Chapter 13 #2
The proprietress pointed to the window—the panes were darkened, and Mantheria could hear the steady pounding of the rain.
“I am afraid not, Your Grace. And I can’t send one of my ostlers into that weather in the dark.
They’d get lost in the storm. But I promise you that he’ll ride out first thing in the morning—rain or shine. ”
Mantheria nodded; her throat felt as if it were closing. She found it difficult to draw air.
The proprietress folded back the coverlet and plumped both pillows. The maids returned with another round of buckets full of hot water. They poured them into the copper basin, which was now two-thirds full, before they bowed and left the room.
The lady innkeeper stood by the door. “Will you require anything else this evening, Your Graces?”
Sunny again looked to Mantheria for direction before he answered. She could not meet his eyes and turned away. He cleared his throat. “That will be all. Thank you, ma’am.”
The proprietress closed the door behind her, and Mantheria jumped.
She felt cold all over, and her stomach hardened.
She tried to focus her tired gaze on the rain hitting the dark pane of the window.
She was too embarrassed to look at Sunny and too tired to move either to take off her wet things or to climb into bed.
Sunny swallowed. “Why don’t you take a bath first, Mantheria? While the water is hot.”
Shaking her head, Mantheria managed to whisper, “I can’t.”
She heard Sunny’s footsteps as he walked closer toward her and the window. “You can’t what, Mantheria?”
Her face had to be the same red shade as Eris’s apple when she admitted, “Take off my own clothes. My muscles are stiff, and I am too tired. My garments are wet and clingy. I am afraid that I am not used to riding for such long periods of time. My family would be terribly disappointed in me.”
She felt his gentle hand on her shoulder, and she was even too tired to flinch. “They would be impressed by all that you did today. And if you’d like, I can call for one of the maids to help you undress and get into the tub.”
Mantheria stiffened. The proprietress had assumed that they were married, and Mantheria had let her.
It was easier that way. Nor did two bedraggled travelers, with only bandboxes for luggage, typically demand the services of a maid for dressing.
But more than that, she felt vulnerable and did not wish to be so in front of a stranger, even another woman.
“You bathe. Perhaps I will have enough strength by the time you are finished.”
“Come to the tub, and I will help you.”
Not even her husband had seen her completely naked.
Mantheria had kept her chemise on in bed.
It had been a small layer of protection from the unknown.
And the marriage act had occurred in the darkness underneath blankets.
Mantheria had been nearly as stiff and frigid then as she was now, despite her late husband’s loving words and warm kisses.
Perhaps she was not made for intimate human affections.
Sunny’s arm came around her shoulders, and he helped Mantheria walk to the tub.
She stood still as he slowly began to take off her wet layers.
First, the soaked through pelisse, and then her dress.
Mantheria stood in the firelight in only her wet chemise that was like a second skin.
She folded her arms to cover her chest, but Sunny was not looking at her lasciviously.
He was hanging her gown next to her pelisse near the fire.
When he turned back to her, he held her waist as he took off each of her shoes and stockings so that she wouldn’t topple over.
Then he lifted her into the basin with her chemise still on.
It was a small layer of privacy, and Mantheria was grateful for it.
The heat from the water seeped into her cold and sore body.
She felt Sunny’s large and capable hands move through her hair, and she realized that he was washing it with a bar of soap that the proprietress must have brought with the towels.
His touch was gentle, almost a caress. Mantheria closed her eyes as he bathed her.
She kept them shut as he lifted her out of the tub and dried her off with the towel.
It wasn’t until he pulled over her chemise that the shock of cold air caused Mantheria to open them.
Before she could say anything, Sunny dried her with a towel the second time and pulled the new nightgown over her head, easing it over her body.
Mantheria managed to stick her arms through the sleeves.
The nightgown felt warm, although it barely covered her knees, for she was a great deal taller than the owner of the inn.
Once again, Sunny placed his arm around her shoulders and ushered her to the bed. He lifted the covers and helped her into it before tucking Mantheria in tightly. He dropped a light kiss on the forehead. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”
Her eyelids fluttered. Mantheria allowed herself to fall asleep. She was safe with Sunny.