Immortal Ever After(8)

“I’d rather shower than bathe,” she said with a grimace.

Leigh paused at the door and turned to face Valerie. “I’m sorry, but it’s better if you bathe this time. You aren’t very steady on your feet and I don’t want you to slip in the shower and add to the bruises and bumps you already have. Besides, Dani said you weren’t to get your bandages wet and this is the easiest way to ensure that.”

“Dani?” Valerie asked.

“Dr. Dani Pimms,” Leigh explained. “She’s the one who sewed you up and took care of you.”

“Oh,” Valerie murmured, then sighed and moved to the tub to set the stopper and turn on the taps, muttering, “I suppose a bath will have to do then.”

Leigh smiled faintly at her grumbling, and moved over to collect a washcloth and towel from the cupboard beside the sink, saying, “The shampoo, conditioner, and soap are on the side of the tub.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said, taking the towel and washcloth from her.

“You’re welcome. I guess I’ll leave you to it then,” Leigh said cheerfully, moving to the door. “Don’t forget you aren’t supposed to get your bandages wet, so you don’t want the water too deep. I’ll stay in the bedroom in case you run into any problems. Yell if you need me.”

Valerie said, “thank you,” again as the door closed, then turned to survey the bath. The water was almost halfway up the tub and that was without her in it. She set the towel and washcloth on the closed toilet seat and turned off the water, then straightened and peered down at herself.

Her eyebrows rose as she took in the pretty white cotton nightgown she wore. It wasn’t really her style. An overlarge T-shirt was her usual nightwear. Valerie suspected it was probably Leigh’s, put on her after her arrival here.

Whether it was her style or not, she appreciated the loan. Her clothes had been filthy after ten days in them, but jumping out the window and crawling through the dirt under the bushes had made them positively disgusting.

Maybe even more disgusting than her hair presently was, she thought, catching sight of herself in the mirror over the sink. Either Leigh or the doctor had obviously made some attempt to clean her up because her face was clean, as were her arms, but her blond hair was greasy and limp, with clumps of dirt in it, and her scalp was brown between the strands. Cripes, she didn’t recall landing after jumping out of the window, but if she were to guess from looking at her head, she’d say she’d landed on it.

Smiling slightly at the ridiculous thought, Valerie turned and quickly stripped off the nightgown, then stepped into the tub. She settled carefully into it, but had to shift her foot under her butt and sit on it to keep her bandage above the water line. With all her aches and pains, it wasn’t a comfortable position. It was going to be a fast bath.

As she quickly washed away almost two weeks of sweat and stench, Valerie thought of all the things she hadn’t asked Leigh yet. Her host had said the other women had been taken to the Enforcer house, which Valerie assumed was a real safe house. But Leigh hadn’t said how they were physically and mentally and that was something Valerie was wondering about now that she knew she was safe.

“How are you doing?” Leigh called through the door.

“Good,” Valerie answered.

“You’ll probably need help washing your hair,” Leigh said. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll help you.”

Valerie gave a noncommittal grunt, but she was now considering the problem. She couldn’t just lie back and dunk her head in the water. She was supposed to keep her bandage dry.

Her gaze slid to the showerhead a good distance above the tub taps. It was one with a long metal-covered hose attached. It could be used as a normal showerhead, or removed from its holder and handheld for more interesting angles.

“Perfect,” Valerie murmured as she stood up and stepped out of the tub. After quickly drying herself, she wrapped the towel around herself sarong style and then turned back to retrieve the handheld showerhead. She was standing outside of the tub, bent forward, soaking her head over the tub when she thought she heard her name. Pausing, she glanced toward the door and listened, but wasn’t sure if she’d heard anything or not over the rush of water. Then the door suddenly opened and Leigh peered worriedly in.

“Oh, good, you’re all right,” she said, and then set another white cotton gown on the counter as she explained, “I stepped out for a minute to fetch you a fresh nightgown and called out to be sure you were okay when I got back, but you didn’t answer.” She hesitated, then stepped into the room, saying, “Let me help with that.”