Prologue
I had never given much thought to the meaning of my life. Women were born and raised to draw men into marriage and bear their children, but there must be more to life. There had to be. The cool air whipped my face as my horse strode through the trees. A stray branch caught the side of my cheek and brushed back the heavy hood of my cloak. I glanced over my shoulder. There had to be another way to live.
Chapter 1
Breakfast with Aro was a monotonous occasion. Ever since the presence of his lordship at Bramley Park, it no longer felt like my home. In fact, each moment of every passing day seemed somehow more asphyxiating. I gazed down at my plate of untouched breakfast meats and sighed. An abrupt rustling of newspapers drew my attention to the man seated at the heat of the table.
He stared archly at me over the pages he had been buried in, his oxblood eyes piercing. "Yes?" he asked cooly.
"I wondered if I might borrow a book from your library, Uncle. It would only be for the morning and I would return it to its rightful place in pristine condition of course."
"Don't you have some needlework or some other accomplishment to practice quietly?" he asked, though clearly no reply was desired.
I stifled another sigh. I had tried to breach the subject of my continued education many times before and the methods of opening the discussion were thinning rapidly. The breakfast parlour, once lavishly decorated, had been stripped of all character or traces of fashion over the past year. Nearly all the reminders of my late father's presence in the house had disappeared. I never knew my mother's taste for interior design - she too had passed, though nearly 20 years earlier. I could only hope that it was more lively than that of her brother that sat before me. The grand fireplace previously adorned with chinoiserie lay permanently cold in disuse. Only the settings saw brief attention when Aro's guests came to pay their visits. Outside, the thick September fog was bringing a mist of tiny water droplets. On a fine day, one could see across the rolling lawns and gardens to the small lake that harboured my father's prized fishing game. Charles Swan was an avid outdoorsman, though his ability to patient quietly by the water was far superior to his straightness with a shot.
My ruminations were interrupted by the footman's entrance. "Admiral Black has just arrived, sir."
"Very well. Send him in." replied Aro. He addressed me again as he rose from his chair. "The Admiral and I have business to discuss; I would appreciate it if you made yourself scarce. We do not need any interruptions."
Without a word, I rose seamlessly from my chair and quietly left the room, leaving my breakfast uneaten behind me. Out in the hall I headed towards the stairs in the direction of my bedchamber until the footman seemed satisfied and seizing the opportunity, I made a dash to the library. The heavy door creaked slightly as I pushed it open, sending the particles of dust in the air into a delicate spiralling dance. This was my favourite room in the house and I yearned to spend my time here more than ever. Wasting no time, I quickly located the heavy volume I was after and spun once more out of the room, inhaling deeply one last breath of musty leather and oak.