Arrival of the Traveler (Waldgrave Book 1) (14 page)

“Hesper, stop fooling around. Get in here.” There was no humor in the man’s voice. He had very dark hair, and walked with an air of purpose. The chiseled features of his face left nothing to the imagination of his mood; he was a sour man. There was something vaguely familiar about him, but Lena couldn’t put her finger on it. His arrogance and conceited nature echoed in her mind. He glared down at Mrs. Ralston, who quickly clasped her hands before her as several more figures started carrying in suitcases. And then a girl, perhaps Lena’s age, wandered in.

“Stand up straight.” Her mother chastised. She was the first woman Lena had seen with posture possibly better than Mrs. Ralston’s. The girl complied after a glare from her father.

“Might I inquire as to the whereabouts of the Master?” The man removed his coat and passed it off to one of his servants.

“Master Collins is predisposed at the moment.” Ralston gathered the courage to look him in the eye, but then quickly looked away. The man’s upper lip curled.

“Howard Collins,” he growled, “Is not the man I was seeking.”

The woman moved her hand to touch her husband’s arm.

“What?” He hissed.

It was only then that Lena realized the woman’s eyes were fixed on her. Suddenly, all eyes were fixed on her. The man looked over and smiled amusedly; a gesture which made Lena quite uncomfortable.

“May I show you to your lodging?” Mrs. Ralston muttered.

“Yes…that will do.” He started towards the stairs, with his eyes still on Lena.

“Sir! Sir!” Mrs. Ralston called after him.

He stopped.

“I’m afraid the only space left is out in the tents.” She explained.

He turned on her. Lena took a step back as he walked toward Mrs. Ralston. For a moment, it looked as though he were going to slap her.

“What?!” He was right in her face. “What did you say?!” A vein popped out on his neck. Much to Lena’s amusement, the daughter was rolling her eyes and sighing heavily at his overreaction.

“Rosaleen…is there a problem?” Howard walked quickly into the entrance hall. He threw a look at Lena and gestured for her to leave. She ducked out of sight, but stayed next to the door where she could hear.

“You expect me to sleep in a tent, with both my wife and my daughter, like any common family? Collins, you’ve let this place go to the dogs!”

Howard’s voice was cool. “It’s first come first serve, Darius, just like always.”

“Not like always! And it’s Master Corbett to you, mutinous filth!” Lena’s interest was piqued. This was by far the most politically outspoken family she had yet encountered. The man scared her in a way that she’d never thought possible. It was clear that his radical views constituted most of his life, and Lena silently thanked Howard for his warning of the existence of such people. The girl, however, seemed remarkably normal. There was an unconcerned confidence about her that Lena found reassuring—she might make a good friend, and the effort was worth a try, anyway. Out in the hall, Lena heard pacing. “I deserve—“

“It’s been first come, first serve, for the last ten years. If you wanted a room, you should have arrived days ago.”

“I will not sleep on the ground, cramped in with both my wife and child!”

“Then you can leave!” Howard snapped.

Lena made an impulsive decision and jumped back into the doorframe. “She can stay with me!”

Everyone stared. The man, Darius, was standing with his face inches from Howard’s.

“It’s not a problem. Us girls can stay in a tent together, and they can have my room! Really, Uncle Howard, it’s not a big deal…” Lena went on.

Master Corbett looked disgusted. Uncle Howard looked amused; strangely, he was actually smiling.

“Well, there you go, Darius. You and your wife can have young Miss Collins’ room, and she and your daughter can sleep outside. I’m sure Master Daray would be very pleased with that arrangement.” He downright smirked. Master Corbett seemed to be thinking it over—clearly this man was one of those under the belief that Daray and his kin were royalty.

“Fine. We will sleep in the tents.” He spat. Then he looked over at Lena. “But not with my daughter.”

“Lena?” Howard looked bemusedly over at her. Lena nodded her approval, and a moment later found herself leading her new friend up to her room. After the family servants had dropped the luggage and left, she looked over at her stunned companion.

