Prologue
“I do not think that is quite correct, Father.” Tabitha glanced at him and then lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. “I do not mean to correct you, of course, but I am sure that the speed of printing exceeds over a thousand pages in an hour.”
Her father, the Earl of Dunoon, blinked back at her. “I...I beg your pardon?”
“I read of it recently,” Tabitha answered, as her sister, Prudence, looked back at her with her mouth agape.
“It was around two hundred an hour before, I believe. Now, however, this method of steam printing has multiplied the rate to over a thousand! That is quite exceptional, is it not?” She looked around at the table, seeing her brother and his wife gazing at her with astonishment in their eyes.
Her father was beginning to turn red, her mother looking down at the plate of food before her whilst Prudence still had her mouth open.
Tabitha swallowed. “Did I say something wrong?”
“You… you are a bluestocking?” Her brother, Thomas, glanced first at his mother and then at his father. “Do you mean to say, Father, that you have permitted my sister to become so? I am most astonished, I must say.”
A thump of her father’s fist onto the table made Tabitha start in surprise, then flushed red as he narrowed his eyes at her.
“I did not realise just how much you were reading, Tabitha. This cannot go on!”
Her heart leapt up in fright. “I am not doing wrong! I am only reading the books in your library. There can be nothing whatsoever wrong with that.”
“Oh yes, there can be a good deal wrong with that,” her father responded, angrily. “I will not have my daughter called a bluestocking. Do you know the shame that would bring to this family? Do you know how few gentlemen would even think to consider you?”
Tabitha dropped her head, her eyes filling with tears.
She had made her come out earlier this year and all had gone well.
Her father and mother had been pleased with her, telling her that she would be able to make a good match the following year without any difficulty whatsoever.
Was this now all to be thrown aside just because she had discovered a recent love for reading and learning?
“You cannot continue to learn as you have been doing, Tabitha.” Her brother, who had no right to speak to her in such a commanding tone, sniffed and shook his head. “Young ladies ought not to know about such things as steam printing and the like.”
“Why ever not?” Tabitha asked, her voice trembling as a flurry of emotions overtook her.
Her love for reading had begun in London, when she had stepped into one of the largest bookshops in all of England, taken there by a good friend, Lady Helena.
Looking all about her, she had been overwhelmed by just how much there was there for her to learn and understand.
That had not dissuaded her, however. She had picked up one book and then another and from there, an insatiable desire to read as much as she could had taken hold.
It had opened up a new world to her, one where she could step into another land and near enough see the creatures and the landscape there.
It was one where she could understand why the steam press was so vitally important and how that in itself was changing the world around her.
To have that taken away was too dreadful a thought to consider!
“Because it is not expected of young ladies, that is why.” The Earl drew himself up in his seat, sitting with his shoulders pulled back and head held high as if to remind her of his authority.
“You are not to touch another book unless it is either poetry or some mindless novel. Do I make myself quite clear?”
Tabitha opened her mouth to argue but caught the glint in her father’s eye, telling her that the steel in his gaze was also reflected in his decisions.
No matter what she said, there would be no changing his mind.
Her gaze flicked to her mother who was sitting quietly, her hands in her lap but her eyes still on the plate before her.
She had not said a word and Tabitha did not know whether or not that meant she agreed with the Earl or if she was simply keeping her own counsel so as not to upset him.
“Do I make myself clear, Tabitha?”
Her eyes flooded with tears but she could only nod, knowing that there was nothing for her to say or to argue with. Her father had made his decision and that meant, she would not be able to continue on as she had done.
“You want to make a good match, do you not?” Prudence asked, as Tabitha fought to hold her tears back. “A gentleman of the ton will never look at a bluestocking, you can be sure of that!”
Her heart sank as Tabitha picked up her spoon and began to try and eat her dessert.
Prudence would not understand. She was not at all inclined towards reading and the like, preferring to embroider or paint – both of which were acceptable pastimes for any young lady.
Tabitha had never been exceptional at either hobby and found embroidery very dull indeed, which was why reading had taken such a hold of her.
Now to have all that stolen away from her simply because her father demanded it was galling indeed.
“My man of business was telling me that there are some investment opportunities I should consider,” her brother began, changing the conversation entirely. “Would you be interested in hearing them?”
As the conversation went on, a conversation that neither she, her mother, sister in law or Prudence could join in with, Tabitha’s heart began to grow stubborn.
Once the wave of pain and shock had begun to draw back, she was left with a determination to ignore what had been directed and do just as she wished.
She would not let her father take her love of reading from her!
Why should she? There was no real reason for him to do so, aside from the fact that he thought it unsuitable.
Well aware that society thought poorly of bluestockings, Tabitha determined that if she was to keep it a secret from her family, then she could do the same with society.
No-one would have to know that she was more learned than a young lady ought to be, would they?
Even if she were to make a good match, her husband, whoever he might be, would not have to know of her passion.
That is precisely what I shall do, Tabitha told herself, eating her dessert with a little more relish now.
Whether I am forbidden or not, I will do whatever I can to make sure I continue to read.
Her heart lifted and she smiled to herself.
One way or another, she would not be held back from something that brought her so much joy. She was determined.
***
Sneaking a book into her basket, Tabitha covered it quickly with a cloth and then walked immediately out of the library. She did not hesitate but continued on down the staircase, making her way directly to the front door of the manor house.
“Tabitha? Is that you?”
