Finding Bliss (6 page)

If I’d listened to Bliss, I’d be nearly home! I’d still
have my fishing gear, and I might even get done with my chores in enough time
to wet a line!

The irony that he had, in fact, already wet a line when his
hand-made fishing pole fell into the marsh tide wasn’t lost on him.

“Well she did warn me,” Eric said aloud to no one in
particular.

Eric dusted off his clothes. He
picked up his hat and riding crop and began walking in the direction his horse
was still running.

He prayed Sasha ran close enough to home that she would find
the barn. He didn’t really trust his horse’s sense when it came to finding her
way home unescorted. It would be horrible to lose her so close to his next
school term. He truly hated riding coach all the way to London.

After walking for a quarter of a mile, Eric heard the sound
of hooves and the jingling rattle of a curricle coming toward him. He ambled
over to the side of the lane just in time to see his father’s equipage
approaching. Eric raised a hand, and his father slowed.

“Eric, fancy meeting you here afoot!” his father said in an
oddly knowing way.

“How did you ...” Eric began and quickly stopped himself as
he and his father formed the name together.

“Bliss,” they said in unison.

“Yes, she told me to take this path home, even though it’s
about two miles out of my regular route toward the vicar’s house. Bliss
informed me that it would be best if I didn’t leave you stranded on the road
without a mount or a cart. She said also to tell you she’s very sorry for your
loss. What did she mean? What have you lost?”

Dr. Benchley looked serious now. Eric blushed at the
inquiry. His father moved his medical bag down from the curricle seat to allow
Eric room to sit. Once he was in, Dr. Benchley clucked to his horse, and they
were off once again.

“I lost my cart and all of my fishing supplies. Sasha was
spooked by a snake and reared up. She kicked the cart right out to sea. Not
only am I now without any fishing equipment, I may not have a horse if Sasha
doesn’t make it home before we do. So I guess she was expressing her concern
for either one,” Eric sighed reluctantly.

“Bliss is terribly special, you know,” Dr. Benchley told his
son quietly.

Eric’s head whipped around to stare at his father almost in
disbelief. His father was a man of science. A believer of facts more than fate,
it was hard for Eric to grasp that his father might take the unknown enigma of
Lady Bliss seriously.

“Do you believe she really knows things?” Eric asked
cautiously.

“I believe that there are forces even science can’t predict
in this world, son. There are some gifts that God bestows on a few worthy
individuals. Lord Penwood’s daughter has a keen eye for seeing things beyond
what most people can notice or pay attention to. I don’t know if it’s really
something she can actually see, something she just feels or something she truly
knows. But any way you look at it, she’s special for what she can do.

“And I believe very few people get such a blessed gift,
Eric. That’s why I urge you to keep what you know of the duke’s daughter to
yourself. Horrible things can happen to people with such gifts if the wrong
people know about them. It is best if we just leave things as they are and try
not to expose her.”

Eric nodded as his father spoke, digesting the words of
warning along with the possibility that the young girl was far more in tune to
the world than he was. It made him uncomfortable to wonder what other things
Bliss knew. Thoughts nagged at him the entire way home.

How much of the future can she really see? Does she know
how I’ll do in school? Will I become a barber-surgeon? Will I become successful
like my father? Will I ever get to kiss Leighann Mowbry? Can Bliss see
everything
I do?

As soon as they approached their small property Dr. Benchley
pointed to Sasha. Luckily enough, the horse had found her way back home and was
waiting patiently to be let in.

Eric unsaddled and curry combed her as he said a small
prayer of thanks that his horse had made it home safely. He thought wryly of
Bliss’s condolences. She meant the fishing gear, obviously. It didn’t make him
feel better.

Dr. Benchley told Eric to plan on being around for a while
until he returned from his last few visits just in case anything else came up. He
also indicated that it would be wise for Eric to plan on staying a little
longer before going back to school.