“I’m Lena Collins,” she smiled.

“Hesper Corbett.” The girl started walking around, analyzing the room. “Thanks for pulling me out of the cuckoo’s nest, if you catch my drift. They’re really heinous when they have to travel, and we don’t get along well to begin with if you couldn’t tell.”

“It’s not a problem at all. I’ve been very lonely lately, and I’ll appreciate the company. So really, you’re doing me a favor.” Lena hoped she didn’t sound too desperate. She wanted this girl—Hesper—to like her.

“You’re nowhere near as stuck up as I thought you’d be.” Hesper sat down on the edge of the bed and started to take her shoes off. “You’re all I’ve heard about for, like, the past few months. But you’re really nice, you know? I mean, personality wise. I’m not just saying that…”

Lena watched her. She was pleased with herself. In fact, she was more than pleased with herself. Lena was a little concerned that she had been a gossip topic, but Hesper seemed very friendly.

“What? Am I really that special?” Hesper smiled up at Lena as she threw her shoes and socks to one side of the room, and started to rub her feet.

“I don’t get to talk to many people my own age.” Lena smiled and sat down next to her.

“Well, you’re lucky.” Hesper muttered. “Most of them are flaming morons.”

Despite her preppy look, she had real brains and personality. She was cheekier than Lena had expected. She was bold, and independent, and fun. Not at all what she would have expected from parents like the ones she had just seen in the entrance hall.

Hesper went on, as if in response to Lena’s thoughts. “Well, Griffin’s the favorite. He’s done everything, and really I just don’t even try. I’ll never live up to that. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to marry up now, am I? Really takes the pressure off.”

Lena tried not to let her smile slip. “I’m sorry, are you reading my mind?”

Hesper shot a shocked look over at Lena.

You can’t do it?

No…Who’s Griffin?

“Wow.” Hesper looked across the room and into space. She seemed to be thinking.

“I still can’t do it, Hesper…” Lena said quietly.

The guest shook her head and looked back over at Lena. “I’m—sorry. It’s really surprising, that’s all. A lot of people expect you to be, like, really talented, or something. I mean, with a family like yours, and all.”

Lena sighed. “Well, that’s just great...”

Hesper stared at her. Several minutes later, she started to speak again. “You have no idea who he is, do you? Griffin?”

“I will if you tell me…”

“Nope.” Hesper stood up and started walking to her suitcases and pulled them over to the closet.

“Why not?” Lena was almost offended. They’d gotten on so well up to that point.

“It’s not personal. I’m just afraid of hurting you. You know, the whole transition issue.”

“David does it all the time.” Lena got up to help her with her unpacking.

“David?”

“Oh…the yard boy. He’s kind of a friend, I guess.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s different. And don’t ask because I can’t say why.”

Lena sighed and silently helped Hesper hang up her clothes. She had a lot of designer clothes, most of which still had store tags on them.

“You bought new stuff just to come here?” Lena finally asked.

“Yeah. I buy new stuff every time I travel.” She was meticulously organized. Every article of clothing had its place, and she organized from shorter blouses and skirts down to pants and dresses.

“I guess you don’t travel a lot then.” Lena pulled out pairs of shoes and passed them to Hesper, who organized them by color. “These look expensive.”

“No, I get out. Not as much as I’d like to, but I got to spend some time around Europe last summer. You’ve really got a thing for dresses.”

Lena cringed as she looked around the closet. “No. They’re my mom’s old ones. I hate wearing dresses.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll take you shopping some time, if you like.”

“That’d be great!” The last time she’d been to buy clothes, she’d been somewhat inebriated, and had bought some things she wished she hadn’t, including a pair of sweats in shocking canary yellow…she couldn’t imagine what she’d been thinking. Before that, she and her father had only bought what was practical. Hesper seemed to have a preternatural sense of fashion, and would probably be more than happy to help.

“What are you wearing for tonight?” Hesper asked, flicking through the cloths in the closet.

