The Girl Underground

Chapter 10: Harvest Moons and Honey Jewels

Chapter 10: Harvest Moons and Honey Jewels

New Orleans, Louisiana, 1850

"I must say..." Ronald squirmed in his chair uncomfortably. "This all seems so... Sudden, no? A man doesn't just decide that he wants a woman merely by seeing her once."

"You would think," Dorsey chuckled. "Love at first sight has always been and will forever be a topic of frequent and heated discussion. How can someone know that they love another just by seeing them once and then, perhaps, never again? But Quincy was always a man who knew what he wanted. All the brothers were. Why, a year after this started, Robert Quincy married a London woman after dancing with her just once at a ball! There is a strange dogma with the Quincy brothers and the women they want."

Ronald still shook his head. "I had an old acquaintance of mine who met John Quincy in person a few years before the man died. He was still married to Abigail, and there were no words spoken of anyone else. No Arthur Denning, no Malia."

"A man lives many lies before his track is run," Dorsey said, tone flat. "But Malia was no lie for Quincy. In most ways, she was the only truth in his life, the only real thing he could hold but never truly have."

"But?"

Dorsey sighed. "Well you know what men do when they are told that they cannot have the one thing they want..."

Ronald did, but still he leaned forward to listen on.

XXX

Lanfore, Hertfordshire, 1823

A week after Malia had met with the Magistrate underground, she received no further notes from him, no following invitation. Granted all they did was sit, talk, laugh, and kiss frequently, but she felt slightly off put by the fact that he had not spoken to her since. Was it that he had gotten all he wanted from her that one night and then decided he wanted no more?

Malia had risked a great deal in sneaking out to meet the man, and now he decided he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? As if she was his to reject in the first place! No matter, if he was through with her, that was fine. In fact, it was probably for the best. At least now she didn't have to worry about sinning like that again.

You had your fun, now move on!

There was always work to do, always something to get done. Malia dove right back into it, trying to take her mind off of the Magistrate and the night they had spent together. But often she found herself looking at or thinking about little things that brought her back. A flower in a vase reminded her of the Magistrate asking her about her favorite flowers-yellow roses. A scent of lavender from Mrs. Boatwright's rooms reminded her of the Magistrate noting how she smelled nice, even though Malia had no such perfumes. All these things were trivial and base in comparison to real aspects of heartbreak, but they were enough for her.

Even the distant sound of James practicing his violin brought back a very vivid memory of a conversation they had had. It began to play through her mind, causing her to pause as the images flooded her thoughts.

'I would have never guessed that you played the violin,' Malia laughed. 'Seems to me that there is more to you than meets the eye.'

'As there is with everyone,' John said. 'I only regret not bringing it with me here to play for you. I have not played in years, I am afraid, so I suppose it is not that great a regret after all.'

Malia shook her head. 'I would love to hear you play, please bring it next time?'

'For you, anything,' he smiled. 'But until then, I want to know everything about you. Tell me everything, spare no detail.'