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“It’s a terrible thing for a father to treat his daughters in such a way. I don’t understand why he is so fixated on your marrying Lord Crawford, My Lady. What is it about him he thinks is right for you?” Delphine wondered.
“Lord Crawford always gets what he wants. I can only presume he has forced my father in pursuit of his own greed and desire,” Eloise replied.
The carriage came to a halt, and Eloise peered out the window to find they had stopped in front of a coaching inn, outside of which several other carriages were parked.
“The Seven Bells, Miss,” the carriage driver called out.
“Come along, Delphine. We’ll take a room here. We can pretend to be sisters on the way to visit our mother. That way, there’ll be no suspicion,” Eloise whispered, as the carriage driver opened the compartment door for them.
The coaching inn was a handsome building in red brick, ivy-clad, with lead-lined windows and a large sign on which were painted seven bells. It was on the outskirts of the city, across a low humpback bridge, which was above a brook. Eloise could see out across fields and farmland to woods in the far distance. The evening was drawing on, and dusk would soon be falling. She thanked the carriage driver and paid him the requested fee from the remnants of her allowance. She would have just enough to get them to Bath, but beyond that…
“Let’s get inside, My Lady.” Delphine led Eloise through the main door and into a large room. A counter ran the full length of the far wall, behind which stood tapped barrels and a thin man with an enormous mustache, who looked up at them and nodded.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“We’d like lodgings for the night and something to eat, if we may,” Eloise answered.
The man nodded and beckoned them towards the counter.
“Lodgings are a shilling. I can serve you some bread and cheese tonight and a simple breakfast in the morning. Have you horses to stable?”
Eloise shook her head.
“No, thank you. My sister and I are travelling to Bath to visit our aunt. She’s very ill. A carriage brought us as far as here. But we’ll need onward transport tomorrow morning.”
“You can take the mail coach. It passes here around nine O’clock each day. I’ll tell the kitchen boy to hail it for you,” the man offered.
He disappeared through a door at the far end of the counter and shouted something inaudible, before returning with a large bunch of keys and motioning for them to follow him.
“We’ll take the mail coach, thank you,” Eloise said.
“This way. I’ll have your supper sent up. You don’t want to eat in the tap room,” the man – whom Eloise presumed to be the landlord – advised.
He led them up a narrow staircase into a landing lit by candles burning in sconces along the wall and paused outside a door, which he unlocked and ushered them through. It led into a simply furnished bedroom with a bed, washstand and a chair by the hearth.
“It’ll do nicely,” Eloise said, and the landlord nodded.
“If you need hot water, just come down and tell me.” He nodded again and closed the door behind him.
Delphine sighed and sat down on the bed.
“Oh, My Lady, will this really work?” she asked.
Eloise smiled. She was feeling far more confident now. They had escaped the house, they had traveled to the edge of the city, and now they were to travel to Bath the very next day. Their situation was preferable to the one they had left behind. Eloise sat down next to Delphine and patted her arm.
“It has so far, hasn’t it? We’ll have some supper and then go to bed. It’s getting late, and we can get on our way early tomorrow morning. It’s exciting, isn’t it?” she said in a hopeful tone.
Delphine gave her a weak smile, but a sudden knock at the door caused her to jump.
“Supper, Miss,” a voice called out, and Eloise went to answer the door, finding the kitchen boy there with a tray of bread and cheese.
They made a pleasant supper, sitting opposite one another at a little table by the window. The kitchen boy had brought a jug of apple juice and some pears, whose sweet, succulent flesh complimented the tangy saltiness of the cheese and the rich creamy butter they spread onto the crusty pieces of bread.
“I feel free at last, Delphine,” Eloise exclaimed, and the maid smiled.
“Neither of us can go back now, My Lady. I won’t have a position in your father’s house now,” Delphine said.
“No, you’ll have a position with me in Kent when Jackson takes us to Loxbury Abbey. Don’t worry, Delphine. I’ll take care of you, I promise.” Eloise gave her a reassuring smile.
