'
When it came to the next period they were required to retire early, just one month after the last time, Rey felt even more uneasy about it rather than less so.
Once more, the atmosphere was charged and tense, although Mr Hux remained his usual unflappable self, Dopheld and even Poe were clearly on edge and Lord Ren himself slammed doors with such vigor it was a wonder they did not disintegrate.
Poe handled it by staying outside all day, even taking his lunch out with him, but Dopheld, despite not having to go above stairs, was almost a nervous wreck. Yet any time Rey tried to enquire about his disposition, he would laugh nervously and tell her he was perfectly well.
It was all so very strange, and despite knowing it was absolutely none of her business, Rey's curiosity kept raising it's head and whispering that she deserved to know - she was living there after all.
At least all this excitement pushed her wretched dream to the back of her head.
'
Rather than tackle the foyer and entrance hall, Rey opted to start on the morning room, where she wouldn't encounter Lord Ren while he was so out of sorts.
As with all good morning rooms, this one faced east, catching and holding the sun until late morning and not losing it till past noon.
Of course, this was another room that would only be used if Lady Solo came to stay for an extended period of time, or if Lord Ren were to marry.
Oddly, the thought of Lord Ren marrying, made her feel uncomfortable; which was patently absurd because it was highly feasible, (if he found a lady willing to put up with his temper) that his disposition may become more amiable, and yet...
With a little shake, Rey resolutely pushed Lord Ren and his possible future wife out of her head and got to work, determined to wear herself out as much as possible before she was required to retire to her room.
'
The morning room was light and airy, (once she had drawn aside the ubiquitous heavy drapes), its walls papered in a pale yellow with a subtle floral pattern that became more pronounced in the warm sunlight.
It wasn't a huge room, there was a carved, golden walnut bureau, a matching curule chair with a seat and back of soft green velvet adorned with golden tassels. Two small settees were arranged with two ladies armchairs carved with scrollwork and upholstered in a green and gold chenille. The table was walnut too, decorated with floral marquetry, and once she had taken time to clean and then polish it till her arms burned, it shone beautifully.
Although she didn't get spare time in the morning, as there was always something, or rather twenty somethings that required her attention, Rey thought she would like to do her mending in the morning room. The window was large and afforded a view of the surrounding trees and while Ullswater was breath-takingly lovely, there was a lot to be said for gazing off into, what seemed to her, endless trees.
Sometimes she wondered how she had ever endured London when there was such green beauty in the world.
'
By the time it came for her to retire to her room, her muscles ached and even her eyelids felt heavy.
She settled down with a lavender pillow to help calm her further and slipped quickly into a deep sleep.
'
It wasn't a sound that woke her, just a feeling that she wasn't alone. She had a healthy respect for that feeling, she had cultivated it in the workhouse when she was small and an easy target.
The only sound to greet her was that of her bed clothes rustling as she sat up. Her room was dark save for the dull glow of the banked fire and the silver outline of the drapes where the moonlight was trying to creep in around the dark edges.
Upon opening the curtains, she was greeted by a full moon, bright and incandescent in a starry sky, it's mirror floating in the black water of the lake.
All was still and silent though, nothing that should have pulled her from so deep a sleep, if it wasn't something out there, could it be something inside? With her?
A shiver of apprehension prickled over her skin as she stared at her door - on one hand, she had been forbidden to leave her room for the next three nights, but on the other, what if there were thieves? Or an escaped convict looking for a place to lie low whilst on the lam?
Her fingers were on the door handle when her common sense took over, there were three men in the house and one in the room above the stables, if she heard something surely they would have too, and if they had they were far better qualified than her to confront an intruder... and she had agreed to follow Lord Ren's rules, if it came to nothing and he found out she had left her room when expressly told not to, then he would dismiss her and Lady Solo may not be so well-disposed to employing her after finding out she could not follow rules, however strange they may be.
With a sigh, Rey returned to her bed, now vexatiously wide awake. Turning up her lamp she whiled away the time with some mending, eventually her eyelids drooped again and she went back to sleep, surrounded by silence and her nose filled with the soothing scent of lavender.
'
The next morning, no one mentioned any strange goings on during the night and nothing appeared to be missing, so Rey concluded the feeling had been mistaken.
As with the first time, Lord Ren did not come downstairs till after Mr Hux took his lunch up to his room.
Rey began to wonder if Lord Ren was suffering from some sort of malady, something that fluctuated and meant he had to take rest periods. It would explain his insistence on eating so much meat and why he got so irritable.
But perhaps he was merely a member of the upper class behaving strangely and she should stop wondering about it and get on with her tasks.
'
The morning room fireplace had a ceramic tile surround, in a hand painted design of two swans amidst golden bull rushes on a green background. She spent the morning lovingly restoring them to their former glory.
Sometimes, she felt a little like an explorer that had discovered an ancient palace, going through and finding treasure everywhere, becoming acquainted with the people who had lived here, even though they were now gone. Sometimes it made her a little melancholy.
