Bloody hell, if he told this man who the room was for and how Orlando came to possess Mrs. Clay, she would lose the one place that might offer the shelter she wanted.
“I am inquiring for my wife, but I will not always be staying with her.” Orlando was not in the habit of lying, but it was surprisingly easy now that he needed to.
“Why would you want to leave your wife in an inn?”
“I am a surgeon with Wellington’s Army. She followed the drum and now tires of living in a tent. I promised that if I could find her a room at an inn that I would make the arrangements and be with her when I could, but I do have duties to the army.”
The proprietor stepped back and looked Orlando over.
Maybe if he was dressed more formally, he would be believed, but Orlando only wore a full uniform when absolutely necessary. Given his work, and how easily his clothing became stained, he refrained from wearing anything that was not easily cleaned and more costly to replace.
“I am who I say I am,” Orlando insisted. “I can retrieve a letter of introduction from my commanding officer if it is required.”
The older man stared at him a bit longer then shook his head. “It is not necessary,” he finally said. “We have a room for your wife. Mine will serve meals in the morning and evenings in the dining room. If laundry services are needed, that is extra.”
“I understand.”
“The room will get cleaned once a week and the linen changed at that time.”
“That is agreeable.”
He then drew out a ledger. “I need your name.”
“Dr. Orlando Valentine.”
“The name of your wife?”
“Blythe Valentine.”
The man wrote both names down. “How long will your wife be a guest?”
“I am not certain. I am here until we are ordered to march, which could be in a sennight or a month, unless Napoleon meets us here.” He assumed that Wellington already had plans for when he would meet the French on the battlefield but those had not been shared with him.
“Three shillings a day or a pound a week.”
By paying for a week, he saved one shilling. “I will pay for the night now and discuss the matter with my wife before we return.” It would be more convenient to pay for the week of lodging and meals now, but he also wasn’t going to waste a pound if he was buying her a ticket to sail home the next day.
“It is the last door on the left on the first floor, room twelve.”
Orlando took the key. “Thank you. I will return with her shortly.”
The man said nothing more and Orlando stepped from the inn and hoped that Blythe had no objection to his duplicity. It was either that, or sleeping on the floor in his tent, which he would not allow.
Chapter Four
“Were you able to find lodgings?” Blythe had been anxious since he left. What if she found herself in an inn where she knew people from her past. What if they learned what her husband had done? How did she explain why she was by herself with no maids if she was residing in an inn?
There were so many concerns that she almost decided to remain in the tent even if he found a room. Except that would be unfair to Dr. Valentine and Isabella, and frankly, she would rather risk being discovered and needing to come up with an excuse than sleep with strangers.
“Yes. At an inn just before you enter the city.”
“Is it full or crowded?”
“I did not ask, but there were several people in the parlor.”
“Were they…um…of quality? Lords and ladies and such?”
Dr. Valentine frowned. “They did not appear to be but how can one really tell on sight?”
