The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker

by Leanna Renee Hieber

  “Thank you, Miss Rychman, for your generosity and kindness,” Percy replied, biting into a scone.

  “Now, Alexi hasn’t come for you this morning, dear girl, but don’t worry. He sent a driver for you and the man’s waiting outside.” Percy was certain she appeared as crestfallen as she felt, for Alexandra was quick to add, “He must simply be busy, don’t you worry. I’m sure you and I both worry too much when so much of his mystery we would never understand.”

  “But, are you sure he’s all right?”

  “He must be; he sent the driver. I’m sure he’ll be at the school when you get there. Lord knows he spends hardly any time at our old estate.”

  The two females ate in silence for some time before Alexandra reached out to take Percy’s soft white hands in hers. “Take care of him, dear girl. You’ve such a gentle heart—I see it in every part of you. He needs that,” Alexandra confided. “He so desperately needs that.”

  Percy smiled nervously. “But Miss Rychman—”

  “Break past his cold walls, Miss Parker! You must. You’re the only one who can; he’s never let anyone else near. He’s so frozen without, but there’s a fire within.”

  Percy nodded, thinking of his grandmother’s words during the night, words about the firebird. She considered mentioning it and then thought better; she didn’t want to add more madness to the mixture.

  Her hands fluttering nervously in Alexandra’s, she rose. “Thank you, Miss Rychman, for everything.”

  “Anyone that Alexi has taken the time to care about, which is hardly anyone, is always welcome here.”

  Percy stared out the carriage windows all the way back to London, wringing her hands and wondering why her professor hadn’t come for her in person. Her mind raced through countless scenarios, and she willed the conveyance to speed her back. Of course, in the full light of day, the thought of his brazen kisses, the thought that he’d glimpsed her naked body, the thought that, had they not been interrupted, anything might have happened—all brought blushes that covered her head to toe.

  Surely it was in regard to school policy that they couldn’t take the risk of being seen creeping back onto the grounds together—this was the only thing she could think might be his reasoning, and she understood. Still, she found it odd he had not sent a note or any other communication indicating her course of action when she returned. She’d simply have to seek him out under the guise of academic pursuit.

  City bells tolled nine. Percy thought guiltily about missing religious services when her arms had been so recently locked around a man not her husband. For that reason, she attempted to assuage her sin through fervent prayer. And yet, the strange events bringing her and Alexi together had to be the work of God’s hand. Or, so she hoped.

  When the driver pulled up to Athens’s portico, Percy flew from the cab and scurried across the courtyard. She dared to glance up at the sky, thinking perhaps she’d dreamed the cracks along that surface, but clouds remained thick, keeping the heavenly canopy hidden.

  She darted immediately to Alexi’s office and almost forgot to seek permission to enter. Recovering herself, she took a deep breath and knocked.

  “Who is it?” barked a voice from within. Percy shrank back from the tone.

  “Perc—It’s Miss Parker, Professor Rychman,” she called.

  No answer. Percy’s fear pushed her onward. His door was unlocked, and she dared to open it, peeking her head inside. Alexi stood there, staring blankly out the stained-glass window, its colours cast across his expressionless face. Percy crept into the room, closing the door behind her.

  “Alexi, what is the matter?” she asked as he shifted to not face her. He didn’t reply, so she added sweetly, “I was worried about you when you did not come, but I’m sure that was for the best, considering our situation. Are you all right? Are your friends all right?” She approached slowly and reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

  He gave her one brief, stony glance that caused her heart to freeze, then turned away and evaded her touch. “You came in unannounced and uninvited, Miss Parker,” he began coldly, “and so I ask you now to leave.”

  Her heart stumbled. “My apologies, Alexi. I was presumptuous. Do forgive me; I didn’t mean to intrude. May I visit you later this evening, then? We’ve much to discuss,” she added gently, hoping he’d turn with a weary smile, take her hand and unburden himself.

  “No. You may not,” he declared.

  Percy trembled. “Alexi, a-are you cross with me? In the time since we were last together, what on earth—?”

