THE MANOR OF DREAMS

Chapter One – Rose's Point of View

When I woke up that morning, it took me a couple of seconds to remember where I was. Anxiety crawled over me as it had done every morning for as long as I could remember. The sun wasn't up yet so the dark room looked like the room I had spent most of my nights in. For a moment, I thought I was back in our old house. Only the softer bed and the slight glow from the fireplace told me that I was somewhere better now. Somewhere where we didn't have to fight every day to stay alive. We were safe now. That thought calmed my racing heart a bit. The sun would rise soon and its soft winter light would creep into the room, and I would see that this room looked nothing like the house where had grown up. I sat up in my bed, doing my best to keep quiet so I wouldn't wake the others. Yesterday had been an exhausting day and I didn't want to rob them of any well-deserved sleep. It had to be very early since I was the only one awake. My mother was usually the one who got up first and woke the rest of us. I pulled the covers up to my chin to keep the chill out. It was early December and the degrees were dropping rapidly outside. That meant the house was getting colder at night too. I had always hated the winters because of the painful cold, but maybe this year I wouldn't have to fear frostbite every time I tried to fall asleep. The English winter was cruel to the poor and unfortunate people. When I was younger, I dreamt of escaping to an exotic country where I would never feel the cold again. But my mother had promised that this winter would be better because we lived here now. Our room had windows and thick walls to keep out the cold and we had proper clothes on our bodies. These things were new to us.

I fixated my eyes on the glowing fireplace and tried to push away the dark thoughts that rummaged around in the back of my mind. I pushed away thoughts of my father and what he had done. My mother had secured us a new start on a better life and I had to focus on that. Nothing good would come of me thinking about the past. We were better off without him anyway. Or at least that's what mother said. Was it possible to stop loving a person from day to day just because they betrayed you? I shook my head, realizing I hadn't managed to push away the unwelcome memories and speculations.

I forced myself to think of better things. Like the three meals I now had every day, the friendly people, the horses, the fireplace… I felt a smile creep onto my lips. I liked the quiet mornings here. I should wake up earlier more often. The house was quiet and calm at night. It wouldn't be for long but I dared to enjoy it for a moment. For a little while I had no work to do, no one expected anything from me and I felt safe and warm.

"Rosemarie?" a quiet voice sounded through the room. My mother. I could hear her pull back the covers and place her feet on the floor.

"Yes, mother?" I whispered back, disappointed that my peaceful moment was over already. I would have to wake up half an hour earlier tomorrow. However, unlike my mother's, my body didn't know when it was time to wake up. I had no idea how she did it but we were never late.

"It's time to get up. Get dressed quickly, it's a cold morning," she said as she got up. I could hear her gently wake Miss Mastrano and her daughter Jill.

"Meredith, are you awake?" I asked into the dark room and leaned out to peek at the bed closest to mine to see if she was awake.

"Mmyeah," was her sleepy answer. Meredith was the newest addition to servant house so I didn't know her that well yet. But that she didn't like waking up early had become clear the very first morning.

The cold made my skin break out in goosebumps when I let go of my covers and crawled out of my bed. I reached out to turn on the oil lamp at my bedside but then thought better of it. We had to be sparing of it and I would rather spend my oil on more important things. Like being able to read at night. We were silent as we changed out of our sleepwear and into our servants' clothing. Only Meredith's yawns broke the silence. I fetched my apron from the chair and fastened it around the waist of my dress. I had kitchen duty this morning and evening. I hoped Mason or Eddie would be there too. They were two boys my age who also worked at the estate. When I had arrived a couple of months ago, they had made me feel welcome and showed me how things around here worked. I was hesitant to think of them as friends for some reason. Not because I didn't like them because I really did. Perhaps I was hesitant to befriend them because I was afraid I was lose them again.

My mother opened the door and the light from the hallway streamed into our room. I noticed that she was wearing pants so I guessed that she would be working outside.

"I'll see you at lunch, Rosemarie." And then she was gone.

We hadn't had time to talk much these last days. She was probably working at the stables today. The master and his family had many horses. We had never been able to afford to a horse of our own so I didn't know how to ride or train them. I wished I could be taught so I could work at the stables too. I found being in the company of horses calming. I had brought some carrots to the stables last night before I went back to our room. I had fed them to a beautiful black mare whose name I didn't know. I hoped I would be able to afford a horse for myself sometime in the future. I would just have to work harder here.

