Page 20 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

There was still plenty of time before sunset—before she could speak with Valeria—but she was exhausted as she retired to her bedroom. She had hoped to take a nap, but stifled her sigh when she saw Lucy sitting on her couch while repairing one of Caroline’s frocks.

“I hope you don’t mind I’m up here, Miss, but Mrs. Thomas is on the warpath today, and I wanted to be able to mend your dresses in peace. I can find some other room to haunt if you wish to be alone.”

“No, that’s quite alright, Lucy. I was going to do some needlework anyway; now I have someone to keep me company.” It should have frightened her how easy it was for her to lie, but she couldn’t kick her out if she was there looking for refuge. Lucy hadn’t been her maid for more than three months, but she liked her quite a lot. “You don’t have to worry about Mrs. Thomas. She blusters a lot, but it’s only because of stress. She’s quite harmless.”

Lucy shot her a look as if she didn’t believe her before she returned to her mending.

“Well, I still think it’s best if I stay out of her way.”

With that, Caroline could agree. Mrs. Thomas had not agreed with her unconventional choice of hiring Lucy to be her lady’s maid. Lucy was an amiable woman with a sharp wit who was only a little older than her, but her only experience as a maid was six weeks as a scullery maid a decade previous. Her mother was a laundress in the village, and her father was a stonemason.

Until a two-ton stone fell on him while he was rebuilding a local bridge. It was a ghastly accident, and he had been in the hospital for weeks before succumbing to sepsis. Ultimately Lucy’s brothers saved the business, but they both had growing families, and she wanted to be able to support herself without having to rely on her family.

And Caroline’s lady’s maid had just left service to marry Mr. Bennett, the town baker.

While Lucy didn’t have the experience she would have liked, she was handy with a needle and never complained when Caroline gently corrected her.

“How was your visit with Dr. Murnau?”

“He isn’t able to come today, but he said he should have time tomorrow.” She declined to tell Lucy about the illness hitting the village because they weren’t sure if it was plague and she didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily.

“That’s good, I’m sure he’ll be able to settle everything tomorrow. Nelly needs some tonic, and she’ll be right as rain.”

“Right,” Caroline smiled, but it was hollow as she feared a cure wouldn’t be quite so easy. “Until Nelly is better, do you mind taking over Lady Valeria’s duties as well?”

Lucy hesitated, and she could see the uncertainty—and perhaps even a little fear—in her eyes.

“Unless you feel like you aren’t up for it. I can ask Mrs. Thomas if she can spare anyone else.”

“No, it isn’t that. I don’t have any problem with taking on Lady Valeria. She sleeps all day, so I don’t think she’ll be much of an issue,” Lucy said quickly before biting her lip. “It’s only…Nelly and I are close. The night before she fell ill, she told me how unnerving Lady Valeria’s sleep was. That it looked like she was dead.”

“Did Nelly have anything else to say?” Her own stomach had twisted over how unnatural Valeria’s slumber was, but she kept reminding herself that she couldn’t help it. She didn’t ask to have such severe sun sickness.

“No,” she said quickly. “And we weren’t gossiping either. She just mentioned that one thing, but otherwise said Lady Valeria was rather lovely. She liked having a go at being a lady’s maid.”

Somehow that had twisted Caroline’s stomach just as much, but she smiled again to reassure her. “I don’t mind even if you were gossiping a little. Dr. Murnau will be here tomorrow, and hopefully Nelly will be on the mend, and then we can put all of this behind us.”

Maybe if she kept repeating that to herself, she would believe it too.

* * *

Sunset was nearly an hour ago, and she still hadn’t seen Valeria. She only wanted to check on her and was disappointed that Valeria hadn’t looked for her as she had previously. That was the only reason why Caroline stood outside her door, unsure if she should knock.

It was easier when she knew Valeria was unconscious.

It was silly of her to be too nervous to knock. This was her house, and while she wasn’t lady of the house—yet—her mother was indisposed, so it was her responsibility to check on their guest. Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on the door. Holding her breath until she heard a bored directive to enter.

Valeria lounged on her side on the bed, her dressing gown perilously open wide at the neck that tapered to a deep V at her waist. A journal was in front of her that she had been casually writing in when she looked up to see Caroline. A wicked grin unfurled, and she snapped the journal shut.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Valeria asked.

“I wanted to check on you. Some other members of the household have fallen ill, and I wanted to make sure you’re still well.”

“I already told you that what I have isn’t contagious, but you never need an excuse to see me.”

“Yes, well,” Caroline said, shifting in place as her eyes darted between Valeria and the floor. “But what they have could be contagious to you.”

“Are you going to protect me from the big, bad illness, cara?”