Page 19 of Once Upon a Midnight Dream

Yet she could not justify splurging for new draperies, even of a less expensive fabric such as chintz or velvet, when these fusty old hangings sufficed.

On rare occasions when she permitted herself to daydream, she imagined glorious, colorful brocade draperies and furnishings.

Bold and daring.

Nothing drab or neutral.

Crimson red, royal blue, or emerald green.

In truth, she preferred brighter, lighter tones for her gowns as well, but headmistresses could hardly flit about the children’s home wearing pinks, corals, or periwinkle, could they?

Who would take her seriously if she did not dress the part?

Lilly gave a firm shake of her head to dispel her fanciful musing.

She had tasks to see to.

Three mischievous little chaps awaited her to check their reading progress, and she must dismiss a neglectful teacher.

Never one to waste time, Lilly filled the last three-quarters of an hour by responding to correspondences and writing an advert for the soon-to-be-open teaching position.

Blast Miss Sanders for being lackadaisical and dishonest.

A blank piece of foolscap lay atop Lilly’s desk.

She replaced it in the fifty-year-old black walnut pedestal desk’s top drawer. Something had checked her impulse, other than a hesitancy to part with the coin, to also place notices in two or three papers about the stranger in her chamber.

It was not as if someone had misplaced a reticule or riding crop at a house party.

This was a badly beaten, and according to him, abducted man.

Mayhap nefarious forces were at work, and the last thing she needed was to lead them straight to the children’s home.

Arms folded, she drummed her fingertips on her upper arms.

Did that mean the home and children were in more danger than she had previously conceived?

In that case, her reluctance to make his presence widely known made absolutely no sense.

Unless he was telling the truth.

How could she possibly know?

Cross about her double-mindedness, she pulled her mouth into a tight line.

In point of fact, Lilly was disgusted with herself for not having better screened the teaching applicants. Miss Sanders had provided glowing references, which Lilly had painstakingly verified.

But then again, how could one really know someone else?

What circumstances might make a person behave in a manner they never would have normally?

That train of thought brought her focus back to the visitor above.

Well, at least she had not been compelled to weave a believable tale for the sheriff to explain why she had summoned him here.

Oddly relieved that Wrottesley had stood her up, she rubbed her nape for a few moments.

The hard floor made an unaccommodating mattress, and she had battled aching muscles and stiffness these past two weeks, which only reminded her she was not as young as she once was.