My carriage rumbled along the uneven road, the wheels creaking with the drain of the journey. The early morning fog was lifting, shrouding the landscape in a calming haze. It was beautiful until I was reminded why I was in the midst of it.
I simply sat in silence with a heavy and apprehensive heart. By now, I could see my new home in the distance. From this angle, it appeared to be normal. I knew better than to judge it from that. Everyone spoke of disintegrating walls, cold tunnels, and a poison ivy outbreak.
This was Ryker Blackwood's castle, I wondered to myself. He had a tragic name; tarnished in tabloids, spat out from people's mouths in disdain, and associated with cruel rumors. And here I was, legally married to him in secrecy.
I was here for a purpose to my late father. As the renowned Heather Harrington, it will surely be done with composure and grace until a year has come. He can pretend I'm not there and I will do the same to him. As we draw closer, the horses become restless with several grunts and the rider has to bark orders to keep them going.
Between my fingers, a petite vial of vinegar and pepper swishes around. Instead of a wedding ring, I get this.
"Wipe this on your neck at night and in the morning. It will deter him in case of any intended harm."
That was the last thing I wanted to hear from my mother. I went into everything with rose coloured glasses and to entertain the thought that I had bargained my safety away was horrifying. Within my mother's philanthropy, it only caused my kindness to be tenfold, even if half the time I was faking it.
I still adopted a placid exterior and it remained that way as we broke from the treeline, winded down the rolling hills of overgrown greenery and drew closer to Ryker Blackwood. If this was father's intention after death, I trusted it with a tiny breath of unease.
The grassy field swayed in the wind and the sound did nothing to soothe me as the countryside usually did for anyone. However, I was happy to have arrived after almost two days of travelling. My backside was hurting.
"Miss, I will need to stop you here." The rider calls and the carriage jolts to a stop.
"E-excuse me?"
"The horses are in a fright. Any further and I won't be able to control them." He explains feverishly.
I blink back my confusion before I open the carriage door and make contact with a dirt driveway. We were still on a hill and the manor sat across the open expanse in front of giant oak trees that lead into another bush of nature.
I try not to sound frustrated in my sigh as the driver retrieves my bags.
"I apologise. Please don't tell your mother about this…" He gulps.
"It's not my mother you should be worried about." I click my tongue and he scurries back to the horses, immediately whipping them away from whatever has frightened them. Were they scared or were you?
I watch the carriage go and puff out my chest.
"I'm here now. No point in delaying the inevitable."
It takes me half an hour to get to the bottom of the incline where stone hedges mark the entrance point of the castle. It exudes a mysterious beauty with old gates, farming equipment, and wildflowers strung around it. The place is massive, to say the least.
The window panes need polishing and—
"Oh my goodness!" A shrill voice sings out, followed by a banging door.
A girl runs out, her frilled skirts pulled up as she bounces towards me. Her brunette braids are a mess and her cheeks are bright red.
She meets me with a gap-toothed grin. "You should not have carried all these by yourself!"
Her voice is high pitched and I put on my politest smile. She's also the same height as me but appears significantly younger. Probably around fifteen compared to my twenty-two.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hea—"
"Heather Harrington, the looooover to Ry Ry." She giggles and I stand there speechless.
L-lover…Ry…Ry?
The teenager smirks sheepishly at my expression. "I've already picked out my dress and rehearsed my speech."
"We're not…There won't be a wedding." I admit and it's not the right choice of words because she immediately pouts, eyes teary.
"You don't love Ry Ry?" Her whole face is drained immediately of her initial pleasantness and I go to comfort her, provide more explanation, until another person bursts into the picture.
"Cut it out, Breanna." An older woman stands behind her with aged hands on her wide hips. "Get her bloody bags and stop making a fuss."
Breanna slouches and regains her composure with a trickster smile. She winks. "Only joking."
She grabs my bags as if they weigh nothing and trots away, babbling about how she knows this is just a boring arrangement with no festivity or fun whatsoever.
"Apologies Miss Harrington, Breanna is a wild girl in desperate need of fun and entertainment in this girth of nothingness. I'm Tatiana, the Head Maid as you lot would identify me as."
I ignore the sprinkle of the insult in her sentence.
"A pleasure to meet you. Is Breanna Sir Ryker's—"
"Oh, definitely not." She says with a snort. "Please, come inside out of the sun."
I pat down my burgundy skirts, black corset, and meddle with my curls when we reach the front door. A sheen of sweat sticks over my skin and I hope they have a functioning bath for me later. Is Ryker Blackwood going to be there to greet me?
When Tatiana opens the french doors, I'm greeted with the smell of dust and dampness and no sign of a supposed big bad beast anywhere. The old lady watches my reaction with a keen eye at the sight of the interior, potentially hoping for my good girl act to slip.
She won't get that out of me. I've lied to hundreds of people that their painting or food is splendid when it's absolutely not. And the way to do that is…
I turn towards her, my mother's kindred spirit possessing me.
"I appreciate you accommodating me; a stranger in your house. I will make no nonsense and hope to simply invite a dash of generosity. "
Wow, this fresh start and momentum of independence is really working for me.
Tatiana squints but she's smart enough not to make a ruse or test me any further.
"I will show you to your room."
I follow her up the grand staircase in a flutter at acing my family charm.
Hm, maybe this won't be so bad.