“I wanted to see how you were doing, Morning Fawn.” He stood and righted the chair, placing it three or four feet from the head of the bed. He didn’t deserve to sit.
“Using my name will do you no good.” Eyes open to half mast now, she cuddled the blanket, nuzzling her chin againstthe white wool. “If you come too close, I’ve got a fork.” She poked metal tips out from beneath her covering.
The corner of his mouth twitched upward at the threat of the weapon, even as her lopsided smile sank his heart. LeBeau’s methods robbed her of her dignity. This wasn’t who she was, and she’d likely hate him for seeing her like this.
“Poor eye.” She pointed at his patch.
“It’ll heal. I hope.” His fingers twitched on the back of the chair.
A small desk sat beneath the window, supplemented by a cedar chest at the foot of the bed, a washstand with its jumbled items in the opposite corner, a tumbled stool, and a small bedside table and lamp. Hardly anything to show that this was someone’s room and not just an extra bed tucked in the attic. “Where are all your belongings?”
“My belongings?” She frowned.
“You know, the things that make this room yours. Treasures, knickknacks, maybe a drawing?—”
Her sharp exhale fluttered a strand that had fallen across her forehead. “Women who live in an attic don’t get things, Mr. Trouble.” She shoved her hair from her face. “You know I read a story about a woman in the attic a few weeks ago.Jane Eyre, that’s what it was called. Every once in a while, they allow me a book. I had to start with ABC’s and aMcGruffy Duffy Reader, or something like that. Thea thought she was so smart. Looked down on me like I was a six-year-old. But I showed her. My reading came back to me in a matter of months.” Her face glowed in the lamplight. “Sometimes when I’m downstairs, I sneak a book. But when they saw me withJane Eyre,they took it away, and I found out why too. It’s about a woman in the attic. She’s insane. Locked away up there, hidden. Finally, burns the house down, but you know what my question is?” She raised up on both elbows and leaned toward him, so dangerously close to the edge of the bed, hehad to stop himself from scurrying over to make sure she didn’t fall off.
“What is your question?” He waved his hand toward her as if that might give her a clue to move back.
“Question?” She squinted. “Oh, yes. Was she out of her mind before they locked her in the attic? I don’t think so. I think it was that husband of hers, Mr. Rochester, sealing her up there ’cause he couldn’t control her, couldn’t make her behave. He stuck her up there, nailed the windows shut, and threw away the key.” She lifted her chin. “I think it’s my uncle’s favorite book. Except the part about the house burning down.”
His glance flickered to the sealed chimney.
Her eyes lit with amusement. “You’re worried? So are they.”
Was it just the laudanum talking? “I haven’t read the story. But it’s fiction, and it’s not you.”
She wagged a finger at him. “How many women do you have locked up in your attic?”
He crossed his arms. “I don’t lock women in attics.”
“But you take money for it. Three hundred dollars each. My uncle told me. You could make a lot of money if you have a big enough attic.”
He sank into the chair. Would to God he could throw the money in LeBeau’s face and take back any part he had in the matter. But if it hadn’t been him, LeBeau would have hired someone else. “I’m sorry I took you from your home.”
She blinked at him, her eyelids drooping. Would she remember any of this tomorrow? “Your fault.” She stuck out her lip. “They try to rob me. Take my mind.”
He leaned down, elbows on his knees. What if she became dependent on the medicine? Conviction steeled his words. “I’m not going to let them continue to treat you like this.”
“What are you going to do about it?” She rolled onto her back and spread her arm across the bed. “All you care about is your money.”
He looked away. “Which servant do you trust the most?” If he was going to do something about the laudanum, he’d need help.
“Hmmm. Lucy.” She wove her hand through the air. A giggle escaped her lips as she returned to her side and pulled the covers up. “I saw you looking at my ankles.”
“I…wasn’t.” But the heat that rushed up his neck contradicted his words.
“I don’t believe you.” She arched her eyebrows, but they only rose halfway. “They try to steal my breath too. Won’t even let me open my windows.”
“Windows?”
“I told you how they nailed them shut.”
“That was in the book.”
“Well, it’s here too. Trying to suffocate me.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “I used to ride toward the sunset as far and as fast as I could. You took the sunset. Now I have nothing.”
She might as well fill his boots with lead and throw him into the Brazos River.
