“I could have made the bond deposits for you, at least for the two banks that have my name on the account. And you could have waited until tomorrow morning to take the other bond to the third bank.”
She stared out the window. Of course he would say such a thing. He was too sweet, so sweet, in fact, that she couldn’t imagine saying good-bye to him once he’d taken her to Texas.
They hit another bump, and she grimaced.
“We’re almost there,” he whispered against the top of her head. “I don’t like how shallow your breathing is. We’ll get you out of this monstrosity of a dress as soon as we’re back; then you can lie down and rest.”
She looked down at her dress, which truly was a monstrosity. She’d worn a fancy gown of midnight blue faille, with a tightly fitted bodice and rows of decorative buttons down the front. It was elegant and respectable, but the high collar pressed against her throat, and the corset beneath it dug mercilessly into herribs. Even the narrow-cut sleeves felt too snug now, as though her body had grown too weary to bother maintaining good posture.
They’d met one of her old friends and her husband for brunch before she’d headed to the bank to meet with Mr. Holloway, and she’d known what would be expected of her both with Agnes and at the banks.
She’d also known the dress was too tight and that she’d have trouble breathing before Yuri had even finished buttoning it that morning, but she hadn’t said anything.
That had been foolish, because her ribs had been getting steadily better, and she didn’t remember them hurting this bad since they’d left Portland.
The carriage slowed, but it still managed to hit a bump before stopping, and she couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her lips.
Yuri moved to the door and opened it before the driver climbed down from his perch. He stepped out first, then turned and held out his arms. “Come here.”
She didn’t want to even breathe, much less climb out of a carriage in full view of the busy Washington street, but she forced herself away from the seat anyway and reached for Yuri’s hand. He helped her down the steps, taking a bit more of her weight than was customary, then steadied her against his side before they entered the grand marble lobby of the Arlington Hotel.
Fortunately the lobby was too busy for anyone to pay them much mind, and Yuri guided her straight to the elevator, where he gave their floor number to the attendant.
He kept her tucked against his side as the elevator jerked, then groaned, then started to move. She rested her cheek against the soft wool of his coat and closed her eyes, trying to suck deepbreaths of air into her lungs, but the dress was simply too tight for that, and the bindings beneath it didn’t help.
Yuri thanked the man after the elevator stopped and he opened the gate, but he kept his arm tucked firmly around her as he guided her to their room.
The moment the door closed behind them, he swept her into his arms.
She gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Carrying you to the bed. You’re about to fall over.”
She probably could have made it to the other side of the room, but she didn’t argue, just let herself rest against him until he set her down at the edge of the bed.
He moved to undo the top button at her neck next, but she stilled, the breath freezing in her lungs. “Yuri, I can do the front buttons.”
She didn’t have a lot of dresses with the buttons on the front, but she had enough that most days she could manage dressing without Yuri’s help.
“Just let me get you out of this, Ros. Then I’ll have hot water sent up from the kitchen and make you some willow-bark tea, and you can rest.”
She settled her hand over his. “I can do it.”
He looked up at her. “Are you sure? It will take you twice as long.”
She nodded.
“Very well.” He stood, then glanced around the room, raking a hand through his hair. “I’ll... ah, I’ll give you some privacy and see about the hot water myself.”
“Thank you.”
He gave a short nod, his eyes moving to her face but not drifting lower to the handful of buttons he’d already managed to undo; then he walked to the door.
It took her a ridiculously long time to undo the rest of the buttons, just like it had taken her a ridiculously long time to button them that morning, but Yuri wasn’t knocking on the door after two minutes or even five.
No, she had the buttons completely undone and the dress off, and was fumbling with the bindings around her ribs before a soft rap sounded on the door.
“Are you decent?” Yuri poked his head inside. “Can I come in now?”
