A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor (Tempting Monsters 1)

Farewell

Magdalena sat at the foot of the enormous bed, watching me fold one of the airy dresses the brownies had whipped up for me and then tuck it into the small case in front of me. I had little to pack, less than I'd brought with me to Rooksgrave, but I'd overheard Amon and Auguste whispering my dress sizes to one another, and Ezra said they had ordered a trunk for me to meet us at the ship leaving Portsmouth in two days.

"Sometimes, I feel like I brought trouble to Rooksgrave's door," I said softly, focusing on the tidy folds of the sleeves, rather than meeting my friend's gaze as I spoke.

"Don't be ridiculous. If you hadn't been at Rooksgrave, and Mr. MacKenna hadn't been so determined to get back to you, some other girl might've been…lost," she finished lamely.

Some other girl had been lost. Cassie. Cassie, and the vampires George and Enrique, who had both been resting below Rooksgrave.

"You're not to blame," Magdalena said more firmly.

I nodded, because she was right, even if it didn't always feel like it. "Neither are you," I said, glancing at her.

Her smile was weak, but she nodded too. "I am lucky Amon called for Khepri. And lucky that so many girls and clients aren't ready to give up on the house. We'll recover, perhaps even diversify. I think the rigid structure of gentleman and lady has gone on long enough."

I smiled at the thought of Rooksgrave being full of all manner of monsters and humans coupling happily together. Or grouping, I thought slyly, remembering my evenings in the lounges.

"And we will do our best to find everything we can to help find anything useful against Birsha," I said, chin lifting. "We may not be ready to retaliate, but we can at least try to prepare."

Magdalena lifted her hand to her lips, rubbing her fingertips back and forth in thought. "I wonder if others want to be ready for this fight."

"You don't think so?" I asked. "He's horrible. Surely we can't be the only ones who realize it."

"Sometimes excuses are made for cruelty. Monsters experience suspicion, the disgust, especially when they risk opening themselves up to scrutiny. I had Mary under my roof for years," she murmured, scowling. "I hate to think what she might've driven some to. I was trying to protect her, but I failed my clients. Sometimes, a lifetime of alienation turns a creature against those who rejected them and toward a man like Birsha."

"Trust me, I’ve had enough interactions with Birsha now to say that sooner or later, he's going to piss off the wrong monsters," I said, shuddering and thinking of the bleeding heart on Birsha's plate. "And when they're ready to strike, we'll be there to help them."

Magdalena's lips quirked. "You're right. And perhaps he already has."

I hummed in answer, ignoring the implication. I had just survived a battle with Birsha, and I wasn't sure how eagerly I was looking forward to a second one. Maybe it was cowardly, but the idea of us packing up and moving safely out of Birsha's reach was a comforting one. I was ready for an adventure, but hopefully, one that was a bit less of a juggle between life and death for myself and my men.

"I'm going to miss you, Esther Reed," Magdalena said softly, one elegant finger flicking under her eye.

I gasped and jumped up from the floor and my half-empty case, launching myself toward Magdalena, nearly bowling her over as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Oh! I'll miss you too!" I cried. I had gotten to know a little of the girls, but of everyone at Rooksgrave, Magdalena and Booker had been my real companions. "I'm sure if we suggested to Amon that everyone should come with us, he could arrange it!"

Magdalena squawked with sudden laughter at the suggestion. "And I'm sure the other gentleman would have quite the opinion about it if I packed up all my girls and put them on a boat to another continent."

"Oh, right," I said, my cheeks warming as I released her at last. "I guess I'm lucky all of mine are so willing to cooperate."

Magdalena's lips pursed, her hand wobbling in the air. "Lucky, or guided by an extremely talented witch," she gestured to herself with a smug smirk. "One of the two, I'm sure. Now, I have a present for you."

My eyes widened, my spine straightening with bubbling excitement. For all that I didn't need to receive gifts from my men to appreciate them, I couldn't lie and say I didn't like a present here and there.

"Yes, a very old deck of mine," Magdalena said, drawing a worn black velvet pouch from her pocket, taking one of my hands and pressing it into my palm. "You don't need to be anything other than what you are, Esther, which is an absolutely delightful, kind, open-hearted young woman. But I think you might enjoy a little guidance now and again, and if you aren't interested in receiving it from one of those handsome gentlemen I found you—"

"I sort of found Ezra and Booker on my own, though, don't you think?"

“—then these cards might be of some help to you. Don't be afraid of what they say, nothing is ever set in stone, just be open to listening."

I pulled the strings loose on the bag, getting one glimpse of gold gilded edges and an intricately patterned woven back before Magdalena rose from the bed.

"It's time, darling girl. Your carriage will be here soon."

I carried the pouch to my case, tucking it into a pocket, and stacked another light dress on top of it before closing it, fastening the buckles on the outside. My hands stroked the top, pausing for a moment.

"I almost can't believe I'm leaving. It feels like it was barely a week ago I arrived. Oh, Magdalena, what will you call the new house?"

Magdalena blinked at me as I stood, my hand on the handle of the case. "Oh. I thought Amon would've told you. This is Star Manor."

I blushed, warmth spiraling down into my belly, a sudden confidence in my future running through me. The days and weeks and months ahead were full of unknowns, but Magdalena was right. I had found, or she had chosen, or we had all discovered one another, and made a kind of family out of one another. Whatever came next, I would be doing it with my gentlemen at my side.

"Ready?"

"I am," I said, nodding.

Booker met me at the top of the steps, his elbow held out for me to claim. Jonathon and Ezra were waiting at the bottom, with a surprising crowd of women and guests. I didn't know many of the girls well, but we hugged goodbye as if we were sisters, the loss of Cassie fresh in our hearts and minds. I kissed their damp cheeks and laughed through our tears. A few of the men, including Asterion, bowed to me in parting, and I turned to my men, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"Well?"

Jonathon grinned and nodded his head to the door. "Amon and Auguste are outside waiting."