The woman’s gaze fell to her lap, as if ashamed.
“That place is nasty business, Miss. Ye don’t want to go there,” the woman replied.
“What kind of business?” Bridget asked.
“A business that will no longer take me and a business that would love to have the likes of you,” the woman said, slowly raising her eyes back up to Bridget. “Are ye lookin’ for work?”
Another shiver passed down Bridget’s spine.
“No,” she said softly. “But I am looking for someone who might be there.”
“I did not think ye were,” the woman noted, looking Bridget up and down again. “Too pure ye are. I can feel it comin’ of ye in waves. Ye do not want to visit the Blue Parrot, Miss. They’ll take that from ye right away, they will.”
The woman’s warning caused a sour feeling to erupt in Bridget’s belly. Men, she decided then and there, were despicable creatures.
Still, I have to find Warren.
“I will not let them take anything from me,” Bridget swore, not only to the woman but to herself. “Now, please, it is imperative that you tell me where the Blue Parrot is.”
The woman’s eyes shone with pity, but she raised her thin arm and pointed a long, crooked finger down the street.
“Two doors down on your left side. Play the part and tell the guard that yer lord husband ordered ye special.”
Bridget turned back to the woman with a startled quickness, her eyes wide.
“I know a lady when I see one,” the woman said, standing up. “Even if she is not in a pretty dress or wearin’ jewels. So will the guard, and if he believes ye are a wife, ye have no chance of finding yer husband.”
A blush of embarrassment bloomed in Bridget’s cheeks as she watched the woman take her daughter’s hand and walk away in the orangish-red sunlight, the hue growing deeper by the moment. She clutched her throat as she wondered what the woman had been through.
“I wish I had more to give you,” Bridget whispered.
With a heavy heart, she turned back to the door that would lead her to her husband. She needed to find Warren and put an end to his humiliating behavior once and for all.
Play the part,the woman’s words echoed in Bridget’s mind.
What did she mean? Could she possibly…
She took off her cloak and looked down at herself, thinking for a moment. Then she drew her dagger from her belt and made a small cut at the center of her white bodice; then she ripped it open a little further until her cleavage was apparent and easily seen. She drew the dagger down the side of the brown skirt, creating a slit from her thigh to her ankle.
Bridget blushed deeply as she did so. She had never been so bare in public! Next, she undid her braid and tossed her long, curly hair, fluffing it until it looked wilder and messier. Then she drew part of it up, using the small dagger to hold it in place, then drew a couple of long strands down around the sides of her face.
She pinched her cheeks and her lips until she felt them begin to swell and fuse with blood, then drew in a deep, steadying breathas she thought of Bella the Barmaid. She was bold. Unapologetic. Blunt. All of the things Bridget had shied away from. Until now.
Bridget opened her eyes, feeling a spirited thrill coursing through her veins as she sauntered toward the door, gave a knock, then planted her fists sassily on her hips.
I can do this. I can.
The door was swung open by a tall, fit, bald-headed man in a black suit with brown eyes that grew wide as he took Bridget in. She smirked, batted her lashes flirtatiously, and leaned in toward him.
“You’re new,” the man muttered as his gaze fell toward her bosom.
“And special, love,” Bridget added, doing her best to mimic Bella’s accent and demeanor. “I am here for the Earl of Winslow and the Earl of Winslow only.”
“Winslow has not been here in four days,” the man said, his eyes still riveted on Bridget’s swell of cleavage.
Bridget faltered for a moment.Four days? Why hadn’t he gone back for William then?
“However, you come in and talk to Charlie; I guarantee he will pay ye just as much as the Earl did to take up one of our vacant rooms,” the bald man went on. “We’ve got a house full of gentlemen tonight that would love to take the likes of ye for a ride.”
