Page 27 of Arranged Wolf's Nanny
When she emerged from her room several hours later, nobody ever would have known that she had allowed herself to slip so far into her self-imposed madness. She had scrubbed her body to a shining gleam, lathered her hair in all her most fragrant shampoos and conditioners, and swept an elegant amount of makeup over her face. She had chosen one of hernicest day dresses, ruby-red in color, and accented it with gleaming silver jewelry.
She didn’t allow herself a moment to pause, to fret. She marched down the hallway, following the sounds of the piano drifting up from the library.
Her heels clacked sharply against the wooden staircase as she descended, her posture perfect, every movement sweeping and graceful. Just going through the motions ofherselffrom a month ago made it all the easier to strengthen the walls. To refine the mask. To play the part.
Pushing the door to the library open, she couldn’t help the smile that broke out on her face at Eva’s fierce look of concentration as she ran through her scales and arpeggios. She looked comically tiny at the grand piano in the center of the room, barely tall enough to reach the keys, straining her feet for the pedals.
At the groan of the door, Eva whipped around, shock and trepidation coloring her features as she watched Rosalia walk in.
“That was quite beautiful,” Rosalia said softly, by way of greeting. “Have you been learning the piano long?”
Eva blinked at her, the curiosity plain on her face, but she was far too well-mannered to let the questions she truly wanted to ask escape her. “Not long. I told Papa I liked Auntie Daisy’s playing, and he bought me a piano. And a piano teacher. I’m trying to learn all my scales, but…some of them are really hard.”
“I bet they are,” Rosalia said, lowering herself into one of the armchairs that littered the library, crossing one leg over the other. Eva swiveled over the piano stool to face her, gnawing at her lip. Rosalia cleared her throat. “Eva, I want to apologize to you. When we first met, I said I wanted to be your friend. And, well…I haven’t been a very good friend at all.”
“Oh, no, not at all,” Eva said, her words rushed, “you’ve been ill! Papa told me not to disturb you. He said you’d play with me when you were feeling better!”
“Did he?” Rosalia asked, something in her chest freezing over at the thought of Rick talking about her at all. “Well. I suppose he was right. But I am better now, and I’d very much like it if we could spend some time together.”
Eva’s answering smile lit up the whole room.
It seemed that the little girl had been saving up a rather long list for them to do together. First was a tour of the manor, apropertour, with Eva spouting facts about her long-dead ancestors with all the pomp and circumstance of a tour guide to the Vatican.
“That’s Great-Uncle Leo. He came over to America in 1948 after people found out about his involvement in the English parliament during World War II, which went against the early shifter-human laws.
“That’s Lady Joan. She was a friend of Queen Catherine de Medici of France, and some say she was actually a spy for the English and had a hand in King Francis’s death in 1560.
“That’s my great-grandfather, Alexander. We have his pelt somewhere in the house, but Papa won’t tell me where. He was killed by the humans during the Conflicts.”
“How do you know all this?” Rosalia asked, amazed at Eva’s intellect.
Eva gave her a toothy grin. “Papa likes to talk about it. A lot. And he likes it when I remember.”
“I’m sure he’s very proud of you,” Rosalia said, earning a bashful laugh.
Next, of course, was tea on the veranda, with a full view of the beautifully manicured gardens. It was here that Eva’s age truly showed, as she insisted several of her stuffed animals join in the fun, which included rather more cake than any tea party Rosalia had ever been to.
She didn’t mind. She laughed as Eva gave her toys funny voices, and introduced Rosalia to them with molten intensity.
“This is Giraffey. He doesn’t like Horsey, because Horsey ate all his food, even though Horsey said he was sorry and that he only did it because he was really hungry. Giraffey said that Horsey needed to be arrested, so Officer J.M. Barrie locked him up, and now he’s going to be executed.”
“Officer J.M. Barrie?”
“Papa named him.”
“Of course.”
It became apparent to Rosalia, as they concluded the day curled up back in the library surrounded by Eva’s favorite books, that the little girl was perhaps as lonely as she was.
“Eva?” she asked as the girl rifled through her bookshelf to try and find her copy ofPeter Panto show her a picture of Officer J.M. Barrie. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yes?” Eva said, pausing to blink up at Rosalia.
“Who normally looks after you when your papa is at work? Don’t you want to go and play with the other children?”
“Oh,” Eva said, clambering down,Peter Panclutched in her hands. She traced the title with her forefinger. “Well, I have alotof tutors; they look after me. And when they’re not here, like today, then Mrs. Williams watches me.”
“Mrs. Williams?”
