Demon of Mine Read Free

in the corner
of the room seemed to suggest she’d been repairing it, and the
needle she held caught between her lips supported the notion. No
doubt Mrs. Remington’s beloved cat – a notorious destroyer of
curtains – was responsible for the damage. Normally, Elsie cursed
the creature for creating so much extra work, but it couldn’t have
put Jenny in the room at a more convenient time. Jenny snatched the
tray deftly from Elsie’s hands, saving the assortment of fine china
it bore from probable ruin.
    Elsie collapsed onto the floor as soon
as she was relieved of the burden.
    Whirling skirts clouded her vision as
Jenny and Mrs. Remington towered over her, exclaiming. “Elsie!”
Jenny knelt, lifted Elsie’s head into her lap and brushed a wayward
lock of wavy chestnut hair out of her friend’s eyes.
    Elsie tried to steady her
still-trembling hands as she gazed up into Jenny’s large blue eyes,
which stood out all the more for her fair complexion and fiery red
hair. “I’m fine,” Elsie breathed, even though it wasn’t true. “Just
give me a moment. I’m sorry, I—”
    “ Have you been following
the physician’s orders?” Mrs. Remington interrupted, her voice cool
and faintly musical, though it was clear she was upset. Her
alabaster brow furrowed into lines – a rare sight, despite the fact
that the woman was well into her middle years. She was a shade
fairer than even Jenny, and her complexion was the envy of London,
even among women half her age.
    “ Yes.” Elsie frowned as she
thought of the foul beef tea and herb mixture she drank every
morning and evening at the physician’s insistence. A dull pain in
the crook of her elbow reminded her of the weekly bleeding sessions
the same man subjected her to. Unfortunately, both treatments had
yet to help her strange symptoms.
    The full lips Mrs. Remington had
passed down to her children plunged down at the corners, forming a
graceful pout. “Over a month of treatments and no improvement. I
fear the physician’s remedies are ineffective.”
    Obviously. Elsie said nothing as she
tried to move her knees. They resisted. God willing, the fit of
weakness would pass in a few moments, and she could go back to her
duties. Perhaps she could escape for a little while to the laundry
room, where she’d be out from under Mrs. Remington’s troubled hazel
gaze. The last thing she wanted was to have some foul new
concoction sprung upon her by the physician, or to be prodded and
bled again. The man subjected her to a fresh hell each time he
visited.
    “ The city is no place for a
girl in your state of health,” Mrs. Remington continued, causing
Elsie’s stomach to twist in apprehension. Where else could she
possibly belong? She’d been born and raised in London and had
seldom strayed outside the city’s bounds. She strained to flex her
knees, desperate to stand. Was she about to be dismissed, after
seven years of service? The Remingtons’ London estate was the only
home she’d known since the hovel she’d shared with her parents had
been destroyed by a fire seven years ago. Surely not, but… She had
to admit, she did her mistress little good while lying on the floor
like a landed fish.
    A surge of dark thoughts flooded
Elsie’s mind as she cursed her health troubles. Before her fits had
started, Mrs. Remington had been preening her to become her
personal maid. A lady’s maid! Traveling around the city in style
with Mrs. Remington would’ve been a fine change from dusting
mantles, polishing silver and beating rugs from dusk ‘till dawn.
She’d even had hairdressing lessons, but her chances of ever
putting them to use seemed to be dwindling with every attack she
suffered.
    And yet, an eternity spent as a
housemaid was vastly preferable to dismissal. Mrs. Remington had
been kind so far. God send her generosity would outlast Elsie’s
health woes.
    “ Surely the city is not to
blame.” Elsie managed to keep her voice steady despite the panic
that was making her