Wanted: A Maiden All Forlorn
(excerpt from The Maiden All Forlorn)
"Beg pardon, sir."
Danvers looked up at his assistant. "Yes?"
"There's a man here, who would like to see you. Says it's important."
Danvers frowned. Everyone who wanted to see him said it was important. "Did he say just what was so important?"
Willis nodded, looking more than a little nonplussed. "Yes. He said that he needs 'a maiden all forlorn'..."
"What?"
"That's what he said, sir."
The lawyer stared at his assistant for a moment, then shook his head, and chuckled. "All right. Send him in. If nothing else, maybe I'll get a good laugh out of this."
In a few moments, the door opened again, and Danvers looked with astonishment at the tall, broad-shouldered man who entered; for though they often corresponded, they had only met twice, their most recent meeting being when Gael's former agent retired and Danvers took over the farmer's account, twelve years ago. Startling out of his amazement, he rose, and warmly greeted his client.
"This is certainly a surprise."
Gael smiled. "I expect it would be, after all this time."
Danvers motioned Gael to a chair, and seated himself again, marveling all the while at the farmer's appearance. He must be in his mid fifties by now, but other than a slight graying of his reddish-gold hair near the temples, and the lines on his brow, he looked more a man in his early forties. And, Danvers ruefully realized, far more fit than he himself did, as he'd acquired a bit of a paunch in recent years, while there was no hint of the very substantial paunch Gael once carried.
"You've changed," he noted, with a tinge of envy. "You look far better than when we last met."
Gael smiled. "Well, my wife has made me promise to live to see my grandchildren, and I'm doing what I can to keep that promise."
Danvers laughed. "A notable goal. I certainly hope you achieve it."
"Thanks. I sort of hope so, myself."
"How is your wife? A pretty little thing, if I recall correctly."
Gael nodded. "A very pretty little thing, though not quite so little at the moment, as she is seven months along."
"Oh? Let me offer you my congratulations. What is this? The fourth? Or the fifth?"
"The fifth. And that's why I'm here."
"It is? I thought you were looking for 'a maiden all forlorn'," Danvers smilingly observed.
"Well, yes, I am, in a way. The thing is, Mia is getting too big and too worn out to be taking care of the house and the children, and I want to hire someone to help her, so she doesn't get even more worn out."
Danvers nodded. "A wise idea. A wife is too precious to risk by being too thrifty."
"Exactly. But there is one problem."
Danvers raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"Mia won't have it."
Danvers looked at him with surprise. "She won't? I'd think most wives quite happy to have some help, especially under the circumstances."
"So would I," Gael agreed, "but she doesn't want to have some stranger stay with us, and perhaps change our way of living. So I've decided on a plan."
"And what would this plan be?"
"I want to find someone who can help with the house and all, but who needs help of her own. A sort of maiden all forlorn, so to speak, who is in such desperate straits that Mia will feel obliged to hire her, if only to rescue her from her sad situation."
"An admirable plan, although you will need to give some thought as to how to advertise for such a girl, without seeming to have some darker purpose."
Gael nodded, as he had rescued such a girl once before, and faced the same problem at first. Of course, that had turned out quite well, as she and he were now happily married; but he couldn't expect to repeat the process, and wouldn't want to, even if he didn't have Mia. "I know. Which is why I came here. I want you to do the thing, instead."
Danvers pursed his lips, put his hands together in front of them, and nodded. "I see. Did you have any particular sort of forlorn maiden in mind?"
Gael shook his head. "No. Not especially. But I would like her to be old enough to watch the children, yet young enough to be willing to do it for some time before she wants a life of her own."
"So, thirteen... or fourteen?"
"Exactly. If she is much older, she'll be of age all too soon, and if much younger, she won't be able to control the children - who, though very good children in most ways, have a mind of their own when it suits them to use it."
Danvers began to make some notes, to ensure having the exact particulars correctly in mind, if and when he managed to find such a girl.
"And as I said, I'd like her to be in desperate straits, so that she is glad to be rescued, but exactly what kind of straits aren't all that important. Though I wouldn't want her to be unmarried and pregnant, or anything like that."
"Naturally. That wouldn't set a very good example."
"No, it wouldn't," Gael agreed.
Danvers looked up at him. "Do you have any kind of salary in mind for the girl?"
Gael nodded. "I'd offer her room and board, and a small amount for spending money while she is caring for the children; and when she leaves, I'd give her an additional sum, proportionate to her service, to help her make her own way in the world."
"Depending upon the length of her service, that might be a substantial sum," Danvers observed. "She might want some assurance that it will be there, when she needs it."
"I know; she'd be a fool, if she didn't. But I'd be willing to have you set the money aside, in some kind of trust, so she'd have that assurance."
Danvers nodded, as he continued to scribble. Then he looked up, again.
"And when would you like her?"
"As soon as you can find her, as I've put things off for far too long, already; but I'd understand if it takes you some time."
Danvers nodded. "I could probably find someone by the end of the month. Would that do?"
"That would be fine, but of course the sooner, the better. Will you want a retainer?"
Danvers shook his head. "No. I'll treat this as I do your other affairs. If and when I find a girl, I'll bill your account for any extra work which needs to be done. But if I can't find one, I'll absorb it into my regular fees."
"That's unusually kindly of you," Gael noted.
Danvers chuckled. "Yes, it is. I must be getting old. Or perhaps I'm so taken by the idea of finding and rescuing 'a maiden all forlorn' that I'd want to pursue it, even if you changed your mind."
Gael smiled, as he rose. "I'm glad you find the idea so interesting. It should make your search easier."
Danvers rose to see the old gentleman out, and smiled in return. "I'll see what I can do, and contact you as soon as I have any news."
"Thanks. I'd like it, though, if you sent any posts to Ryan's, as I don't want Mia to know anything about this, until it's all done."
"I don't imagine you would."
Danvers watched Gael leave, and shook his head.
"Willis..."
"Yes, sir?"
"You don't happen to know any unfortunate young maidens in desperate need of saving, do you?"
Willis' eyes widened, as he shook his head. "No, I can't say that I do, sir."
"That's good, Willis. That's good. Let's hope that you never do."
End of this excerpt
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Fantasy and Romantic Fiction
