Bram Stoker's HANNIBAL

Chapter 43: With William Is My Happiness

Chapter 43: With William Is My Happiness

Will.

I knew he was close. I could feel him with each passing mile of ocean, with each gust of wind or errant wave that brought us together. The storm I summoned hurried me closer and closer and I craved the shore just to be near him. And now he is here – not just here in proximity to the pier where the DEMETER has come to rest, but here. On board. Coming down to the cargo hold.

The captain's obstinacy, his insistence upon remaining at the helm, showing off his corpse like his body was a signal flag, has brought Will within inches of me, summoned here by his former partners who are desperate to understand what happened to the DEMETER's crew. I alternate between rancor and delight. I don't want Will to put any strain on his mind, but at the same time, I am thrilled. Not only is he so close to me, he has the opportunity to behold my design. To see how beautiful it is. What an exquisite gift.

My darling, if only I could cast aside the barrier between us and hold you, kiss you, claim you in front of these men, in front of the entire crowd gathered on the pier, in front of your patroness. Watch her face as you embrace me, as your stubborn affection for her, your ingrained sense of self-sabotage masquerading as duty, burns to ash in my embrace.

Will leans his cheek against the box and it is another of my shadowy miracles that I do not break free right then. I can smell him – no longer feverish, but so sweet and familiar. His heart, I can hear it. So near me.

At the last second, when I think I cannot resist a second more, he goes back up the companionway and out onto the deck of the ship. I can still hear his voice, which is nearly the same degree of torture, but I am able to remain hidden.

See me. Know me.

"All of this... was someone else's design. There was another person on this ship who... preyed on these men. But, ah... he's not here now. Soon as the ship came into the harbor, he jumped off. He's out there somewhere."

No, Will, not out there. I am here.

His presence above me settles into a dull ache that I wouldn't trade for any other sensation in the world. He is near me. Will is here, he is healthy and well, and he sees me, my design, as he describes it. I don't know what he remembers or what he thinks about his time with me at Castle Lecter, what he has accepted and what he hasn't, but he seems lucid and sharp, deploying his vast intelligence to interpret the evidence.

Will is still speaking with his old Scotland Yard partners when the harbormaster comes back on board. With him is a local solicitor, Mr. S. F. Billington of 7, The Crescent. He's come to formally take possession of the goods consigned to him that are still in the hold of the DEMETER. He's a good man, and thorough. Will and the others argue that the cargo is part of a crime scene, that the ship itself is under investigation. Mr. Billington, however, has expected such resistance, for he has brought with him the Russian consul to act on the behalf of the charter-party.

Will and his partners speak in private, away from the others. "Listen, Will – we have to let them."

"I know." Will is well-versed in all kinds of law, even those he doesn't practice. "Whoever sent this cargo, though... to have a good solicitor already waiting... they must have known something was going to happen on this ship."

"Billington's just acting in his client's best interest," Mr. Price argues.

"Find out who he's working for," Will suggests. Ah, his intellect is again my adversary. Well played, cunning boy. "He'll claim confidentiality, but you might be able to get the courts to force him to tell us. If not, then... other means. Have him followed."