Page 41 of The Cruelty of Thorns

“What do you mean?”

“Kristin is…well let’s just say she’s a lot to take. You’re her roommate. You should know.”

I chuckled. “I think I do.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I like her as a friend, but she’s an attention hog. She likes to be in the middle of everything. Me…I’m a sidelines person. To be honest, I could take or leave most people.”

“I wouldn’t have known that about you. You seem so outgoing.”

“Don’t let appearances fool you. I have a few close friends. Other than that, I keep to myself.”

“I guess I have a lot to learn about you.”

He smiled. “Let’s rectify that. Ask me anything. For you, I’m an open book.”

CHAPTER 19

INTERLUDE

Tipping point

TOMASSO WASN’T IN the dining room when I came down for my comestrio the next morning, not that I missed him. I did miss Rosetta, however, and I didn’t see her in the kitchen or around the manor as I made my way outside after eating.

When she still hadn’t appeared by the time the evening meal came around, I started to get worried. I was in my room waiting for her when there was a knock at my door. Rosetta never knocked, so I was curious when I opened it to find one of the other kitchen maids standing there with my toiletry.

“Where’s Rosetta?’ I asked as she entered and dropped off the items. She seemed anxious to be gone, but I grabbed her arm as she passed and spun her around to face me. “I asked you a question.”

The girl fidgeted nervously. “I must go,” she insisted without meeting my eyes.

I was getting a bad feeling about this, especially after my conversation with Rosetta yesterday. “Answer my question and I’ll release you.”

The girl looked everywhere but my face. “She is not well today,” she murmured.

“Not well how? Is she sick?”

She looked up at me then, a spark of defiance in her eyes. “Why would you care what happens to one of us?”

I felt my stomach clench. “Did someone hurt her?”

“She is in her room.”

“Take me there.”

“I cannot.”

“Yes you can and you will. Take me there now.”

My tone left no room for argument. The girl wrenched her arm away from me and ran toward the door, but I was there before she could open it, spinning her around to face me. “I only want to help her.”

“How? You have no more power here than we do.”

I didn’t know how to answer that, but I’d figure that out once I saw Rosetta. “Take me to her room. And don’t tell anyone you did it.”

She searched my face. “You care for her.” She shook her head. “Too bad for you.”

“Let’s go,” I said, shoving her ahead of me out of the door. This time I wasn’t letting go of her until I was sure she was taking me to Rosetta.

We made our way down the hall to the staircase then followed it up to the third floor. This hallway was more modest, with plain plaster walls and dark wood doors. The lighting here was dimmer and the floor bare of carpets. I assumed it was the servants’ quarters.

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