Her parents were arriving hours before the party and staying at her cottage. She had popped down from time to time to keep the place clean, light the odd fire and make sure it felt lived in. She missed it sometimes, but the lure of Rob was more than the lure of the cottage and he needed to be there right now, near his office so he could working later into the night. Near family, while they expected him to get involved in the preparations and everything going on.
Rose was starting to feel more at home in the manor anyway, enjoying her time lounging with him in the cosy or sharing tasks in the kitchen when they were hungry. She had set up her art supplies in a small unused study downstairs; borrowing an old desk from one of the disused bedrooms and shelves from another. This house had so ma
