One Black Rose (22 page)

“No, not yet,” he said. That sounded ominous, and with the night shadows playing over his features he looked more dark and formidable than I’d ever seen him before.

We were now facing each other at the bottom of the porch steps. As usual his hands rested in his pockets. It was with a shock that I realized that the only time Samuel had ever touched me was when we’d been introduced, but not since them. Now I wondered if it was for the same reasons that Holt hadn’t touched me. He didn’t want to react and he didn’t want to create more of a problem.

I sighed. I was tired and I didn’t want to think about complicated Fairy stuff any more tonight.

“I just wanted to make sure you got home alright,” said Samuel. “And I wanted to say that, despite what my family may do in the coming days, it’s not what I want. I tried to keep you out of this.”

Even though I was tired, somewhere in my brain I realized that what he was saying sounded very much like a threat. But to whom? And what, exactly?

“What would your family do?” I asked carefully. “And why?”

“They aren’t happy that you and Holt are seeing each other. The Summer and Winter Courts are not exactly on good terms and you are supposed to accept my Rose, not his.”

“But I haven’t accepted anyone’s,” I said. This seriously had to be worse than having an arranged marriage, and that must have been pretty bad.

“I know,” he said, nodding as if that was the only possible choice in the world I could have made.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said quietly, and without another glance he walked off down the driveway.

“Wait, what is your family going to do?” I called after him. If he was there to give me a warning he was doing a terrible job at it.

At first he didn’t answer me. When he’d gotten down the driveway he turned around and said only, “What they think they have to.”

He didn’t even turn around.

I slept late the next morning. Curled up in bed under my sheet with the open windows still letting in the breeze, I had no intention of getting up anytime soon. I was comfortable and I was exhausted from yesterday and I wanted to stay curled up until at least noon and maybe later.

While I was still lying there with my eyes closed I heard my door creak open, but I refused to look and see who it was. A moment later a hand grabbed my shoulder and shook me rudely.

I opened my eyes to see Carley standing over me. She was already dressed in the uniform of white t-shirt and black shorts that UP UP and Away required us to wear for work.

“Oh, no,” I said when I saw her. I had completely forgotten that we were working that morning. Work had started to feel like a far off idea, not like something I actually did or wanted to do. With everything that had been happening with the Roths and the Cheshires I hadn’t been working much, and whenever I was my mind was filled with ideas of Fairies. Going to work would completely ruin my morning of lounging in bed.

“Do we have to? I’m really comfortable.” I knew I sounded whiny but I didn’t care.

“Yes,” said Carley. “We can’t let Mrs. Fritters down.” Right, Mrs. Fritters. The one who hated Holt and probably called my mom.

Carley must have seen my face darken, but she misinterpreted what it meant. “Come on. Work isn’t that bad. Get your ass out of bed and let’s go.”

“I know, I know,” I said. Throwing off my covers, I shivered at the sudden exposure of my skin to air.

Then I remembered there was something I wanted to tell Carley. “Oh, my mom called,” I said while I stumbled into the bathroom to brush out my bed hair.

“What’d she say?” asked Carley, plopping down onto my now empty bed.

“Oh, you know, the usual, no big deal…she told me I wasn’t allowed to go to the Solstice Party,” I said.

“What?” Carley gasped and almost fell off the bed. “Are you kidding me? Why?”

“She said she got a phone call from someone who said it was a bad idea. She refused to tell me who it was, though,” I said bitterly.

“That’s insane,” said Carley. “Did she threaten you with a punishment or anything?”

“Ha, no. She basically just acted like she assumed I’d listen, but I’m sure if she caught me going she’d be mad,” I said, relieved that Carley was on my side.

“What are you going to do?” Carley asked. “You have to go!”

“Oh, I’m going,” I said. “There’s nothing that can stop me.” And it was true. I was going to that party. “Are you parents still getting home the day after the party?”

Carley shook her head. “No, they’re still planning to stay in London, so they’re missing the party. They’re pretty bummed about it.”

“That’s too bad,” I said, but I was secretly relieved. If her parents had come home and they’d talked to my mom, who knows what they would have told me to do. I probably wouldn’t have liked whatever it was.

After Carley left my room to finish getting ready, I showered and got dressed. Downstairs, I grabbed some toast to eat while the two of us walked to UP UP and Away.

“It’s supposed to be an awesome day,” said Carley when we got outside.

“Yeah, being inside is going to suck,” I said, enjoying the sea breeze I’d become so used to here in Castleton as it raced over my face.

“Yeah,” she said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the screen, then put it away again.

I glanced at her. She was being very quiet. Normally she never stopped chattering.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did you and Nick have another fight?”

“No,” said Carley uneasily. She was looking anywhere but at me.

“So, what?” I asked. “You’re never this quiet.”

“It’s Mrs. Cheshire,” she said. “Nick and I ran into her yesterday on our way back from getting ice cream. She was with that awful Leslie girl.”

My heart flip-flopped. First Lydia and Leslie come after Carley, and now Mrs. Cheshire. I didn’t want Mrs. Cheshire anywhere near my friends.

“Have you met her?” Carley asked, peering at me. “I know Nick is friends with Samuel and all, but that doesn’t mean his mother’s nice. Because she isn’t.”

My mind went back to Samuel waiting for me outside the house just the night before, and what he had said about his family doing something bad. I had thought it was just Leslie he was talking about and hadn’t really been worried about it, but what if it wasn’t just her? What if it was his mother, too? If Mrs. Cheshire didn’t like me there wasn’t anything Samuel, or anyone else, could do about it.

“So, what about her?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

“I saw her yesterday and she glared at me. She’d never even looked at me before. In fact, I’ve only ever seen her at the Solstice Party every year, and she has always basically stayed with her own family and left as early as she could without being too rude. I didn’t even think she knew who I was.”

