Page 18 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
Jasmine missed the bond she used to have with Rose, and if she could take back what she had said, she would have. Jasmine shook off the sad feeling slowly creeping over her as she remembered what she had lost in her sister’s friendship.
She returned to her book and pored over it, lost in the fictional world of the characters. Before long, she could no longer hear the commotion around her. When sleep began to creep into her tired eyes moments later, she welcomed it and lay her head on a table for a quick nap.
* * *
Jasmine fluttered her eyes open after what seemed like just a while after. She yawned as she rose from the table, feeling so much relief after the little nap she had just had. She was on her way to the door when her eyes caught the window on the other end of the library.
Jasmine’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately panicked.
The world outside the window was dark which could only mean one thing: Jasmine had overslept. While she thought she had simply taken a quick nap, she had, in fact, slept through the entire day.
The journey!
Jasmine felt another pang in her heart. She did not want to believe what she already knew. She quickly rushed out of the library, and as her sensible mind had already told her, the house was empty.
“Mama!” Jasmine shouted.
The only response she got was the echo of her voice.
“William!” she shouted again to no avail. “Papa!”
It was when Jasmine had shouted herself hoarse that she finally began to accept that she was all alone in the big house. Not even one of the maids or a groundskeeper was left behind. She was alone, all alone.
I simply cannot believe this. I must be dreaming.
But Jasmine knew she was not dreaming; her family had left her behind. She had been forgotten yet again. Jasmine sat on the floor in the middle of the hall as she began to ponder over what had just happened to her. While this was not the first time her parents forgot her, the act still shocked Jasmine to the core.
This was beyond forgetting about her until they had almost finished having dinner. This was not the same as forgetting her in the shops while they all went home. Her family had embarked on a long journey without her, leaving her alone in a large house with no servants.
All alone in a large house?Jasmine thought to herself, and slowly, she began to come to a realization.
If she was all alone in this large house, then that meant that she could do whatever she wanted. She could wake up whenever she wished. She could eat whenever and whatever she wanted and go to bed whenever.
And what made it even better was that she could do all these without any quibbling siblings to disturb her peace and no mischievous pranksters trying to pull her leg at every turn. She could do whatever she wanted without her mother breathing down her neck about her unladylike actions.
She was all alone for the first time in her life. In short, she was free. Free to do whatever she so desired.
“What do I do first? Raid Rose’s wardrobe and try out her exquisite ball gowns or go to the kitchen to eat whatever leftovers they forgot behind?” Jasmine asked herself.
Jasmine decided on the former and went up the stairs to Rose’s room.
A delicious smell met her as she entered Rose’s room, and she traced the smell to a small vial on Rose’s dresser. She immediately recognized the vial as one of the ones that Rose often used for her experiments.
Jasmine inhaled the contents of the vial, and she suddenly panicked again. What if she had inhaled a harmful chemical? Would her family have come back for her only to meet her dead body in Rose’s room?
Jasmine laughed nervously as her mind traveled far and wide.
Thankfully, the only thing that hit her nose after inhaling it was a mixture of rose, lily, and vanilla. She did not feel faint or swoon. Jasmine felt a rush of pride at the amazing scent her sister had created, and for a moment, she wished that Rose would share her experiments with Jasmine again like she used to.
Jasmine left Rose’s science experiments behind and went to Rose’s closet. She gasped when she saw Rose’s wide array of beautiful dresses. She had dresses in every color that were all sown in styles that flattered Rose’s figure. It was no wonder men flocked around Rose like bees whenever their parents forced her to attend ball parties. If it were not for Rose’s stubborn nature, she would have been married to an eligible bachelor by now.
Jasmine turned to Rose’s jewelry. It was a beautiful collection of prized ornaments, from pearls to diamonds. Even gold jewelry was not found wanting.
“Rose is so lucky; she always has the best of everything,” Jasmine remarked with a pang of jealousy.
While Jasmine had a beautiful closet, Rose’s own easily contained more beautiful dresses and jewelry—one of the perks of being the first daughter, and the most beautiful one at that.
Since Rose was the first daughter in the Thornhill household to enter a season, she was showered with more dresses and jewelry than she could ever wear in a lifetime. Unfortunately, by the time Jasmine entered her first season, their parents put less effort into getting her dresses than they had done for Rose. This was ironic since Rose did not care for dresses and jewelry while Jasmine loved them.
