Someone Like You

Chapter Two

"My Wife,"

That was all Simon said, he kept going up the stairs and didn't look back, leaving Emmy in shock and confusion. "He's married?" Emmy asked Mrs. Daniels, who was coming up the stairs to show her to her room.

"Was," Mrs. Daniels said. "Lady Mirabelle died some ten years ago. It's an awful sad story, Miss Emmy. Things are hard enough on his lordship as it is, which is why we don't bring the subject up."

"Should I say something to him?" Emmy asked.

"Don't think so. Really, Miss Emmy, the best thing is just to let him be." Mrs. Daniels said sadly. "Now, come on. I'll take you to your room."

Emmy nodded and followed the housekeeper, not quite sure what to think or do, surprised she knew so little about Lord Simon when they had been living in the same house for a few of months already.

"This," Mrs. Daniels said grandly as she opened the door to quite the biggest bedchamber she had ever seen. "…is the Countess Bedroom. No one has slept here in, God, 15 years, but we always keep it ready."

"It's beautiful." Emmy said, momentarily forgetting about Simon.

"It is, isn't it?" Mrs. Daniels said proudly. "Now, this door," she pointed to a door in the far wall. "This one connects to the earl's bedroom, but it has been locked for years and years, it probably doesn't open anymore. Over here is the dressing room and bathing room." Mrs. Daniels chatted happily moving around the bedroom while Emmy sat down in front of the fireplace and took in her surroundings.

She was just getting comfortable when out of nowhere a cat jumped into her lap, making her squeak.

"Oh, that blasted cat!" Mrs. Daniels said, trying to shoo away the offending feline. "Pardon me, Miss. That's Miss Evie's cat, rarely ventures outside the nursery, that's where Miss Evie's room was."

"Who's Miss Evie?" Emmy asked.

"Oh, his lordship's cousin. Her parents died when she was very young, the poor dear, so she came to live here when she was about five or six."

"What happened to her?" Emmy was half afraid to find out.

"Oh, she married about five years ago, to a diplomat. Now she lives in Russia, but she and his lordship were very close. When she left, Miss Evie couldn't take her cat with her – her husband broke into hives when the cat was around, nasty stuff – so it stayed here. Whiskers fairly thinks he owns the house and we are all here to please him."

Emmy smiled and picked up Whiskers a blue and gray stripped tabby, "So, you're the cat of the castle, aren't you?" Whiskers purred and settle on Emmy's lap. "I suppose you're my cat now." Emmy said with a rueful smile.

"Well, we all need somebody to love," Mrs. Daniels said. "I'll send up at bath for you, and someone to help you unpack."

"Thank you, Mrs. Daniels. I hope I didn't put you out too much by coming."

"Oh, Miss Emmy, don't worry about that. I'm just glad Lord Dressden won't be alone in the coming days, he never has an easy time of it and there is little we can do, much as we care about him – you know, those of us who saw him grow up – since we work for him."

-000-

A couple of hours later, having bathed, rested and dressed for diner, Emmy was busing herself by arranging her things on the dressing table, tucking away her little treasures, leftovers from the life she had lead with her parents and sisters in their quiet village.

As she set down a set of embroidered handkerchiefs, Emmy tugged on a small drawer and found, nestled inside, a key.

The key was silver and looked old, and Emmy wondered where it fit since all the doors in the room either didn't lock or had their keys in the keyholes… all doors except for the one that connected her room to the one next door.

Mrs. Daniels had said the door was locked and that it probably wouldn't open anymore, but Emmy felt compelled to try so she went to the door, careful not to make noise. After a few tries the key turned and Emmy was able to pull the door enough to open it slightly.

"Miss Emmy, time for diner." Mary, one of the maids called through the door.

"Coming," Emmy yelled back as she tried to push the door back into place a couple of times, giving up when it wouldn't budge. "I'll deal with you later," Emmy muttered.

When she opened the door to the hallway, Whiskers was sitting there and stalked into the room, going straight for the bed and nestled there.

Emmy smiled at the cat and went out to follow the maid down to the dinning room. She was half expecting to dine alone and was quite surprised to find Simon already sitting there.

"Took you long enough." Simon said, standing up to help her into her chair.

"Didn't think you'll be around." Emmy said primly.

Simon grunted and signaled the waiting footman to begin service. "I'm hungry, you're here, might as well eat together."

"Fair enough,"

Dinner was a mercifully short affair, Simon hadn't been inclined to talk and Emmy didn't try to make much of an effort. He and Emmy seemed to have two modes: biting each other's head off or not talking at all, and either one drained her of energy.

Emmy was getting ready for bed when a low meow caught her attention. Whiskers was sitting in front of the door that connected to the next room (the earl's room where Simon was sleeping).

"Whiskers, come here." Emmy said and yawned.

The cat meowed again, turning in a circle before dashing through the slight opening and into Simon's room, which she had forgotten to close before.

Emmy got out of bed, muttering about ungrateful cats, and went in pursuit of Whiskers, cat of the castle.

Simon's room was already dark, so she assumed he was asleep already and tip toed into the room, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Whiskers, come here." Emmy whispered, trying to find him by the moonlight streaming through the windows and the little meows Whiskers let out.

"There you are you worthless cat!" Emmy hissed once she spotted Whiskers trying his claws on the counterpane of Simon's bed. Just when she was about to scoop Whiskers up, Emmy was grabbed around the waist, lifted clear of her feet and tossed on the bed, where she bounced once before a heavy weight landed on her.

"What are you doing here?" Simon hissed into her face, and she could smell the wine and whiskey he had drunk.

"I was trying to find the cat." Emmy said after she cleared her throat a couple of times.

"What Cat?"

"Whiskers?" Emmy said, trying to add some backbone into her tone. "I found the key to the connecting door, but forgot to close it, Whiskers snuck in and I was trying to find him."

Whiskers meowed and Simon turned to see him, sitting by the foot of the bed, tail twitching.

"Eh, Simon?"

"What?" He asked none too nicely. He had been having a nightmare when Emmy's voice had startled him, woke him, and his mind wasn't working properly just yet.

"Are you naked?"

End of Chapter 2