After making sure that Meredith was dressed and knew where she had to work today, I shrugged on my coat and left for the kitchen. Both Jill and I had our mothers to look after us but Meredith had come to the estate on her own and hadn't mentioned any family. So I did my best to help her like the boys had helped me.

Doors opened as I walked down the hallway and the girls and women smiled at me as I passed them. I reached the middle of the house where the door to the courtyard was when I heard a shout from behind me.

"Hold up, Hathaway!"

I looked behind me and saw a red haired boy come running down the stairs from the men's floor.

"Good morning, Mason," I smiled up at him. His brown and beige servant's clothes matched mine but he was wearing a too big green coat over it that looked expensive. I was curious to how he had gotten it since I knew it hadn't been provided to him here.

"Kitchen duty for you too?" he asked hopefully as he caught up with me. I nodded and started walking again. The main kitchen was at the manor where the family was staying. The estate was huge and we had to walk for almost ten minutes to reach the manor house.

"Eddie has deserted us. He's got stables duty today, that lucky bastard," he said with clear envy in his voice. Mason had told me that he had grown up around horses and that he was quite good at riding. Perhaps he could teach me one day if we got permission to borrow one of the horses.

"He'll probably just muck out horse shit all day in the cold," I said to hide my own envy as I tucked my coat around me tighter to keep out the cold. Mason looked cheered up at that thought of Eddie cleaning up after the horses outside while we would be in the warm kitchen.

The gravel crunched underneath our boots as we crossed the servants' courtyard. Behind the stables and the fold, the huge white manor house was visible. It was the most elegant building I had ever seen in my life. It was a house of three storeys with balconies, patios and a huge back yard with a labyrinth. I had been told that it was even more beautiful in the summers when the flowers blossomed. I hoped that I would still be here next summer to see it.

The old manor I had worked at earlier seemed like a shack compared to this one.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Imagine what it must be like to live up there..." Mason trailed off with a dreamy look on his face. I couldn't imagine such a thing. I had no time for such ridiculous daydreams. The house of my dreams wasn't a manor but a nice farmhouse where I could keep animals and grow old with a family around me. Safety and happiness were my goals, not luxury.

We had reached the manor's backyard and Mason ripped me out of my farmhouse dream a few minutes later.

"Good morning, sir!" he suddenly squeaked and bowed deeply.

My gaze flew up to the man he addressed and I hastily made an awkward curtsey. Even in the dark was he easy to recognise.

"Good morning, Mr. Ashford. Miss Hathaway," the man greeted with a friendly smile. There was a slight accent to his words that I wasn't used to. Beside him was another man I hadn't seen before. I managed a timid smile, not knowing what to say. I had only seen Master Belikov a few times before because he had been away on travels, and never this up-close. God, he was tall! A garden lamp illuminated only half of his face. For some reason I wished I could see all of it. I dropped my gaze from his and felt a blush in my cheeks. Hopefully the dark hid that too. How did he know my name? We hadn't been introduced. My mother had talked to him several times but I hadn't exchanged a single word with him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Master Belikov and his companion move away from us. That meant I could look up again. What was he even doing up so early? Breakfast wouldn't be served for another hour.

"Have a good day, gentlemen!" Mason yelled after them. I could hear the other man laugh.

"How did he know who I was? And who was the other man?" I asked when we started walking again and I was sure the men couldn't hear us. I looked over my shoulder and saw the two silhouettes heading for the stables. Maybe the black mare belonged to the master?

"Master Belikov knows everyone who works for him. He's good like that. Actually cares about us. And that's Lord Zeklos, his best friend-"

Zeklos? My stomach turned to ice. I had hoped I would never hear that name again. Mason kept talking all the way to the kitchen but I didn't really hear much of what he said. He wouldn't come here right? Mother had promised me that he would give up and let me be after we moved away.

A/N: So this was the first chapter of my new story. I'd love to hear what you think of it so far. Should I continue? :)

To anyone who's confused: This story takes place in England in a non-modern setting - I'm thinking late 1800s/early 1900s, but since I'm no history expert I won't specify so I don't make too many historical inaccuracies.

You're welcome to check out my other story, Missing Starring Role, if you haven't read it. It's quite different from this though.

Please note that English is my second language. Have a great day! xx