“I should think so,” Beatrix agreed reluctantly. “Only explain to me this, am I a washer woman now or a lame horse? Your example did not make it clear.”
“I am not toying with you, I promise,” he said, trying to avoid becoming impatient. “I am admitting that I am fully at fault for my actions and therefore owe you compensation. It is funds that I beseech you to accept so that you may begin anew without fearing for your provisions.”
Beatrix sighed, but finally shrugged her shoulders in resignation. “I shall accept, but only if it eases your conscience. Not out of obligation. If you are much changed by this incident and for having spent time in my company, then that is all the reward I require. That, and helping to ensure that your peers take a better understanding of the plight of the common man as well.”
“I will do my utmost to ensure they gain some new understanding,” he promised her. “But now, as to the amount…”
Lord Bellton gestured to his servant, who retrieved a tray from the sideboard and brought it near. He took from it a small chest and opened it to remove a purse.
“I can never repair the grievous insult I inflicted upon you in my ignorance and prejudice,” he began solemnly, “but I hope that this small token is enough to assure you that I am sincere.”
Beatrix took it when he held it out to her, and her eyes instantly went wide. The weight of it nearly brought her hand down on the table before she could recover.
“Absolutely not,” she said, dumping the small bag back beside the Marquess’s plate. “That is far too great a sum, I do not even have to inspect the contents to know that!”
“You don’t know. That purse may very well contain six pennies and a lot of rocks!” Lord Bellton teased, pushing it back towards her.
“I’m no fool, you know,” Beatrix said, crossing her arms before her to avoid taking it. “I know quite well how much a lame horse and a dairy maid are worth, and it’s not a pile of rocks. I shall not take such a costly amount!”
“You shall take it,” he shot back with a playful grin, “else I’ll have the maids sneak in and hide it all among your belongings.”
“Ha! That is where you’re wrong,” she answered triumphantly. “I have no belongings! Check mate!”
Lord Bellton grew quiet and looked away before muttering, “I took the liberty of having some pieces made.” At the look of horror on Beatrix’s face, he quickly added, “But it was only in order to provide more work for a woman in dire need of income! Does that count for nothing?”
Beatrix gritted her teeth to keep from answering. After all, Birdie and Greta had already told her of the woman whose handiwork provided her with lodgings and food. Though she liked not the idea of extravagant attire, she was far more pleased that someone such as Lord Bellton had gone to such lengths to demonstrate charity to another.
“I suppose I must allow it, if it served another soul,” she admitted hesitantly, “but that does not mean you must go out of your way to spend any more.”
“Never,” he replied, holding up his hand solemnly. “I shall not spend another penny… except that which I intend to send to your home as a monthly allowance to ensure your continued well-being.”
Beatrix looked at him in horror, unable to tell if this was a further jest. “You better had not dare!” she insisted. “I shall not only fling the coins into the nearest bog, but I shall horsewhip the rider who delivers them!”
Lord Bellton laughed good-naturedly, which only vexed Beatrix slightly. His expression turned very serious, though, and she wondered what that could imply.
“I find myself at a loss,” he said, averting his eyes from her face. “I would very much like to see you again, but I know not how to expect such a thing.”
“Because I might rebuke your intentions?” Beatrix asked. “Or because you’re fearful of how you might be received in my family’s quarters?”
“Both, I must admit. Though I have discovered that my feelings for you are able to overcome any fear of the unknown. At least, I strive to be such a man after having met you.”
“As much as I might enjoy seeing you again, I too am struggling with visions of you seated at the table in my lowly home, my father glaring at the fine cut of your coat and its delicate cloth,” she said without a hint of pettiness or ridicule. “I’m afraid our two worlds may not be suited to collide in this way.”
“But you would otherwise wish to see me again?” Lord Bellton asked hopefully. “Were you of noble birth or were I a… a… a blacksmith’s apprentice, you would consider that request?”
“Indeed, I think I would,” she answered, blushing slightly. “But as that is not the case, it isn’t an issue that either of us need worry ourselves over.”
Lord Bellton smiled brightly, reaching to take her hand in his. Beatrix allowed it, shivering slightly both at the touch and the memory of his lips on hers only hours before.
“I know there must be a way,” he said firmly, his eyes gaining an intensity that she had not seen in him before. “I need only consider what such a request might mean for you and your family.”
“Or even what that could mean for you,” she finished softly. “You are requesting… what, exactly? A continued friendship? An occasional visit when there are no others near who would condemn you for keeping up an acquaintanceship with a commoner, one of my very dubious background?”
“I think that I don’t care what others might say,” Lord Bellton replied. “I do know that the thought of your leaving this house and never returning causes me a kind of pain I’ve never experienced. As much as I want to, I don’t know how to put aside our very different places in the world, though, as this is such a new frontier for me.”
“It looks as though you’re about to find out,” Beatrix said, looking up at the door where the butler had entered, followed by two very well-dressed men.
Chapter 20
