Ophelia's Fan by Christine Balint

Author:Christine Balint
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2021-06-16T00:00:00+00:00

I DREW THE CURTAINS and peered into the courtyard below. Light poured in through the window, and I returned to the bed. The light was that of late morning. I was free and completely alone. Before long there was knocking at the door, and Jane returned.

“Did you sleep well, miss?” she asked.

“Yes, very well thank you. What time is it?”

“About half nine, miss. The master asks if you would care to join him and your mother for breakfast.”

There was something very intimate about the word breakfast, and I wondered at sharing this meal with a man I barely knew.

My mother seemed delighted with herself and her eggs in the dining room that morning. I was surprised to discover them both already eating, and I hoped my mother had not been discussing me in my absence. The duke got up from his chair to help me in to mine, and I bade him good morning.

“Miss Smithson, you appear well rested.”

“I am, thank you.”

A maid poured my tea and brought eggs before I had a chance to ask for them. I looked up from my plate to see the duke watching me intently.

“Miss Smithson, should you like to play the pianoforte or take a turn about the grounds after breakfast?” I chewed slowly, yearning for the peace of eating breakfast alone. My mother’s eyebrows arched expectantly.

“I do not play, sir. And I would be happy to see the grounds, but we must leave soon after. I shall be performing again this evening.” For a moment I imagined a life of leisurely walks and music, a duke by my side to bend to my every wish; dinners, parties, no performances to attend. I allowed myself the hint of a smile in his direction. I wondered if I imagined his wink in reply.

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