Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews
Author:Mimi Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
This doesnât change anything, I promise you.
Meg spent the afternoon seated beside Mrs. Church and two of the housemaids in the Letchford Hall kitchen, Ivoâs parting assurance playing over and over in her head.
Heâd kissed her.
Heâd kissed her.
Yet, heâd said it didnât change anything. And perhaps it hadnât, for him. But for Meg, it had changed everything.
Sheâd realized as his lips had first brushed over hers, that she was falling in love with him.
Or perhaps sheâd already fallen.
It had happened so gradually she didnât know where it had begun. One moment she was stammering and blushing at him, dazzled by his beauty, and the next they were laughing and confiding in each other. Clasping gloved hands and exchanging confidences.
He was her friend. Of that she was certain. But somewhere along the way, heâd become something more. Not just a romantic daydream come to life, but a bespectacled, flesh-and-blood gentleman who held her trembling heart in his palm.
She felt all at once the full, stark vulnerability of her position. To unabashedly adore someone who didnât adore her in return. It made her want to weep. To rage. To pour out her painful insecurities to a friend who might offer their advice and consolation.
Oh, but she wished Miss Adams was here!
âHave a care, miss,â one of the maids said. âYouâll gild your fingers.â
Meg started. Sheâd been so lost in her own melancholy ruminations that sheâd let the goldleaf she was using to wrap acorns flake off all over her hands. âOh dear. Thank you, Lucy. How c-clumsy of me.â
Mrs. Church shot Meg a narrow look as she gilded a walnut. âYouâre in a world of your own today,â she remarked. âHave been ever since you returned from your ride.â
Meg willed herself not to blush under the old housekeeperâs scrutiny. âI have m-many things on my mind. My fatherâs illness chief among them.â
It was partially true. The specialist physician that Dr. Spragg had brought with him earlier had only served to reiterate Dr. Spraggâs recommendations. Worse, heâd advised an even stricter diet for Sir Frederick, with no alcohol, sweets, or red meats at all.
Megâs father hadnât been best pleased. Heâd quarreled with both gentlemen, questioning their education, their breeding, and their basic good sense. Neither man had been able to stand up to him. Instead, theyâd reserved their stern words and dire warnings for Meg. As if she could exert any influence!
âHuh,â Mrs. Church gave a doubtful grunt. She added another perfectly gilded nut to the row sheâd already completed. âHeâll not get any better till he permits Cook to alter his menu.â
Mrs. Stapleton nodded from her place by the stove where she stood, stirring a pot of leek soup. âA haunch of venison, thatâs what heâs requested for dinner. Venison, I tell you! I had four chickens ready, and then he saysââ
âThere is to be no venison,â Meg said. âNo red meat whatsoever. The doctor commanded it.â
âI donât answer to the doctor, miss,â the old cook replied.
âYou will answer to me,â Meg replied in a voice of surprising calm.
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