Authors: Kelly Varesio

Insperatus (10 page)

BOOK: Insperatus

2.59Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

“
He was not yet an old man,” she hummed. Her throat was dry, and her heart was crushed so terribly that she thought she had bled through to her clothes. Her only person
left
, and…

“
Shall I continue, or did you want to finish it?” His voice was quiet.

“
Please,” she cried lightly.

“
Rein
,” he continued reading, and he stopped every few words to look at her. “
Your father’s
death was unstoppable, even with the aid of modern medical techniques. But I must explain to you about his affairs and your half-sister, Taverin Badeau. Since your father has died, his entire fortune goes to you and is currently in the hands of your agent; the French girl was left nothing, and your house was not left to either of you, but to the county.
” She had lifted her eyes, and she saw Harker looking sadly at her. “Rein, this is too much for you to listen to now.”

Again. Again he’d said her name.

A chill ran down her spine.

“
Please keep going,” she entreated gently. “I must hear the rest, and I…”

“
Taverin is left penniless. Both her parents are dead. She would be working in a poor house or selling flowers on the streets, but, to her fortune, the man who has gotten claim of your home, Bruce Hall, is going to adopt her, giving her the chance to remain in your house. However, he is a heavy alcoholic; when you get back to England, I advise you to meet her promptly
.” And then he stopped with terrible abruptness.

She looked at him because his voice had fallen strangely. “It couldn’t be finished,” she said, almost like a question.

He didn’t look at her. “It isn’t.”

She forced herself to recover her composure. “What does it say?”

He took a breath, and his eyebrows rose as he read the last few words. “
By now, I’m sure Traith Harker has explained my being to you. Believe what he—
oh, this is bizarre. This is bloody—”

Rein sat up. She felt her hair; it was down and probably a mess now. Her cheeks were wet, and she dried them with her hand. Her corset made it hard to catch the breath she had lost. Her dress was wrinkled, and she could only imagine how her eyes looked. She probably appeared terribly unattractive, and with a sick feeling she froze.

The near stranger of a man she had met just the day before was sitting on her bed with her, reading her a terrifying letter, which included him. His eyes were shooting side to side; they were wide, and their bright red color gave her a mix of chills and excitement. He let the paper down and gave it to her as if he couldn’t read the rest. She took it without words.

…
Traith Harker has explained my being to you. Believe what he tells you, as I trust him entirely. He may have told you that I am a witch, but I assure you, my intentions are only to keep you safe, so please trust me. You have a bright future ahead of you.

You will find no more trace of me, Rein. Clear up your eyes and put this news behind you. You cannot become depressed over your father’s death. He would not want you to, and I do not either. You’ll be too important to me.

Mistress

Her mouth had fallen open, she realized. Who was this? Who was this woman writing to her such intimate things? Facts? She was now more angrily perplexed than she was frightened. There was nothing she could do anyway at this point. If it were all a lie, she would go back to England to her normal life, but if it were true, she would never forgive herself for leaving Traith Harker and the
Olde Mary
, and she would forever live with the desire to find out how and why all this had happened.

“
I’ll be too important to her? What does that mean?” she asked desperately.

He was reluctant. “I don’t know.”

After a short silence and loss for words, Rein forced herself to think not of her letter but of him. “Thank you, Traith,” she said, wiping her eyes of anything that could be left. She noticed she had used
his
first name.

He didn’t seem to mind; he didn’t reply at first, and his eyes were still dazed. “I cannot believe she wrote about me in your letter.”

“
Please do not tell anyone,” she murmured, sitting up closer to him. “For now, I must believe what is written. If my father is dead, there is nothing I can do. Nothing can exhume me from confusion over this, so I’ll just have to wait.”

His eyes were sorrowful for her, but still very cool. “I will not speak a word of this.” He stood slowly and cleared his throat to regain his reserve. “You should stay in here tonight, think things through. It’ll be better for you. Not that you need time to solve things…you strike me as a very independent girl, strong. That isn’t common.” His voice grew gentler. “I do hope, despite this…you do try to enjoy yourself. Don’t worry in waiting, it’ll do no good.” A knock on the door stopped his speech. He turned to answer it, and she was frozen, thinking with awe over what he’d just said.

Outside the large, wood-framed doorway, a servant boy stood with a large, silver tray in his hands. His shirt and trousers constituted a faded blue uniform; he was the first servant she had ever seen on the ship. “Your food, sir,” he said with a foreign accent she could not place.

Traith did not answer the young boy but walked past him into the hallway. “If you need me, Miss Pierson, for any reason,” he said quietly. “I understand you have my chamber number.”

She felt hot with embarrassment.

How did he know that?

“
I ordered dinner for you,” he motioned his head toward the boy. Then he gave her a farewell smile.

“
Thank you so much,” she said numbly. “You have been incredibly kind.”

He watched her for a moment, nodded in thanks with a crooked smile, and disappeared past the boy with the tray. She waited for him to appear again, but with a shake of her head, she backed up and allowed the servant boy to come in and set the tray on the table. He bowed to her and left.

She sat down, her numbness fading to pins and needles. When had he had time to order dinner? He was with her the entire time. And she wondered who had told him that she had found out where his chamber was. The stewardess? She couldn’t imagine that, because she hadn’t displayed any interest toward Harker while in her presence.

She opened the silver lid and saw under it two plates full of appetizing meat and potatoes, hot bread and dipping oil, and two glasses of white wine.

