The Apprentice Girl // Book 3 in the Rosie Grey series

Chapter Fourteen

James looked as though he went to speak, but Kitty placed her hand on his shoulder, and he closed his mouth almost instantly. I raised an eyebrow and slowly moved my legs over the side of the sofa. The entire room moved under my feet and I took a few seconds for it to right itself before standing up and making my way across the room as slowly as I possibly could. Everyone watched me intently as though waiting for the moment their worst fears were realised but nothing happened. I made it to the stairs before I keeled over.

With everyone still in the living room, I almost climbed the stairs on my heads and knees since the room seemed to remain still as long as I didn't move all that much. The head injury definitely appeared worse than I let on to the others, but I didn't want James to over-react again and I knew my injuries better then he did. Besides, I knew telling him would only cause him to go on some sort of torrent of abuse towards the Ealing's and I didn't want to have to deal with that again.

I made it to my bedroom and managed to change out of my dress and into my nightdress before collapsing on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. The back of my head throbbed and even the flickering of the candle that had been lit on my bedside table made it worse. Most of my head injuries in the factory passed by rather quickly, without ice and without the extra hours of sleep I got living with James. With any luck, this would end up the same way and pass by the next morning with nothing but a bruise at the back of my head to show for it.

The light still shone through the curtains as I rolled onto my side and blew the candle out though it didn't extinguish any of the light that came in through the window. Instead, I pulled the blanket up, over my head and settled into the mattress in hopes of falling asleep, but sleep seemed like a distant memory as darkness set in and I lay awake. Lack of sleep had always been something I didn't mind, but with the throbbing in my head only getting worse, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

Through my blanket, I watched the light shift to dark and eventually dark to light as the sun rose and London came to life with the sound of horses and carts on the stone outside. I had barely slept a wink and my head still hurt if I looked at any light source. I stayed buried under the blanket even when I heard my bedroom door creak open and the sound of footsteps on the floor.

"Rosie? Are you awake?" James asked. I felt the side of the bed dip as he sat down.

"I never fell asleep," I said.

"I thought as much, you're usually awake by now. Christopher and I have to go into work, but Mrs Baker will be here if you need anything and I'll have Kitty pop back around lunchtime to check on you. If you don't feel any better by tomorrow, I'll have to get Doctor Ealing to take a look at you."

"I'll be fine, just need to sleep."

"Alright, if you're sure. I'll see you later."

The pressure on the side of the bed faded and I listened to James' footsteps as they retreated away. His footsteps seemed to echo a lot more than they would usually, and I knew it had something to do with the knock to the back of my head and not James deciding to skip from the room. I listened as the door creaked slightly and then closed before shuffling further under the blanket to try and block out the light that continued to stream in even though the curtains were closed and would remain closed all day.

Through the closed window I could hear the usual signs of life in London. The horses moving along the ground outside, the light mummer of conversation from people going about there day. Despite the window being closed, their voices seemed louder; as though they were standing right next to me. I could hear James and Christopher getting ready to leave in the hallway before the sound of the door opening and closing echoed through the house. With the house now silent, bar for Mrs Baker in the kitchen, I relaxed under the blanket and very slowly began to fall asleep for the first time in a day.