Better than a Duke: A Clean Historical Regency Romance (Tales of Bath) by Kira Stewart

Author:Kira Stewart [Stewart, Kira]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-15T18:00:00+00:00

8.

The sun was shining through the bedroom window when Henrietta awoke the next morning. She had been dreaming that she was walking up a strange hill, it was moonlight, and the sky was filled with stars. As she gazed around her, it felt as if she had the whole world at her feet, her body filled with energy. In the distance, she could see a shadowy figure approaching her, the faint outline of a man, but she could not see his face. He was getting nearer and nearer, as she peered through the blackness, watching him move closer and closer toward her.

“Your chocolate, Miss.”

Jenny had brought her a morning cup of hot chocolate and placed it on the little cabinet by the bedside, whilst Henrietta woke up fully.

“I think you were dreaming, Miss?”

Sitting up, the girl rubbed her eyes, half asleep and feeling a little disoriented. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest.

“Yes, I was dreaming, Jenny; it was a very strange dream, indeed.”

•••

The Pump Rooms were crowded. Henrietta thought she had never seen so many people gathered together in one place before. In her white muslin dress and pale blue pelisse, she looked like a hundred other girls who were gathered there. Only her striking hair stood her out from the crowds. Jane and Harry walked on ahead, whilst Henrietta, arm in arm between her mother and Mrs. Everton, attempted to cross the room together.

Henry was glad she was in the middle, as they bumped and squeezed past the groups of ladies and gentlemen stood idly gossiping the morning away.

“Of course, you must take the waters now that you are both here. Mr. Everton and I both swear by them, and take a draught at least three times a week. I must say that my health has never been better. Mind you, I do draw a line at sitting in the waters up to my neck. Although, it did my cousin Freda’s rheumatism the world of good, and she is eighty-eight.”

They promenaded farther into the room, and Mrs. Maldon and Henrietta marveled at the sights, and the elegant and fashionable crowds. Passing the fountain, they reached the King and Queen Baths at the far end, which could be seen through the windows, or by standing on a little balcony that overlooked the proceedings.

Henrietta was amazed to see the men and women fully clothed, standing or sitting in the water, with only their heads and upper parts of their body visible. The women still wore their hats or caps, and even some of the men wore their toppers. The faces of all those within, were rather ruddy with the heat, and the steam from the hot water rose above their ears.

“My, my,” Mrs. Maldon tutted. “They all look like giblets in a stew to be sure.”

The women laughed.

Turning back, they approached the small bar, where the waters could be taken. A large serving area was partitioned off from the general crowds, and was presided over by a life-size statue of Richard Beau Nash.

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