She debated closing her eyes and escaping reality by sliding back into the dream, but an insistent tapping on the door refused to allow it. She scooted upward and back against the broad upholstered headboard, clutching the bedclothes to her chest. “Uhm…come in?”
Rill, the maid Mrs. Shimmerhill had introduced and assigned to her last night, hurried inside with a broad smile and a happy bounce to her step. “Good morning, my lady, and how are ye this fine day? Did ye find yer rest last evening?”
“I did, thank you. I slept better than I’ve slept in a very long while.”
That appeared to please the bubbly young woman dressed in a starched white cap and apron even more. “Well met! Mrs. Shimmerhill will be so pleased to hear ye found the suite so much to yer liking that ye slept like a wee babe.” She bustled to the far side of the room, her somber black skirts rustling with her hurried steps. She folded back a tall dividing wall that was ingeniously hinged in several sections. “And now time for a bath to refresh ye to meet the day. Celestia will be up soon with yer morning tea.” She paused beside the enormous, high-backed copper tub she had revealed when opening the wall. It sat on a white marble pedestal and was quite breathtaking, the fanciest bathtub Lexi had ever seen. “Or do ye prefer coffee? Or chocolate, perhaps?”
Lexi hugged her knees tighter, unaccustomed to all this attention. “I usually drink coffee and sparkling water first thing every morning. If those aren’t available, I’m sure tea would be lovely. There’s no need for anyone to fuss.”
Rill stared at her as if she’d sprouted a second head. “No need for anyone to fuss? Why, my lady, nothing ye desire is too much of a fuss.” She stood straighter, briefly closed her eyes, then opened them and smiled. “Celestia will soon arrive with coffee and yer…sparkling water…Although I dinna ken exactly what that is, I’m sure Cook and Mrs. Shimmerhill will help her find it.”
“Sparkling water is just plain water with carbonation…bubbles in it.” Lexi studied the maid for a long moment, then couldn’t resist asking, “Did you just communicate with Celestia through telepathy?” She found that mildly disconcerting. Could everyone here in this strange place read minds? That was the last bit of privacy anyone could ever hope to have.
“Telepathy?” Rill paused in her circling of the bath. “I am not certain what ye mean by that, my lady. Forgive me.”
Lexi noticed that as the girl walked around the marble dais where the tub sat, it slowly filled with steaming water like the rising of the tide. The discovery of such magic sent a shudder rippling down her spine, covering her in gooseflesh. This realm was so…different. She realized Rill was still looking at her, waiting for an answer. “Uhm…telepathy is the ability to communicate through thoughts rather than speaking.”
The maid happily bobbed her head and resumed circling the bathtub. “Oh, aye, then. We maids do it all the time. ’Tis because we are born of the Fae who love to serve. Since we all be from the same clan, we possess the same magic to help us with our duties. We often speak to each other with our thoughts. ’Tis most helpful when needing to fetch things.”
“But you can’t ready my mind?”
Rill’s expression of shock made Lexi feel loads better. “Oh no, my lady. Just the minds of my particular clan.”
Feeling generous after discovering her thoughts were still safe, Lexi added, “It sounds to me as though you are the backbone of the household. Without your clan, the place would come to a screeching halt.” Lexi pushed herself higher among the pillows. There was so much to learn about this place. So much to process. But most importantly—she needed to pee. Badly.
Rill beamed at her and bowed. “Ye are most kind, my lady, most kind for saying such a wonderful thing.” Then the girl perked up like a cat spotting a mouse. “What is it, my lady? I sense yer discomfort. Is something not to yer liking?”
Since they had told her it was the year 1811, Lexi assumed her only hope for relief would be a chamber pot. Of course, the Realm had a magically self-filling bathtub, so maybe it had a toilet too. “I need to use the facilities,” she said, lowering her voice, then feeling silly about doing so since it was just her and the maid in the room.
Rill looked at her with a rare frown. “Use the facilities?” she repeated.
“Restroom? Toilet? Loo? Chamber pot?” Lexi squared her shoulders and sat taller. “I need to pee—relieve myself.”
The maid threw up her hands. “Oh dear, my lady! Forgive me. I should have known ye would need relief upon awakening.” She waved Lexi forward. “Come, come. The chamber stand is right over here. Let me open it for ye.” She went to a fat, short-legged nightstand, unfolded it, and latched its parts in place like some intricate puzzle. Once she finished, she stepped back and revealed an elaborate wooden chair with a hole in the seat. Shelves on either side of the seat held folded cloths and colorful jars of mysterious contents. “Here ye are, my lady, and there are plenty of cloths for the wiping. Simply toss them into the porcelain when ye have finished. If ye happen to be on yer courses, I took the liberty of stocking the drawer with bundles and a belt, and there is a selection of oils should ye need anything for any chafing of sorts.”
Courses?It took Lexi a minute or two to realize that the maid was talking about menstruation. Thank heavens it wasn’t time for that and wouldn’t be for a couple of weeks. “Thank you, but I won’t have to worry about courses for a little while.” She climbed out of the bed and shook out the long linen nightgown Rill had supplied her with last night. When she reached the wooden toilet, she halted and eyed the maid, willing the girl to go somewhere else so she could pee in privacy.
“Is there aught else ye need, my lady? Is something not to yer liking?”
There was nothing to do but say it, plain and simple. “I can’t pee with an audience.”
The girl gave her a befuddled look and stood there blinking like a frog in a hailstorm. “Audience, my lady?”
Lexi pointed at her. “I have a shy bladder. Would you mind stepping out into the hallway? I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”
Still appearing a bit confused, the maid nodded. “Aye, my lady. Since ye canna relieve yerself with me in the room, must I stay away whilst ye bathe too? Mrs. Shimmerhill said I was to be yer lady’s maid and help ye with everything. I took that to mean…everything.”
It became more than a little apparent that Lexi had hurt Rill’s feelings. The girl seemed to feel that Lexi thought her inadequate, which was not her intention. “I don’t mind bathing with you in the room, but I will be washing myself. Where I come from, I’m not used to someone doing everything for me—but trust me, that doesn’t mean I don’t need your help to understand things during my stay here.”
Rill beamed at her, immediately returning to her jolly self. She bounced over to the bedroom door and stepped out into the hall. Before she closed it, she nodded. “It is glad that I am to be hearing that, my lady. Glad that I am, indeed. Sing out when I may come back inside. I shall remain by the door.”
“I will, thank you.” Lexi willed the girl to get out before the proverbial dam broke, and she peed down both legs. As soon as the door clicked shut, she bunched up the nightgown, yanked down her panties, and gave a sigh of relief while being sure to sit still on the wooden commode. It felt smooth enough, but you never knew when you might get a splinter, and a splinter down there would not only be uncomfortable but also humiliating.
Feeling much better and a great deal lighter, she went ahead and stripped down, put her hair into a topknot with her ponytail holder, and got into the tub. “You can come back in now,” she sang out as she sank into the heavenly scented water.
“Why, thank ye.” Jeros strolled into the room, looking smug and entirely too handsome.
Lexi submerged up to her chin and was thankful that whatever oils Rill had added to the water had turned it to a pink milkiness that was opaque enough to conceal her. “I was talking to Rill. Not you. Do you mind? I’m having a bath.”
