Page 79 of The Dreaming Beauty
Tansy tossed in her bed,a bad feeling settling over her. It was like the morning she had discovered Mr. Robinson and Miss Evans together. But she was likely overtired and imagining things. She hadn’t slept at all the night before, and she refused to get out of bed and wander outside. She shifted her body once more and squeezed her eyes shut.
“You cannot sleep again?” Daisy yawned beside her.
“No, I cannot. But why are you awake?”
“You’ll laugh.”
Tansy rolled over to face her aunt. “What is it?”
“I thought the fairies would come, but they haven’t.”
This was something Tansy could not fix. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Everyone knows they aren’t real. I just wanted them to be. Life is so hard, and I wanted to escape into their world for a while.”
“Don’t give up yet. So much has happened this summer that I would not be surprised if there really were fairies.”
“But has coming here to Rose Cottage done us any good?” She smoothed the wrinkles in the quilt. “I know you found the truth about your parents, but you seem sad all the time. I almost wish we could leave this place and start over again somewhere new.”
“You don’t mean that. I can be happy again, I promise. I just need some time to... to—”
“To get over Mr. Taylor?”
Tansy’s heart twisted like a knife in her chest at the mere mention of his name. “He is a hard one to forget.”
“I miss him too.”
Tansy spoke quickly before she could succumb to tears. “What matters is that we have each other. Roll over, and I will scratch your back until you fall asleep.” Daisy smiled and did as Tansy said. Drawing small circles and lines on her aunt’s back allowed Tansy to relax herself.
Soft snores eventually surfaced from her aunt, and Tansy dropped her hands and closed her eyes, pushing the nagging feeling that something was wrong to the back of her mind so she could finally fall into a much-needed sleep.
* * *
“I am sorry to wake you, Mrs. Kirk,” Marcus said, hobbling into the entrance hall just past midnight.
“Never mind that. I was just bringing a spot of tea to His Grace in the conservatory. He is painting.”
“At this hour?”
Mrs. Kirk nodded. “He will no doubt be up all night.”
“And my mother?”
“Went to bed an hour ago.”
Marcus could hardly walk after riding all day and felt as if he could sleep for a week. He pushed himself up the stairs, not in the direction of the conservatory but toward his mother’s chamber. A few knocks later, no one answered. This was not something he was going to patiently wait to discuss until morning. He had waited his whole life, and that was long enough. He knocked again, and this time when no one answered, he opened the door.
The bed was made, and his mother was obviously not in her room. His mind raced. Where would she be? He left her chambers and made his way to the conservatory.
“Marcus!” Simon set down his brush in a cup of water and grinned. “You’ve arrived as suddenly as your departure. You had better have a good explanation for your strange behavior. And for deserting me. I didn’t travel halfway around the world to be alone with Mother.”
Marcus remained rooted in the doorway. “You will have an explanation, but Simon, where is Mama? It’s urgent.”
“Asleep, as far as I know.”
“She isn’t. Her bed is untouched.”
Simon frowned. “I am sure she is wandering about somewhere. Let’s ask around and see if anyone has seen her.”
