Free Miss Lacey's Last Fling (A Regency Romance) by Candice Hern

her until she had managed to control the pain.
    She began the slow calming exercise she had taught herself in order to get through the dizzy disorientation that always came with the pain. Breathe in. Breathe out. Concentrate on the toes, relaxing each one. Then the foot, then the ankle, then the calf, all the way up her body, one part at a time, until reaching the head. By the time she got to the head, the worst of the pain was usually gone, but the aftereffects of nausea, fatigue, and dizziness lingered sometimes for hours.
    This time seemed different somehow. She could not put her finger on it, but this morning's attack was slightly different from the others. Perhaps it was simply an evolution of the disease. But if so, why did it appear to be less potent, less debilitating? Was her body simply adapting?
    Rosie proceeded with her calming exercise, and as she lay there quietly, the pain eased away until she felt perfectly relaxed. Going slowly, as she always did, she pushed herself to a sitting position.
    She gasped aloud at the explosion of pain. Even the slightest movement, tilting her face in one direction and then another, made her brain feel like thick liquid sloshing around inside her skull.
    This was certainly different. She'd never had this type of headache before.
    Rosie eased herself slowly, to the edge of the bed. She swung her legs over and sat immobile for a few moments while her brain slid back into place. Just when she thought she might be able to manage after all, a door slammed somewhere in the house, and seemed to echo inside her head like a carillon.
    When Violet entered again sometime later, she found Rosie still seated on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands.
    "Miss? Are you all right?"
    The girl's voice resounded in Rosie's ears like the crash of a thousand cymbals. She groaned aloud. "I need tea," she murmured, barely able to speak. "And send my aunt to me, please." It was time to enlist Fanny's help.
    By the time her aunt arrived, Rosie had been able to make her way to the chaise near the fire. In the past, the headache had been accompanied by chills, but not this morning. In fact, she found the room to be rather warm. She fanned her face with a theater bill that had been left on the candlestand near the chaise.
    Fanny entered the bed chamber wearing a pink silk dressing gown and lace cap. Clearly she had come straight from her own bed. She took one look at Rosie, clucked her tongue, and perched herself on the edge of the chaise.
    "My dear girl," she said, and took one of Rosie's hands between her own, "you look quite done in. I suppose the theater, two routs, and a card party were too much for one evening."
    The strong tea had done some good, but even so, Fanny's voice reverberated painfully inside Rosie's head. She lifted a hand to her temple.
    "Oh my," Fanny said, lowering her voice as though she knew exactly how Rosie felt. "You really are in a bad way, are you not? Quite a head this morning, eh? Well, I know just the remedy for you. I shall have Mrs. Coolidge make up one of her special morning-after brews. It will have you feeling more the thing in no time at all, I promise."
    "I thank you, aunt, but I fear I should see a physician."
    Fanny chuckled softly. "Trust me, my dear, this will pass. A little too much champagne—"
    "No, it is not that. I—I cannot speak of it just now, but I really must see a physician." Rosie had intended to find a physician in London, one in whom she would confide her condition with a strict promise of confidentiality. She had thought it best to have someone aware of her disease, in case she became really sick or certain medications became necessary. But she had been enjoying herself so much, she had almost completely forgot that she was ill. In fact, until this morning, she had felt perfectly well.
    Fanny lifted a hand to Rosie's cheek. "Rosalind, my dear, if something is wrong you must tell me. I will help you in any way you need. Are you ill?"
    Rosie sighed.