Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
I’d wondered where he went when he disappeared, and now I got to see it for myself.
One instant it was night in the stone troll’s hand and the next it was the early morning on the entrance steps of a castle. The trip had almost knocked me out, and from the way he’d stumbled upon arrival, it was clear it had taken a toll on him, too.
After he steadied himself, he remained still, not advancing towards the massive doors, as if waiting for something. I didn’t understand why until he cleared his throat, reminding me that I was still held onto him as if he were my lifeline.
Face flushing, I struggled to relieve him of my dead weight. He let me down on my feet gently, but still had his arm around my waist, supporting me in case I swayed.
Giving up on standing unsupported for now, I gazed up at his home.
The castle was unlike any I had ever glimpsed.
It was laid out in a strange angle, like a table knocked on its side, with a tower in its center.
Its walls were painted white, and its window shutters sky blue, matching the dark blue tile roof and tower cap.
On either side of us, lush gardens spread as far as the eye could see, with the path to the entrance lined with fir trees cut into the shape of spades.
He cleared his throat, and I realized I was still holding onto him.
Suddenly too aware of myself, I stepped away. “Your home is lovely.”
Lips curling into a pleased smile, hand on my lower back, he nudged me closer to the towering doors. “You should see what it looks like on the inside.”
The doors opened on their own, welcoming us into the warm interior.
I entered with a slow reverence as the design seemed to unfold before my eyes.
The floor, a sprawling mosaic of blues and silver, led the way to a grand staircase that split midway up to the second floor.
The ceiling was held up by blue marble columns, some bordering the long windows pouring in the warm light of the rising sun.
Ten servants came rushing in, bowing and curtseying, each greeting him with an evidently pleased “Welcome home, my lord” while eyeing me curiously. Their uniforms matched the color scheme of the castle, and they all had pointed ears and pearlescent skin, like him.
“You’re faeries,” I said stupidly.
A couple smiled at me, the rest looked like they were trying not to laugh.
Roderick didn’t stop himself, that wonderful laugh of his ringing out, before he addressed them, a smile still tingeing his voice. “Laura, Louisa, please take Miss Ottoline to our best guest quarters, and tend to her every need, then bring her back to me for breakfast.”
Though I still had about a dozen questions for him, I didn’t object, desperate to be out of my ruined, musty clothes.
Laura and Louisa—who looked to be twins—had juniper-red hair and crystal blue eyes, and they curtseyed to me before leading me up the stairs.
Other faeries appeared along the first floor, peeking out of the doors to look at me with wide-eyed interest rather than the snobby judgement of Wilhelm’s court.
The twins led me to the seventh room and Laura, the one with the side part in her hair, went to the adjoining bathroom to run a bath, while Louisa, the one with the middle part, took out a cornflower-blue nightgown and its matching robe and held them up to my collarbones.
“These should fit you,” she announced with a smile. “We’ll need to wash the rest, as they haven’t been used in a while.”
I began to undress, taking off my shoes and socks. “Thank you. Whose room was this?”
“Lady von Ravenstock,” she replied, sounding sorrowful. “She hasn’t been back in a while.”
Roderick’s mother.
It was still strange, being waited on, even though I’d had a month living as Princess Gertrude. What made it even stranger was that the maids were faeries, things—people I had always been told were more likely to torture me than help me.
I suppose, after what I’d been through with Wilhelm and the denizens of the Winter Court, both humans and fey could be equally monstrous.
“Why didn’t you go with her?” I found myself asking Louisa. “Back to Faerie, I mean?”
Surprised, Louisa let out a brief, uncertain “Uhhh,” before saying “I wouldn’t know where to go.”
“So you don’t consider it home?”
“I was born here, miss. I don’t know Faerie, neither did my parents. We wouldn’t be able to handle life there.”
“So, you consider yourself from here, from Orcage?”
She nodded, sounding subdued. “Even if others don’t consider us such. This is home.”
This corroborated everything Roderick had said.
I looked toward the bathroom where her twin was busy preparing my bath, then back to her. “Are you all fey here, in the castle?”
“Yes.”
“How come?”
I knew the answer before she gave it to me. “Most of us can’t get work elsewhere.”
Work was what brought them here, just like it was what brought me to Orcage. It seemed they had as few choices and rights in life as I did.
“Are you happy here?” I asked, suddenly afraid she’d say no. “The baron, is he a decent employer?”
