She gazed at the cursed bottle. “I don’t even like gin,” she complained to the air around her. Her voice sounded shaky and petulant.
Thiswas not the woman she thought herself to be. And, God help her, if she wanted to be that woman, she dared not take a drink... except she wanted one badly.
Still, she knew brandy would not make matters better. She knew that as clearly as she knew her name.
Leonie skirted around the bed away from the brandy bottle. She gave it her back as she sat on the bed and reached for the covers. Curling into a small ball on the mattress, she covered her head with the sheets. They smelled of Roman. His scent was all around her here.
She wrapped her arms around herself and prayed that she could either disappear or be saved. Please, oh, please let her be saved.
In this way, she fell into a fitful sleep.
A pounding on the door woke her. “My lady?My lady?”
Leonie’s eyelids seemed sealed shut and they had no desire to open. She rubbed her nose in the bedclothes. She didn’t feel good. Something was not right—and then she realized where she was and what she had done.
Groggily, she forced her eyes to open and looked over at the empty side of the bed. Roman had not returned. He was true to his word.
“My lady?” The knocking had not ceased.
Leonie sat up. Her hair was a tangled mess and she was wearing the dress she’d worn yesterday.
The brandy bottle was still on the table.
She had not touched it. She had kept her resolve, a small victory.
“My lady?”
Leonie looked to the door. “Yes?”
The relief in the voice on the other side was noticeable. “My lady, it is Mrs. Stoddard, the innkeeper’s wife. Such a hard night you had and I wouldn’t bother you save the earl bid me tell you he is ready to leave. He wishes to know if you are coming with him or if you wish to take a hired chaise back to London?” The question in her voice said she didn’t know if she’d got it right.
Leonie had no doubt she did. Roman would dearly enjoy sending her packing.
She looked again to the untouched bottle. Something inside of her felt its pull, but her pride would not let her bend. He expected her to hasten back to London and live on what? The man who had delivered ultimatums was not one to support an errant wife. Why, he’d set her aside—and she would not give him the satisfaction.
“Tell him—” Her voice had to be cleared. It was hard to sound proud when one’s throat was so dry. “Tell him I will be down shortly to continueourtrip to Bonhomie. I will expect to break my fast.”
“Yes, my lady.” Footsteps could be heard leaving the door and going down the stairs.
Leonie knew Roman would be impatient. He was done with her. If she wasn’t quick, he would leave. At the same time, she couldn’t let him treat her as if she was little more than a servant. She was his wife. She had pride—although now that he had her dowry, pride was all she could claim.
She pulled out a traveling dress Minnie had rolled carefully and tucked into her valise. It was robin’s-egg blue with capped sleeves and rows of pleating across the bodice. She always felt very feminine when she wore it. She now dressed quickly, including pulling on clean stockings.
She brushed the snarls from her hair and twisted it at her neck, using pins to hold it in place. The splash of cold water on her face felt good and reminded her she could not put off the inevitable.
Leonie looked at her reflection in the glass.
An angry purple bruise marred her cheekbone. There was additional bruising around one corner of her mouth where the cut was. It didn’t hurt anymore but Leonie was very grateful the soldier hadn’t broken her nose when he’d struck her.
She lifted her chin. The marks from his fingers were on either side of her windpipe. Those bruises would fade swiftly. The ones on her face would take longer.
Stepping back from the mirror, she told herself to not be ashamed. She had not been the attacker.
From its place on the bedside table, the brandy bottle mocked her.
Leonie quickly stuffed her clothes, including her nightdress, into her valise and closed it. Roman would have someone fetch it for her. She needed to go downstairs. She put on her pelisse and picked up her bonnet and gloves.
Squaring her shoulders, she opened the door and walked briskly to the stairs and down them. She stopped at the water closet.