There were
two
glasses and
two
plates. One was meant for Traith. Had he been too nervous to eat with her in her chamber? He was so shy; she felt so sorry for him. The stewardess had told her as well that no one spoke to him on the ship, other than Carden Romanoff. But had he wanted to stay with her? She could see, finally, that he was no longer afraid to show some emotion to her. He was less mysterious in person; he was entirely human.

“
God, what am I supposed to do?” she asked, leaning her head on her hands. She didn’t have the energy to cry.

She ate what she could, but the other plate stayed full on the table, and she closed the lid over it. She picked up the tray and set it outside the door, closing the door and locking it.

She untied her corset and took a deep, shaky breath; one she had been in need of taking all day. She took off her shoes, undressed and lay down in her large, feathery bed.

Was her father dead? Had she a sister? That moment tore into a stretching, looming darkness. The knowledge revealed to her in the letter came with inevitable pain, and she felt her heart crushing like a pillar bearing overwhelming weight. Despite these feelings, she found herself falling rapidly into a deep sleep.

Chapter 13

Two nights went by in which she didn’t leave her room. Saria had come in a few times, but Rein never told her about the last pages she’d found of the letter she received. She had just blamed her waste of those two days on contemplation over the letter. She was lying, but she didn’t want Saria to know about what only she and Traith knew. She would have to explain that he had been in her chamber, and she didn’t want her friend scolding.

She hadn’t seen Traith since that night; he hadn’t checked on her. He doubtlessly felt too awkward to invite himself into her stateroom again, but she wanted him to come. She needed to see him again, and see how he reacted to her. Was that bond she felt just an awkward accident?

Rein realized that four nights had already gone by on the ship, and she had only enjoyed a small bit of that time. This realization made her anxious. The time was quickly disappearing. She was rested and calmed enough now to leave, as another afternoon began. She had come to terms with the letter and the possibility of its validity, or else she wouldn’t be coherent. And she would have no chance at being happy for the rest of her voyage.

She put on her stays tightly in the front of her bare torso. Over the stays, she put on a chemise and a waist petticoat, and then placed a more elegant, tight shirt over top. It was a little more extravagant than she was used to, but she knew Saria would like it. It
was
beautiful.

This ship was apparently only for first class citizens who could pay their ride with ease. She was one of those; money was not a problem for her, as her mother had been incredibly rich. In any case, Rein had discovered earlier that heated water was available, and she had bathed that morning in the small washroom off of the bedroom hollow, which, to her excitement, actually had a bathtub, and through another door inside it, a working privy. Those were the advantages of being on such a new ship. The advanced plumbing alone should have caught much attention, yet there were not many people on board.

Once she was clean and dressed and her hair was washed and dry, she took a seat at the vanity to do her hair. She quickly raveled it and pushed the bun forward slightly to make her hair lift a little, and then pinned it. It was simple, but trim.

With a sigh she stared into the mirror, studying her reflection. Her cheeks were rosy, and her black hair looked nice. Her lips were average. Her eyes sparkled their unique blue. Only the dark rings under her eyes revealed the stress accrued in the previous days. The letter she’d found had been weighing heavily on her.

Rein didn’t think it was fair that she was excluded from the secrets surrounding the letter and the relationship between its author and the men she and Saria had befriended. That letter, and the woman’s name at the bottom, was connected to both Harker and Romanoff, and yet she found she was still in the dark about it. That fact frustrated her immensely, and she wanted to get more information out of Traith Harker than he’d given. Not only because she wanted to talk to him, but because she now had a right to know. After what the two had gone through that night, she thought it should be much simpler to converse again.

With concerns and feelings spinning wildly in her mind, Rein reached for a pad of paper and began writing. Perhaps it would become a poem or story. She didn’t know, but she’d always loved to write, and it occupied her for a while—got her mind off of the burden of mysteries that surrounded her. The easy creaking and swaying of the ship was calming, and outside the porthole, she saw the sun straining to make its way through the heavy, drizzly clouds.

After a few hours, she thought she’d go to the atrium and find Saria—perhaps visit her chamber or just talk and explore the ship further. Perhaps even
eat
again. She had eaten the small portions that filled her icebox the day before, but it was late enough in the day now that her hunger struck.

As she walked into the hall, quickly checking herself over, she thought about knocking on Traith’s chamber door. He knew, somehow, that
she
knew which door led to his stateroom. And he had told her that if she needed him not to hesitate. She realized she needed him much more than Edgar, anyway.

The stewardess
had
told her which his room was. Two down from her own, further down the corridor. She backed up, treading a few feet deeper into the hall as softly as she could on the wooden floorboards, and she stopped when she reached the third chamber, Harker’s chamber, listening for a moment for noise or movement. Unless he was sleeping or reading, Rein heard no sign of his being in, so she turned back down the hallway to the lobby: the easiest place to find entertainment. Saria was at the beverage lounge with Carden Romanoff.

She gleamed with excitement and waved when she noticed Rein. “Come here, my Rein! Are you feeling much better?” she asked enthusiastically, and as Rein nodded, she continued. “You look lovely, you know.”

“
Thank you,” Rein replied with a smile, greeting Romanoff with her eyes.

“
I’m so sorry for all the shock you’ve been going through,” Saria said sadly, turning to acknowledge Romanoff’s agreeing nod. “I don’t really know what is going on concerning the letter.”

“
It’s fine,” Rein said. “I’m not sure what to think, but as of now I’m just trying to forget about it.”

“
It was a truthful statement,” Romanoff broke in. “Mistress is a true, living person.”

BOOK: Insperatus

2.59Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Read Book Download Book

ads