Chapter 7 #2
He did have a point, and her traitorous stomach rumbled at that very moment. Sunny raised his eyebrows but did not say a word.
A woman who might have been Mrs. Edwards came up to them and curtsied. She had a round, jolly face with a sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks, and a great deal of curly brown hair. “If you’ll come this way, Your Grace. The maids have prepared you a hot bath.”
Sunny tipped his head toward the woman as if to say, “Follow her.”
Huffing, Mantheria slowly leaned down to pick up her battered bandbox, but Mrs. Edwards beat her to it. “This way, Your Grace.”
She followed the woman up the main staircase and to a door at the back of the hall.
They entered a parlor of generous size, decorated in yellows and golds, then through another door into a well-appointed bedroom that faced the garden behind the hotel.
The four-poster bed did not have a canopy, but the linens appeared to be fresh, and there was a large copper tub full of steaming water in front of the fireplace.
Mrs. Edward placed the bandbox on a table and turned back to Mantheria to curtsy once again. “Would Your Grace require anything else?”
For the second time that day, Mantheria felt helpless. She couldn’t even unbutton her own dress because the hooks were in the back. “If a maid could be spared, I would be grateful for her assistance in helping me undress and tidying up my clothes.”
“Of course, Your Grace. I’ll send a maid up in a trice.” Mrs. Edwards then curtsied once more and left the private rooms.
Once Mantheria heard the door to the hall close, she untied the ribbon of her bonnet and took it off.
Her expensive black hat with matching dyed feathers was smashed and damaged beyond repair.
She ought to simply toss it in the fire.
She placed it on the table and began to unbutton her black pelisse.
There were so many little buttons, and while the overall stylish effect was charming, Mantheria grew tired halfway down and was tempted to rip off the rest of them.
When she finished unbuttoning the final button, she heard a knock at the door. “Come in, please.”
The door to the parlor opened, and a pretty and curvy young woman with curly blonde hair and an infectious smile entered the room. “Mrs. Edwards said that you might be needing my help, Your Grace.”
Despite her exhaustion, Mantheria could not help but smile back at the young woman. “Yes, I do. My clothes are in such a state that I dare not be seen abroad, and I cannot unbutton my own dress to get into the bath.”
“’Tis a strange thing that all ladies’ garments are fastened from behind. I doubt a gentleman would be able to button his breeches from the back.”
Breeches were not a proper conversation topic, so perhaps that was what made Mantheria laugh out loud.
That, or the image of Sunny trying to button himself up from behind.
He did have a rather attractive backside, but she shook her head and forced herself not to think of him like that—as physically attractive.
If their relationship ever became something more, Sunny and Mantheria’s precious friendship would be ruined, and she would lose faith in the last person (aside from her own family) that she cared about.
He would find her to be just as poor a wife as Alexander had.
The maid was a great deal quicker at unfastening buttons than Mantheria was.
In a trice, Mantheria was down to her skin and stepping into the hot bath.
The water felt wonderful against her sore body and aching muscles.
She leaned her head against the back of the tub and closed her eyes.
She couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so tired or sore. Or so worried.
“I’ll freshen up the dress in your bandbox and see about washing your other garments, Your Grace. And when I get back, I can help you dress and fetch your supper. Is that agreeable?”
Mantheria forced her tired eyelids to open. “Very agreeable. Thank you, miss.”
The maid curtsied and then closed the door to the room behind her, which Mantheria greatly appreciated.
The heat from the fire would help keep the water warm, but with the door closed, both would be more effective.
Not that Mantheria deserved hot water. Not while her son was missing.
She rubbed her eyes and sank underneath the water until only her nose was above it.
At least she would no longer smell of cabbages.
The young miss returned a short while after, and Mantheria regretted getting out of the tub, for all of her muscles seemed to hurt twice as much now.
The kind maid helped Mantheria into her only other gown that she’d packed and combed out her long hair before fetching her a meal.
It felt strange to eat with her hair wet and down, but it did need to dry, and she was all by herself.
Mantheria managed to eat the food on her plate, not because it tasted good—she couldn’t taste anything at all—but because she needed the energy to search for her son.
When she was finished, the maid took the tray, and Mantheria, finally by herself, sat down on the rug near the fire.
If only she had taken Andrew’s words more seriously the day before last, instead of merely believing he was behaving sullenly.
She should have realized that the London season was dull for a boy without friends his own age.
She should have tried harder to find him some friends.
Or avoided the entire season altogether.
She wished she had put his needs first over the expectations of being a duchess and a member of the ton.
There was a slight knock at the door, and then it opened. Sunny strode slowly into the room, his exhaustion apparent in every step.
With energy she didn’t know that she had, Mantheria sprang to her feet and ran to meet him.
This time, she wisely kept her hands to herself so as not to embarrass herself or him.
Still, her heart beat irregularly at the sight of him.
“What news of Andrew? Were you able to speak with anyone who has seen him?”
Sunny slowly nodded his head. “Andrew, or at least a lad traveling alone that matched his description, arrived on the first stagecoach this morning, around eleven o’clock.
He did get off the stagecoach and was last seen in the company of a young couple named Mr. and Mrs. Norton.
They did not stay at the George but spoke of finding more affordable accommodations.
The hostlers have agreed to go to every inn and hotel in Bath to see if a Mr. and Mrs. Norton are registered there.
I am hopeful that we may locate Andrew in the next couple of hours. ”
Mantheria reached to touch Sunny, but then she let her hand fall back to her side. “Thank you, my friend.”
“With your permission, I will bathe and change my clothes and try to make myself a bit more presentable for when we meet Mr. and Mrs. Norton.”
“Or course.”
Sunny gave her a slight smile before going through a door that probably led to his own room and his waiting bath.