The White Worm

by Sam Siciliano

  Michelle and I both hesitated, then nodded.

  “Excellent!”

  Diana shook her head. “I… I simply would not feel comfortable with that.”

  Arabella’s eyes rolled upward. “Oh Diana!”

  Michelle stared at her. “Whatever you wish, my dear. Perhaps in a few days it may seem less imposing.”

  Diana nodded. “Thank you.”

  “Michelle is rather tired after her long journey,” I said. “Tomorrow you will have the opportunity to become better acquainted.”

  Michelle nodded, smiling. Her eyes shifted briefly, and I realized she had noticed Angela sitting by the fireplace in a chair, scrupulously doing her best to ignore us.

  “Is there anything you need? Are you hungry, are you thirsty, are you…?”

  “No, no, I just want to get straight to bed.” Her eyes briefly shifted to mine. “It has been a long day.”

  “Yes, certainly. Since we have been expecting you, Mrs. Troughton has prepared a room, only two doors down from Henry’s.”

  Michelle gave her an incredulous stare.

  “How thoughtful,” I said. “To the left or the right?”

  “To the left.”

  “Excellent, well, good night, then.”

  The door opened and Holmes stepped into the room. “Good evening. I see introductions have been made.” He noticed the cards and the board on the table. “Ah, a game of cribbage in progress.”

  Arabella nodded. “An idle game, but I had not played in a long time. I suggested it to Diana, and we began just after dinner.”

  Holmes smiled faintly. “You have been occupied all evening long, I suppose. Might I join you?”

  “Certainly, Mr. Holmes. We can begin again—and you will not abandon us like the doctors!” She laughed.

  Michelle and I soon fled. Diana gave me a sad parting smile. Michelle shook her head as we started down the hall. “The girl has excellent taste in men, I fear. She seems quite taken with you, Henry.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t you start that too.”

  “Given the aunt, I can certainly understand why.”

  “You did not care for the aunt?”

  “Not particularly. She has… I am always uneasy with people, male or female, who have both beauty and a certain easy natural charm. That charm always seems to have an element of artifice. I never feel I can take them at face value.”

  “The poor girl has been buffeted about so. I have helped her out of some difficulties.”

  “Little wonder she likes you. I suspect she thinks you will ignore her now that I have arrived.”

  “I would not ignore her!”

  “I know that, but she does not. By the way, who was that rather striking woman on the chair? Italian, is she not?”

  “Yes, that was Angela, Arabella’s maid. Lady Verr and her husband spent many years in Italy.”

  “Well, she does not exactly resemble a maid. A certain spirit shows in those black eyes, as well as a sense of irony. Although… at one point she seemed almost angry.”

  I shrugged. “I’m afraid I hardly noticed her.”

  “That’s not like you, Henry! Anyway, you must tell me all about Miss Marsh and Mr. Selton and their difficulties, and bring me up to date about the whole business with the White Worm and pagan believers. Afterwards.”

  “Afterwards?”

  “Afterwards,” she said.

  “By the way, it’s not too late—we could go back and ask them for a nightgown.”

  She laughed and struck my shoulder with her fist. “Nightgowns! As I said—that won’t be necessary, not tonight. But you must promise to keep me warm.”

  “I promise. But wait—you will be in your room—and I shall be in mine.”

  She tapped my shoulder lightly again. “Oh yes, of course. And you will be wearing your woolen night shirt and night cap.”

  “Yes.”

  She stopped, pushed me against the wall, and then kissed me. It went on a long while, my hands feeling the length of her, all the curves. At last I had to catch my breath. “No nightgowns. Let’s simply find the room with the largest bed.”

  “I’m glad you still fancy me, Henry. It’s been only about a week, but it has felt like forever.”

  “That it has. And I don’t ‘fancy you’—I love you.” I caressed her face with my hand, touched her neck with my lips, then her ear. “Still, I fear I’m being selfish.”

  “Selfish?”

