Page 47 of Blood and Roses

"Rosa is in magnificent form." He cleared his throat to remove the hitch in it. "She's recovering well. Making another grand mess in the ballroom today, I have no doubt."

"You sound as if you are smiling, Balthasar," Eli teased. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"Only that you were right. She brings life to this place. That's all."

"She is a Wylt. It's their gift. Keep an eye on her but stay focused. Are we going to have enough food and alcohol?"

"Cecily and Goode plan on going to Penrith for whatever extras they need."

"Excellent. I will fly home tomorrow night, so if there's anything they cannot find, tell them to email me." Eli hung up after Balthasar reassured him yet again that he would have everything ready.

He hadn't considered that Ryn might send someone early. His eyes drifted down once more to the snow covered Wylt cottage. It would be the first place a spy would reach on their way to Gwaed Lyn. He would have to insist that Rosa spend the night inside the mansion, in his bed, for her protection.

Very chivalrous of you, Balthasar, but who is going to protect her from you?

"Everything under control in here?"Balthasar asked, interrupting Rosa's attempt at wrapping as much greenery around herself as possible. She looked over her shoulder at him for only a second, but it was enough to see the gleam in his eyes. She turned back to Julie, quickly hiding her burning face.

"We should have it done by this afternoon, sir," Cecily said as she gave Rosa a curious look. "The rooms are ready to go, and Goode and I will head out to Penrith soon."

"Excellent. Eli will be pleased," Balthasar replied as he watched Andrew unwind the bunting from around Rosa.

They were both giggling, and for a second, she thought she detected a look of jealousy.You're imagining it, Rosa. Let it go. He has no right to be jealous.

"You seem to have it under control," Balthasar said quickly. "I'll leave you to it."

"What on earth has gotten into Balthasar Vane?" Cecily shook her head at his retreating back. She turned and saw Rosa checking him out, silently thanking his tailor. "Anything you want to tell me, Rosa?"

"Huh? Nope, nothing to tell. I don't know why he is moody. He's always moody."

"He wasn't moody! If I didn't know better, I would think he wanted to talk to you."

"To me? Doubtful, very doubtful," Rosa said with a quick shake of her head. "What would he want to talk to me about?"

"You're both acting very strange this morning. First, you walk in, grinning like the Cheshire Cat who has been rolling about in stolen cream and now he is looking all at odds with himself." Cecily put her hands on her hips.

"He's under a lot of pressure, I imagine. Perhaps he's just a bit flustered. I slept well last night. That's why I'm in a good mood," she babbled.

"You'd better not be the one flustering him," Cecily said cautiously as she led her away from the hearing of the others. "For your sake more than his. Be careful, Rosa."

"I don't know what you are talking about. We're friends, that's all."

"There is nothing wrong with that, but guard your heart. The Vanes are not like other men," Cecily added meaningfully.So she knows after all.

"I know. Don't worry. For the last time, there is nothing going on between me and Balthasar Vane," Rosa assured with a smile. "Now, what else do you need help with before you go?"

Pearl wokefrom her nap with Lily still holding her hands tightly. It had been a wild night, the first she'd had in months. There was blood on the sheets and a dead hooker in the bathroom. Lily was always so much more fun when she was away from Eli's control.

Pearl had tried to convince her to leave him for years, but she never had any success.Some debts run too deep, Lily had told her. Pearl wanted to rule beside Lily, and to do that, they were going to have to get rid of Eli and Balthasar.

Blackfox hadn't been her only ally against Eli's attempted treaty with the Seelie. Very slowly she climbed out of bed and found her clothes. Stepping around the corpse in the bathroom, she brushed her teeth and reapplied her makeup. Fifteen minutes later, dressed in a white suit with an arctic fox stoleabout her shoulders, she stepped out of the elevator and crossed the foyer.

The Riverclear thug sat reading a paper, a cup of untouched coffee on his table.

She sat down opposite him and lit a cigarette. "If you don't want me to rip your limbs off one by one, I suggest you get your boss on the phone. I want to set up a meeting."

Rosa rolledthe thick dough in her hands, testing its elasticity before she dumped it out onto the floured bench top. Vera had gone to bed for the night, giving Rosa free rein of the kitchen. She needed to think and baking always worked best.

She tried not to think of Balthasar as she placed the dough back onto the floured board. She wondered what her friends would be doing. She had received no emails, but a few updates on Facebook of brown bodies and fancy cocktails in Ibiza told her all she needed to know. They were doing normal people partying, not worrying about a guy way too old and complicated for her. She coated the dough with melted butter before sprinkling it with sugar and cinnamon. With quick dexterity, she folded the dough sides over onto each other. The back door opened as she had started to cut the dough with a large knife.

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