by K T Grant
This is not the time to think of such things! Rose wanted to feel shame over her reaction toward Lily, but she had never been the type to do so and wouldn’t start now. When Lily rested her head on her shoulder and a soft snore escaped from her mouth, that unsettling yearning for the woman changed to one of a more protective nature.
Shaking Lily awake, she moved out of the booth and went around to the other side, where she helped the troubled woman onto her feet. Lily blinked at her tiredly and swayed. Rose caught her around the hips and shuffled forward.
“Keep your head up as we leave the hotel. We wouldn’t want word to get back to Beau that you drank yourself into a stupor,” Rose whispered against Lily’s ear.
Lily shook her head in agreement and Rose gave her a pleased nod when Lily walked alongside her with a smile on her face as if she wasn’t ready to fall to the floor in a drunken heap.
The walk across the foyer seemed to take forever for Rose, but she didn’t rush Lily as they walked past the guests who glanced at them in curiosity. Rose gave them no mind and went as far to nod at a few, even though as soon as she did, they turned their faces away.
Rose expected no less from her peers who she knew saw the aging whore and the soon to be rejected wife of one of the richest men in Charleston walking out into the hot afternoon to find another place where no one would judge them.
Chapter Three
The soft bedding under Lily did nothing for her sour stomach. A loud croak left her mouth as she turned to her side and reached for Beau, wanting to feel his arms around her and his breath in her ear as she tried holding back her nausea...
I’ve lost Beau. She moved onto her back and deeply inhaled. For once her aching body overrode her urge to cry.
Why does my mouth taste like a dead cat? “I want to die,” she whispered and opened her eyes. Expecting her room to be filled with brightness, she covered her eyes with her arm and blinked. When the sunlight from the window didn’t blind her, she focused on the room.
Slowly sitting up, she scrutinized the unfamiliar bedroom. Missing were the dark greens walls and red curtains, along with the satin pillows and crisp Egyptian cotton sheets she enjoyed feeling draped around her naked body. Rather, she was in a sparsely decorated room with pale yellow walls and pastel bedding. The cotton nightgown she wore was a size too large and gaped in the chest area.
Where in the hell am I? Lily shoved the sheet away and sat up near the edge of the bed, pushing her hair away from her face. Her eyes were dry and her throat scratchy. As she stepped down on the wooden floor, her stomach rolled and she covered her mouth as she gagged. Acid tasting bile rose in her mouth, and as soon as she spotted the water closet, she ran into the small room and knelt over the chamber pot where she expelled anything left in her stomach.
“I’m never drinking wine again,” Lily muttered as she finished being sick. She rested her head on the rim of the pot, gagging again as the fumes hit her in the face. Moving back until she hit a wall, she wiped her mouth and closed her eyes.
A door opened and footsteps tapped across the floor until they stopped next to her. Lily cracked open an eye and glanced up at a lightly tanned woman with dirty blonde hair in a tight braid and freckles across her nose and cheeks. She had a dull looking beige dress on with a stained apron over it. She gave her a sympathetic smile and Lily closed her eyes again.
“Who are you? Where am I?” Lily asked faintly and pulled down the nightgown to cover her legs.
“I’m the housekeeper here at Rose’s Delights. My name is Josephine but I go by Jo.”
“You’re quite young to be...” Lily’s eyes shot open upon hearing the girl’s response. “Oh dear god, don’t tell me Rose brought me to her whore house?”
“It’s a brothel, not a whore house.” Jo’s voice grew hard.
When Lily glanced her way again, the woman had knelt down beside her and frowned.
“Pardon me. I’m feeling under the weather,” she explained weakly, wishing she could crawl back into bed and pull the covers over her head. But she would need help and the only one she could turn to was this Josephine who apparently took pride in her work even though she was employed at a place of ill repute.
“Under the weather? That’s what they’re calling a night of drinking now?” Jo snorted and when she rolled her eyes, Lily glared back at her.
“Are all whores as honest as you are?” Lily asked in a tired voice, the fight leaving her.
