Free Masque by Lexi Post

has been passed down in your family for generations.”
    His gaze faltered, but he stepped around her to point again,
this time past the castle wall. “You will find the stables there, the chapel
here, and once this courtyard is cleared, a small pond.”
    She peered over the edge to view the places he discussed,
but the graveyard next to the chapel caught her attention. An uncomfortable
foreboding passed over her, but couldn’t keep her from satisfying her
curiosity. “If the Abbey was complete in 1856 and abandoned in 1861, why are
there so many graves?”
    Even before she glanced at him, she felt tension freeze his
body. His stiffness, so complete, reminded her of a corpse. It didn’t help that
a cloud covered the sun at that exact moment to complete the chilly impression.
His stillness scared her, and she placed her hand on his arm to draw him from
his focus. “Synn?”
    His words spit from between gritted teeth. “It was a
sickness they called the Red Death, a plague brought from abroad on a British
ship.”
    She wanted to know more, but every fiber of his being told
her to drop it. So she strolled along the wall toward the area where he said a
pond lay hidden beneath the tangle of forsythia bushes. “Are you sure there is
still a pond there? It may have dried up.” She pointed to the overgrowth. She
doubted that the flowering bushes allowed the pond to exist.
    Her distraction worked. He drew closer to view the area. “I
don’t know. I haven’t walked down there in a long time, but there is a
consistent water source beneath the Abbey, so it could be filled again. The
privacy the yard offers makes the pond a satisfying experience.”
    The wistfulness in his tone had her turning to look at him,
but his face remained stoic. He pointed to where the landscaper had cleared
most of a courtyard. Stone benches could now be seen randomly placed throughout
it. “There is where many a woman was secretly kissed.”
    She peered at the area, but became distracted by the
workman’s naked torso. He was young, muscular and single. His name was Matt
McMurray, according to what she and Valerie had gathered the other day when
asking him to start work on the grounds. Though broad in stature, he was
shorter than Synn, but clean cut and attractive in his own way.
    Synn’s hands on her shoulders startled her. “Do you like his
body?”
    She flushed at his observation. Was she that obvious? “I
guess, but it’s hard to tell from here. I’d have to get a closer look to make a
judgment.” She smirked, but his raised brow made it clear he didn’t believe her
attempt at humor.
    “I think you do.” He brushed her hair away from her neck and
kissed her there.
    Was he jealous? No. Unless swirling his tongue on her nape
while she watched the landscaper’s biceps was considered jealous. She almost
wished he was upset, but then again, she didn’t want a relationship with him.
She couldn’t afford the time right now.
    Rena pulled away. Synn’s sexual advances kept leaving her
hot and horny. She wouldn’t let him do that to her again. She stepped farther
along the battlements. “Tell me about the colored rooms. Each appears to have
been set aside for leisure time or entertainment. I’m guessing the Blue Room
was a parlor so people could converse.”
    She squelched the vision of the couple making love on the
bed that first night and dared a glance at him.
    He remained impassive. “Yes. These parlors enabled people to
learn about everything from the latest visitor in town to the best price for
barley.”
    She continued along the walk. “But the Purple Room has a
stage. Did they have plays performed here at the Abbey, or was it more for
concerts and piano recitals?”
    He stopped her forward progress by catching her arm. “Step
over here, that stone is crooked.”
    “Thanks.” He knew the Abbey well indeed.
    He continued to follow her. “The stage was used for any
entertainment that needed an audience.”
    She looked back at