Page 106 of Rakes & Reticules
Sneaking off to be alone was her only thought when Mr. Reeves followed her. His attempt at seduction was denied, but with his bruised pride and tarnished manhood, he created his own narrative. A great tale of a seductress intent on trapping him into marriage, simply because he was to inherit a barony.
No matter how many times Patience refuted his accusations it did not matter. All of Brighton believed his word against hers. And in Patience’s world the man was always right.
Patience leaned forward, eagerly wondering what exactly Mrs. Fitzherbert meant. “Help each other how?” she questioned, unable to show any propriety.
Though she was eager, she had nothing to offer a woman like Maria Fitzherbert who had married a prince in secret. Patience needed to leave Brighton and be her own person, start her life away from the rumors and whispers… away from her family, even her beloved sister and father. She could no longer protect them from her grandmother; it was time she thought of herself.
“I have a business proposition for you.” Mrs. Fitzherbert waved a thin hand in the air. “Please be seated.”
Hesitantly, Patience sat in the armchair directly in front of the large desk, not accustomed to being treated as an equal by her employer. Usually, the older woman was very business-like with her.
“Whatever it is, I am happy to be of assistance.” Patience sat with her back straight, meeting Mrs. Fitzherbert’s stony gaze. She would not cower; this was her chance to be one step closer to her ultimate dream.
Opening her own school.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Mrs. Fitzherbert paused, examining Patience again, before she began speaking. “I need you to attend the Hightower’s Ball.”
“Attend my godfather’s ball?”
“Yes. I knew you would be in attendance, that’s why I chose you.” Opening her desk drawer, Mrs. Fitzherbert pulled out a small black, jewel-encrusted reticule, placing it in front of her. “I need you to deliver this reticule and its contents to a gentleman who will be attending the ball on behalf of a mutual friend.”
Patience gasped. Mrs. Fitzherbert’s mutual friend had to be the Prince Regent!
“You want me to deliver the reticule to a gentleman I have never met? How will I know who he is?”
Brighton would not have many visitors this time of year, but often her godfather would be inundated with guests, especially during warmer weather months.
“He will meet you in the library at precisely eleven o’clock. He should be easy to notice as there are only a few people in town at the moment with whom you are not acquainted with.”
Swallowing, Patience tried to quell her apprehension at being alone with a gentleman she did not know. The last time she was caught alone with someone had ruined her irrevocably. It didn’t matter; the only thing that mattered was that doing this would have her leaving Brighton once and for all. For that reason, she would happily be ruined again.
She couldn’t refuse.
“Once I do this, you will write to Mrs. Shackleford to grant me a position at her school?” Patience struggled to breathe around the lump in her throat. The thudding of her own heart boomed in her ears.
Closing her eyes briefly, she waited for confirmation, trying to hide her shaking hands in the skirts of her day dress.
“I will insist she hire you as a personal favor to me.” Holding out her hand, Mrs. Fitzherbert waited for Patience. “Do we have an agreement?”
Without hesitation, Patience took the older woman’s hand, shaking it with her gloved one. “We do.”
A knock on the door interrupted their exchange. Patience released Mrs. Fitzherbert’s hand as Cecelia entered the room, her eyes going to the reticule, before they quickly landed on Patience. Mrs. Fitzherbert hastily placed the reticule back in her desk drawer as Cecelia placed a pile of correspondence on the desk.
Patience retrieved the papers before she retreated to her small desk, her chest overflowing with hope. She had been ruined for nearly five years, shunned in society, laughed about in front of everyone and lost the only man she loved.
Now this was her chance to leave Brighton. Finally, she would have a future. It wouldn’t be the one she had envisioned five years earlier, one with a husband, and a family, but it would be her own. All she had to do was deliver a reticule to a stranger.
* * *
A sennight later,Patience knocked on Mrs. Fitzherbert’s chambers doors, trepidation clawing her insides for what she was about to do. Her employer had been ill most of the day, unable to keep any food down. She had yet to give Patience the reticule that would grant her the freedom she desperately needed.
Worse still, there was no news of Patience’s father. She was beginning to believe her mother and grandmother were correct, that her father could be lost forever.
“Enter,” a weak Mrs. Fitzherbert called out.
Patience walked into the large chambers, finding a frail Mrs. Fitzherbert lying in the large four-poster bed under a dark gold canopy.
“Miss. Grant, I’m afraid I am not feeling my best. You must retrieve the reticule from my study. It is secured in my desk.” Mrs. Fitzherbert pressed a white handkerchief to her mouth. She closed her eyes, taking several moments before she continued. “No one must know the contents of the papers.”
