“It may have cracked when it was damaged by the horse or your brother?” He teased her.
“Oh! How silly of me; it was my brother’s horse who bit me,” said Gabby, as she giggled.
“Of course it was. Forgive me. I have been told that I am far too bold and forward in the presence of a comely woman such as yourself. This repair will not take very long to complete, a few days at most. I will see to it personally since you have mentioned to me that this ring is dear to you.”
“Thank you. I do not like to be without it.”
“Then I shall endeavor to make sure that you do not have to be without this ring for very long,” he said with a smile.
It was remarkable, she mused, how easily she felt her world change in an instant. He complimented her. He remembered the ring because his hands had touched it; he had been the one who polished it. That must mean something, this connection of her most prized possession and this man. Was this love? What was this emotion that was welling up inside of her, overwhelming her as she stood in his presence? She had no knowledge of what she was feeling inside. Did this emotion have a name, and did that matter? All she knew was that she did not wish for this conversation to end.
“Your ring will be ready in a few days. Was there something you would like to see?” he asked.
The temptation of a new piece of jewelry was not as enticing as speaking to him or finding a reason for being in his company for a few more minutes. She did not want him to leave her, the very thought of him walking away was more than she could bear. It was at that moment that she knew what she was feeling, she realized that she had fallen madly, passionately in love with Mr. Grant.
Searching for an excuse for him to stay, her gaze fell on the pocket watches. Feigning an interest in the watches, she asked to see the most expensive one in the case. He told her about the craftsmanship as she pretended to be interested in the movement or the working parts — all of which he described to her in detail. After the pocket watches, she asked to see an array of bracelets, and then at his suggestion, she began to look at the posey rings.
The posey rings, he explained to her, were rings that were often given to mark the occasion of an engagement. She knew about the rings, but she acted like she was unaware of what was known to every woman in society. She did not mind acting as naive and ridiculous as a lump of coal if that meant he would continue talking to her and lavishing her with attention. When he slid a posey ring on her finger for her to try, she was blushing as if he had really meant to ask her to be his wife.
Even with her brilliant imagination, she had not envisioned such an amorous moment as she looked into his eyes. He gazed at her with a look she presumed meant that he felt the same stirring of emotions that she did. Lost in his eyes, she felt every shred of common sense she possessed disappear. With a smile and glance, she believed that he was passionately in love with her. By the end of his presentation regarding posey rings, she had convinced herself that he had been waiting for her to return to his shop, that he had arranged to serve her. Her happy fantasy was only interrupted by the reappearance of Barbara Anderzimple, who had concluded her purchase and was gesturing from the other side of the shop.
With a heartfelt goodbye to the man of her dreams, Gabby felt the absence of him as soon as he walked away. The despair that gripped her was only held at bay by the uplifting thought that in a few days she would return to claim her repair. She would see him again; he would be there waiting for her. She was sure of it.
3
For three days, Gabby was a different person. The alteration was so dramatic that she appeared to be transformed. She was breathless and happy and prone to sighing and laughing. Humming and singing could be heard in the hallways, her voice emanating from her room in the mornings. Her mood was as jovial and merry as if it was the Christmas season. She endured a ball, a dinner, and three afternoon teas. She managed to attend to countless social calls with grace and so happily that her mother suggested she may need to see the doctor. It was with considerable effort that Gabby avoided that fate and the visit of the apothecary. Her change of temper from sullen and independent to cheerful and compliant was also noted by two of her brothers, Grantham and Percival, who were currently in London. The other four Parker brothers were in Kent, or they may have remarked upon the change in their sister’s nature as well.
