The Secrets of Darkling Manor

Three: Aleksander Morozova

Three:

He hadn't meant to hit the girl. He had, to be completely honest, forgotten that she was coming when he looked up on his schedule and realized she was supposed to be there. He had sped in his car to the train station to pick her up when he had realized that she was coming. The trouble was, he hadn't slept all last night yet again. The same way he never slept when he was at Darkling Manor.

The birds had been at it again. The Darkling was a near extinct bird, a cousin to the crow. There was something about their feathers that made it so that they didn't have shadows. There were those that believed if you saw three Darklings in a row, death was coming for you. The Darkling's were solitary creatures whose constant cries were meant to ease their loneliness. Unfortunately, they also drove Aleksander insane. Worse, he couldn't even shoot the damn things because they were protected.

Then there had been other issues. The old house was known for its bizarre history. In moving there to be Genya's guardian, he had heard the sounds of scratching in the walls at night. Woken to someone's icy, cool hand trialing down his bare arm or face when no one was there. Heard a woman singing nonsense lyrics that he couldn't make out.

But he was a practical man. It was an old house. It had its quirks. There was more than likely some explanation for the things that he was hearing. Besides, he didn't have any choice in the matter. If he wanted to inherit his company, he had to be Genya's ward until she turned eighteen. Those were the rules his damned brother's will had stipulated. It had also insisted that she be raised at home.

Which meant Darkling Manor, no matter how much he hated the place. No matter how much he didn't even like the idea of Genya being left alone in the house with the things he thought he saw, and the things he thought he heard. It was probably nothing. His own fears giving manifestation. Besides, the staff consisted of the maid, the cook, and Ivan. Now the nanny.

The girl. Alina Starkov. He wouldn't be so alone, and he wouldn't be forced to play parent on weekends. He could focus on the business, exactly the way it was supposed to be. As for the girl well...if she saw anything strange, he'd have Ivan think up some fool story to keep her there. Besides, Aleksander didn't think she could afford to leave. Not if she were living with his fool cousin in a tiny flat in London. She needed this job. She wouldn't let herself be scared off by some ghost that wasn't really real.

Of course, being tired didn't excuse the fact that he'd behaved abominably to the girl. He shouldn't have been driving so fast, and he definitely shouldn't have hit her. When he carried her inside, the maid, Marie, had been cleaning the banisters and gasped when he saw him.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Call the doctor," he barked, "she hit her head. I'll be taking her to her room. Have him meet us there."

He carried her up the stairs, to her room, and placed her gently on the bed. She had passed out. Her dark hair formed around her head, almost like a halo. The girl was young, pretty. It had been a long time since he had had anyone like that in his presence. There was a cut on her forehead, and blood was coming from it.

It took the doctor at least twenty minutes to get there, and Aleksander paced the whole time, barking at his staff whenever he heard they weren't there yet. Finally, the door creaked open, and in entered the doctor.

"Hello," he said, "where's the girl?"

"You took too long!" Aleksander barked. "She's there."

The doctor glanced from the girl to him. "What happened?"

"Don't look at me like I'm a villain. She was walking in the middle of the road, and I accidently hit her a little. She fell and hit her head. Fix her."

The doctor shook her head. "She'll need stitches. I need space. I'm afraid you'll have to leave, Mr. Morozova."

"This girl is an employee in my care," he hissed, "I'm not leaving her alone."

The doctor sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Fine. Then I'm going to have to ask you to go sit in the chair in the corner and stay out of my way."

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth.

He sat in the chair, leaning forward anxiously, rubbing his face with his hands. He watched as the doctor gave the girl stitches, and then seemed to examine her for any other wounds.

"She'll be fine," he said at the end, "but she will need rest. About two weeks. This girl is an employee, you said?"

Aleksander heaved a sigh. "My new nanny, yes."

"She's quite young," the doctor said, and Aleksander didn't like the tone he was implying, "are you certain that nothing else---"

"She'll be fine, doctor," said Aleksander, "I'll make certain that she has the best care. You can go now. Thank you. My assistant Ivan will take care of the bill."

The doctor glanced at Alina one more time, and he nodded. "Alright. I'll see myself out. Call me if she shows any signs of worsening, won't you?"

Aleksander nodded, and stood to open the door and urge him out. "Of course." Then he slammed the door shut behind him. He stared at the young woman as she remained unconscious. Her first day on the job, and she was already causing him more trouble than she was worth. Two weeks of her not able to do her duties.

He stared at her. She was quite beautiful. He let out a groan. "Fuck!" he was going to be in so much trouble. He already knew it, deep down in his bones. The girl was going to leave a mark on him. And he could ill afford that.