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He wrapped the towel around his middle and secured it in place, then knelt by the tub and proceeded to wash his dirty linens in the bath water. It wasn’t an ideal laundry setting, but he’d dealt with worse on the Peninsula, where his clothes washing had usually taken place in whatever river or stream they’d encountered. At least tonight he had soap, something that hadn’t always been available while he’d been in the army, depending on where his regiment was and how near to a supply transport they happened to be.
There was a knock at the door, which Mr. Drake answered, and then the door closed with an ominous thud. “Goodness, but it’s hot in here!” Lucas heard Miss Weston exclaim.
He froze.
“It’s that way for a purpose, Delia,” Mr. Drake explained. “’Tis the only way our friend Mr. Jennings is going to have a scrap of clothes to wear otherwise.”
“Dear me,” Miss Broome said.
Mr. Drake had let Miss WestonandMiss Broome into the room? And if those two were here, Lavinia was undoubtedly with them. Lucas quickly situated himself behind the tub as strategically as he could and silently berated Mr. Drake.
“No other clothes?” Lavinia called out, proving his assumption to be correct. “Is that true, Lucas?”
Lucas realized he was wringing the water from his drawers a little too vigorously. “Indeed,” he replied as coolly as possible, considering he was trapped behind a privacy screen in his natural state. “You may recall, if you were to cast your mind back, that I had only my saddlebag with me when we were so suddenly thrust together.” He set his drawers aside and began scrubbing soap into his shirt.
“Your poor coat,” he heard Lavinia say. “It not only soaked up the rain, but it encountered a great deal of mud as well. And your boots! Well, there is only one thing to be done.”
Lucas looked up in alarm, although, really, all he could see was the privacy screen—
“Hannah,” Lavinia continued. “Collect Mr. Jennings’ clothes, if you please—”
“No!” Lucas dropped his shirt into the tub and jumped to his feet, clutching his towel to keep it securely in place. He stumbled around the tub and poked his head around the side of the screen, careful to keep the rest of him well concealed.
“Ah, there you are, Mr. Jennings!” Miss Weston said cheerily, as though her earlier ordeal in the carriage had not occurred and greeting an unclothed male—however strategically hidden—was a daily occurrence for her.
“Miss Weston.” He greeted her with a nod. What else was he to do? The entire situation was ludicrous. “I’m glad to see you have recovered from the accident this afternoon. Lavinia, I would ask that you not take my things, for the obvious reasons.”
She, unlike Miss Weston, kept her eyes averted and directed her efforts toward inspecting his clothes, feeling them for dampness. She’d changed out of her gray traveling clothes, exchanging them for a dark-green dress that, sadly, wasn’t any more flattering. She had left off her bonnet but had retained the cap. “Hannah is the most accomplished person you shall ever meet when dealing with any article of clothing. She can take the proverbial sow’s ear and turn it into something even finer than a silk purse. Hannah shall have you looking better than ever. I guarantee it.”
Lucas wasn’t convinced since Miss Broome had never looked at him with anything more than wary mistrust. “All the same, I think I’d rather fend for myself in this regard.”
“Nonsense. It’s the least we can do.” She began gathering Lucas’s clothing and handing them to Miss Broome. “Artie, be a dear and run to the kitchen. I’m famished, and I expect everyone else is as well. And see if they’ve an iron we can borrow.”
“And some cleaning rags too, Artie,” Miss Broome said as she examined the items she now held. “These clothes is going to need some sponging up first.” She reached for his boots.
“Notmy boots,” Lucas said, clutching at the privacy screen in frustration. “I draw the line at my boots.”
“Very well; leave his boots, Hannah,” Lavinia said, handing the rest of Lucas’s clothes to her. “Let’s get to work, then.”
“I’m relying on your honor,Miss Fernley, to ensure that my clothing is returned to me within the hour. I may seem disadvantaged at the moment, but you are dealing with a seasoned veteran of war. I have very little actual modesty remaining as a result, and what there is at present is in deference to you ladies. But if you prove untrustworthy, do not doubt me when I say there will be retribution, regardless of my state of dress or lack thereof.”
Lavinia arched her brows at him. “There will be no need for retribution,Mister Jennings.” She’d returned his formal address to her with one of her own. “My claims about Hannah’s skills are an understatement of fact. And as you have graciously accompanied us, obviously to your detriment, it is only fair that we return a kindness with a kindness.” She turned with a flourish and left the room, with Hannah—her arms filled with Lucas’s only clothes, heaven help him—trailing in her wake.
Miss Weston winked at Artie and followed, shutting the door behind her.
There was something odd about the old lady’s wink . . .
He furiously cast his eyes about the room. Blast it all, they’d toddled off with his boots in tow after all!
Lucas’s head felt perilously close to exploding. He stalked to the door and locked it before Mr. Drake could make a clean getaway, then turned and loomed over the little man. “What in blazeswere you thinking?” Lucas practically roared. “Letting those women into our room like that, with me—” He gestured up and down his body with the hand that wasn’t presently holding his towel in place. “Where is yourdecorum, man? Have you lost your mind?”
“Sorry, old boy; it’s only that after so many years in the—um, well, never mind that.” Artie straightened and struck an oratorical pose. “‘Women speak two languages—one of which is verbal,’” he said.
“That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever,” Lucas said, his frustration ratcheting up several more notches. He tossed his towel onto the bed and tugged on his remaining clean shirt and drawers, leaving his other shirt marinating in the tub. “For future reference, Mr. Drake, bathing and other private needs are to be accomplished without an audience.”
“Audience, hah! That’s a good one, sir. I’ll remember that.”
“They took my clothesand my boots, man! In the meantime,youare finding jokes in my speech that do not exist.” He dropped his voice to a menacing tone. “If you do not wish to meet your Maker anytime soon, you will make certain my clothes are returned to mewithin the hour, as I said.”