A tilting laugh left Jo. “I don’t make my money lying on my back. I’m just a plain old servant who does the housework. But I can be honest when it calls for it.”
Lily gave Jo a speculative look. Jo had an agreeable face most men would approve of and a body with fetching curves in all the right places. She had heard the women in Rose’s care were well compensated. Why would Jo work here as a servant, unless she had certain morals—
When Jo rose and winced, rubbing her calf as she limped out of the small room, Lily quickly came to the conclusion why Jo hadn’t chosen the path Rose had for herself.
Thoughts of Rose filled her head and she slowly came to her feet. By the time her head stopped spinning and her stomach ceased its lurching, Jo came back in holding a glass full of chalky colored water and a towel.
“Here.” Jo held out the items. “Drink this down and then clean your face and whatever else you’d like on your person.” She opened the towel and in the middle was a comb, soap and a mouth brush with a small tube of teeth powder.
Lily took the glass and sipped it slowly. A slight bitter taste filled her mouth and she grimaced. “This has a…curious taste to it.”
Jo gave her an impish smile. “It’s a restorative mixture to calm your stomach and get rid of your headache since you’re under the weather.” She crossed her arms and tilted her head. “I’m not going to leave until you drink every last drop down.”
“You’re an insolent girl,” Lily stated and did what Josephine ordered.
Jo gave her a wink and a big grin. “Rose says the same thing to me all the time.”
“Where is Rose? Is she still sleeping?’ Lily asked. She needed to know how much of a fool she had acted like yesterday.
“Rose is awake. After you take care of your toilet, you can put on the robe and slippers I left on the bed and join her in the other room. Breakfast is waiting for you there.”
“Wait!” Lily called out as the brash woman turned to leave. “What do you mean in the other room? Am I mistaken or did you say I was in a whore…ah, brothel?”
Jo cocked her head and gave Lily a confused glance. “You’re in the guest room on the top floor where Rose’s suite is. When you’re ready, go through the ivory colored door and you’ll end up in her quarters.”
“Oh,” Lily said. She had no idea Rose had her own suite of rooms, including this one that gave off such a cozy feel.
Jo smiled and slightly bowed her head. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Lily waited as Jo left. When she heard a door open and close, she sighed and walked over to the mirror where she covered her mouth upon seeing her reflection.
Not only was her hair a tangled mess, but she had circles under her eyes and her skin had a slight yellowish tint to it.
Shocked at her appearance, the urge to vomit came upon her again. The last time she had looked so unkempt was after she gave birth to her dead baby. After a few seconds went by, where she frowned back at the mirror, she began combing her hair, anxious to see her hostess.
* * * *
When Lily entered Rose’s salon, she expected to see a room set for seduction. But what a room meant to arouse would look like was a mystery to her. Most likely the complete opposite of the one she woke up in. She walked into a living space reminding her of her mother’s day room where she would crochet or read, inviting her friends for tea and to gossip.
She’d also assumed Rose would be dressed in some sort of vulgar negligee, but was mistaken once again. Rose wore a respectable ivory linen tea gown, sans the long s
leeves, drinking from a cup and reading a letter. She sat back in her chair and smiled, shaking her head, amused by whatever the paper held. Lily didn’t announce her arrival, and settled for watching the serene Rose who was unaware that she had company.
She truly is beautiful. Lily scanned Rose’s face, her skin a tone darker than her own and with more wrinkles to denote her advanced age. She had never asked Rose how old she was, but she would say she was in her mid to late thirties with a healthy head of hair that hadn’t started graying yet. Her own opaque locks were pin straight while Rose’s curled every which way. For once she was envious of another woman’s hair. Her own hair had always been one of her favorite attributes, and it seemed that many of her gentlemen callers agreed, as well as her father.
She and Beau had made quite the couple with the same color hair and comparable skin tone. Sadness filled her, knowing she would never again spread her hair across Beau’s chest and stomach while they lay in bed, sated after making love late into the night.
