Chapter 2 - GRANDMA ROSA’S LAST PROMISE
The guests were moved into the adjoining salon while Daniel escorted
Serena to the library. She protested, but Tristan didn’t follow her.
He stayed with Alina and Mabel.
“Come with me,” he said.
Alina glanced down at her uniform. “I should finish clearing the dining
room.”
“No.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“You didn’t.”
The simplicity of his answer nearly undid her.
Tristan led them to the study. A fire burned low in the stone hearth. He
asked a housekeeper to bring Mabel warm milk and a blanket.
Alina remained standing.
“Sit down,” he said.
“I’d rather not.”
“That’s your choice.”
He examined the urn Daniel had placed on the desk. The broken base had
been wrapped in a clean cloth.
“Tell me about your mother.”
Alina looked at the urn. “She worked here before I was born. She was the
night nurse when your wife, Isabelle, became ill. After Isabelle died,
she stayed because she loved Mabel. She never thought of this place as
just a job.”
Tristan’s jaw tightened at his late wife’s name.
“Rosa told me she was at the hospital the night Isabelle died,” he said.
“She said the doctors did everything they could.”
“She never told me much about that night.”
“Did she speak to you before she died?”
Alina nodded. “She gave me a small envelope. She said if anything
happened to the urn, I should bring it to you. I thought she meant the
funeral arrangements.”
“Where is the envelope?”
“At home. I didn’t want to bring it into the mansion until I knew what
was happening.”
Tristan considered that. “Daniel will arrange an escort. You won’t go
anywhere alone tonight.”
“I don’t need protection.”
“Perhaps not. But someone in this house has already interfered with your
mother’s remains.”
Mabel climbed down from the sofa and approached the desk.
“Papa, Grandma said the blue bird was a secret key.”
Tristan crouched beside her. “Did she tell you where it went?”
Mabel shook her head. “She said it opens the place where the Christmas
stars sleep.”
Alina blinked. “The old nursery. My mother called the attic nursery the
star room. She kept a box of paper stars there for Mabel.”
Tristan looked toward the ceiling.
“Daniel, have the attic nursery secured. No one enters until I get
there.”
A knock sounded. Daniel stepped in, holding a small black pouch.
“We found this beneath the console where the urn was sitting.”
Inside lay a tiny blue enamel bird pendant. Its silver chain had been
cut.
Alina gasped. “That’s my mother’s.”
Tristan picked it up with a handkerchief. A narrow seam ran along the
bird’s belly. He pressed gently. A tiny compartment clicked open.
A small brass key dropped into his palm.
Mabel smiled. “The bird!”
Tristan looked at Alina. “Your mother left us a key.”
“And Serena took it,” Alina whispered.
“Or someone wanted us to think she did,” Daniel cautioned.
May you like
Tristan closed his fingers around the key.
“Let’s see what Grandma Rosa wanted us to find.”
