The Mistress of Black Grove Manor (97 page)

              Lida arrived at the home of Wyatt Stone at quarter past twelve. She’d flown over on a red-eye after Wyatt had confirmed he would pay her dowry and her family’s wages. Out of all the men that had proposed to her, he was the one willing to spend the most money. With this dowry, she would be able to take care of all her families expenses without stress. Though the concept of mail-order brides seemed outdated to most Americans, there was still a successful catalog running in Western Russia that advertised a list of brides.

              Lida had been randomly selected by a number of men, but each one she spoke to was not able to afford her pay. Thankfully for Lida, Wyatt was able to fund the cost of her plane ride. It was midnight, and the Lida was gorgeous. Wyatt lived in a contemporary American palace hidden away in the hills of California. There was an enormous courtyard out front that was barricaded by thick, silver iron. Two marble lions guarded the gates, their mouths opened in wide yawns. Lida shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, the driver stalling behind her.

              There was a split second where she thought, “What if I just go back home?” but she knew she couldn’t. It would break her parent’s hearts to know she’d risked everything coming to America only to decide she wanted to go back home again. She’d managed to get her hands on a 90-day Visa that allowed her to stay in the U.S. until the wedding, that is if Wyatt decided to propose to her.

              She walked over to the iron gate, pressing the small red buzzer that would allow her into the palace. It beeped once, loudly, before the gates opened themselves to her like a woman opening her arms. The garden was enormous and covered in bright purple and blue flowers. She walked slowly along the cement path, occasionally bending low to smell the flowers. They reminded her of home, of the thick scent of jasmine and vanilla that always wafted her mother’s skin.

              As she neared the front door, it creaked open revealing an enormous room with red walls. She peered around the side of the door to find a female butler holding it open for her.

              “Thank you,” Lida said politely. She’d never seen a butler before, only a few times in movies.

              “The master is waiting for you in the tea room,” the butler said, gesturing to a room adjacent the door.

              Lida nodded and walked towards the door, a small leather bag bumping against her thigh. She hadn’t come with too many items from home, as she didn’t own much. Her family had a lot of debt after losing the farm they owned, and they were struggling to pay for their house. Lida couldn’t believe Wyatt lived in a house this expanse, this beautiful. There were large red candles dripping puddles of wax on the floor, and a faint musical echo was heard from several floors above. If she were honest with herself, this was incredible. She hoped desperately things would work out with Wyatt.

              Lida entered the room and found a tall well-built man sitting at a table. He had black hair and bright brown eyes flecked with gold. His suit was three-piece and he wore a blood red tie. He reminded Lida of a vampire.

              “Lida,” he said warmly when he noticed her entering the room. He embraced her, rubbing his hands absent-mindedly up and down her back.

              Lida was a little over five feet tall with wide hips and a curvy chest. She had thick red hair that spiraled down her back in curls and her cheeks were flecked with freckles. She’d been told many times that she was very beautiful and it was one of the reasons her parents had put her in the mail-order bride magazine. Though at first she’d protested, she found she’d come to love the attention she received from the opposite sex.

              She’d lost her virginity back in freshman year of high school, to a lanky boy named Grant. He enjoyed shooting rubber bands at chickens and had a full head of curly hair. Grant brought Lida to a river where they were meant to go fishing. He kissed her full on the lips, and touched her until she moaned loudly, waking up a family of squirrels. They had sex in the woods, though after that first time she’d had sex in many other places. The back of a coffeehouse, an alleyway, even atop a friend’s dishwasher. Never in her life had she had sex in a mansion, or rather a palace. The architecture looked foreign, possibly Italian. There were brilliant carvings in the walls of fishermen and mermaids. Lida wondered briefly if she would be a bee to fall in love with this man.

              “I love your home,” she said brightly, hoping the compliment would please him.

              “Thank you,” he responded, smiling a small smile. It was then that Lida realized he was shy. “Would you like to have dinner? The cook is preparing our meal right now.”

              “Sure,” Lida said, her stomach making a small noise. She blushed, looking down at her feet. They were covered by a pair of Toms black slip-ons. She wondered if she would ever own a pair of heels, perhaps something more elegant than a cheap pair of flats.

              “Let me show you where to put your bags and we can get started on the main course,” he said.

              For someone who seemed so shy, Wyatt definitely didn’t hesitate when he flirted with Lida. He placed his hand on the small of her back and brought her towards her bedroom. It was tucked away on the second floor, and its walls were painted like the ocean. Her bed was a King sized bed and was covered in satin sheets.

              “I feel like I’m out at sea,” she commented, running her hands across the foot of the bed.

              He opened the closet for her to reveal rows of Jimmy Choos, Valenciags, and other expensive articles of clothing and footwear.

              “So you feel more at home,” he said. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs in five.”

              Her heart in her throat, Lida nodded yes. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt oddly homesick. All these beautiful dresses covered in sequins and flecks of gold made her feel like a princess, but an undeserving princess at best.

              Outside, the warm California air blew about the trees. Lida would later find out that there was a peach grove existing in the back of the Stone house. It was home to twelve different kinds of peaches that Wyatt himself had planted several years ago. She would come to love the peach grove, though for reasons that were both secretive and hidden to her at that moment.