This alteration was not only noticed by her mother and her two brothers, but also by her lady’s maid, Rebecca. Rebecca was not as timid as other lady’s maids. She often spoke without fear of censure, giving her opinion without thinking of the consequences. In truth, Rebecca acted as an older sister to Gabby, even though she was supposed to be mindful of the difference in class between them, which was vast since she was a servant in the Parker household. Her lowly status did not keep Rebecca from speaking as she chose in the presence of her mistress, but she was careful not to be so outspoken when there was anyone else present. In that way, Gabby and Rebecca acted like friends, a secret which Gabby did not wish to share with anyone, just as she did not wish to speak about Mr. Grant to anyone else but Rebecca. She wondered if her trusted maid would be appalled that she should think so amorously of a tradesman.
On the third day, Gabby woke from her slumber feeling better than she could ever recall feeling. Today was the day she was going to Beecham & Grant Jewelers to see about her repair — and to see Mr. Grant again. If her ring was not yet repaired, she would not be angry. How could she be vexed if she had a reason to pay another visit to the store to see the man she who had consumed her every waking thought and her dreams for days?
“Miss, I wish you would listen to me. I know it’s not my place to say what I think,” Rebecca began as she often did just before stating exactly what she thought. She continued, “I have never seen the man you’re sweet on, but it ain’t proper, it ain’t right, and I don’t mind telling you so.”
Gabby dismissed her maid’s worries and said, “Becky,” she called her maid “Becky,” when they were alone, “this man is different. If you were to meet him, if you could hear the way he speaks to me, observe the way he looks at me. If you were introduced to him, I know you would understand my regard for the gentleman. He is unlike anyone I have ever met before.”
“He is a shopkeeper.”
“He is a gentleman and an artist. He is the owner of the most respected jewelry shop in London. His name is Mr. Grant, Mr. Ephraim Grant. Even his name sounds like a dream. I tell you he is no ordinary tradesman.”
Rebecca snorted, as she laid out the dress that Gabby would be wearing that day. “He knew better than to speak to you as he did. What nerve! If your father knew about his insolence, he would have that man’s shop closed and his character ruined. If I had my way, I’d see him driven onto the street.”
“Then we must hope that Father does not discover our secret. Not yet. What if he did ask for my hand and my father refused. I would run away to be with him. Do you think me scandalous?” She said while untying her white nightcap and watching Rebecca walk around her bedposts and getting things ready for Miss Parker’s day.
Rebecca, a tall, plump, and slightly older woman, stopped for a moment, put her hands on her ample hips and replied, “I do not think you are scandalous, Miss. You are as clever as they come, but you’re not a worldly woman, not yet anyhow. But this man, Grant, he knows what he’s doing, his sort always does. He has no right to be flirting with the likes of you, no right at all. You a high-born lady…and he a shopkeeper…I ought to go see him and tell him what’s what!”
Gabby smiled at her maid, even though her maid was gruff and scowling, her sternness had no effect on Gabby. Not today when Gabby was so enormously happy that she could barely contain her joy.
“Becky, my wonderful woman, you are sweet to worry about me the way you do. Mr. Grant is thinking about me the way I’m thinking about him. I know he must be. Do you remember that I told how he gazed into my eyes when he slipped that posy ring on my finger? I am convinced that he intended the exercise a
s a way of telling me without saying it aloud that he wished for us to be together. To marry! Oh, I never thought I would want to be married, not in my first Season, but I can see that I have been foolish. I would marry him; I would run away to be his wife if he would ask.” She held her hand up and stared at her finger with a smile, as if looking at the imaginary engagement ring she had always wanted.
Rebecca laughed. “You? Miss, the wife of a merchant? Don’t you be having me on.”
Gabby put her hand down and shook her head. “Say what you will, but I would not mind the hardships I would face, the deprivations that I would endure for love.”
“Aw…Miss, you are so young, and you say that now. I ask you, what would you do without your fancy clothes and your books and your carriage rides in the park? A merchant’s wife may have a bit of money, but nothing compared to your father. What of the men you may marry if you would do your duty and find a nice viscount or a count, or someone with a title.”
“What do I care for title and money?” asked Gabby with a pout.
