The manor with its beautiful brick turrets appeared on the left side of the road like a mirage. Samantha couldn’t believe her luck. She hadn’t even traveled a mile and she was already lucky. Such a large and handsome estate must be home to local aristocrats. Samantha knew from her own experience that they always welcome guests from the upper class. First of all, it was not difficult to find extra rooms for guests in a huge house, and secondly, the nobility, living on the outskirts, liked to ask travelers for news. Samantha’s mother loved to chat with travelers who were on their way to or from Ivylor to see the king. From them, one could learn many interesting things. Unfortunately, her mother had also learned about finding a rich groom at court from them. Otherwise Samantha wouldn’t have to travel the bumpy roads now.
She needed rest, and she was willing to pay for rest with travel stories. Samantha imagined sitting in a cozy living room and telling the whole family about how she’d met a demon on the road. No, she shouldn’t call him a demon. Otherwise she’d be labeled a lunatic and sent to the servants’ barn for the night. It is better to say that the demon was an unusual wild animal that can walk on its hind legs and growl, imitating human speech. This beast also mauled a certain Lady Evangelina to death. Maybe the locals know who that lady was.
A manor house is more comfortable than an inn. The main thing is that all its inhabitants are not sleeping so soundly that they cannot be awakened by knocking and shouting.
The horses stopped obediently in front of the manor. They did not seem to want to go any farther. They didn’t make it to the gate either. Samantha had long ago realized that it was useless to prod the horses, so she got out of the carriage and walked to the entrance.
«If you’re lucky, horses, you’ll find plenty of straw and cozy stalls inside,» she encouraged the animals. They only snorted derisively in response. Did even the horses doubt that Samantha was welcome here?
There were no guards at the entrance to the manor. The gate stood open. One leaf was off its hinges. The wrought iron fence was overgrown with moss and mold.
«And here I thought my mother didn’t know how to run a household!» Samantha stared in amazement at the overgrown garden, which clearly had no gardener. It looked like a jungle. Even the path to the house was overgrown with tall weeds. A creeper grew in the empty fountain. It tightly wrapped around the sculpture of a half-woman, half-wolf standing on top of the fountain.
«What kind of goddess is that?» Samantha wondered. «I don’t know of one.»
«It is the Goddess of Wolves,» was a husky male voice from behind her. Samantha turned around. A tall, thin brunet in a tattered camisole stood in front of her.
«Oh, I’m so glad you’re here! I thought the manor was uninhabited,» Samantha said, pleased. «It looks so abandoned.»
«I think it’s a paradise,» the brunet sniffed at the girl as if she were food.
Samantha was surprised.
«You don’t like my perfume?» She had long suspected that the Alurian’s perfume her mother had bought from the buyer was just a fake. It smelled no better than cologne, but there was little to choose from in the province. Either buy what they offered or invent perfume from dandelions and wormwood. Other plants did not grow in abundance at home.
The brunet who met Samantha was silent and so pale that he looked like a consumption patient. His dark hair was greasy. The buttons of his camisole had fallen off, and there were holes in the sleeves.
This must be a run-down estate, Samantha concluded. It must be a ruined estate, Samantha concluded, which meant she couldn’t expect a hearty dinner or a luxurious bedroom. There might not be straw for the horses in the stables either.
«I don’t want to embarrass you, but I need a place to sleep. I lost my coachman and groomsmen on my journey, so I would be very grateful if you could lend me your coachman. I’m going to Aluar, to the King’s court. By the way, have you met the King?»
Instead of answering, the brunet beckoned Samantha toward the house. The nails on his hand were long and sharp. When he’d walked past her and touched the fountain’s curb, the marble had scratched.
«Is there anyone else living at the estate besides you?» Samantha found it odd that there were no lights on in any of the many windows. The facade was dark. Only the tiled turrets glowed, as if fire fairies lived inside them.
«I have a large community.»
«You mean family?»
«Mm-hmm,» the brunet nodded.
Samantha followed him into the spacious hallway. The house was black. There were no footmen or butler. There was no one to light the fireplace or the candelabra. Samantha fumbled for a beam and lit it with the torch she was accustomed to carrying in her pocket.
«Put it out!» The brunet demanded. «Darkness should not be lit by fire. You’ll call the firebrands from the attics, and they’re stinging!»
«Unlike you, I don’t have the gift of seeing in the dark,» Samantha said. «I need some light.»
The brunet grumbled something, but didn’t put out the flame. For some reason his grumbling sounded like a growl to Samantha. The disheveled boy had a predatory look, as if he’d just hunted wolves and had managed to kill them with his bare hands. The nobles living in the wilderness must have gone feral, Samantha concluded. It was a good thing she and her parents hadn’t gotten to that state yet. Probably it was because there was a large village nearby. And the local manor is far away from settlements. Its owners are isolated. The big road nearby is deserted. Samantha had not seen a single carriage or rider in days.
The deep scratches on the walls and paintings became visible in the candlelight. The same scratches marred the floor.
«Wolves must have danced here!» Samantha joked
«Yes, there was a ball,» the brunet snorted.
He must not have realized she was joking. How could wolves give a ball? Only wolves or bears could scratch the hard marble floor like that. Humans in shoes, or even barefoot, were incapable of such a thing.
The scratches stretched along the stair railings, the steps, the columns. What had just happened here? Maybe the manor had been attacked by werewolf wolves. Some of the windows were broken or covered with lead shutters.
Samantha touched the tapestry, which was in shreds. It had definitely been mangled by someone’s claws. No one could cut so unevenly with knives or scissors.
«You need repairs,» Samantha found the trellises flying off and the picture frames cracked.
«What do you mean?» The brunet snorted so dismissively that Samantha shut up. Didn’t he know what repairs were?
Let the companion be quiet. He didn’t want to make small talk, so he didn’t have to. It doesn’t matter that the estate is falling apart. The important thing is that the cook has something for dinner. Assuming there is a cook. There’s got to be some food here.
The companion led Samantha to a large room on the second floor. It was crowded. Thirteen people. Samantha counted them for good measure. Yes, exactly thirteen. What a coincidence. It was exactly the number she hadn’t liked since she’d been cursed with it.
«Dinner has arrived!» The brunet announced in a loud voice.
Samantha looked confused. He probably meant he had brought her to dinner. Usually people go to dinner themselves, not dinner arriving at their door. The beautiful brunette in the bright red ball gown was also surprised and leaned her lorgnette to her face.
«Usually we have to run through the woods for dinner ourselves, but suddenly dinner is coming to us!» She rejoiced. «Isn’t there a ghost behind you, Tien?»
Tien must have been the name of the brunetn. Samantha stepped forward.
«I swear