Julius watched Claire's face. She wore a look of deep concentration. He felt that he should do something here. There was a roomful of people watching their every move. How could he best exploit this situation?
“Now, go choose whatever sugar-filled baked confection that will make you happiest.” He told her. He put a hand on the back of her head hesitantly, then kissed her forehead lightly. Every female in the bakery, including the workers, sighed collectively. Julius kept his smugness contained, his face a mask of what he was sure was fatherly affection, not that he had ever seen it to know what it looked like. That hadn't been as difficult as he had thought. He still wasn't used to public displays of affection, but he was getting better at it.
Claire flushed deeply. Her thoughts fled her mind like shadows in the light. “O-okay.” She turned and walked rather stiffly down to the other end of the glass cases, by the cookies.
Julius straightened up and turned to the worker behind the counter next to him. There was a dreamy quality to the way she stared at him. He smiled at her pleasantly. “Two hot cocoas, please?” He asked. His core was still cold from the rain outside, despite the warm surroundings.
She snapped out of her reverie and filled his order, placing two steaming Styrofoam cups onto the counter. Julius picked up his and drank immediately. It wasn't real chocolate, but it wasn't bad. They saved the chocolate for the baked goods, which explained the prices. Cacao plants couldn't grow in the natural soil and colder temperatures of the cliff farms, so they had to be grown in greenhouses and carefully tended. A very rare commodity indeed. He owned two such greenhouses himself. He wondered idly where the first plants had come from, centuries ago.
Claire ran back to him in that dancing skip of hers, smiling happily. She clutched a bag of heart-shaped chocolate chip cookies in one hand, the red ribbon that had kept the clear plastic shut already untied.
“The lady behind the counter said it was Valentine's Day, when I asked about all the pink hearts.” Claire told him smugly, reaching into the pocket of her coat. “Here.” She held a shiny, wrapped rectangle out to him.
“You bought me a valentine, even though I wouldn't tell you what day it was?” He asked in a teasing tone.
Claire shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but her hand trembled slightly. “I wanted to give you something, are you going to complain about it?”
He ignored her question and took the present from her, glancing at the label. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Not even Jacqueline knew his secret passion for dark chocolate. “Why did you pick this one specifically?” He asked.
Claire was staring at the display cases in a way that Julius was sure she couldn't actually see what was inside. “I thought that this one suited you best. If you don't like it, I could go get another one.” Her tone was still casual, but it was forced.
He pocketed the chocolate quickly. “No, it'll do.” He replied just as casually. “Thank you.” Claire turned back to him, flushing. He handed her the other hot cocoa. Claire blew on it, chasing the steam away before taking a sip.
She looked at her bag of cookies ruefully. “I'll have to get another bag if I want to save any for home. I'll probably eat all of these in the car.” She turned back to the counter.
Julius paid for the hot cocoas while Claire got a second bag of cookies. Then he turned to her. “Ready to go home?” He asked.
Claire nodded, taking another sip of cocoa. “Are you feeling better now?” She asked as they made their way back to the door. Julius retrieved his umbrella and held the door open for her.
He nodded. “This has been a rather comfortable and pleasant end to an otherwise hectic day.”
Hectic? Claire's eyebrows twitched in dark amusement. She laughed as they exited the bakery.
*** Julius had called ahead to the Manor, so the front door was open and Bates was waiting for him when he pulled up outside. He exited the car, leaving the door open. Thankfully the rain had stopped. The seat wouldn't get wet. He walked around to Claire's side and opened her door. He lifted her sleeping form up into his arms. He rested her head on his shoulder and tucked one arm under her knees. This left a hand free to carry her bakery bag.
He walked into the Manor and felt instantly relieved. Finally, the day was done. He could put it behind him. He had to return to work in the morning.
“I'll go return the car to the garage.” Bates said in his wheezy voice.
Julius nodded. “The key is in the starter.”
He carried Claire up the stairs to the fourth floor. The trip would have been exhausting to some, but he didn't even feel winded. He carried her down the hall to her quarters. He unlocked her door and carried her into her sitting room. It was occupied, he was surprised to see. “Miss Martin?” He asked in disbelief.
The young maid was curled up in the armchair, reading. She started when she heard his voice, she hadn't noticed when he entered the room. “My apologies, Sir.” She hurried to her feet. “My duties are done, I was just waiting up for Miss Claire.”
“That's fine.” He assured her. “I was just surprised. I thought you would have taken the day off. Gone on a date or something like the rest of the young maids.” He carried Claire to her bedroom.
Leslie Martin followed him, turning down Claire's covers so he could lay her in the bed. “My romantic life is limited to books, Sir.” She said in embarrassment. “Besides, I had a tremendous amount of fun here.” Her eyes shone excitedly.
Julius frowned at her. “What do you mean?” He asked her as they exited the bedroom.
“The ghost of course!” She exclaimed, forgetting in her excitement who she was speaking to.
But Julius was too intrigued to reprimand her. “Ghost?” He asked in bewilderment.
Leslie nodded. “The other maids told me when I started here last year. About Cornelia Cantor's ghost.” She clapped both hands over her mouth. “Oh, I'm so sorry. I meant no disrespect.” Her voice was muffled by her fingers. Her chocolate brown eyes were very wide.
