“Betty, please find a gown for Mistress Crane, I think one of Rose’s will do nicely, and show her to the yellow room. Mistress Crane would like to rest. And bring her some refreshment,” he added as an afterthought and turned to me, giving me an encouraging smile. “I am afraid I am expecting a dinner guest tonight for a private meeting,” he informed me apologetically, “Have some rest and we will talk more tomorrow. Please let Betty know if there is anything you require.” I thanked him and followed Betty out of the library toward the stairs to the upper floor. I could see that she was burning with curiosity, but she didn’t ask anything, just led me up the stairs and down the carpeted hallway to a door at the very end. She opened the door for me to enter and turned to leave.
“I will be back shortly, Miss, with some garments, and I will bring hot water should ye wish to wash.” She curtsied again and left me alone in the room. I sat down on the four-poster bed and took in my surroundings. The room was done in shades of saffron and cream with a matching coverlet, bed hangings and drapes at the two windows. Being a corner room, one window looked out over the yard and the road leading to the castle, and the other over woods and the distant river, sparkling in the late afternoon sun. There was a painting of a beautiful woman with eyes the same color as Alexander Whitfield, her arms around a pink-cheeked young boy, hanging over the dresser, but otherwise there were no personal objects in the room. It must have been reserved for guests.
There was a quick knock at the door before Betty came in, a gown slung over her arm and a pitcher of water in her right hand. She set the pitcher on a table by the bed next to the painted ewer, then lay the gown on the bed along with some other garments.
“I do hope ye like these,” she said showing me what she brought. “Here is a chemise, a petticoat and I thought this gown might suit ye. There is also a nightdress.” She reached into the pocket of her apron and drew out a handful of pins. “I brought these so ye can dress yer hair. Do ye require help dressing?”
“Thank you, Betty, I think I can manage.”
“All right, then. I will ask Cook to send up a tray for ye at supper time. If ye need me, just pull this rope.” She showed me the thick cord by the bed and turned to leave, but couldn’t stop herself from asking at least one question. “Were ye accosted on the road, Miss?” she whispered looking at my summer dress. She assumed that someone had torn off my gown and left me in my underclothes.
“I can’t recall.” Betty nodded her head as if I confirmed her worst suspicions. She believed that I must have been through some terrible trauma to show up in a state of undress, and with no recollection of what happened, and gave me a sympathetic look, closing the door behind her.
I decided to try and concentrate on more practical things rather than dwelling on my predicament, and poured some water into the ewer, washing my face and hands before trying to figure out how to put on the gown. I took off my dress, but defiantly left my bra and underwear on, before pulling the chemise over my head. It felt soft and light against my skin and I picked up the petticoat. I assumed it went on under the skirt, so I put it on and looked in the mirror. I was beginning to resemble the Dresden shepherdess I saw in the shop. I carefully put on the gown over my head and tied the laces of the bodice. The dress was the color of bluebells and brought out the color of my eyes. I picked up my hair and held it up, examining my image in the oval cheval glass. I looked like a completely different person. Maybe I was. I let down my hair and sat back down on the bed feeling lonelier than I ever had, even after Michael left me. What was I supposed to do now?
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Epilogue
The Hands of Time: Book 1 Excerpt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3