Page 22 of Rogue’s Holiday

Chapter 6

“Good fortune, my dears!” Aunt Agatha pronounced from her seat at the head of the dining table as Chastity and Rose joined her for breakfast a few days later. Her great-aunt had donned an orange morning gown with puffed sleeves and stripes of bright yellow ribbon from the high waist to the hem. It was a surprising choice of colors for a lady her age but they suited her lively personality.

Chastity instantly thought of slippers she would design that would complement the dress. Taking her seat, she asked, “What is this good fortune?”

“Maria Fitzherbert has invited us to tea tomorrow afternoon!”

“Lovely!” exclaimed Chastity. “I so look forward to meeting her.” Placing a slice of pound cake on her plate, she watched the footman pour steaming chocolate into her cup, the morning drink favored by her great-aunt.

“How was your seaside stroll?” asked Aunt Agatha, rising to look out the window. “Windy, I expect, as the branches of the trees are blowing around.”

Rose set down her coffee. “Our walk was most refreshing, Lady Sanborn.”

“Brisk, if the truth be told,” said Chastity. She had been glad for the fire burning in the hearth that gave warmth to the room. “You are right about the wind, Aunt. The wind off the Channel was downright cold. And if one is to walk along the shore, one must traverse over rocks. Definitely a cause for half boots and not slippers,” she said, shooting a glance at Rose who had worn what Chastity considered an insubstantial pair of shoes for such an outing.

Aunt Agatha returned to her seat. “Ah, yes, the shingles are a nuisance. As for ‘brisk’, it will grow warmer as the day goes on, though the shingles will remain. If you enjoy the seafront, one thing you simply must try is sea bathing. The dippers, who assist you to the water, operate all year as cold seawater is considered beneficial.”

Chastity shivered, still chilled from her walk with Rose. Taking up her chocolate, she took a hearty drink of the warm liquid. “The idea of sea bathing appeals but perhaps not in frigid water.”

Aunt Agatha reached over and patted Chastity’s hand. “I always like to wait for a warm day myself before seeking out the bathing machines. By then, everyone will be flocking to the water, of course.”

“Bathing machine?” asked Rose.

“Those small chambers that are wheeled into the water so that a lady may take the seawaters in privacy. ’Tis quite invigorating.”

The idea of swimming, perhaps without clothes, sounded delightfully wicked to Chastity. “I think I would like to try that.”

“Then you shall,” said her great-aunt. “We all shall,” she enthused. “In the meantime, until the weather warms, there will be shopping and other things to occupy us.”

“I would love to go to a shop that sells silk cloth,” Chastity said. “I’ve a mind to purchase some for slippers.”

“Slippers?” asked Aunt Agatha.

“Chastity designs shoes,” said Rose. “Beautiful slippers and half boots. You should ask her to show you the ones she brought with her that are her own designs.”

“How is it I never knew this?”

Chastity recalled just when she began to design shoes in earnest. “I don’t think I was doing as much of it when I last saw you, not as I am now.”

“I should be most interested to see them,” said Aunt Agatha with a smile. “Let me see, what else might you two look forward to? Well, soirées, which reminds me, I am planning a reception to introduce you to my friends.”

Chastity exchanged a knowing look with Rose, suspecting they both pictured a gathering of white-haired men and women speaking of the days gone by, but she would not discourage her great-aunt’s kindness. “When might that be, Aunt?”

“I am thinking ’twill be a week from Saturday. That will allow time for word to spread that I have young, attractive guests.”

Chastity helped herself to another piece of cake, thinking of the evening gowns she and Rose had packed. She had only to decide what shoes she would wear.

As the morning wore on, the weather turned dismal. Chastity spent the middle of the day inside, her sketchpad in her lap, designing slippers for her aunt. Rose, sitting beside her, read a novel. Her great-aunt, whose chair, like theirs, faced the warming fire, devoted herself to needlework. As Chastity looked closer, she glimpsed embroidery featuring an intricate sunflower in bright yellow. It gave her an idea for the shoes she would design.

“Aunt,” said Chastity, “since we’re to take tea with Mrs. Fitzherbert tomorrow afternoon, might you tell us more about your friend?”

Aunt Agatha looked up from her needlework. “I’ll be interested in your opinion once you’ve met her. I find Maria as poised as any noblewoman, perhaps more so. She conducts herself with all propriety, even teases me for my extravagant ways. I suppose I should add she is still lovely even at two and sixty though she has become a bit plump. But then the same could be said of me,” she added with a twinkle in her eye. “There are men in Brighton who seek her company but, for the most part, she remains a solitary figure, still faithful to her unfaithful husband.”

“But they are not together,” put in Rose.

“No,” said Aunt Agatha sadly. “After nearly ten years as man and wife, he cast her off to marry that German princess who was foisted upon him.”

“That hasn’t gone well,” said Chastity.