Never Land the First Fish

Chapter One: Part 2

The next evening, Gills arranged supper in a private dining room for himself and his "sister," after gaining Jewel's agreement to meet him when she had donned the blacks he'd brought. Most especially the veil. Jewel Marloughe had never been beautiful—pretty, but in a sharp, brittle way that didn't attract rakes like him—but Gills would be surprised if she didn't come away from this beating disfigured.

He tapped his index finger idly against the counter, wondering if she'd slipped out a window to escape him, or had collapsed of some injury she wouldn't allow a doctor to tend. She'd begged for a change of scene, but was it just to get him out of the way while she bolted?

She still had the jewels she'd been fingering in her hem—he knew the trick of sewing an emergency fund, and was surprised she'd managed to hide them from her husband—so she could go anywhere she wanted. She would be stupid to do so, but it would solve a problem for Gills. If she chose to abandon him, he would no longer be responsible for her.

Ah, and stupid she was not. She appeared at the bottom of the stairs in her widow's weeds, complete with a heavy veil from the top of her head to her knees. Given the problem she presented, he should not be relieved, but he was.

He held out his hand and bowed. She was walking stiffly, so he held out his arm and whispered, "You must lean on me, Lady Julia. You are not steady." She did lean on him, quite suddenly, but he maintained his steady arm. "You must allow me to call in a doctor."

"Do you believe I want anyone to see me this way? It has never been so bad before, I will grant you, but I assure you, he has done no more damage than another broken tooth and bruises and cuts that will heal in time. You very kindly brought the arnica as I asked, and I will stay under cold compresses for a few days while I find a ship. Athol will not even look for me here."

Gills thought that was a bit optimistic. He guessed Athol was combing the countryside to find his errant wife and the man who had taken her away. He didn't think they had one day, much less a few. They entered the private dining room and he left the door just slightly open. He seated her gently and then took his seat across from her.

"Why do you not hate me?"

"What do you mean?" Gills knew exactly what she meant.

"Everyone hates me now, especially friends of Toad and his wife. You wanted her to be your mistress; you danced to her tune for weeks, even after she was ruined at your brother's wedding. Why do you not hate me?"

"First, I do not dance to anyone's tune, my lady. Second, if I wanted her as my mistress, would I not have helped you accomplish her ruin? Third, I do not hate you. I do not like you particularly either. I think you did the Wellbridges a poor turn, but you've paid the price for that, have you not?" He waved his hand at her veil. "And you recanted your calumnies eventually. I have been, until quite recently, supremely indifferent to you."

"That is an oddly comforting thought, my lord."

A commotion arose outside the door, and Gills tipped his chair to see out the crack in the doorway. "Looking for a woman—brown hair, brown dress, a slip of a thing, her maid says. And a lady. A Lady through and through. You know, one of them types."

Jewel flinched and dropped the napkin she had been unfolding, her head turning back and forth looking for an escape. Gills stood and walked around the table to place his hand on her shoulder. "Be calm, my lady. You'll not be taken back while I draw breath."

As the heavy footsteps came toward the door to the dining room, the innkeeper's wife dashed across to stop them. "Gentlemen! Please. You cannot disturb them when she just lost her only son." Gills' ears perked up. He hadn't given the innkeeper an explanation for her blacks, but he and his wife knew full well that Julia was hiding from her husband.  "I vow, no la-di-da Lady is in there, just a merchant and his poor wife who deserve a private place for their grief."