The Greatest Obsession

Chapter Ten: Discovery & Miscommunications

Irina had never woke with a headache before that morning. She'd fallen asleep with tears in her eyes, and the pressure of her clogged sinuses and the multitude of times she woke from nightmares of her beloved had finally produced a throbbing on the side of her head. Her eyes felt heavy. The girl's face flushed with a new rush of blood when she bolted upright in her bed.

The house was quiet, so she realized. The stillness felt too much to her. A consistent thrum buzzed under her temples and all she wanted was to crawl back into her bed. Irina chose not to sleep. She wanted to be awake before Elijah had the chance to open his eyes, although she knew he was sleeping from the lack of noise below in the kitchen. Irina's window, she noticed, was cracked open. The warm breeze puffed at her face, and she sighed, because like the stillness, it was too much. Despite her pain, she shuffled across her bedroom and slipped into her slippers. She sat at her vanity and brushed her long, red, and luscious hair. Irina had often been told by other women in the neighborhood that they envied her hair. Some loved its natural wave, some loved how full it looked, and some adored the color.

After her hair was brushed, she left her room, still in her nightgown. A maid walked by her and smiled, "Good morning, Miss Irina, what would you like for breakfast?"

Irina stared at her. The girl was brown haired and freckled, her brunette locks hidden under her cap. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Just after nine, are you not hungry, Miss Irina?"

"I'm not feeling well, tell Margaret to find medicine for my headache and to set it on the table in Father's study with a glass of water."

"Will you be in Lord Snow's study long? And what would Master Marks think of you parading in your nightgown all morning while you could be getting ready for him?" the maid asked of her, arms animated while she spoke. Her tone was falsely cheerful. Her words were invasive. Irina could feel the girl's disapproval of her actions, and as the woman of the house, Irina would not have that.

"Neither of those things are of your concern. Elijah has seen me in a nightgown before, why should it shock him now? I request that Margaret bring me my things. Oh, and ask her if she could have two eggs boiled for me," Irina said, touching her stomach. She was hungry, but her sickness made her not wish to eat. Two hard boiled eggs would be enough for now. The girl stared at her, not doing anything. "Now, please!" the young woman called, louder than she or the maid had expected.

The girl scurried towards the stairs and was gone. She must have been recently hired, thought Irina. The red-haired lady turned her head to Elijah's door. Beyond the door, she heard nothing. She almost wanted to push the door open and wake him, but she knew it to be improper at such an early hour.

She waltzed into her father's study, where she spotted the red book on the bookshelf behind the desk. Quick to find a footstool, she stood on it and she pushed on her toes to reach for the book. Irina could not reach it even with the stool. Her height prevented her from it. She hoped she wouldn't fall when she lifted her feet onto the shelf itself and gripped the edges with her toes and left hand. The girl's finger clutched the book, and she smiled. "Hah!" she exclaimed, but moaned, resting her forehead on the cool shelf. Her own voice was enough to worsen her headache.

"Miss Irina, what are you doing on the shelf?"

Irina gasped, and lost her grip, tumbling onto the floor. She tapped her head on the chair and her bum slid from the cushioned stool and onto the wood floor. It wasn't the worst blunder she'd made in an attempt to get what she wanted, but now her rear was sore and her head hurt even more so. Her calf felt scratched and she winced at the stinging.

It was only Margaret, who then came rushing to the fiery red head's aid. Margaret had been with the family since Irina was born, and treated the girl much like a niece. "Silly girl, what are you up to?"