Page 30 of Beneath the Haunting Sea
Talia snorted ungraciously. “You can prove theTreeused to lay under our feet?”
“Not that.” Ro forgot all about the gowns and took a step over to the window seat. “I mean about the Baron’s wives. They were both happy, pretty things, and then they married the Baron, and came here, and went mad. One after the other.”
Her heart jolted. “What did you say?”
“It’s the house that changed them,” said Ro, enjoying the effect her story was having. Her dark eyes sparkled. “It madethem laugh and sing when nothing was there, made them talk nonsense all the time. Some rumors say they killed themselves.” She whispered this last bit, eyes wide. “Some say theBaronkilled them because he couldn’t stand their insane laughing.”
Talia felt herself go numb, her thoughts flashing back to her mother on the ship. Singing to the sea. Laughing into the storm. How could that have happenedhere, too?
“By the gods, Ro! There’s no call for that kind of talk!”
Ro giggled and went back to hanging gowns. “In any case, it’s what took a small part of the Baron’s fortune, at least what hadn’t already been claimed by the Empire. He spent nearly everything he had on doctors for the first Baroness, and he’s not gone out in company once since the death of the second. He doesn’t care aboutanything anymore and mismanages the province his family once ruled. All the real work falls to Caiden, of course. It’s a wonderhehasn’t gone mad yet.”
“Don’t listen to her, Miss,” said Lyna. “It’s all nonsense. Illness and a tragic accident took the Baron’s wives away. Nothing more. He grieves for them still, stands all-night vigil at their graves every year on the anniversaries of their deaths.Their passing broke him.”
“I don’t care what you say,” Ro grumbled. “This house is strange. Off.” She sobered, fingering the material of a lilac dress. “I’ve heard whispers, sometimes, voices high in the tower. Laughter and crying, too. I think the Baron’s wives are haunting this place, seeking revenge for their untimely deaths.”
“Bequiet,girl,” said Lyna. “If Dairon hears you talking likethat she’ll have you dismissed.”
Ro gave a little shrug. “No, she won’t. Not many people are willing to work in the Ruen-Dahr, and she’s short-staffed as it is.”
“Do you hear music?” Talia asked Ro carefully.
Ro gave her a strange look. “Music? No, Miss. Only Master Wendarien—”
“Ro!” said Lyna.
Ro tore her gaze away, suddenly uneasy. “I’m sorry, Miss. Lyna’s right. I really shouldn’t be talkingabout it. Just superstition.”
Something clicked in Talia’s mind. “Caiden and Wen have different mothers.”
Ro nodded, pulling another dress off the bed. “Certainly they do—why else would they have different surnames? The first Baroness was Enduenan—that’s where Lord Caiden’s dark coloring comes from. She was the daughter of one of the Enduenan ambassadors who was stationed in Ryn after it wasmade part of the Empire. She died when he was two, and then Master Wendarien’s mother—”
Lyna frowned. “Enough, you silly girl. Why must you prattle on so?”
Dairon returned just then, and Ro quickly snapped her mouth shut. The housekeeper had a smaller trunk with her, full of shoes and gloves. She made Talia try them all on, one after another, until she was satisfied Talia had enough variety.Then the maids packed those in the wardrobe, too, and all three bid her goodnight.
When they had gone, she went back to the window seat, Ro’s words echoing in her mind.
They went mad. One after the other.
Some rumors say they killed themselves.
Chapter Thirteen
TALIA WOKE JUST AFTER DAWN, HER MINDfilled with a dread she couldn’t explain, the raw edges of half-forgotten dreams nibbling at her consciousness. She went immediately to the window and pulled it open, sucking in a deep breath of salt-drenched air. The sky was heavy with clouds, but it wasn’t raining. Away below her, the sea crept onto the shore, and once again she heard thedistant strain of some unearthly music, whispering out there among the waves.
She blinked and saw her mother, drinking tea in the great cabin as the storm raged outside the ship.Can’t you hear it? The song of the waves.
Talia cursed, jerking away from the window and latching it tight.
But the music lingered.
She stepped over to the wardrobe and flung open both doors, running her fingers alongthe smooth material of the Baronesses’ gowns. They were all beautiful, though cut in the still-unfamiliar Ryn style. She pulled out a dress a shade of blue so dark it was nearly black, with long sleeves and tiny crystal beads sewn into the bodice and skirt. It shimmered in the gray light from the window, like a sky strewn with stars.
She put it on, struggling to fasten the back without help,but she managed it, finally. She tried not to dwell on the fact that the last woman who’d worn this gown was dead.
She tripped on the hem of the dress as she went downstairs and ran straight into Caiden—she would have fallen on her face if he hadn’t grabbed her arm.
