Emily Rose....<br/><br/>Ever since the party, the feeling that someone was watching her never seemed to cease or let up.  At night, she tried to keep the curtains closed but even then the shadows seem to follow her.  Her sleep was disturbed nightly.  If she did not wake up in tears, she was assaulted with heart pumping adrenaline and fear.<br/><br/>Tonight had been no different.  She awoke in a cold sweat, her bedclothes soaked and a red rose upon her pillow.  She The dream was becoming whispered tatters as she picked up the long stemmed rose.  She dropped it with a sharp cry of pain as a a sharp thorn pricked her finger.  A drop of red blood fell to her pillow and she immediately put her offended finger to her lips.<br/><br/>Her head turned sharply to the darkness, thinking she heard a sound.  The nightmare rose up in her mind and the sound of blood rushing to ears as her heart quickened.  Images of a man filled with sadness and rage filled her mind.  She could never see his face but he tore through the night in search of someone and those that he encountered met a bitter end.<br/><br/>The moonlight streamed in and she could not recall opening the curtains.  Emily shivered at the thought that there was someone in her rooms.  She pulled the comforter closer to her chin, the sharp thorned rose clutched forgotten in one hand. Her eyes frantically searched the shadows but saw nothing.  Her candle had long burned out and she was afraid to move.<br/><br/>"Is someone there?  If you are, do not make my heart beat so and show yourself," she called out.  Not that she wanted to know if something was there or not.  Better it stay away but she felt so helpless.<br/><br/>Nothing came from the darkness and she sat the long night until dawn in vigil.  She did not know when dawn came, only that she awoke once more with a start from a dreamless sleep.  The growing light of day showed her room as it always was and she breathed her relief.  Rising, tired and aching from her bed, having sat instead of lain.<br/><br/>She dressed and made her way downstairs.  Their one made had prepared breakfast and she sat, only able to nibble toast.  Feeling sleep addled she finally noticed the incredible bouquet of roses as the centerpiece of the table.<br/><br/>"Nancy?  Where did that come from?"<br/><br/>"I don't right know, Miss.  I went to the door this morning to sweep and it was there.  There was a card," she said and retrieved it from the middle of the bouquet and gave it to her Mistress.  She waited patiently as elegant hands peeled back the paper.  Nosy as she was, she could only see the name Jack.  Nancy didn't read well, but names were easy.  "Looks as Miss has an admirer."<br/><br/>"Yes, It seems so.  The flowers are truly beautiful," Emily said, smiling uneasily.  There were near three dozen, flowing out from a porcelain urn.  The baby's breath and fern only a mere backdrop to the glorious beauty of velvet red.  "Be sure they are properly watered.  And my brother?"<br/><br/>"He didna come home, Miss," Nancy replied.<br/><br/>"Of course," Emily said.  Nathaniel had been staying out later and later.  It was a wonder he even lived here anymore.  She set about to finish her breakfast and begin her day.  She reached out to touch a fallen rose petal.  She wondered who Jack was.  This was not the first bouquet.  The man was a mystery.  She fingered the bracelet on her wrist.  It was gold and simple, a pearl drop it's only decoration.  She was lonely and almost wished he would show himself in person.<br/><br/>Nathaniel....<br/><br/>Nathaniel had once more spent his night in the fighting ring.  He had come out of this night with only a cut over his eye and bruised rib.  Aching he had made his way to the den.  Tonight had been good and he had made a good purse.  The little Chinese man that opened the door nodded and he stumbled to his usual cubby.  Paying up front, he picked up the stained hookah and greatfully inhaled the harsh smoke.  He let it fill his lungs and then expelled it in a rush and a cough.  He lay back and let the his mind flutter.  It was the only way to stop that feeling of being watched to stop the aggravated worry that gnawed at him.