The doctor indicated it might be necessary for him to fill
in as assistant more often until the midwife came back from her trip. Eric smiled
and tamped down an internal shudder. Though he’d managed to be useful, truth be
told he didn’t particularly relish the idea of a repeat of that morning’s
lessons!

Bliss, age thirteen, Cardiff, October
1803

One of the hardest lessons Bliss
ever learned was how to live with the fact that people often made decisions,
one way or another, even when you wished they would choose differently. It was
also frustrating to know that no matter how you tried to alter their choices,
they would eventually do the thing you didn’t want them to do.

For Bliss the lesson hurt particularly when it concerned
Eric’s personal life. Even at thirteen, she was privy to information she would
much rather not have to know. But try as she might to avoid it, there would
always be a vision there in her mind.

After Eric left for St. Thomas’s, Bliss began seeing him in
a different light. He was a young man, doing things all young men eventually
did. And it annoyed her that he could easily make a big mistake that would
affect their future together.

Her vision wouldn’t change as much as alter. If Eric made
bad decisions now, her life with him would still be there, but the happiness
would be marred by his bad choices. In the end it was her friend Lem who helped
her make the decision to interfere.

One day while she and her friend
were stealing an afternoon of fishing on the lake, Bliss asked Lem a very
serious, albeit embarrassing question.

“Lem? Can I ask your opinion on something very improper?”
Bliss asked hesitantly.

“What about? Am I going to be embarrassed?” Lem countered
with nervous curiosity.

“Likely, but I must ask anyway. It’s a question about things
men do,” Bliss added cryptically. Lem’s eyes bulged in his face, and he turned
beet red with shock.

“Not that, silly. I already have that information. Clearly
it is imperative for young men to have privacy for such things. Do you honestly
think I didn’t know why you always asked when your parents were going to be
working later than usual? No, this is about more adult actions.”

“That won’t make it any easier to stomach, Bliss,” Lem
replied looking dour.

“You know how I always know things are going to happen,
right?”

“Of course, I always trust your advice, too. Except what you
said about Lettie Bradshaw. I still say you’re way off the mark with that. She
can’t stand me!”

“That will change, believe me. When the moment comes the
tide will turn.”

“Whatever you say, Bliss. But I’m still not too excited
about it.” Lem seemed to sulk on the thought of Lettie Bradshaw with relation
to himself. Bliss urged him to focus back on her.

“Back to my question if you please! Why is it that men are
always allowed to ‘sow their wild oats,’ but ladies are expected to just accept
the behavior and do nothing?” Bliss didn’t beat around the bush.

“Come again? What are you asking?” Lem looked plenty scared
now.

“I asked why men were allowed a certain time to explore the physical
pleasures before settling down, but women are kept pristine for their
irreverent future husbands?”

“This has something to do with your future mister, I take
it,” Lem asked cautiously.

“Of course it does! I know he’s going to make a decision to
go ahead without a thought for what will happen, and I am utterly powerless to
stop him. But if he makes a wrong choice, my future will be decidedly altered
where our happiness is concerned. How can I sit by and watch him without
interfering when I know the lesser of two evils?”

“Are you sure it’s not me you’re referring to? Cause I told
you I really didn’t do anything except kiss Maude Phillips!”

“Lettie Bradshaw is your intended, I already told you that,”
Bliss said dismissively.

Lem mumbled, “Yeah, but I still don’t like it.”

“Do you doubt me, Lem? May I remind you that I have an
excellent track record where you are concerned! Don’t I always tell you which
houseguest to choose when stabling their mounts to get you the best tips? Am I
not always able to help you foresee when the stable master is in his worst
temper so you can avoid him? And do I not always give you the best advice for
the fishing contest each year?” Bliss said with a knowing look. Lem took his
time responding.

“Ah, you know you do! Why do you worry, Bliss? I trust your
judgment better than I trust even my Mum and Dad! I always have. But that
doesn’t mean I have to agree to love the outcome every time!” he whined.

“Well we’ve been friends since we were little, so I think
you could appreciate that I am sincere when I tell you how happy you will be
with your future if you continue to trust me!”

