A YOUNG GIRL weighed down by a suitcase and keeping her head down to protect herself from the downpour of rain, knocked into Maggie hard.
The girl looked up at Maggie in panic and then looked back over her shoulder afraid.
Maggie lifted her arms to steady the girl. “Are you in trouble? May I help?”
The girl hesitated before she said, “Please do not concern yourself. I can manage very well.”
“That is not how it seems to me.” Maggie took in the suitcase and the frightened look on the girl's face. She looked so young. Maybe only sixteen, if not younger. She was stunningly beautiful, despite the dark hair splattered to her head and around her face. “Are you running away?” Maggie asked concerned, keeping her voice low.
“That is none of your business.” The girl tried to move past Maggie.
By now, everyone, who was on the streets before the sudden burst of rain, was gathered on the sidewalk beneath the few decorative overhangs from above shop windows and shop doors.
Maggie folded her hand around the girl's upper arm. “Shelter here with me until it stops raining, otherwise you are going to catch a cold.”
Unsure, the girl looked up at Maggie.
Maggie's voice was gentle as she said, “And I think you will be safer here with me than running in the rain on the open road.”
The girl's eyes widened. “I suppose you are right.”
Maggie could see the girl was shivering. Her pale pink dress, undoubtedly custom designed to the latest French fashions, was glued to her body and her shoes were discoloured. “Come. Stand closer to me,” she offered.
There was an uncertain silence before the girl moved closer to Maggie and said, “You are kind. Thank you.”
For a moment, they stood side by side, staring at the rain, which looked as if it was never going to stop.
The girl said quietly, while looking down at her dress, “My dress is ruined. It will have to be thrown away.”
Maggie looked at her in shock. “That is rather extravagant.”
“It does not matter.” The girl shrugged, smoothing the material over her hips.
Maggie suggested, “Perhaps we could introduce ourselves? I am Maggie Abbott.”
The girl stared at Maggie. “Aren't you Lord Richard and Lady Eleanor's children's tutor? I have heard about you; they say you are a good tutor and it is a pity you are so pretty.”
“I used to be their tutor. Until this morning.”
The girl nodded as if she understood the situation. Everyone in town knew Lord Richard had roving hands. “My name is Beatrice,” she said. She hesitated for a moment. “Beatrice Higgs.” The girl bent down to pick up her suitcase. “It looks like the rain is clearing.”
“Do you want me to help you get home?” Maggie felt concerned for the young girl.
Beatrice snapped, “No. I am not going back there. Not ever.”
Maggie sighed. She could not leave the girl here and she would worry about her. The girl looked distressed and Maggie had the distinct feeling she was running away from someone. “Won't someone be worried about you?”
Beatrice tossed her head and droplets of rain splattered Maggie. “I do not care if they worry. If Joseph thinks I am dead, then it is good, because then he cannot force me to get married.”
Maggie stared at her. “Joseph?”
“My guardian. He is evil.”
“Your guardian? Why is he forcing you to get married?”
“He thinks he can decide my fate because my father and his father were business partners and when my father died, Joseph's father said I must live with them.” Her face darkened. “Although I wanted to stay with my grandma and she wanted me to stay with her, but the lawyers would not permit it because my father stipulated in his Last Will and Testament that I should live with his business partner if anything ever happened to him. Now he is also dead.” Beatrice sighed heavily. “He said in his Will that Joseph must be my guardian until my twenty-fifth birthday, which is when I will get my inheritance. If I get married before that day, I will get the money sooner, which I want to do, just not to whom Joseph says I must.”
“And have you met such a man, whom you would like to marry?”
“Of course.” Her face lit up with a smile. “His name is James and he is going to save me from Joseph.”
“If Joseph knows how you really feel, then surely he will not force you into marriage with someone you do not want to marry.”
“He does not care. If I marry someone else, all the money my father left to me will be lost to Joseph and he will never allow it. He has kept me prisoner for years now. Since my fourteenth birthday.”
Maggie echoed the word, “Prisoner?”
Beatrice looked around nervously. “Yes. A prisoner. I must get away. This is the first time I have been able to get out of the house and it took months of planning. If they catch me, I might never get a chance again.”
“Perhaps Joseph really cares about you, Beatrice and is only trying to take care of you?”
Beatrice snorted contemptuously. “Never. He is only concerned about the money.”
“And are you on your way now to meet James?”
Beatrice nodded excitedly. “We are getting married.”
“How old are you?” Maggie asked concerned.
“Sixteen, almost seventeen,” she replied.
Only two years younger than Maggie. “Are you sure James loves you?”
The girl looked at her indignantly.
Maggie did not want to get involved. At the moment, she had her own fair share of problems. She had to figure out what she was going to do with her future. Plan on getting another position as a tutor, hopefully at a more respectable house.
Already the burden of going back home and facing Cathy lay heavy on her shoulders. Maybe she could help the girl get to James and then she should begin her journey home. The girl looked too innocent and naive to just be left on the side of the road. When people of ill-repute saw her and the way her suitcase weighed her down, they might take advantage of her situation.
She asked, “Where is the wedding taking place?”
“I do not know. James is making all the arrangements.”
How long had she known this James? What if James was worse than Joseph? Although Joseph sounded like an oaf. “Where are you meeting James?”
“At the bridge.”
“London Tower Bridge?”
“Yes. I must be on my way. If I am late, James shall be angry with me. I should hurry before Madame Anne notices I am gone.”
Maggie felt lost. “Madame Anne?”
“Joseph employs her to keep me prisoner, when he is working in his laboratory.”
“Is he there now? In the laboratory?”
“Yes. This was my only chance to get away. He will try to force me into marrying again.” She looked up at Maggie with a scared look on her face. “I am afraid of what he would do to me.”
© Rosaline Saul
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