Garnet or Garnets Curse

The sight made me think of Auntie’s poor little dog. I hoped someone was taking care of her at home. If I thought I could have found my way home, I would have run back to the carriage and taken off.
    I felt it was hopeless and turned back to the fingerprinted door. It was heavy and it took all my strength to open. When I stepped inside, the door slammed behind me and nearly knocked me down.
    The unexpected bang caused every head to turn my way. The place reeked of fishermen and sin. In the dim light, I saw a few women with dresses drooping down, exposing the better part of their breasts.
    I had never been in a place like that and it took a moment for me to regain my composure. Slowly I walked up to the bar and asked for Nell. The man behind the bar shouted out, “Nell, you expecting a new girl?”
    Around the corner came a middle-aged woman. She was tall, broad-shouldered with gray hair bobbed off midways of her ears. I could have easily mistaken her for a man.
    “You must be Margo?” she asked, eyeing me up and down.
    I hesitated, but as directed, I said, “yes.”
    “I bet you need to piss and wash the road grime off before you commence to eat.” Her comment was vulgar, but she was right. “Follow me,” she said. The men went back to their eating and drinking. Only a few looked up as we crossed the room.
    A man sitting by the door spat a wad of tobacco out on the floor in front of us. “Dammit Hugo!” she said, and kicked the wad under the table with her bare foot. “We have a lady here tonight and she does not want to walk through your filthy spit.”
    Nell held back a black curtain for me to enter into an unknown darkness. She came in behind me and touched my shoulder. “Wait, I will turn on the light.” In a split second, the hall lit up by a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It was unusual for such an establishment to have electricity. She saw the look on my face and laughed. “Straight out back is the washhouse,” she said, pointing to the open door at the end of the hall. “Take your time.” Before I could answer, she was gone.
    I slowly walked down the brick. As soon as I stepped outside, I could hear the ocean. I thought it must be the North Sea. Yet for all I knew, we could have traveled south and now faced the Mediterranean. How I wished I had a better sense of geography.
    It was not clean, but still I was relieved to find a toilet and a pump for water. I took out my handkerchief and washed over my face. There was a foggy mirror hanging on the wall and I stopped for a glimpse of my reflection. My face was worn and my eyes dull. The only thing reflecting light was the garnet and gold necklace around my neck. Thinking of the clientele inside, I slipped it off my neck and dropped it in my purse. It was my only valuable; heaven forbid it be stolen.
    When I returned I saw my father seated at a table with a bottle of wine. He motioned for me to join him and a young woman came out and set a plate of fish and potatoes down in front of us.
    We ate the food and once the wine was drunk, he ordered another bottle. “Now Garnet, I shall explain the plan. Nell has a nice estate home just over the waterway. She has agreed to take you in for awhile.”
    “For how long?” I asked, biting back the tears. It was hard to imagine this harsh woman having a home fit to take in guests.
    “Oh, only for a couple of weeks, maybe less,” he said, pouring himself a glass of wine. “I am on my way to Paris to meet with a cousin. He is confident he has discovered the secret to break the curse forever. As soon as the curse is broken, I will come back for you.”
    “Does Nell know of the curse?” I asked.
    “Oh no. She must know nothing, not even your real name. If your name is so much as mentioned, the wind will carry your location to Aurochs’ keen ears. Make no mistakes, she is angered by your disappearance. She does not like to be tricked and she will seek a revenge greater than this family has ever seen.”
    He leaned across the table and held the wine bottle over my glass, but I shook my head. I did not know what the balance of this day would reveal and I needed a keen wit.
    “What if she asks questions?” I asked.
    “I am leaving you here on the pretense of exiling you from an undesirable suitor. Your name is Margo Delancy. She needn’t know anything more.”
    The conversation came to a halt when Nell came over to the table. “Well, if you travelers have had your fill of my food and