Page 97 of Her Dark Seduction
“Come, child, you are my guest and are most welcome. I have a chamber ready for you. You must be exhausted, you poor dear, and I can see you’re hurt.”
“How can you be so kind to me?” I asked.
“Because you have nothing to be ashamed of. And please call me Adelia, if I may be permitted to call you Lisetta?”
I nodded, and she smiled again. Her soft, caring manner reminded me of Maman.
“Oliver, help Lisetta to her chamber.”
“Aye, my lady.” Oliver lifted me in his arms. Kindness shone in his soft brown eyes. He reminded me so much of poor Percy, and I rejoiced in his fortune at having a kinder lord than Percy’s. He followed Adelia into the building where she led us to a bedchamber.
The chamber was warm and welcoming, a fire blazing in the hearth. Tapestries lined the walls to keep out the draughts. A solid oak bed covered with thick furs dominated the room. At a word from Adelia, Oliver placed me on the bed. We had been followed by two maidservants. Adelia instructed one woman to undress me and nodded to the other who held out a goblet, full of some liquid. I pushed the goblet away.
“Lady Adelia, your husband said he would explain all when we arrived here.”
“Drink first,” she insisted. “You’re in no state to discuss anything”.
I took the draught and almost immediately a warm sensation overtook me. Reason told me that de Beauvane would hardly risk the king’s wrath to prevent my execution then carry me halfway across England, only to poison me as soon as I reached his home. But I dropped the goblet and tried to stand. Adelia pushed me back.
“Shhh, rest now. You are under our protection and will not be harmed. We can discuss matters when you are well.”
A warm blanket of sleep overtook me and my eyes lost focus. The patterns on the tapestries morphed into dancing whorls of blue and gray, slowly spinning to an inaudible rhythm.
In the distance Adelia’s musical voice spoke while her gentle fingers caressed my forehead.
“Nay, she is not well, but she will recover. Trust us. She is in good hands.”
A low murmur joined her voice. I struggled to hear the words but my body sank under the bed furs. The last thing I saw before I finally closed my eyes, were the whorls of blue which spiraled together, forming two intense pools before darkness claimed me once again. If this was death at de Beauvane’s hands, it was far gentler than the death I had been expecting.
