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It was my right to be a headache for my abductors.
Derrick squeezed my fingers as he drew away, and with a wink he was through the door, leaving me to Meredith’s mercy. I scowled after him and had half a mind to run. I would not get far, not with a manor full of wolves behind me and no idea where to go, but it would serve the bastard right.
“Time’s short, miss,” Meredith said in an accent almost identical to the constable, “Best we get you sorted.”
Inside the manor were tapestries and wide stairways and brightly lit chandeliers dripping crystals like raindrops overhead. One might have thought we stepped into fourteenth century Europe with all the stonework, except that every few feet a shining brass fixture sprouted from the wall.
We bypassed the main hall, where the bulk of the party resided because I could hear many voices in laughing conversation. There was the clink of crystal goblets and a dozen smells wafting from the corridor at our left. I surmised this must be where the kitchens were held, and that Meredith was leading me through the servant’s passages. The hallway grew tighter, and dimmer, and we climbed a spiral staircase of wrought iron that was cold under my fingers.
Before long Meredith was unlocking a door, admitting us inside a simple room with no windows. That was the first thing I noticed; no escape save the hallway, which would undoubtedly be watched. If I’d had any illusions of sneaking off in the night, they were doused in that moment. What the room did contain, however, was a comfortable looking bed, a wardrobe standing open with a gown hanging on its door, and a vanity table already prepared. There were familiar makeup boxes, all in the brands I frequented, though these were new, and I quelled a sort of girlish delight at seeing them.
It was wholly inappropriate for me to find joy in my present circumstances.
Still, I had to give Derrick credit for his attention to detail.
Meredith shut the door behind us and proceeded to the wardrobe. “The constable gave your measurements and ordered this special. There’s a note, but I suggest reading it while I’m tending your hair, miss. You look a fright.”
“I’m perfectly capable of doing my own hair.”
“We run things in the Fairy way here, Miss. You’ll have to deal with tradition.” Meredith said and continued about the business of airing out the dress.
“Yes, of course,” I said and flattened my palm against the fluttering in my gut.
The Fairy way?
It didn’t seem prudent to admit that I had never been to Fairy myself. There hadn’t been time while my parents were alive, and Nana Bess and Uncle Martin always promised we would go, but we somehow never did. Standing where I was, I wished they made the time. I felt woefully out of my depth.
My thoughts went scattering to pieces as the dress was presented. It was amber and silver satin, its folds draping like liquid, with a sapphire star winking up from one shoulder. My left shoulder was bare once we had gotten the gown on, and on closer inspection I could see tiny diamonds outlining the sapphire pendant. The satin breezed against my skin, and I felt quite naked even though I could see I was clothed.
It was simple and elegant and everything I could have wanted, which was alarming to no end. I wanted Derrick to stay a brute, blast him. How could he have sent for a gown so perfect?
Feeling thoroughly chagrined, I settled onto the vanity chair. There was an envelope with my name written in clear, bold ink and I reached for it while Meredith began removing the pins from my hair. My scalp tingled as the frayed bun I had created early that morning began to relax, long locks of brown hair brushing the back of my neck until at last Meredith could run a comb through it.
Except for the occasional hairdresser, no one had brushed my hair since I was a child and for a heartbeat I was distracted by the gentle scrape of bristles across my scalp. Memories uprooted, unbidden but clear, and I could almost hear the melodic hum of my mother’s voice as she helped prepare me for bed. I could not have been more than seven, hugging a doll whose name was something like Regina, and basking in the attention. She was all warmth and light and gentle teasing, with a soft chuckle that seemed to echo into the quiet room.
But on the tail of that memory was that of a dark staircase leading down, my own voice sounding small as I called for mother. I could feel the chill of the basement reaching for me, long shadows pooling at the bottom of the stairs, and dread crept up my spine.
Grief pricked fresh and I blinked back the burn of tears, shoving hard at the memories. Meredith was not my mother, she was performing a service, not providing comfort, and I needed my wits to survive whatever dinner was waiting downstairs.
I opened the envelope. Inside were two notes, one from Derrick and the other from Bess. The one from Derrick was on top, and by force of habit I read it first.
Miss Grayson,
I beg pardon for taking the liberty of reviewing your vanity at home. I wished you to have every comfort during your stay, so I took note of what products you preferred and sent word to Meredith to have them purchased. She is trustworthy and will keep you safe in sections of the house where I am not allowed.
It was signed with only his name, no further apologies or explanations, and I nearly made an unladylike snort. Derrick King was, if nothing else, a practical man and would not be wasting ink on groveling, even if I deserved a bit of groveling from him.
Bess’s note was a little longer, and far more cheerful than I would have preferred. She expressed her delight in the payment Constable King provided in advance of my services and assured me that she would be calling the construction company to look at the front porch immediately.
I couldn’t help wondering what Derrick must have told her because she also assured me that she would send cancellations for all my clients for the week, with the explanation that I was attending a high-profile wedding.
I supposed it could only help my practice if my name was attached to the Leslies in this way, at least regarding those clans friendly with the family. Still, there would be political ramifications. For every clan that sided with lycanthropes there were others who did not, and age-old hatreds still lingered in the hearts of Bright creatures despite what the CEB touted in the newspapers. A lingering distrust permeated the Bright of Earthside and no amount of industrial progress was going to wash it away.
There was nothing innocuous about this wedding for me. Even without access to magic I could feel the danger in my bones.
“Well, I’ve done what I can, Miss,” Meredith said.
She took a step back and I blinked at my reflection. In the middle of my reading the girl had managed to sweep my hair up into a neat chignon peppered with tiny barrettes that twinkled in silver and sapphire. I almost didn’t recognize myself in all the finery and realized after a moment that the rest was up to me.