“No offense taken.” Julius said smoothly. “Don't tell me you actually saw the ghost of my mother.” He chided her incredulously.
“I can't think of what else it might have been.” Leslie had removed her hands from her mouth and spoke with dead certainty. “I've noticed it a couple of times before, but it was always small things. Like Miss Claire's window opening during the night, even though I locked it after putting her to bed.”
Julius was skeptical. “She could have gotten up in the middle of the night and opened it herself.”
“There is also the shadows that flit by the windows.” Leslie pressed. “I've seen them myself.”
Julius frowned at her. “A figment of an overactive imagination.” He countered.
“It's possible I would accept that, if not for what happened tonight.” Leslie's voice dropped to a whisper. “After Miss Claire left I tidied up a bit, even though she tells me not to all the time. Then I went downstairs to attend to my other duties. I came back up here to wait for Miss Claire. Her bedroom window was open again and there was an e-paper lying on her bed.”
Julius' frown turned into an expression of concern.
Leslie pressed further. “I know I didn't leave it there. I made that bed perfectly, but the covers were rumpled a little, like someone had been laying on it.”
She held up the e-paper. “The ghost likes romance novels apparently. I've almost caught up to her bookmark.”
Julius shook his head in disbelief. There had to be a proper explanation for this. Another maid, perhaps, shirking her duties by hiding out in Claire's room. He would get the Head Housekeeper on it, see who wasn't doing their share of the work. “Thank you, Miss Martin, for telling me about this.” He said.
“Would you like me to tell you if I notice anything else, Sir?” She offered.
Julius thought it over. “Yes, please do.” Better safe than sorry.
The maid nodded. “Yes, Sir.” She went back to the epaper.
Julius exited the room, push
ing the conversation from his mind. He had other concerns than the possibility that his Manor was being haunted.
He went downstairs. Jacqueline waited for him in the hallway. He walked past her, opening the door behind her.
The blonde from earlier sat in a chair in the small room. She picked at the handcuffs binding her wrists, her expression sour.
Julius closed the door behind him, leaving Jacqueline waiting in the hall.
The blonde glared at him scornfully. “You might as well release me. I'm not telling you anything, and you can't prove I was involved.”
Julius shrugged. “I don't care about that.” He said casually. The blonde blinked at him in surprise. Julius continued. “Your name, who you work for, why you tried to kidnap my ward, none of that interests me. Whomever your boss is, they know by now just how spectacularly you have failed. I doubt they will try again.” He leaned against the wall. “Do you know what I think?”
The blonde looked wary. “What?”
“I think your role in this is more than just a distraction. I believe that you are the mastermind behind the attempted kidnapping.” He spoke with complete certainty.
She gave him an incredulous look. “Excuse me?”
He continued, as if she hadn't spoken. “You're right that I have no proof, it's just a hunch. Though I am usually right about my hunches. But I strongly believe that this was all your idea. You seem the type to me.” His expression grew dark. “Which means that you put my ward in danger. You frightened her out of her wits and made her bleed.” He shook his head slowly. “You made a very grave mistake.”
He walked over to the woman calmly. His face settled into a frozen mask. “You will learn from this mistake, and others will too. Everyone will learn never to touch that little girl.”
He leaned over, putting his face right in hers. She leaned back, recoiling. Fear flickered in her eyes.
He grasped her chin between two gloved fingers, drawing her face close to his again. She struggled, but could not pull her face from his grasp. It was as if there was steel under those gloves rather than flesh.
She felt his breath on her face, soft, like a caress. His eyes were empty of emotion. “I am going to hurt you...” He whispered gently.
The words sent ice down her spine. Her eyes widened as dread crept into them. She drew in a breath to scream in terror, but Julius covered her mouth with his own, silencing her.
*** Jacqueline turned to her boss as soon as he exited the room. She peered behind him. “Wh-what shall I do with her?” She asked, indicating the pale, huddled form on the floor.
“I don't care. Do whatever you want.” Julius said dully. He walked past Jacqueline and down the hall, heading for the stairs.
“Y-yes, Sir.” Jacqueline answered.
Chapter XI - Attachment Claire knocked on the door to Julius' sitting room. "Julius?" She called. She waited for over a minute, (which to a girl her age equated to forever) but got no answer. Impulsively, she reached up and turned the knob. There was a heavy click, and she pushed the door open. She stepped into the sitting room, looking around. "Julius?" She called again. Still nothing.
She closed the door behind her. She heard it lock firmly. The sound echoed sharply, startling her. She whirled around, facing the door. She reached out, turning the knob again. It unlocked at her touch. The door opened easily. She closed it, hearing it lock again.
Julius had explained the doors to her before. But she still wasn't used to them. The brass knob or handle read your fingerprints when you touched it, unlocking the door if you had permission to go into that room.
A small blue panel was set into both sides of each door, above the knob. It was a display. You could press any finger on the screen and it would show what permissions you have for that door. If you had permission to, you could also change the settings.
