The Duke's Alliance: A Soldier's Bride(59)

Polly made no comment about their change of circumstances. She merely did her duty as a good servant should. Her hand was indeed extremely sore and dressing and undressing would have been impossible without assistance. Sofia dismissed the girl and said she would ring when she wanted her the next morning. Once she was alone she scrambled into bed and pulled the curtains so she was cocooned in a private space.

Running to Perry's defence had surprised her, but it had told her one thing very clearly. She was still in love with him despite his faults, and they were many, and she was no longer sure that returning to Spain was the answer. He had looked so wretched, so ashamed, and so very unwell.

The duke had explained to her why her husband had behaved so reprehensibly and she could almost understand. After all, had she not herself overreacted when she was disappointed things had not turned out the way she'd hoped? Her stomach rumbled and she wished she had not been too embarrassed to remain downstairs. Every time she looked at Beau and his swollen nose she was mortified. She had never punched anyone in her life and yet she had chosen for her first victim the formidable Duke of Silchester.

She had thought she would cry, but she was too hungry and her hand too painful for that. After tossing and turning for several hours she abandoned the attempt to sleep and got out of bed. Her hand throbbed, moving it was agony, and she dearly wished she had agreed for the physician to attend to her and not been so stubborn.

With some difficulty she pulled on her robe but was unable to put her injured hand through the sleeve. She needed to put her arm in a sling. She had done this for partisans who had injuries so knew exactly what to do – the problem was when she had done it for someone else she had had two good hands.

She was biting her lip and blinking back tears by the time she found a scarf she could fold into a triangle and use to support her injury. What she needed was laudanum, this was the only thing that would take away the appalling pain.

Eventually she managed to tie a knot one-handed in the scarf and then slip it over her head. As soon as she rested the damaged hand in the sling the pain eased slightly. The fire had been banked up and there was ample coal and the log basket was full. She would get it burning brightly as she thought she would be more comfortable sitting upright on a chair than returning to bed.

Her bedchamber overlooked the terrace and she thought she heard footsteps outside. She pulled open the shutter and looked out of the window. Silchester Court was built in a c-shape, the wing she was in faced the wing the duke intended to convert for them, as he'd done for Aubrey and Mary. To her astonishment she saw a figure climbing up the wall and then somehow prise up the window and climb in.

Her heart almost stopped beating. Silchester was being burgled and she must raise the alarm immediately. With some difficulty she managed to hold a candlestick in the same hand that she was using to open the door. Mary and Aubrey had their apartment on the other side of the wing so it did not have the same view as her.

She knocked loudly on the door she hoped was their sitting room. 'I have just seen a robber climb into the house.' Her voice echoed and the door flew open. Aubrey must have pulled on his nightshirt hastily as it was inside out.

'Are you quite sure, Sofia?'

'Absolutely certain. The man went into an empty bedroom in the west wing.'

Mary appeared in her robe. 'You must alert your brother somehow. Is it possible for this villain to be able to make his way into the main part of the house from there?'

'Yes, the communicating doors are still functioning, unlike this wing.'

'Then I shall leave it to you. I bid you good night and I am sorry to be the bearer of such alarming tidings.'

She was about to go when Mary stopped her. 'Come in with me, my dear, and tell me how you came to be looking out of your window in the middle of the night?'

'I would prefer to go back to my room, thank you. I had just got up for a call of nature and heard footsteps outside.' This explanation appeared to satisfy and she was allowed to leave without further interrogation. The last thing that was needed at this point was for them to be worrying about her self-inflicted injury.

Now that she was out of her bedchamber she thought it might be acceptable if she went downstairs in search of something to eat. She had been given a tour of the building and was confident she could find the kitchen. The range was alight, as it should be, and it was comparatively simple to get it burning at full heat again even with only one arm – and this her right hand which wasn't the one she used naturally.

Mama had always said being left-handed was what had made her contrary. Most young ladies would have been forced to use their right but her parents had been more accommodating and allowed her to continue to be different. Her lips curved as she wondered if Perry had actually noticed.

The kettle that was used was far too large for her to manage one-handed – what she needed was a small saucepan in which she could put either water or milk. Perhaps hot milk with honey would be beneficial as it should help her to sleep. This task achieved she went in search of something easy to eat with one hand. There was a large plum cake and half-eaten apple pie on one of the slate shelves in the vast larder. A piece of both of these would be ideal with her hot milk.

Taking them back to her room would be quite impossible so she dragged a chair up to the long table that dominated the kitchen and sat there. She had only ignited two candles, just sufficient for her to see what she was doing. Her hunger satisfied after devouring the cake and pie she drained her cup of milk and was ready to return. Before she could do that she must leave the kitchen in the pristine state she had found it.