Dorothea stirred beneath the weight of warm blankets, her mind sluggish as though emerging from a thick fog. A dull ache lingered behind her eyes, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell whether it was morning or night. The room was cloaked in shadow, with only the faintest sliver of light leaking through the drawn curtains.
Somewhere in the room, the clock chimed once, a hollow, echoing tone that made her blink. What time was it? How long had she been asleep?
Her lashes fluttered open, vision blurring slightly before focusing on the carved wood of a canopy overhead—one she didn’t recognize. Panic bloomed quietly in her chest. This wasn’t her bed. This wasn’t her room.
She turned her head slowly. Just a few feet away, in a high-backed chair pushed against the wall, sat Dominic. His head lolled to one side, chin tilted upward as he slept, arms crossed loosely across his chest. His mouth hung slightly open, a soft snore rising and falling in the quiet.
Her anxiety eased, replaced with a kind of puzzled wonder. Her eyes wandered around the room and she realized that shewas in his bedchamber. She glanced down. She was tucked beneath a thick coverlet, dressed in her nightgown. Nothing seemed amiss, and yet she remembered none of it.
What had happened last night?
Then it struck her—laudanum. She’d taken it to ease the lingering cold. It always sent her into an unnaturally deep sleep, but this time it must have dulled her awareness entirely.
Still, she felt better. Her head was clearer, her limbs lighter. The congestion was gone. She was herself again. Almost.
Her gaze drifted back to Dominic, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He looked so peaceful in sleep, far from the guarded, distant man he often became in her presence. For a fleeting moment, she considered letting him rest. But questions burned in her mind, and he was the only one who could answer them.
“Dominic,” she called out, her voice little more than a whisper.
He stirred, a slight twitch of his shoulders, before his eyes fluttered open. He blinked as though unsure of where he was, then locked eyes with her.
“You’re awake,” he said, the disbelief clear in his voice. He leaned forward, eyes searching hers as though needing to confirm it wasn’t a dream.
“I am,” she replied. “But I don’t understand. What happened last night?”
Rubbing a hand through his tousled hair, Dominic looked away briefly, as if gathering the right words. “The maid… she forgot to open the damper before lighting the fire in your room. By the time I noticed the smoke, it had filled the chamber. You were sound asleep. You didn’t even stir when I called your name.”
“I had taken laudanum,” she explained. “For my cold.”
“I was told as much,” he said with a nod. “But in the moment”—his voice caught slightly—“I was terrified. You weren’t responding. I thought you might never wake up.”
A small smile curved her lips as she attempted to lighten the situation. “Well, you’re stuck with me. I’m not so easy to get rid of.”
Dominic didn’t smile. His gaze was heavy with emotion—guilt, perhaps, or something even more difficult to name. “That’s not the least bit funny,” he murmured. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He stood abruptly, as though the moment had grown too intimate. “I should fetch the doctor. He’ll want to examine you.”
“The doctor is here?”
“Yes. I sent for him last night. Everyone’s been waiting for you to wake.”
She looked towards the clock on the mantel. “What time is it?”
He followed her gaze. “Almost noon.”
Her brows shot up. “I’ve slept half the day away. I’m so sorry—I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”
Dominic returned to his chair but didn’t sit. Instead, he rested a hand on the bedpost and studied her. “There’s nothing to apologize for. I’m just relieved you’re all right.”
The gentleness in his tone caught her off guard. It was the same tone he’d used the day before in the gardens—the one that made her feel seen.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For saving me… again.”
A trace of a smile touched his lips. “I will always save you.”
She held his gaze, her breath catching at the sincerity in his words. “I know.” And she meant it. She trusted him in a way she didn’t entirely understand.
Something shifted in that silence. Something unspoken but unmistakable. The air between them seemed to hum, charged with emotion neither of them dared voice.