Claire reached her hand up, touching the panel with her pinky. Three lines appeared across the screen. Two were green with check marks next to them, the last one was red with an X next to it. She was allowed to enter the room and exit it, but she was not allowed to change the settings.
Julius had the coolest stuff. But... where was he? She turned, looking around. The door to the bath room stood open. She walked over to it, peering inside. The huge bathtub that dominated the center of the room was empty. It was identical to hers, smooth white marble and set into the floor. The room was deserted.
She heard a hissing sound to her left. The shower and the water closet were over there. There was a light under the door to the shower. She walked over to where a carved wooden bench sat along the wall next to the door to the shower. On it was a pile of clothes.
She walked over and sat on the bench. Julius was in the shower. She would wait for him here. She looked around, bored. Her eyes fell to his clothes. She bit her bottom lip as her insatiable curiosity reared up. She knew she shouldn't, but... She glanced quickly at the door as her curiosity overcame her. She picked up Julius' jacket. It was heavier than she expected.
She carefully reached into an inside pocket. She wasn't going to take anything, she just wanted to know what kind of things Julius always carried around with him. Maybe she could learn more about him.
Her fingertips discovered something smooth and metal. She pulled out a flat gold case. It was pretty. On the front, carved into the gold, was a heart. A thorny rose vine was wrapped around it. The edges of the case was engraved with more rose vines, these had tiny roses blooming from them. She turned the case over, looking for a way to open it. But she couldn't figure it out.
A strange scent tickled her nose. Her red brows knit together. She brought the case up and sniffed it lightly. The scent was coming from the case. She couldn't describe it. It was light, but heady, intoxicating. She pulled the case away. She wanted to know what was inside even more now, but still could not see a way of opening it.
Reluctantly, she returned the case to it's pocket. She looted through the other pockets. She found two key rings. Each held dozens of keys, one with large keys, one with small keys. She puzzled over the ring with the small keys.
The larger keys were for the doors in the manor. Julius always wore gloves, so he had to manually unlock the doors. It was pretty silly of him, but he did have a paranoid streak, maybe that was why he never took his gloves off.
She heard movement from the shower room, on the other side of the door. She hurriedly put the key rings back in their pockets. She heard the shower room door unlock as a hand on the other side touched the knob.
"Julius?" She called to him hopefully. Her heart beat faster. She had missed him so much, and now she would see his face.
Silence. The door didn't open. She heard the lock click again as he took his hand away from the knob. After a second she heard his voice come from the other side. "Claire? What are you doing in my bath room?" He sounded confused. There was also a tight, anxious quality there, that he tried covering with amusement.
Claire frowned, he wasn't going to come out. "I was looking for you." She said. "We're going out tonight, remember? You promised to take me to the theater."
"That's still a couple of hours off." He told her patiently. "I wanted to see you now." Claire said plaintively. Julius laughed lightly. Still, she heard strain in his voice.
He was masking it with a pleasant tone, she was positive. "Claire, I'm not dressed. Why don't you go wait for me out in the sitting room?"
Claire sighed dramatically, sliding off the bench. "Okay." She didn't understand what the big deal was. Beast didn't mind her seeing him naked. Maybe Julius was uptight like Mary. Grumbled as she walked though the bathroom door.
She sat in a chair in the sitting room and huffed. She swung her tiny feet back and forth. Her toes skimmed across the dark wooden floor lightly.
After what felt like forever, but was probably only a minute, Julius exited the bath room. He was pulling on his jacket, his dark hair still damp. He smiled charmingly, if a little exasperatedly, at her. She could feel her heart lifting just seei
ng him. How could he not realize that she wanted every possible moment he had to be with her, when he was so rarely home?
"Today of all days you decide to come looking for me." He said, shaking his head. He closed the door to the bath room and pulled out his key ring. He locked it with a key.
Claire noticed that the display on the door was black. "Is the door broken?" She asked.
Julius frowned at the door. "It happened some time last night. It'll be fixed while we are out."
Claire looked down at the keyring in his hand. "So... what are the smaller keys for?" She asked him.
Julius turned to her, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. His hand felt his side pocket, where she had found the gold case. His expression became relieved when he found it still there, then grew stern.
He walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her chair. He took her chin in between two fingers, pulling her face close to his. His dark eyes glittered. "I say this more for your safety than for my privacy." His voice was as hard as steel. He said each word slowly. "Don't go through my things."
Claire nodded mutely, her eyes wide. His expression was calm, but she could feel an undercurrent of anger. Guilt ran through her. Not fear. For all his threatening, Julius would not hurt her. Though, he was capable of punishing her, which was not a pleasant prospect.
He released her, standing up. “Good.” He said, with finality.
Claire hesitated. "Well, what are they for?" She asked, desperately curious. She really wanted to ask about the gold case, but she had a feeling that doing so would only make him even more angry.
He sighed heavily. He should of known that that he could not escape her endless quest for information, not matter how trivial. "They open various things around the Manor that are not doors. Things you shouldn't touch." He told her. He took out the ring of smaller keys, looking them over. "Gun cases, various safes, the fire chests." He flipped through them. "Manacles."
"Manacles?" Claire asked. Her brows knit together. Why would there be manacles in the Manor?
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