Ravenwood(46)

The bite marks were still black with carbon-colored lines running up her forearm and heading toward her shoulder. But there was neither pain, nor heat. She wondered if this was some kind of blood poisoning, but Mrs. Davenport and Caleb hadn’t mentioned anything that dire. Surely if there was a chance, they would have said something. Also, Elinore didn’t feel sick. She felt bright and chipper and eager to head down to breakfast and hopefully find another plate full of food like the one she’d had yesterday. Maybe even find Caleb alone in the dining room and they could eat and talk alone, without Hayter looming over them.

She didn’t bother wrapping her arm in the bandage again. The wounds, although black, were dry and didn’t trouble her. Elinore simply pulled her sleeve down over them and dashed out of her room. She paused at the top of the stairs, hearing a quiet crying sound. Concerned, she followed her ears until she came upon an open door at the other end of the manor. Inside, one of the young maids, Amelia, Elinore recalled her name, was standing over a broken vase of flowers, crying, with one of the footmen trying to comfort her.

“It will be all right, Amy.”

Amelia shook her head. “I’ve broken things before, back at the old manor, before we came here. He gets so angry and sometimes he’d say he’d have to take it out of our meals or worse.”

“Mr. Caleb wouldn’t let that happen. He’s a kind soul, not like his uncle.”

Hayter. Of course they were discussing Hayter, Elinore thought, hovering at the edge of the door, just out of sight. She should make herself known; she should let them know she was there, listening. But she did not.

Amelia shook her head harder. “Mr. Caleb is good and true, but he won’t go against his elder. Not his Alpha.”

Elinore frowned at the term, not familiar with it. It was clearly some kind of designation, but she didn’t know what it meant.

“You’ll be fine, Amy. We’ll sneak you off to the stables if we have to.”

“I wish we’d never come here. I wish Mrs. Victoria were still alive. When she was alive, things weren’t so bad, but then she got sick and he… and it’s gotten worse ever since.”

Amelia was crying in earnest now and the poor young man with her had this horrified look on his face, completely at a loss. Elinore straightened her shoulders, coming up with an idea.

“Um, hello?” she said, peering around the edge of the door. “Are you all right?”

The both of them startled at her presence, Amelia trying to wipe at her face with her apron and the young man bending over and starting to pick up the broken pieces of china.

“Oh, what have we here, an accident?” Elinore asked, coming into the room, kneeling down herself and gathering up the larger chunks.

“Oh, miss, please don’t. I’ll get it,” Amelia took off her apron and started gathering the broken bits in the fabric.

“I’ll get a dust pan,” the young man said, probably relieved to take his leave of a crying maid.

“Things break,” Elinore said, trying to ease into conversation. “No one is hurt. All will be well.”

Amelia looked as though she might burst into tears again. “Mr. Hayter is very particular about his things and this came from the old estate. He brought it with him special. But I’ll have to tell him. I’ll have to.”

Elinore paused, taking one of Amelia’s hands in hers. Amelia looked up at her, confused, a frown across her brow.

“Are you afraid of him?”

Amelia hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

It was what Elinore suspected. She squeezed Amelia’s hand. “We’ll say I broke it.”

Amelia’s eyes went wide and she shook her head slightly. “Oh, no, miss. That wouldn’t be right.”

“He won’t be angry with me. He…” Elinore paused, not sure how much she should tell the young girl, how much would be proper. Throwing propriety out the window, she pressed on. “He fancies me and tries to impress me. He won’t get mad and if he does…” Elinore shrugged. “It will burn out quickly enough.”

She could tell Amelia was tempted - it was in the way she bit her lip, staring at the broken pieces of the vase and then back at Elinore.

“What if he’s awfully angry anyway?”

Elinore felt something curl in her belly, but it was not fear. No, it was more like anticipation. What if Hayter was angry? What would she do? She wasn’t sure and almost wanted to make him angry to find out.

Just then, the young footman came back with a brush and a dustpan. Elinore looked up as he entered. “Good, just the thing we’ll need to clean up this vase I broke.”

His eyes were like that of a rabbit seeing a large, dangerous predator just out of the corner of its eye. “Miss?”

“You and Amelia are so kind to help me clean it up. I’ll have to find my uncle and let him know I’ve broken one of his vases. But, I’m sure he won’t be too upset. I’m still his niece and quite new to Ravenwood. These things happen.”

He stood there, still frozen, his large dark eyes blinking at her. Elinore ushered him forward with her hands, in a gentle ‘come here’ gesture.

“Let’s have that dust bin and get this taken care of.”

“George,” Amelia urged. Young George snapped back into action, crouching down and sweeping at the mess, his eyes darting between the two women as he worked.