tensed and braced herself. He set her down on her dirty stockinged feet carefully enough. Seeing spots of blood on her shins she guessed she must have scraped them on the cliffs on the way down. Mina kept her eyes averted as Nye straightened up. She was in the tiled bathroom.
“You’re shivering,” he said flatly. “You need to take those wet things off.”
There was a knock on the door. Edna’s head peered around it. “The water was already on,” she said matter-of-factly. “For the next lot o’ washing.”
Nye grunted and she carried a pail of hot water in, sloshing it into the hip bath. To Mina’s surprise, Ivy entered the bathroom behind her with another bucket which she also emptied into the bath. She stopped next to Mina and tossed her head. “Here,” she said and held out her upturned hand to her. Mina looked down and saw a round cake of pink soap in it in the shape of a rose. “Take it, then.”
“Leave it on the side,” Nye said curtly. “Can’t you see, she’s not in a state to take anything right now?” Ivy shot him a curious look and set it down on the basin.
“Thank you,” Mina murmured through numb lips. Ivy made no reply and exited the room. Edna entered again with a third bucket of steaming water; a towel slung over one arm. Nye took these from her and ushered her out the door, shutting it firmly behind her.
“Can you take your clothes off, or do you need me to send Edna in to help you,” he said over his shoulder as he emptied the bucket into the bathtub.
“I can manage,” Mina muttered.
“Don’t lock the door. I’ll stand outside.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“You look fit to drop.”
He thought she would pass out in the bath? Surprised by his solicitude, Mina nodded her head and he let himself out, shutting the door firmly behind him. She reached up to start unbuttoning her bodice. Her skirts and petticoats were harder to wriggle out of as the bottom half were sodden and clinging to her legs. She felt limp as a rag and slumped against the wall a couple of times to muster the energy to carry on unfastening her hook and eyes. Her eyes felt gritty. Everything ached. By the time she lowered herself into the bath, she was exhausted and the water lukewarm. She clutched Ivy’s rose soap to her. Vaguely she recognized it smelt like sandalwood and rose petals.
A sharp rap on the door roused her. “Are you in that tub yet?” Nye’s voice penetrated the fog of her thoughts.
“Yes,” she croaked.
The door squeaked open, just a crack. “Answer me, Mina.”
“Yes!” she repeated louder, twisting her head round to look at the door. Had he just called her Mina? She thought it was the first time he had done so. Apparently satisfied, he shut the door. Swallowing, Mina shuffled down the tub to wet her hair and soap it up. By the time she had rinsed it through twice and run the sweet-smelling soap over her body, he was knocking on the door again.
“I-I’m nearly done,” she called weakly. Why was her throat so raw? Then she recalled the yelling herself hoarse on the beach. Oh, that was why. She had just about gotten the towel wrapped about her when the door opened again. She started hobbling in the direction of the door and found herself once more caught up in those strong arms.
They were halfway up the stairs to the attics when she lifted her head from his shoulder, with effort. “I left my boots on the beach,” she murmured, but Nye made no reply to that, just shouldered the bedroom door open and carried her inside, twitching back the blankets.
“Get under the covers,” he ordered, laying her down.
Mina blinked up at him and reached for her cotton nightgown which she had hooked over the rail that morning. It seemed to be caught there and she dropped her arm in defeat. It ached too much from the earlier exertion to persist tugging at it.
“You want this?” Nye reached past her and caught up the white garment. He eyed it a moment doubtfully.
“My nightgown,” she said feebly.
“It looks about ten sizes too big for you.”
Her towel still firmly about her, Mina determinedly pulled the voluminous white garment over her head but the ribbons at her throat defeated her. She was too drained to fasten them.
“Take off that damp towel or you’ll catch a chill.”
Mina lay limply