Rushing across the patio, her hair bellowing out behind her, Belle dashed away from the ballroom after hastily closing the door behind her, attempting to escape her pursuer. Yesterday had been easy to avoid him getting her alone, playing hostess to Mr Mandermer. Also, he must have sensed, she didn't want to be left alone as Mr Mandermer had also taken tea with her, which gentlemen seldom did, as it was classed as a lady's pastime. Her luck, though, had run out with their two guests taking a trip into Avonlea, checking in on the blacksmith and collecting their mail from the inn. She would've opted to go with them, ceasing a chance to take Phillipe out and visit the small store, escaping Gaston for a while. Lord Gold and Mr Mandermer had left so quickly, she heard the news after they had left, when Ruby had come to warn her, her pursuer was looking for her. Hiding in different rooms in the house, listening to the grumble demands of Gaston in the hallways, Belle had snuck from room to room, servants helping her with her subterfuge. Unluckily, he had unknowingly cornered her into the ballroom, giving her no option, but to escape out into the gardens.
She looked back hearing his agitated voice, fearing he had seen her and was following her into the gardens. Lifting her skirts, Belle leaped down the steps into the maze garden and sprinted through it, losing herself to the elaborate pathways, hoping it would buy her some time to formulate a new plan. Her shoes slipped on the gravel as she rushed around a corner, bashing herself into the defined edge of the hedge, and hurried into a seemingly dead end. Belle checked back over her shoulder before she pushed her body into the wall of the hedge, pressing herself flat into it, opening the secret path between the bushes. The secret sitting area was known only to father, herself, Ruby and the gardeners. Panting for breath, she dropped unceremoniously onto the stone bench, gazing up to the sky, questioning what her mother would've thought of her.
Bracing her elbows on her knees, she bent herself over, cradling her head in the palms of her hands, taking steadying breaths to calm herself. In some regard, she had put herself at a disadvantage, because if he found her in here, which she highly doubted, she'd have no way of escaping him. There was only one entrance to the small sitting area. Course, she could refuse him, which was her right, but it was highly frowned upon and her father had made it quite clear, he was in favour of the match. If only Gaston made her heart thump, the way that he did…
Belle had to admit to herself, spending yesterday with Mr Mandermer, had not been about being a good hostess or securing she wouldn't be left alone with Gaston. It had been a fishing expedition, for more information on Lord Gold. She had to know, because her heart had been breaking, thinking there was a Countess at home, waiting fondly for his return. He had been quite easy to talk to and the conversation had flowed effortlessly till the subject of marriage.
"I hope our other guest isn't annoying you and Lord Gold too much." She had said to him, pouring some of the tea into the teacup, set in front of him.
Mr Mandermer had smiled kindly at her as he had selected a cake to put on the tea plate, held in his other hand. "I wouldn't worry yourself about it, my Lady. Lord Gold and I are quite capable of amusing ourselves with characters, such as the Baron. As you can imagine, we've dealt with many Lords akin to the Baron."
She had begun pouring tea into her own cup as she had commented to him. "Yes, but I was very aware of Lord Gold's dislike for the Baron over dinner last night."
"I wouldn't worry about it." He had said reaching for the small pot of milk, to pour a small amount into his teacup. "The Baron's sport might be defenceless animals. The Earl's is rude and obnoxious Lords."
The image of Lord Gold hunting Gaston had encouraged a smirk to grace her lips, while she had tipped a small amount of milk into her tea, saying. "I'm not one to enjoy in the torment of others, but I think in this case, I could be persuaded to turn a blind eye."
Mr Mandermer had torn a piece from his cake as he had remarked. "Lord Gold, sadly, will hold his tongue on this occasion. We're guests of your father's and we're well aware your father has a fondness for the Baron."
"A fondness one would have for a son." Belle had agreed with him, stirring her tea.
"He's in favour of you marrying the Baron?" He had inquired, his gaze on her, as he had slipped the torn piece of cake into his mouth.
"Very much so." He had nodded his head at her answer as she had asked him. "Are you married, Mr Mandermer?"
