An Unexpected Seduction

Turned upside down.

Friday was upon Isabella before she had time to blink. She awoke to the feeling of butterflies in her stomach accompanied with nervous anticipation as to how the day would pass. The grandfather clock had just chimed 8am as she made her way downstairs to eat some breakfast with the intention of trying to dispel the pesky feeling.

The sight she was met with when she entered the dining room was not what she had expected. There, crouched over the table was her father, his forehead pressed against the dark mahogany wood. Letters were strewn all around and her mother who normally portrayed an air of grace and decorum was silently crying. Large teardrops cascaded down her face and a general air of despair hung all around. On seeing Isabella she slowly raised her head and in a croaky voice that conveyed the deepest heartbreak spoke just above a whisper:

"Your father has finally ruined us".

Isabella was in shock, her already unsettled stomach now lurched, and she felt she might be sick. She rushed to her mother, kneeling beside her and beseeching said "what's wrong mama, it can't be all that bad?".

"I'm afraid it is my dear, debt collectors have just come by and it appears that your father owes an exorbitant amount of money all over town, too much to be repaid even if he worked to the end of his days!". Isabella's head was reeling "how could this be, Papa is this true?".

Her father did not reply but instead she saw his shoulders begin to shake as he broke into sob. Isabella ran to him, embracing him in a hug "Papa what can I do?" Isabella exhaled. "There is nothing to be done my dear, the fault is mine and there is no remedy except to deal with the consequences" he said.

"I'm sorry to say but my fate is set for me, I am to live out my days in debtors prison, your mother and you shall go to stay with your aunt in Bath*" he proclaimed with as much strength as he could muster. "What! This can't be...there must be another solution" Isabella cried.

"Sadly there isn't my dear, the bailiffs want the house acquitted by the end of the next week and I am to be in court on Monday. I will be sentenced and imprisoned thereafter. I would have been taken this morning had not my friend pulled some strings so as I could attend to my affairs, and say goodbye".

 Isabella began to weep, how could her whole life be turned upside down in a matter of minutes? "But father what are we to do?" Isabella beseeched.

"Your aunt will take good care of you both. I'm so sorry dear daughter, I do not know what else to say...I hope you will forgive me someday" he proclaimed. His eyes looked vacant like he was somehow removed from the situation before him.

With that, he turned and walked to the front door, grabbing a bottle of brandy from a cabinet as he went. The door slammed and he was gone. Isabella ran to her room and threw herself onto her bed. Her head was spinning and tears were now streaming down her face, soaking patches of her floral bed cover. An hour passed and she had no more tears to cry, she had always been resilient and so she tried to surface any remaining strength she had to formulate a plan.

She had read stories of impoverished educated ladies who had become household maids and teachers and although the idea seemed foreign and otherworldly to someone whose sole purpose from birth was to marry well; Isabella knew she had to make it work. Her aunt in Bath* was a kindly lady but she was by no means wealthy, on the contrary she and her husband had struggled in the past to rear and marry their 2 daughters to suitable husbands.Therefore, Isabella knew she would face hardship once more in taking both her and her mother in.

It was not fair that she should have to pay for someone else's mistake and Isabella knew that as a highly educated lady, there must be some employment that she could find to help support her mother, and keep her father as comfortable as possible in prison.

The thought of him in a cold dark prison caused her heart to ache, although he had been unequivocally foolish she still loved him in spite of his many vices, gambling and alcohol included. Her mind worked as she came up with a plan to find out a local newspapers address and advertise for a post as a teacher.

Literature and French were subjects she had excelled in so she tried to raise her confidence by telling herself "I can do this!".  Just then the doorbell rang and she visibly jumped, her mind raced before her heart almost stopped in shock "Alexander" she mouthed.

With the morning's events, she had completely forgotten about their meeting, she felt like hiding under her bed and waiting for the situation to disappear.

"How can I see him now!" she exhaled as her breath trembled.

A sudden burst of resilience emerged again and she thought- "well if this is the last time I will see him, I might as well make the most of it and meet him... this day cannot get any worse anyway!"

With that she bounded down the stairs and reached the front door just as he was emerging from the carriage. There was a look of disgruntlement on his face "Is she here or not" he had just said to Arthur the butler before he stopped abruptly in his tracks, a smile then erupting to dash all traces of annoyance.

"Hmmm I see you like to keep a man waiting" he said before stepping forward and lifting her hand to place a searing kiss onto it, to her shock he then flipped it and placed a kiss on the inside of her wrist. Isabella's heart leapt and then raced as he lifted his blue grey eyes to stare into her hazel ones.

To be continued...

* Bath is a city in  South West England, 97 miles (156 km) west of London.