“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 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. In a house this size I’m surprised he doesn’t carry a pager, Rosa thought as she started opening the doors on the second floor.
She 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 smiled. “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.
Chapter Twelve – Venus at a Mirror
Rosa’s feet were frozen by the time she left the kitchen and made it back to the cottage. The snow always came early at Gwaed Lyn but this year had been unusually cold. She hadn’t had a winter in the country for as long as she could remember and was looking forward to the snow. She lit the lounge room fire before heading upstairs.
Her muscles protested as she twisted her hair up and clipped it before climbing into the shower. She was hurting from hitting the ground after she was bucked off but thanks to Balthasar she couldn’t see any heavy bruising.
Balthasar. Maybe she should take Eli up on his offer and leave Gwaed Lyn after the Gathering. You are too old to be getting dreamy over some guy because he rescued you all gallantly and he makes suits look pornographic. He’s violent and damaged and not for you. You don’t do complicated, and he’s a Rubik’s cube of complicated.
She was rinsing off soap when she heard the door shut downstairs. You probably didn’t close it firmly enough when you came in. Eli said she was safe in Gwaed Lyn. But from what enemies? Pearl was off in London so that threat was neutralized for the moment. Rosa turned the shower off, dried herself quickly and put on a robe before heading downstairs.
“What the hell is going on in here?” she demanded. Her entire lounge room had been rearranged, and an easel, canvas, and paints had been set up. The chaise lounge had been placed in front of the fireplace with a mirror positioned on the hallway table in front of it. Balthasar appeared next to the stairs, his coat over the back of a chair and his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong brown forearms.
“You said Rubens, so Venus at a Mirror,” he gestured with the half-filled wine glass in his hand.
“I was joking!” she squeaked.
“I wasn’t. I haven’t had a new person to paint in years.”
“But…I am not getting naked in front of you!”
“You were the one that said Rubens, not I,” Balthasar said innocently, though his eyes were filled with mischief. “You’re lucky I didn’t choose Hermit and the Sleeping Angelica.”
“You are lucky if I don’t throw you out of my house for being an inappropriate creeper.”
“I don’t know if I should be offended by that or not. I’m a professional artist as your own snooping should have v
erified. I swear your modesty will remain intact. You will be facing the fire so that I won’t see a thing besides your back,” he assured.
She took his wine and drank it. “Damn you. I’ll do it, but only because I have always wanted a baroque portrait of myself.”
“If you like, I can answer any questions about my long life or any of the Wylts that you wish. Will that ease your mind?” said Balthasar.
“Question one: How do you think Eli would feel about this? Doesn’t he have rules about Wylts?”
“Answer one: Eli is not here, and I’m painting a portrait of you as a gift. I’m not feeding off you or seducing you, so he’d be fine with it. Satisfied?”
Rosa walked down into the lounge room and poured herself some more wine. “I suppose. It’s not like he is here to find out.”
“Now that it’s settled, do I have your permission to arrange you?”
“Why do I have a feeling I’m going to regret this?” she asked as she moved to sit on the chaise lounge. “I know this body of mine is built for child rearing, but you had better paint me in some damn flattering light.”
“Child rearing?” Balthasar turned her shoulders to better face the mirror. “I don’t know what perfidious person told you this lie but name them, and I shall have them killed immediately.”
“Have you got a pen? There’s quite a list,” Rosa laughed, wondering if he was serious.
“Well, allow me to set the record straight,” he said as he stepped back to his canvas and then moved the mirror once more. “Your body is built for seduction, not child rearing. Anyone who says otherwise should have their eyes removed and their tongue torn out.”
“I never know if you are joking and it drives me crazy,” Rosa replied as she tried not to blush.
“I never joke about beautiful women or eye gouging,” he said as he moved her shoulders once more. “Now, I need you to remain very still so that modesty of yours is protected as I arrange your robe. Do you permit me?”
He was so cool and professional, almost in the manner of a doctor that Rosa found herself nodding. He eased the robe slowly off her shoulders, letting it pool around her hips. In the reflection of the mirror, she watched his frown of concentration deepen as he unclipped her long hair and arranged it. Rosa stilled as his fingers drifted through it and on the soft skin of her back. Breathe Rosa.
“Now, I need you looking in the mirror towards me so that I can get your reflection right,” he said as he stepped backward and went to stand near the canvas. Rosa saw him run his hands through his dark hair irritably before he drank some of her neglected wine.
“Are you always this fidgety before you paint?” she asked innocently.
“It’s my process, don’t move.”
“I’m not moving,” Rosa promised, fighting the urge to laugh at the strangeness of the moment. “And to think a week ago, I was intent on hating you.”
“You said as much when you were drunk. You also called me Bertha, but I didn’t take it personally,” he replied as he started mixing paints.
“That sounds like me. In my defense, if Eli had told me that the Wylts were descendants of his queen and he was trying to watch out for us, then I probably wouldn’t have taken it all so personally.”
“I did try to tell him that you were far too clever not to work it out.” From the reflection, she watched him begin putting paint to canvas with remarkable speed.
“How long have you been painting for?” Rosa asked, wanting to take the conversation away from her drunken rants.
“Since the fifteenth century,” Balthasar answered. “I was taught in Florence before I threw my painting career away to become the leader of a street gang. I had my heart set on becoming a pirate; I just needed to raise enough money for a boat.”
“I could see you as a pirate. This is before you were turned by Eli?”
