My Lady's Pleasure by Olivia Quincy

Author:Olivia Quincy
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2010-06-19T04:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

She woke to the sound of a timid knock.

“Alexandra, dear,” said the voice of Miss Mumford through the door, “are you quite all right?”

“I am,” she called. “Come in.”

Miss Mumford opened the door just far enough to slip through, and then closed it behind her. She was going to make a feeble little joke about Miss Niven’s lying so late in bed, but the haggard expression on the girl’s face checked her. “Is something wrong?” she asked, with real concern.

Having just woken, Alexandra wasn’t thinking clearly, and wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to tell Miss Mumford about last night’s events. “I honestly don’t know,” she finally said. Then, thinking better of the ambiguity, she added, “but I think everything is fine.”

“I’m glad,” said her companion, but with some skepticism. “Mr. Gerard is outside. He noticed that you didn’t come down to breakfast, and was concerned that your injury was keeping you in bed. He didn’t think it proper to come up here alone, so he asked me to accompany him to check on you.”

Alexandra was touched by this show of concern, and immediately got out of bed, donned her dressing gown, and limped to the door. “Hello, Gerry,” she said, smiling at him as she opened it.

“Hullo, Miss Niven! I’m awfully glad to see you up and about. I worried when you didn’t come down to breakfast.”

“I overslept, I’m afraid,” she said. “Please come in and sit down.” Alexandra stepped aside, motioned him in, and gestured to a chair next to the bed. He wouldn’t sit down, though, until he had given her his arm and helped her back up onto her bed.

This gave Alexandra a few moments to gather her wits. Under no circumstances did she want to tell Gerry about the note and the tainted milk, and she needed to put the incident in the back of her mind while he was there.

She forced a smile. “I missed you at dinner last night.”

“I’m ashamed to say I was all in. I’m not used to punting, and although I didn’t feel the exertion at the time—I had such diverting company—I did feel it later. I had a chop in my room and turned in early.”

“You missed my coronation.” Gerry looked at her quizzically. “By virtue of a twisted ankle, I was queen of dinner,” she said with mock majesty. “I was placed on a throne in the drawing room and waited on hand and foot.”

“By Jove, if I had been there I would have waited on you with both hands and both feet,” her visitor said with feeling. “But here I am gabbing on when you haven’t had any breakfast. Should you like to come down for some tea and toast?”

The very thought of food made Alexandra queasy, but she thought she could stomach a cup of tea. “Perhaps a cup of tea,” she said, “but I think I’d like to ring for it. I’m not quite ready to go downstairs.”

“Let me get it,” said Miss Mumford,

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