Look Beyond What You See

The journey to the roof takes me through another door or two and up a flight of stairs. I can hear him struggle with something overhead, and then I feel fresh air on my face.

“There’s a ladder here. Can you climb it blindfolded?” he asks quietly. His breath tickles my ear. Why must he be so close to me?

“I think so. Where is it?” I ask, just as quiet. He guides my hands to the smooth wooden rungs, and I begin to climb without difficulty. I can feel the ladder shake and throb; he must be climbing behind me.

“How much room is there at the top? How will I get off the ladder?” I inquire as I reach the top rung.

“Just crawl over the top,” he advises. I comply slowly, being careful to make sure he cannot see up my skirt. Perhaps I should have changed before coming up here. All this climbing cannot be good for my elegant red dress. Once safely away from the ladder, I stand up and brush myself off. Dmitri chuckles behind me, and a moment later his hands loose the knot at the back of my head and the blindfold flutters away in his hands. The world is darkness, a hazy shadow land of black mountains and trees against the dark blue canopy of sky. But oh, what a sky! Studded with more diamond stars than I have ever seen in my life, such is the complete darkness here, and the crescent moon like the reflection on a pearl.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathe, spinning on my toes to see the whole view. The roof is bounded by a waist-high ornate ironwork fence, and plants grow abundantly here, as in a garden. Indeed, I feel it must be a garden, everything is so well-kept. He smiles and sits down, patting the place beside him. I join him there, gathering my skirts around me in an uncharacteristically ladylike manner. I do not want to snag this dress on the roof.

“When my parents found out I spend a lot of time here, they started having the servants ‘improve’ it,” he explains. “They wanted it to be a fit place for me to bring you.”

“I would have come regardless. I spent an inordinate amount of time at the top of one of the towers of my grandmother’s chateau.”

“I suspect you kept that hidden from your family, as nothing of the kind was mentioned in the reports they sent us.”

“They never would have permitted it. What sort of information came in these reports?”

“Your progress in your studies, your interests and talents, that sort of thing. And always a portrait of some sort. Your grandmother is quite vain of your looks.”

“They say I look as she did when she was my age.”

“Were you close with her?”

“She is close to no one but Grandfather. But I believe that I was her favourite granddaughter, at least until tonight. She does not take kindly to what she sees as disrespect.”

“I do not see how you were disrespectful in any way tonight.” I shrug. “I have heard that she is a sorceress.”

“That much is true, though how she acquired that power is a mystery to me. I have seen her do magic, though.”

“Really? Do tell.”

“She turned a stool into an enormous rat and sent it into Zira’s room on more than one occasion. She and Zira never got along,” I remark casually. Dmitri guffaws.

“I can see why. Zira was not overly pleasant. I cannot see how her husband stands her.”

“Nor can I. No one else likes her. Mother comes closest, but Mother does not truly like anyone except Father.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Eight,” I reply simply. Dmitri lets out a quiet whistle.

“So many of you, for as little as your father seems to like your mother,” he remarks.

“I suspect Grandmother has something to do with it.” Indeed, I can think of no other reason for Father to keep Mother around when he so clearly loves Delilah. Dmitri’s eyes alight with curiosity and understanding. Flames seem to dance in them.

“How do you have such extraordinary eyes?” I blurt out. His expression quickly turns guarded.

“What do you mean?”

“I have never seen such a colour, is all, and they are only similar to your parents’ eyes in vibrance.”

“Ah. Yes, many people often remark on that. I’m not entirely sure how it came about, myself.” He is hiding something and I know it well, but I will not question him about it now. I have too many questions to be bothered about new ones at the moment. I have only just met him and his family, and I suspect they have as many secrets as my family does. I’m sure I shall unravel them all in due time.

“Do you know when the wedding is meant to take place?”

“Are you so anxious to be wed, dear?” he teases.

I frown at the term of endearment. “We are not yet well enough acquainted for pet names to be acceptable, and I simply inquired so that I might know and be able to prepare accordingly. Considering that I did not know I was set to marry you until tonight, I think it no less than reasonable that I should be curious about the details.”

“And you will have them, if you are amiable with me.”

“When have I been anything but civil to you, Dmitri?”

“There is a difference between ‘amiable’ and ‘civil’ that you must learn if we are to be happy as man and wife.”

“How long do I have to learn this difference?”

“That depends on you. No more than a year, though. It would be indecent to wait longer, now that we live in the same house.”

“So be it. I’ll not go home to prolong our engagement.”

“I should hope not. It seemed like a right miserable place. Had you any friends at all there?”

“My sister Kyla, until she turned eighteen and was whisked away last year. We write to each other, but the post goes so infrequently that we hear from each other perhaps once every two months. I hope that the mail services are better here.” My wistful tone seems to concern him; his eyes are full of compassion. Why should this be? We have only just met.

“I’m sure they are, and if they are not you need only speak to me and I will see to it that the situation is remedied. Where is your sister now?”

“Her return address is in India, but I have no way of knowing for sure.”

“India?! What a tangled web your grandparents have woven.”

“How do you mean? I know they have had a hand in all these arranged couplings--”

“They arranged them all, I suspect, and more to come, no doubt. I had assumed my family was the only one they offended and sought to appease with a deal like this. Now I have no doubt that more were similarly wronged and offered marital restitution.”

“So I am an apology, then,” I grumble, less than pleased. He winces, no doubt regretting his word choice.

“I do not see you that way. But I should not have said anything. It is my parents’ story to tell, not mine.”

