Page 91 of The Laudanum Ladies' Society
‘Not really.’
Gwen tapped on the door.
‘Go away.’ The unmistakable, petulant tones of a young girl rang out. Danny looked at a loss. Gwen opened the door and marched in, clapping her hands together briskly.
‘Ruth, I’ve come to check on your welfare.’
‘I don’t want you to.’
Ruth was sitting on the bed swinging her feet. Bella was curled up in a nest made of blankets underneath the window, fast asleep.
‘You look well,’ Gwen said, coming to sit next to her. ‘Ruth, I must ask a delicate question. Could you be with child? Were you made to do anything with the men?’
‘Nothing I didn’t want to do,’ Ruth said, lifting her chin insolently. Danny groaned quietly from the doorway. Gwen lifted her chin, looking back at Ruth equally boldly until the girl looked down at her feet.
‘We talked and we kissed and cuddled. But I didn’t go any further than that. Miss Salisbury, she said it would be a pity to waste me.’
From the corner of her eye, Gwen saw Danny sag with relief, but Ruth had not finished.
‘Miss Salisbury said that I could be rich and famous. That I could find lots of men who would take me to the best places. She said I had a beautiful voice?—’
‘Ruth, you are being utterly ridiculous,’ Danny snapped, stepping forward. ‘She would have prostituted you out to anyone and you would not have had a say in the matter. Your life would have been degrading and short.’
Gwen reached out and put her hand on his arm to calm him.
‘It’s very possible Miss Salisbury was telling the truth. Sheis a sophisticated courtesan, who works for men of wealth and taste. She might have trained you to do the same, but you would still have been relying on the benevolence of your patrons and at risk from disease, and pregnancy.’
But how was that different to the lives of most women? she thought ruefully. Selina lived life on her own terms, in luxury that Gwen couldn’t imagine. Augusta owned and ran two businesses, possibly even more, and had the respect of men on her staff, even if they were rogues. They were more successful than Gwen was, even if their standards were not conventional.
‘Don’t ruin your life when you are so young,’ she said gently.
‘You’re a plain old woman. What do you know about it?’ Ruth sneered.
‘Ruth Wynn, mind your tongue!’ Danny growled.
Gwen sucked her teeth. Ruth was not particularly kind, but she sensed she was just speaking honestly. She gestured to her face.
‘Yes, I am old. My son is older than you, in fact, and quite frankly he has made mistakes of his own that I would un-make for him if I could, but I can’t.’ She swallowed. ‘And I do know about regret and bad choices, and unwanted babies, because I had one.’
Gwen saw the surprise register on Ruth’s face and heard a hastily swallowed gasp from Danny. Her cheeks and neck flamed.
‘I was a little older than you are now, but I was reckless and foolish, and Archie was the result.’
She walked slowly back to the bed, as if she were approaching a frightened puppy, and took Ruth’s hand. Thegirl resisted slightly, but Gwen held on and eventually felt the muscles softening as Ruth accepted her touch.
‘You have no mother, which is hard on a young girl, but you have an uncle who cares for you deeply. Go back to Wales and try living your life there. Make the memory of your mother proud of you.’
Ruth’s lips wobbled and she looked very young again. Gwen patted her hand and walked back with Danny into the other room. He shut the door quietly.
She was taken completely aback when he clutched hold of her hands and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. His gentle breath tickled the side of her neck and Gwen felt peace descend.
‘Thank you for trying to help Ruth,’ he whispered.
They stood holding each other for a moment, until Gwen shifted her posture and looked up at him.
‘Is that true about your son?’ he asked quietly. ‘The pregnancy before you were wed, I mean?’
‘Yes, I fell very deeply in love with Archibald, and I let myself be swept away. We both did,’ she added in fairness to her husband.
