Page 28 of A Lady’s Fairytale Come True
But while he was not generally an overly proud man, certainly not as he had presented himself to the young woman, he was simply unable to pretend that this was an easy position to humble himself into. After all, this had been a grave mistake and a cruel behaviour that he had imparted upon her.
Knowing that he would have to beg the forgiveness of the young woman, Nathaniel regretted ever having been rude to her in the first place.
“Yes, Grandmother. I shall go,” he assured her.
“And you must return to me afterwards and inform me how it goes. I wish to know if she is willing to give you another opportunity to prove yourself and to prove that you are not the horrid little man you portrayed yourself to be,” she said with a scalding glare.
Horrid little man. That was certainly not the kindest name he had ever been given. But perhaps he was deserving of it, after all.
Nathaniel said goodbye to his grandmother and departed from the home, meeting the coachman who opened the door for him. When he got in, he remembered to hand the address over. It was not a location he had ever heard of. Probably somewhere in the country outside of town. Perhaps that was why he had not seen Miss Digby before.
The coachman looked at him with slight confusion.
“What is it?” Nathaniel asked.
“You wish to go here, my lord?” he enquired.
“Well, I suppose so. That is where my grandmother has instructed me to find the home, so wherever that is, we must go,” he replied, uncertain as to why it should be difficult for a coachman of all people to gather. Perhaps it really was quite far. Maybe his grandmother was setting him up so that he would have to stay overnight in the area and perhaps see Miss Digby again the following day.
But he hoped she would not do such a thing to him. After all, he was humbling himself to go and apologise even when he knew that this was also best for the young lady.
As the coach made its way down the road and into the main parts of the city, Nathaniel was even more uncertain. They were going further into town rather than away from it.
That meant that the area that was unknown to him was still within London. There were better roads outside of town that could have got them around the city, if that was where they were headed.
He looked out of the window and saw that they were starting for some of the parts of London that noblemen typically avoided. It was crowded and dirty and Nathaniel could not ignore the stench that was beginning to come in through the windows.
The slums. They were going through them. He drew the curtain, trying to hide himself. But Nathaniel knew that his coach could not be so easily hidden and everyone would know that he was a wealthy man going through their area.
Nathaniel had never much encountered the urchins of these parts, but he had always tried to pride himself on being like his father, who treated them well. His father had never cared about a person’s status or position. He had cared for their well-being, their kindness.
He wanted to be more like that. He did not want to fear those who lived here, he wished to embrace them.
Not only that, but he imagined that if he had become a medical man as he wished, he might have been spending a great deal of time in these parts where illness was rampant.
But finally, he sensed an ease in the air. They had got through the worst of it. Nathaniel pulled back the curtain and saw that they were not far out of the horrid conditions, but at least things were beginning to look cleaner and smell fresher.
It was not long, and still quite close, when the coachman came to a stop in front of a pathetically small cottage crammed between two others just like it.
There were a few flowers lining the front and some herbs, letting him know that at least those who lived here had some idea of gardening. But Nathaniel still could not understand why they had stopped.
A cold crept over his skin and Nathaniel felt the air in the coach sucked away. His vision blurred slightly as the realisation came over him.
His actions. Her station. The treatment he bestowed upon her and the assumptions that he made.
This small home, this street so close to the infamous slums of London, these precious few herbs. All of them belonged to Miss Olivia Digby.
Nathaniel could not believe his eyes and when he came to recognise that he had treated her so badly when she had nothing already, he felt pure shame. He felt overwhelmed with anger towards himself for having been such a terrible man to a woman who was poor and needy.
He had simply assumed that she was like any other young woman, craving a higher station and wealth despite having. True, when he saw her in the marketplace, she had not been dressed in finery, but there were many young women who were not overly wealthy without living among the dregs of society.
But Olivia was not one of those young women. Rather, she was quite unfortunate. She was quite poor. She simply had enough pride to take care of herself and her clothing. She looked decent because she chose to, not because she had the means to.
Sitting in the coach before her home, Nathaniel knew that he was soon to have his own perspectives shaken. As the coachman came around to open the door, he was almost frightened to get out.
What if Miss Digby was embarrassed by his coming? What right did he have to be here in the first place? Who was he to think that he could just come to her home any time he pleased like this?
Nathaniel knew that he was undeserving of a second chance, even less so now. But he would try. He would make an effort.