Pushing aside thoughts of her husband, she stepped further into the room. The floor boards squeaked. Rose slipped the letter into the bodice of her dress.
“Good morning, Lily. I hope you slept well. Please join me.” Rose indicated the empty chair next to her.
Lily walked over and gave Rose a short smile, holding back a wince as her stomach turned. “I must apologize if I appear…tired.”
“Oh yes. I’ve had the after effects of being under the weather a few times before,” Rose responded boldly.
Lily gave her an incensed look as she sat. “I see your girl Jo made you aware of the conversation we had.” She pulled her robe tighter around her as she settled back in her chair. The aroma of the baked scones from the basket in front of her made her mouth water, although her stomach still felt delicate.
“Jo tells me everything that transpires under my roof. She’s very dedicated to me.” Rose slid over the small, steaming pot to her. “I recommend you drink tea first before eating anything.”
How dedicated? Lily contemplated the relationship between Rose and her servant as she poured tea into her cup.
“From your silence, you’re deliberating. If you have questions, please go ahead and ask. I have nothing to hide.” Rose gestured with her knife as she spread jam on her scone.
Taking a tentative sip of her tea, Lily grabbed a piece of toast. She’d eat the toast dry first and then see how her stomach acted before she ate a scone. Vomiting over her hostess’s table would be something she would never live down. When she nodded in approval upon drinking the tea, she then took a tentative bite of her crust and chewed slowly.
“Could you explain to me how I got here, why I spent the night and where my clothes are?” Lily asked as she nibbled on her bread.
Rose put down her cup, let out a yawn and stretched her arms high above her head. When the top portion of her breast poked up through her bodice, Lily glanced away. She’d sworn she saw the pink shade of a nipple. Rose dropped her arms back down and murmured an apology.
“Sorry, I went to bed late last night. Anyway, I’m not sure what you remember, but you had too much wine to drink and could barely sit without falling over to the side. I couldn’t leave you at the hotel to be thrown out or found by Beau. You practically begged me not to leave you alone and I brought you back here. Jo and I undressed you and put you to bed where you went right to sleep. Your clothes are being laundered.”
“You saw me naked,” Lily’s face grew flush in mortification.
Rose shrugged and lifted her cup up to her mouth. “You have nothing I haven’t seen before. You have a body most women would dream of owning.”
Lily almost choked and quickly took a sip of her tea. Rose smiled over her rim, her cheeks rosy and her face glowing with amusement.
“My servant girl Sissy must be sick with worry,” Lily said.
“I sent a message around to your house explaining your whereabouts. If you want, I can have Sissy sent here with a dress so you don’t have to wear one of mine.”
Lily lifted up part of her robe. “I’m wearing your nightgown and robe?”
Rose nodded. “Yes. I could have sent for something of yours, but by the time we came back here, you were half asleep.” She put her cup down as she flicked a crumb off the tablecloth. “I didn’t think you’d want to sleep in the nude.”
“Unlike the women who sleep here?” Lily asked with her nose high in the air.
Rose chortled. “If only you knew what my girls sleep in. You might be surprised.”
“Nothing surprises me anymore,” Lily replied softly and stared down into her cup.
Silence filled the room until Rose tapped her fingernails gently against her plate. “You expected Beau to come rushing over here and make sure you’re all right.”
Lily shrugged. “Does he even know I waited for him? If so, did he even care I drank too much and left with you?”
“He might. The man always finds out everything sooner or later.” Rose finished her tapping and lifted the toast rack to Lily.
She wants to make certain I’m well fed. How sweet of her. Lily took the offering, this time scooping out strawberry jam for a spread. Rose gave her a satisfied nod and poured more tea into her cup.
“Perhaps if Beau finds out I stayed here overnight, he’ll want to see me, if only to yell at me again.” Lily smiled at the idea. Up until the last fight they had, she always enjoyed arguing with Beau. Their emotions ran high when they disagreed and their fights always ended with them in bed.
Rose leaned forward and brushed her fingers over her cheek. Rose’s touch gave her a start, which she hid by pouring cream into her tea.
