Free The Apothecary's Daughter by Charlotte Betts Page B

her.
    ‘Wherever have you been, Miss Susannah?’ asked Jennet.
    ‘I went to see Martha.’
    ‘Well, you’d better get yourself upstairs. The mistress is in one of her moods.’ Jennet went to the sink where she dropped
     a handful of sand into the soup pot and started to scour it vigorously, her broad hips wobbling from side to side as she scrubbed.
     She glanced back over her shoulder. ‘Tidy yourself up first. Your face is dirty and your hair looks as if it hasn’t seen a
     comb since Michaelmas last.’
    ‘I met some people who thought I was sickening. They threw stones at me and I had to run away.’
    ‘Never! People are that nervous right now. Brings out the worst in them. Yesterday I heard of a Dutchman who was set upon
     and beaten because it was the Dutch who first brought the plague to the city. Anyhow, get yourself upstairs or the mistress
     will be throwingstones at you, too. The master wasn’t pleased he couldn’t find you, neither. By the way, there’s a visitor.’
    ‘Visitor?’
    ‘Your friend. That Mr Savage.’
    ‘Oh!’ A sudden stab of pleasure made Susannah smile. ‘Perhaps you should put on your best dress?’ Jennet gave Susannah a sly
     look over her shoulder.
    As Susannah hurried upstairs, her father poked his head out from the parlour. ‘There you are! Mr Savage is here.’
    ‘Jennet told me. I’m just going to wash my face and I’ll join you.’
    ‘Quickly, then!’
    In her bedchamber Susannah poured clean water into the basin to remove the dust and tear-stains from her face. Her underskirt
     was dirty from her dash through the streets and she hastily brushed the hem before running downstairs again. She paused outside
     the parlour door to pinch her cheeks to bring the colour back and then went in.
    ‘Susannah, at last!’ said Arabella with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. ‘As you can see, Mr Savage has come to visit us.’
    ‘How kind of you to call,’ said Susannah.
    Henry Savage, dressed in a gold brocade waistcoat and with a froth of lace at his cuffs, came forward to take her hand. ‘I
     was determined to wait until you returned home and your father and stepmother have been plying me with excellent cakes and
     ale.’
    ‘Mr Savage has a particular reason for calling upon us today,’ said Cornelius, smiling at her.
    It was then that she knew why Mr Savage had come. Her heart began to beat as fast as a drum and her mouth turned dry.
    Arabella stood up with a rustle of taffeta skirts. ‘Cornelius, my dear, I think we should allow Mr Savage a few moments alone
     with Susannah.’ She swept from the room and Cornelius followed with a backward look of encouragement to his daughter.
    After the door had closed behind them, Susannah and Mr Savage were left face to face in awkward silence.
    ‘I expect you can guess what it is I wish to say to you?’ His teeth were very white when he smiled.
    ‘No, indeed,’ stammered Susannah.
    ‘Come, there is no need to dissemble with me,’ he said. ‘You must know that I hold you in high regard? I have been in London
     for some weeks now and my importing business is going well. My prospects are good and I intend to put down my roots here.’
    ‘Do you have no intention of returning to Barbados?’
    ‘My future is here in London. And to that end I wish to ask if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife?’
    Susannah swallowed and looked out of the window. What to say? The thought of escaping from a household where she was little
     more than a nuisance was vastly appealing. And she liked Henry Savage. She liked him a great deal. He was charming and cheerful
     with a sense of humour that made her laugh. She didn’t love him, of course, but in time she might. But how could she possibly
     risk …
    ‘Miss Leyton; Susannah. May I call you that?’
    ‘I … I’m not sure you should, Mr Savage.’
    ‘But if we are to become betrothed it is perfectly allowable.’
    She held her breath, her thoughts whirling as if she