Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

B y the time Balthasar made it back upstairs, Pearl was fully healed, Lily stroking her fair cropped hair. Saul was smoking and looking out of sorts.

"Did you find her, brother?" he asked as Balthasar tried to check his rage.

"I did. Right when Rosa was about to get her throat torn out by wolves, I might add." He walked slowly into the room, his fists balled tightly. Lily gave him a warning hiss. Pearl had the look of the broken, melancholy flower that undid his sister every time.

"Rosa could have died, Lily. She is the last of the Wylts. Do you not know what losing her would do to Eli? All because that piece of trash is jealous of her," Balthasar snarled.

"Easy, Bal. Can't you just talk about it? There is a misunderstanding—" Saul began, ever the peacekeeper.

"Stay the hell out of this, Saul. There is no misunderstanding. They left her out there with a broken leg, like a wounded animal to attract predators. I'm disgusted with the both of you," Balthasar said coldly. "I'll kill her for this, Lily, as soon as your back is turned, as soon as you drop your guard?—"

"Balthasar." Eli appeared in the room, and they all shrank a little. "What is the meaning of this upset?"

"Pearl tried to kill Rosa. I had to rescue and heal her this evening down at the lake," Balthasar stated.

Lily and Pearl both tried talking at once, but Eli held up a hand.

"Enough," he commanded. "I don't have the time or luxury to deal with your drama at present. Lily, you will keep this creature out of my sight for her own safety until the Gathering is over and I can deal with the matter. Balthasar, leave her for the time being. If I learn that she has gone near the Wylts again, I will take her head myself."

Lily picked up Pearl and vanished. "Saul, please make sure they don't try to flee in the night. I need my family around me, but she needs to control that whelp. Balthasar, come with me."

He followed Eli dutifully back to the library, all the while doing his best not to go after Pearl. How could Eli let her still breathe after this?

"Sit down," Eli instructed before pouring them both whiskey and handing him a glass. "Tell me everything while keeping your temper please."

Balthasar did as he was told, leaving out none of the details. He didn't tell him how he would have the smell of Rosa's hair and blood etched into his memory for weeks, that she had found Jane's letters, or how he had felt when he saw the wolf on top of her.

"How did you leave her?" Eli asked when Balthasar was finished.

"She was well and in good spirits. She was full of lip and bravado but shaken. She has read your accounts and has taken it all in her stride. Are all the Wylts so accepting?"

"Most of them. Rosa is the exception. If she had stayed, she would have known years ago. It would be easy for her; her blood would remember even if she does not." Eli sipped his drink thoughtfully. "She was such a brat of a child."

"She is still a brat, except now it's tied up in the body of a willful woman," Balthasar said as he poured another drink. "She'll want to know about her family soon. I suggest you be the one to tell her. She thinks you don't like her now that she is grown up."

"I am the King of Albion, so I like no one," Eli said firmly. "Although I believe I do need to intervene. Pearl will be punished for this, but right now, I need to show the clans solidarity. I need you to check your feelings about this matter and trust my judgment."

"I want to tear her head off."

"You would lose Lily."

"She would recover."

"We don't recover in our long lives. We bury, and we forget, but we do not recover." Eli pinched the bridge of his nose. "Perhaps it's my fault. I refused to turn her for Lily, and in letting her turn Pearl on her own, something has broken in the girl's head. You have all been cooped up here for weeks, so it's no wonder she makes trouble. I have to make one final trip to London, so I'll take them with me to hunt and do whatever they need to do to blow off steam."

"And me?"

"You will stay here and oversee the preparations for the Gathering. I don't trust any of the others enough to see that it is done correctly. The way they have been behaving, I wouldn't trust them with the servants either. I had to compel another girl before dismissing her this morning because of Saul."

"He's doing it because he wants your attention, Father. Give it to him. You made him, and now you are too busy for him. He wants to be a part of something, so let him. Take him with you to some of your meetings with the clan leaders. Let him charm them like he used to charm the Russian courts. Don't let him be corrupted by Pearl and Lily's shallowness," Balthasar urged.

