Escaping to Bath
Meredith's Tender Awakening: Chapter 3.2
Regency Romance following Meredith Millais ~ a poised young woman, experiencing her first season in society.
Aunt Cecily sat across from Meredith. Watching the feather on her aunt’s elegant bonnet swish gently with the motion of the carriage, she saw its echo in the green heads of barley in the fields, standing tall but stirred by the breeze.
“I wish I could paint,” she sighed in the silence that hung between them. “I’d love to capture some of these views.”
“Your mother used to sketch quite beautifully,” Aunt Cecily smile was fond. “Did you not inherit her gift?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Meredith fiddled with the cords of her reticule. “Music is the only talent I can boast, and my playing of the pianoforte is only adequate.”
“You sing beautifully dear one,” Aunt Cecily countered, “and you’re a fine and elegant dancer.”
“You’re kind Aunt Cecily, and probably biased, but thank you.”
She looked out of the carriage again, enchanted by the fluffy white clouds sewn onto a background of blue sky. These were mirrored by white sheep with black faces grazing in pastures beyond the hedgerow. It was peaceful on country roads, albeit the surface was more rutted and bumpy.
“We will stop at the next coaching inn, take luncheon, and stretch our legs,” her aunt advised. “In the meantime, I intend to nap, do you have a book?”
Meredith smiled and withdrew a small volume of poetry from her reticule, but she did not open it for several miles more, being so taken with the changing scenery.
“Oh my goodness!” Aunt Cecily exclaimed as a coachman helped her down from the carriage. “That last stretch of road was positively bone-rattling!”
Meredith watched, wide-eyed with wonder, the bustle around the inn, assessing travelers from all walks of life as they went about their business, walking, talking, many directing luggage loading in preparation for their journey. Dogs barked and a ginger cat chased two russet-coloured chickens until they flapped their wings, managing to elevate themselves out of its reach.
“Let me show you to a room where you can be private. Make yourself comfortable here and I’ll have Libby bring you some refreshment.” The landlady chattered solicitously as she guided them inside the hostelry.
The corridors of the establishment were narrow and gloomy, lit by tallow candles, but the room into which they were shown was clean and comfortably, if simply, decorated.
Her aunt ordered food and drink, and Meredith was glad to wash her hands and remove her bonnet.
“Are we nearly there Aunt?” she asked hopefully.
“No child, it will be evening by the time we reach Bath, and the route gets much more hilly.”
Meredith was disappointed to learn that her approach to the famous city would be cloaked by darkness, but she hoped navigating some steep roads in a carriage would be exciting. She couldn’t have known what to expect.
If you’re curious about what happens next, this is just a taster.
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