knows I am here on Sundays. My, you are tall — not that you can help it, of course. Have a petty-patty. Minced veal and cinnamon, though the crust is a bit tough. I fear I worked the dough too long.”

  Smiling, the woman behind the long, wooden worktable indicated a platter of pastries on a small table by the door.

  Elias eyed her suspiciously. The odor of spirits was even more pronounced. The woman must be sheets to the wind.

  A red kerchief covered her hair, peasant-like, though some flour-dusted tendrils had escaped to curl wildly about her cheeks. A large dot of flour covered the tip of her nose. The corners of her blue eyes crinkled as she regarded him in a friendly fashion. He could judge little of her age, though he guessed that the voluminous apron she wore hid a figure thickening with the years. A great deal of flour covered her hands and trailed up to her elbows.

  She was, quite simply, a mess.

  Elias could not abide disorder or disarray. Unkempt women held no appeal for him, though this one might have been presentable enough had she not been pickled and covered in flour. Her bottle-blue eyes held a lively air, and her skin was flushed — from drink he supposed, though perhaps it was due to the energetic fashion in which she was working a thick, shapeless mass on the table with her hands.

  “I am seeking someone,” he began, surveying the tiny shop and noting with disdain the pastries she’d mentioned. There was nothing from this untidy woman’s hands he would risk eating. “Perhaps,” he added with little enthusiasm, “you might be of assistance.”

  Frowning, she blew an errant tendril away from her face. It floated back onto her cheek, and she pushed it away with the back of her hand, transferring a good deal of the flour to her hair and kerchief.

  “Possibly,” she said. “I know everyone in Worthington. Most are up at the church now. It is just up that path north of the milliner’s —”

  “I have no desire to visit a church.”

  “I would be there myself,” she said, taking no notice of his words, “except that I have promised these pastries to Mrs. Gregory today. She has her new in-laws v
isiting and does so want to impress them. Her petty-patties are quite as good as mine, but she would prefer not to have anything else to worry about, what with Mr. Gregory’s temper. Why must some people be so intolerant?”

  As if suddenly recalling his presence, she eyed him in dismay. “Oh, dear. I am gossiping to a perfect stranger. Do forgive me.”

  Elias had no interest in her prattle. He would soon smell like spirits himself if he did not take his leave, and he had no wish to present himself to his new business partner reeking of drink.

  He schooled himself to patience. “Perhaps you can tell me where I might find Lady Harriet Worthington at this hour.”

  She gave him an odd look. “Does she know you, sir?”

  “Surely that cannot be your concern.” Damned if he would open his budget to a tipsy village maid.

  “Very well, then.” Her tone was noticeably cooler and her friendly smile vanished. She returned her attention to the shapeless substance on the table, leaving him standing stiffly in the middle of the small shop. She kneaded the mass lightly, then began to roll it out into a long, thin strip.

  In this manner passed several silent minutes, as she focused entirely on her dough and he stood there awkwardly.

  “Perhaps if I might speak to the proprietor — your master?” he suggested. A man would understand. A matter of business, Elias would explain, and Lady Harriet’s direction would be his instantly, without all this female moodiness.

  Removing her hands from the dough, she wiped them on her apron and raised her blue gaze to his. “I have no master,” she said evenly. “And that is just the way I like it.”

  Elias stared at her. “I do not understand.”

  “’Tis quite simple,” she said. “‘I am my own mistress.”

  He frowned. “Do you mean to say that this is your establishment?”

  “Yes.” Her gaze narrowed. “Though I have found that there are those who disapprove of a woman in such a circumstance. I suspect, sir, that you might be counted in that number.” With a cool glance of dismissal, she picked up a knife and began to cut the dough into small triangles.

  Elias watched, intrigued by the process in spite of himself, as she placed a spoonful of filling from a bowl onto each triangle. Then she folded a thin layer of dough over the top, pinched the edges to seal them, and placed the finished product on a large pan. She repeated the process, seemingly unaware that he was staring at her, until the pan had no more room. Brushing the pastries with a yellowish glaze, she placed the pan into a large oven.

  At that point, she turned to a pail of water, plunged her arms in up to their elbows and scrubbed until they were free of flour. Only after she had dried them with a towel did she remove her kerchief, revealing a gleaming mass of auburn hair.

  Fascinated at the metamorphosis before him, Elias watched silently as she took off her stained apron, hung it on a hook near the worktable, and turned to face him at last. A smattering of flour still adorned her nose, to rather appealing effect, he decided grudgingly, and without that apron he could see that her figure was not in the least coarse. Rather the opposite. She was slender and decades younger than he had assumed. Close to his own age, in fact.

  Crossing her arms, she regarded him with a sharp, clear gaze. He had another realization: She was not at all tipsy.

  “Now, sir,” she said. “You will be good enough to introduce yourself.”

  Stung by her authoritative tone, Elias scowled. “And perhaps you will be good enough to remember your manners, miss.”

  “Indeed, one’s manners should always be remembered,” she agreed. “They should be the same wherever one is, and with whomever one is speaking. Do you not agree?”

  Elias frowned.

  “But I have indeed been remiss,” she continued. “I have not introduced myself. As I said, I am the proprietress of Loaf of Life, a name that reflects my belief that bread is the very companion of the soul.”