Eli patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good son and an understanding brother. I will think on it. Let me worry about Pearl and Lily."

"Rosa seems to think that there is something more behind her mischief. Pearl's actions might not be as petty as you think. I'd watch her closely while you are away, Father. You wouldn't have to stretch your imagination to believe she could plot behind Lily's back as well as our own."

"Clever Rosa. She has the Wylt trait of seeing through the shadows to the heart of things. Thank you for saving her tonight."

"No thanks is needed. Rosa is stubborn, but she's absolutely fearless. I have no doubt she would chastise you as vigorously as myself if you gave her half a chance." Balthasar smiled. "She's incredibly frustrating, but I like her."

"Make sure that she heals properly. I think we need to do something for her to make up for this. It's not the way I wanted her homecoming to be." Eli frowned. "I will tell her about the Wylts. For now, I leave Gwaed Lyn and the preparations to you. Ysbrydnos is a week away, and I want everything perfect."

In her dream, Rosa could hear knocking at her door. She walked down her stairs in a daze, but her living room was gone. A forest had sprung up, and the darkness seeped towards her like fog, twisting around her ankles and up her body as it threatened to swallow her.

A voice was calling to her, the ghost of a woman pursuing her. She tried to outrun it, following the dull beat of the knocking door. Shoving aside the last of the thick branches, Rosa reached out for a door. She pulled it open, and Balthasar was there, lifting her up in his arms. His hands were in her hair, and just as his lips were about to be on hers, Rosa woke with a jolt. Someone was knocking on the door, and her heart leaped to her throat.

Rosa climbed quickly out of bed, wincing as her aching body protested with every step. She hobbled down the stairs and ran a hand through her rumpled hair. Rosa put a hand on the door, took a steadying breath, and opened it.

"Good afternoon, Miss Rosa. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Eli! Ah, Mr. Vane. I'm sorry. Just hang on one moment." Rosa found her robe to cover up her bunny rabbit flannel pajamas. Lucky you cleaned up last night , she thought as she opened the door. "Come in, please. Can I get you some tea?"

"That would be lovely," he said as he ducked his head to get under the door frame. He was six foot five of lean stately gentleman. If she didn't know the truth, she could have easily believed that Balthasar was Eli's son. Both had impossible cheekbones, height, dark hair, and suits that appeared never to crease. They even had a similar, powerfully calm aura that brought everyone into heel whether they wanted to or not.

"How are you feeling after yesterday's...misadventures?" Eli asked tactfully as he accepted the tea from her. She sat down on the sofa opposite to him, cradling the cup in her hands.

"Sore, but I would've been much worse off if Balthasar hadn't found me," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. Stop thinking about the dream. His dad is here, and he can probably read your mind .

"I do believe you are recovering better from your ordeal than he is. I spent most of the night trying to convince him not to tear Pearl's head off." He smiled, but Rosa knew that he meant it.

"To be honest, I rather feel like killing her myself."

"She tends to bring that out in most people. I believe, despite her preference for the same sex, she has always wanted to impress Balthasar, or get him to fall in love with her at least. She has spent the last seventy years trying to win him over. Her ego did not take it well that he seems to enjoy your company."

"That's hardly my fault. I didn't do anything to Pearl personally as you pointed out."

"You didn't have to. I would, however, caution you against letting Pearl's assumptions affect your own feelings towards my son."

"What feelings?" Rosa snorted. "We are friends at a stretch. Isn't friendship why you have surrounded yourself by Wylts your entire long life?"

"In part," Eli lifted his tea to his mouth, "but it was evident by your expression when you opened the door that it wasn't me you expected to find on your doorstep."

"I have to admit I'm surprised that you would bother to check up on me. Why are you worried? What's wrong?"

"I'm checking up on you because I care about you. As for my worries, they are nothing to concern yourself with. Balthasar mentioned to me that you had read the account of the Vanes."

"Most of it."

"And you have questions?"

"Many, but one above all," Rosa said as she put her mug down. "Why the Wylts? Why not some other family? I don't understand what could have possibly happened to make you?—"

"You are my family," Eli interrupted gently. "Well, of a sort. It's one story I refuse to write down in order to protect... Well, all of the Wylts."

