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Chapter 6
“Come on, Victoria!” Lady Selkirk got out of the carriage as soon as the door opened. “Let’s get moving. We can have luncheon once we’ve had the fitting.”
“Can we have lunch first, Mother?” Victoria asked. “I feel faint.”
Her mother sighed.
“We can’t dawdle on this. You can’t delay having your dress fitted for your wedding day.”
Victoria didn’t know about that. It was nearly two weeks until she was to become Lady Mowbray, and she had managed to get out of going to Middlesbrough quite a few times. She was getting good at coming down with something and making sure they stayed at home. It was infuriating her mother, but Victoria didn’t care.
Even if she and Sebastien had come to an agreement, Victoria wasn’t going to make it easy for everyone else. She was making her feelings on the matter clear, and she would be certain to make sure everyone knew it and was uncomfortable with it.
Childish, it may have been, but at least she was getting her feelings across.
Lady Selkirk huffed and leaned into the carriage, giving her daughter a firm glare.
“Oh, stop behaving like this,” she hissed. “It’s embarrassing. Remove yourself, get into the shop, and then you are going to have that final dress fitting. You’ve been putting it off for weeks, and I’m not having it anymore.”
“I didn’t ask to be wed to the brother of Richard’s killer, Mother!” Victoria snapped back.
“Well, it’s not up to you. You’re getting married, and that’s final.”
Victoria stared at her.
“How can you condone this?”
“Just get out of the carriage, Victoria. You’re not a child anymore. And I’m fed up with your insolence. Now out.”
She grabbed Victoria’s wrist and tugged her out, almost causing Victoria to fall flat on her face on the pavement. Catching her footing, she pulled herself upright and glowered at Lady Selkirk. The Viscountess rolled her eyes and started to lead her by her wrist.
“Now come along. The sooner you get this done, the sooner this will be over.”
“But I really do feel faint, Mother.”
“Then you should have eaten your breakfast. That’s not my fault.”
Normally, Victoria would have pretended that she was feeling faint, but this time she genuinely felt faint. She had been feeling a little unwell lately, and she wasn’t sure if it was due to the approaching wedding.
Scarlet fever had been appearing in the town, and a couple of the servants had already taken sick. There was a possibility that she was starting to become sick as well. Even now, Victoria was feeling very warm, and her corset was feeling too tight.
It was a struggle to breathe. Victoria knew it would be too much to keep herself upright if she moved too fast.
The world was starting to tilt, Victoria tried to push it away as her mother led her towards the shop their seamstress worked at, but it just got worse. There was blackness at the edges of her vision, and it was pressing down on her head.
She could feel herself falling, her legs giving way….
***
“I think she’s coming around now.”
Victoria could hear an unfamiliar voice as she felt the blanket slide off her. What had just happened? Why was her head hurting, and why was she lying down?
She slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking into the face of a man with a bald head and a thick reddish-brown beard. His gaze was focused on her face, his eyes widening when he saw her looking at him. He nodded and eased back.
“She’s come to, Madam.”
“Thank goodness!” Victoria saw her mother appear behind the man, looking concerned. “Are you all right, Victoria?”
