“The house has always had a rather…unusual layout, but after my accident, Father added on the back wing. See?”
We entered a room identical to the foyer I’d thought I’d been heading toward, but instead of the graceful dueling staircases, a metal column rose up to the second story.
“The back of the house is a mirror image to the front, only more accessible for me. When the sun is out, it’s easier to feel which side you’re on but in the dark, with you so new here…The lift,” Alexander explained, catching my stare. “Want to tryit?”
“I…” Though it was covered in beautiful filigreed ironwork, it gave me pause. It looked like the cage of some horrible beast. “I’ve never been in one before. What does it do?”
“Well, as the name suggests, it lifts off the ground, takingme with it. Sometimes it lifts me this way, sometimes that.” He pantomimed wild swings to either end of the room.
I blanched, my stomach queasy at the thought. “It does?”
His eyes crinkled into little half-moons. “Of course not. It’s on a track. See?” He pointed to the well-oiled line of metal bolted to the wall. “It’s perfectly safe. I use it every day.” He pushed himself up a ramp and foisted back the accordion-style doors. “Ladies first.”
I stepped past him, entering the small space. “Will there be room enough for us both?”
He rolled in, his knees bumping against the swell of my skirt. “Just barely.” An unexpected trace of pink colored his cheeks and I was surprised how endearing I found it. “Can you pull the door closed? It won’t start until that latch is in place.”
That, at least, was a bit of comfort.
He pulled a lever toward him and a giant mechanical hum rose up around us.
“It’s just the steam,” he assured me. “We pull the lever to activate the steam, then that button to start it up.”
“Where does it come from?”
“The lake. Pipes bring in the water to be heated beneath the house. Sometimes it feels as though the whole manor is groaning.”
I imagined the house crying out in torment and swallowed deeply.
“Are you scared? Really?”
I shook my head, wanting to be brave. I kept my eyes trained on the floor of the cage. That looked reassuringly solid and unmovable. Maybe if I could trick myself into thinking we weren’t—
He hit the button and with a whirring clank, we were suddenly in motion, rising from the ground, ascending the wall like a spider determinedly scaling its web. I finally dared to look up and stared out the wide windows framing the wall in front of us with wonder. It would make for a spectacular view in daylight. “What is that?” I pointed to a stately glass-paned building, lit up against the night.
“Father’s greenhouse,” Alexander said as we reached the second floor. The abrupt end of motion jarred me off-balance and he reached out to steady me, his fingers warm around mine.
“It looks as big as Chauntilalie.”
It loomed just as high and sprawled past the window’s view. The glass was fogged over with humidity, making it impossible to see inside. It glowed opaque and green against the dark night.
“It nearly is.” He released his hold on my hand, turning a dial and pulling on the lever once more. “The door?”
I pushed it open, waited for him to exit, then followed after. On the landing were three hallways leading to different parts of the house. None of them looked familiar.
“Verity,” Alexander said, drawing my attention back to him. “This is very important—you have to always remember to shut the door behind you and flip the latch. Grandmère uses the lift as well, and if someone forgets the latch, we’re stuck until someone comes along to help.”
I studiously watched him pull the latch to its shut position.
“Try it,” he insisted, and nodded when I’d properly repeated the movements. “Good.” He looked up at me. “You must be tired after such a long day of travel. Well…longdays,” he corrected himself. “Will you be able to find your room from here?”
I looked toward the junction again, remembering that I was at the back of the house, and pointed to the hall to the right.
Sharp dimples appeared as he grinned and pointed toward the middle. He pushed off, rolling down the corridor. “Come on, follow me.”
“Oh, no, you needn’t—” The thought of him escorting me to my chambers felt oddly intimate, especially given I didn’t know what his proposed gardenia meant.
“I’m not going to let you wander about the house all night, lost in a sea of identical hallways. What kind of host would that make me?”
