"I was just--curious!" I cried, but he turned his back on me.
Confused, I moved on.
Although I was afraid of the tangled, gnarled woods on the edge of the moor, I often sat at the dilapidated bench on the edge of them, looking down the steep rocky hill and into the gorge below.
My head was so occupied with my confused thoughts that I sat down without looking, and instantly felt a sharp stabbing pain in my back. Twisting around with a cry, I saw a long, vile-looking thorn protruding from the back of my chair.
It had sliced all the way through my gown, tearing the sturdy gray fabric into ribbons and bursting open my flesh so that big drops of scarlet blood oozed from between my fingers.
Whimpering in dismay, I tried to cover the ruins of my gown as well as I could as my blood dripped down onto my bare thighs.
As I hurried inside, I almost collided with Ada, and she could not but help seeing my distress.
"Oh my, what has happened?" she cried. "Come with me."
With one arm comfortingly around me, she led me up the stairs to the second floor west wing. I was so distracted I didn't notice until I was inside how different her rooms were from my own. Her bedroom was a beautiful, spacious place, decorated ina delicate forest green and petal pink. Everything in there was crisp and shining.
Not worn.
I tumbled out the whole story as she carefully cleaned and washed my injury and helped me remove the ruined gown.
Shivering, I covered my breasts in shame. It seemed I made a mess of everything these days.
"What a wicked, vicious plant!" I cried out. "How could it be allowed to grow there?"
"I will send word to the groundskeeper," Ada said soothingly as she pulled out a gown for me. This one almost looked like servants' wear, but I was too grateful for her kindness to say anything. "He will destroy the plant.”
“Have you noticed—other strange things about the grounds?” I asked.
“Like what?”
“Like small animals. . . strange deaths, like some large creatures have been killing for no reason?”
She opened her eyes wider. “I haven’t seen anything like that. And I walk the moors every day. I would have noticed.”
My wounds stung. How could she possibly not know what I was talking about?
And why had I been placed in such a room in the east wing if quarters like this were available? Ada's room was so clearly designed to be the lady of the house's that I did not know quite where to look.
Perhaps there were no other rooms available, I told myself.
After all, she had been the lady of the house for way longer than I had.
And Gideon had no idea when he left that he would come back with a wife. But now was the time to talk to Ada privately about the woman I had seen.
"Ada, I know what I saw. Can you not think of any reason your brother would have a woman here at night?" I asked haltingly as I looked down at my new dress.
“Poor little wife," she said, her pink lips curving up at me, and I did not like the mocking tone in her voice. "Are you jealous, thinking Gideon is bringing women in here at night for carnal pleasures? Are you so bad at pleasing your own husband then?”
I was so stung and startled that I cried hastily, "I’m doing the best I can! Your brother is not the easiest man to please, you must know that!”
Ada's lips were stretched into a wide smile on her lovely face.
“Is he? I’m afraid he’s always kind to me.”
I said nothing in the sullen silence that ensued.
Kind? The smell of mold and rot in my own room grew stronger every day, and there was a spreading wet spot on the floor that I had to make a wide berth around.
