“We need to talk. I’d like you to come to the hospital.”
Herman stood. She didn’t want to hear Stephen say he would go. But when she thought of the inevitable smugness on Nina’s face when she came out of the dining room, Herman forced herself to stay long enough that Nina’s first glimpse of him would be the two of them locked in a kiss.
Take that, she thought as she squeezed Stephen’s hand, said goodbye, and ran up to their bed to scream her frustration into the pillow.
It was Margaret who came in a while later to see if she was okay.
“Are they gone?” Herman asked, still facedown on the bed. She rose and took a tissue to her cheeks to scrub away her tears.
“Yeah.” Margaret sat on the bed beside her. “Hawkins took Nina; Charlie and Stephen went in her car. She said they’d speed things along so they can get back in time for me to leave for the airport.”
“Why couldn’t Charlie have talked to Stephen here?”
“She wants to be there when Stephen talks to Nina, to help them figure out how much of this was an accident and how much of it was acting out. Charlie thinks there’s a possibility that Nina is suicidal.”
Herman sighed. “I feel sorry for her. She’s as much a victim of the Dagmar curse as anyone. But it’s easier to feel that way when she’s not conniving for Stephen’s attention.”
“It won’t be for much longer. Charlie will make sure she gets whatever help and supervision she needs while we’re gone on tour, and she’ll keep Stephen up to date on the baby’s progress so he won’t have to talk to Nina, or any of the Currys.”
“Do you think he’ll tell Charlie about the curse?”
Margaret shrugged. “She’s a good friend, and she wouldn’t tell anyone else. But neither the Dagmars nor the Currys have ever spoken about it outside of the families to anyone, except you and me in this generation. I think Gerald is the only other person who knows about it, and that’s only because he’s been the family’s lawyer since before Tarmien was born. So no, I don’t think he’ll tell her unless he absolutely has to.”
“You didn’t tell Mark?”
“No.”
“Can I ask …”
“What happened with me and Mark?”
Herman waited for her to go on.
“The stress of me leaving for half a year was too much on the relationship. I don’t know if it’s completely over. I guess we’ll wait and see.”
“What about Charlie?”
Margaret smiled. “We go a long way back.”
“Was she your girlfriend, before?”
“Nah. She was in a relationship with someone else. But it was an open relationship.”
“Huh,” Herman said, looking down at her lap.
“I can’t see myself settling down with a woman. But you never know. If things don’t work out with Mark …”
“I had no idea you were bi. I could have figured it out if I’d thought about it. I know Stephen was the only male in the coven you were in, and that you used to perform sexual rituals.”
“I’ve probably had as many girlfriends in the past as I have boyfriends.”
“I guess I’m not a very good friend if I didn’t even know that much about you.”
“I don’t talk about myself much,” Margaret said, shaking her head.
“Because you’re always too involved in what Stephen’s doing.”
“That has a lot do with it I guess. I never really liked being in the spotlight. I’d rather revolve around Stephen’s light.”
“It seems to be a common condition.”
Margaret laughed wistfully. “We’re all just moths around his flame. That’s what it’s like with people who have the charisma Stephen has.”
“Is that something else he gets from his father?”
“Oh yes.” Margaret smiled. “I had one hell of a crush on Tarmien Dagmar when I first met him. He’s even better-looking than Stephen.”
“Really?”
Margaret nodded.
Herman heard doves coo in the distance and wondered absentmindedly if they were wild, or if they were the ones in Stephen’s dovecote, just below the window in the office part of their vast bedroom.
“Thank you,” Herman said at length.
“What for?”
“For taking my mind off Nina for a while.”
“They’ll work it out. Now that Stephen has medical help to back him up, I’m sure with his own background in psychology he’ll be able to figure out what to do with her. He might even end up getting some more friends involved. Charlie can help with that too.”
“All because …” Herman didn’t finish the sentence. She pushed down at the pressure that was rising in her gut again. “She has to make it so difficult. Why couldn’t she be more level-headed like Lotta was when she was pregnant with Reed?”
“Maybe Lotta kept her perspective in regards to Tarmien because she had Hawkins. Who knows? It might be that there was more to that story than we’ve been told.”
“You mean there might be things about this family that not even you know?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Margaret said.
Herman climbed off the bed. “Do you need any help packing?”
“I could use a bit of help, sure. I have a few things to grab from the playroom first. I should probably clean up, too.”
“I still haven’t been up there with Stephen,” Herman said.
“Well in that case, meet me in the guest room. I’ll just be a minute.” She glanced at the wall. “Do you know where the secret door is yet?”
“No, I can’t find it.”
“It’s just as well. Only Stephen can close it from the outside anyway.”
“How does he do that?”
“He won’t tell me. He says it’s magic.”
Herman huffed out a breath of amusement, thinking that probably was how he did it.
