She stands on the battlements of a great castle. Below her, as far as
the eye can see everything has been reduced to smoldering ash. Thick black
smoke swirls around her choking her. The air that rips at her billowing skirts
is hot. Her throat and lungs are seared with every breath.
The wedding dress she
wears is streaked with blood and soot. She watches in strange fascination as
the gown catches fire. The flames eat ferociously at the delicate satin and
lace. She swallows hard, tears weaving tracks down her soot covered face. It is
not fear she feels, but profound sadness.
Arms held out wide,
her whole body wreathed in flames, she plunges from the battements as if she
were a phoenix taking flight.
Audrey gasped, her eyes opened wide. She sat up in bed, clutching
the bed linen tightly to her breast. The dream was so vivid, so real it placed
her mind in a strange state between the dream world she had left and the
reality she had woken to. She found herself shaken and afraid, but also
strangely curious. She had not dreamt in years or at least had not remembered
any dreams if she had them. She thought she read somewhere that everyone
dreamed whether they thought they did or not. Whether that be true or not, why
now after all these years would she wake from a dream so intense. She could not
help but think it meant something.
“Yeah it means you are just freaked out from last night.”
She spoke to the empty room in an attempt to be her own voice of reason. Her
mind tried to replay the previous night’s events but she pushed the thoughts
away. She knew on some level it was impossible to rationally explain how
Nicholas had managed to save her. So her sanity, seeking its own self
preservation, found it easier to dismiss it. All that mattered was she had been
wrong about wanting to die, and she was lucky to have figured that out before
it was too late.
“It was just a stupid
dream.” Audrey sighed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She swung her legs over the
side of the bed. It was then she noticed several boxes and shopping bags piled
upon the settee. Audrey unconsciously pulled the bed cover tightly to her naked
body. Someone had entered her room while she slept. Was it Max? Or was it
Nicholas? She blushed in shame realizing the thought of Nicholas entering her
bed chamber thrilled her.
Audrey, wrapping the bed linens around her, slipped from the
bed. She lowered to her knees in front of the settee. A folded white card lay
on top of the pile of boxes. With tingling fingers she unfolded to reveal a
note written in Sir Nicholas’s flowing elegant hand.
I regret to inform you
that when you did not return to your lodgings your belongings were destroyed. I
have taken the liberty of settling your debt with the proprietor and I have
endeavored to compensate you for the loss of your possessions.
Regards,
Sir Nicholas Rochester
Audrey shook her head and laid the note aside. It’s cold
tone did little to fend off her sense of unease. “How …” It was a small
village, finding out where she was staying would not be difficult she reasoned.
But why not just ask? And why was he concerned with where she was staying? “He was
just being kind … probably sending for my things.”
Shaking off her unease she reached for the first package. Audrey
carefully untied the ribbon securing the box closed. She laid it aside thinking
it would look lovely in her hair if Nicholas asked her to dine with him again.
She removed the box lid and pushed aside a layer of thin tissue to reveal a
silk robe and matching negligee. The garments were a deep rich blue and their
style simple and elegant. A smile danced across her face, she had never owned
anything so beautiful.
Audrey opened each box one by one and inside each she found
a garment lovelier than the last. She found sundresses in shades of pale blues,
yellows, and greens. There were several pairs of jeans and blouses of every
color. Inside the shopping bags she found under garments in delicate silks and
lace. There were also boxes of shoes; boots, elegant heels, sneakers, and
several pairs of sandals. Sandals were her favorite.
Audrey looked at all the beautiful garments lying around
her; she could barely decide what to wear first. Everything was perfect, as if
she had picked them out herself. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a forest green
peasant top and carried them into the bath chamber to wash and dress.
Audrey, clean and refreshed, modeled her new clothes in the
full length mirror. They fit perfectly.
A knock on the bed chamber door rouses her attention. She opened the door to reveal Max, burdened
with a silver tray. “Your breakfast Madam” he walked past her into the room and
laid the tray on the desk. Max turned
around and scanned the pile of empty boxes and bags “I do hope you everything
to your liking?”
“They are perfect … Nicholas is really too kind …” Audrey
lowered her gaze shyly.
“Indeed” Max sniffed. “He has also granted you permission to
use his library as you like. He is under the impression you would enjoy his
book collection.”
“I would love it!” Audrey tried to contain a squeal of
excitement. “Where is he, I wish to thank him for the clothes, for everything.”
When Audrey moved towards the door Max stepped in front of
her. “I must remind you not to wander this castle alone. My Lord is a busy man
and you shall not venture to disturb him. If he desires your company he shall send
for you.” Max’s tone was commanding, but
fear played behind his eyes.
“Max, what is he?” Dread slithered up her spine, but Audrey
forced herself to stand firm.
“He is the Lord of this castle; he is one who is as dear to
me if he were my own son.”
“You know what I mean Max, he is not human is he?” Audrey
captured his eyes with hers.
Max sighed, “He has suffered much in his life, so much that
no one can begrudge him for seeking solitude. He has his faults like any other,
thought he tries to better himself. He re-lives the pain of his past every day,
yet he remains generous and caring. In his heart he has great love and
compassion. I would say that makes him very human.”
Max moved towards the door then lingered in its frame, “If
you require anything else Madam please do not hesitate to ask.”
