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But it hadn’t worked. Instead, Dorothy had ended up feeling odd. She hadn’t expected that at all. She had laid in bed, trying to sleep, and it just couldn’t come until it was almost dawn. Now she felt like she had pressure in her head, and everything was moving very slowly.
Add to that, she had woken up pretty late, only to find out that Dashwood had left the house already. According to Frederica, he and his friend were gone, having left shortly after breakfast. Dorothy should have been relieved, but she wasn’t. She didn’t like the feeling in her stomach hearing that Dashwood was not around anymore.
It just made her even more annoyed. She had been planning on keeping away from him, but that had failed. Then she told herself not to care about the man who refused the engagement and finally ended it on his side, but that had backfired as well.
Dorothy hated that she wanted Dashwood back, even after her attempt at thinking she didn’t care about a kiss that she kept playing over and over in her head.
She had wanted more, and that was shocking. More than just a simple kiss. And Dorothy was left shaken over it.
“Erm, Dorothy?”
“Hmm?”
Frederica was leaning back into the carriage, waving a hand in front of her face and peering at her curiously.
“You’re staring into the distance again. Aren’t you going to get out?”
“Oh. Right.” Dorothy picked up her cloak. “I think I might need to go upstairs and rest for now. I’m not coping very well.”
“Even when you have a guest here?”
Dorothy stuck her tongue out at her, and Frederica grinned.
“Childish, isn’t it?”
“Do you think I care? I’m too tired to care about that.” Dorothy got out of the carriage and draped her cloak over her arm. “I’m sure you can entertain yourself for a while.”
“Why don’t we go for a walk instead?” Frederica suggested. “I think we need to stretch our legs right now.”
“What? Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Before Frederica could respond, the front door opened, and the Countess of Bedford came out onto the front steps. The tall, willowy woman looked splendid in her pale blue gown, her greying blonde hair looking perfect, not a strand of hair out of place. Dorothy smiled when she saw her and walked over.
“Mother.”
“Dorothy, dear.” Lady Bedford clasped her daughter’s hands and kissed her cheek. “How was the journey? It wasn’t too bad, was it?”
“It was … uneventful.” Dorothy nodded at Frederica. “And thank you for letting Frederica stay here for a while.”
“Of course. And it’s pretty quiet right now, so I’d be happy to have a guest.” Lady Bedford nodded at Frederica. “I hope your parents enjoy their visit to your sister.”
“I hope so, too. They really don’t like travelling a long way, so they’re hoping the visit will cancel out their discomfort with the journey.”
“I’m not surprised if they’re going down to Kent.”
Frederica was still grinning as she slipped an arm through Dorothy’s.
“Do you mind if we go for a walk, Lady Bedford? We’ve been travelling for some time now, and even with our stop in the middle, my legs are really stiff. We want to walk it off and stretch our legs.”
Dorothy frowned.
“But I was planning on going inside for a rest,” she pointed out. “I just said so, didn’t I?”
“I think it’s a good idea, Dorothy,” Lady Bedford said with a nod at her daughter. “If you need to rest, the fresh air will help with that. It should help you sleep better later.”
“But Mother …”
“Don’t argue. I know what you’re like after a long journey. Resting after travelling doesn’t work with you.” The countess took the cloak from her daughter. “Off you go. A long walk will benefit both of you. Your father isn’t home yet, so it will just be me to keep you bored.”
