Life is Simple

Lesson 9

I was shown into the estate's observatory by Cain Picrew promptly. The room beheld polished, leather bound books and constellation maps as decorations on the walls. There were spacious windows that opened a portal into the night sky, where one could look about with a telescope. I roamed freely on the marble floor, collating the various works strewn across tables and on the shelves, immersing myself in the learned culture I was not quite familiar with. In my search I observed a sketch hanging above my head, a feathery, beautiful sketch of dots and lines.

"So you have found my sketch of the constellation Boötes." Opposite of where I stood, Cain presented himself at a small table, pouring a decanter full of spirits into a glass before swallowing his fill in one mouthful. He poured himself another glass then paraded himself in my direction where I studied the gibberish drawn on parchment suspended before my eyes.

"Forgive me, but I am not familiar with constellation names. I am much more fond of microscopy or phrenology as subjects." My cheeks reddened from my failure of demonstrating myself as a scholarly lady. I was educated in many courses indeed, ones for ladies and wives. I would secretly peruse the pages of some out of date texts on the subjects of science, but I was never fortunate enough to come across a reading explaining the stars in the sky. Only sewing, literature, music- these were the foundations of my education.

"I shouldn't think you would be so well versed." Cain lifted the glass to his lips to take another mouthful of spirits.

"And why is that?" I immediately regretted the words I spoke, for I treaded on fatal waters. I challenged my suitor who guffawed and looked at the floor with sarcastic glances. Mrs. Woolstone must be disappointed in my numerous years of training, this I am sure.

"Oh, it is nothing. I do not want to upset a delicate lady. Your breed is emotional." An air of arrogance sprung from his voice as his domineering disposition revealed itself. Beneath my skin my heart stopped beating and a lump hitched in my throat. How could one snap so quickly between opposing façades?

"Ah yes, back to Boötes now if you like." Towering over my done-up hair, Cain pointed to dots then traced his finger to the next one and the next one and the next. All the while I contemplated his remark from only moments ago. I suppose that speaking down to a woman is common, but I have had no previous experiences with men or courtship in my short life. I loathed being spoken down to.

"Did you know Boötes is one of the oldest constellations recorded? It's name derives from the word 'herdsmen' in Greek, is that not a splendid little fact?" Cain shook his head delightfully in the amazement of the fact while I choked on bitter emotions. I remembered Mrs.Woolstone now, for the funeral never fails to play in my mind. I grieve her death, I dream of her life, I reflect on our lovely life we spent together when I could play in the fields and pet the livestock and stand on her toes while she showed me how to dance. I remember being naughty and stealing shortbread from the kitchen before supper and I recall watching the raindrops race down the windows when the weather was disagreeable. I think of her wrinkled face and of her favorite color lilac. She hated the taste of sprouts and tomatoes, but she loved potato soup and pheasant. Never did she come to my home without her tricorn raised above her head to protect her from the sun.

"Annalise? What vexes you?" Cain confronted me with a painful smile, leaning downward to meet my eyes which remained vacant.

"My dearest friend passed recently and I haven't quite gotten over her death. That is all."

"Hmmmm. . . I am sorry for your loss. Even more sorry is how you managed to weigh down the lighthearted fun of the night. You are quite the persuasive creature." In a playful manner Cain wagged his finger, whose knuckles were chapped pink in contrast to the whiteness of his hand. He shook his head, hurried off again to the decanter to fill his cup once more, then rejoined my damp presence.

"She was my governess. Ever since I could remember." I pinched at the stiff taffeta around my waist and fingered my jewelry for comfort. Cain looked at the floor then up to Boötes on parchment, having no words or emotions to share.

"Cain, I believe it is important to tell you this in hopes of your morality claiming patience over me. I was not able to fully learn, for she passed when we were at the most vital stages in my education. I have been trying to learn still, but there is no guidance in my home, for mother spends her days knitting at her friend's home or purchasing accessories. No one is present to properly educate me." I turned up to Cain who tapped his glass with his finger and slid his teeth over his faint lip. He passed to me a side glance before taking a sip of his spirits, then brought his attention to me with grave features.

"No doubt you can learn, or if we were to wed I could direct you as the husband of the home. Pardon me, I seem to have thought ahead too far or seem to have put too much thought into this scenario." He rubbed his long fingers past one another before letting a faint sigh escape his pale lips, diffusing the sweet scent of alcohol into the chilled air.

"I thought it would be wise of me to mention my areas in which I lack." The room felt still with a heavy onset of heat. The noxious alcohol irritated my nose only to warm my innards and fuel the uncomfortable fire I felt about me.

"How gentle and terrified you are, like a young doe in a clearing. It is my duty, as any wealthy man's, to groom my wife into the perfect woman with favorable qualities. You need not worry, for you appear to be fragile and not quite broken in. I find it will be easier for you to learn as a tabula rasa should you take up a late governess." Cain quickly emptied the contents of his glass into his sweet, thin mouth without so much as a pause in his fluent motion.

"Let us see the dance hall and the overlook above the garden. Come now." The unworked hand reached out to me as the hands of the angels once did to the beautiful Venus, but I was no beautiful Venus, no, I was a woman.