Page 5 of Blood and Roses

"They were all abroad studying when you were a child. Mr. Balthasar has only returned this year. Had a few issues with Eli over the years if any of the servant's gossip is worth anything. I think Eli was happy when the boy returned. Well, he's hardly a boy. He would be thirty-eight at least. He's a nice, polite man."

"That'snice," Rosa said, pretending to be interested as her mother continued chatting to fill the uneasy silence between them.

"You'll meet them all tomorrow of course. We are down a few people, so I thought you could give me a hand. I have a uniform ready for you."

"Great," Rosa said unenthusiastically, looking at her mother's matronly black dress.

"Don't be like that. Eli will pay you, and it will be nice having you around. Most of the girls are pleasant enough, but not a lot between the ears."

"I can imagine. I want to see you get back to being healthy, and then I have to figure out what I'm going to do next with my life."

"We'll talk about it later," Cecily answered dismissively, and Rosa groaned inwardly. She was tired and cranky from traveling, so she would drop it, but only for a few days.

"I've made a room up for you."

"What about our place?" When Rosa was a child, they had lived in the Wylt cottage out in the grounds.

"It's still there, but I moved into the main house a little while ago now. I got too lonely, and I'm usually the first one in the kitchens in the morning anyway. It still has all of our furniture in it. Mr. Balthasar used it for a few weeks when he returned while he organized his own space in the main house," Cecily said as she put Rosa's plate into the dishwasher. "All of our things are still in there, so stop looking at me like that. I was tired of not feeling a part of things. I can help you take the dust sheets off and make it livable again if you prefer to stay there."

"That'd be nice. I'm used to living alone. Although if you wanted to come with me..."

"No, I'm comfortable here. Besides, you're your own woman now, and you'll need your own space."

Cecily led her out of the kitchen and into the narrow servant's passages. Rosa had a strange sense of déjà vu, a tickling of deeply buried childhood memories, as they were surrounded by windowless stone walls in an in-between space behind the walls of the main house. The passages were a way for servants to move about quickly, but mostly so the family and their guests didn't have to look at the staff.

Cecily selected a key from the large bunch that hung on her belt and opened the door to reveal a warmly furnished set of renovated rooms and a large private bathroom.

"When Eli learned of my desire to move into the house, he had the rooms done up for me and made sure I had a guest room for you, should you ever want to come home and visit. Despite what you may think, he's a good employer, Rosa, and he has always taken care of us, especially after..."

"After Dad was killed on Eli's hunting trip?" Rosa finished, feeling a flicker of old anger.

"It was an accident. You know that, Rosa."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Rosa held her hands up in surrender. "As I said before, I'm tired and grumpy and this place... It bringsup things I haven't thought about in a long time." She gave Cecily's shoulders a sideways hug. "I'm sorry I haven't come back as much as I should have."

"I know there doesn't seem to be much of a life up here, not after the busy, exciting London, but give it a chance? For me? Besides, at least up here you will have a chance to ride horses again."

Rosa smiled and nodded, not wanting to start another argument. Cecily went to a drawer in her dresser and pulled out a bunch of keys. "Here, you should have these now."

A leather tag hung from them with an embossed 'W' pressed into it. Rosa's memory gave an involuntary kick. "Dad's keys?"

"They are the Wylt keys, and you are the only true Wylt here. They are the only bunch to have a key to every room of the house. Eli tells me they have been passed down and that you should have them."

"Did he now?" Rosa turned them over in her hands.

"The Vanes can be a bit peculiar in their ways, but deep down, they're good folk. You might find you like it here." Cecily was nervous around her, and she wasn't making it easier, so Rosa accepted the keys and went to bed.

Rosa could hearwhispers in the walls. She ran through the tight passageways that were closing in around her. The darkness was catching up, snapping at her heels. She cried out silently, her voice snatched away from her as she burst through the passage and out to the lakeside.

There was a woman with dark hair, calling out to her from the reed-choked fringes, begging for help. Rosa backed up and ran from the ghost as fast as she could. She spotted a doorbetween two trees and hurried to open it. Instead of freedom, there was a wolf waiting for her. It leaped, and she fell.

Rosa woke clutchingat her blankets and fighting off invisible wolves. She opened her eyes and sat up, pulling her hair away from her sweating neck.Damn it. Could she not get one decent night's sleep? She climbed out of bed and grabbed her toiletries bag. She needed a long, hot shower to get her head right.

Hanging over a chair was a plain black dress, black stockings, and ballet flats. A note was balanced on the top of them.

Find me when you are ready, and I'll give you the grand tour. Mom

"Great," Rosa muttered, but she still carried the dress into the bathroom with her.It will only be for a few weeks, and it will make Cecily happy, she reminded herself as she turned on the hot tap.