Chapter 11
Bellerie Lodophin was calmed down and actually in a rather good mood. Alleff, although somewhat subdued, was in rather good spirits and was feeling much better. The electrical safeties had been repaired, the lights were on, and everything was working. The boys were running around and creating all sorts of mischief (sort of their way of expressing how relieved they were that Alleff was okay, and glad to be getting things back to normal, not to mention catching up on all the trouble that they had surprisingly not caused during the stressful afternoon) of which Mrs. Lodophin was nearly oblivious to. So, when Mayor Palador and Mr. Olefften arrived at the door, Bellerie had to think for a moment why they were at her door at all, not to mention transforming her mindset back to the victim and disgruntled citizen, which in this instant was emotionally too draining for her to give a full effort to. But, not being one to give anyone, especially male authority figures, the upper hand, she did half-heartedly address the Mayor in a like state to that which she had approached her earlier visitors that day: “Mayor Palador, I’m surprised you had not been by earlier today.” She of course had been informed that Mayor Palador was unaware of her calamity, by Seryen himself, and that he had left, only an hour or so ago, to inform the Mayor and, although not actually spoken, to retrieve him; but this, though somewhat annoying to Seryen, was of no consequence.
“Seryen has told me of the traumatic afternoon you and your family have been through,” he said sincerely and with a serious enough tone, though with a cheerful expression in his eyes. Roloff had a way of calming those around him. In this case Mrs. Lodophin was already calmed internally. But he also had a way of reading people through and through; he knew, almost instantly, that he was here on ceremony, and that quickly all of their designs (Both Mrs. Lodophin’s and his and Seryen’s) would be accomplished, and that he would likely get home before the evening was too late. But he also understood that he would have to play the part for a while, which he settled into comfortably. Seryen, on the other hand, was more ill at ease, and Roloff suspected that he had not yet grasped the situation.
Bellerie typically wore long loose dresses, of which she had a brown and yellow, fairly light-toned, one on this evening. She, having always been obese, carried her weight naturally. She had light brown hair, neither long nor short, that tonight was worn down straight. She had glasses that were rather large, but not so much that they overshadowed her plump rounded face. Her green eyes were somewhat magnified by her hyperopic lenses, giving her glances an added punctuation, yet adding to her largeness in an unattractive way. Ordinarily, she was always pleased to have important visitors in her home, but tonight she felt too relieved to be effectively manipulative, and was eager to get back to her comfortable and relaxed state of mind. Still, they were here, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to take advantage of the situation; plus, she liked Roloff’s company well enough.
“Is Alleff well enough that we may see him?”
“Alleff? Oh, he, well, he has had a terribly bad day. Um, I think you can see him, that is, I’m sure you will see him. He’s been running around...his brothers have him riled up, and they’ll probably be in and out. But you should have seen him this afternoon, how his face was so white and he was so scared. I was beside myself with fear, and I wanted—well, I’m not sure I want to have the substation on my property. My boys are the most precious things in the world to me, and...” The sound of things falling to the floor was heard with a crash, and almost instantly a boy’s voice was heard crying. Bellerie, subconsciously, rolled her eyes, and was about to go on explaining how precious her boys are to her when Seryen volunteered to see what was happening with the boys; and then got up without waiting for a reply.
Roloff continued to listen while Bellerie continued on, “This electricity is so powerful, and dangerous for my boys, I am afraid that something awful may happen. Oh, dear, it has been hot today, I’m glad they were able to fix the power so quickly. I don’t know what I would do without it.” Bellerie sat back, more relaxed, not even remotely aware of the mistake she had just made in consistency. Seryen walked back into the room carrying Alleff, who had tears in his eyes, but was no longer crying aloud.
