“Yes. Yes. That will be fine.” Bethany felt stilted with him again. She had just set foot in what was now to become her own home and yet she had no idea where the dining room was, or her chamber, or the privy, for that matter.
Chase simply stood watching her, his hands behind his back. Oh, but this was awkward.
“I’ll show you the way, My Lady,” Polly comprehended her predicament and led her up two flights of the rounded staircase and then through a short corridor before turning toward the papered wall. This chamber entrance was barely discernable, as the wainscoting and trim effectively camouflaged the jib door.
Bethany studied it curiously. The door blended into the wall perfectly but for the seams.
The room itself was… interesting. Although not decorated to her tastes, it obviously had been freshly cleaned, a hint of lemon oil in the air.
Lavishly outfitted, the furnishings and drapery gave Bethany pause to wonder if it was simply outdated and hadn’t been renovated for decades, or if the prior occupant, Chase’s mother, had intentionally dressed it in a Georgian style. The apricot, tangerine, and coral fabrics, although well-worn, were bright and… unsettling.
The trunks she’d helped pack earlier that day had been placed at the end of the canopied bed. Seeing them in this unfamiliar room jolted her. Home was not home anymore.
This was her home now.
She twirled around slowly and tried to imagine herself comfortable here. Thick velvet tangerine swaths of material were attached to the ceiling and draped elegantly to the floor. Silk ropes of gold tied at the halfway point attached them to the bedposts.
“I’ll fill your bath, My Lady.”
“Thank you.” Bethany nodded vaguely and strolled across to a vanity even as Polly slipped out of the room through a second obscure door. Perhaps once Bethany established herself, she would ask Chase about redecorating. It was as though she’d stepped back in time or into a garish museum.
Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror, she leaned forward and stared at her mouth. Did she really look disapproving? She frowned but reached up to touch her lips. Firm and straight.
Soften,he’d said.
She puckered her lips and intentionally made them go slack, but it was difficult to keep herself from tightening them again.
B-r-e-a-t-h-e.Seven letters. How couldanxiousandbreatheboth be made up of the same number of letters?
She inhaled and then exhaled, pouting and wriggling her shoulders at the same time.
Could easing her inner thoughts change her appearance? The idea had never occurred to her. Seeing the same person she’d always been, she shook her head.
Impossible.
The door Polly exited from a moment before flew open and Bethany jumped guiltily away from the mirror.
“It’s ready.”
“That was awfully fast.” The water must have been heated ahead of time.
The young maid grinned. “His Lordship had special pipes installed two years ago, right after I came on. It’s a luxury for all of us, for sure—when it functions properly. We’re lucky today.”
Bethany followed the cheerful maid into the room where steam drifted up from a filled copper tub set beneath spigots that protruded from the tiled wall.
“If you don’t mind turning, My Lady, I’ll assist you out of your gown.” Chase had suggested she wear her yellow muslin to the church—foolish man. Instead she’d selected a pale gold satin with puffed sleeves and a cinched waist. Her wedding may have been rushed but she’d still hoped to feel pretty.
Polly draped the dress over a divider and turned back to unlace Bethany’s stays.
Never in a thousand years could Bethany have imagined how drastically her life could change over the course of twenty-four hours.
“I’m not used to the jib doors,” she commented. “Do you find it difficult to make your way throughout the house?”
“At first. I’m used to them now. Lady Chaswick insists on them so as to leave the wall coverings undisturbed.”
“Do all the rooms have them?” Bethany lowered herself into the hot water, slowly, and then slid down so that it covered most of her.
“Not at all. Here’s the soap, My Lady. Should I wash your hair? I’ll have Collins light the hearth and if we are quick about it, we can have it dried in time for you to go down. Such a lovely shade, ebony with hints of gold.”
