Music Monday: Dulce Mirada (Michael Ortega)

PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY MICHAEL ORTEGA ON NOVEMBER 3, 2019

When I heard this song on a day when I was working on finding music to pair with stories, I knew I wanted to share it, and when I turned my mind to what story might pair well with this song, His Beautiful Bea came to mind first. I just think that the song has the same sort of feel that His Beautiful Bea has. It’s soft and lovely with a touch of sadness that is lifted up and turned into something far better than what was lost by true love. Hopefully, that explanation makes sense to more people than just me. LOL

Just a note before you read: His Beautiful Bea is a novella of 8 chapters. I am sharing chapter 6. Those facts should let you know that there may be some spoilers in here for those who have not read this story already. 😉

His Beautiful Bea, Chapter 6

For two long and tiresome days, Beatrice was confined to either a sofa in the sitting room at Heathcote or a bench in the garden. Her mother was not known to coddle her children, but she was not the sort who foolishly flouted precautions, especially when it came to Beatrice. Having nearly lost her daughter to a fever when Bea was just eleven, Mrs. Tierney stuck firmly to all prescribed restrictions, and a turned ankle that showed signs of bruising required, according to Bea’s mother, a full two days of rest with little walking. Mrs. Tierney would not confine Bea to her bed, but she would not have her hobbling about ─ not even with a cane. Bea was to rest with her foot on a pillow.

It was, therefore, a happy morning on the third day when Bea could rise from bed and take a walk around the garden — a short walk around the garden, one that would not aggravate her injury. Her mother’s words and expression when giving her directives had been stern, and Bea knew better than to disobey.

So it was that Bea was in the garden near the hedge when her brother, Graeme, and Shelton returned from their ride.

“Miss Tierney!” Shelton doffed his hat and greeted her from where he sat on his horse. “I missed our rematch. I am confident I could have been victorious today.”

Bea smiled and hobbled over to the hedge which bordered the side of the garden that faced the path to the stables. A groom came trotting up with a second at his heels.

“My mother was insistent that I not ride, or I would have accompanied Max.”

Shelton swung down from his horse. “May I join you for a walk around the garden then?”

“I am only allowed one more circuit before I must sit and rest my foot.”

“Then one escorted turn about the garden it will be,” he answered with a smile, handing his horse to the groom and heading to the small opening in the hedge just a few feet away. “Do not move. Stay just where you are,” he called as he went. “I shall be there directly.”

Graeme’s eyes narrowed as he watched Bea smile and welcome his friend.

“You look out of sorts,” said Max, as he dismounted.

“Do you not worry about how charming Shelton is being with your sister?” Graeme gave his horse’s neck a pat before allowing the groom to lead him away.

“I see no harm in it. He shall be gone in a few days. I doubt he can do much damage in so little time.” He smirked at Graeme. “Are you jealous?”

Graeme frowned. “No, I am not jealous, just well acquainted with my friend and his ways.” It was not a complete lie. He was well acquainted with how Shelton conducted himself with females. It was, however, a complete and utter untruth that he was not jealous. He did not like the way Shelton was smiling at Bea or causing her to giggle. That was Graeme’s job. He was the one to tease her into a smile and shock her into laughter.

By the time Graeme and Max had made their way through the hedge, Felicity and Grace had exited the house. Everett was, of course, at Felicity’s side. He had once again cried off riding to spend the morning with the ladies. For once, Graeme did not censure him for doing so since he, himself, had wished to do the same thing.

“Mama said she would have breakfast set out on the terrace,” Bea said as Max greeted her with a kiss on her cheek.

“Have you eaten?” Max asked.

“No, I was waiting for you, and you know I like to have some sort of exercise before breaking my fast. Even if that exercise is a very short and slow hobble around the garden.”

“How is your ankle today?” Graeme asked. “Is it enjoying the exercise as much as you are?”

Bea grimaced. “It is protesting loudly, but you must not tell my mother. I cannot bear another day of sitting.”

Max laughed. “Bea may prefer to sit and read, but she does not like to be required to sit and read.”

It was true. Bea loved nothing better than finding a quiet place to sit with a book. However, she had never enjoyed having books prescribed for her. Her father had been good about allowing her to pick and choose what she wanted to read as a child, but her mother had been a little less obliging. Beatrice could read for pleasure as she saw fit, but there were certain books that her mother thought were necessary for every young lady to read. Bea had dutifully read each without complaint, only sighing over it when her mother was not around.

“Who won the race today?” Felicity asked.

“I did,” said Shelton, lifting his chin, puffing out his chest, and looking for all the world like the most pompous of gents.