“You would care for them a great deal when your Mr. Grant was forced from his trade. You think he would be allowed to keep his high-class clients? No, Miss. When word spread around that he had eloped with you, a young woman. He would have no business for his trade. No one would want to come to see such a scoundrel. Then where would you be?”
“What of my dowry?”
“I don’t know how these things work with your set, but among my own people, no self-respecting father would pay a man for eloping with his daughter. No, Miss, so you best forget all about this man. Forget about him, and send someone else to fetch your ring.”
Gabby reached for the dress her maid laid out on the foot of the bed. Becky possessed superb taste when it came to selecting frocks and gowns from her mistress’s wardrobe. This morning was no different. Gabriella was slightly vexed with her maid, but she was pleased with the colors of Becky’s selection of dress, which was blue and white. The blue would match her eyes, she thought to herself, as she replied, “Becky you can be so dreadful sometimes. I am happy; he makes me as happy as I am this morning. Does that not mean something in regards to love? Perhaps this is love?”
“You think this is love, but mark my words, this Mr. Grant that you are going on about is not the man for you. This isn’t love, but you won’t know that, you can’t know it. Not yet.”
“How do you know this is not love? You could be mistaken.”
“I pray that I am, but this is not the gentleman for you. I do wish you would listen to me. The owner of a jewelry shop is not the man for you, not with your opinions and your own way about you. Tell me something, Miss, has he asked to see you? Has he sent you a letter or asked you to run away with him?”
Gabby crinkled her brow as she thought about her answer. “No, he has not, but we have just met. He may not be encouraged. I should take care to see that he is in no doubt of my feelings for him.”
“If he was as struck by you as you are of him, you would be certain of it. He would not leave his feelings or his intentions to doubt.”
“Perhaps he does not know how highly I hold him in my regard?” suggested Gabby.
“Miss, you cannot tell him. Take care that you do not make the mistake of admitting your feelings for him to anyone else but me. I will not tell a single living soul. Consider your reputation. It could be ruined if anyone suspected that you, a Parker, wished to pursue a man. That would be dreadful for a woman in your position. But a man who is beneath you? I cannot think of the shame you would bear because of it. No man is worth that, not this one anyway. You must consider your future.”
“You are beginning to sound like my mother. If she knew about Mr. Grant, she would forbid me from going to see him.”
“I do not mind sounding like her, not if you will listen to me. Miss, it pains me greatly to say these things to you. You have been such a happy woman singing and laughing, as cheerful as you please. If I thought that this gentleman had the proper intentions, I would gladly hold my tongue, but I do not believe he does. How can he risk his trade and his own security? How does he presume to provide you a living if your father refuses to settle the matter of your dowry? Do be careful. I know that I have spoken too freely, but I could not keep quiet, not when your good name and your happiness are in danger. There, I’ve said what was in my heart to tell you. If you want me to leave your service, I will go,” she said avoiding eye contact.
Gabby was not going to allow her maid’s sentiment to alter her mood, nor was she going to permit her to believe for even a minute that her position was in jeopardy, as she said, “Becky, who would I find to be as dear to me and as indispensable as you? I am not vexed by your words, which I am certain that you meant kindly. It is my own folly that you and I speak as we do. It would not do for me to belittle you or punish you for saying anything that I find objectionable.”
Becky beamed. “Thank you, Miss. I was sure I had gone too far this time, but you must admit you have never acted this way before. You’ve not been yourself; it’s been worrying me…the change I’ve seen in you. I’ve been gladdened by your joy, but it was worrisome. I did not want to ask, but I feared you may have gone mad.”
“There is no need to be troubled. None at all. You shall soon see dear Becky, that I will be happier still when Mr. Grant makes his feelings for me known. He is a respectable merchant; he has the royal warrant. Perhaps my father will permit him to marry me?”
Becky snorted again. “You and a tradesman? What a lark. I do wish that you would rid your head of this foolishness.”