With a thoughtful look in his eyes, Mr Mandermer had said. "I was married. She died a few years ago."
Shifting in her chair, Belle had reached across to take a hold of his hand, cradling it between her own, as she had offered her sympathies. "My condolences, Mr Mandermer, if I had known, I wouldn't have asked such an impertinent question."
"Don't think anything about it." Mr Mandermer had smiled. "I loved my wife very much. I'm not ashamed to talk about her, even if it is painful at times to remember her." His shoulders had shrugged before he had continued. "It's a pain I'm learning to bear as my daughter grows to look more like her mother every day."
"A daughter? What's her name?" She had probed, excitedly squeezing his hand.
"Grace. She's eight." He had answered, smiling proudly.
Belle had been struck with the memory of her mother, bleeding to death in her arms. It wasn't easy at any age to lose someone's mother. She was eternally grateful, for the time she'd had spent with her mother, but was saddened to hear, how Mr Mandermer's daughter's time with her mother had been so short. Hardly a chance for the young girl to get to know her mother.
Casting her gaze to their joined hands, she had said. "It can't be easy for her."
"She's strong and she's got the boys." He had commented, hooking his finger into the handle of the teacup, lifting it to his lips to take a sip.
"The boys?" Belle had enquired, raising her gaze suddenly to meet his, over the rim of his tea cup.
"Yes," Mr Mandermer had lowered his tea cup, gently placing it on its saucer. "Neal, is Lord Gold's son, and Charlie, is Mrs Potts son. She's Lord Gold's housekeeper."
Hearing the news of a son, Belle's fingers had grasped tightly at Mr Mandermer's hand, which he had noticed, dropping his gaze to their hands. She had immediately released his hands and shunted back in her chair, turning to face the table, and quickly picked up her tea to drink from it. His eyes were on her and out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the curious look he had been giving her. Lowering her teacup, a slight tremble to her hand, Belle had put on a smile and met his attention as she put her teacup carefully back on its saucer, the base chinking with her tremble before she had set it down.
"Lord Gold has a son." She had stated, not for his benefit, but for her own, making the fact more real with it passing from her own lips. "Suggesting Lord Gold is married too."
His lips had pursed together as his brow hunched briefly over his eyes, thinking about his answer, and had said. "He's a widower."
"Oh!" The exclamation had departed her before she could bite it back.
Nervous under his scrutiny, Belle had smiled shyly at him, stretching an arm to select a biscuit from the plate of goodies, Granny had prepared for them. Mr Mandermer's eyebrow had raised at her, a slight crook at the right side of his mouth. She had bitten the biscuit, buying herself more time to conjure together a convincing retort to explain her sudden outcry. However, before she had come up with anything conceivable, Mr Mandermer had diverted his gaze from her, to his cake on the tea plate.
"The Countess died many years ago. There was no love lost when she died." He had carefully picked up his cake, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. "She was young, when they married, arranged by his mother and her mother. Not like my marriage. Priscilla and I were madly in love, whereas they were amicable with one another."
Belle had drunk some more of her tea as she had listened to him, not wanting to interrupt him as he continued. "He did try to make her happy, but she was so restless." His face had formed into a scowl as he recalled details, waving the cake around in his hand. "When she was with child, we'd all hoped motherhood would be the making of her."
"It wasn't?" The words had slipped out, too enthralled in his story to stop herself.
His right shoulder was thrown up and had dropped limply as Mr Mandermer had said prior to taking a bite from his cake. "If you were to ask me, it made her worse."
She had frowned at his reply, while he had chewed. "How can bringing a child into the world make things worse? A child is a joyous occasion."
"It is," He had put his tea plate down onto the table. "However to some, like her, they find it an imprisoning experience."
"I can't believe that. No mother would…" Belle had stopped, when his hand touched her hand, telling her. "I'd love to agree with your sentiment, my Lady, but I'm afraid, I witnessed it with my own eyes."
"Witnessed what?" She had questioned, her eyebrows knitted together.
Removing his hand from hers, he had picked up his teacup, saying to her. "I've already said too much. He won't appreciate me talking about such things, especially about her."
