Snowdrop (A Frankenstein Story)

Chapter 10

Georgia sat at her piano, staring at the keys. Apart from her dresses and a few books, the instrument was all that belonged entirely to her. No one could take it away, but now she didn't want it. If the keys moved on their own she wouldn't be surprised, she would, instead, be grateful for the distraction. Each time her eyes fell on the piano she heaved with a dramatic sigh.

"If you want attention, Miss Georgia, you've got it," said Nettie as she sat on the sofa next to Georgia. "What is the matter?"
"Nothing," replied Georgia with another sigh. She carelessly tapped a few more keys.

Nettie adjusted her dress and opened the book in her hand. "Is it your friend? The one that comes to visit you at night."

Georgia's fingers slipped, causing her to hit a cluster of black and white keys. The dissonance ripped through the gloom of her cheerless day. "H-how do you know about him?"

"You just told me," she answered simply. "I suspected it for a while, but then I heard you arguing with someone a few nights ago. Georgia, what were you thinking?" She hissed in a low whisper.

Georgia flushed. "I was thinking I had finally found someone who accepted me as I am, as I am possibly nothing now. He cares for me, or I thought he did."

Nettie paled and tossed her book to the side. "You didn't give up your virtue did you?"

"No!" snapped Georgia. "He would never have left me if I had... . I just don't know what has happened to him. I know he loves me."

"He was probably caught sneaking into some other girl's room and was shot while trying to take her."

Nettie's tone was almost in jest, she needed Georgia to see the foolishness of her actions. The young pianist thought she already lost all that there was to lose, but there was still further for her to fall. Was she that naive to have not thought about the consequences of her actions?

Georgia covered the keys of her piano and turned to face her longtime friend and caretaker. "I do not care for propriety, nor the stringent rules that govern our lives. I do not care for the whispers behind my back, they've done enough damage to me already, what more could they do? And marriage!" She exclaimed, raising to her feet. "What dowry have I? A few hundred pounds a year? What little Sir John can spare? I loath the people of my rank! And my—"

Tears streamed down her face and the hue of her cheeks went from white to red. The beauty of her womanhood wilted into a childlike demeanor, full of passion and impudence. "They scheme and scorn. If you aren't dressed the way they want then up go their pointed noses! Oh! And 'she's got the skill of a concert pianist, but the vocal training of a country bumpkin. She'll be great for entertaining the footman's friends!' It's all rubbish, Nettie. My God! How they talk."

Georgia finally stopped pacing and dropped herself onto the sofa next to Nettie and wept into her arms. "You'll get through this, Georgia, love. I needed to know what your decision would be. I have a confession."

Georgia sat up and stared at her. She quickly wiped away her tears and demanded to know what Nettie needed to say.

"I met your poet."

Glass seemed to shatter in her mind or maybe it was the sound the earth made when it stopped moving? Her breathing slowed or did it just feel that way? What was she feeling? Every single sound echoed loudly in her ears. "W-what did you say?"

Her heart sank into her stomach and dread filled her to the point that she felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

Nettie smiled sweetly. "The least time you saw him, dear. I cornered him and spoke with him. He hasn't abandoned you, my dear, he wants to deserve you. I think that is why he left"

Georgia returned to her seat. There was a mercilessly pounding in her head. Nettie knew her poet and he knew Nettie. Then where was he? Why would he not return to her? Her temper flared inside. Of course he abandoned her, he must have realized how difficult life with her would end up being. And what had he disclosed to Nettie? The past he so ardently kept hidden from her? Georgia fumed silently and the tears returned with burning pain.

Nettie then began her tale.

The creature shut the door to Georgia's room and slinked along the wall of the hallway. Despite his stature, he was quiet and agile. His acute hearing gave him ample warning of the wandering servant. When he heard them coming he would duck behind a curtain or hide in the shadows. He, of course, heard Nettie, he just hadn't expected her to be hiding as well or outwit him. Not even a moment out of his hiding spot and she had him cornered. In her hand was a lantern and she saw all of him. Her eyes grew wide with terror, but she never screamed.

It took all of her strength to simply greet him. He responded with almost as much terror. Pulling herself together, Nettie asked him who he was. As she continued bombarding him with questions she became more confident in herself; she was unrelenting in her determination to keep Georgia safe. Nettie directed him to a parlor where she conducted her interview.

The creature savored the encounter; this was the first true encounter he had with mankind. He could see that Nettie was afraid of him, but she was giving him the opportunity to appeal to her kind the way he had always hoped.

They sat for only a few hours discussing Georgia and what he could do for her. He learned so much about his English love in just one night. She was not so enchanted with wealth and material as he previously believed, and she grieved little over those friends who had so cruelly abandoned her in England. As he listened to Nettie revealing the beautiful details of Georgia he came to understand how alike in spirit they were. Georgia, however, was not prone to the violence the way that he was.

But as they neared the end of their conversation, Nettie made it clear what he needed to do. If he was to win Georgia's hand in marriage, he would need money. Nettie, however, failed to understand his plans. She believed the matter to be over, in her mind, it was a task he would never be able to complete.

"So you sent him away," she accused. Georgia felt her heart shattering. Her lip trembled. "You used his love for me to send him away. I thought you cared for me, but you have only added to my misery. The only way I can save myself from the gutter now is to marry up. I've lost love and I am now condemned to a loveless marriage. Nettie, you have broken my trust."

Nettie frowned at her. "Miss Georgia, don't be dramatic. I did this for you. What kind of life would you have had with him? He's not fit for public. Surely you've seen him!"

Georgia stood and paced anxiously by the piano. Her hands went to her ears as a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes. "I'm not hearing this. This is a nightmare. He will come. He'll wake me up. This is- this is not happening."

"He is gone, Miss Georgia," Nettie stated. Her arm reached out in an effort to beckon Georgia to her.

"We are finished!" Shrieked Georgia suddenly, causing Nettie jump. Her face was bright red, blotched with bitter anger. Her breathing was ragged from the sudden freedom she allowed her emotions. "This is not the tantrum of a child, this is the fury of a heartbroken woman! We were friends and you betrayed me!"

Before Nettie could say anything in response, Georgia fled the room in a hurricane of emotion. The door to her bedroom shut loudly and was promptly locked. When Nettie felt that her nerves were calm enough she went to Georgia's room only to hear the muffled tears of the girl she'd known for twenty-three years. It broke her heart to hear Georgia in so much pain. Although Nettie felt anguish over her actions, she had acted in Georgia's best interest. The girl would realize it and thank her for it some day. She did what she needed to do to protect someone she loved; she did what anyone would have done in her place. Hadn't she?