“Yes, he was living as an advisor of sorts to the Medici and learned of one of Cosimo’s unknown bastard sons living on the streets. He claimed afterward that he could smell the Medici blood in me if you can believe that. I have a theory he was hunting me and instead became attached to my charming antics.”
“Charming antics? You are capable of those?” she asked innocently.
“I set up a painting studio in your lounge room when you were in the shower. I believe that classifies as a charming antic.”
“If you say so,” Rosa said. “Eli found you and decided to turn you? Just like that?”
“The night I met Eli, I had been ambushed and stabbed four times. He picked me up in the street and gave me a new life. After that, I was introduced to Lily, and we were a family.”
“How do Saul and Pearl fit in? During our drinking session, Saul told me he was in the Russian court.”
“Saul was turned in the 1850s while Eli was a guest at the court of Alexander II. I had left Eli at this stage, and I was fighting in the Crimean War. I don’t believe Eli saw Saul as a replacement for me. Lily is the eldest, and she took over my responsibilities. Saul was young, charming, and good-natured. A lover, not a fighter, the complete opposite of me.”
“He has a sunny personality for a Russian. He doesn’t even have an accent anymore.”
“They left Russia not long after he was turned and time took care of the accent.”
“So what about Pearl?”
“Lily met Pearl during the Blitz and fell in love with her. I had met up with my brother and sister in London before going to fight in France. Pearl was a singer at a club that we liked. Lily was smitten. Pearl was badly treated by her husband and perhaps like called to like. I find her barely tolerable at the best of times. She is spoiled, quick tempered, passionate and base. When Eli refused to turn her, Lily did it herself. I thought that Eli would have killed her rather than let even his diluted blood pass down to her, but he didn’t raise a finger against her. I think he felt guilty or that he owed my sister something. She was his first born but he chose me as his heir.”
“I bet she took that well.”
“She accepted that she didn’t have the capacity to rule alone. She has always followed Eli’s decisions except when it comes to Pearl.”
“I have heard that love does strange things to a person.”
“Love is like fire; life giving or utterly destructive,” Balthasar said sharply. He was frowning angrily at the canvas.
“Can I ask you a personal question? You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to,” Rosa bit her lip, wondering if she should be so bold, “but did you ever find out what happened to Jane?”
Balthasar stopped painting and straightened his shoulders. “No, I didn’t. I left Gwaed Lyn believing it to have been Eli’s doing. He has always wanted me focused, and with Jane, I was recklessly in love. You would know from the letters we didn’t stand on many grounds of propriety or formality. After her death, I was away from Eli for over a hundred years, and to this day he claims he had nothing to do with it. Despite my suspicions, I have never found out what happened to Jane. It could’ve just been an accident after all.”
“I’m sorry,” Rosa said, a sad ache spreading through her.
“Thank you. It was a long time ago now, and while I cherish the memories, I can’t wade too deeply in them anymore. When you become as old as I am you have to be careful not to get buried in the past.”
“Do you ever become tired of living?”
“Sometimes, but a few years back out in the world will generally set me straight. Humanity is in a constant state of flux. The changes in the last century alone are mind-boggling. I never thought I wouldn’t have to hunt, but blood donations ensure that no human has to be hurt, and our existence, if we are careful, can remain hidden from the world. Now is the perfect time to be Unseelie or one of the Gwaed Gam. That is why the Gathering is so important.”
“Eli said to ask you what it actually is. It isn’t only a Winter Solstice party, is it?”
“No,” Balthasar said looking around the canvas at her. “It is hopefully going to be a peac
e treaty between the Gwaed Gam and the Seelie Court. Eli has been trying to make it a reality for the past fifty years. At first, the clans in Albion wanted nothing to do with it. We’ve convinced them, but they’re like squabbling cats. It’s going to be the first time Ryn’s people and Eli’s will be meeting off a battlefield. That is where I have been going every night, to check on the faerie ring. It’s a touching point between our world and theirs. It’s growing powerful every day, so that the night of the Solstice, they will be able to cross over into our world. They’ll come here and meet with us, and with any luck, it won’t end up being a blood bath.”
“That makes a lot more sense than what the current gossip is,” she said, her heart pounding with relief.
“What gossip?”
“The rumor is that you are meeting a lover in the forest.”
Balthasar pulled a face. “I’m surprised they would think I have the time for something like that.”
“I know, because a great big faerie party is so much more believable,” Rosa said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.
“The truth should terrify them. They are the most beautiful, cruel creatures that you will ever imagine. Eli wanted you to be back in the safety of Gwaed Lyn so that you will be protected from any Gwaed Gam wanting to disrupt the treaty, but I’m more concerned about the Seelie.”
“Don’t worry; my head is not so easily turned by a pretty face. You should know this by now.” Stop trying to flirt with him, Rosa. You are sitting in front of him stark naked right now, and he hasn’t even batted an eyelid.
“Saul is the pretty faced one, and you are not so unsusceptible to his charms if drinking in the cellar is anything to go by,” he replied coolly.
“I only did that because I was upset and I wanted to annoy you,” Rosa admitted.
Balthasar caught her eye in the mirror and heat flared up her spine. “I wanted to throw him through the cellar wall. It takes a lot to annoy someone as old as me, but congratulations, Miss Wylt, because you succeeded.”
“It’s a special gift of mine.”
Wylt: Book One The Blood Lake Chronicles Page 14