The Rose Red Bride JK2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

was no more than a puddle of water upon the floor.”
    Alexander rose from his seat and strode to the middle of the hall. He pointed to a spot on the floor, a mark that Vivienne had not noted before. It shimmered, as if stained by some substance that none could have named.
    “It was here that the water fell,” Alexander said softly. “And when an old woman working in the kitchens spied the mark and heard the tale of the rose, she cried out in dismay. It seems that there is an old tale of fairy lovers claiming mortal brides, that the portal between their world and ours is at Kinfairlie. A fairy suitor can peer through the portal, though they all know they should not, and he could fall in love with a mortal maiden he glimpses there.”
    Alexander smiled at his sisters. “And the bride price a smitten fairy suitor leaves when he claims that bride for his own is a single red, red rose, a rose that is not truly a rose, but a fairy rose wrought of ice.” He scuffed the floor with his toe. “Though its form does not endure, the mark of its magic is never truly lost.”
    Silence reigned in the hall for a moment, the light from the candles making the mark on the floor seem to glimmer more brightly.
    Alexander shrugged. “I cannot imagine that Papa believed the tale, but doubtless once he had a daughter, he had no desire to have her traded for a rose wrought of ice.”
    “Someone should discover the truth,” Isabella said with resolve. “Doubtless some village mischief is behind it.”
    Annelise shivered. “But what if the tale is true? Who knows where the maiden went? Who would take such a risk as to follow her?”
    Vivienne clenched her hands together and held her tongue with an effort. She knew who would take such a risk. She knew, with eerie certainty, that this tale had come to light now because it was a message to her.
    Here was the moment she had awaited! A fairy spouse would suit her well, of that she had no doubt, no less the adventure of a life in another realm. Fairies, every sensible person knew, were an unruly and less-than-fastidiously groomed lot. She would fit into their ranks perfectly.
    So she resolved: Vivienne would sleep in the tower chamber on this night. She only had to figure out how the feat could be done without rousing the suspicions of her siblings.
     
    * * *
     
    Chapter Two
     
    Vivienne’s task proved to be easier than she had feared.
    She sat with her sisters that evening, bending over her needlework and fighting to hide her impatience. They worked upon a large tapestry for the hall, each embroidering a single panel. The completed work would never be so fine as those embroideries brought from France and Belgium, but there was a charm in it being made by the family.
    Annelise had created the design, for she was the most deft with a piece of charcoal. Mythical creatures frolicked across the surface, each slowly taking shape with thread and color. Vivienne loved the design and enjoyed working upon it more than she usually enjoyed needlework, but this night she found no pleasure in the task. In fact, her threads seemed to tangle and knot with a will of their own.
    The time passed with such slowness that Vivienne thought she might scream, and for once, she envied Alexander the need to retire to review Kinfairlie’s ledgers. Vivienne’s toe seemed to tap of her own volition. She tucked her feet under her skirts, hoping no one noticed her restlessness.
    “You are making more of a mess of matters than usual, Vivienne,” Isabella noted, she who was as orderly as Madeline.
    “I have no talent for embroidery, it is clear,” Vivienne said.
    Isabella claimed the knot of wool thread from Vivienne’s restless fingers and set calmly to sorting it, strand by strand. “You have no patience for it,” she said, without censure. “That is different.”
    “Still, you are usually more artful than this,” Annelise noted, studying Vivienne with some concern. “Are you unwell?”
    Vivienne yawned and