“Can I offer you some friendly advice? You need to start thinking about a future without the possibility of Beau being in it. Fixating on him coming back to you isn’t healthy.”
“But—”
“But nothing.” Rose wagged her finger. “I wish I could say Beau will see the error of his ways and crawl back on his hands and knees, begging for your forgiveness for treating you so callously.” Her lips curved upward. “But Beau is too stubborn for his own good. If and when he finds out you spent the night in my house of business, he’ll most likely complain to his friends and acquaintances to make you look even worse in order to back up his claims you’ve been a faithless hussy.”
“He wouldn’t dare!” Lily shoved back her chair. With food in her stomach, she felt much better. Also, Rose’s statement about Beau slandering her made her temper rise. She paced the length of the room with her fists clenched and her jaw locked.
Rose wiped her fingers on a napkin. “He would so dare. He has nothing to lose.”
With her chest heaving, Lily stomped back over to the table and tightened her grip around the top of the chair. She squeezed, wishing it was Beau’s throat she had in her hands. “If that man thinks he can malign me even more, I’ll give him a fight he’ll never see coming. He’s treated me horribly and deserves to feel the same.” Suddenly the nervous energy rushing through her body left her and she dropped back down in her seat. “I’m at a loss for ideas. I have nowhere or no one to turn to who could help me.”
“Lily,” Rose said and stood up to walk behind her. She placed her hands on her shoulders and bussed her cheek across Lily’s warm one. “Like I told you last night, you’re not alone. You have me. I’m powerful in my own right even if I do live on the edges of respected society. I’ve known Beau much longer than you have and between the both of us, we can come up with a few ways to get back at him for the way he’s hurt you.”
“He has too much power on his side,” Lily lamented and twirled a piece of her hair as she stared up at the ceiling.
Rose waved airily. “Pish. Beau has all the power because you give it to him. What if I told you I had a way to really stick it to him good?”
Lily sat up straight and motioned for Rose to sit back down. “Please tell, Mrs. Ware.”
Rose brushed her hand over the back of Lily’s hair. Lily smiled ove
r the sparkling animation shining on Rose’s face.
“Beau assumes you have nowhere to turn. I bet he’s thinking you’ll go to Ashford and ask him for help,” Rose said.
“Even if I went to Wyatt, I’d not find much help there. He’s out of town and I don’t know when he’ll return. And even if he was around, I wouldn’t go to him. Beau would have even more ammunition in his case to prove I was unfaithful to him, which I wasn’t.”
“Dearest Lily, I know you didn’t go behind Beau’s back with another man, but Beau and the majority of Charleston believe you did,” Rose said in a modulated tone.
“What?” Lily cried out in a near screech. “How…I...”
Rose picked up the newspaper lying next to her plate and opened it to the section where most of Charleston’s gossip could be found. “I didn’t want to show this to you, but ever since Beau left you, the paper has mentioned you in every edition. This morning they said Beau has thrown you out of the house and you’ll most likely end up on the street.”
“Give me that.” Lily tore the paper out of Rose’s hands. She scanned the words, barely digesting them because of her anger. Crumpling up the page, she slammed her hands down on the table and the dishes rattled. “How did they find out about Beau forcing me out of our house?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Beau fed the papers the information. He’s the type to do—”
“The type?” Lily asked in skepticism and sat back heavily with her arms crossed while she swung her leg over the other. “I’m his wife, the women he promised to honor and cherish. I can’t believe he would destroy everything we had together over a silly misunderstanding.”
Lily allowed her hand to be taken by Rose. “His pride is hurt and he doesn’t want to listen to reason. He’s acting very childish because he’s in pain. In turn he’s lashing out at you. If this were a different matter, I’d advise you take the high road, but until he gets what he wants, he won’t stop.”
“I don’t know what he wants,” Lily said in a broken whisper. “I’ve apologized and begged him to forgive me and promised I would be a better wife. But…he wouldn’t listen. It’s like some demon has taken over his body. I can’t get through to him like I once could.”
