Betina Krahn by The Unlikely Angel

Author:The Unlikely Angel
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

10

The day was not without its high points, Madeline thought, using the memory of those modest successes to stave off fatigue. The water was now running in the houses, and they had actually completed a bodice or two. But the day had seemed endless, and the evening seemed to go on forever. It had been dark for some time when Davenport came up the rear stairs of the factory, lantern in hand, and found her perched on Tattersall’s stool, rubbing her eyes with ink-stained fingers as she tried to see the letters and bank drafts she was signing.

“We waited supper,” Davenport announced, startling her. “For two hours.”

“I’m sorry. I should have sent you word. I needed to get a number of things done, and I had so little time today, with production starting. Every time I sat down at my desk, someone came up with another little crisis.”

“I thought about bringing you a tray, but decided that would only encourage you to stay longer.” She came to lean against the side of the tall clerk’s desk. “You’ll make yourself sick, Maddy Duncan, if you keep this up. You need rest and food and—when was the last time you took a walk or read a book or ate a proper breakfast at your own table?”

“I can think of more pleasant things than having to face him every morning … before coffee.”

“And I can think of worse,” Davenport said tartly. “He’s easy on the eyes.”

“But hard on the nerves.” She glanced down at the paperwork before her and issued a tired sigh. “I suppose this can wait until morning.”

She slipped off the stool, collected her shawl, and doused the lamp.

The clock in the hall was chiming half past something when they walked through the front door. Davenport peeled Madeline’s shawl from her drooping shoulders and ordered her up the stairs and into bed, promising to bring her a tray. Slipping easily into the pattern of bygone days, she obediently trudged up the stairs, peering over the banister to see the light coming from under the library door.

Every muscle in her body was complaining as she changed her clothes, gave her face a cursory splash of water, and then sank down into the stuffed chair by the cold fireplace. She pulled her bare feet up under her nightdress and wrapped her arms around her knees. While she waited for Davenport, lists of tasks for the following day and details needing attention kept trailing through her mind chanting: Don’t forget … Don’t forget … And the chant became a numbing drone.

That was where Davenport found her, curled up in the chair, sound asleep, her head resting against the padded wing. The housekeeper set the tray on the table and was about to leave, when she heard movement near the door and whirled.

Lord Mandeville was coming across the room with a finger to his lips. He gestured to the bedcovers, then picked up Madeline and carried her to the bed. Davenport quickly tucked her nightdress around her ankles and pulled the covers over her.

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