but wouldn't disturb their privacy.
Taylor was too agitated to sit. She paced back and forth in front of Victoria while she worried the problem over in her mind.
'Do you still love this man?'
'No.' Her answer was emphatic.
Taylor nodded. 'Good,' she announced. 'He isn't worth loving,' she added. 'Do you have relatives who will give you shelter in America?'
'No. I hadn't planned on getting there. I used up all my money to purchase a berth. The only reason I carried along my clothes was because my father threw them out on the pavement.'
'Your parents threw you out?' Taylor was appalled.
Victoria nodded. 'I cannot blame them. I have been a disappointment.'
'I can certainly blame them,' Taylor argued. 'They are your parents. They should have stood by you. My grandmother would have stood by me.'
'If she were alive, my grandmother would have stood by me as well,' Victoria said.
'What about the man responsible for your condition? Does he know you're carrying his child?'
'Yes.'
'And?' Taylor prodded when she didn't continue.
'He doesn't wish to become involved.'
'It's a bit late for that decision, isn't it?'
'He wanted to marry Lady Margaret Kingsworth. She has a large dowry.'
Taylor's curiosity was captured. She knew Lady Margaret and wondered who the scoundrel was.
'Who is the man…'
'I will never say his name.' She fairly shouted her denial.
Taylor hurried to soothe her. 'I won't ever ask you again,' she promised. 'You're certain you don't still love him?'
'I can't imagine what I ever saw in him now. I should have heeded William's advice, for he wrote, 'Love moderately; long love doth so; too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.''
Lord, she was quoting Shakespeare again. And crying. Taylor tried to hold onto her patience. It was a most difficult task. 'The past is the past, Victoria. You cannot undo what has already been done. You must look to the future now.'
'I believed with all my heart he would marry me.'
'Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage,' Taylor said, turning Shakespeare's words back on the distraught woman.
Victoria found her first smile. 'I do believe I would like to see him hang for his lies to me. Still, I was a willing… participant.'
'You were naive and he took full advantage. The man's a snake.'
'I was equally responsible for my mistake.'
Taylor couldn't help but admire the woman because she took responsibility for her actions. She didn't blame anyone else, not even the pig who seduced her. She was about to tell her she admired her when Victoria asked her who she was.
'What is your name?'
'Taylor.'
'Taylor? The Lady Taylor?'
'You've heard of me?'
'Oh, yes, everyone has heard of you, milady.'
'Why?' Taylor asked.
'The humiliation… oh, dear, I shouldn't have mentioned such an indelicate topic.'
Taylor's shoulders slumped. Did everyone in England know about her disgrace? 'It wasn't a humiliation. It was a blessing as far as I'm concerned.' Lord, how many times had she said those words while in London? At least a hundred times, she thought.
'Do you still love him?' Victoria asked.
'I never did love him,' Taylor admitted. 'I realize that now. I married his brother,' she added with a nod when Victoria looked so surprised. 'I don't love him either,' she confessed. 'But I will admit I am becoming attracted to him. Still, he is a man and, therefore, probably a scoundrel. Most of them are. My husband is honorable though. I've already noticed that attribute.'
'Perhaps you will eventually fall in love with him,' Victoria suggested.
What an awful thought, given that Lucas would be leaving her the minute they reached Boston. 'Perhaps,' she said aloud so that Victoria would believe she'd offered a viable hope.
Taylor went over and sat down next to her new friend. She gently turned the topic around to Victoria's delicate condition.
'You made an important decision tonight.'
'I did? What was that?'
'To live,' Taylor answered. 'The rest is going to be easy. I promise you.'
Victoria didn't understand. Taylor said she would explain what she meant later. She asked Victoria what she thought she most wanted to accomplish with her life. What were her hopes and her dreams? If she could have anything in the world, what would she want?
Victoria answered her questions. She talked for almost two hours. Taylor did most of the listening. Discussing her fears helped lessen them in Victoria's mind. The unknown terrified her, she admitted. And being alone. That terrified her most of all. Taylor understood far better than Victoria thought she would. Being alone… and responsible for two children was terrifying for her, but she would do whatever she had to do to keep the twins safe. And, she had a feeling Victoria would be just as protective of her own little one.
'You have to get used to the idea first,' Taylor said.
'What idea?' Victoria asked.
'Being a mother,' Taylor explained. 'I wager before long you'll love your baby with all your heart.'
'I haven't really thought about the baby. I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself.'
Taylor patted her hand. 'You'd been betrayed. It was only natural for you to feel sorry for yourself.'
Victoria let out a loud yawn, apologized for her unladylike action, and then said, 'The wind has certainly picked up. Captain said a storm's brewing.'
A sudden gust of wind swept across the deck. Victoria started shivering. Taylor didn't notice the chill in the air until Victoria mentioned it. Then she also started shivering.
'We'd better go back to our cabins,' she suggested.
'Yes,' Victoria agreed. She stood up, then turned to Taylor. 'Thank you for listening to me. You've been very kind, milady.'
Taylor was at a loss as to what to say in response. She wasn't at all comfortable receiving compliments. They'd been so far and few in her life. She had seldom received outright praise for any of her actions. Madam expected certain behavior, and Taylor only heard when she had disappointed her grandmother.
Victoria seemed to be waiting for her to do or say something, however, and so Taylor simply gave her a nod of acceptance. Then she cleared her throat. In a no-nonsense tone of voice very much like her grandmother's, she said, 'Tomorrow I would like for you to meet me in the ship's library at two o'clock. In the last few days I've noticed that room is usually deserted at that time of day and we should have plenty of privacy while we formulate our plans.'
'We will?'
'I believe so.'
'What plans, milady?'
Taylor was surprised by the question. 'Why, plans for your future of course,' she explained. 'Did you think I would pat you on your back in sympathy and then walk away?'
'I didn't know what to think, milady.'
'Do quit calling me your lady. In America, titles have no significance whatsoever.'
'Are you certain?'
