Beloved Beast

Chapter Twenty-Four

At last, the maid paused in her frantic ministrations and Elle suspected she had finally succeeded in assuaging some of her concerns. "Aye, miss, that you are."

"Could we part the tapestries to permit a bit of sun?" She suggested.

"Oh, nay, miss." Lucy admonished in a worrying modulation. "Lord Rossetti forbids it."

Shoulders slumping in disappointment, Elle needn't bother as to question why, for she already knew the answer to that. A man as disfigured and forlorn as Rossetti had no fondness for the sun and was disinclined to bring such pain and anguish to light, where that ruthless ridicule and those unapologetic views lurked. He presumed to think that this existence of loneliness and perpetual darkness was a befitting condemnation for all of his wrongdoings, that he deserved no better, so much so, that it extended as far as barring the sun from the intimacy of his own quarters. And as she had established upon first appraising his chambers, they were an exact disheartening reflection of that estimation.

It simply broke her heart to imagine him here, alone in this room, with no one to bear him company and devoid of sunlight that could breathe animation into its cob-webbed alcoves.

"Come, miss. I have brought your tea and a basin of water for you to freshen up. It is here on the table just before the hearth. Cook is preparing some fresh brown bread and a bit of porridge. I shall bring it up shortly."

"Will Lord Rossetti be joining me?" The sudden prospect of dining alone in a cold and capacious room held little appeal for her.

"Afraid not, miss. Lord Rossetti has been in the Great Hall all morn."

Apprehension seized at her insides as she recalled the odious men that had taken residence of the hall last night. "Are those men still here?" She gripped the chair tighter. "Has something happened?"

"Nay, miss." Lucy was quick to lessen her concerns. "From what I understand, Givens escorted them out the gates just before dawn. They merely wanted to whet their appetites and quench their thirst."

Lucy's response brought some relief but by half, for she couldn't shake the nagging sensation that something was amiss, and if they had truly departed, why then was Rossetti still in the Great Hall? "They left without quarrel or resistance?"

"Aye, it would appear so." The maid's soft tread carried her across the room. "I best fetch your breakfast lest it catches a chill. We can't have you frozen and famished, that just won't do! I will get another fire going as soon as I return. Have you further need of me, I shan't be very long."

Elle gave a brief nod and sought out the table ahead of her.

Through trial and error, she had acquired a keen awareness of Rossetti's massive quarters by way of touch and smell. With the pads of her fingers, the room had presented several sturdy pieces of furniture, each predominantly assembled from oak and fashioned particularly for a man of large and broad proportions. Where the dust lay heavier, she discerned that these items have been left undisturbed for a lengthy period of time – mayhap deliberately, in that the memories they engendered were too painful.

Thick, heavy tapestries covered a balcony that she dared not trespass upon, for fear of rousing Rossetti's temper on account of his aversion for the sun, and partly because she had never navigated an elevated structure high above ground, where a powerful gust and one misguided step could send her toppling in the wrong direction. It was uncharted territory that she was not confident in traversing. To the right of that layered drapery, she had uncovered a large paneled chest arranged against the wall. Her fingers had lingered in mounting curiosity over the strong box, tracing its elaborate engravings with a hazard wonder as to the secrets stowed inside. Had the red dress come from its hollowed interior?