Shewas not the wretched one in such a household, but her father was. The moment Beatrice had been born, a little over twenty-four years ago, he had irately accused his wife of being unfaithful. The cause?
Both of her parents had brown eyes, and yet Beatrice had been born with blue. A unique, cobalt blue that did not quite match anyone else’s. Her mother had found such eyes beautiful, God rest her soul, and had protected Beatrice from her father’s irrational thoughts for as long as she was able.
Which was, to Beatrice’s sorrow, only until she was nine. It was then that her mother became ill, and with Simeon’s refusal to take care of her or even call a doctor, the Countess of Farhampton passed a month later.
Two months later, the Earl of Farhampton remarried Elspeth, accepted her daughter Verity, and made Beatrice a servant in her own home. Beatrice had fought at first with the new position, but after she discovered the harsh punishments that came with such disobedience, she quickly adapted and accepted her new life a best she could.
She had thought, for a time, that her friends or her mother’s friends would come looking for her. That someone from thetonwould notice her disappearance from society after her mother’s passing. Yet as the years passed, no one came to check on her, and day by day she felt her passion for life slide away with each time her stepmother, stepsister, or father, scolded her for a chore not completed correctly.
“You should be thankful for all this man has done for you!” Elspeth hissed, snapping Beatrice back to the present.
“Not anymore,” Simeon stated before Beatrice could respond.
Everyone in the room grew quiet as they drew their questioning eyes to the patriarch. It was Beatrice he glared at though, looking at her as if she truly was the bane of his existence.
“I have grown weary of our arrangement and have made a new one,” Simeon stated, his frown lines etched deep within his cheeks and mouth. “You are leaving here this evening and will become someone else’s problem.”
Beatrice’s delicate brows furrowed as she braved a step toward her father.
“What do you mean?” she timidly asked. Her mind reeled with possibilities. He could put her on the streets. Accuse her of stealing and send her to prison. Could force her into a workhouse or?—
“You will be married off this evening,” Simeon stated.
His words instantly ceased Beatrice’s spiraling thoughts, and she looked on at her father in shock. Even Elspeth and Verity looked alarmed at the news.
“A husband?” Elspeth whispered as she looked up at Simeon. “You have deigned to find her a husband before our dear Verity?”
Beatrice also looked at Simeon for an answer. While it was true that she was the oldest and only rightful daughter to Simeon, she had long suspected that her twenty-year-old stepsister was going to be first, possibly the only one of them, to be married.
“We will discuss this in greater length momentarily,” Simeon said kindly. He reached up to stroke Elspeth’s cheek lovingly, and again, watching him be gentle and loving with someone else sent another ache through Beatrice’s heart. Not once, in her entire life had she remembered him offering her a gesture or word so kind.
Simeon’s gaze hardened as he turned to Beatrice, and she immediately stood up straight and bowed her head as she tucked her heartache away.
“You may go,” Simeon stated, his tone gruff and commanding as he spoke to Beatrice. “Pack your things. The other servants can finish your chores. You must be ready to leave by the time I come to fetch you.”
“Forgive me, My Lord, but when might that be?” Beatrice timidly questioned.
She braved another look up at him and knew by the expression on his face that he was not going to answer. She would have what she needed in her bags when he came to her room, or she wouldn’t. It was that simple. He would not wait and would not explain himself. She would just simply be expected to obey.
“Oh my days!” Mrs. Cleary crowed as Beatrice reached her attic room.
She startled a little as she found the housekeeper already waiting for her, a wide smile on the older woman’s face. Nervously, Beatrice smiled back and walked into Mrs. Cleary’s open arms.
“I heard everything,” Mrs. Cleary whispered as she squeezed Beatrice tightly, “I know you do not have luggage of your own, so I brought you one of my carpet bags. It is nothing fancy, but it will do. You are getting my married my dear, and you are getting out of here! I amsovery happy for you!”
Beatrice’s smile was small as she hugged Mrs. Cleary back, but in truth, she was still apprehensive about such a change.
“What is the matter, dear?” Mrs. Cleary asked when she took in Beatrice’s expression.
Beatrice pressed her plump lips together as she began to draw what little belongings she had from her drawers and dresser top.
“It just seems so sudden,” Beatrice confessed, “and strange. He despises me, so why would he find me a husband before Verity?”
“It does not matter!” Mrs. Cleary insisted, putting Beatrice’s things into the open carpet bag. “What matters is that you are finally getting away from those monsters downstairs. Your mother, God rest her soul, would haveneverwanted you to go through what have with them. It has been a sin, well and truly, to be forced to watch you be pushed so low from your rightful station. You deserve a good future after all you have been put through.”
Beatrice bit her bottom lip and worried it between her teeth as she tried to remember any joyous times in her life with her parents. Simeon had started to ignore both Beatrice and her mother shortly after Beatrice had been born, but she could not remember her mother pining for his company. In fact, the best times of her life were when it was just she and her mother. Her mother would arrange play dates in the park with other children, walk the promenade hand in hand with her, take her to tea shops for iced cream, and teach her letters for reading and steps for dancing. Such knowledge was long forgotten now.
Despite Simeon’s anger, they had found happiness. Perhaps, Beatrice wondered, she could find it again with her new husband.