  Companion of the soul? The woman was obviously an extremist of some sort, Elias decided. He opened his mouth to reply, but she startled him by coming around the table and facing him squarely.

  “Bread, sir, is not just flour and leavening,” she said. “It symbolizes the very essence of life. People must have a little leavening, or they turn into fossils.”

  She smiled. “I am Harriet Worthington, though I do not have the pleasure” — her emphasis of the word suggested the opposite of its meaning — “of knowing your name.”

  Elias stared at her. “Lady Worthington?”

  “I am called Lady Harriet, as I was before my marriage. Since my husband is no longer living, I no longer use his name. I suppose you will think that eccentric.”

  He could think of no response, nor did she give him time.

  “Now you really must introduce yourself, sir, and quickly state your business. I have petty-patties in the oven.”

  “I am Elias Westwood,” he managed. “Freddy’s business partner.”

  She tilted her head and eyed him assessingly. “Ah, Lord Westwood. The man who has sent me so many letters of late.”

  “Which you did not answer,” Elias pointed out.

  “I never reply to people who purport to tell me what is best for me.” She gave him a considering look. “I believe that one must always keep an open mind, my lord. The man who wrote those letters is as closed as any book.”

  “I beg your pardon,” Elias said, taken aback.

  She moved to the little table near the door and picked up the plate of pastries. “Have a petty-patty,” she said. “Perhaps it will improve your symptoms.”

  “Symptoms?” He frowned.

  “A bilious nature can often be soothed by honest food,” she said. “Unless, of course, it is a permanent condition.”

  Though her tone was bland enough, Elias had little trouble detecting her disapproval. To cover his discomposure, he quickly took a pastry and popped it into his mouth, scarcely looking at the thing.

  Instantly, a heady mixture of veal seasoned with cinnamon sent an intriguing aroma into his nostrils. A fascinating combination of familiar and exotic hit his palate, and it was no overstatement to say that it propelled his senses into a paroxysm of pleasure. The crust, robust enough to stand up to the meat but delicate and tender as fine French pastry, seemed to melt in his mouth. The meat itself had layer upon layer of bred-to-the-bone flavor that bespoke hours over a smoky fire made with aged wood. The smoke was of mysterious origin — not pine or oak but something distinctly fruity. Mulberry, perhaps. Yes, that was it. The firewood had come from a mulberry tree.

  Heaven had not seen meat pies like these. Elias had no words. Indeed, he could only sigh in deep, unadorned delight.

  “Is everything satisfactory?” Her tone held a hint of amusement, and he hurriedly swallowed. It took another moment for him to recover from that incomparable morsel. His gaze went greedily to the platter, where several other pies languished. Elias forced his attention back to her and cleared his throat.

  “Yes,” he managed. “Quite…delicious.”

  She eyed him steadily. “Perhaps you would care to state the reason for your visit.”

  It was an effort not to turn toward the platter once more. “Yes,” he said.

  She waited, but Elias found himself quite unable to think of any words beyond the superlatives that meat pie had summoned.

  Her gaze shifted to the oven, then back to him. “You may come for tea this afternoon, my lord,” she said briskly. “I have work to do.” She turned away.

  It took Elias a moment to realize he was being dismissed. He took a deep, steadying breath. Perhaps that was best. After all, the village bakery was scarcely the place to conduct his business. A customer might walk in at any moment.

  That sudden realization underscored the strangeness of the situation. A duke’s daughter was working in a shop like a common serving girl. Odd business, this. Once more, the heady odor of spirits assailed his nostrils.

  “Just exactly what sort of establishment do you
run, madam?”

  She regarded him with a faint air of puzzlement. “I do not understand.”

  “The place smells like a brewery,” Elias pointed out.

  “’Tis the barm.” At his blank expression, she added, “The yeast. I regret that you find it offensive.”

  “Yeast?”

  “I grow my own. In those tubs of ale.” She pointed to several dozen large crockery jars, lined neatly along one side of the bakery near the door. “I see that you disapprove. Surely you are not one of Dr. Dauglish’s disciples?”

  “Who?”

  “Dr. Dauglish — a pious soul who has set himself up as an expert on baking. He contends that the unfermented loaf is more wholesome, that fermentation indicates decay and corruption. I gather you have not read his treatises?”

  A corrupt loaf of bread. Treatises. This conversation was verging on the ridiculous.

  “Madam, I could not care less whether your bread is drunk or sober,” Elias declared. “I wish only to settle the business matters between us.”

  “In that case, come for dinner instead. I keep country hours while in Worthington, so you will wish to be early.”

  “The invitation was for tea,” he pointed out uncharitably.

  “Yes, but now I think dinner is best.” She opened the oven door, her attention on the steaming meat pies inside. Elias could not help but inhale deeply, savoring the wondrous aroma.

  “A man deserves a decent meal now and then,” she added. “I sense that your meals have been inadequate. Perhaps that is the source of your biliousness.”

  Elias knew he must remove himself from this madhouse before his temper got the best of him. He turned toward the door.

  “Good day, my lord,” she called after him.

  He could not resist a quick look over his shoulder, and saw that her attention was once more on the oven. Furtively, he plucked another pie from the platter near the door and tucked it into his pocket.

  It was done quickly, with no one the wiser — he thought.