The Greatest Obsession

Chapter Six: A Taste of Alice

It had been two days. Elijah's wound was bruised, but it was healing thanks to the herbal medicines and the rubbing alcohol given to him by Dr. Jamerson. He applied creams and moistures more than was necessary, but he would rather have been safe than sorry.

It was a sunny afternoon. Irina had found herself exhausted after staying up far too late with the housekeeper, cleaning out of pure boredom. She'd expressed the want to nap for a few hours, and so Elijah allowed her this after stealing a kiss. She left his room. Elijah was alone and for the first time, he was not being watched since his arrival, whether it by his stalker or Henry, the gardener that volunteered to sit by Elijah's door at night for a week. He was content with this protection, and he was not put off by only having it for such a short period of time. He believed it would all be over then. He sat on the edge of his bed, tapping his boots on the floor. He hummed to himself. Now, wasn't sleepy as his fiancée but he was drained. He kept entertaining himself through thoughts of that night and what really happened to him.

The longer time passed, the longer he second-guessed himself on the tale of the silhouetted man. It's not that he ever lost consistency in the story, it was that he realized the ridiculousness of it. It truly was preposterous to think that a mystery man had coaxed Elijah from his room only to disappear without a trace.

Elijah thought to himself, I am wiser than to walk into what could have been my death. And the pebbles! How could a man reach my window with such tiny rocks? The trajectory would have to be precise and the bearer of the rocks must have an outstanding throwing arm. Elijah pondered logic and reason. There was none with this story. And how, he asked himself, did this man manage to inflict a bite on my neck without my slumber being disturbed? How did the servants not hear a damned thing, from me or the intruder? How did I not find him? Elijah sighed. He pressed his cool fingertips to his temples and pressed into them in slow circular movements.

A knock sounded on his door. "Come in," Elijah said, thinking it might have been a servant, or Irina deciding she didn't want her nap. Lo and behold, to Elijah's surprise, it was Abraham. He was dressed in a brown suit with blue satin swirls in the cuffs of his sleeves, a brown velvet top hat, and a rather handsome cane, not that he needed it. Elijah and Abraham hadn't spoken much since the disagreement two days prior, but the boy didn't want to admit that the old man's visit to his chambers implied they were still in each other's good graces.

"Good afternoon, Abraham. What might be the occasion for such dress? Are you departing?" he asked.

He nodded. "I am, in fact, departing. I will be off in Kent overseeing the management of the Snow family business."

"Oh," Elijah sighed. He'd heard of the family business; the Snow family had owned a winery for three generations. "I wish your journey well, then. Kent is just over an hour out of London. Do you go there often?"

The old man smiled. "Quite. I was wondering, Elijah, if would like to accompany me on this trip? I would perfectly understand your decline, considering the distance, but if you were interested I could show you the building. You might enjoy it."

Well, I have not a thing to do. Some fresh air might do me kindly, and it would be nice to be far away from this street, I might add. Elijah nodded absent-mindedly before standing from his bed. "Why not? I shall come," the man replied.

"I'm glad to hear it," Abraham chuckled. "Make haste! The carriage will be off soon." He was gone.

Elijah found himself changing out of his pale, creamy orange shirt and into a more polished white shirt and a soft, dark brown vest. He combed his hair out of his face and parted it to the right. A pesky curl by his ear wouldn't mold with the rest of it. His brown hair bounced as he jumped from his vanity. He gasped suddenly. He wandered to his desk where he took a dull pencil and parchment to explain his whereabouts for when Irina woke. He tucked the loose strands of long brown hair behind his ear.