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“I didn’t get any sleep last night.” Dorothy pressed a hand to her chest, wincing as the lump across her breasts hurt to the point. “My chest …”
“Did you not get any sleep at all?”
“Not really.” That much was true enough. “I am not in the best mood to be good company.”
“I figured that, seeing as you sent Teresa away pretty harshly.”
Dorothy was aware of that and was embarrassed by it; Teresa didn’t deserve to be treated like that, but Dorothy just wanted to be left alone.
“I’ll apologise to her in a while. But I just want to sleep.”
“Well, what do you want me to tell Aunt Annabelle? She knew you wanted to do this and planned something specific for you.”
“She did?”
“Of course. I told her what you want to do, and she said she could accommodate you as you’re my guest.”
Dorothy felt even worse. She had tried to sleep, but after that kiss with Dashwood – two kisses, in fact – she didn’t know what to do. Her body was desperate for sleep, and her mind wanted to rest, but neither was happening. Dorothy felt like she was in a fog.
No matter what she wanted, sleep would not come to her. Dorothy pushed the blankets away and flopped onto her back.
“Alright, fine. I’ll get up. Is there still some breakfast?”
“Aunt Annabelle and I had our breakfast early. Everyone else is just coming downstairs.”
“What time is it?”
“Nearly eight.”
Dorothy groaned.
“That’s still early, Frederica!”
“Oh, stop fussing and get dressed.” Frederica frowned as she leaned over her friend. “Don’t forget which dress we adjusted so you could hide your bruises if you had any.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Dorothy scowled. “Just let me get dressed on my own.”
“And let you go back to sleep? Not a chance.” Frederica grabbed her hand and tugged her off the bed, causing Dorothy to fall onto her hands and knees. “Just dunk your head into the washbasin, and then we’ll get you dressed.”
The thought of having cold water close around her head sounded horrific. Instead, Dorothy stumbled over to the washbasin and used a cloth to clean her face. It was certainly cold, but not as much as she thought. She probably looked a complete mess, though; Dorothy never woke up looking beautiful.
Then she went over to the mirror to inspect her injuries. Just by her neckline was a reddish mark straight across her chest. There was a bruise right over her breastbone, but that was it. At least she didn’t have a line of bruises in clear view.
“Well, at least it doesn’t look that bad,” Frederica commented as she stood behind her. “I’m guessing it hurts worse than it looks.”
“I feel like I’ve been hit really hard.”
“I can imagine. At least the adjustments we made to your dresses should hide it. It won’t be that hard to disguise.”
Dorothy hoped so. She had been lucky that Lucas hadn’t noticed the bruising during the night. Then again, he might not have noticed the bruise if he had been staring at her chest. Even when he was looking directly at her, Dorothy was sure he was looking at her breasts.
That shouldn’t have made her body feel like it was tingling all over. That shouldn’t happen.
“Dorothy? Are you alright?”
Dorothy jumped. Frederica was watching her curiously in the mirror. God, had she been caught daydreaming again? Dorothy bit her lip, watching as her cheeks flushed.
“I’m fine. I guess I’m still really tired.”