  “I have realized your web of witchcraft, and I must distance myself from you.”

  Percy blinked several times, suddenly nauseated. “What do you mean?” When she stepped forward and brushed her fingers against his sleeve, he flung his arm aside as if scalded. “Alexi, what on earth…How sudden is this pique? Why, just hours ago you held me in your arms—”

  “I broke from your spell.”

  “Spell? What do you mean?” Percy asked after a short silence, her breath failing. “I grant you, I do not look ordinary—nor has anything in my life ever been so—but I’m no witch! I speak no incantations. I wield no charms. Your protection and concern were a gift you gave me of your free and dominant will—the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. And, if I’m not mistaken, you care—”

  “I cannot explain to you any more than I could before. I simply cannot see you.”

  “Alexi, please, I don’t understand.”

  “No more. I can see you no more. That’s all you need understand,” he declared.

  “But, all we have—”

  “I should never have so blindly indulged in your company, Miss Parker.”

  Percy wandered numbly toward his desk. “Alexi, do you understand how frightened I am? Not even a day has passed since you shielded me from that horrid beast,” she reminded him. “What about my safety? Even if you do not wish to…follow through on the promise of your embrace, you pledged to keep me safe! Why this change of heart?” She was trembling quite badly.

  “I…I cannot care for you; it is ruining me.”

  Tears falling, Percy staggered backward as if slapped. “Ruining you? Alexi. Professor? Tell me what could have been ruined but my own honour, useless as it is with my freakish face?”

  Alexi remained silent. Percy prayed for something, anything to counteract the horror of this unwarranted change of sentiment more terrifying than the fangs of that incorporeal dog. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Have I been made such a fool that you’ll not even look at me? Of course. You are ashamed of me. I’m not Beauty, not Snow White, but the Beast after all.”

  His formidable figure did not move; he made no sound. Finally he cut the silence with a dismissive declaration. “Miss Parker, you’re a very intelligent girl. Don’t indulge this senseless romanticism. You’ve also no need for further education. And since there are established rules of conduct in this place that have been thoroughly and egregiously broken, I’ve arranged for a carriage to return you to the convent tomorrow. It is for the best.”

  Percy choked, falling against his desk. “What?” she was barely able to whisper as her fingers fumbled at her throat to clutch the phoenix pendant. “You send me away; you punish me with no explanation, after all you did to me? What am I to do? What about your little ‘club’—all these strange portents, talk of spirits, the number seven and a prophecy? You owe me something, not this cold, sudden banishment to whence I came!” She approached him. “Look at me, Alexi. Will you not see my pain? Don’t you know how terrified I am of the dogs, the horses, the blinking visions of fire? If you abandon me…might it not mean my death?”

  Despite her proximity, his expression remained impenetrable. Perhaps he cringed; she could not be sure. “Don’t be foolish. You’ll live,” he stated.

  “Live with what—fond touches turned suddenly to lies while unnatural events and creatures drive me to madness?”

  “I told you no lies. I promised you nothing,” he growled.r />
  “You promised me information! Something! Safety! Knowledge! Foolish me, I thought you might need me as much as I need you! For some greater purpose, it seemed! But moreover…why did you tease? Why play with my heart if you were only going to break it? I begged you not to toy with me, and now you’ve ruined my life. My chances and opportunities here—”

  “It is not your place to fight me, Miss Parker. Stand down,” he scoffed, still unwilling to look in her direction. “Silly girl, you shouldn’t have been foolish enough to give me your heart. I am not responsible for the ‘breaking’ of any such thing. You overstep your bounds—”

  “I’m not the one who did so, Professor!” Percy insisted, finding a surprising, righteous fury within her. “You broke the rules when you pressed your lips to mine. You kissed me.” She had to gasp so as not to sob, tasting that delightful yet devastating memory one final time. “There’s a purpose for me. Don’t leave me so ignorant. Is this merely because I am your student, and so now I, the one who has no power here, shall be punished? Does the headmistress demand that?”

  Alexi clenched his fists. “She does, actually. You must be removed from my life, Miss Parker, no matter what we have shared. I can say no more.”