  “To want you here when it may well prove dangerous. Very dangerous.”

  “You know my thoughts on that—if there is to be danger, let us risk it together.”

  “I do feel I could face almost anything with you at my side.”

  “Enough talk, Henry—let’s find that largest bed.”

  Afterwards, truly exhausted, I lay feeling Michelle all long and smooth and warm alongside me. We talked briefly, and I told her what Holmes had discovered about our various dramatis personae, the White Worm and the druid worshipers. Soon I fell asleep, a very black, deep sort of sleep. Eventually, though, I found myself on the moor again, the bright moonlight glistening on the heath and grass. I was walking as fast as I could, and soon I broke into a run. Finally I came to the edge of a cliff. The moon shone on the black waters of the sea. I turned to face my pursuer.

  The worm really was a serpent, a great white one with its scales forming an elaborate pattern like Delilah’s. Its emerald eyes glowed. Something was caught in its mouth. It swayed before me, then let its burden drop. Evans’s ghastly glowing corpse lay before me, his bloated gray-green face almost unrecognizable. Even more pieces were gone from him—not only his foot, but his right forearm and his left buttock, a whole haunch devoured. “You are next,” said a woman’s voice, but I could not tear my eyes away from Evans’s corpse. Suddenly something happened to the face—his eyes opened—they were not alive, could not be alive, yet some deranged animation… He coughed, choked, and made a horrible garbled noise.

  “Henry—Henry!” That was Michelle.

  I opened my eyes. The room was dim, but I could see certain shapes and forms.

  Michelle squeezed my arm again. “It’s all right, Henry—you were having a nightmare.”

  I shivered, the horror of the dream still very much with me. “One of the worst ever.”

  “What was it?”

  “Never mind.” I pulled her against me, ran my hand along her shoulder down to her hip. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Poor darling.” She began to caress my arm and snuggled closer.

  Soon I slept again, and although the worm lurked nearby, nothing like the horror of that earlier dream reoccurred.

  As usual, Arabella was still abed when we went down in the morning. Mrs. Troughton greeted us warmly, and we joined Holmes and Diana at the breakfast table. Diana smiled up at us both and asked if we had slept well. I had remarked before that both she and Mrs. Troughton were always in excellent spirits first thing in the morning, but their mood gradually drooped as Arabella’s appearance drew nearer.

  Michelle had a formidable appetite, and when she was truly hungry, few women could eat more. Luckily, her active nature and natural energy prevented any tendency to corpulence. The food instead seemed to nourish those feminine curves I so treasured. Diana, a rather lackluster eater, watched in some awe as Michelle devoured a huge plate of scrambled eggs and a rasher of bacon.

  Shortly after breakfast, Selton arrived. He had driven over with Michelle’s bags. It was another beautiful day, and we decided to go down to the beach. Michelle was eager to see the sea. Holmes, however, decided to have a look in the woods and search for some trace of the “worm” from the night before.

  We made our way down the path which skirted the high cliffs, and before us was a long, flat expanse of gray shingle and then blue sea, the waves sweeping in gently. The tide was still low, and the sun had dried the small gray pebbles. Only at the edge where the water swept inward did they become black and shiny. A hazy thin band of cloud
lay along the horizon, muting the sun slightly, but its rays still lit up the gray-white limestone cliffs. We saw birds perched here and there amongst the rocks, and a gull soared overhead, making its distinctive cry. The air had a salt tang and sharp smell.

  Michelle smiled at me, her face radiant. The brim of her big hat cast a shadow over her eyes and nose. A few days here, and I knew she would begin to freckle. I wished Adam and Diana were somewhere else so I could kiss her. Instead I gave her big hand a squeeze, and she squeezed back fiercely.

  “Oh Henry, it’s perfect!” She turned to Diana. “How I envy you! To be able to come out here whenever you wish, to have all this practically outside your door.”

  Diana smiled back, unable to resist such enthusiasm. “It is a pleasure. And it has always also been… a sort of solace.”

