Page 31 of A Courtesan Countess Worth the Scandal
He seemed startled by her candor, his mouth opening and closing like a beached fish. “Perhaps, but you could—”
“If you’re about to say I could marry into fortune, then I’ll stop you before you go on. I didn’t come from the sort of life that has rich men vying for my hand in marriage.” She smirked bitterly. “Perhaps, many years ago, I might’ve liked that. Instead, I was taught a harsh lesson—never to trust in love, and to always cling on to the power a woman can possess over a man. Once that’s lost, so are you.”
He eyed her curiously. “Were you engaged once?”
“I thought I was, but I was a silly fool.” She bowed her head, and kept trudging through the dirt, while praying for shelter to appear. “I was a mere belonging, and I was cast aside as though I meant nothing. That was also my first lesson in learning how to gain security for my family, by any means necessary.”
“Family?” his tone softened a touch.
Nora nodded. “A mother and sister, and I fully intend to keep my little sister from ever having to do what I have done. I would not have her suffer, and that is why I have been in this employ for as long as I have,” her breath hitched, “for her.”
It would break her heart if Lily ever had to worry about having food, and shelter, and not getting a good education. Nora had been through all of that in her youth, when she was only a few years older than Lily was now, and she would not let history repeat itself. That was why this memoir had to sell, and why she had to get to Northcrop to make that happen. Which reminded her—
“Where were you headed?”
Lord Keswick gestured toward the nearside field. “I was traveling to my estate.”
“Is it over the hedgerow?” Nora mustered a smile. “That would be rather useful in our current state.”
He gave a raspy chuckle. “Alas not. It is many days ride to the north. Do you know of the Lake District?”
“I’ve heard of it, in passing,” she replied. “Don’t tell me—there are many lakes there.”
His small smile widened slightly. “There are, and that is where my estate is.”
“Then why are you following me?” She turned her candle toward the path they had just walked up. “Surely, you should be thinking about finding a way back to London, instead of traipsing farther… well, I don’t know if this is northward or not. I’m just guessing.”
He met her gaze. “You cannot smell directions as you can the weather?”
“Lord Keswick… was that a joke?” Nora flashed him a grin. “And I’m going to prove you wrong when those first snowflakes fall.”
He laughed in response. “For both our sakes, I hope you do not.” He paused. “As for why I am not returning in the direction of London—I must reach my estate as soon as possible, and I would rather make my decision in daylight than attempt to navigate these country roads in the darkness.”
“You could just flatter a lady and say you don’t want her walking alone.” She gave him a playful nudge and, this time, he did not recoil with quite as much disgust. Just a flicker of it across his face.
He gave a stilted nod. “There is also that. I… saw what those men intended to do, and I would prefer to accompany you this night, and prevent that sort of thing from occurring again.”
“Where were you for the past decade of my life?” She smiled, but it rang hollow.
She had begun this way of life when she was eight-and-ten years old, almost nine-and-ten, after a man had seen her begging in the street and taken pity on her. He had offered her hope where there had been none. He had offered food, attire, a soft bed, an allowance, and everything she could think to ask for. She had not realized that the hope could be taken away again, on his whim, until it was too late. What else had he expected from her—a guttersnipe who knew how to fight back? She would never have allowed him to get away with leaving her and her family destitute again.
Of course, after he had abandoned her for the princely sum of a luxurious townhouse and a small allowance, she had been forced to make her own way in the world. And that had come with its fair share of mistakes, on her part. There had been many cruel, unpleasant lessons to learn in the art of the courtesan, and those early years had been some of the worst.
“Are you… uh… hurt often?” He ran an anxious hand through his hair.
She shrugged. “Not so much anymore. It hasn’t happened for a couple of years—unless you count Lord Westleigh’s attack upon me, but that could’ve been far worse if you hadn’t stepped in. The same goes for today, so I am even more grateful that you allowed me to maintain my run of better fortune.”
They fell into a strange sort of silence as they continued to walk, as though Lord Keswick wanted to say something but could not find the words. Nora did not mind. Talk of that ilk often made people uncomfortable, for it shone a light on how truly brutal and unfeeling life could be. She did not think Lord Keswick was that sort of man, or she would not have been walking with him through the dark.
That’s the funny thing, I suppose. The goodhearted men do not want to be near me, and the cruel ones will not get away from me.
“Over there!” Lord Keswick’s shout broke the silence, half an hour later.
Nora’s head snapped up. “What is it? What do you see? Is it a farmhouse?”
“It looks like a hut, or a barn, or an outbuilding of some kind,” he replied. “I would rather it be somewhere more enclosed, and perhaps containing the promise of a warming stew, but I fear my fingers may become useless if I stay in this cold much longer.”
Nora nodded. “I will close my eyes and think of stew instead. That way, if I do freeze to death, at least I will have been dreaming of something pleasant.”
