Page 8 of Blood and Roses

"Well, at least we aren't drooling all over her. You pulling your Lord of the Manor trick on her was soobvious, Balthasar." Pearl lit a cigarette and blew the smoke in his direction. "Waituntil the other families arrive in a few weeks. All of Eli's rules won't matter with a servant like that around."

"I believe they'll respect Eli's rules far more than you do. Whyareyou here again, Pearl? I thought you had enough of leeching off our family by the fifties."

"I invited her here to liven the place up a bit," Lily defended. "It's good to see my beloved girl again." She touched Pearl's face affectionately. "I'm tired of being ignored by the men in the house and sorely needed some decent company."

"You should have said something," Balthasar said. "I would've gone to town and bought you a cat."

"I see the last two hundred years of having your head in the sand hasn't improved your haughtiness, Balthasar," Pearl hissed.

"Do you think she will stay long? Rosa, I mean," Saul interrupted, his mind set on only one thing.

"That will depend on her I imagine. Although, why anyone her age would want to stay out here is a mystery."

"I wonder if she'll stay in the house under the watchful eye of Cecily the Hawk, or will she go back to the cottage? She'll be all alone with no one to talk to."

"Oh, for goodness's sake, Saul, can't you think of something more exciting than trying to seduce that creature?" Lily complained.

"Like what? I'm not expected to do anything around here. That is all Balthasar's problem now."

"If you say so," Balthasar drained his coffee and got to his feet. "Leave the girl alone, Saul. Keep your mind off your dick and don't be stupid."

"The same warning could be given to you, brother." Saul smirked. "It's the first time I have seen you smile in months, Tin Man. If you were more interested, we could put a wager on it, the first brother to take the prize?"

Balthasar picked up Eli's neglected paper and headed for the door, "Busy your mind with some other pursuit, Saul. Eli is tense enough without having you fooling about with the Wylt girl."

"What a haughty bitch."Rosa fought the urge to slam the tray down on the kitchen bench.

"Meet Pearl, did you?" Vera asked sweetly before letting out a bubbly chuckle. "I should've warned you."

"I've met worse, but unlike those times, I have to shut up and be polite here."

Rosa had been teased about her weight her entire life, but in recent years, she had finally accepted herself as she was. In London, she had felt empowered, but it had all disappeared under Pearl's withering gray eyes. There was something in the way Pearl had looked down on her that had gotten under her skin more than her obvious rudeness. She was the worst kind of smug and entitled.

"Lily can be just as bad. She will rein it in generally, but Pearl brings it out in her," Cecily added, rubbing her neck. "She's not a very nice person."

"Don't worry. I don't want anything to do with either one of them."

"Be careful with Mr. Saul too," Vera warned. "He looks like a damn angel, but more than one servant girl has been dismissed, and nearly all have been jilted by him at some stage."

"I gathered that. Not to worry, Vera. He's not my type. I couldn't date a man prettier than me for starters," Rosa said and laughed. She made herself a strong coffee. Something told her she was going to need it to get through the day.

"He's certainly pretty, but if I were younger, it would be that Balthasar that would turn my head." Vera winked at her. "All those dark, brooding good looks caught up in a flash suit does my old eyes good."

"And doesn't he put that nasty Pearl in her place! Sometimes, I think she does it just to get his attention," Cecily added.

"I think it would be wiser to stay out the way of all of them," Rosa said, planning to do just that. She kicked off her ballet flats before pulling on Cecily's boots. "If anyone wants me, I'll be down in the greenhouse. I might need some deadly nightshade to season Pearl's dinner with."

Rosa followed the stone path from the kitchen door, around the back of the mansion and out to the greenhouse. It was a lavish building with a three-tiered glass roof that let all the northern light in that it could manage. The main section was filled with exotic tropical flowers, fruit trees, and a koi pond where the Vanes could hold outdoor tea parties or whatever else that took their fancy.

Rosa wasn't particularly interested in flowers apart from a mild appreciation. Instead, she passed it quickly, and using her special Wylt keys, she opened up the nursery.

Inside, there were boxes of herbs of every variety as well as large planters and beds filled with vegetables. Rosa crushed different herbs between her fingers, letting their sweet and earthy fragrances fill her mind with recipes and create new ones with all the ingredients she had at her disposal. With the wine grown in the vineyards, fresh meats from their neighboring organic farms and bounty of the nursery, Rosa would never have to brave a farmer's market again. With her temper cooled and her mind calmed as it went over the list of recipes, she wanted to cook, Rosa walked back to the house, ready to start the day anew.

Rosa spent the rest of the morning helping Cecily on her errands. She allocated workers to the rooms that needed to be dusted and prepared for the guests that would start arriving. The whole affair gave Rosa the feeling of being caught in the middle of a Mafia movie with all the families coming together to discuss business. The feeling was greatly enhanced by the people who turned up during the day to meet with Eli and Balthasar. They all wore money and power like suits and had brawny bodyguards that screamed ex-con.

"What exactly does Eli do?" Rosa asked.

"The Vanes are a very old family and have their hands and money in everything. They are a business empire unto themselves," Cecily quoted as if she was selling the official company line. "You know they still farm the land hereabouts and that kind of thing."

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