The Duke looked at her. “My steward said your name was Lot. Is it short for Charlotte or Lottie. Mary Lot . . .”

  Lot shook her head. “No, my mother just named me thus as I was last of her lot of children. She didn’t want to have any more after me, my lord. I’m not used to saying the honorifics as we don’t have Dukes or Lords visit us often.”

  “No one is asking you to say it.”

  “You’ve done so much for me and I know that I can’t afford to repay you.” Lot reached for her stash of coin and handed it to the Duke who looked at it with wonder, before setting it aside without a second glance.

  “Don’t worry about repayment for now. I need you to get better. You need to get healthy to fight for your life.”

  Lot looked at him as he started to unpack the foodbox. He took out the several dishes. He sniffed them and looked at them questioningly before starting to feed Lot. Lot felt a strange swirl of tiredness as she started eating. She didn’t remember anything after a few bites.

  =//=

  “Madam, you really must wake now or the duke will be frightfully angry!” Lot shot up straight in her bed and then looked bleary eyed at the maid who was standing next to her. The maid whipped her face with her apron and then dabbed Lot’s forehead with a handkerchief that was catching the light with faint gold embroidery.

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  Lot reached up and pulled the handkerchief away. She looked around the room in alarm as she was sleeping in a four poster bed in a drafty room. There were hot bricks underneath the sheets that she touched and then moved her feet quickly out of the bed. She looked down at her dirty fingernails which were already putting particles against the too white nightgown.

  She didn’t have time to ask questions. “Komi?”

  “Hush, madam. I finally got him to sleep after a while.”

  “Just let me see him. I need to see him.” Lot got up quickly and there was an enormous cradle with a string that looked meant for a lion to sleep in. The windows around it were closed that were looking out to what she realized was the town. Komi was there, looking very small in the too large bed. Without listening to the maid’s concerns, Lot picked up her son with blankets around him and then roved towards the door.

  It was opened to her without her asking and she started walking down the hall. There was a door ajar there and she wasn’t really sure where she was going, but she heard the sound of voices.

  One older.

  One younger

  Her mind was blank as she knew that she recognized one of the voices as she came in and turned to see . . . the Duke . . . well . . . very much unclothed with another woman there in bed.

  The worst part of course, was that woman was the girl who had whipped her injured hand.