Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another snippet from my story, Chasing the Chambermaid, from Duty Bound – a reverse harem collection featuring stories from myself, Felicity Brandon, Katie Douglas and Lily Harlem. You can buy it or read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

“Aye.” He nodded, which flipped some strands of his ginger hair into his eyes. He shoved them away with the impatient scrape of a hand. “Like Frances said, ye were in quite the state when I found ye. Wetter than a loch, shivering worse than anything I’ve ever seen, yer teeth chattering and all. I dumped all me tools where I stood and tried to help ye. Wake ye up—but ye were seriously out of it. I gave up in the end, just scooped ye up and brought ye back here. Thought it was for the best. Frances took over then—she got ye undressed and warmed ye up. And not a moment too soon, I reckon.” He absentmindedly scratched his beard, the same burnished-copper colour as his hair, then gave a decisive nod. “I’m mighty glad ye are all right. Like Frances said, ye had us worried.”

“Will’s right,” Frances put in, drawing Connie’s attention back to her—a shame, really, as she much preferred looking at Will. “You can’t go anywhere now. Well, you can, if you want. You’re not a prisoner here, obviously. What I mean is, it’s dark, it’s cold, and it’s wet. Surely wherever you need to be can wait until tomorrow? You’re welcome to stay here another night. This room is spare at the moment anyway.” She paused. “Is there anyone you need to call? Anyone who will be wondering where you are?”

Connie swallowed hard, hoping her voice wouldn’t betray her. She shook her head. “No. I don’t need to call anyone.” Well, that was true, at least. She deliberately ignored the second question, hoping Frances would think the answer Connie had just given covered that, too.
He would most definitely be wondering where she was, would be out looking for her. Her friends and family, on the other hand, wouldn’t yet know anything was amiss. Not until the letter Connie had posted near King’s Cross Station landed on the doormat at her mother’s house, anyway. And that wouldn’t have happened too quickly, given the sheer amount of post which went through the system in central London, plus she’d deliberately used a second-class stamp, buying herself some time to put plenty of distance between her and her home. Her old life.

She’d worked her week’s notice at her job, so her boss—ex-boss, now—wouldn’t be expecting to see her again. All ends were neatly tied up. Or at least as tied up as they could be when you’d done what Connie had done. Had a mental breakdown, then taken off and left everything behind.

She forced a smile. “Thank you. For everything. Again. And yes, if that’s all right, I will stay another night. Then I’ll be out of your way tomorrow morning.”

Frances watched her for a moment or two, as though assessing her, then nodded slowly. “Of course. You’re very welcome. And welcome to stay. There’s no need to rush off tomorrow, though. Get up whenever you’re ready. The clothes you were wearing have been laundered and dried, and everything in your bag has been dried.” She gave a wry grin. “It wasn’t just you and your clothes that got soaked through.” Jerking her head towards a door off to her right, she went on, “Bathroom’s through there. Plenty of hot water for a shower. In the morning, make sure you go down and get some breakfast. The kitchen is out of this door,” she pointed behind her, “turn left and make your way to the end of the corridor, where you’ll find the stairs. Go down to the ground floor, and the kitchen is your first door on the left. Whoever is in there will find you something to eat and drink. Then please, come and find me before you leave, just so I know you’re all right. Okay?”

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