The Lady's Deception by Susanna Craig

Author:Susanna Craig
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Published: 2019-06-09T12:09:00+00:00

Chapter 15

With money she could ill afford to spend, Rosamund paid for a private cabin on the Claremont packet, bound for Holyhead. She had to have some place to hide during this, the most dangerous leg of her journey. Dangerous because she would have no way to slip from her pursuers’ grasp during the crossing, unless she chose to dive into the Irish Sea.

The cabin to which she was directed was considerably smaller than the one she had occupied on the voyage going the other way. Then, of course, she’d shared the space with a lady’s maid, one hired expressly for the journey. Mrs. Sloane had refused to travel into the “savage kingdom,” as she called it, and much to Rosamund’s surprise, Charles had quickly dismissed the woman. Now, she better understood his decision. He had wanted her to have no familiar face but his own to turn to. No friend. Why, he’d even gone so far as to send the new maid on her way the moment they’d arrived at Kilready, lest she had developed some bond with Rosamund in the week they’d known one another.

One quick glance took in the entire cabin. The narrow bed was attached to one wall, with space beneath for her trunk, if she’d brought one. On the opposite wall stood a washstand and a chair, both fixed to the floor. If she’d tried, she might have been able to touch both walls at once.

But she didn’t try. In truth, she didn’t mind the tight space. It felt…secure, a stay against the wide world. A world in which Charles could be anywhere, watching her. A world in which she had nothing to her name but eleven shillings and sixpence, tied in a stolen handkerchief she treasured because it had belonged to Paris.

A wave of nausea washed over her and she sank onto the floor. Not seasickness. Not yet, anyway. They weren’t under sail. She might instead have blamed the harbor stench, an unpleasant brew of salt, rotting fish, and tar. But the truth was, she was sick with fear. Until this moment, she had not dared to let herself think beyond the simple imperative of getting away from the place to which she would so easily be traced. Now, however, she had to face the enormity of her decision. Everything she had left behind. The uncertainty of her future. What would become of her once she was back on British soil?

Fighting the temptation to crawl beneath the bed and hide like a child, she instead drew her knees up to her chest and let her cheek rest upon them. She was weary, that was all. Wearied by the long walk from Merrion Square to the docks at Dunleary. If she rested for a bit, perhaps all would become clear to her. Perhaps… Her eyelids drooped and she began to drift into sleep. Why, perhaps she could become a governess in earnest…

A sharp rap on the cabin door roused her from something that had not yet chosen between dream and nightmare.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.