Hereditary (Beatrice Harrow Series Book 1) by Jane Washington

Author:Jane Washington [Washington, Jane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Mortal Dangers

An hour later, I found myself in Rose’s chamber again, the boys having been shooed away so that Rose and Miriam could strip my clothes off and start forcing me into a parade of dresses that seemed endless. It soon became a game between the two of them, to try and find something that didn’t suit me—a task they quickly declared to be impossible. Eventually, I began to laugh along with them, and even picked out a few dresses for myself. I was twirling around in one such monstrosity that I had found pushed to the back of Rose’s never-ending closet when someone knocked on the door.

Miriam called out for whomever it was to enter, and a few moments later, Hazen poked his head through the door. He paused when he saw me, clutching the ruby-red dress with the ballerina skirt against my chest, as it wasn’t buttoned up along the back. I knew that my cheeks were red with laughter, my eyes shining with it, and I widened my smile when I saw him.

“What do you think? Will this do for the party?” I asked, giving him a spin.

The dress’s individual components weren’t so bad, the red satin, the bunched black tulle beneath the puffed-out skirt, and the giant pink bow at the base of the row of heart-shaped buttons leading down the spine. But put together, along with the garish silk roses adorning the neckline, it was an eyesore. Hazen seemed to think so, too, for after he got over the shock that held him momentarily enthralled, he snorted.

“You’ll take that off,” he shook his head, stepping into the room. “If you know what’s good for you.”

Of course he didn’t mean for me to undress right then and there, but somehow, his words made something flutter deep in the pit of my stomach. I must not have pushed the thought away quick enough, for the smile soon fell from his face, and his eyes darkened. Rose, blissfully unaware of my sudden urge to flee the room, stepped back up to continue rifling through the closet, as Miriam looked to her son, one of her eyebrows inching up. He tore his eyes away from me, probably hearing some inquisitive thought in her head.

“Father is here, I came up to tell you.” He spoke to his mother, but over by the closet, I saw Rose suddenly stiffen.

Miriam nodded, the smile also fading from her face a little, and she moved to follow her son back out of the room. After they both left, I went over to Rose, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You okay?”

She turned, her smile a little tremulous. “Yeah, fine, just a little surprised is all. He hardly ever comes here, unless it’s during the day—to conduct court business, you know.”

“He doesn’t live here?”

“No, not so much anymore.”

“Where does he live then?”

She shrugged delicately, beginning to gather the fallen dresses, and I followed to help her.

“I don’t really know, nobody has ever asked him. Probably either in the Harem District, or King’s Blockage.

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