Cold Hunger

The Widow

London, 1856.
May 12.

                  It's the new day of partying. Mostly for Thomas, Count of Abbot and his blonde, blue-eyed friend Joseph Daggett. The two men, aged 45 and 39 are looking for brides and a little fun in the middle. Thomas is a recently widowed man, whose wife died of a sickness just a year prior and Joseph liked the pleasures of life a little bit too much, thus 'forgetting' about his duty to bring a child into the world. A legitimate child that is, because only he knows how many children he produced out of wedlock.
Thomas knows what he wants. A specific type of woman. Young, beautiful, with a fresh untouched body, with not many opinions and not very bright.
Joseph is not looking for someone to challenge him in a game of chess, but instead challenge him in bed. A woman who knows what she wants. A woman that has been around and has seen and tried ALL that there's to try.
The two men have been at many parties in hopes to find the perfect bride. But they couldn't be satisfied with any of the women that were falling at their knees.
Tonight is a party at Madame's Elizabeth mansion. She's an older woman but with the soul of a 20 year old, and her yearly parties are a caprice that her husband can't refuse her, no matter the cost.
Inside the mansion there's women dressed in their best attires, waiting for men who are interested in courting them to ask them for a dance. The music is ringing beautifully around the spacious ballroom, accompanied by talking and laughter. The champagne and wine is flowing through the guests glasses.
However Thomas couldn't be entertained by any of it. After all it was his third week out in London, visiting all these parties yet he didn't manage to find a bride. Back in his days, finding his now late wife was as easy as saying hi. Maybe the women are the same and just his standards became too high after 10 years.
"You know me friend. A bride has to pass the golden test first, then we can make wedding plans," Joseph tells Thomas before walking away towards the single women.
While sipping his red wine, Thomas observes in detail the endless lines of women waiting for a suitor, and some who are looking at him. Thomas is definitely a sought after bachelor in London. Rich, tall, well-built and a handsome face make Thomas a heartbreaker around the young unmarried girls. Even the married ones lust over him. So much that it has become an unspoken competition between them.
But Thomas is a picky guy, it's not easy getting to him.
Madame Elizabeth walks to Thomas, hugging him because they are old friends.
"Anyone has caught your attention yet, Thomas?"
He chuckles. "Not yet, not yet."
"Well you better find a bride soon before all the unmarried women start a war between themselves. Oh by the way, there's someone I want to introduce you to."
Madame Elizabeth takes Thomas and leads him to the balcony, where a few couples are talking in peace. One person to stand out is a lady in a beautiful green dress standing all alone, and drinking from a cup of Champagne.
"Briar, here you are!" Elizabeth says with amusement in her tone. The named woman turns around facing the two people. A beautiful smile forms on her face at the sight of Madame Elizabeth. Then she gives an appropriate greeting towards Thomas without paying that much attention to him.
"Madame Elizabeth, you know me. I get lost looking at the stars. Tonight, they are especially beautiful. As if they are telling me something good is about to happen to me."
Elizabeth looks at Thomas. "This is Briar Valentine, she's my distant niece from the countryside. Ever since she has been visiting me here in London we have become like sisters, despite being born decades apart."
"Thomas, Count of Abbot." Thomas tells Briar. "May I say, you look delightful tonight."
The girl flashes a beautiful, almost calculated smile. As if she knew he was going to compliment her.
"Thank you, kind sir."
Well it wasn't a lie. Briar was of another beauty, something you haven't seen before. Maybe she's not even human, Thomas thought.
"Thomas is looking for a bride, and I was thinking Miss Valentine could be a good candidate for that. I'll let you two talk in peace," Elizabeth said before walking away with the speed of a bullet.
Briar was uncomfortable, her face emotions were showing it very clearly.
"May I have this dance?" Thomas asks.
"I do not wish to be rude to you Sir, but finding a husband is not the purpose of my attendance at this party. We should save our time and end this conversation here. It was nice meeting you," she smiles, lowers her head in sync with her body and steps away gracefully.
Thomas was left a little bit dumbfounded. It was never that a woman refused him. Never. And his pride was definitely hurt. That made him decide that he wouldn't let this woman have the last word.
Turning around to go after her, he comes to the conclusion that she already left the room. Maybe she can found outside, he thinks before walking towards the door that leads into the vast garden.
As he walks around, he can hear people talking, couples being a little bit inappropriate on the benches hidden before tress. But no Briar.
"You have dropped this," a voice calls him from behind. He turns around to see the woman he was looking for holding his handkerchief that was supposed to be in his pocket.
He takes it back and places it back in the rightful place. "Thank you, Miss Valentine. In fact it was you I was searching for, but you have found me first."
"With what intention were you searching for me, Mr. Abbot?"
"I would like to get to know you better," he smiles at her.
"I would love to, but tonight is my last night here in London. Tomorrow I must return to the countryside to watch my house that I left a month ago. Forgive me for my words, but it is useless to get to know me if I'm never coming back here again."
Thomas felt frustrated. He couldn't force this woman to talk to him if she didn't want to. What his late mother thought him was to always respect women, whether they are his wife or a stranger.
"Spend one more day here Miss Valentine. It is a simple request from me to you. I think you are beautiful, and maybe you could change your mind if you talk to me."
While talking, Thomas could tell that Briar was starting to look a little weird, even frightened. Her eyes were looking at a certain thing in the distance. She wasn't paying attention to him. He turned around but only saw some bushes and nothing special there.
"Actually I might stay here for one more day," Briar says with a changed tone, her cheerful expressions being nowhere on her face.
"Thank you, Miss Valentine. Would you care for a dance with me now?"
"Just yesterday I got a minor injury on my right ankle, dancing might not be the best thing for me to do now," she explains, firmly but politely.
Thomas was slowly running out of patience with Miss Valentine. If you asked him, even he wouldn't be able to tell you why he even tried. Maybe it was her beauty that was intriguing him. Did he want to marry her? Not really. But there was something about her that he wanted to uncover. What? He doesn't really know.
"Then let's sit on a bench, and let's discuss," he says politely.
"Of course, let's sit down." She says before letting him take her hand and guide her to a bench in a more discreet area.
"So tell me about you. Miss Valentine."
"I was born in the countryside to a rich merchant. After his death last summer I inherited all of his houses and money. My mother died 2 years before my father. Now tell me about you Lord Abbot."
"I am the Marquess of Abbot. I own several houses and lands in South England. I was married for 10 years but sadly my wife passed away last year. Now I want to find a new bride for myself."
Their conversation lasted for hours and hours, finding that these complete strangers have more in common than anyone would have guessed. Well it went well in his head because Thomas became infatuated with the beautiful and mysterious Briar.

And he wasn't sure how he was going to to get her.