Chapter 135 - Doubt
A heavy atmosphere had descended over the mansion ever since Scarlett’s return. It loomed over the hallways and corridors, clinging to the nooks and crannies and stretched out across the entire estate. It left people in discomfort. Wary. Tense. As if they had done something wrong, and punishment would be meted out any second now.
The Baroness was in a bad mood.
Rosa would have to be blind not to have noticed. It was clear to anyone that paid attention. Even to those who hadn’t actually seen the woman for themselves recently. It was in the very air of the mansion. But Rosa didn’t know the reason.
Unfortunately, that was only one of her worries.
She lay on the bed in her room, gazing up at the ceiling boards with tired eyes. As always, she did her best to ignore the shadows that lurked on the ceiling beams and the rest of the room, cast by the moonlight entering through the single window. Her fingers clutched at the blankets beneath her, clasping for some semblance of respite in their softness.
The visions had been getting worse again lately. They were always bad, but the degree ebbed and flowed. This past week, when Scarlett had been away on some business in Kilsfell, had been the worst in a while now. She had barely slept in three days.
It hadn’t dawned on her before now how quickly she had become reliant on Scarlett. On the peace that accompanied the woman’s presence. She had avoided interacting with others as much as she could without it looking unnatural this last week, waiting for it all to pass. Annoyed at herself for how much she wanted Scarlett to return. In the end, she hadn’t been able to stop herself from practically running to the woman’s office upon her return the day before. All for that one brief period of peace. That one chance for an actual genuine conversation not marred by what she saw. The chance to just enjoy the moment and not just hide.
Like a naive little kid who’d been waiting for their parent to get home because they were too afraid to go to sleep without them.
And then she’d had the gall to feel disappointed when Scarlett had refused to see her.
Staying close to the woman to avoid the visions had just been a stopgap to begin with. A temporary reprieve. One that she had told herself a hundred times not to get dependent on. It was only natural that Scarlett had concerns of her own and couldn’t always answer to the whims of Rosa and her unwanted passenger. It was unreasonable to expect anything more.
Yet she still found herself hoping against her better judgement.
The suffocating atmosphere in the room grew heavier as the shadows moved closer. She closed her eyes for a breath, trying to relax her heart. Then she opened them again and shifted her head to the side, glancing across the unlit space. Her attention came to rest on the klert leaning against the wall beside the exit.