The Spiders' Tale

4. The Stranger Unmasked

Spying on Dragomir Dodrescu 

Melanie’s account

October 31st 1885, All Hollows Eve

Dragomir clambered out of bed, running a hand through the tangled locks of his thick red hair. All the way to the door he shuffled his cold bare feet against the chilled hardwood floor. Halfway there, he paused, perfectly still and staring up at the ceiling. Holding his hand over his heart, he sighed, relieved to feel it beat again and again. The day before was a close call. He was sure he would die. But he didn’t. And for that he was thrilled.

Weakly grinning, he peered over his shoulder and at the little vase on his dresser. There inside was a beautiful bright red rose with petals as rich and soft as Vivian’s lips, and a diamond ring tied in ribbon round its thorny stem. 

She truly was a beautiful lady, Vivian. The boy had planned to give her the rose when he proposed to her. There was something about his birthday that made him feel as though he could do anything, and it was with this courage he would approach her. But not yet. First, little Mariana would let loose Vivian’s horse. Dragomir would perform the heroic deed in finding and returning it, flattering her to the point where she’d have to say yes. 

Laughing lightly to himself, he looked back to the door and exited his room, thus entering the kitchen. Because there wasn’t a dining room, it served for that as well with its long, narrow table pushed up alongside the wall. At the opposite wall was the cabinets, sink, ice box, windows, and front door. The coal stove had a wall to itself, perched above the only tiled area in the house. The door to the left of that was his father’s room.

Dragomir stared out the wide window above the metal sink. It was early in the morning. The world was still orange in the sun’s half risen glow. The fenced off area of the VanDer’s land was lacking a great black stallion, but there stood Vivian in it’s place, her long chestnut hair cascading down her back, straight at the scalp and ending in magnificent curls at the bottom. She was not properly dressed yet--anyone could tell. Her hair wasn’t piled above her head and she was clad merely in a silk cream nightdress and a closed black cloak. Shivering, and with breaths coming out in puffs of smoke, she hugged herself and stared out at her land.

It took him a moment, but Dragomir realized Mariana had already let loose the horse. The boy had to hurry and dress so he could charge to his lady’s rescue! With a gasp he spun around, bashing his leg against the counter in his haste. Not allotting himself the time to react, he continued dashing back into his bedroom, and there he dressed quicker than he had ever dressed before. This done, he sprinted back out of his bedroom and through his kitchen, stopping just before reaching the front door. Looking down at his attire, he gave himself a cursory grooming and left, starting confidently to the VanDer lot. 

But there stood another man, holding Vivian in ernest by the shoulder and muttering something. Clad in a heavy overcoat and a fashionable hat, the man stood a good foot above Vivian’s head, putting him at about the same height as Dragomir himself. Dark bushy eyebrows, narrow hooked nose, sunken cheeks...this was a man the boy had never seen before. What relation was he to Vivian? 

Eyebrows narrowed and jaw set, he approached. “Good day,” he said when he was near enough to the two. 

“Good day,” the man replied. 

Vivian turned her head and looked up, peering at the boy through her long dark lashes and weakly smiling. Her cheeks were blushed and the tip of her nose was pink with cold.

Dragomir couldn’t help a weak smile back. “What’s going on here?” 

“It’s...” Vivian lowered her gaze, lightly running her thumb over her closed tearing eyes.