The bureau, when she opened it, was somehow full of spiders, alive and dead, and the inkwells had spilled and just been left to dry up and were a nightmare to clean.
She also found a miniature of a handsome gentleman with similar features to Lord Ren, but not his dark looks or alabaster skin, his father perhaps, the late Lord Solo.
After she had gently cleaned the dust off, she found that he had a kind face with a slightly roguish gleam in his eye. How had his son turned out so differently? Not that she could really judge from just a small painting, though.
Why did her thoughts keep returning to him? Of course, he lived here, so it was natural to consider him to some extent, but this level of distractedness was uncommon for her. Could it be that that silly dream was still lurking in her subconscious?
If her thoughts were so easily led astray, then she concluded she couldn't have been working hard enough. So for the rest of that day she recited psalms in her head as she applied herself with a single-mindedness that shut out any other thoughts.
'
"Rey?"
Poe's hand on her shoulder made her jump and let out a small squeak of surprise before blushing.
Giving her an amused, lopsided smile, Poe said, "Sorry to startle you, but it's time for dinner and Dopheld was starting to worry about you."
A glance at the clock on the mantelpiece told her he was right, "Oh! Please forgive me, and do begin without me, I just need to tidy up and wash my hands and I will be right down."
Poe glanced at the clock himself then frowned, "Normally, I would say we'd wait, but we don't have much time left. I'll have Dopheld make up a plate for you to take to your room, just in case you don't have time to eat downstairs."
"Thank you," Rey smiled at him, but it became a grimace, "I better work quickly."
'
Once she had finished for the day, she slipped out quietly, as she made quickly for the stairs, voices caught her ear and she paused for a moment.
"If anything, it is getting worse, not better."
The deep rumble was unmistakably Lord Ren.
"Once you are used to the new scent, I am sure things will become easier again, Kylo."
And that was Mr Hux, using Lord Ren's first name! Rey braced herself for a bellow of rage but none came.
"I think it's hunger is only going to increase, Hux, I don't know if I can…" his words trailed off, sounding pained and Rey realised with no little horror that she was eavesdropping.
With burning cheeks, she hastened downstairs, scolding herself all the way.
But that night in bed, she couldn't help replaying the words in her head, trying to understand what they could mean.
Scent? Why would a smell be upsetting Lord Ren? So much so that it was affecting his countenance? And the way he spoke of hunger, made it sound like so much more than wanting food and what did he mean by it's hunger? What was it? And why was it hungry?
It was all so peculiar, these mysteries that shrouded Varykino and its occupants, and try as she might, it was proving hard to explain it away and even harder to ignore.
'
A howl woke her in the dead of night, long and mournful and rather than feeling afraid this time, the sound made her sad, it's plaintive tone embodied loneliness and misery so keenly that she could feel nothing else. Whatever the animal was that produced such a sound could only be pitied in that moment.
Her dreams, after the sound faded, were dark, memories of the workhouse resurfacing, only in her dreams, she had never escaped and was there still, soulless and alone.
'
When morning came, Rey felt almost as miserable as the animal had sounded… she tried to tell herself she was being nothing but a silly goose, that she had no right to be so gloomy, but it didn't particularly help.
At breakfast, as she absently stirred her porridge around her bowl rather than eating it, Dopheld asked if she was well.
It felt as though they often enquired this of each other, and that neither of them were completely honest.
Mustering a small smile, Rey shook her head, "I was plagued by unpleasant dreams, I feel as though I hardly slept."
"Ah," he answered with concern and a slight blush, "I used to have that problem, there is a woman who makes me a special blend of herbal tea, which I take if I have bad nights." he leaned in, eyes a trifle nervous, though that wasn't so unusual for him. "Some people say that she is a witch, but that cannot be true, because," here he all but whispered, "She was a friend to Lord Solo, and he was not a man for such flights of fancy."
A lord who was known to be friends with a commoner? Then again, Rey remembered the overheard conversation of last night, Hux had called Lord Ren by his first name and there had been no dressing down.
"Do you know what the tea is made with?" she asked curiously, wondering if she could make it herself rather than waiting for a chance to go and visit this woman.
Dopheld shook his head, "I am afraid I do not, and I do not have any left at the moment, but Miss Kanata lives in the woods around Collierhagg Beck, which is perhaps a little over a mile away, we could walk there on Sunday, if you wish? Or if you prefer, I can go and ask her for something for you, too?"
Rey smiled, "A walk would be lovely, I haven't been that way since I came here, and that was in the fog, I would love to see how it all looks in the sunshine."
Dopheld emitted a dry little chuckle, "Do not assume there will not be fog then, the weather here is fickle, as you must have seen."
'
It was true. Rey had observed rain and sun and fog all in the span of a day in Ullswater, a combination of the water and the colder air that drifted down from the fells. It certainly made life interesting, though sometimes it was rather irksome if she had carpets to beat. Still, she wouldn't change where she was for all the tea in china.
'
The talk with Dopheld helped lift her mood somewhat and the sun shining through the morning rooms windows had her smiling as she allowed herself a moment to gaze out of the clean windows at the trees and huge sky.