The conversation had given her the answer she had sought, but had left her with more questions and had escalated her interest in Lord Gold. Belle lifted her head from the cradle of her hands and sat back. Last night, when he had returned from Bolster, she had wanted to talk to him, seeking the answers to the many questions plaguing her. She had heard his horse trot into the courtyard, while they had been subjected to another story of Gaston's bravery. Peering over the back of the sofa, she had observed the Stablemaster, Samson, holding the horse, while Lord Gold had gotten down smoothly, landing without fault. They had exchanged words and nods, and then Lord Gold had turned to walk to the front of the house, while Samson had led the horse into the stables.
Moseying by the French doors, Lord Gold had glanced through the doors and then looked away, continuing to the front, whilst he had wiped at his clothing. She had angled her head, as much as she could, to keep him in her view, but it was futile, he was gone. Turning to face the room, Belle had caught Mr Mandermer looking at her, a small knowing smirk on his face. She had tilted her head slightly, giving him a questioning look, which he had ignored and had taken a sip of his whiskey.
Her ears had pricked, to the sound of the knock at the front door, such a strange occurrence in their house. Belle tried to look like she was listening to Gaston, noticing her father had looked round, hearing the knock as well. He had smiled warmly at her, when their gazes had met, and she had returned it. Turning his attention back to Gaston, who was acting out how he had pounced on his prey, her father had settled back into his chair, while Belle inclined her head to the door, intently listening for Lord Gold's footsteps in the hallway. Slowly, her eyes travelled to the door, wondering what was taking him so long, to come to the drawing room. By now, after coming through the front door, he should have been entering the drawing room. Assuming, he'd gone to his room, Belle had reluctantly settled back into the sofa and had turned her gaze to Gaston, who was explaining to Mr Mandermer, how many eggs he ate for breakfast every morning, strutting like a bodybuilder.
A few minutes had passed, before one of the young maids came to the doorway, and had lightly knocked the door and waited. Everyone had looked to the door, while Belle had launched herself up from the sofa, snatching the opportunity to free herself of her boredom. The young maid had backed up, allowing Belle to come out of the drawing room.
"Yes?" Belle had prompted.
"Dinner's being served, M' Lady." The young maid had then curtsied, bobbin her head.
"Okay, thank you." Nodding her head to the young girl, Belle had backed into the room to address its occupants. "Dinner's being served."
Mr Mandermer had begun to push himself out of his chair, saying. "I'll go and notify Lord Gold."
"Oh, no, no!" She had been very eager in her plea to stop him, waving for him to retake his seat, three pairs of eyes staring at her. "Mr Mandermer, you're our guest. Please sit and I'll go and call Lord Gold to dinner."
"If that's what you wish, my Lady." The knowing grin, he had shown her earlier, was back on his face as he had lowered himself into his chair.
"Belle, you don't…" Her father had begun to tell her, twisting in the armchair.
Hastily, Belle had rushed out of the door, calling back into the room. "It's okay, papa, I won't be long."
It had sounded like Gaston was making a remark to her father, probably along the lines of, 'The lady of the house should not be doing the job of a servant'. She had no care for his opinion. Gaston had made it quite clear to her, on numerous occasions, that once they were wedded, he would put an end to all these silly notions, she had in her head. After their wedding, Belle was positive, he would lock her away in a cage, so all men could see her and he could regale on how he hunted her down and tamed her. 'In his fricking dreams.', Belle had remarked in her head, purposefully striding down the hallway to the foyer.
The footman was stood idly by the front door, posing like a statue, as he waited to perform his duty. Hearing her clicking shoes on the wooden floor, he had let his head turn enough to see her and had edged round to face her, foreseeing she was approaching him. He bowed his head to her, his hands clasped in front of him, as he waited for her to address him.
"Giles, where did Lord Gold go?" She had asked, snooping at the hallway leading to the lower level of the library and her father's study.
"He went upstairs, M' Lady." Was his answer, keeping his head bowed.
She had smiled at him, though he hadn't seen it, telling him. "Thank you, Giles."
