"Whose idea was it in the first place that Porcia should elope with Thomas?"
"'Twas Elizabeth who had suggested it," Antonia replied. "And what did you think of this idea?"
"Well… I thought 'twas rather ill advised, to be honest."
"Indeed? You did not find it… romantic?"
"I found it rather foolish, if you must know," said Antonia.
"Of course, I did not say so at the time."
"Why not?"
"Well, I did not wish to seem lacking in sympathy. Portia was very much upset, and I did not wish to make matters any worse for her."
"I see," said Shakespeare. "'Twas most considerate of you. Why did you believe that the elopement would be ill advised?"
"Because if she and Thomas were to have run away together, they would afterwards have been penniless," Anconia said. "How would they have lived? What would have become of her? Would she have been forced to find work as a laundress or a serving wench? What sort of life would that have been for the daughter of a gentleman?" .
"A life with the man she loved, perhaps," said Shakespeare.
"Some may find contentment in such a life. Others may have greater needs. Your husband is a very wealthy man, I undersrand, is that not so?"
"Harry has been very successful in his life," Antonia replied.
'We are very comfortable."
"He is also a good many years older than you, is that not so?"
"Aye. But why do you ask? 'Tis not unusual for men to marry women younger than themselves."
"Nay, 'tis not, indeed," said Shakespeare. He glanced back toward where Smythe stood together with the men who had come back with him. Smythe gave him an emphatic nod. "Especially wealthy gentlemen," he added. "An older man, well settled in his life and in his habits, can certainly provide a secure and comfortable life for a beautiful young woman. But if he is much older, he may not be able to provide everything that a beautiful young woman may desire, is that not so?"
Antonia frowned. "I am not sure wh
at you mean."
"I mean that a beautiful young woman like yourself, married to a man many years her senior, may not be able to have all of her desires met. She may have certain needs that he cannot, by virtue of his age, fulfill, is that not so?"
Antonia stiffened. "Your comments are impertinent, sir."
"Ah, well, I would suggest to you that my comments are most pertinent, indeed," said Shakespeare. "Have you ever had a lover, Mistress Morrison?"
"You are a bounder, a lout, and a scoundrel, sir," she replied.
"How dare you?"
Elizabeth held her breath.
"What if I were to tell you, Mistress Morrison, that I happen to know that you are an adulteress?"
She rose to her feet, her hands clenched into fists. "Then I would call you an impudent rascal and a villainous liar!"
"So then you deny that you were having an affair with Thomas Locke?"
Elizabeth gasped. Winifred stared, open-mouthed. And Portia sat stiffly, her gaze fixed upon Antonia unwaveringly.
"Of course, I deny it, you worm! I told you that I did not even know him!"