It was the honest truth. Lem literally grew up under the
same watchful eye of the nannies who nurtured Bliss and her two elder siblings.
He was her mother’s ladies’ maid’s youngest son. And since the ladies’ maid was
married to her father’s valet, Lem was practically family. She and Lem had
always been a pair of peas in a pod, playing together with an unspoken trust
from their earliest days together.

Though he was two years older, Lem was still her closest
confidant. But Bliss harbored no romantic feelings for him or his older brother
Cyril, who was already the stable master’s third man in the order of seniority
due to his gift with handling even the most difficult mounts.

Lem was destined for larger fortunes and futures. He was a
brilliant writer, and Bliss knew, beyond a doubt, that her friend would leave
soon for a glorious opportunity to attend a prestigious school that had
accepted him based on Lord Penwood’s recommendation and assurances. Not before
he cemented his future back at Penwood Manor Estate, of course.

Lettie Bradshaw, another of the employees’ children, was
destined to be Lem’s bride. According to Bliss, a happier couple was not to be
seen if her visions were true as usual. But that was because, for Lem, there
would never be any girl for him except Lettie.

He only bucked the idea because Lettie presented in a
prudish, plain package to the naked eye. But the curious nectar Lettie hid so
well at present would be her friend’s ultimate undoing in the end.

Lem studied Bliss for a few minutes while neither of them
spoke. At length he gave a huge sigh.

“Well?” Bliss asked impatient for his decision.

“What difference does it make? You likely already know what
you should do.”

“Say it, Lem,” Bliss encouraged him. Lem realized his answer
was superfluous. Once his decision was made, her quick peek at the future told
her everything. She’d become much more adept at reading the visions as she’d
matured. With certain people, Lem included, the visions were like watching the
scenes through a window.

“I think that if you can’t stop him from making the
decision, you should at least make sure he makes the decision that best suits
your future happiness. You know you’re gonna be stuck with the bloke for
certain, right? That part never changes?”

“No, I’m his wife no matter how badly he strays. Apparently
I will fall deeply in love with him someday,” Bliss added dryly.

“Well, if I was you, I’d make sure he chose the best possible
path given his options. You deserve a fellow who’ll treat you like a princess!
And even a duke wouldn’t be able to give you that if he succumbed to some
crusty wasting disease! So make sure he has the information to make a good
choice,” Lem said firmly.

“That’s what I’m hoping I can do. Thank you Lem,” Bliss said
resignedly.

Without further ado, she turned and pointed her finger
toward a section of the slough just to the south of where they currently
floated. Lem raised his pole and whipped his line into the shallower waters.
The minute his baited hook hit the water, a large fish took a snap at the lure.

Lem set his hook and began pulling ferociously at the line.
Bliss reached back and got the dipping net and helped Lem land the largest fish
of the day.

“You are an amazing gal, Blissy! Do you know that? Are you
sure it’s not me you’re speaking about for your future beau?” Lem asked
cheekily, leaning over to plant a peck on her jaw. He removed the hook from the
fish’s mouth and placed him carefully in the catch bucket. Afterward Lem wiped
his hands on his trouser legs. As expected, Bliss reminded him of his destiny.

“It’s still Lettie Bradshaw,” Bliss replied airily.

Lem made a sound of mock disgust and shook his head wearily.
He baited his hook once more and flicked the line overhead until it landed very
near where he’d caught the fish moments earlier.

“Lettie’s a lovely girl,” Bliss countered in genuine
frustration at his continued refusal to agree with her.

“She’s a goody—goody. She never does anything but mind her
mama’s rules. She tattles on anyone who even
looks
like they’re gonna
get out of line. Why on earth would I ever want a stiff stick like her?” Lem
tugged the line and made a sour face of distaste. Bliss took him off guard with
her next statement.

“Lettie is a multilayered cake, Lem.”

“A what?”

“A multilayered cake. There are many things beneath the
frosting that you can’t yet see. That’s because you’re not ready to look. But
neither is she ready to show you yet, so it’s just as well.