              Picking out a long black slip with a V-neck, Lida shed her traveling clothes and dressed. She looked in the floor-length mirror and smiled at herself. She looked like the Little Mermaid, her red hair running rivers down her back. She spun in a few lazy circles, loving the way her dress fanned out around her. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, causing Lida to blush.

              “Yes?” she called out.

              The door swung open to reveal Wyatt’s brother, a man named Malcolm Stone.

              “Wyatt said he’d met a beautiful lover but he never told me how beautiful,” he commented, looking Lida up and down.

              “Who are you?” she frowned, tugging on a shiny black pump.  The man in front of her wore a pair of blue jeans and a faded t-shirt that read Jack Daniels across the chest. His biceps were large and covered in tattoos. She wondered if Wyatt hid any tattoos beneath all that luscious material.

              “Malcolm,” he said, placing a cigarette between his lips.

              “It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Lida.”

              “Lida,” he said, rolling her name out between his lips. “I like that.”

              A second figure appeared at his side. It was a blonde woman with a wiry body and a purple dress.

              “Hey,” she said, nodding at Lida. “Ready to go darling?”

              “Just about,” Malcolm said, wrapping his arm around her waist. They bid farewell to Lida and disappeared down the narrow hallway.

              She’d only been in America for a little over an hour and could hardly believe the things she’d seen. Everyone dressed so brilliantly, their elegance tangible. When she finally walked downstairs, she found Wyatt waiting for her in the main room.

              “You look ravishing,” he said in that quiet tone of his. She hadn’t known him long but had already come to enjoy the way he spoke to her.

              “I met your brother upstairs,” she said, holding out an arm for him to take.

              “Oh did you now,” he mused, leading her towards an enormous dining room.

              A crystal chandelier hung low, casting golden pools all over the table. There was a large window adjacent the table showing a view of a dark blue lake.

              “This is beautiful,” she said.

              “Isn’t it? I moved to Cali a few years ago and it’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever lived before. The people, for one, are so much fun to hang out with. And while we’re getting to know each other, I figured we could go to my beach house for a few days. It would be well worth your time to see the brilliant surf.”

              “That sounds like fun,” Lida commented, unsure of what she was getting herself into. Whenever she heard the phrase “mail-order bride” she thought of stuffy old men who volunteered to pay her dowry, living in decaying mansions with cats and maids with attitude problems. She never expected a wealthy young bachelor to come her way, and not one quite so handsome as Wyatt. But if she were completely honest with herself, a nagging thought tugged at the back of her mind. Wyatt was attractive, but his brother Malcolm was gorgeous.

              Lida knew it was crazy—she’d only just landed on foreign soil and already she was attracted to two men at the same time. Unfortunately for Lida, there wasn’t anything that could be done about the situation. Soon chaos would unfold, and with it, a powerful Summer. There were interesting things in store for her, she only needed to wait for them to appear.

              “How’s the food?” Wyatt asked after the first course had been delivered.

              “It’s incredible,” Lida said, smiling at him. They were eating one of her favor dishes, which was oysters and chilled white wine.

              “So,” Wyatt said, downing another oyster. The cook arrived with the second course, which was a steamed duck. “What should we do tomorrow?”

              “Do you have any plans?” Lida asked. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing with Wyatt. Her mother had instructed her to seduce him in any way possible. He was the only one who had the money to pay her dowry and he’d offered a little bit more, just so her family could live comfortably for the next few years. He was also the youngest of all of them, which made him even more appealing. Did Lida love him? She still had no clue.

              “I was thinking we could go to the beach with a few of my friends. It’ll be in the high nineties out and it would be nice to go out and swim, maybe eat at a restaurant downtown afterwards. How does that sound to you?”

              “Perfect,” she said, her lips spreading into a grin. They continued to eat their weight in meat and wine, eventually retiring to their bedrooms close to three in the morning. Lida had been starving after the flight and Wyatt’s cooking was amazing. He told her they would sleep in separate beds until she felt connected enough to climb into bed alongside him. Lida felt honored to have such a romantic partner, one that wanted to move slow not fast. That was exactly the pace she was comfortable with. And when she got upstairs to the bedroom, she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

Chapter 2

The next day Lida woke to sunshine spilling through her window. She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock, which was a sleek black box. It was nine in the morning, later than she’d expected to sleep. She’d slept on the plane all night and felt well rested. She stretched in the bed, her silk pajamas feeling nice and cool against her soft skin. Around her head was a halo of bright red hair. Downstairs, she heard loud laughter and conversation. Lida rolled out of the bed and eased on a pair of slippers Wyatt had bought for her. She needed to take a shower before heading downstairs to meet anybody new.

              The shower was located down the hall not he right. It was enormous and had a Jacuzzi in the center. She wanted to try that first, but knew she should shower and make herself presentable. The bathtub was enormous and shaped like a kidney. Lida thought it looked more like a small pool than a bathtub. The curtains were clear and covered in aquamarine raindrops. She turned on the water, stripping down to nothing as the room heated up with steam.

              Plucking a pink bath bomb from the bathroom drawer, Lida placed it in the water and watched it spin out of control. She dipped her long legs in the tub, letting the hot water envelop her like a glove. She decided she could get used to this lifestyle. Fancy dinners with Wyatt, occasionally bumping into his attractive older brother in the halls—it wasn’t all that bad.

              She still had no clue what Wyatt’s friend were like, but assumed they would be as kind as he was. Little did Lida know, she was in for a big surprise.