That couldn’t be good.

By the time Carley had finished telling me about Mrs. Cheshire’s glare we’d reached the coffee shop. “Maybe she was just having a bad day,” I said. “Maybe it had nothing to do with you.” I couldn’t tell Carley the truth and I didn’t want her to worry, so I wanted to calm her down.

“Maybe she was having a bad day, but I’m pretty sure that if she was having a bad day, she thought I’d caused it. Seriously, it’s a good thing looks can’t kill. And Nick agrees with me,” she said, as if Nick agreeing with her somehow made it true.

Since I knew the real reason behind Mrs. Cheshire’s glare I just let Carley vent. She continued to talk as we grabbed aprons and set up behind the counter, but the conversation ended abruptly when Mrs. Fritters came out of the back room.

“Hello, how are you both?” she asked. Today she wore blue pants and a white shirt. Her dress code for her employees didn’t extend to her.

“Good,” we chorused.

“Ah, wonderful.” She busied herself behind the counter as I took my place at the register and Carley started to make drinks.

“And Autumn, are you still hanging around that good for nothing boy?” I heard Mrs. Fritters ask from behind me. I stopped dead. The customer trying to hand me money was forced to grab my hand and place the money in it. I snapped back to attention, giving the customer a bewildered look before I figured out what was going on.

“Sorry,” I said. “What?”

“That Roth boy,” said Mrs. Fritters. “I hope you aren’t still hanging around with him. The whole family is trouble.”

“Mrs. Fritters, how can you say that?” asked Carley. “They’re all so nice to you and the party is tomorrow!”

“I don’t give a darn about their party and if I thought enough customers would come in I’d insist the two of you work tomorrow night so that you couldn’t go. It’s a bunch of foolishness if you ask me,” said Mrs. Fritters as she furiously shined a glass.

“I didn’t,” Carley muttered in my ear. I tried not to smile.

Mrs. Fritters started to say something else, but I didn’t hear her. She’d never actually given a reason for disliking Holt. It just seemed to be on principle.

The door opened and with it a slamming gust of cold air came racing in, very out of place for the warm summer day. I felt my body shiver and tense. That wasn’t Samuel coming. When Samuel was coming closer he felt like a pleasant cool breeze. This felt like I was inside a wind tunnel with ice for walls.

Through the door came Mrs. Cheshire. Her piercing dark eyes reminded me of glaciers floating towards me, filled with cold and malice.

I started to feel light-headed and realized that I wasn’t breathing. I made myself suck air into my deprived lungs, but it took all the concentration I had.

Luckily Mrs. Fritters had disappeared into the back. I didn’t want her there for this. As soon as she saw Mrs. Cheshire Carley had darted away from the counter, muttering something about bussing tables, which left me completely alone.

“Good morning,” I managed to say as she got to the counter. I was forced to yank my hands away from the register, because everything around it was becoming so cold my hands were about to freeze. Despite the summer heat Mrs. Cheshire wore a long red coat that went all the way down to cover her feet. The collar was pulled up so that it covered even her neck. If I was outside in that thing I’d be boiling hot.

“Can I help you?” I asked.

A smile crossed her lips. It was dark and hard. “Yes, I believe you can.” Her voice sounded like wind skating over snow, bitter and whispery.

I waited, but Mrs. Cheshire didn’t seem to feel any need to hurry her answer on my account.

She leaned forward and it took all my willpower not to turn and run away. Staying so close to something that cold was almost unbearable, but I held my ground.

“I want you to stay away from Holt. You are meant to be with my son. It is how it was written and nothing else matters. This is the last time I will tell you.”

“Look, um, sorry, but um, I don’t want to be threatened,” I said.

It was the wrong thing to say.

Mrs. Cheshire let out a gasp and reached her hand towards me. I recoiled with a gasp and darted around the counter. I yelled to Carley that I was taking my break and tried to make a run through the front door, but Mrs. Cheshire blocked my path. I knew Carley was probably staring after me, wide-eyed. As I put my hand on the door handle it turned as cold as ice and I was forced to let go of it with a gasp of surprise.

“You will listen to me,” she hissed. “You have no idea what you are doing. You will start a battle between the Winter and Summer Courts for no reason. Do you want that? Do you want to put the Roths through such pain? They cannot afford to go to battle over some common girl like you. Oh no, they can’t.”

Until now I had thought I’d been terrified by the Winter Queen. But now she was starting to smile, and suddenly I knew what true terror was. Who smiled at the talk of battle? How could this possibly be Samuel’s mother? I knew Samuel was cold to me, but somehow I had the feeling that if he cared for you he could be very kind; this woman was nothing like that. I guess no matter now nice the Winter Prince is, the Winter Queen is nothing like him.

I had no idea what to say to this vile woman. And if I weren’t very careful she would probably freeze me to death in a matter of seconds.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take the cold anymore, another customer opened the front door from the outside and I was able to dart through into the sunlight. But I didn’t know where to go; I knew Mrs. Cheshire would come after me and I knew that she was too strong for me to fight on my own.

So I raced for the Roths’.

I fumed all the way there. If this is what Samuel had meant by his family taking action, I was pretty sure he should have warned me. But I’d deal with that problem later. Right now it felt like my main task was saving my life.

Looking over my shoulder while I ran, I could see Mrs. Cheshire following me. Seriously, Samuel needed to do something about his mother. Even though she looked more ordinary and less like the iceberg that sank the Titanic, as she had looked in the café a minute ago, I wasn’t taking any chances.

I ran up to the Roths’ front door and frantically rang the bell. Luckily, Holt answered and I dashed past him into the house.

“Close the door,” I yelled.