She stopped short, turning to look up at her mother who was now standing at the stop of the staircase. “Yes, it is. Good morning to you.”
“I did not see you break your fast.” With a small frown flickering across her forehead, the Countess of Dunoon began to descend. “Are you going out into the gardens so early? The weather does not look to be particularly warm and you are not wearing your bonnet!”
Tabitha’s heart began to pound as her mother drew closer, afraid that she would see the cloth in the basket and might guess as to what Tabitha was doing. “No, I am not but I do not think that I need it today. The sun is hiding behind the clouds, as you have already noted yourself.”
The Countess came directly towards Tabitha, her eyes holding fast to hers as Tabitha herself then fought to keep her expression calm and nonchalant.
She had risen early in the hope of making her way to the gardens and finding herself a quiet space in which to read and now she feared her mother might put an end to all such plans.
She might also have to face the consequences of her disobedience from her father, should he be told of it.
“Do you wish to join me?” Tabitha asked, as her mother continued to look at her shrewdly. “I thought to go and pick some berries.”
“We have servants to do that.”
Tabitha laughed in what she hoped was a light manner. “I am well aware of that, Mama, but I am quite contented to wander through the grounds and do the same myself. There is something quite lovely about doing so in the autumn time.”
“You should be wearing something warmer.” The Countess put a hand on Tabitha’s arm. “The wind is cold and...”
“I shall be quite all right. And if I become chilled, then I will return home at once, you need have no concern.”
Her mother held her gaze for a long moment, then sighed, smiled and stepped away. “You are so very different to your siblings. I do not think I know what to make of you sometimes!”
Tabitha recoiled inwardly, seeing the smile on her mother’s face and yet feeling the words striking at her, hard. Choosing not to continue on the conversation, one which had been discussed many times in the past, Tabitha gave her a nod and then turned to the door.
Whilst there was relief in her heart that she had managed to make her way out of doors with the book in her basket, Tabitha’s heart ached with the pain of her mother’s words.
Fully aware that she was very different in comparison to her elder brother Thomas and her elder sister, Prudence, Tabitha had never felt herself less than them in any way.
Not until very recently. With a heavy heart, she stepped out into the fresh air, waiting for it to bring her the joy she usually felt, only for her heart to begin to weigh her down so heavily, she had nothing but sorrow there instead.
Her shoulders rounding, she made her way along the path towards the edge of the estate, where she would come to a forest, one which she knew well.
It had been something of a solace for her of late, somewhere she might go in order to find herself comforted by the solitude and the quiet it brought to her thoughts.
Her lips twisted as her head lowered when she meandered slowly along the path and her book was forgotten.
It had been near to a month ago when her father had declared that she had been reading far too much and could not be a bluestocking for fear of shaming herself and her family but Tabitha had not given up.
Rising early or staying awake very late indeed had been her solution to sneak books out of the house and to read them either in the arbor or in the stables.
It was getting colder now and Tabitha was not at all certain how she would continue reading when she had nowhere private to go.
The manor house was certainly large but that did not mean that she would be able to find a place where she could not be disturbed.
I know I am not the same as Prudence but that does not mean I am without worth.
Her throat constricted as tears began to threaten but she pushed them back without too much difficulty.
Tabitha had always been aware of just how different she and Prudence had been.
Prudence had always been a good deal more confident within society, had always been eager to laugh and dance and smile whilst Tabitha found herself to be a little more restrained.
Prudence sang beautifully and during their Season, had often been called upon to entertain whilst Tabitha sat and listened only.
Prudence was the one who had shone like a diamond of the first water, with Tabitha trailing after her.
It was not as if Tabitha wanted to be just like Prudence but what she did want was for her hobbies and enjoyments not to be dismissed without thought.
It seemed that this, however, was to be inevitable.
Making her way into the forest, Tabitha took the familiar path to the large tree in the center where she usually sat. There was a large enough hole within the tree itself for her to sit in, should it begin to rain or if the wind was too wild and there, Tabitha was sure, she would find her solace.
“I shall also have to pick a few blackberries,” she reminded herself aloud. “Mother will be expecting them.”
Sighing to herself, Tabitha rounded the path, expecting to see the tree and nothing more, only for an unexpected sight to make her gasp in fright.
Two gentlemen were there, with one having the other pinned to the tree with one arm, his other arm raised in a fist. As she watched, it slammed into the gentleman’s face, making her wince as the fellow cried out in pain.
“You have ruined me!” she heard the first gentleman cry aloud, the second gentleman seemingly desperate to break free as he writhed. “How could you do such a thing?”
“It was not my doing, truly!”
The first gentleman rose his fist in the air again and Tabitha, unable to help herself, rushed forward. “Stop!”
Her voice had not only the first gentleman turning to look at her but the second able then to escape. Pushing the first gentleman back, he slipped out from under his arm and before Tabitha could say a word, he had rushed away from them both.
Breathing hard, Tabitha stared into the eyes of the gentleman before her.
He was in his shirtsleeves, his waistcoat open and swinging lightly as he moved.
A shock of dark hair, damp with sweat, clung to his forehead.
There was anger in his gaze, his blue eyes dark, his eyebrows furrowing as he advanced towards her.
Letting out a squeak of fright, Tabitha turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could, back along the path that led home. Her basket and book quite forgotten and left in the forest. Whatever had she just witnessed? And just who was that dark haired gentleman?