Chapter 20

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It was a long week before Elizabeth was able to stay awake and coherent for extended periods. The Laudanum helped with that regard. At first, she welcomed her jaunts with oblivion, it hurt to stay awake throughout the whole day, but now, her bruises were fading into a light green hue and her injuries were tolerable twinges. Rob, the local doctor had visited her once, but she could barely remember much of it, other than the embarrassment of having him redress her wounds. He for the most part had done his best to distract her, even taking jabs at their absent host. He seemed all too familiar and yet she didn't know of any doctors other than Dr. Ainsley, who visited her papa from time to time.  But he was neither young or memorable. 

That being said, she was now bloody bored out of her mind. She had managed to talk Mrs. Watson into providing her a few books, but it was unlikely that she would be presented with any she actually would enjoy. Each day, she dropped off a platter full of amazing scones and jams, then the woman would literally disappear to parts unknown, leaving Elizabeth with nothing to do.

Her host, John, had proven to be equally elusive. He had not visited her since the morning she had woken with him in her bed, nor had he been any where to be seen or heard. If it weren't for Mrs. Watson's morning monologues Elizabeth could chalk up his existence to wishful dreams. Mayhab she hallucinated the whole experience. 

This morning, Elizabeth mustered up the courage to pointedly ask about his whereabouts, to which Mrs. Watson jibed at his lack of rest and paused long enough to say he was out seeing to the crofters, the village and meeting with his men. That meant he was not in the manor house. She had smiled nonchalantly. Now that I can do something with. 

Earlier today, Mrs. Watson had assigned one of the upstairs maids, Ginny, to act as Elizabeth's ladies maid and help with any needs she may have. The gal was timid and quiet at first, maybe about eighteen or so years old, but soon enough Elizabeth had  charmed her into singing, like a song bird. Ginny was a fount of knowledge, telling Elizabeth all about the the strange visitors, the staff and village happenings. 

Elizabeth was careful to ask little to no direct or pointed questions, just in case Ginny realized she was ferreting information out of her, thus putting up the girls defenses. Naturally this led to very little actual information that would be of significance in regards to her host. There was not much to say about John, Ginny mentioned he was gone for some extended time and the house had no visitors since Ginny's arrival, about a year ago. The only tidbit regarding John was given through the wishful musings of an eighteen year old girl. He treated the help with respect, especially the older staff and often sought out what he needed without asking them for it. And of course, how bloody handsome he was, as if Elizabeth needed any reminder of that. 

After lunch, Elizabeth decided it was as good as a time as any to explore, get the lay of the land and perhaps discover something more interesting to read. She told Ginny that she planned on taking an extended nap, and asked not to be disturbed until supper was nearly ready. 

She got out of bed and walked about the room, opening each drawer and looking through its contents. She found a few shirts and slacks in one drawer, cravats and stockings in another drawer. They were all simple in design, but with delicate stitching. She continued searching the room, hoping to find the contents of her valise. Anything that would be her own. Other than the main doors out of the room, two sets of doors separated the room from its adjoining chambers. One door was slightly ajar, a room solely dedicated to men's vestments, some clearly used as daily attire, others distinctly formal and fashionable. 

The second door was closed. Elizabeth gently knocked and waited for a reply. Some time passed, and when it was clear that no reply was forthcoming, she tried the door . This door lead to another bed chamber, clearly the counter part of the room Elizabeth had occupied. 

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