The Gilded Cage: Absolutely unputdownable and heartbreaking historical fiction (The Fitznortons Book 1) by Jones Luisa A

Author:Jones, Luisa A.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Published: 2023-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

ROSAMUND

For the past two days Rosamund had missed Nellie even more than she’d expected to. As much as the housemaid Sarah had done her best to please, her touch was timorous, lacking Nellie’s confidence. When dressing her hair Sarah dithered and fumbled, dropping the “rats” – the nets of rolled up hair that padded out Rosamund’s pompadour style. She chatted constantly, remarking on how little grey she found amongst the chestnut, as if Rosamund was ancient. It made her wonder how much older than her thirty-six years she must look to the young housemaid.

When Sarah wasn’t talking about her hair it was her clothes, and how dusky pink became her much better than her usual blue or brown; and how she shouldn’t shy away from a little rouge because it was quite acceptable nowadays and would put a little youthful colour in her cheeks. Listening to her prattle and submitting to her clumsy ministrations wore Rosamund out, and Sarah’s timid brushing made her want to snatch the brush from her and apply more vigorous strokes with her own hand. But the girl was doing her best, so Rosamund nodded to imply approval and counted the hours until Nellie’s train was due to arrive.

She should have sent Sarah with instructions for Phelps, to tell Cadwalader to pick Nellie up from the station. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t wait patiently at home when there was an opportunity to be alone with Joe again. Her heart fluttered at the prospect of sitting beside him in the car.

Usually she dipped her toes cautiously into each day, taking it slowly. There was no point in rushing, only to have those endless hours stretching ahead, stark and empty. But today, the prospect of something to look forward to lent her unaccustomed energy. The thought of those calloused hands so close and his eyes looking at her the way he had looked at her when he made love to her in the summerhouse was enough to make a delicious shiver tingle over her spine.

Besides pleasure, there was another need: it was imperative for her to speak to him alone, to impress upon him to keep what they had done a secret. The journey to the station, without a maid in tow, might be her only opportunity. If there was one thing she regretted about their encounter, beyond the betrayal of Joe’s wife, it was the risk of being found out. If he should ever divulge a word of what had happened between them to anyone, it would mean nothing less than her utter ruination, and his dismissal. There would be neither sympathy nor understanding from anyone, least of all from his wife or her husband.

She whiled away the long morning hours in reading and playing the piano, then took a walk through the rose garden before summoning Sarah for one last time to help her change into an outfit more suited to motoring.

“Perhaps just a little rouge,” she said, immediately regretting it when Sarah beamed enthusiastically and leapt for the pot.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.