His Black Wings by Astrid Yrigollen

frighten him if you come upon him unexpectedly.” I thought that idea was amusing.
     
    “Me, frighten him?” I asked while removing my gloves. Mr. Lowood laughed heartily with his head thrown back and his eyes closed. For a full minute he gave in to mirth as I had never seen him do before. It surprised me to see him so relaxed around me, no, so unguarded.
     
    “Well said my girl!” he cleared his throat, now looking a little self conscience and continued, “Well, let me show you your new room.” He once again took me by my arm and walked me to the three large windows which faced the front lawn.
     
    “You have a nice view here, underneath your feet is the living room. I can’t say we really use it though, but you are more than welcome. Here is your writing desk full of anything you would need. Papers, pens etc.” He tapped the wooden writing desk. He then led me to the dressing room which had wooden bars for hanging dresses, and drawers that were built in to the walls. He flipped a switch and I saw a full vanity table and mirror that was inset into the wall as well.
     
    “Here is your vanity, I’m afraid you do need to flip the switch there because there is no natural lighting in here or your bathroom.” In my dressing room was another smaller arched door. He opened it to reveal a white bathroom equipped with a soaking tub and shower. I marveled at the shiny chrome fixtures and large mirror.
     
    “You will find this house is old, like me, but that is how I like things. Safe, comfortable, reliable. I am not one for change I am afraid. Maybe that is where my son gets it from.” He lowered his voice as he said the last part. He walked back to the door to my bedroom and took another look around the room.
     
    “So there you have it. I hope you find it suitable for now.”
     
    “It’s beautiful, yes, thank you, I love it.” He smiled, pleased, as we walked into the main part of the bedroom.
     
    “Of course you may customize it anyway you wish. Paint your room, add different curtains, or rather add curtains!” He said in a surprised voice as he looked at the windows. The fireplace was lit so all you could see out the window was our reflections standing in the middle of the bedroom.
     
    “They must have forgotten. They are getting up there in years I dare say. I do apologize. Your room was put together in a hurry. In fact all this furniture was purchased earlier this week. I suppose that is what accounts for the somewhat mismatched look to everything.”
     
    I glanced around the room to see what he was referring to. My own room in my childhood home was not as big.
     
    While the bed did look masculine and overpowering, the writing desk looked dainty and feminine. The vanity, which was white, was pretty and clearly belonged to a female. The rug under our feet spanned from the windows, to under the bed, to just short of the fireplace. The more I looked around the room, the more I fell in love with it. The fireplace, which looked to be made out of a slate gray stone covering, had a mantel with a good size shelf on top. I would have to decorate it with some sort of figurines or candles to keep it from looking so bare. All in all I had plenty of space to decorate and make this room my own.
     
    “I had hoped to bring you here in the spring, but seeing how you unexpectedly ran in to Kurten…” I must have made a face when he mentioned Kurten because he quickly patted my arm and changed the subject.
     
    “Well, no worries, just place your order with one of the servants and they will have some curtain samples brought around to you. Anything you need, if I am not here, just ring this bell.” He walked to the door to my new room where he pointed to a braided maroon colored cord.
     
    “This cord goes down to the kitchen. We have a handful of servants during the day but the three who are always here are Thomas, Esther and their grandson Timothy. They arrive at seven am each morning. The last one leaves at