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Chapter Sixteen
Belle didn’t know when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes the next day, she had expected to see Stephen by her side. Her heart plummeted when she noticed his absence and then she released a low breath, cursing herself for being so foolish.
I must have dreamt about him.
She sat up slowly, wincing through the that pain the movement caused, still a little embarrassed that she thought he would be right next to her. What was she expecting? That he would have climbed into bed with her after supper last night?
The thought made her cheeks go warm. The heavy meal and vibrant conversation during supper had drained her without her realizing and the last thing she remembered was exchanging a few words with him before her picked her up out of the chair.Did I say something embarrassing?Considering her penchant to telling him foolish things when she wasn’t completely coherent, Hannah wouldn’t be surprised if she did.
A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts. “Come in,” she called.
Lily poked her head in. Her hair was done in many braids this time, all tied together at the nape of her neck. The light-yellow dress she wore seemed to brighten the room when she walked in. “Is something wrong?” she asked Hannah.
Belle’s eyes went wide. “No, nothing’s wrong. Why would you ask that?”
“You looked very concerned for a moment.” Lily laid Belle’s breakfast on her lap and sat in the chair by the bed. “But maybe I’m only seeing something that isn’t there. How did you sleep?”
“Quite well, considering I didn’t realize when I fell asleep in the first place.”
Lily smiled. “Yes, I did notice how tired you were when we were finished eating. But luckily, Stephen was there to help you.”
“Yes, he was.” Belle kept her eyes on her plate. She could feel Lily’s gaze and knew that the girl noticed her blushing cheeks.
But, thankfully, she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she jerked her chin at Belle’s ankle and asked, “How does it feel?”
“Still painful,” Belle responded, grateful for the distraction from a certain green-eyed man. Though it didn’t work as well as she hoped it would. “But not as bad as it was a few days ago. It only hurts when I put too much pressure on it. Perhaps at this rate, I’ll be out of here sooner than we thought.”
“Perhaps,” Lily said, her tone noncommittal. “In that case, do you think you could try testing your weight on it?”
“You mean, trying to walk?”
“Not on your own,” Lily said quickly. “Definitely not. But you may be able to speed up the healing process if you gave it a try.”
“You think so?” Belle looked warily at her ankle, as if it would begin throbbing in pain at the prospect of attempting to walk. She looked back at Lily. “Is this because of what I said last night?”
Lily shrugged. “It pains me to see you struggle with your inability to walk so I thought that if you tried to do it a few times, you’d feel a little more hopeful that this will all be over soon. I think it might work. Don’t you?”
Belle was honestly eager to do anything at this point. She thought of her father, who was no doubt searching high and low for her now. Staying in London, even under the cover of this middle-class home, was detrimental to her safety. The quicker she left, the more likely she would be able to get away from the duke.
Of course, Belle couldn’t say those words to Lily, even though she had the overwhelming urge to divulge every secret she had to the girl. Lily’s calming yet perceptive nature made Hannah feel very comfortable around her.
“All right,” she said after a beat. “I think I’d like to try. I’d much rather attempt that than to sit in bed all day.”
“I understand how you feel. I would think the same had I been in your position.” She crossed her legs delicately. “I remember once when I broke my leg and I thought my world was over.”
“How did you manage to do that?”
“It was my fault.” Belle looked up at Julia who had somehow made her way into the room without her noticing. She, as usual, came to sit in her spot on the bed. “It was a few years ago, I think? I got a little overexcited while we were playing and I pushed her too hard.”
Lily nodded. There was no resentment in her eyes when she looked at her sister, only quiet warmth and a hint of mirth. “I had to stay in bed for months after that. I had terrible fevers and Julia was by my side throughout the entire thing.”
“I had to be,” Julia said, looking down at her dress. “I felt so guilty that I was afraid to leave your side.”
“You should be,” Lily said, but her tone was soft and playful. Julia smiled in return.
“You should have seen her, Hannah,” Julia said. “During her first night with a fever, she kept mumbling all sorts of odd things under her breath. I’d never heard Lily say such things before.”
“Did she?” Belle’s mind flashed back to the night with Stephen and her face went hot.”
