Read The Perfect Lady Worthe for Free Online

just under her shoulders and Thea began pulling off her left sleeve. Once she’d freed her arm, Jane reached her unsteady left arm across to hold the bookcase with that hand so Thea could remove her other sleeve.
    Thea slid her gown, corset, and shift down and Jane’s hand tightened its clammy grip on the edge of the bookcase to steady her trembling body. Almost done, she reassured herself when Thea untied her petticoat. Really, there was no reason for her to wear them other than her desire to be seen—and treated—like everyone else as much as possible. Pride was such a damnable thing sometimes.
    “Ready to sit?” Thea asked.
    Jane was more than ready. Maintaining her hold on the edge of the bookcase, she reached back her right hand to find the armrest of her chair, then slowly lowered herself into it before taking her fresh shift from Charlotte while Thea went to the floor to gather the pile of discarded clothes that were pooled around Jane’s feet.
    Quickly, she pulled her shift over her head then shimmied it down as far as it would go in her sitting position. Over the years, they’d tried a combination of ways to help her change and this was the easiest way they’d found. She might get her pride in wearing petticoats, but she’d sacrificed some by having to wait to sit before pulling on a new shift and waiting again until she was lying down to pull it all the way down. But every attempt she’d made at trying to pull it on while still standing had led to a painful fall. Pride only went so far.
    “Shall we move a little closer to the fire?” Thea suggested when she returned to Jane’s side.
    Jane nodded once then allowed Charlotte and Thea to push her chair closer to the fire. She’d always known Charlotte did a lot for her, but just then an overwhelming sensation of gratitude for her sister flooded her. Thea couldn’t help her dress or move Jane’s chair on her own. When Charlotte married and moved away, Thea would need help. Michael would hire another maid, she supposed, but it wouldn’t be the same.
    Instinctively, she reached for Charlotte’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you.”
    “I didn’t push it by myself.”
    Jane smiled and reached for Thea’s hand, too. “Thank you both. I don’t know where I’d be without the two of you.”
    Neither said anything in response. There was nothing to say. Nobody could ever offer her the great care these two did and they all knew it.
    Thea squeezed her hand in return then dashed off to retrieve the ottoman. She placed it by Jane’s feet and waited while Charlotte helped Jane lift her legs, then slid the ottoman into position.
    “Are you ready to lean back?” Charlotte asked.
    Jane nodded and reached for the hem of her shift. The best time to pull it down would be when Thea leaned her chair back.
    Thea pulled a lever underneath the back part of her chair then slowly she and Charlotte guided the chair back down until Jane was lying flat.
    “Thank you both.” Jane wiggled her shoulders to get comfortable.
    “You’re welcome, dear,” Charlotte said, covering her with a blanket while Thea stoked the fire. It had seemed odd to Jane the first time she saw Thea bend down and stoke a fire but it only took once to learn this Scottish woman could build a fire better than any footman in Michael’s employ.
    When the two were done seeing to Jane’s comfort, they bade her goodnight, snuffed all the candles except the two in the sconce closest to the door, and let themselves out—leaving Jane in a very large, unfamiliar room with nothing but her blanket and thoughts. It would be a long night, to be sure.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Gareth threw aside his sheet and blanket and rolled himself to a sitting position at the end of his bed. Scrubbing his face with his hands, he groaned. Insomnia was worse than the plague. It had to be. At least with the plague one either got well or died. He’d been suffering from occasional stretches of insomnia for