An Unsuitable Match by Sasha Cottman

Behind the dressing screen she removed her bindings and hid them under a cushion. She slipped the nightgown over her head.
    She crossed the floor and slowly climbed the bed steps. Bella pulled back the bedclothes and removed the warming pan. Clarice slid under the blankets and lay down. She loved feeling the heat on the sheets just after the pan had been taken away.
    â€˜Warm enough for you, Milady?’ Bella said as she pulled the covers up.
    â€˜Yes, thank you,’ Clarice murmured. The tonic began to work its wonder; and before she had a chance to fight it, sleep overcame her and she slipped into a deep, drug-induced slumber.
    Clarice hid in her room for most of the following day, only coming down for luncheon. If Lady Alice had stuck to her usual travel route and overnighted at Harlow, then she would likely be in London within a day. Then the questions would begin.
    It was not that Clarice disliked her grandmother, but rather that in the years since her mother’s death, Lady Alice had made it her personal mission to take Lady Elizabeth’s place as Clarice’s mother figure.
    With guilt her constant companion, her bright and jovial grandmother made Clarice decidedly uncomfortable.
    Clarice was coming down the stairs that afternoon when a voice cut through her thoughts.
    â€˜Ah, there you are, my dear; I was beginning to think you had run off to the Outer Hebrides. Come and give me a hug, child.’
    Clarice had little option other than to greet her grandmother, who was standing surrounded by travel trunks in the front entrance of Langham House. She continued down the stairs, albeit reluctantly.
    â€˜I thought you wouldn’t be arriving until at least tomorrow,’ she said.
    As she reached Lady Alice’s side, she glanced quickly at the trunks.
    Lady Alice’s laugh echoed in the cavernous space. ‘Not one to travel light, my darling. You never know when you may suddenly be summoned to appear at His Majesty’s court, or to meet a foreign prince.’
    Clarice smiled. The dowager Countess Langham was truly a larger-than-life woman. Warm, friendly and full of energy, she was the sort of woman kings fell in love with and whom armies marched behind.
    Her grandmother reached out and pulled Clarice into her embrace. Clarice’s leg came up against something solid and she stepped back. In Lady Alice’s right hand she held a hickory walking stick.
    Their gazes met.
    â€˜You have a walking stick,’ she said, her voice edged with concern. While Lady Alice had seen many summers, to consider her as anything other than invincible was unthinkable.
    Lady Alice smiled. ‘It’s all right, child; nothing to be alarmed about. I slipped on some loose stones in the front garden at the hall and fell rather heavily. This used to be your grandfather’s walking stick, so I decided to make use of it while I was travelling. Damn nuisance of a twisted knee; I don’t expect I shall be partaking of much dancing while I am in town. That’s why I arrived a little earlier than expected. Sitting in a coach for a day having my leg bounced all over the place is not my idea of a pleasant trip. I ordered the driver to push on this morning so I could get here and stretch it out properly.’
    Clarice tried to look away, but her grandmother held her eyes with an all-knowing gaze.
    â€˜Something is different about you, my dear,’ she said, taking Clarice’s hand. ‘Or perhaps something troubles you? I must confess I find you rather difficult to read these days; you hide yourself so well from the world.’
    â€˜Just tired, that is all,’ she replied, knowing that lying to her grandmother would be childish and imprudent.
    Lady Alice raised an eyebrow. ‘Still having nightmares?’
    She blushed. She had forgotten Lady Alice knew something of her restless nights. She averted her eyes.
    Her grandmother brushed a thumb across Clarice’s cheek.
    â€˜You