Her face brightened, an unequivocal answer even before she said, “He’s the best we could have hoped for. His father wasn’t as gracious, even if he did employ some of us for his lady wife’s sake.”
“I see.” And I did see. Too many things I’d hoped I didn’t.
I let the conversation end there. Any other questions could be saved for Roderick himself.
The bath felt like heaven as Laura and Louisa scrubbed out all traces of ordeal and almost washed away all my aches.
I had to admit they were far better than I ever was.
Before the water had cooled, they had me out and dried, before setting my hair in a plait.
Afterward, they had me bundled in insulating underclothes and the sleepwear Louisa had picked out, before leading me back down to Roderick.
I would have never left a room in my nightgown and slippers, but I was grateful for their choice. It felt so comfortable. I certainly couldn’t have tolerated being shoved in a hoop skirt and bound by a corset after the nightmarish time I’d had in Faerie.
They left me at the doors of a dining room, with Laura saying they would be a call away. I felt that was literal. Their pointed ears must pick up distant sounds like a hunting hound.
Before I could knock, Roderick called out, “Come in!”
As soon as I stepped inside the door, I was intercepted by a gigantic cat.
Easily the size of a dog, it had a reddish coat on top and was white from the whiskers down.
Its raised, fluffy tail was like a plume, its large ears had tufts coming out of them and its eyes were bright yellow, and inquisitive.
It meowed loudly at me, as if demanding I explain what I was doing here.
“Hello?” I said confusedly. “Who’s this?”
Roderick arrived and hoisted up the enormous cat. It took up over half his body. “Ottoline, meet Ingwer.”
I blinked at them both, the unusual sight they posed.
They were like a painting that seemed unassuming at first glance, but quickly stood out as something usual on a second look.
Just a man and his pet, but the shape of his ears and pearlescent skin coupled with the size of said pet stood out too much.
I reached out a careful hand and let the cat sniff me. “Nice to meet you, Ingwer.”
Roderick placed him on the glass dining table, another thing that made my brows rise. “He’s pleased to meet you as well.”
“How can you tell?”
“By the fact that he’s not chasing you through the castle.”
I let out a surprised chuckle, but ended up coughing. “He’s done that before?”
He hummed his confirmation, stroking Ingwer’s large head. “The last ball my father hosted, Ingwer ended up chasing Lord Eichenbaum into the fountain in the back gardens.”
The visual of this fluffy red cat chasing a mustachioed middle-aged man into a fountain made me laugh again, this time openly, and without incident.
Roderick seemed amused by my reaction, his pleased smile widening. “Another time, he chased Lady Fierstein up a tree.”
I covered my mouth as my laughter intensified. “I didn’t know cats could be so scary.”
“Well, it’s not like he’s your average mouser,” he said, silvery eyes twinkling. “He’s a forest cat, they’re built different. They’ve been known to attack bears.”
My jaw dropped. “Bears?”
He shrugged, his mouth quirking. “There is nothing like a cat’s confidence.”
“I’ll bet.”
I approached with care, offering my hand for Ingwer to sniff. “Any reason he chose those people to terrorize?”
“They must have offended him,” Roderick said, good humor dimming. “I wouldn’t put it past them to have disliked finding an animal indoors, and shooing or even kicking him.”
Sighing, I pet Ingwer’s head. “I wish we could introduce him to King Wilhelm.”
The mood in the room shifted at his mention. I chewed on my lip, seeking out Roderick’s eyes. “What are you going to do with me now?”
He gestured for me to take the right-side seat by the head of the table. “We’ll discuss it while we eat.”
As soon as we sat, he invited me to dig into the breakfast foods laid out before us. Famished, I didn’t even hesitate helping myself to the platter of grostl, diced potatoes with onions and bacon with fried eggs on top.
Ingwer came to sit beside me, watching me in between slow blinks.
“Does this mean he likes me?” I asked. “Or does he want me to feed him? Can I? Please?”
He wagged a finger at me. “Don’t you dare! He just ate.”
“He’s a big boy. He must be hungry again.”
“If I fell for his slow blinks every time, he would be too fat to move in no time. Ignore him or he will know you’re a pushover.”
Mumbling under my breath, I avoided the cat’s gaze so I wouldn’t give in.
After I finished eating, and Roderick had served me a cup of strong coffee with cream, he sat back, mug in hand. “So, what do you want to discuss first?”
There were more pressing matters, but I had to know one thing first. “How did you find me?”