"I searched through the Wylt history too, and it would seem they never wrote it down either. Will you tell me?"

"I have to go to London very soon, so I'll tell you the short version. It is the easiest one for me tell." Eli sat back in his chair. "I fell in love with an impossibly beautiful and willful girl with auburn hair. This was not long after the Romans arrived in this land and set about subduing the wild clans. Deryn, the girl I fell in love with, resisted my attentions, hated me in fact, until one day, the Romans invaded their valley, and to protect her, I killed their regiment.

"I revealed my true nature to her, and she accepted me. She even agreed to marry me eventually and allowed me to turn her in time. Hundreds of years later, the Seelie sent a war party to harass me and try to drag me back to their kingdom. My Deryn, who was a fierce Celt down to her bones, would not tolerate anyone bossing her husband around but her. She attacked Ryn's men to create enough of a distraction to give me a chance to free myself. Unfortunately, she was not equipped to deal with the strength of Ryn's magic, and he used a glamor to hold my likeness. She ran to him, thinking he was me, and he dealt her a blow that I could not heal. As she was dying in my arms, she made me promise to watch over her human family, the Wylts, as she had done for hundreds of years. I have done my best to honor that wish." Eli stood up and buttoned his jacket. "When they have come of age, I've always offered the Wylt family a life away from the Vanes. Some have accepted the offer, but most have stayed. You have that choice too, Rosa. I won't summon you back, though I'll always have someone watching over you. I needed you back for the Gathering. You are human, but you're still my family. It's dangerous in the world for us at present, and I can protect you better here."

"Did you really escape from Faerie? You are Bleddyn, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." His eyes turned a brilliant emerald to prove it. "Does that frighten you?"

"No. I actually think it's kind of amazing," Rosa said truthfully.

"Anything else?"

"What is the Gathering? Not what you are telling the servants, what is it really?" Rosa said, looking up at him.

"Balthasar might tell you, but I really must go. I'll answer any questions you have on my return." He touched the top of her head gently. "Rest and heal, little one. You have nothing to fear here in Gwaed Lyn, even if you remove that interesting necklace of yours. Balthasar will make sure of it."

Rosa nodded, and he smiled affectionately. She walked him out, watching him cross the grounds in long strides. She thought that she would feel better knowing the truth, but now all she had were more questions.

Rosa couldn't sleep again after Eli's visit, so she dressed and headed slowly to the house. Her ankle twinged, but it wasn't unbearable. Cecily was in the kitchen and dropped the bundle of flowers she had been holding.

"Oh, darling, I was so worried about you," she exclaimed as she hugged her.

"I'm fine, Mum, just a bit bruised from coming off Dunstan," Rosa said as she let her go. "What is all this flurry about?"

"We have started decorating the house. The Solstice is only six days away, and I want to get as much done as I can while the Vanes are out. Balthasar is the most amicable of the group, but he's very busy."

"Don't worry. He will probably get in the way more than all the rest put together." Rosa grinned at the thought of Balthasar in his perfect suit hanging up fairy lights.

"What mischief are you up to? I haven't seen that smile since you drew on the back of Eli's stock reports when you were a child," Cecily said suspiciously.

"I did that?" Rosa could remember always drawing but never on anything of Eli's.

"Of course you did. You used to play in his office all the time," her mother said with a chuckle. "He's surprisingly patient with children. Well, I might as well set you up making decorations in the ballroom, and that way, you will be off your sore leg."

"Sounds perfect, I'm going nuts in the cottage."

They ignored the servant's passages and walked through the main house, Rosa stopping to look at the paintings that she knew were Balthasar's work. Other servants had changed into casual clothes and were hanging bunting made of twisted vines and autumn leaves. Rosa ran her finger over them to see if they were real or not.

"Most of it is silk and plastic though the illusion is excellent, isn't it?" Cecily commented. "It's going to look lovely when it's done."