As she started to climb the stairs, Belle suddenly felt bad for leaving Mr Mandermer behind in the drawing room, when he had stayed in her company all day, thwarting off Gaston's attempts to talk to her alone. She knew she wouldn't be long as she had finished climbing the stairs and had turned right at the top of the stairs. His room was on the opposite side of the house to hers. It was where her father always put the male guests, keeping the length of the house between their quarters and hers. There were four guest rooms and her father's room on this side of the house. The first room she had passed was always put aside for Gaston, after he commented about liking the view. Whereas Belle questioned, whether he wanted that room, because it was the closest to her room, out of all the other guest rooms.
Following the turn in the hallway, Belle had noticed up ahead, one of the doors to a guest bedroom was open. Softly approaching, she had heard a clinking and swishing sound coming from the open doorway. She had nervously swallowed. Apprehension had promptly burnt through her, making her regret her hasty decision as she had neared the door. A voice, sounding much like her mother's said, 'Do the brave thing, Belle, and bravery will follow'. Pushing forward with those words of encouragement, Belle had approached his door.
"Lord Gold." Belle had called softly, edging through the open doorway.
Hearing a loud hiss, swish of water and a heavy clunk, she had leaned forward, curious, peering around the edge of the door. Not able to see anything from her angle, Belle had taken a considerable step into the room, appearing from behind the door, as she had called his name again.
"Lord Gold, din…"
She stopped.
Lord Gold had been standing before her, half naked, holding a white towel to his face, his chin covered in shaving cream and… 'Oh my… GOD!', she had cried internally, 'LORD GOLD WAS HALF NAKED!'. She hadn't known where to look, yet she hadn't been able take her eyes off him. The tan at his neck flowed down to covered the rest of his body, giving her the startling realisation, he spent a considerable amount of time shirtless. Her toes had curled tightly inside of her shoes with the thought. Belle had wanted to dance, jig about the room, giggling stupidly to herself. Feeling giddy, she had brought her hands up to her chest, scared by her instinct to touch him, to feel him, to kiss her lips to his smooth chest, to explore the small depression in the middle of his upper chest with her tongue.
Tossing his towel to the table, which housed the wash basin, Lord Gold had walked briskly to the bed and had snatched up a shirt from the end of the bed. At a quick pace, he had thrown the shirt on over his head and had wrestled with the fabric, feeding his arms into the sleeves.
"I'm so sorry, Lady French." He had apologised earnestly, his chin covered in shaving cream, with a bright red streak of blood on his left cheek. "I wasn't expecting anyone to come and find me."
"Err… Yes. Well…" She had felt the heat in her cheeks and had wanted to cover her shame with her hands, instead she had looked away, embarrassed for him to see her acting like such a child.
"Was there something you needed?" He had asked her, his tone indifferent to her.
'Yes, you.' She had answered brazenly in her head. The answer had come from nowhere, mortifying her that she could think of such a thing. Yet, Belle had wondered what would happen, if she said it aloud to him. What if she stood there, unloaded all of the feelings and thoughts she'd had since he had entered her father's house. Told him, how she fantasied about doing things to him and of him doing things to her, things she had never thought about before she had met him. What if, she invited him to remove her dress and show her a pleasure, she had never experienced before…?
Crashing back to reality, Belle had shaken her head at herself, telling herself. "No, no, no… No."
"You're very sure on that fact." Lord Gold had sounded like he'd been teasing her. "But I might be inclined to take your four no's and count them as a positive, meaning yes, you do need me for something."
Belle had felt deep lines form in her brow, drawing a total blank to his meaning. "Excuse me?"
He had rolled his eyes at her, probably thinking she was a stupid child, and said. "Lady French, you came to find me for a reason before… Well, you know." His hand had gestured wildly in the air, flapping his undone sleeve. "What was it you were coming to tell me?"
"Oh! Yes! Ha!" She had never felt more stupid than she did in that moment, stood in front of the man, who had been sucking her finger in a fantasy, caressed her breast in a daydream and helped to remove her corset in a daze. "Dinner's being served."
"Thank you, my Lady. I'll be down shortly." And he had bowed.
