31: Jealousy

*Ben*

I think about Skye while I am at the mines. I think about her while I gallop my horse

over the moors toward the manor. I think about her as I bathe, while I stride through the hallways in search of her, fairly certain where I will find her.

In the music room. I am not disappointed.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean against the door jamb and simply watch. Standing on a ladder, dusting my mother’s portrait, she is dressed much as she had been the day before, just without my hessians, as she now has two strapping lads, one about six inches taller than the other, to deal with the pesky spiders. The new servants are moving furniture so two young women, one of them Cullie, can roll up the various carpets. I suspect they will be getting a beating in the morning, along with the draperies that have already been removed. Another young woman is using a long-handled broom to sweep away the dust and cobwebs from the walls. White sheeting has been placed over the piano to protect it fr