The pose, however, was affected with a whimsical smile and air, for though Shelton was confident in his own abilities and person to the point of being obnoxious, he possessed not an arrogant bone in his body. It was this brashness mixed with his natural charm that had made him popular with so many females.

Graeme’s scowl deepened. It was a further reason that Bea should not be leaning on Shelton’s arm.

“These chaps were miles behind me,” Shelton continued, looking at Graeme and raising a taunting brow while a smirk played at his lips. “I had half expected to be done with my breakfast before either of them rounded the tree and turned back to Heathcote.”

“I should think not!” Max argued. “Graeme nearly overtook you at one point, and I was not so very far behind him.”

“How exciting!” Grace chirped. “To the victor must go the spoils; therefore, Mr. Shelton shall have the first muffin!” She hurried over to the table that had been set out and lifted the cloth from the bowl of muffins, keeping the bowl in her possession until Shelton had seen Bea seated and then had taken his own seat. Only then, Grace held out the muffins to him with a bit of a flourish, and after he had selected a nice plump cake from the top of the pile, she replaced the cloth and seated herself next to him.

Bea’s lips twitched, and she shot a knowing glance toward Graeme. Grace had been arranging things so that she could be seated near Shelton ever since the day after their picnic — the day when she had played shuttlecock with him. It was obvious to anyone who was paying the smallest amount of attention that Grace was interested in capturing the gentleman’s notice.

“Mr. Everett Clayton has been invited to the Abernathy’s house party. Is that not the best news?” Grace said as she carefully sipped tea from her cup.

A breeze tugged at the cloths covering the food on the table as if it wished to make a plate of breakfast for itself.  Bea looked at Everett, whose cheeks had grown the faintest bit rosy.

“Is this good news?” Graeme asked his brother pointedly, not caring that it flustered him. His heart did not know whether to rejoice at the news or be saddened. If his brother was gone, he could have Bea all to himself and perhaps convince her of his worth. However, he also knew that if Everett was delighted to attend a house party, he was very likely fully lost to Felicity and such news would make Bea unhappy, and he could not bear the thought of her being unhappy even if it would lead to his own happiness.

“It is not bad news. A house party is always a good time,” Everett replied.

Graeme glanced at Bea and was relieved to see that she did not appear to be distressed by his brother’s reply.

“Yes,” Shelton agreed with a sly smile, “house parties can be a grand time as long as you avoid the true purpose of them.”

Grace blinked. “Whatever do you mean?”

“He means he enjoys flirting but not enough to be leg-shackled,” Graeme supplied.

Bea hid her smile behind her cup.

“You do not wish to marry?” Grace asked as if such an idea was the most ridiculous one in all the world.

“Grace,” Felicity chided softly.

“It is not that I do not wish to marry. I just do not wish to marry now,” Shelton said, picking a morsel of cake off of his plate and popping it into his mouth. “There is plenty of time for marriage when I am older.”

A bird song rang out from a branch of the tree overhead.

Shelton looked up. “Even the creatures agree, you see,” he said with a smile.

“Do you fear it? Or is it just the giving up of freedom that keeps you from the marital state?” Bea’s hand flew to her mouth. “Forgive me. That was most improper.”

Graeme saw her cheeks redden. “Thinking aloud?” he asked. It was an unusual thing for Bea to speak without thought, and he could imagine how mortified she must be.

She nodded.

“So, Shelton, what is it?” Graeme asked. “Fear or freedom?”

“You do not need to answer.” Bea shot Graeme a look of displeasure.

Graeme shrugged. “I am curious to hear his answer,” he said with a smile. Perhaps if he could be more improper than she, it would lessen her mortification. However, from the look on her face, he was not certain that it was a good plan.

“I have no qualms about answering as long as every other person at the table answers as well,” said Shelton. He looked at each person and receiving a nod, turned to Bea. “And you, Miss Tierney? Will you answer?”

She nodded. “I will start if you wish.”

He waved his right hand in a fashion to encourage her to continue.

“I am kept from the marital state by the lack of an offer,” she said with a smile.

“Do you have a beau who should be making this offer?” Shelton inquired.

Bea shook her head. “No, sadly, I do not.”

“But you are not opposed to the idea of a beau or marriage, then?”

“No, Mr. Shelton, I am not. However, the gentleman must be of a good moral character and be someone I could love and respect and who would return those same feelings to me.”

“Wisely said, Miss Tierney. I, too, would wish for love and respect in marriage.”

“Yes, but that is not what keeps you from it, is it?” Graeme prodded. He did not like the way his friend was smiling at Bea nor the way Bea’s eyes had dropped to her plate.

