Violet slumped forward, laying her head into her hands.She sucked in a much-needed breath before sitting back up.“Thank you, Hodgins,” she murmured.
He bowed at the waist, then stepped back out the door and tipped his head to someone in the corridor.
Ginny rushed into the room.“Come, ma’am.Let’s get you into a nice bath.”
The next morning, Violet stared at the fresh bruise on her cheek in the mirror.God, she was so tired.She pushed tangled hair over her shoulder and, bracing her hands on the dressing table, rose to her feet.She hadn’t vomited this morning, but still she was so weary.
Ginny bustled from the dressing room.“What would you like to wear today?”
“Nothing.Please tell everyone that I am not to be disturbed.I think I will stay abed today.”She crossed and climbed back under the covers.“Oh, and please send a note to Lady Hartwick that my husband returned early and I am not able to come for tea today after all.”
“Will you eat some breakfast?”Ginny asked.
“No.Maybe later.Go, please.”Then Violet pulled the covers up around her head and closed her eyes.She had no energy to battle today.She wasn’t even sure why she thought she could fight to free herself in the first place.
Chapter Ten
Rhys snatched aroll from the basket offered to him, then used it to mop up the gravy left over on his plate.“I’m going to steal away your cook.She must be mine.”
Lucy pointed a finger at him.“Don’t even think about it.”
Hart chuckled.“Besides, she needs a proper kitchen.What sort of abode do you crawl into at the end of each day?”
“I am offended.I have a house with a real kitchen,” Rhys retorted.
“You do?”Lucy said.
“Do you imagine I still live in the gutter?”
“I have imagined all sorts of possibilities, but the one I thought most likely was some flat in a decent rooming house.”
“I imagined you stayed at the Angel,” Hart chimed in.Both he and his wife looked at him curiously.
Rhys polished off his roll.It really was the best gravy he had ever had.“I do have my own house.But I will admit that because I have traveled so often over the years, I just employ one housekeeper to clean and cook for me.Louisa is a gem.”He sighed as they continued to stare silently at him.“I have recently acquired a dining table.Maybe I will invite you over for dinner sometime.”
Lucy’s eyes lit up.“That would be lovely.After the baby comes, perhaps.Until then, I feel more comfortable staying home.”
Hart took her hand and kissed her fingers.“And what did you do today to keep entertained?”
“I was supposed to visit with Violet this afternoon.But she sent a note this morning saying that her husband was back early from the country and she was unable to come.I was quite disappointed.”
Back early?Rhys straightened.“When did he arrive home?”
Lucy sent him a quizzical look.“The note from Violet came around ten this morning, so my guess is that he returned yesterday.”She shrugged.
Shit.She was unprotected in that house with her husband.Perhaps he could still make sure Sommerset met a gruesome end.His thoughts darkened at how satisfying it would be to kill that bastard.
“Good Lord, Seaton, you look positively murderous,” Lucy said.
“I was with her yesterday afternoon.”
“You were?Why?”
“You asked me to keep an eye on her.She was somewhere she didn’t belong, and I escorted her home.”
“That is very cryptic,” Hart said.
“I can’t say what she was doing.But you were right to be concerned about her husband.Do you know which club he frequents?”
