“A bag?” She stared at him. “Oh. Right. Mytrunk.Yes, if you could fetch my luggage…”
Is “fetch” the right word?
She was fine with a script, but her Victorianese was not as good off set. Addie pondered how much of that she’d need to master as she walked up the steps to the main door.Surely, most events wouldn’texpect that of me!Another servant darted forward to open the door before Addie could touch it.
She nodded. Trying to think of the rules without a script was feeling more than a little outside of her skill set.Where’s Toni when I need her?Addie stepped inside, where she was greeted by a woman whose dress was in what Addie thought was 1800s: front slit, visible bustle, and an excess of ornamentation.
“Name?” the woman asked, staring at a list.
“Lady Adelaine Stewart.”
The smile was even wider then. “Ofcourse! The actress! Stepped right from the pages of Darbyshire’s book, then. I heard… well, never you mind.” The woman turned and said, “Tomas!Lady Adelaine Stewartis here. Please show her to the suite. We’ll swap the two on Sunday when the other one arrives. I best tell my sister.”
“The suite?” Addie was increasingly confused. “I didn’t book a s—”
The woman patted Adelaine’s wrist as if they were acquainted. Then she hustled away to answer a question about dinner and left Addie with another servant.
“The misses Dove are always quite lively people, best just to say your bit, and quickly at that,” he said conspiratorially. He led her up the stairs and opened the door, bowed, and once she entered the room, he closed the door behind her.
Feeling unsure of everything, Adelaine glared at the door. Her luggage wasn’t here yet, and she felt out of sorts about the whole event. They seemed unsure of her room at first, but now she was in a suite.
I wonder what that will cost? Will the studio pay for the extra nights?
Addie turned around to look at her suite. There was someone here, in the bed, back to her. “Oh, I’m sorry, I—”
“Room service? Not what I expected here, but—” The person rolled over, and the voice stopped dead.
Toni’s voice.
Addie gaped ather.Toni. Only this time, she wasn’t wearing oneof her blazers. She had on her underwear and a racer-back tank top. That was all. And she was stretched out in a rather rumpled bed.
Briefly, Addie looked around the room, wondering if there was another woman here.Someone Toni is with now that she’s over me.
“Again in Victorian costume,” Toni murmured as she stood up and walked up to Addie, who backed up so she was leaning on the door.
I ought to open it and flee.
Toni’s bare limbs were on tantalizing display. She was as calm as if she had seen Addie the night before, as if there was nothing amiss. “I wake from my nap and here you are,” Toni said. “Am I dreaming you? Are you real?”
Addie glanced at Toni’s bare skin despite her attempts at propriety. Her hands practically itched to trace the ink that stretched from shoulder to forearm. She folded her fingers into tight fists to resist that temptation.
“Hello?” Toni said when Addie stayed silent.
Bad idea, Ads.Addie channeled her sternest voice.Don’t give in.
“Not a dream,” Addie managed to say.
“You look amazing,” Toni said hurriedly, not reaching out with anything but her gaze. “No matter what you wear, you’re always gorgeous. I swear those promo pictures for the show are designed to torture me.”
Addie stepped away from the door, closer to temptation. She’d expected time to get her mind clear and brace herself to see Toni, but here they were. “Really? You liked them?”
“Yes, really. You are magnificent.”
“I didn’t mean to be in your room,” Addie whispered. “They brought me here by mistake or something.”
“Oh…?” Toni reached over to a chair and grabbed a dressing gown of some sort of boldly toned silk and slid it on. Her voice was cooler as she asked, “Do you need me to get Tomas back?”
“I don’t know.” Addie started to shake. “This is your room, though. Not mine. I was to be in a regular room, and one of the Sisters Dove sent me here and… Should I go?”
