Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,30

horse if tasked with circling the building. Perhaps they’d only gone two miles since they’d left Mr. Whitworth and it was another mile around to the kitchen door.

Perhaps she was losing her mind.

The boy led her to a door and then stood a bit to the side as she lifted her hand to knock. He shifted his weight as they waited for an answer. “Will that be all, miss?”

She smiled to acknowledge his attempt at good manners. It didn’t cost anything for a person to be polite, despite what her new employer seemed to think. She dismissed him and turned back to face the door just as it swung open.

A woman wearing an apron, mobcap, and deep frown looked Sophia up and down. “The rider, I’m assuming?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sophia said quietly. It shouldn’t be exhausting to be scrutinized, considering how little effort it required for her to stand there and be stared at, but she could perform a dozen circus shows and not feel this drained.

Particularly since the woman in front of her obviously found something lacking. When was the last time she’d seen such disdain on a person’s face?

“This way.” The woman turned and Sophia scrambled after her, following her up stairs that seemed interminable. Finally, she flung open a door to a room near the top of the house.

“The maids’ rooms line this corridor. Don’t disturb the other women’s sleep or work. You get two meals a day—a breakfast tray and a dinner tray. They’ll come up at Cook’s convenience. You can eat it then or eat it cold.”

“I, er, yes.” Sophia fisted her hands to keep from dancing at the prospect of a solid roof, a real room, and two prepared meals a day. The woman didn’t seem the type to appreciate such celebrations.

Sophia stepped into the room and turned to thank the woman, only to see her back as she moved toward the stairs. Sophia eased the door shut and took in her temporary home.

A small bed complete with pillow, linens, and a blanket sat against the wall under a sloping roof. Beside it sat a plain washstand with a pitcher and basin at the ready. A wooden chair stood next to a small chest of drawers. A line of hooks graced the cheery but faded yellow wall beside the door. Her knees gave way and she slid down the door to sit on the floor.

It would have seemed simple and bare to her when she’d been a child, but now? Luxury.

Knees still weak, she crawled across the floor and onto the bed, every muscle relaxing as she sank into the mattress. Guilt made her exhaustion heavier as she contemplated what Jonas was doing at that moment. Whatever it was, it didn’t include a bed, a private room, and the promise of a cooked meal.

She would make it better for them both, though. A sudden rush of excitement smoothed over her guilt, dread, worry, and even her aching body. She’d done it. The first step was completed. This was going to work. A new and better life would be theirs.

She drifted into a hazy state that wasn’t quite a nap but certainly wasn’t awake. The arrival of a maid with her dinner tray interrupted her doze, and she had no idea how much time had passed. Possibly quite a while, given the pinch of disapproval in the maid’s face as she took in Sophia lying atop the bedcovers in her clothes. Sophia winced. Her boots were even still on her feet.

The maid didn’t wait for an explanation, not that Sophia had any good one to give. It didn’t matter. One look at the laden tray and the maid was the last thing on her mind.

It was a large bowl of stew that contained more meat and vegetables than water. She gobbled it down, glad that no one was around to witness the unladylike enthusiasm. Not wanting to cause any more work than necessary, she returned the tray to the kitchen herself and then slipped quietly back up to her room.

With her stomach fuller than it had been in years, she undressed and crawled back into bed.

Sleep didn’t come as easily this time. Every creak of the house and whisper of wind against the window startled her awake until trying to sleep left her more exhausted than staying up all night.

The unfamiliar night noises shifted slowly to the scrapes and rumbles of a wakening house. Grateful that she could now rise without guilt, she climbed from the