Heart of Thorns - Nicolette Andrews

Chapter One

No one seemed to notice the girl in the corner except Catherine. As the the Housekeeper Mrs. Morgan ushered Catherine into the breakfast room, the girl in all white lifted her head and peered at Catherine with dark eyes, like a pair of bottomless pits. Auburn hair fell in tumbles over her shoulders. It did not completely cover the bloody gash in her chest, or the stains that ran down the front of her gown.

Catherine's eyes darted to the housekeeper as she wrung her hands. This is a sick joke, surely. The woman in white took a step closer and the butler walked through her without pausing. Catherine knew then that her symptoms had returned. She closed her eyes and counted to ten as the doctor had taught her. When she opened them, the woman in white was close enough that she could see the gaping hole where her heart should be. Catherine's own heart rattled around in her chest and she turned around to the banquet. She isn't there. She chanted over and over in her head. With trembling hands she reached for a lid covering a serving dish. An icy hand rested on her shoulder, Catherine yelped and dropped the lid with a clatter.

"My lady, please let us serve you." Mr. Hobbs, the butler, said as he righted the overturned lid.

He hardly came up to Catherine's chin. Over the top of his head, the woman in white watched her with hooded black eyes. She tore her gaze away, as the butler showed her to her seat at the far end of the table. As she walked, she focused on the bald spot on top of his crown. The woman in white hovered at her shoulder demanding attention Catherine was not willing to give. Eyes downcast, she took her seat. While the woman in white grasped at the hems of her sleeves, but her hands passed through Catherine giving her a chill. You are not real. She thought to herself. Go away!

Catherine stared down at her platter. She had been famished before but now her stomach was tied in knots. The servants, silent sentinels of the morning room, awaited her command. She picked up the fork prepared to make a show of eating when the woman in white leaned over the table, coming nose to nose with Catherine.

"He is coming for you next, leave while you can," said the woman in white.

"Go away!" Catherine slammed her fist onto the table. She could ignore her no longer. Screwing her eyes shut, she took ragged shallow breaths.

"My Lady, would you rather eat alone?" asked Mr. Hobbs.

Catherine covered her mouth. It never had been her intention to make a scene. They will think I am mad, and rightly so. The woman and white had disappeared. At least she had managed to overcome it. But what if I start seeing things again? She must rid herself of such dangerous thoughts. The agitation only made her condition worse. If she was to avoid another fit, she had to stay calm.

"My lady?" Mr. Hobb prompted once more with a hint of agitation in his voice.

In need of a new subject, she asked, "Will Lord Thornton be coming down to breakfast?"

The butler raised a skeptical brow, but did not comment. "The master never takes breakfast in the morning room."

Catherine blushed, feeling a fool for asking something the servant considered obvious. There was still much to learn about her husband, she realized. Everything about her new life was different than her old one. She had seen hardly a hint of her husband since they arrived. Is this to be my life, alone in this giant home haunting the halls? She looked back to the place where she had spotted the woman in white. There was no hint she had been there. But the hairs on the back of Catherine's neck still stood on end. I am seeing things because I am fatigued . They are not coming back. They cannot be.