When she looked about the place she found herself in she did not recognize it. Sitting bolt upright, she rubbed her face. The light that edged in through the thin curtains at the window made her blink, and she peered around the room with curiosity. She barely remembered arriving here the night before, but she did remember the arduous journey, and that her rescuer had forced her to climb up behind him on a horse—a horse! She had been so high from the ground she felt quite ill, and had to cling to his back whimpering, with her eyes tightly shut. He, of course, found that greatly amusing, which only increased her annoyance about being obliged to stay with him. So distressful had the journey been that she was greatly fatigued by the time they finally reached their destination. The room was sparsely furnished. She’d been sleeping in a narrow cot, in her shift. Her torn dress, petticoat and stays lay on the floor, together with her shoes, where she recalled depositing them after he’d ushered her into the room.