Gabby held the dress to her body as she swirled in front of the mirror. “How can I rid myself of this foolishness, as you say, when I know that it is not foolishness? Soon you will see that I will be married to the dashing Mr. Grant!”
“If it were to happen, I know that it would make you happy. For that reason, I should hope for it with all of my heart, although I do wish you would temper your hopes for this man. It is dangerous to pin all your plans on a gentleman who has not made his intentions known.”
“Dangerous or exciting? I never thought I would wish to be married at such a tender age, but here I am wishing, hoping, and praying that I will be his bride. Oh Becky, can you imagine my joy at seeing his smile, at hearing his voice every day for the rest of my life?”
Becky shook her head as she said, “My poor Miss, if you believe it, perhaps it may come to pass.”
“I do believe it; I am sure of it!” answered Gabby, as she stopped swirling and spinning.
She stood before her maid, her cheeks rosy from the exertion of dancing. She was feeling slightly lightheaded as she slumped into the seat in front of the dressing table.
Becky strode across the room, selected a silver-plated hairbrush from the dressing table and squinted her eyes at Gabby’s mess of tousled golden curls. “If you insist on visiting this Mr. Grant today, then I better take care to fix your hair in the new style. I don’t agree with a thing you’re doing, but I am your maid and your friend. If you insist on this foolishness, then I will do my part to make sure that you look as pretty and as fashionable as any other silly young woman in love ought to look.”
Gabby smiled at her maid. “Thank you, Becky, I knew that I could count on you.”
“Yes, Miss, you will always have me to count on. I pray that you can count on that young man of yours.”
Gabby stared at herself in the mirror as Becky brushed her long blonde hair until it was shiny and lustrous. She fought the urge to laugh at Becky’s caution because she felt that there was no reason to be concerned about Mr. Grant, no reason at all. Gabby knew that he was a man she could count on, she felt it deep in her heart. Yes, she told herself silently as she watched her maid arrange her hair into curls that were carefully pinned into place, Mr. Grant would reveal his intentions to her and the world. It may very well be today. Smiling, she was planning the wedding in her head, which left no time or room for any doubt. She was going to become Mrs. Ephraim Grant
, even if she had to run away to Gretna Green, she would be his bride. She was certain of it.
Miss Gabriella Parker had experienced the joy of love for the first time in her life. She had thrown her entire being into the warm hope that it brought, she had not held back any part of her heart because she had never experienced the inevitable cold brokenness of rejection. She had no idea of the true reality that would hit her soon enough.
4
Gabby refused to leave her room. She did not want to eat, to drink tea, to get dressed. She wanted to lay in her bed, hiding from the world that had once seemed so wonderful and had proven to be simply awful. Her world was as bleak as it could be for a nineteen-year-old woman who was suffering the pains of her first heartbreak.
“Married,” she whispered to no one in the gloom of a rainy morning.
Wiping away the tears, she stared at the ring on her finger, the pinchbeck ring her father had given her when she was a girl. This was the ring that had been her most prized possession, and the same ring she was so sure had brought her together with the gentleman she was to marry. How could she have been so silly to believe such romantic drivel? Mr. Ephraim Grant, she discovered to her horror, was married, and she had been a terrific fool for thinking that he cared for her or saw her as anything other than the daughter of a wealthy patron.
“Miss, it’s Rebecca. I’ve come to help you dress for the day,” the maid said as she opened the door of Gabby’s room. “I’ve brought you a cup of a tea and some beef broth from the kitchen.”
“Leave the tea and the broth if you must. Leave me be,” Gabby moaned.
“I will do as you ask, but tell me how are you, my poor dear mistress. Can I bring you anything?”
“No, Becky, thank you,” Gabby replied, thanking her maid, which would have been considered improper if anyone overheard her show of gratitude to a woman who was supposed to be treated as a servant.
Regency Engagements Box Set Page 30