Upstairs trestle tables had been set up as makeshift workstations, and Cecily organized Rosa to make wreaths. They didn't have to be the same, she insisted, but they had to be made of the same materials. Then she was gone, leaving Rosa to keep her hands busy as she tried not to think about the Wylt queen that Eli had loved so long ago.

Balthasar was going over instructions with Goode when he heard laughing echoing through the hallways. It was such an unusual sound in the nearly always silent house.

"Eli expects people to start arriving in three days' time." Balthasar went back to his scribbled notes. "He will be back from London by then. It's important that when you are housing them, you keep this list of clan members separate. I don't expect any problems, but I don't want them having an excuse to bump into each other in the halls."

Music was starting to come from the ballroom. He dismissed Goode, handing over the list. He glanced into the ballroom and saw Rosa sitting in the middle of the floor with cuttings, leaves, and flowers spread everywhere. A twisted crown of red berries had been placed on top of her long dark hair. She had her back to him, and she swayed to the waltz she was listening to.

"I never would've picked you as a Shostakovich fan," he said from behind her. She tipped her head backward and smiled crookedly up at him.

"What you don't know about me, Balthasar Vane, could fill one of those fancy notebooks of yours," she replied.

"I have no doubt," he said, his hand burning to touch her loose curls.

"Be careful where you step because I have everything exactly where I need it," she warned as he moved about to face her.

"What are you up to?"

"Making very badly styled wreaths. I think Cecily doesn't want me in the way and is trying her best not to treat me like I'm made of glass."

"How is the leg?"

"Still attached and sore, but I'll live. Mind you, I look like a beaten housewife with this," she pulled back her hair to show him the yellowing bruise on her forehead.

"Considering it needed stitches last night, I believe it's looking rather good."

"I wasn't complaining. Stop taking everything so seriously all the time."

"It's a character flaw."

Rosa looked him over with intense female appraisal, causing Balthasar to straighten his jacket sleeves under the scrutiny. "It's nice to know you have some flaws under all those expensive bespoke suits of yours."

"I believe you pointed out all my flaws when you were drunk."

"Not all of them surely," she said, looking back at the wreath in her hands. "Eli paid me a call this morning."

"Really? I had wondered where he disappeared. Anything of interest?"

"He wanted to know all about the dashing rescue. He also may have mentioned you were going to rip Pearl's head off last night?"

"Yes."

"So that's why he has taken everyone to London. It's to get away from you and your temper." Rosa pointed a leaf at him. "Just so we are clear, even though Eli left you in charge doesn't mean you can boss me around, okay?"

"Can anyone boss you around? I don't think a creature exists that could exude any authority over you."

"Look at that, you can make a joke." Rosa screwed up her nose. "Sort of."

Balthasar opened his mouth to reply, but they were interrupted by Goode and an ancient man dressed in tweed. "Excuse me, sir, the tailor is here for your afternoon appointment."

"Thank you. I'll be right there," Balthasar said before looking down at Rosa. "Enjoy your decorating."

"Enjoy getting your inner seam measured by an old guy with shaky hands," came her quick reply as she began twisting vine with intense concentration. "Goodbye, Mr. Vane."

Balthasar shook his head, unable to think of a reply before hurrying out.

Two hours later, Rosa had made twenty-seven wreaths. Cecily brought people in to take piles of them away and to start hanging them about the house. She looked at Rosa's berry crown with affection.

"I like it," she said, pulling on one of Rosa's curls. "We have finished the main entrance hall, but I was looking for Balthasar to get his approval. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Not for hours. Do you want me to go and find him? He's probably off doing something very important looking by now."

"Your sarcasm is holding a little less spite these days." Cecily smiled approvingly. "I told you they aren't all bad."

"When someone finds you out in the middle of the forest, bleeding like wolf bait, you tend to warm up to them a little."

"Good. In that case, you won't mind going to find Mr. Balthasar for me. I have to ring up and order some more decorations and more lights."

"You guys better watch out. You don't want to overdo Eli's artistic vision."

"Hardly. He was the one that wants it to be this over the top."

"Fine. I could do with a walk anyway."

Cecily helped Rosa up off the floor, and she began to hobble away in search of Balthasar.

