Wilting Roses (Formerly known as Arranged)

Arrival

~Chapter Three~

The carriage stopped just outside a monstrous of a home. Her nose pressed against the glass window as she watched how the cream colored stone walls went up three stories. Her pent up nerves nearly overwhelmed her as she heard the coach driver jump from his seat. Squeezing her eyes tight she clutched on tightly to her coat and shuttered as her nerves finally came spiraling out of her. Gasping for air Scarlett pushed out of the carriage without waiting for the coach driver to open the small door for her. She stood before the large stone steps clutching on tightly to the bronze railing.

"Lady Heart, are you alright?" the young coach driver asked.

He came to her side and bent down to stare at her making certain she was breathing alright. "I'm fine, I just need a moment to catch my breath," she replied in a gasp. It felt odd to be addressed as 'Lady Heart'. She did not like it one bit.

"I shall hurry inside and call for your husband," he said.

Scarlett looked up wide eyed in fear and regret. Reaching out an arm she tried to stop him but the boy was already pushing past the front mahogany doors. Scarlett straightened out and gathered her dress wanting to enter the house before Dathan could emerge. Storming in she had little time to admire any of the rich interior as she caught sight of the first door and hurried through it. Slamming it shut she pressed her forehead against it and sighed in relief. However her moment of relaxation was short lived as a throat cleared behind her. Turning over she pressed a hand against her chest and stared straight into a pair of dark blue eyes.

Romantic candle light adorned the long large table set with a pair of porcelain dishware and expensive wine. Scarlett stood speechless as the pair of dark blue eyes glared in her direction. Dathan slammed the handkerchief around his collar over his plate and stood. She was too shocked to look to the woman sitting next to him, too immobilized to do anything in truth.

"What is the meaning of this!" he hissed, walking over towards her, he was quick to open the dining room door and lead her out.

Scarlett did not have time to protest much less apologize she merely stood there with her wedding dress gathered in her arms. Closing her eyes she lowered her head and turned to face a massive spherical foyer. The floor was a shiny white marble that displayed a beautiful golden pattern in the center designed to look like an evening star. The chandelier above her glittered in beautiful candle light illuminating the ceiling in dancing orange shadows. The curved stair way led the way to the upstairs. Dathan had spared no expense in building his home, however Scarlett was certain he had not done all of this for her but for the woman who sat next to him inside the dining room.

Wrapping her arms around herself she looked towards the side of the curved steps to discover two large glass door displaying the back yard. Night posts were lit to lead the way towards a stone pattern floor. Curious, Scarlett walked towards the doors and gently pushed them open. She glanced only once over her shoulder afraid Dathan would storm out and demand that she head straight for her new room. No one called after her as she finally coughed up the courage to step outside and gently close the doors. She followed the stone path, admiring all of the white and red roses well-nourished in the garden.

A wooden bench sat in the center as the stone path broke into a circle around it then continued on its way to end farther down. Taking a seat there she huddled on the bench lost and afraid. What on earth was she to do now that she was left on her own at Heart Manor? Starring down to her hands she admired the diamond ring shaped to look like a heart. It was a family heirloom she had been told. Handed down from generation to generation, Sir Heart claimed that the first of his ancestors had come across this diamond while working the mimes of Donavon Harland. He discovered it to be shaped like a heart. Not precisely like the real one but a forge exterior someone had invented in its place.