The Spells of Paradise

Chapter 20: The Art of Shattering

Chapter 20: The Art of Shattering

A day or so after the dinner party at the Worthingtons, Lucy took the plunge into the deep end and decided to accompany Leila Rutherford to the market. Though Eliza suggested quite vehemently to not go with her, Lucy said that there was no better way to figure out who she needed to avoid and who she needed to become close to other than meeting with them face to face.

"It's a system I developed in London," Lucy said as she was getting ready. "I'd like to say it has not failed me yet, but..." She paused, sadly thinking about Beatrice, "Well, let's just say that some slip through your fingers without warning. I'm far more careful now than I was before, though. If I cannot trust Leila enough to be friends with her, I will know."

Eliza still looked troubled. "I just do not want your first outing to blow up in smoke."

"Then come with us!" Lucy suggested, a wide smile on her face.

Eliza didn't look certain of that. "I... I think I'll find some time to go to market with you alone, without Leila's toxic presence. You go, though," she smiled back. "I have some business elsewhere but for the most part I'll be here so we can get ready to visit Shorewind together!"

Ross had sent word to Roseway saying that Lucy had been invited by his mother, Ruth Beauchamp, to Shorewind Hall. Lucy, not wanting to go alone, had asked if Eliza could accompany her, but apparently that had already been assumed.

"Mrs. Ruth will love you," Eliza assured her when the invitation had come. "She is not the elitist sort. She loves Ross more than anything, but she is kind to everyone. I have not seen a single person she hates grace her threshold."

"Knowing my luck, I shall be the first one!"

Though that was a joke, Lucy still heard the truth in her words. With her recent stroke of bad luck, it was very likely that Ross's mother would not like her. Lucy knew that that wasn't supposed to bother her, but it did. She really wanted to impress his mother, though she had no idea why.

Leila arrived to Roseway Cove with her familiar bravado. She was no less pretty than the day before, when Lucy had seen her for the first time. If anything, she seemed prettier, if that was possible. Even so, Lucy was oddly glad to meet with the young woman. There was something about her that Lucy felt she could relate to, an aura that displayed the fact that she didn't care a whit what others thought of her, and that was a persona that didn't come about too often in Lucy's life, especially when she lived it in a world where a stranger's opinion of you was worth more than gold and diamonds.

"Rather sad Eliza refused to come with us," Leila noted as the two women made their way to the carriage that was waiting for them at the other end of the garden path.

"She was otherwise engaged," Lucy replied. "She and I are called to Shorewind Hall later this evening."

"Ah, yes," Leila chuckled. "I forgot, you're the talk of the town, of course Ruth Beauchamp wants to meet you. Let me tell you, when I met Mrs. Ruth for the first time, she told me that my hips were made to carry children. Ten years later, she's still right."

"Is she prone to such blatant commentary?" Lucy asked, suddenly worried. "Is that what I have to look forward to?"

Leila laughed as they arrived to the carriage and were assisted in. "Please, for the woman who returned home with her treasured son, Mrs. Ruth will certainly not be concerned with the state of your body in regards to carrying children!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucy asked while settling in her seat. "You don't think that she'll dislike me, do you?"

"Not dislike so much as mistrust at first is all," Leila informed her. "I am sure you understand what must be going through her mind, Lucy. You come here, unannounced, with her son. He has been gone a long time, so she must be wondering if you're a prospect. But then you're living with the Worthingtons, which may suggest otherwise. She might even consider you a charity case, so do not be surprised if there is the slightest hint of pity in her tone when addressing you."