39
961 Words
Charlotte Sanguinite
Robert’s home is a four-bedroom house with a large yard that is well-maintained.
With Mano in my arms, I look around as I enter through the front door. A woman is waiting for us by the stairs, and she hurries over. She looks to be in her late fifties, and she smiles at me.
“You must be Miss Beaumont. I’ve prepared a room for you. I also took the liberty of setting up a litter box in your room and in two of the main areas of the house so that your cat will be comfortable, as well.”
Robert wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Charlotte, meet Mrs. Mallory. She’s the housekeeper. If you need anything, you can go to her. If you want to change something or the decor isn’t to your liking, Mrs. Mallory will help you set things up according to how you want them.”
I blink at him. “This is your home. Why would I change the decor?”
He gives me a sly smile before looking over at the beaming housekeeper. “Mrs. Mallory, did you put Charlotte in the room next to mine?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Mallory nods. “I even got a catalog for some cat toys and houses so that Miss Beaumont can choose what she would like me to order.”
“Order?” I feel dazed. “I don’t need to order anything. I’m not very fussy, Mrs. Mallory. And I brought Mano’s litter box—”
“Nonsense.” Mrs. Mallory takes my bag from me. “It’s about time Robert brought a woman home. I always say it’s the woman who sets the tone of the house. This place has been needing a woman’s touch for a long time.”
“What?” I feel like I’m being bulldozed right now.
Mrs. Mallory is behaving as if Robert just brought home a wife rather than a guest. She’s a shifter, as well, but I can’t sense any hostility from her.
“I’ve prepared a nice lunch for both of you, but I’ll run the dinner menu by you before I get started on it, Miss Beaumont.”
Bewildered, I gape after her as she carries my bag up the stairs.
“Why is she treating me like that?”
“Like what?” Robert asks innocently just as Zeno comes rushing into the room. He paws at Robert’s feet before coming to sniff me. His little tail starts wagging furiously as he recognizes my scent.
“Hello, Zeno!” I beam at him. “You look happy and healthy.”
“Ever since Mrs. Mallory returned from vacation a few days ago, the two of them have become inseparable,” Robert tells me.
Mano squirms in my arms, wanting to be released, and I drop her to the ground. Zeno pounces on her to investigate this new creature and receives a smack on his nose. It doesn’t deter him, and the two pets are soon entangled in a tussle.
I’m not worried. I can tell when Mano feels threatened and when she’s playing. Right now, my cat seems to have found herself a playmate.
“Mrs. Mallory seems nice,” I comment. “A little strange, but sweet.”
Robert chuckles. “Not every shifter has a hardened grudge against vampires. I told her about you last night; I wanted her to have a room ready for you. I wanted to share my bedroom with you, but Mrs. Mallory is a little old-fashioned about things like that before marriage, so…”
“So am I.” I give him a narrow-eyed look. “Why would you think I would sleep in the same bed as you?”
He adopts the most affronted look he is able to muster. “How can you question my motivation? Do you think getting you in bed is the only goal I have in life? Did you even consider that perhaps I was concerned about your safety and felt that my room would be the safest—”
“Oh, save it.” I can see the twinkle in his eyes.
“I am serious, though. If you want to make any changes to the house, feel free to do so.”
The thought makes me feel a little awkward. “I’m just a guest.”
“For now,” Robert grins at me. “Will you walk into my parlor? Will you rest upon my little bed?”
As he quotes these two lines of “The Spider and the Fly” to me, I give him a suspicious look. “Yes to the parlor, but not to your bed.”
He laughs uproariously. “Then we’ll work on the second one while you get accustomed to the first. Come on, I’m sure Mrs. Mallory wants you to see the room she set up for you.”
As I follow Robert upstairs, there’s a small ball of anxiety in my chest. I made this decision to come here, to accept him. But will it work out? Or will I end up with my heart broken in the worst of ways? Robert has shown me with his actions that he cares about me, and I want to believe everything he is telling me. But after facing so much rejection my whole life, it’s hard to bare my heart completely to anyone.
This is the first time I’ve wanted to try, though. Angie’s warnings about my future being uncertain ring in my head, and I let out a shaky breath.
The Unknown, indeed.
It feels like I’ve launched myself off a cliff into the dark, raging sea below, with no knowledge of how to swim.
- Writer