  Michelle let go of my hand and seized hers. “Oh, I hope so. Henry has told me about you. You have had a hard time of it. But things will change—you will see.” She looked over at Selton, and the right side of her mouth rose in a crooked smile which I knew signified a certain irony. His brow furrowed, and then he stared out at the sea.

  “You are very kind,” Diana said. A brief smile pulled at her lips. “I wondered what you would be like. I should have known…” She glanced briefly at me.

  “Known what?” Michelle asked.

  “That you would be a good person.”

  “How would you know that?”

  “Because… of Dr. Vernier. He would not marry someone who was not.”

  I smiled. “You are kind, too, Diana.”

  Michelle took on a stern look, then shrugged. “Well, despite his many faults, he is not without a few feeble redeeming qualities.” Diana looked dismayed, which made Michelle laugh. “My dear—I’m only teasing! He is one of the least obtuse men I know, which is why I married him. Actually, he is a paragon among men, but he must not be told so. It will go straight to his head.”

  She turned to Selton, who had been listening to this exchange with an uneasy look. “I might also say something comical about Mr. Selton, but I can see that he is easily flummoxed. After his chivalrous behavior in confronting…” I quickly raised my hand, trying to warn her Holmes didn’t want the apparition mentioned, and she went on so smoothly the pause was hardly noticeable. “It was generous of him to accompany me in my walk across the moors, so I will not tease him for at least twenty-four hours. However, tomorrow morning will be a different matter.” She said to him, “Is that clearly understood?”

  He nodded, but said nothing.

  Michelle laughed. “Is he always so taciturn?”

  Diana shook her head. “Not when you know him.”

  “Well, you must tell me about him and about yourself. The men must remain some ten paces behind so they cannot hear the dreadful revelations to come.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “You are in rare form.”

  “Ten paces—remember!”

  She took Diana’s arm, and they strode down the shingle before us. By chance, both of them were wearing blue woolen suits with long skirts and short-waisted jackets. Michelle had had a brilliant purple hat specially made for her with a wide brim to protect her from the sun, while Diana wore something related to a bowler with a few feathers. Michelle had let go of Diana’s arm, but her hand rose again to touch her elbow as they talked.

  I smiled. “They really might be sisters.”

  Selton nodded. “Your wife is more like her than her aunt.”

  “Is she? Michelle has bigger hands and shoulders than Lady Verr or Diana, and her hair is a different shade.”

  Selton shrugged. “I wasn’t thinking so much how they looked, but their… natures.”

  “Oh.”

  He glanced at me, a sad sort of smile pulling at his lips. “You are a lucky man, Dr. Vernier.” He was wearing his usual worn gray tweed jacket and his cloth cap. His face was bronzed from his time in the outdoors of Yorkshire, something which further set off his striking good looks, the high cheekbones, square jaw and straight nose. We walked slowly, keeping back by the required ten paces.

  “I know. But it isn’t exactly luck, not entirely. Diana would make a wonderful wife.”

  He let out a long sigh. “I know.”

  “Then what’s holding you back?” He visibly stiffened. “Is it your father? I’m not sure he would really cut you off financially. Perhaps…”

  “It’s not a question of money.” He shook his head. “That means nothing—I’d trade it all for even a single night with Diana. I…” The implications of what he had said suddenly seemed to strike him, and he began to flush, even as he shook his head. “Not the money, no.”

  “What then?”

  He hesitated a long while, and when he spoke his voice was so soft it could barely be heard over the sound of surf coming in. “I can’t tell you. Not… yet. Maybe…”

  “You said you loved her.”

  “I do.” He turned to me. “I do.” He drew in a great breath, almost snapping at the air. “I’ve loved her for so long, it seems. Not exactly at first sight, but almost. It was the first time she told me about Natty Bumppo and Chingachgook. I was listening to the story—she told it well—but then I saw how beautiful she was, how it was almost in the air around her. I had never met anyone so full of life. I was only a boy when I decided I loved her, and when I grew older… None of the girls I met could ever compare. And she has always been my friend—my best and truest friend.”