She followed Margaret through the curtain that spanned the width of the room and acted as a wall, down the three steps that separated the bedroom from the office, and out to the landing. Turning left, they went back up to the main hallway and parted ways at the guest room door, right across from the hidden one. Herman sat on the guest bed beside Margaret’s open suitcase, struck by the enormity of the changes her life had taken since she first stepped into this room. Nina had been there that first day, already showing her true colors—her jealousy and possessiveness. Herman had come to dislike the girl more than anyone before or since.
As she looked around, she spied a picture on the dresser that hadn’t been there before. It was a framed photograph of Stephen, Margaret, and Charlie; a close-up with Stephen in the middle, laughing, the women’s lips pressed against his cheeks. Herman smiled to see them happy. She picked it up and sat back down on the bed with it.
“Oh, you found the picture,” Margaret said, coming in with a handful of clothes.
“Yeah, it’s a nice one. Are there any more?”
“There are a few,” she said, lifting more luggage onto the bed. “Could you do me a favor and go into the bathroom and grab my toothbrush?”
“Sure,” Herman said.
When she came back out, the picture was gone. She assumed Margaret was taking it with her, yet it felt as though she’d been sent out of the room for a reason. Herman handed her the toothbrush and she put it in a side pocket of her carry-on bag.
“I like to keep it close,” she explained.
They finished packing and went downstairs to wait for Stephen and Charlie to return, with Herman no wiser for her suspicion.
* * *
Charlie put the car in gear and pulled out of the driveway, following Hawkins. “Were you drunk? Did she drug you and have her way with you? What the hell were you thinking?”
Stephen smiled. No beating around the bush for Charlie. Outwardly, he appeared as cool as he was onstage performing for an audience. Inside, his nerves were a jumble of ungrounded, open-ended wi
res. He couldn’t see how he could leave Nina with his baby in the state she was in without any emotional support. Lotta seemed ineffective so far in that regard. At the same time, he wasn’t prepared to tell Charlie about the curse unless he had to.
“Would you believe I was just that horny?”
Charlie laughed. “And what, she was the only woman available? Come on. You’re Stephen Dagmar for God sakes. I’m a lesbian and I had sex with you.”
He hadn’t expected her to believe it. Instead of coming up with another lame excuse, he kept quiet.
“Fine, you don’t want to tell me. I won’t ask again,” she said.
“Thanks.”
He mulled over what he was about to ask her. Granted, it was why Margaret had been so happy to find her available to take over Nina’s care. There was no choice. “Do you perform hysterectomies?”
She did a double take, trying to keep her focus on the road. “I can,” she answered. “Why?”
“Because Nina is going to need one after she has the baby.”
“She’s perfectly healthy, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Why would she want to have a hysterectomy, then?”
“I need her to have one.”
“You do?” He stared ahead as Charlie took her eyes off the road to look at him.
“Yes.”
“Should I ask why?”
He tensed as the car started to drift toward the shoulder, but then relaxed when she turned again to look at the road, adjusting the steering wheel calmly as she did.
“You said you wouldn’t ask again.”
“So it has to do with the same reason she’s pregnant?”
“Do you really need to know?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not going to sterilize her against her will.”
“You won’t have to. She has agreed to it. And no, not under duress.”
“You’re making it sound like she blackmailed you into giving her a baby and now she’s agreed to pay the consequences,” Charlie concluded.
“No.” Stephen smiled. “That’s not it at all. But that’s a good one.”
“I know you, Stephen, and I trust you. And you know that as a friend I’d do anything for you …”
“Then don’t ask why,” he said, watching her half-concentrate on the road.
“Does Margaret know?”
“Yes.”
“Is she okay with it?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Okay, that makes me feel better,” Charlie said. “I want to ask you one other thing.”
“What’s that?”
“How do you feel about Nina, really?” They had stopped at a light and she turned to check his expression. He maintained his outward calm while he thought how desperately he suddenly wanted to observe every nuance of the woman incubating his unborn daughter. He knew it was a girl—his father had explained that along with the ability to know with a touch if a woman was pregnant, the ability to know the sex of the baby was part of the magic that had been passed down through the family.
Charlie went on, oblivious to his inner conflict. “I’ve never known you to be anything but compassionate and understanding, but this conversation is giving me the creeps. Please tell me you care about this girl.”
“I do,” Stephen said, looking at his hands for a fingernail to chew. He resisted, carefully choosing his words. “Nina is caught in a set of circumstances that I can’t explain. I can tell you that she’s happy to have my baby, but I’m afraid she’s become delusional. I do wish I could be more there for Nina, but I also have Herman to consider.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I kind of came on to you last night. It was completely inappropriate.”
“That’s okay. It’s difficult to remember the times we were all together and not feel a twinge of homesickness.”
“True,” she said. The light turned green. “Will you tell Herman I was part of the coven?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to overwhelm her right now. She has enough to deal with.”
“No offense, but I’m surprised she’s sticking with you through this. Your relationship must be rock solid.”
“I knew she was The One the moment I met her,” he said, unable to keep the wistful smile from his face.
