Jekyll's Wife

Chapter Nine - Love Possessed

Sat at the kitchen table in the Vicar's home, Maria waited patiently as Nancy rummaged through a large, old, wooden box for her ointment.

They hadn't spoken much since the church service, with Nancy leading the conversation when they did talk.

Despite her obvious concern, Nancy had yet to ask how it had happened, although Maria could tell that it was coming.

Shouting in triumph, Nancy dragged the heavy box from the kitchen table and placed it on the floor underneath. Laying out the two bottles and a bag of powder that she'd been hunting for, she reached for an empty bowl and began expertly measuring the ingredients into the bowl before combining them.

As she stirred the slurry mixture, she focused on Maria, her head tilted in silent question.

Maria swallowed hard and looked down at her hands, taking a steadying breath. "I visited him at work yesterday." Dragging in a breath she looked up to find Nancy watching her intently. She didn't pester her, simply waited, staring in the endless silence, all the while stirring the contents in the bowl.

Licking her top lick, Maria continued, "I never should have interrupted him, he is very busy at the moment."

Nancy made a noise, as if to interject, but by the time Maria looked over at her, she was silent once again.

"He's not been himself recently. It has been like living with two different men. One, the cold and silent exterior I'm accustomed to and the other an amorous youth. I'm not sure which I met yesterday in his laboratory. That look-" Maria's voice caught and she shuddered without meaning to.

She wrapped her arms around her body and rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

She felt a chill sweep through her, no doubt from the autumn wind on their walk here. "I've never seen a look like that before." She whispered, her voice catching in her throat as she thought back to the sheer terror she'd felt when he held her skin so tightly.

She'd thought she would never see another day as her vision had darkened and her fight left her body. What she hadn't expected though, was to find that giving up the air in her lungs came with a sense of calming peace that she found almost alluring. As though letting him choke the very life from her, suddenly wasn't the worst idea in the world.

"Oh Maria." Nancy gushed, as she placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and crouched down in front of her. "I'm so sorry."

Realising she'd voiced her thoughts aloud, Maria's skin flushed and she automatically went to pull away from Nancy, panic racing through her veins at the thought of her husband finding out that not only had she told someone what happened, but that she was entertaining the idea of her death as a preferable alternative to their marriage.

Before she could spin into a panic, Nancy's arms gripped her tight and pulled her into a hug.

At first Maria went to protest, but soon found herself giving in to the kind gesture. Tears welled and stained Nancy's shoulder as Maria crumbled in her embrace.

She proceeded to describe the last week of her marriage in abstract detail, her inner thoughts came tumbling past her lips before she realised what was happening. So eager to have someone to confide in, she hadn't even considered whether or not she trusted Nancy.

The kind woman listened and even offered advice and a confession of jealousy at her amorous nightly relationship with her husband.

By the time Maria's tale was over, her and Nancy were talking like long lost sisters. A warmth chased the chill from Maria's bones as she relaxed into the familiar female friendship.

How she'd been missing this from her life.

One of the three girls meant that Maria had grown up around her best friends, with their relationships incredibly close.

Now they spoke maybe twice a year, each shipped off in a different direction for marriage.

"Although your husband is stressed, Maria, I am concerned that he's reacting in such extreme ways! A stressed man is a dangerous man, and could flip at any moment. Surely you are better to put some space between you. You should head his caution and rebuff him, no matter how tempting he might be!" The two women shared a laugh.

Nancy brushed imaginary dirt from her dress before picking up the forgotten ointment and tipping Maria's head back with a finger under her chin. "It's a good thing my husband isn't here to hear this..." She scooped a mound of ointment from the bowl and slathered it onto the worst of the bruising on Maria's neck. Maria winced at the contact but took solace in the instant cooling sensation. "If he were to hear of your husband's rises and falls, he'd considered him possessed and probably offer an exorcism!"