There was no chandelier in the morning room, instead there was a set of argand lamps, made with etched glass and crystal, settled on gilded bases. These required a lot of elbow grease, as the dust had been left to stick to the oil residue and had also become a dying ground for flies and small spiders. It was dirty, sticky work, but bathed in the sunshine like she was, it was difficult not hum to herself as she went, and once she was finished, her soiled nails and tacky hands were worth the effort.
The lamps shone, even when unlit, the gilded bases glowed and the sunlight caught in the clear crystals, causing spots of light to magically dance around the room.
Before she could continue any more with her work, it was necessary to go downstairs so she could thoroughly wash her hands.
As she walked along the passage to the kitchen, she heard lowered voices and paused, it was just Poe and Dopheld, but something about the tone made her feel as if she wasn't meant to hear.
"Did you hear him last night? I think it's getting worse, I think-"
Rey purposely scuffed her foot, part of her very much wanted to stay hidden and listen, but eavesdropping was a sin, and rude to boot.
"Rey!" Poe exclaimed, overly cheerfully, "You look…" he paused as he took her in, then shot her a teasing smirk, "Like you need a wash."
Rey huffed indignantly, but it was mostly in jest, "And you look like you should be doing something useful! If you do not have anything better to do, the carpets in the morning room are ready to be beaten and the sun is shining, so this is fortuitous timing."
With a groan, Poe dramatically threw his hands up in the air, as if she were asking for the moon or something else equally impossible, "Very well, I shall beat your carpets, but, in return, please would you make us some more biscuits or cake?"
Rey pretended to consider for a moment, then nodded, "When time and ingredients allow, of course."
Poe cheered and Dopheld smiled.
'
It took her awhile to completely rid her hands of dirt and grease, then briskly shake her skirts and put on a clean apron before she was presentable enough to go back upstairs and complete her tasks in the morning room.
All that really remained was sweeping the floors and laying a fire so it would be ready as soon as the room was required.
Despite pride being a sin, Rey couldn't deny she felt the glow of it every time she finished making a room at Varykino habitable again. It was such a beautiful house, filled with such treasures, and once again she felt that she had made the right choice, in staying and making it her home.
'
That night, the last of the three where she had to be abed early, she wondered if the creature that had howled the night before would come again. Somehow, the idea no longer frightened her as much as it would have a week ago. The idea of intruders inside the house was much more disturbing than an unidentified animal outside, when she was not.
As she lay in her bed, body tired but mind still lively, she thought about the Penny Dreadfuls she had read that featured men turning into wolves or bears, and rather the scary, in retrospect she found them rather sad, and this wolf, (if it was a wolf, her imagination really was running away with itself), sounded as if it was all alone, when she was sure they were meant to live in packs. An outcast maybe? Or perhaps it was injured? Although she didn't often interact with animals in her daily life, she did pet every dog she could and there had been several cats who visited Mr. Plutt's backyard. Sometimes Rey would slip them kitchen scraps when Teedo wasn't around.
'
This time, her dreams were strange and unfamiliar. She was running through a dense forest, her feet whisper-quiet as the moss covered ground and dark trees seemed to absorb the sound of her movement. Sometimes she was being chased, howls and snarls would sound behind her, the snapping of teeth at her ankles, but she could never turn her head to look back, at other times, the dream would shift, and now she would be the hunter rather than the prey. Her quarry was a huge black wolf, with golden eyes that glowed every time she got close to him. When she was chasing, (which was a peculiarity in and of itself, because who in their right mind chases after a wolf?) her heart desperately wished to catch him, it was as if he were very dear to her, and the fact that he ran from her, hurt.
It was when she was the prey, that the dream finally changed its format, quite suddenly, her body froze, forced to stillness and out of her control. As the wolf circled around to face her finally, she realised just how massive he was, huge and muscled with a thick coat that looked silky and soft despite being an outdoor animal. As his eyes stared straight into hers, she felt her heartbeat stop - there was intelligent understanding in their golden depths, a connection…
'
...That was broken as a howl sounded outside and she woke with a start. She half expected to see the wolf from her dreams out below her window, but when she looked, there was nothing there and the night stayed quiet after that. As she drifted back to sleep she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
'
'
A/N: Sorry for the ridiculously long gap between posting, and it appears I was very wrong, it is going to be longer. However, most of it is now written and I will be updating regularly! Sorry for not giving you the recipe from the last chapter, so here it is now.
'
Authentic Victorian Victoria Sandwiches Recipe
INGREDIENTS
675g Sugar
6 Eggs
450g Flour
2 tsp Orange Flower Water
1 tsb Baking Powder
90g Almonds
'
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. First, whisk your eggs until they are frothy. Add the sugar and mix together gently. Now sift in the flour. Next add your almonds. Add the baking powder and orange flower water and mix well. Line your baking tin with butter and the dust it with sugar. Pour in your mix and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes until the sponge is pale and golden. Once cooled, cut the cake into manageable pieces and spread with jam to serve.