“And you’ve known her for how long?”
Though he knew she wouldn’t judge him any more than she already had, he didn’t want to invite more questions by telling her they’d met a week prior to the baby’s conception; he said nothing.
She relented. “She’s The One, huh? I’m happy for you.” Charlie reached over and patted his hand.
“Thanks.” He looked out the passenger window at the sunlight speckling the water in the remnants of a sailboat’s wake and thought of the island and the peace he had felt by Herman’s side. One day, he thought, all there will be is peace and contentment. For now, they were almost at the hospital, and he needed to resolve the issue at hand.
He turned back to Charlie. “So, would you be willing to perform a hysterectomy on Nina after she has the baby?”
“It’s not an operation that’s performed without good reason. I’ll have to think about it.” She glanced at him, waiting to turn left into the hospital’s emergency physician’s parking lot. “I wouldn’t even be thinking about it if I didn’t know you.”
“I know,” he said wistfully. “I appreciate it.”
They caught up to Nina as she entered the building; Hawkins drove off to park his car. Stephen waited while Charlie had Nina registered and told the nurse if she wasn’t back in the waiting room when it was her turn to be seen, they’d be able to find her in Charlie’s office.
Upstairs, the clinic hallway was deserted, and though he stood outside the exam room, Stephen could hear every word spoken within. Across the expanse of the lake, dozens of wind turbines spun lazily as he watched from the window, chewing a nail. He listened to the hum of the building’s circulatory system and, inside the room, the crinkling of paper on the table beneath Nina.
“Is my baby all right?” she asked, her voice timid.
“The baby seems to be fine as far as I can tell. How are you feeling?”
“Sore, but okay. I’m afraid that my Master will be furious at me.”
“I know you work for Stephen, but why do you call him ‘Master’?”
“Because that’s what he is. He tells me what to do and how to behave. I have always thought of him as my Master, even when we were children.”
“You grew up together?” There was surprise in Charlie’s voice.
Nina didn’t say anything; Stephen assumed she’d nodded.
“Have you ever thought about getting a job elsewhere?”
“I can’t do that,” Nina said, sounding shocked at such a suggestion.
“You can’t?”
“I am bound to stay with my Master, at least until I give birth to our baby and I …”
Stephen knocked on the door, hoping it would shut Nina up.
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“You can,” Charlie said.
Charlie was washing her hands in the sink and Nina, in a hospital gown, looked guiltily down at the floor, swinging her uninjured leg as it dangled off the edge of the examination table.
“Is everything okay?” he asked Charlie, as though he hadn’t heard.
“The baby is fine. But I think we need to know what happened this morning,” she said, looking at Nina.
“I got dizzy and I fell.”
“Nina, you crushed a glass in your hand,” Charlie said. “Your injuries, and from what you’ve told me, indicate that you broke the glass before it hit the floor.”
“I get so angry sometimes!” Nina spurted. “But I didn’t expect the glass to break. I’m sorry, Master.” She began to cry, and Charlie put her hand on Nina’s shoulder.
“It’s normal to go through mood swings when you’re pregnant. I can give you some dee
p breathing exercises to do and suggest some music to listen to.”
Nina shook her head. “I don’t need those.” She looked Stephen directly in the eye—something she never did. Her face turned scarlet. “What I need, is for you get rid OF THAT BITCH!” The fury in her eyes almost caused Stephen to step back.
“Nina,” Charlie said, putting herself between them. “You need to calm yourself down.”
Stephen, realizing that his presence wasn’t helping, opened the door to leave.
“Master!” Nina cried.
“I’ll come back when you’re calm.” It wasn’t until the door closed behind him that he realized his hands were shaking. Anger and fear for his child—and for Herman—pulsed through him. He needed to get on the road. He needed to be sure the baby would stay safe in Nina’s womb. He needed, more than anything, Charlie’s reassurance that she would look after mother and child. Herman’s words returned to him and he sighed in silent agreement: Thank God for Charlie.
A few minutes later his friend opened the door and said Nina wanted a word with him.
“I’m very sorry, Master,” she said, hanging her head as he entered. “I should never have spoken to you like that.”
“Nina, I understand that you’re not happy with the situation. But it will be over soon, and you’ll be free to get on with your life, however you choose.” He was aware that Charlie was studying him, trying to figure out the meaning in his words. He predicted he would have to explain sooner or later.
“But Master, I can’t ever be free of the way I feel about you.” Tears streaked her cheeks and her lower lip quivered.
“I think that once you’re away from me, you will,” Stephen said, hoping he was right. “I’ll be leaving in a few days and I won’t be back until Christmas time. You should take that time to think about what you want to do after the baby is born.”
“You mean after my hysterectomy,” she clarified.
“Yes.”
Nina started crying in earnest then.
Charlie glared at Stephen.
“Can you leave us alone?” he asked her.
“No. If there’s any chance I’m going to perform the surgery, I need to know that I’m not doing it against her will.”
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