Rosalyn swallowed hard, the dismissal of that glance burning. She looked over to her father and brother, in dire need of their support. Sebastian caught her gaze and smiled. She drew in a breath, the warmth exactly what she needed. He inclined his head to the stairs, indicating that she should go first. Georgina and Isabel joined her, and they all proceeded up the stairs together.
“How grand,” Georgina whispered as they moved along the hallway. The butler had joined them at the foot of the stairs, and he led them along an upstairs corridor and to the right, their footsteps loud on the stone floor. “I half thought that it would be a fortress inside, but it is rather fine.” Her tone was admiring as her dark eyes moved over the long hallway.
“It is very old,” Isabel pointed out quietly as they moved towards a wooden door. “The columns on the inside of the door could be as old as the fifteenth century.”
“That old?” Rosalyn blinked, her throat tightening with nerves. The duke and dowager duchess were frightening enoughwithout the notion that their family had ruled the area for four hundred years.
“I think so,” Isabel replied and went on to describe what made her decide that the columns were from four hundred years before. Rosalyn would usually have been interested, but she was barely listening, every sense aware of the duke. He was in the hallway—she could hear his voice echoing in the corridor. She strained to hear what he was saying. He was talking to Sebastian.
“...and you and your family will occupy the West Suite. If you would like, we could visit the stables tomorrow. I am currently involved with preparations, and I am certain you would wish to rest awhile.” His voice was cool, detached. It had a middle-range pitch, cold and wintry and more accustomed to giving orders than to dinnertime conversation. Rosalyn shivered. She had never met such a cold, pitiless individual.
“Thank you. I would find that most agreeable.” Sebastian’s answer was tight and clipped. Rosalyn smiled, cheered by the fact that her brother clearly disliked the duke, possibly even more than she did.
“Ah! Daughters. Shall we go in?” Papa walked briskly over to join them. “Georgina and Isabel? I understand that you will be sharing the lilac room next door. Sebastian, Rosalyn and I will be sharing the West Suite. I trust that is agreeable to you?” He smiled a little uncertainly at the two younger women, but Georgina let out a small squeak of delight.
“Yes, Papa! That is perfect. But we shall see you often, will we not, Rosy?” she asked Rosalyn with a frown.
“All the time,” Rosalyn assured them. She felt a little sorrowful—she would have liked to share a room with her sisters, but at the same time, having a bedroom to herself would be welcome. Her mood was so heavy, and it felt good to have a space to allow her sorrow to show. She was doing her best to conceal it from her sisters, so as not to spoil their Christmas.
“Hurray!” Georgina declared loudly. She saw the duke frown and covered her mouth hastily with her hand. “Come on. Let’s go in. Will our luggage be brought up, Papa?” she asked their father. “I need to hang my ballgown up so that it does not crease.”
“I am sure that it will be brought up any moment,” their father assured them. Rosalyn glanced at the duke, who nodded frostily at Papa in reply to his assurance. “Thank you, Your Grace,” Papa added to the duke. “We will go in and make ready to join you for tea.”
Rosalyn could not help but be pleased by the way the duke’s eyes narrowed a little in offence, as though he had not expected to be so politely but obviously dismissed. She was smiling as she went ahead of Sebastian and Papa into the suite.
“Not bad,” Sebastian replied, looking around the space. They were standing in a small parlour, from which exited three doors.
“I will take that room,” Rosalyn suggested, indicating the door on the left. It was closest to her sisters’ room, and was, she guessed, not too warm either, since it appeared to face east. It would receive morning sun, but none in the afternoon. She worried for Papa’s fingers—his joints ached in cold weather, swollen and knotted from years of riding. He would be better suited to a warmer room.
Papa objected, then shrugged, seeing her resolute face.
Rosalyn chuckled, then went into her room and shut the door. She let out a long sigh. The relief of being alone for a moment after a week of almost non-stop coach travel was overwhelming. She sat down on the bed and shut her eyes, head sinking back into the sumptuous pillows. The room was smaller than the one she had at home, but much more richly decorated, the walls covered in flocked-silk wallpaper with a pattern of roses, the bedlinen dark green and satiny. A French windowlooked out onto the grounds below. She stood and gazed out. The landscape was wintry, the ground black and bare between the leafless trees. She shivered.
“It is as cold as they are,” she said aloud. The duke and his mother were a frightening prospect—both icy, both seeming unyielding and pitiless.
A knock at the door startled her.
“Sister?” Georgina called; her voice soft because of the thick wood of the door. “It’s us! Can you let us in?” She sounded breathless and excited.
“Of course,” Rosalyn said, feeling her weariness lift a little. She went to the door and her sisters burst in, all giggles and laughter, dispelling the weariness at once.
“You must see our chamber! It’s beautiful! Lilac silk bedclothes and flocked silk wallpaper and a lovely mantelpiece,” Georgina said excitedly.
“You have a lovely chamber, too,” Isabel commented gently. She looked around, her big dark eyes taking it all in.
“The duke! He is...he is handsome, is he not?” Georgina asked shyly.
“He seemed quiet,” Isabel commented.
Rosalyn let out a sigh. Her sisters were evidently as unsure of him as she was, but she was touched by their efforts not to comment anything negative. She paused, not sure how to tell her sisters that she was tired and all she wished was to rest until the ball. She was saved from reply by a knock on the outer door.
“My lady? Your luggage is here,” a woman’s voice called through the wood.
“Please, bring it in,” Rosalyn replied, going to open the door.
“Oh! What if ours comes too?” Georgina declared breathlessly. “We must go to our chamber! I need to hang up my dress so that the creases smooth out.”
“Of course,” Rosalyn said, relieved.
