Her own room

Mary was once again speechless at the sight. The room was huge, at least according to Mary’s standards. On the wall opposite of the door there was a large circular window that was divided into smaller glass panes by wood. The walls were painted in the same light cream colour as in the rest of the house.

The sealing was higher than in the corridor and it slanted up into a point. Wooden beams went across is.

In the middle of the wall on Mary’s right there was a big bed, almost as big as the one in the peacock room in the tower. Next to it was a dresser and to the left on the circular window was two stuffed chairs.

On the left wall there was a large fireplace and on the wall to the right of the door there was a desk with a chair.

To her left there was a door leading into another room. Mary peaked inside. It was a bathroom with a bathtub and a fireplace that was placed on the exact same place as the one in her bedroom, just on the other side of the wall.

There was a large bowl-looking thing hanging over the fireplace that was connected with pipes to the tub. Mary didn’t know what to say. She joined Kopa and Bettina in the room.

“What do you think? Can you see yourself living here?” Bettina looking at Mary.

Mary felt the tears started to run down her face again. She couldn’t remember when she had cried as much in a day.

“Oh, don’t cry Mary. We can fix it so that you fell at home” Bettina said almost panicking and Kopa looked like he didn’t know what to do.

“It’s so beautiful and nice. I don’t deserve a room like this” Mary sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

“Oh dear, dear, girl. Of course you do” Bettina exclaimed and hurried towards Mary, dragging her in to a tight hug. Kopa stood at the door, not knowing what to do.

“You deserve this room because you are a part of our family and nothing but the best will ever do for you” Bettina continued. “Now let’s get you in to a warm bath and then into bed. Everything will feel better in the morning”

Mary nodded and tried to stop sobbing. She looked up at Kopa.

“You okay Mary?” he asked worried. She nodded and smiled at him. “I’ll go and let you two ladies get on with it. If you need anything you just come and get me. Promise me that Mary.” Mary nodded again.

“Then I say good night for now, I’ll see you in the morning and by then your belongings will have arrived” Kopa said with a faint smile.

“Thank you” Mary said.

“No need to thank me Mary” he said and left the room.

“Come along my dear, I’ll show you how things work” Bettina said.

She led Mary into the bathroom and showed her a pump in the corner of the room. If you used it you would get water directly in to the bathroom. Mary was amazed.

Bettina lit a fire in the fireplace and together they filled the large container with water. Once it was hot enough Bettina opened a tap and the water started running in to the bathtub on its own. Mary couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I think you will need a fire in the bedroom tonight, it is getting warmer, but I think we will need a fire for another week or two” Bettina said, taking a iron plyer and grabbing one of the burning logs in the bathroom fireplace and quickly walking in to the bedroom, placing it in that fireplace.

Mary walked up to the large window that almost spanned floor to ceiling and looked out. She was looking at a huge garden.

“Whose garden is it?” she asked Bettina that was making sure a fire got started.

“It’s mine. I grow a variety of herbs for my work, most of the vegetable we eat and then there are some plants that are just beautiful.” she answered smiling. “Do you like gardens?”

“I used to, now I don’t know” Mary said honestly as Bettina joined her at the window.

“It’s not much to look at, at the moment, but in a week or two the first spring flowers will start to bloom and from then on it looks beautiful all the way in to winter” Bettina sounded proud.

“I’ll show it to you tomorrow. For now, you should have your bath and then it’s off to bed for you. I have lent you one of my nightgowns as your luggage haven’t arrived yet. You can sleep as long as you wish. When you wake up just come downstairs, and as Kopa said, if you need anything you let us know”

“Okay, thank you for everything and for letting me stay here” Mary said.

“It is a joy to have you, Mary. I know how much you mean to Kopa. I know he can be quiet and look a bit intimidating, but that man has a heart of gold and is soft as a stuffed toy” Bettany said laughing.

“He really is” Mary agreed.

“And I can already feel that you and I will get along just fine. It will be nice to have someone in the hose that can string more than three words together”. Mary nodded and felt at ease as Bettina exited the room and Mary got ready and let herself immerge into the bathtub.

The feeling of the warm water was amazing after the days in the carriage. The fireplace provided heat and light and the herbs that Bettina had put in the water relaxed Mary even further. She stayed in the bath for longer than she had planned.

When her eyes started to feel heavy, and she had a hard time staying awake she got up and emptied the tub the way Bettina had showed her. She stood a while admiring how the water drained from the tub and vanished.

She went into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, and noticed that it was beginning to get dark outside. She stood a while looking out over the garden, watching the sun set over the city that was now her home.

She changed into the nightgown and crawled into bed. She felt exhausted and the bed was so comfortable. She lay on her side looking out of the window, up at the sky and before she knew it, she was asleep.