A Bride for the Prizefighter - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,131
several sharp exhortations that his patient was not to be bothered for a good twenty-four hours and left after promising to visit with her on the morrow.
Jeremy looked in before he left, but Mina could not properly focus on what he was saying, save that he promised he would return first thing in the morning. Mina’s eyelids drooped down, and she gave way to a deep, dreamless sleep.
When next she woke, sun was streaming through the window and she stared at the ceiling for a good few moments before recalling her precise whereabouts. Indeed, when first she had woken, she had thought herself a schoolteacher still, in Bath.
Sitting up, Mina was surprised to see an assortment of her own items laid out on the chair by her bedside. One of her black dresses and some clean underclothing and her own bottle of lotion. Someone had been to The Harlot to fetch her things, she realized, flinging the bedclothes aside and sliding gingerly from the bed. She felt bruised and a little shaken, but her head no longer pained her except when she touched a hand to the bandage. Doubtless she had a bump there, but it could have been a good deal worse, she reflected as she padded over to the porcelain washstand where a jug of tepid water stood waiting for her. It was still warm enough for her to wash, so she set about her ablutions hurriedly and did her best with her the hairbrush around her bandaged head.
She was dragging her black dress over her head when a knock on the door heralded the arrival of the maid Annie who was a good deal dismayed to see that Mrs. Nye had already mostly dressed herself. She helped with the buttons and hooks and laces until Mina was presentable and then ushered her downstairs to a small parlor room where she was brought tea and toast.
Jeremy joined her as she was midway through her second cup and shut the door quietly behind himself, raising his finger to his lips. “The officers have been told you are under strict doctor’s orders to see no-one,” he said in a low murmur, joining her at the table. “We can count on the Tavistocks to help us avoid them.”
“Have you been to The Harlot this morning?” she asked.
“I have. Edna packed your things. I trust you had everything you needed.”
She nodded. “How were they?”
“Subdued,” he said. “They send their love. Edna’s eyes were very red, and she seems to be throwing herself into her work to occupy her mind.”
“She always throws herself into her work,” Mina said with a small smile.
“She says Corin is a tower of strength in her time of need.”
Mina was a little startled by this. She thought of timid little Corin and marveled that Edna should describe her so. “Well, I’m glad of that in all events. Was Herney allowed to return there last night? Without him, there is no man present to—”
“Do not fret,” Jeremy gave a wry smile. “He was permitted to return in the small hours of this morning. Even Officer Havilland was forced to admit he could not bring any charges against so blameless a character. I have sent Colfax along to help at the inn. He can turn his hand to most things.”
Mina thanked him and pushed her toast away half-eaten. “Now we have skirted the subject long enough,” she said, taking a deep breath. “How stand things with Nye?”
Jeremy was silent a moment before subjecting her to a hard look. “Tell me, sister, just how attached are you to things as they stand?”
Mina’s heart thudded almost painfully. “What do you mean?”
“Mina,” he reached across and took her hand. “When I married you to Nye, I did so in the throes of a - “he cast about for words. “Distempered freak.” His lips twisted. “I had been on a weeklong binge at that point and was never more than halfway sober for the duration. I was feeling bitter and disillusioned about my own personal circumstances, and you were forced to suffer for my poor judgement. I can make no defense for the role I played in—”
She stiffened. “What are you saying, Jeremy? This is all water under the bridge now and hardly helpful! “
“In marrying you to a man of poor moral character,” he continued as if she had not spoken.
Mina wrenched her fingers from his. “You dare to speak to me of moral character?” she asked in a shaken voice. “Yes, I