A Shameful Secret by Anne Ireland

benefit and, unlike some gentlemen, did not wish to stay and ogle the ladies who took the hot baths. They had arranged to spend the afternoon at a gentlemen’s club where they would take some exercise in the form of a little sparring with a retired pugilist.
     
    * * * *
     
    Nothing was said of this to the ladies, of course, and they all expressed a wish to meet again that evening. Hester noticed that some of the sparkle left Lucinda’s eyes after Josh’s departure, though she smiled and chattered to the friends they encountered at the Pump Room. Feeling an unspoken sympathy for her, Hester admitted to herself that she also experienced a loss of pleasure when the gentlemen had departed.
    She told herself that it was foolish to allow her happiness to reside in one particular person, but though she tried to be sensible, she could not change her feelings. She had become attached to Captain Crawford despite her determination not to give her heart. Since it had already happened, there was no point in denying it, but she must take the greatest care not to let him guess the truth.
    Hester must continue to behave as if they were merely friends for the remainder of their stay in Bath.
    When they met again that evening, she greeted him with her usual smile, but since he was promised to Lady Blackwater as her partner at Whisk, she accepted Henry Blackwater as her own partner.
    “We do well together, Miss Weston,” Henry said when they were successful for a third hand. “I believe you bring me good fortune.”
    “You are very good to say so,” Hester said and laughed. He was putting on one of his droll faces, and she knew exactly what was amusing him for a gentleman with a rather odd taste in waistcoats had just entered the room. “No, no, sir! You must not make me laugh or I shall forget what card I have laid.”
     
    * * * *
     
    At supper, Hester joined her friends, but Henry accompanied her, mixing easily with the others and teasing both Lucinda and Geraldine. However, his manner towards her was most particular and was remarked about by more than one of the company. Indeed, Lady Blackwater herself had become aware that her nephew was paying attention to Hester, and she made a point of seeking Charlotte out that evening.
    “What kind of family are they?” she asked pointedly. “Has the Weston gel any prospects?”
    “Not from her family,” Charlotte replied honestly. “However, I think I shall settle fifteen thousand on her when she marries.”
    “Fifteen thousand?” Lady Blackwater nodded. The Countess of Danbury was known to be generous and could afford to be. Her maternal grandfather had been a wealthy man and had left her a huge fortune in trust, and she had married well twice. “That is very satisfactory—but what of the bloodline? I trust they are gentlefolk?”
    “Country gentry,” Charlotte said hiding her smile at this grilling. “Nothing to distinguish them as a family, but Araminta Weston was a Sefton. Her father was the third son of the earl.”
    “Ah . . .” Lady Blackwater smiled with satisfaction. “Very well. I am glad we have had this little talk. No more needs to be said for the moment, but I have no objection to the gel.”
    “Hester is a good girl,” Charlotte replied. “I love her dearly.”
    “Then we must await events, must we not, my dear countess?”
    The two ladies looked at each other in mutual agreement. Neither lady doubted that Henry Blackwater would make Hester an offer, and naturally she would accept, for it was an excellent match.
     
    * * * *
     
    Hester was sublimely unaware of all these people making plans for her future. She went home happily at the end of the evening, content with having won a little pin money and having enjoyed herself. Undressing, she sat before her mirror and dreamed of the life that might have been hers had she never met the Earl of Mortimer’s grandson.
    Hester had just finished dressing in a pretty rose-pink walking gown the next morning when