On the second floor, Rosa heard Balthasar talking in the offices, so she knocked once before opening it.

"Hey, boss, we need—oh, sorry," she said, quickly looking at the bookshelves.

Balthasar was standing only in a pair of dress pants as the tiny man measured his arm length.

"What is it, Miss Wylt?" he asked calmly.

She risked a sideways glance at him, her own eyes fighting to keep focused on the amusement in his.

"Cecily sent me to find you... The entrance hall, it's... It's ready, and I need you... Sorry, they need your approval," she fumbled. "You know, for the thing."

"Thank you, Mr. Brookes. I think that will be all," Balthasar said as he lowered his arms. The small man wrote down numbers in a notebook and nodded silently.

Rosa risked another look as Balthasar picked up a light blue shirt from his desk. Underneath his fancy suit was a lean, well-muscled body, but that wasn't what held her attention. There were scars scattered all over his skin in various shapes and sizes. He slipped on the shirt and turned towards her as he began buttoning it.

"Something wrong, Rosa?"

"No. I didn't realize that someone who could heal wounds could have so many scars," she said, wondering why she was still there.

"Most of them are from when I was human. I was thirty-eight when Eli turned me. I thought you would have known that from the account I left you," he said as he fidgeted with his cuff links. Rosa took them from him and helped fix them into place. "Thank you."

"You saved my life last night. Cuff links are my way of working off my debt," she said. "There we go, debt repaid. And I didn't read your account. I figured I had invaded your privacy enough and thought if you wanted to tell me, you could tell me yourself."

Balthasar tucked in his shirt. "We already agreed on how you were going to repay your debt to me, and there was no mention of cuff links. But never mind that; take me to the grand entrance. I want to see what Eli's vision looks like."

"A romp through an enchanted autumn forest on acid, I imagine," Rosa said as he opened the office door for her.

"Sounds dramatic, though that is Eli's style."

"Well, you can take the fae out of Faerie," Rosa joked.

Balthasar raised an eyebrow. "Rosamund Wylt, the things that come out of your mouth never cease to surprise me. If they came from anyone else, it would mean their mouth being sewn up forever."

"Does he terrify his subjects so much?"

"That is the only way to get them to behave at times."

"What about you?"

"They are definitely afraid of me. Who do you think carries out all of Eli's threats?"

"That seems...unfair."

"We are all bound by invisible ties of honor, duty, or responsibility. I would have been left for dead if it wasn't for Eli. All of us would have been."

"According to my father, we are honor bound to serve the Vanes." Rosa pulled a face at him, hoping to lighten him up again. "I don't know how I would feel being bound to you forever."

"I suppose it depends on what we are bound with," he replied bluntly, making Rosa blush before she could stop herself.

Rosa hadn't been into the main entrance area since she had returned to Gwaed Lyn. A large chandelier hung down in glittering crystal drops with a curving staircase leading down either side of the room.

The banisters had been twisted with greenery and small lights. A large tree had been assembled in the main foyer and looked as if it had sprung up through the marble tiles. Its branches were filled with tiny lights that winked amongst the leaves.

"Not quite on acid," Rosa said as she looked about at the small details. Large candle trees had been positioned along the walls, but their candles remained unlit.

"Eli is going for classy, not flashy. We have eclectic guests coming on the night, and they can be distracted easily," Balthasar admitted.

"You will have fun being the host," Rosa said. "I don't envy you at all."

"What do you think, sir?" Cecily asked as she joined them, looking over the second-floor balcony.

"Very well done. Thank you, Cecily. I'm sure my father will be happy with it," Balthasar said as he looked at his watch. "I am due for my evening ride, but please pass on my thanks to Goode."

"He is determined about those rides of his," Cecily said as they watched him walk away. "I'm starting to think he has a lover meeting him in the forest."

"Out with all the wolves and freezing mist? She would have to be very keen on him," Rosa said, the thought causing an unexpected twinge.

Are you jealous, Rosa? You are dreaming, girl. You don't want that drama.

"I'm going to go and help Vera cook something," she said firmly before heading downstairs to the warmth and distraction of the kitchen.