  “That is as it should be. It’s the same with Michelle.”

  He was staring out at the sea, but he turned to me. “Dr. Vernier, is it…? It seems to me… But it’s not what my father thinks or any of the other…”

  “What are you talking about? Ask it directly. I know you can.”

  He drew his breath in resolutely. “It seems to me that women, many women, are better than men—certainly better than me. We’re supposed to be the strong and brave ones, but they—Diana is afraid of nothing—and she has suffered so much, and yet it has not broken her. While I…” He shook his head.

  I laughed softly. “You’re right.”

  He stared at me. “What?”

  “It’s true. Many men never quite figure it out, but women are better and stronger than we men. Oh, perhaps one cannot really generalize about such things. There are those rare beings like Sherlock Holmes—he is brilliant beyond belief and absolutely fearless as well, even though he sometimes cannot attend to his basic needs like eating and sleeping. Yes, it all has to do with individual men and women, but from nearly the first day I met her, I have felt Michelle was my superior. She is every bit as intelligent as me, but she is braver and more generous. I have to work at courage and kindness and generosity, but they come naturally to her. And the most bloody sight imaginable does not make her falter. She would have been able to stare directly at Evans’s corpse, and she would not have felt like fainting.”

  “Is that true?”

  “Yes. I have never told her that, but it is something I figured out early on.”

  “But all the same—it does not matter. You are happy together, very happy. I can see that.”

  “She has made me a better man than I ever would have been on my own. Loving her has… weakened that terrible selfishness we all carry around inside ourselves.”

  His eyes were fixed on mine. At last he shook his head. “If only it were possible…”

  “Of course it’s possible! You are twenty-one years old and you have your whole life before you—a life with Diana. It’s waiting for you. Just reach out your hand and take it.”

  His eyes had an odd gray-green color, a mere sliver of rings in the bright sun alongside the giant black pupils, and they seemed to suddenly glisten.

  “What is it, Adam? Tell me.”

  He shook his head savagely. “Oh I cannot—I cannot! It is too… Let me be. Just let me be. You have told me enough. Let’s—let’s talk about something else—anything else.” He shook his head, his mouth grimacing. “Oh, it hurts—it hurts so.
”

  “Are you ill?” I asked.

  He smiled fiercely. “It is nothing that will kill me outright—unfortunately.”

  I stared at him incredulously. He could not be physically ill—he simply could not. He was the embodiment of physical perfection, and he had no symptoms of any disease. I had seen him eat and drink, and the large quantities made sense for so big a man.

  “Explain yourself.”

  He swallowed once, then looked away. “I asked you to leave me alone.”

  I shook my head angrily. “Oh, very well—there is no cure for stupidity, for mindless—”

  “Oh please don’t be angry with me!”

  He seemed so genuinely hurt that my fury dissolved. “All right.”

  “I shall—I shall tell you. Sometime. When I am ready. When… But not now. Not now.”

  I shook my head again. “I told Sherlock I hated mysteries, and that was the truth, by God! Life is complicated enough without blasted mysteries.” We were silent for a while. “I’m going to hold you to it, you know. I’m not going to just go off and leave you alone and miserable. You and Diana need one another. Think about her.”

  “I only want what is best for her, I promise you.”

  “And that doesn’t include you?”

  He shook his head, unable to speak.

  “You are infuriating, but I suspect you also have… a few feeble redeeming qualities. I’m sorry. Let’s find another topic. I haven’t thanked you for escorting Michelle across the moors last night. You have seen her boldness and determination first hand.”

  He nodded. “Yes. She is truly… most determined.”

  I laughed. “That she is.”

  We walked nearly all the way along the beach to Lesser Hill, then turned and went back, since Adam had left the wagonette at Diana’s Grove. At the end of our walk, we could clearly see the effect of the rising tide; there was much less exposed shingle than when we had left.