Why Lorie? Part II

Chapter 21: To Honesty and Truth!

"Good morning, Miss Osborne," Nicolae greeted the young woman with a smile.

"Count Bartholy," she replied, nodding her head in acknowledgment.

"Please... call me Nicolae. We are to work closely together. I'd prefer we use first names. If you don't mind," he added politely.

"Oh... very well then... Nicolae," Sarah lowered her lashes shyly.

It was early on Saturday morning. Viktor had sailed for Europe the previous week, leaving Nicolae in charge of the bank business. He had spent several days instructing his son in the basics and introducing him to the staff. Before leaving, Viktor asked Sarah Osborne to come in on the weekend and help Nicolae get acquainted with the various paperwork Viktor hadn't had the chance to go over. Since the bank was closed on weekends and there would be no interruptions from any clientele, that morning was reserved for that particular purpose.

"So... Sarah... how long have you been working at the bank?" Nicolae inquired.

"Only for the past six months or so," she replied. "Why do you ask? Are you worried I don't have enough experience?" Her tone was playful, but Nicolae detected a tiny bit of insecurity behind it.

"No. It's nothing like that," Nicolae reassured her. "I am just trying to get to know you better."

"I see," Sarah murmured.

"So... tell me a little bit about yourself," Nicolae prompted her.

"There's not much to tell, really," Sarah answered. "I was born here, in Mystery Spell, twenty-two years ago. I have an older sister who runs a small shop on Main Street, a few blocks away. Our parents passed away when we were both young... hence we were raised by our grandmother."

"I'm sorry to hear about your parents," Nicolae murmured. "I didn't mean to upset you." His grey eyes conveyed his apology.

"It was a long time ago," Sarah replied wistfully. "I was only six years old... Sabrina was eight."

"Still... please forgive me," Nicolae gazed sincerely into Sarah's brown eyes.

"Very well," Sarah gave him a wan smile. "You are forgiven." She paused for a bit, then said: "Your turn." Her tone was mischievous.

Nicolae raised both of his eyebrows. Officially, he was Sarah's new boss. The girl obviously didn't lack courage and was quite direct.

"What would you like to know?" Nicolae grinned crookedly.

"Whatever you're inclined to share with me," Sarah replied.

"Let's see... I'm twenty-five years old, I have two younger brothers... and my father is about to remarry a woman who has a little daughter. I was born in Transylvania but moved about quite a bit throughout my life, with my father. My brother, Drogo, and I recently came here from Vienna, while my other brother, Peter remained in Austria."

"So... I gather you've lost your mother as well?" Sarah asked.

"Yes... a long time ago," Nicolae replied wistfully. "So it looks like we have something in common... albeit not something very happy."

"Do you remember her?" Sarah inquired.

"My mother? Yes... I do," Nicolae answered, a faraway look in his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever forget her..."

For a while, they both remained quiet, not knowing how to continue their conversation. But then, Sarah said: "Would you like to go over some of the bank records now? I'm no expert, but I do know the most important things about them."