“Not makeup.” Lena replied.

Hesper turned on her. “Do you have a social death wish?”       

“I’m just not into the whole formal thing.” Lena explained. “And, I told someone I wouldn’t, and I don’t want to seem like a hypocrite…”

“Sweetie, sweetie!” Hesper grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her into the bathroom. Her fingers waved around Lena’s face, indicating each feature as she mentioned it like a car salesman. “Have you looked at yourself? You’ve got a fabulous figure, and you’d look great in some eyeliner and a pale pink lipstick. I’m thinking high gloss, matching blush, most emphasis on the eyes.”

Three hours later, they were both ready for the big dinner. After having tried on twenty different outfits, Hesper had decided for Lena that she’d be wearing an ankle-length deep green dress from Ava’s collection. It had a low-cut back and embroidery running up and down the length every few inches. Hesper had initially decided to put her in high-heeled shoes, but decided against it when she saw that Lena was hardly able to walk, let alone dance. She did her makeup and hair for her, and generally seemed to enjoy herself during the whole process. Lena enjoyed the company, if not the copious fittings, and they got to know each other very well. Hesper had just turned seventeen the week before, and was surprised to hear that Lena was only about to turn sixteen. She liked makeup, clothes, shopping, and angering her mother. Lena tried to talk about the person named Griffin again, just to make conversation, but Hesper stayed fairly quiet on the subject. She made a vague allusion that he was her brother, and apparently it was a regular practice for ‘high ranking’ wealthy families to hide their sons as a means to prevent assassination. The Silenti were a cutthroat bunch.

Around seven, there was a knock at the door, which Hesper answered. For a moment, she didn’t know exactly what to do. David nodded at her; he looked at her curiously, as though he wasn’t sure why she was there. He looked past Hesper at Lena, and then back.

“You must be David.” Hesper said awkwardly, taking in the plain, though nice, pants and shirt he was wearing.

“I am.” David nodded. “Are you ladies ready to go down? Master Collins sent me to retrieve you.”

As they walked down into the living room, Lena could immediately sense the difference in attitude from previous days. People were smiling, laughing, getting to know one another—groups of adults, groups of teens and children, all talking quite happily. A few glanced over at the group as they descended the stairs, but most kept to their talking. Once they reached the bottom, David excused himself and left Hesper to introduce Lena to the people she knew. She led Lena over to a group of teens.

“Lena, this is Bianca Channing, Martin and Dorian Colburn, Serafina Perry, and Ryan Ashmore. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Lena Collins.”

The chatter ended immediately. Lena tried to keep smiling; Bianca, Martin, and…Lena scrambled to try and remember all of the names before they vanished from her mind. Dorian, Serafina, and Ryan. They were staring at her with stunned expressions. Hesper cleared her throat and looked at Bianca.

“Bee, how have you been since last summer? I was just telling Lena earlier about our little trip to Europe.” She raised her eyebrows as Bianca continued to stare.

“I—oh,” Bianca regained her poise. She had unnaturally blond hair and a fake tan; she had a thin but athletic build, green eyes, and a vacant expression. “Yes, it was nice, wasn’t it?”

One of the boys, with lighter hair and a stern looking face, nodded and offered his hand. Lena shook it. He kept watching her until Hesper intervened.

“Out loud, Martin dear.” She said impatiently, and seeming slightly embarrassed.

Serafina’s jaw dropped. Eyes went wide, and Lena had the uncomfortable feeling that they were talking about her in their minds, where she could not participate. Was it really that big a deal that she couldn’t read minds?

Martin looked quickly over at Hesper, and then back at Lena, trying to recover from acting rude. “Martin Colburn. Pleased to meet you.”

There was a moment of silence, during which Hesper gave Bianca a desperate look. Bianca struck up a conversation again, and Lena glanced nervously over at Hesper. Hesper grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the group and into a corner. Lena noticed the other girl, Serafina, was leering after her.