The Music Room
After trusting her sister in the safe hands of Anthony, Rosaline helped Madam Martha in cleaning the front yard of the house.
"Miss Rosaline, I will do it myself. You do not even have your shoes on. Your feet will get bruises." Martha tried to stop Rosaline, and took away the broomstick from her, but she did not let her take it.
"Madam Martha, I grew up in the streets. This walkway has such a smooth surface that nothing can happen to my feet," Rosaline said. Moreover, she wanted to do this work because she could not stay in the mansion for free with her sister.
"If Lord Jed finds out that I let his guest work, he will scold me," Martha tried to make Rosaline understand, who stopped sweeping.
"I am not a guest, Madam Martha. I am a debtor, while Lord Jed is my creditor. He helped us by providing shelter on the rainy night and gave treatment to Pene," Rosaline explained. She did not want to stay indebted to Jedediah when he still had not thought about their deal.
"I will help Madam Martha from today onwards," she affirmed.
Martha did not stop her and let her clean the front yard. After Rosaline finished sweeping the floor, Martha took her inside the mansion. She decided to tell Rosaline about the Windstrung Family history.
"Miss Rosaline, this mansion was built almost three hundred years ago by Lord Jedediah. Though the four generations stayed in the main city of the Vampires, Lord Jed preferred to live here by himself," Martha started to tell her about the history of the mansion and the Windstrung. It astonished her that the mansion was 300 years old!
"Lord Jed is the fifth generation vampire in the Windstrung Family. I have already served the two generations, and including Lord Jed, it is the third generation," Martha informed Rosaline.
They were on the South Side of the Central Hallway, in a hall-like room, where portraits from the four generations were hung on the walls. She found similar features of Jedediah from his father.
"Lord Jed looks like his father," Rosaline said in a low voice.
"Absolutely right, Miss Rosaline. If Lord Jed goes to the main city, he mostly is mistaken for his father," Martha replied and smiled a little.
Rosaline's heart fluttered upon seeing the lovely family portraits of the Windstrung Family. The yearning for the family of her own once again revived in her heart.
"Why doesn’t Lord Jed live with his family?" Rosaline asked, curiously as she looked up at Jedediah's family picture.
"Miss Rosaline, they are no more. Lord Jed is the only heir from the Windstrung Family," Martha replied.
"Oh!" Rosaline could not get what to say at that moment.
They came out of the room and went ahead.
One thing that bothered her was the lighting in the mansion. Even in the bright daylight, some parts of the mansion were in complete darkness. So, she asked about it from Martha.
"Lord Jed does not like to be in the light. That's the reason most of the mansion's parts are dark," Martha answered.
"But Lord Jed has gone out. Won't that irritate him?" A doubt arose in her head.
"After the rainy night, the weather is pleasant. That's why Lord Jed has gone out, else he mostly stays in the mansion," Martha explained to her.
They came to the central hallway and took the stairs to reach the second floor.
"Miss Rosaline, this side is mostly used by Lord Jed. Please refrain from going this way unless Lord Jed himself allows it," Martha warned her, who agreed with her.
She showed her the music room where a clavichord was put at one corner with other musical instruments such as a harp, a baroque cello, and two violins.
"Lord Jed sometimes plays clavichord. He has a keen interest in music," Martha informed her.
Rosaline, who once saw clavichord players in the village adjacent to Blackburn, desired to play it. However, only people from the high class were allowed to play it. She wanted to touch it once but stopped herself since Jedediah might not like it.
They went to the next room, a big library with thousands of books inside the tall shelves. "Did Lord Jed read all these books?" She curiously gazed into the shelves.
"Yes, Miss Rosaline. Lord Jed loves to read most of the time," Martha replied.
"I wish I could read too," Rosaline mumbled.
After giving the mansion tour to Rosaline, Martha took her to the garden where Penelope was playing with Anthony. She was delighted to see the smile on her sister's face who was on the swing. Martha left the garden as she had to prepare for their lunch.
"Sister Rosa!" Penelope looked at Anthony, who stopped the swing, and she jumped down from it.
She ran to Rosaline, who got on her knees. Rosaline carried Penelope in her arms and found her yawning. She rubbed her eyes and then rested her head on Rosaline's shoulder.
"I think Pene wants to sleep, Miss Rosaline. Please take her back to the room," Anthony suggested to Rosaline, who hummed and went to the room that was given to Penelope.
Making Penelope sit on the bed, Rosaline took out the pill from the wooden box and gave it to her.
"It will give you strength," Rosaline told her sister, who took the pill.
Penelope laid on the bed while Rosaline covered her from the quilt. She caressed her sister's head, who gradually closed her eyelids.
Anthony knocked on the door and came inside.
"Miss Rosaline, Lord Jed has asked for you," Anthony informed her and found Penelope had fallen asleep. "Please follow me," he said and stepped out of the room.
'Did he return already? Why does he want to see me? Did he think about our deal?' she thought and followed Butler Anthony silently.
She found that Anthony was taking her to that side of the mansion in which others were not allowed.
"Butler Anthony, Madam Martha told me earlier that Lord Jed does not like it if an outsider comes to this side," Rosaline said.
Anthony smiled a little before answering, "Miss Rosaline, I think you are no more an outsider. My Lord does not ask me to bring you to him if he has considered you an outsider."
Rosaline's heart was pounding fiercely.
'Lord Jed wants to drink my blood, else why would he let me come to this side,' she thought and kept following Anthony.