Page 13 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
“Miss Ravenwood, can I help you?”
Gabriel’s voice startled her.She whirled to see him standing in the doorway as her heart jolted.He stood stiffly, his dark eyes looking at her with wariness.
“I-I thought…” Then she clamped her mouth closed, pressing her lips together.“No, thank you.”
She hurried from the parlor, her skirts whispering around her ankles as she crossed the foyer and slipped into the dining room.Gabriel followed, his steps light but ever-present, like a shadow trailing just behind.
The room greeted her with cool formality.A long mahogany table dominated the space, polished to a dull gleam and flanked by ten high-backed chairs, their legs curved like talons and seats upholstered in worn burgundy brocade.The fabric, though faded in places, still bore the elegance of another age.
Heavy damask curtains framed tall windows that let in a slant of gray morning light, dust motes dancing like ash in the air.A crystal chandelier hung overhead, its pendants silent and still.
To one side, a rosewood sideboard displayed an unused tea service and a line of delicate china dishes—bone white with gilded edges—each set precisely as though awaiting a gathering long past.The silver gleamed, polished but untouched.
At the far end of the table, a modest breakfast was laid out.A covered dish of toast still warm, a stack of flaky scones wrapped in linen, and a cut-glass bowl of dark red jam glinting like garnet in the light.
The food looked inviting.The room did not.
Victoria hesitated, one hand lightly grazing the back of a chair.Though her uncle sat at the table reading his paper, the silence felt too thick for the early hour.As though the room was waiting for someone to fill its emptiness again and wasn’t sure yet how it felt about her.
When she entered, he glanced up and gave her a warm smile in greeting.
“Did you sleep well?”he asked.
Fatigue still pounded through her as she took the chair opposite him.Gabriel kept to the fringes of the room, waiting for her to make a request.
Discomfort shifted through her with his constant presence.
“Well enough,” she replied.“You?”
“My room was delightful.”He folded the newspaper and set it aside, then lifted the napkin to his mouth in a practiced motion.“Well, my dear.What do you propose we do with the day?You are mistress now.Time to make Ravenfell yours.”
Gabriel was at her side then, holding a teapot.The scent of bergamot wafted to her nose.“Tea?”
She nodded as she answered her uncle.“We, uncle?Are you planning to stay then?”
Her uncle’s gaze slid to Gabriel as he poured the tea, then straightened.“I thought I might for another day or so.”
Uncle Hubert was wary of Gabriel.He wasn’t ready to leave her alone with him.She dropped a lump of sugar in her cup and stirred.
“I suppose a tour would be wise.I don’t remember much of the place and I ought to know what shape it’s truly in.”
Gabriel offered her the plate of scones still wrapped in linen.She waved it off.
“A tour is a grand idea,” Uncle Hubert said, far too cheerful for the cheerless room.
“I shall be glad to guide you, Miss Ravenwood,” Gabriel said in a quiet voice.Then, after the faintest pause, added, “And you, too, Mr.Pembroke.”
She took a sip of tea, then replaced the cup and rose.“Shall we go now, then?”
Gabriel lifted a dark brow, his voice even.“Now, miss?”
“Why wait?I’ve quite lost my appetite.”In fact, the smell of the meager breakfast made her already knotted stomach queasy.“I also would like to meet any other staff members who live here.”
“Other staff members, miss?”He sounded quite confused.
“Yes.I’d like to thank whoever laid the fire in my hearth this morning.Unless that was you?”
He froze, his expression still and flat.“Not me, miss.And there are no other staff members in residence.”
