Page 33 of The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom
“—the most incandescently beautiful sentences in all of Latin prose,” Elissa said, finishing his thought.
“Yes!” he said, gazing at her with a touch of wonder as he led her across the room. He gestured to the walls. “If you look at the bas-reliefs, they tell the rest of the story. Here is Psyche, awakening in the enchanted grove. And here is Cupid, sent by his mother, Venus, to curse her for possessing such beauty as to rival a goddess, instead falling in love at first sight… ”
Edward broke off, as the lines between myth and reality began to blur. He glanced down at the girl he had stumbled upon in an enchanted grove. Her cheeks were scarlet, and she did not meet his eye as she gestured to another panel and said, “And here is Psyche, willing to descend into hell itself to win a future with her beloved.”
Edward found he had seized her hand. “Elissa—”
A cough echoed through the vastness of the hall. Edward jerked upright as he recalled that they were not alone.
To be specific, they were being watched by Elissa’s sister, Harding, and two footmen, both of whom were openly gaping. No doubt they had heard every word in the cavernous hall.
Harding cleared his throat. “My lord, to which rooms shall we convey Mrs. Gorten and Miss St. Cyr’s things?”
Edward suddenly knew precisely where Elissa St. Cyr belonged. “Take Mrs. Gorten’s things to the primrose bedroom. And Miss Elissa will be just down the hall, in the jade green room.”
One of the footmen’s mouths actually fell open, as Edward assigned Elissa to the most elegant room in the house, originally intended for the likes of Lord Graverley. Harding’s eyes were all but twinkling. “At once, my lord,” he said with a bow.
CHAPTER13
It was not proper for him to accompany Elissa to her bedroom, even with her sister there to chaperone. Edward knew that.
But he found himself doing it, anyway. He was not about to miss her reaction. So here he was, leading the way up the stairs with Elissa on one arm and Cassandra on the other.
“The house has four wings that connect to this central rotunda. It forms the shape of the letter ‘H,’ for ‘Harrington Hall,’” Edward explained. “You will have the southwest wing to yourselves. Most of the rooms are closed for repainting. We had hoped to complete it in advance of the house party, but it’s been so miserably wet of late. You will be just here, Mrs. Gorten,” he said, gesturing to a cheerful room of primrose yellow.
“How lovely,” she said, peering in.
“And you,” he said, glancing down at Elissa, not wanting to miss a second of her reaction, “will be here, in the jade green room.”
She didn’t disappoint him. As Elissa crossed the threshold, she gasped out loud, one hand flying to her heart, the other coming up to cover her mouth. The room was ornate, to be sure, from the gold gilt doorframes to the delicate Chippendale furniture in cream and gold. But its crown jewel was the wallpaper. Imported from China, it was a pale jade green silk, hand-painted with white flowers, delicate vines, and dozens of brightly colored birds.
The wallpaper reminded Edward of the hand-cut flowers Elissa had used to adorn her reading nook. He’d had a feeling she would like it.
She wandered across the room and up the two steps that led to the bay window overlooking the back lawn. Set off from the rest of the room by two columns, it had just space enough for a cream silk chaise longue framed in gold.
Across the room, Cassandra was feigning an intense fascination with a large porcelain urn. Meanwhile, Elissa stood staring out the window as if in a trance. A full minute passed, and she said nothing. Edward cleared his throat as he came around the chaise to stand beside her. “The wallpaper was imported from China,” he offered. He waited a few beats, then added, “The birds and flowers were painted by hand.” She gave no indication of having heard. He gestured to the view out the window. “I mentioned the Greek folly earlier. You can see it just there, upon the hill.”
Still she remained silent. “This is the queen’s favorite room,” he added after a moment. “She always stays here when the royal family comes to Cheltenham to take the waters.”
This seemed to shake Elissa from her stupor. She turned to face him, and he saw that her face registered… despair?
“I cannot stay here,” she said, her voice quavering.
“Why ever not? Don’t…” He swallowed down the bitter taste of failure that was rising up in his throat. “Don’t you like it?” he added softly.
“Like it!” she exclaimed. “I never even imagined anything could exist that is so utterly exquisite.”
He felt his shoulders relax a fraction. “Then what is it?”
“I don’t belong here. I mean—” She wrung her hands. “You’ve seen my house. It looks nothing like this. I am not from this world. And besides,” she said, making a sweeping gesture with her hand, “how on earth did I come to be assigned to the queen’s favorite room?”
“In truth, Graverley was to be in here,” Edward admitted.
Elissa’s face was blank. “Graverley?”
“You know, the Marquess of Graverley.” She gave no sign of recognition. “Heir to the Duke of Trevissick?” Her face registered nothing. “Have you truly not heard of him?”
“Should I have?” she asked, her brow creasing. “Is he local to the area?”