Groaning at the memory, Belle dropped her head heavily back into her hands, supporting her forehead, her elbows bolstered by her knees. The image of him, half naked, had kept her awake until the wee hours of the morning, when she had decided to give up and read a book. Her imagination though, was definitely against her. Picturing the scenes of her book, intently following the storylines, she had been betrayed by her mind, adding Lord Gold into the scene, topless, taking her attention away from the story. Normally, she would chew through at least five or six chapters in half an hour. Yet, last night, Belle hadn't been able to get through one chapter and had given up, throwing the book across the room.
The hedge near the entrance to the hidden sitting area, unexpectedly started rustling. Leaping up from the stone bench, Belle vainly looked about for an escape route and even considered climbing up and over the hedge wall. The hedge at the entrance wriggled and then shook, before Ruby burst through the very small gap.
"I thought you'd be here." Ruby declared, smiling.
"Where is he?" She demanded, straining to see, if anyone was following her through the secret entrance.
Ruby glanced over her shoulder, following Belle's gaze, as she answered. "It's okay. One of the gardeners has told him, they saw you heading to the coastal path. He'll be gone for hours."
"Thank god!" Belle collapsed onto the stone bench.
Shaking her head, Ruby took the seat next to her, saying. "What are you going to do? You can't keep this up."
"I know, I know." She rubbed a hand over her face and then shifted on the bench to face more to Ruby. "I could run away?"
"And your father would send an army to drag you back." Ruby countered.
Belle pursed her lips in thought. "Fake my death?"
"Bit extreme, isn't it?" Ruby frowned at the suggestion. "I wouldn't be able to see you."
"I'm going to have to accept it and say yes to him." She conceded, staring blankly at the ground.
Ruby nudged her head to the side, a thought coming to mind. "You could always marry someone else."
"Like who?" She inquired, throwing her hand aimlessly into the air, rolling her eyes.
"I don't know, anyone would do, whose single." Ruby threw back at Belle.
Belle rounded her gaze on Ruby. "I can't just marry anybody. Father has to give his permission as I'm under twenty-one."
"Who do we know then?" Ruby prompted, meeting Belle's gaze.
"Nearly everyone I know has been married off." Belle made a 'pfft' noise before she continued. "It's not as if I had suitors bashing down the door before Gaston."
"That's because, you went to all those balls and spent more time in their libraries than you did in the actual ballroom." Ruby commented, nudging Belle's shoulder.
Her shoulder's sunk at Ruby's comment. "I can't help it, if I find those social events boring."
"You wouldn't be in this situation, if you'd spent more time dancing and less time reading." Ruby admonished, digging her fingers into Belle's ribs.
"Alright, this isn't helping!" Belle asserted in a loud voice, fighting off Ruby's attempts to poke her.
Ruby chuckled, suggesting. "You should just marry Mr Mandermer or Lord Gold. You said, they're both widowers."
"Don't be ridiculous." She rejected Ruby's suggestion without thinking it through.
"It's not that ridiculous." Ruby defended. "Your idea about faking your death is ridiculous."
Her brow, bit by bit, lowered down over her eyes as she allowed the idea to ripen. It would solve her issue. She wouldn't earn a questionable reputation, from refusing Gaston, which she knew he would encourage in a bid to put anyone else off her. Leaving her no choice, but to accept his proposal. Lord Gold and Mr Mandermer were both widowers – single. Both appeared to be honourable gentlemen and well established in their own right, which wouldn't give her father any reason to refuse them. The thing, her father might object, was the fact that they had just met, where as she and he knew Gaston, regrettably. Apart from her secret interrogation of Mr Mandermer, she hardly knew anything about either of them, except they both had a child.
Belle bit her lip, pondering which one she would proposition, despite knowing exactly who she wanted to choose. They'd hardly spoken to one another, except at dinner and in the drawing room before she'd retire for the night, which had been polite conversation. Convincing a man, when they hardly knew each other, to marry her was ludicrous. Nevertheless, she didn't really see what other choice she had. Either, she persuaded Lord Gold to marry her or she would have to accept her fate and marry Gaston.