“No, it is not,” Shelton replied, shooing a fly away from his cup of tea before taking a sip. “I believe the question was if it was fear or freedom that kept me from marrying.”  He turned to Bea. “Would either of those keep you from marriage if there was a gentleman wishing to make an offer.”

“You are not offering, are you?’ Max said with a grin.

“No, no, no. I am not ready to marry anyone even if she is as lovely as your sister or cousins. I was merely posing a question of interest.” His eyes slid from Max’s face to Graeme’s. “For curiosity sake.” He smiled at Bea. “I have not offended you, have I?”

She shook her head. “No, I am not offended, nor am I so entrenched in my freedom, such that it is as a young lady under the authority of her mother and brother, to refuse an offer if extended by a gentleman of good moral fiber, who would show me both love and respect.” She gave Shelton a pointed look.

“Yes, yes, that is true, a young lady’s freedom is not the same as that of a gentleman,” he acknowledged before she continued.

“I do not fear marriage to such a man.”

“Well said, Miss Tierney. Now, I shall answer. Both fear and freedom keep me from seeking a wife at this particular time in my life. Being a husband and father comes with great responsibilities to which, to be blunt, I am not certain I feel adequate. And then, I do enjoy my freedom. My time is mine to a large extent, as is my income.” He shrugged. “It is not perhaps the best of answers, for it certainly does not show me to best advantage, but there it is.”

Bea tipped her head and, much to Graeme’s annoyance, smiled sweetly at Shelton. “Perhaps it does not show you to good advantage amongst a group of your peers, but to us ladies, it is a very good answer.”

Shelton’s brows furrowed. “It is?”

Bea nodded. “You view your family as a responsibility not to be taken lightly. You know that your sole claim to your time and money, as well as other freedoms, will need to be abandoned for the well being of a wife and children. That is very commendable, is it not, Grace?”

“Oh, indeed, it is,” Grace agreed, her head bobbing up and down vigorously.

“And I suspect, as my mother would say,” Bea continued, “when the right person comes along, it will not feel like a loss of freedom but a gaining of a great treasure and your fear of failure will pale when compared to your fear of losing that lady.”

“That is exactly what she would say,” Max agreed.

Shelton’s brows furrowed, and he was quiet for a moment. “I had not considered it in such a light. You are very wise, Miss Tierney. I almost wish I was making you an offer.”

“You do not,” Bea said with a laugh.

He smiled and shook his head. “No, you are right, but it is not because there is anything lacking in you.”

Bea felt her cheeks grow warm. “I hope one day there will be another who agrees,” she said softly.

He patted the hand that lay on her lap. “I am certain there will be.” His eyes fell once again on Graeme. “Mr. Clayton, what say you?”

“I say Max is next.”

Max laughed. “My answer is short. I am not fearful of marriage. I have cared for a mother and sister for some time now, so I do not feel completely unprepared. However, I do enjoy the limited freedom I have and have not met the lady who makes me wish to be parted with that freedom.” He turned to Graeme. “Now it is your turn.”

Graeme did not like the twinkle in Max’s eye. The fellow had been teasing him about courting his sister and being jealous of Shelton, and now that they were speaking about marriage, he was fearful that Max would ask if he wished to marry Bea. How he would answer that, he was uncertain, for to lie and say he did not wish it might cause Bea to think he did not care for her. However, if he said he did wish to marry her — as he did — and she did not wish to marry him, as she likely did not since she was in love with his brother, their friendship would be broken. “I need only find the lady who will accept me,” he said.

“You do not fear it?” Grace asked.

Graeme shook his head. “No, I fear loneliness more.”

“Are you sure you still need to find the lady?” Shelton asked with a grin. “Surely there is one who has made you think of loneliness?”

Graeme shrugged. “I did not say I had not found a lady I wished to marry. I said I needed to find one who would accept my offer of marriage.” He forced his eyes to stay focused on his friend rather than allowing them to shift to Bea.

“You are in love?” Bea asked in surprise.

His eyes met hers as he nodded. “I believe I am.” His heart did not know whether to ache or rejoice at the disappointment he read in her expression. Perhaps there was some hope that she could be swayed from loving his brother to loving him.

“And now for Everett,” said Max. “Is there another Clayton willing to fall?”

Bea attempted to listen to whatever it was that Everett stammered on about being prepared to do his duty and do it happily rather than contemplating the ache in her heart at knowing Graeme loved someone.

---

Isn’t Roger so helpful with his “matchmaking” skills? Haha

---

MAILING LIST    PATREON