CHAPTER 16
ELIZA
My rooms always had some light. Moonlight filtered in through the tall windows or I caught the faint glow of light from the hallway lamp right outside my door. There was alwayssomething, but when my eyes flew open, it was completely dark.
My heart lurched violently into my throat, and for a long, disorientating second, I had no idea where I was. I sat up fast, immediately regretting it when the remnants of my headache throbbed faintly behind my eyes.
Thankfully not with the same vicious intensity as earlier, but the darkness combined with that lingering ache sent a pulse of panic straight through me.Did I sleep through the entire day?
It had to be that. This wasn’t the kind of dark that came from closed curtains or a storm rolling in. This was night-time dark, and the last thing I remembered, it had been morning.
My feet hit the floor before I could stop to think about the consequences. A light wave of nausea passed through me as I stood. I swallowed it back, stumbling toward the sitting room just off my bedroom and bumping my hip against the edge of a chair along the way.
“Hello?” I called weakly, my fingers finally finding the light switch beside the door leading into the sitting room.
As soon as I flicked it, light flooded the space and I froze when I realized I wasn’t alone. My heart flung itself upside down, my pulse skyrocketing until recognition filtered in.
Jesse was sitting in the armchair near the fireplace, half-slumped with his head tilted forward and one arm hung loosely over the side of the chair. The fireplace had burned down to a bed of glowing embers, casting a soft red glow across the room.
Outside the windows, rain pounded steadily against the glass, a chill in the air that was a little more brisk than usual for late August. The light snapping on startled him awake a few seconds later, and instantly, his spine shot straight and he twisted in the chair.
“Eliza?”
I crossed my arms immediately. “What time is it?”
His eyes drifted toward the clock on the mantel. “Late.”
My stomach dropped. “Late? It can’t be late. I had a full day planned and I haven’t done a single thing.”
He sat up even straighter, blinking a few more times before stretching his arms above his head and yawning. “Wow. I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
I stared at him. “You let me sleep through theentireday?”
He pushed himself to his feet, still looking half-asleep as he reached up to scrub a palm along the side of his jaw. “Technically, yes.”
My panic escalated. “There were meetings, and the production team walkthrough and the west farm accounts, and the tour bookings, and?—”
“Eliza.” He said my name so calmly and firmly that I stopped. Then he proceeded to explain, in impressive detail, that every single item on my agenda had been accomplished, and then some.
Apparently, Miriam had taken full advantage of his willingness to help with whatever needed to be done, and asa result, Jesse had spent the day assisting with production logistics, reviewing schedules, helping reorganize supply inventories, and somehow even participating in a full cleaning of the cellar.
“Aaron helped with that too, if I’m being honest,” he said sheepishly. “I’d still have been down there if she’d left me to my own devices.”
My panic slowly drained into a completely stunned silence. “You did all of that?”
“Well, Miriam and Aaron did most of it,” he said. “I mostly carried things and tried not to break anything expensive.”
“I’m not just talking about the cellar,” I murmured. “You spent the whole dayworking? Here. At thecastle?”
He shrugged. “You needed the rest and I had nothing better to do. Are you feeling better?”
Something about the way he said it so nonchalantly threatened to make me burst into tears. Honestly, I wasn’t sure anyone had ever done something quite like this for me.
“My headache has mostly subsided,” I said quietly. “The nausea is gone now, so yes. I’m feeling much better. Thank you.” I paused for a beat, a little thrown off by all of this. “I can’t remember the last time I took an entire day off.”
He huffed out a quiet laugh, raking his fingers through his tousled hair like that might put it in order. “Yeah. I know the feeling.”
“You do?”
