Joy V. Sheridan writes

Charity Amour

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX part 2

Madame had been resting, fighting off the by now, feverish cold. The vigours of the night before and then the trouble they had had to dispose of those two tawdry females! Still, as the dawnlight had crept over La Farouche, she was quite certain their mutilated corpses would never be recovered from the lime pit they had been secreted in. Who could be hammering on her door so hard: why she had only just got into bed! 

“Nat, Nat, Madame! Get up. Have you all but forgotten?” “What?” “You have been out for nearly twenty four hours now.” Damnation! That draught she had prepared to help rid her of her cold must have been too strong. “Coming...” She had best move fast to Lord Rispian’s summons. She opened the door, bleary-eyed, her nose still reddened. 

“Come, get dressed Madame. We shall have to move. And move fast. Of course you were aslumbered so soundly yesterday. There has come news of Clover and his buddies. The event takes place this very morn.” With a startled gasp, her hand flying up to suppress the sneeze, she returned to her chamber and dressed hurriedly, taking care to use a hat with heavy veiling. It should serve two purposes: 

One, to disguise the fact that she was Natalie d’Esprit and the other, that she had a cold. If disguises were needed, that was. 

She laced the shoes tighter to her feet, despairing that in her flight from the Château she had not had time to resort to as much as a decent pair of clogs to cover her fragile footwear. Those which had remained in the closet at La Farouche were mildewed and unusuable. She sighed loudly.