Chapter 16
I bolted upright in bed. The sun was shining through the curtains, and the clock on the mantel showed it lacked a quarter hour until noon. I knew I’d had a strange dream, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember a thing about it.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
“Yes?”
Mrs Johnson entered, carrying a tray laden with a fragrant breakfast. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, sir. Nelly let me know she’d heard you was awake, so I thought I’d bring your breakfast.”
A maid followed her, the girl’s arms filled with my clothes, all neatly folded. She placed them on the chair Tommy had sat in the night before, then gathered up last evening’s tea things, bobbed a curtsy, and left.
I leaned forward and scrubbed my hair. “I apologise for disrupting the household.”
“It’s quite all rig
