Page 19 of A Baron's Scandalous Quill
“Yes, thank you.” Becca took the letter and placed it down beside her plate, as if she was not so interested in reading it anymore.
“From Charlotte, is it?” her father asked from the head of the table. Once more, Frederick’s face had disappeared behind the newspaper he was reading. “You two write to one another often, don’t you? You should see what my clerk says to such a thing. Two ladies writing to one another? One from a print house, the other my daughter.” He put upon a pretend horrified shudder. “You’d think the walls of hell were coming up to enclose us!”
Becca laughed warmly.
“You work with some people who have odd opinions.”
“I quite agree.” He nodded, lowering the paper enough for her to see his wrinkled face. “I went on at length about how useful it would be for my daughter to be able to read and write. I think I would have had more success persuading a brick wall than him.”
“Pah! You probably would have done.”
“Nowt as odd as folk,” Franny said from the other end of the table as she adjusted some of the cold meats and fresh bread on the table, her Yorkshire accent shining through. “People like to give their opinion, even when it is not asked for.”
“That they do,” Frederick agreed. “Especially if they disagree with something.”
Becca reached for her letter again, itching to read it. She hadn’t looked properly at the address before putting it down, so she had no idea if it was from Charlotte or perhaps Lord Lancaster, asking her to come back for another meeting. When Franny’s eyes shot toward her, she released the letter and pretended to be reaching for her cup of tea instead.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Franny said, moving to the doorway. Still, she glanced back more than once at Becca before she disappeared. The moment the door shut behind her, Becca snatched up the letter and broke the seal, eager to read.
Frederick chuckled at her movements but made no comment and returned to his paper.
Becca felt a slow sinking in her stomach as she realized it was not from Lord Lancaster or Mr. Fitzwilliam asking her to return, but from Charlotte. Then she cursed herself, for she was indeed happy to hear from Charlotte and realized she’d put too much hope on receiving a letter from Lord Lancaster.
My dear Becca,
What news! What excitement! Well, I don’t doubt you are like an excited pup right now. Are you running around the house and giving your father trouble? Ha! How I’d love to see the sight.
Why are you hesitating? That is my question to you. Most women would have jumped at the chance to spend more time with a man they’re interested in, even if they are separated by vast distances in terms of class. Listen, my friend, you and I should talk in person about this soon, but in the meantime, what’s the harm?
As you say, this commission gives you so much opportunity. Do not pass that up! Grasp it! How many women would be given such an opportunity? Such advantage? Pah!
It does not bear thinking about how few opportunities we get. Just go for it. Spend more time with Lord Lancaster, too, and you may find your heart loosening its attachment, or growing from it. Either way, I don’t see much harm that can come from this.
Just enjoy yourself, Becca. See what journey this path takes you on, and I’ll see you soon.
Your friend,
Charlotte
Becca lowered the letter back down to the table. It was the advice she had been looking for, the encouragement and the hope.
Perhaps it is not so mad after all.
“Miss Becca?” Franny’s voice at the door made her jump, and she dropped the letter on the table. Franny eyed her carefullyfrom the doorway, looking between the fallen letter and another that was in her grasp. “Another letter has arrived for you?”
“Another?” Frederick said from the head of the table. “Charlotte must have forgotten to put something in her original letter.”
“Yes, she must have done.” Yet Becca avoided her father’s gaze and reached out for the second letter. As before, Franny eyed her cautiously, even more so now as she handed the letter over. Becca put down the letter once again, pretending she was not as interested as she was in the letter’s contents. She waited for Franny to leave the room again, hoping it abated her curiosity, then snatched the letter up quickly.
She broke the seal, noting out of the corner of her eye that the red wax seal was not plain, like all of hers and Charlotte’s letters were, but was imprinted with the crest of the Barony of Lancaster.
To Miss Becca Thornton,
Lord Lancaster invites you to his house this afternoon for tea, so that you might discuss the commission in more detail. You are welcome to come at two o’clock, and we will have tea prepared for you.
Yours etcetera,
Mr. Fitzwilliam
