The Wicked Guardian by Vanessa Gray

Author:Vanessa Gray [Gray, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

17.

Clare could never tire, she believed, of walking along the Royal Crescent, looking at the elegant buildings that were inspired by Beau Nash, the guild hall, the assembly rooms, Queen Square, the North and South parades, and watching all the fashionably dressed ladies and the ailing dowagers and gouty old men who daily sought relief in the baths.

Several buildings encompassed the various mineral springs, of varying temperature and curative powers. The waters were said to be very beneficial in cases of gout, rheumatism, neuralgia, diseases of the liver, and sciatica.

Even though one was as healthy as a horse, there was a wealth of things to do in Bath, but all the assemblies and the card parties were forbidden to her. She recognized the truth of Choate’s statement. Bath is a hotbed of intrigue, he had said, and he feared for her reputation.

He need not have worried, she thought glumly. She knew that Miss Peek’s chaperonage, while adequate, yet did not admit her to the first society in Bath, nor could she have taken advantage of such introductions had she had them, for she was still in mourning.

But she learned that one’s health provided the only excuse required for frequenting the Pump Room, drinking the ugly-tasting waters, and strolling through the Assembly Rooms in the morning.

The afternoons could be taken up with shopping, visits to mantua-makers, milliners, glovers, and other establishments catering to feminine fancies. Clare herself had no need to go far afield, for Milsom Street held two milliners, a bootmaker, and a confectioner. But only once did she enter the milliner’s shop just below the Peek sisters’ rooms.

She was torn between a bonnet with a great tall brim, lined with pleated silk to hold it stiff, and a smaller hat in the French style with curling feathers in a most fetching arrangement. There was another ... But it was no use. She could not make up her mind, and truly there was no reason to buy a new bonnet, for she could not wear it for months.

She expected Benedict to arrive in Milsom Street any hour, and she dared not be from home for any length of time. Besides, she could not quite decide which hat Benedict would like, and when she realized that she was shopping entirely with him in mind, she abruptly walked out of the shop and did not return.

Benedict did not come the first day she expected him, nor the second. On the third, she took Budge with her and walked out upon the streets of Bath. She walked through Queen Street, and strolled aimlessly toward Pulteney Bridge. Looking back from the banks of the Avon, she could see the square-topped building that housed the springs themselves, and, to her surprise and dismay, strolling in front of the Pump Room were Lady Courtenay and Evalina.

There was no escaping them. “How delightful to see you,” said Lady Courtenay. “I confess I had not expected to see you again until next year.” She lowered her voice. “Mourning, of course.

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