  Percy nearly swooned. “You can say no more…” A crazed laugh tickled the back of her throat. “That’s all you’ve ever said. How convenient! And now you leave your pupil to the wolves. The very sky is breaking open, Alexi. I’d like to hear what the headmistress has to say about that—about Prophecy, about your little club, about how you touched me…”

  The words crawled from her lips like spiders. Suddenly, she remembered the night prior. “Oh, I should tell you that your grandmother came to visit me at your sister’s house. She warned me of snakes and told me to tell you to light the darkness with your fire, firebird. But perhaps that’s useless information to you now, as I am useless to you now.”

  It was then that he whirled upon her. His dark eyes were colder than she could have imagined, and his face showed no glimmer of pity. Percy buckled beneath the blow of that stare. She sank to her knees on the office floor, tears spilling helplessly from her eyes.

  “You are not what I thought you were,” he said simply. “I truly wish it were otherwise, but you are not Prophecy. You are a trap. And so you must go. I cannot have you here.”

  Percy was too stunned to move. Above her was a captivating yet suddenly foreign demon dressed in black robes and quivering with unfounded contempt. She knelt, crumpled like a helpless, broken doll. The pain in her breast was sharp as a rapier point, and she thought she might lose consciousness. She wished she would. Behind Alexi, visible in the window, the shadows of the horsemen in the sky seemed somehow larger. Her fear intensified.

  Alexi pointed to the door. It was not a request.

  Despite his ill will and her fall from favor, Percy could not help but stare up at him, intoxicated. Defiant, she refused to withhold her passion; if he didn’t wish to hear the words, all the better. “Sending me away won’t change how much I love you, Alexi.” She spoke the weighty words like proclamations from heaven. She loved him dearly; there was no shame in that. What had begun as fascination had grown into a true love born from his unfaltering acceptance of her and everything about her, perhaps even delight in her. She could not credit it had vanished entirely.

  Alexi’s eyes closed. His conflict was betrayed by a shaking hand raked through his wild black locks. Percy rallied for a moment at this crack in his facade. Perhaps he would break down, confess his undying passion…But such a victory was not to be.

  “Get out!” he cried, and lunged forward, meaning to drive her away.

  She could bear no more. Percy crawled to the threshold, clambered out like a wounded animal. The door boomed shut behind her, its echo accompanied by the unearthly gasp of grief that tore from her throat.

  On the other side of the door, Alexi Rychman dropped to his knees and put his head in his hands. He bit back an angry, pitiful wail.

  Percy watched the sunset track across her wall.

  Marianna knocked upon her door. There was a long silence. Marianna knocked again.

  “Percy, it is I, are you there?”

  “Yes, Marianna,” Percy replied weakly.

  “May I come in?”

  “I…am not feeling well, Marianna. I think it best not to see me this evening. I fear I’d make you ill in turn.” Percy found it difficult to think or speak in complete sentences.

  “You are not well? May I get you anything?”

  “No, Marianna. There is no medicine to cure this ailment.”

  “Oh.”

  “I will see you soon, my friend,” Percy added, attempting to sound valiant.

  “All right. Tomorrow then. Good night!” Marianna called, and Percy heard her slow, hesitant footsteps wander away.

  Percy sat perfectly still, knowing the truth. There would be no tomorrow. She would never see Marianna again. She would be whisked back to the convent in shame, where she would live out an unfortunate life in silence. Or, she would cut that mercifully short with a sharp blade and hope God would understand. Or that canine abomination would find her and she desperately hoped its fangs were quick.

  When she blinked, she saw fire beneath her eyelids. The sound of barking increased. Percy stared at the wall and waited for something to destroy her.

  In the drawing room of Lord Elijah Withersby’s grand estate, the chatter of The Guard and Miss Linden fell silent as Josephine ushered a swirl of black fabric and brooding shadow into the room.

