She lay dwarfed under the vault of its master bedroom, unsure in the darkness how long she could keep it all up. As a girl, visits to Brattleboro had always made her conscious of the whiff of humiliation and misfortune that clung to her family. Once she was ensconced in Naulakha, though, a married woman with a famous husband, and living in real English style, she’d felt able to look anyone in the eye. Sitting up in her own phaeton, driving the matched pair Rud had bought for her, she knew herself skilful, daring, poised as a queen.
All that was behind her now.
Maybe she’d be more comfortable if she turned the pillow? A moment’s struggle and it was done, the smooth chill soothing under her cheek.
She was sliding away into unconsciousness, when a distant shriek made her sit upright.
Was
