“She studies mathematics, not dragons, but it’s the principle of the thing, you see. She’d never be offended if you forgot her birthday or didn’t wish to come down to supper because you were absorbed in some obscure new theory. She does that to everyone else all the time!”
“How exceedingly pleasant for her.” Mr Aubrey’s tone was caustic. “However, I should perhaps inform you that I have no intention of marrying anyone in the near future, as I have rather more important work at stake.”
“Mm.” Smiling politely, Rose set aside the notion to think over with more care later. In the meantime, as the carriage swung back around the bumpy curve that joined Sir Gareth’s horridly overgrown private drive onto the narrow road along the riverbank, she reached up to rap hard against the roof.
The vehicle slowed obediently in response, and she pushed the door open just enough to call out, “Take the next turn, in just over a mile! The drive isn’t marked, but there are two young willows growing just before it. Stop and let me out before you turn, if you please!”
“What? Where are you off to now?” Mr Aubrey stared at her as the carriage rattled back into motion, bumping along this time at a perfectly reasonable pace between the thick green woodland on Rose’s left and the busy brown river on her right. “Isn’t Gogodd Abbey your home, too?”
“Not quite.” A pang plucked at Rose’s chest, but she ignored it; it wouldn’t do to let herself give in to irrational longing. “I am staying there for the time being, but I’ll walk the last part of my journey alone so that no one will see us together. The last thing either of us needs is for anyone else to question what we’ve been up to in this carriage!”
“No-o-o ...” His brow creased rather adorably, and a strand of silky hair fell over it, glinting gold in the light from the glass windows. “But I still don’t understand. Why did you even wish to ask your uncle’s neighbour about a dragon in the first place?”
“Why did you stop me from asking?” Rose countered tartly. If only he’d been sensible enough to follow her lead when they had first arrived, everything would have progressed far more smoothly!
Wincing, he glanced down at her uncle’s letter, which still lay open beside him. “That, I cannot say. It is a matter of professional confidence.”
“Well, then, I shan’t feel compelled to answer your question, either.” As the carriage slowed, Rose bent to rearrange intermediary stacks of books and papers in efficient preparation for a speedy exit. “It has been delightful to meet you, Mr Aubrey. I shall look forward to meeting you again, for the first time. Just remember: you’ve never seen me before!”
“But—?” His plaintive voice rose up behind her.
Rose was already pushing the door open. Without waiting for the carriage to roll to a full stop, she jumped out onto the dirt road and shut the door firmly behind her. As the vehicle swept back into motion with the baffled – though really rather sweet – scholar inside, she started briskly up the long, grassy slope in the warm sunshine, towards the ruins and the house and the dragon ahead.
Trouble caught up with her ten minutes later, even before she’d reached the walls of the house.
“Disaster!” Her oldest cousin surged up from the long grass between two ruined medieval stone arches and startled Rose into stumbling hard on the uneven ground.
Be fair, Rose told herself as she straightened, pressing one hand to her chest to still her thumping heart. Serena probably hadn’t been lying in wait with any intention of frightening her. Serena simply adored lying outside among the ruins for her daily dose of Gothic and romantic inspiration. Still, Rose had to take a deep breath before she could summon a reply. “What’s amiss now? Did the ceiling in the dining room finally collapse? Or was it the roof of the—”
“Don’t be absurd. Why should the house do any such thing? No, it’s that illicit dragon of yours.” Striking a dramatic pose, with one pale hand flung against her high forehead and her vivid black hair falling in glossy tendrils around her pale oval face, Serena lowered her voice to a thrilling whisper. “It’s disappeared!”
“Beth lost it?” Rose squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead hard with her thumbs. “She vowed to take such good care of it while I was gone!”
“Oh, she did. She never took her eyes off it. Not once! But as she was watching it in her very own room, with the door firmly shut ... it vanished. Whoosh!” Serena threw up her hands in illustration.
Rose stared at her most beautiful and absurd cousin for one long, silent moment. Then she let out her held breath and shook out her shoulders. “Well! No matter what’s happened, I’ll go and find it now. Meanwhile, you should probably fix your hair for Uncle Parry’s visitor.”
“Oh, is he here at last?” Serena turned back towards the hulking stone lines of the house, craning her neck hopefully. “I know Mr Aubrey is probably terribly ancient and awfully dull, but I do hope he’s at least a bit sinister, don’t you?”
“I’m sure we’ll see him soon,” said Rose, carefully not committing herself to any untruths. “Please make my excuses if I’m delayed, though. And don’t say anything about dragons! I need to find that poor beast before Uncle Parry or any of the servants do ... not to mention Cwtch.” She winced at that thought.
Serena frowned. “I don’t think Cwtch would try to eat a dragon. He would certainly bark quite loudly at one, though.”
“That is the last thing this dragon needs,” Rose said firmly.
Obviously, it had not simply vanished, whatever her cousins might have imagined. No doubt it had simply burrowed somewhere in Beth’s room – probably under her bed or in her closet – while Beth had been distracted with one of her waking dreams. Rose started through the closest outer door with the firm intention of turning out Beth’s room from top to bottom ... only to trip, halfway up the first flight of the rambling back staircase, over something that was solid, scaley, and cheeping loudly as it scampered about her feet, flapping its wings in agitation.
“Ahhh!” Rose grabbed the stair rail to keep herself from falling on top of the beast that she’d been hunting.
How had she missed seeing it before? Plenty of natural light streamed into the stairwell from a scattering of quirkily arched windows, but the little dragon was so wild with distress, she had no time to work out the puzzle.
“Shh, shh!” Rose sank down onto the closest stair, taking care to avoid the dragon’s clawed feet as it ran frantically around her, lashing its wine-red tail. Earlier, it had kept a few careful feet away from her at all times, but clearly her departure had altered matters. “It’s all right! Were you frightened? I’m back now, and you’re perfectly safe, so—oh!”
With a sudden flurry of wings, the dragon leapt onto her lap. Long, hard claws dug into her legs as its long neck reared back. Rose found herself staring directly into wild, golden eyes, scant inches from her own.
“Ohhh.” She let out a breath of sheer wonder as every one of her practical concerns and strategies fell away. “You are so beautiful!” With painstaking slowness, she lifted her right hand, then stopped a careful inch from the dragon’s glittering red throat, waiting for permission.
The dragon froze for a moment. Then it let out a soft sigh and leaned into her touch, emitting a low, clicking noise that sounded almost like a purr. Rose swallowed over a sudden lump in her throat as she gently stroked her fingers along those wonderfully warm and shining scales and saw the dragon half-close its eyes in pleasure.