  “By all means, don’t let me interrupt,” Alexi said, his expression cold as he gestured for them to return to their conversations. He drifted to sit in a Queen Anne chair and stared into space, detached and silent. Rebecca stood across the room, an arm upon the mantel supporting her; but no matter how distraught his old friend appeared, Alexi did not acknowledge her. This was not the same group of comrades that wrought wonders.

  His compatriots watched him with caution. Finally Jane rose and approached Miss Linden, who nodded and left the room.

  Michael cleared his throat. “My dear Alexi,” he began, somewhat sheepishly, “what on earth are we to do?”

  Resting his elbows upon the arms of his chair, Alexi joined his fingertips at his chin. “Now you seek my guidance.”

  “We’re lost without it, Alexi. You know that.”

  Alexi took a long moment before he chose to reply. “I told Miss Persephone Parker that our acquaintance could no longer continue. She’ll be sent off and away from my sight,” he declared, every word tasting like poison. As his companions took a relieved breath, he added, “However, I do not condone my own actions.”

  “Alexi, we are grateful for your compliance. But you must believe in Miss Linden, also, otherwise—”

  “Otherwise Prophecy is a fallacy?” He snorted.

  “Please, Alexi,” Michael begged. “This is new for all of us. We are concerned both for our mission and your welfare. We’re at a loss.”

  “Your sentiments baffle me. If you cared, you’d have respected my heart. I forsook Miss Parker and I don’t know what will become of her. I assume she knew I…cared, and I do not flatter myself that she…Well, what does it matter? I wish you’d leave me to my fate rather than demand this charade of niceties.”

  “There’s no charade, Alexi,” Josephine breathed. “We’ve never seen you like this.”

  “I’ll do my damned duty. I trust you’ll do the same.”

  “We’re accustomed to your cool melancholy, Alexi, but this bitter cold of yours is suffocating. We cannot do our duty with this strain.”

  “Ah, you are strained! Perhaps if you saw the utter devastation of a sweet young lady searching desperately for answers—an innocent who did nothing wrong, whom I’ve abandoned to the ravages of a strange and certainly harsh fate—you might understand true strain and the true extent of my bitterness!” Alexi spat, jumping to his feet. “If you will believe it, I am actually restraining myself in aid of reta
ining some semblance of professional manner.”

  Rebecca had all the while said nothing. She and Alexi now stared at each other, but she did not back down from his merciless gaze. “After so many years together, I can’t bear this!” she whispered, her fist clenched upon the mantel.

  “It pains me as well. More than you know. And if you’d like to speak further about such pain and suffering, Miss Thompson, you may seek me out in private, where I’m sure even more painful rumination awaits.”

  Rebecca’s throat visibly constricted.

  Alexi turned curtly to the assembled company, sardonic bitterness dripping from his words. “So. After denying my instincts you now ask for my edicts. Well, let’s take Miss Linden’s advice and have a meeting. Perhaps she’ll open up the spirit world and it will be perfectly clear we’re…meant to be. I expect she awaits us in the next room?”

  Josephine nodded.

  Alexi briskly departed, and his absence allowed his friends to breathe again. Jane attended Rebecca, who had sunk into a chair against the wall. Josephine, unable to bear the silence, went to the phonograph and set it viciously to playing. A sentimental piano piece burst forth, doing little to assuage the unsettled company that had been taking refuge in tea and wine.

  In the adjacent chamber, Miss Linden had lit a perfumed candle and made herself comfortable at a small Turkish suite. Bent over a notebook, she looked up as Alexi burst in. He coolly evaluated both her and the rich dressings of the room.

  “Good evening, Professor,” she said. “Will you sit with me a moment?”

  He swept his robe aside and sat at the small table, eyeing the small book in which she had been writing. “Your memoirs, Miss Linden?”

  She laughed softly. “Exactly!” Her emerald eyes reflected the diffuse light, and her red lips were soft and plump. Her creamy skin, set against the dark green of her garb and eyes, and her impeccable black curls, was flawless. Miss Linden was, Alexi had to acknowledge, with her beauty and regal carriage, everything that he and his compatriots had originally expected of a goddess.

  “You will come with us to our hall tonight,” he commanded.