“You cannot keep bringing it up and then refusing to tell me. I shall die of curiosity.”

“Are you then a cat? I hear that curiosity also causes their deaths.”

“So it is said, but I am no cat, though I can move like one. Zira always found it so unnerving. I love to sneak up on people and appear in unexpected places.” I know from his smirk that he enjoys the same activity.

“I quite enjoy scaring the servants here, myself. I have no siblings to harass, so I had to find other ways to entertain myself.”

“I felt sorry for most of our servants, for having to deal with my family. I pulled pranks on my siblings with the servants sometimes.”

“No wonder your family didn’t like you.”

“We were never caught when I was involved. I know every nook and cranny of that chateau, every secret passage, every hidden room. It was easy enough to make clean escapes and leave no incriminating evidence.”

“Then I suppose it is fortunate that you do not yet know your way around this mansion.”

“Perhaps, but I intend to remedy that situation as soon as possible.” The sun is slowly rising, illuminating the landscape. With every new detail revealed I am further awed. This land is beautiful, easily more so than the one I have left.

“I expect it will be just another new thing for you to get used to,” Dmitri remarks. His mind is wandering away from me, away from the scenery, and I find myself insatiably curious as to where it is wandering.

“I suppose. What might the others be, do you think?”

“A family that is pleasant to you, for one. And I expect you will have some difficulties adjusting to our informality.”

“None whatsoever. The simple things delight me most.” This assertion seems to surprise him.

“You seemed so at ease with the formality in your own home--”

“Acting otherwise earns a beating. I learned quickly. I am a good actress. But I do not care to think about that place, now that I am finally free from it and all of my mother’s rules and regulations. Will I be freer here, or do you have protocol and etiquette by which I must abide?”

“That you must ask of my mother,” he laughs with a bemused shrug. “I would consider our ‘etiquette’ to be rules of common courtesy, but I’m sure she can explain better.”

“Will I be able to continue my lessons? Have you a music room?”

“We do. What do you play?”

“Anything. Everything. They say I am gifted. You should know this from the reports they sent.”

“Indeed I do. You are the reason why we have a music room. None here are musically inclined, I’m afraid. But we look forward to learning from you, or at the very least, listening to your playing.” I blush, unused to compliments like this. “We also have an art studio and a library, and endless trails on our lands. We can walk them or go on horseback, whichever you prefer. We have not made arrangements for your lessons, but you are welcome to sit in on mine, if you like.”

“I believe I should like that very much.” He smiles with genuine pleasure but also with secretiveness, and I distrust him for the latter. What is he planning? “I have always wanted to learn to ride, but I was never permitted. They said it was not womanly. I think they imagined I would try to escape.”

“With good reason, from the sound of things. I can certainly teach you to ride. We have a mare who will just suit you, I think. She is the right size for you, anyway.”

“You are an expert in horsemanship, then?”

“Some would say so,” he chuckles. “I am still a novice in comparison with Father, but he has taught me everything I know about outdoor pursuits.”

“You love to be out of doors.”

“I do.”

“And you make art?”

“That depends on your definition of art. The critics are not fond of what I make. But I do enjoy it, whether you think I am an artist or a corrupter of art.”

“I should like to see your work sometime, and judge for myself.”

“The day you play for me, you will see my art.”

“Play what? What instrument? What song?”

“Whatever you think most fitting.” He is being entirely too nice to me, perhaps unnaturally nice. I glance again at my necklace. It seems normal, but...I don’t trust it. I fumble again for the clasp and still cannot find it. “You mustn’t bother about that. The clasp has disappeared. And the necklace suits you well. Don’t fret about it.”

“The clasp has disappeared?” I repeat, unable to believe my ears. His face again turns guarded.

“Yes. It came from your Grandmother, you know. Stranger things have happened.” Maybe, but...I think it is no coincidence that all of the women eighteen and older in my family have necklaces from Grandmother. And I strongly suspect that she controls at least Zira’s, and can use it for mind control. But she seemed angry at me. Mine doesn’t work the same way.

“What do you know about it?”

“What do you mean?” He’s not meant to talk about this, but I will press this issue until I get answers. I need to know.

“All of the women eighteen and over in my family have received a necklace from Grandmother, even my mother. None of them have ever removed theirs. All of them are married, and it seems that I am now in the process of joining that number.”

“They are used instead of engagement rings,” he explains slowly. He knows more, I can tell. He lifts a matching antique silver chain, sans the coins, from within his shirt to show me. “Rumour has it that she enchants them somehow, to ensure that the unions are felicitous. But you have not acted...as I would have expected, based on the rumours.” My mind races. Perhaps this is why Zira and Norbert seem to love each other so much, despite their constant arguments. Perhaps this is why Kyla and Weston are in love. Perhaps this is why my mother and my father are still together. I cannot be sure, of course. But it seems a dirty trick, one calculated to make sure that nothing goes wrong with whatever my grandmother is planning through these marriages. What does she hope to accomplish? And the hints that I am an investment, an apology for some wrongdoing on the part of my grandparents....

There is more to this than meets the eye.

“So any feelings either of us might have towards the other cannot be trusted,” I conclude aloud. Dmitri sighs irritably.

“What would lead you to believe that, if I have already said that this is not working as I thought it was supposed to?”

“I know my grandmother.”

“Not as well as you think you do, clearly, based on what you didn’t know about her plans for you and your sisters.”

“I do not wish to argue with you. May I see my rooms now?” The question startles him. We have been separate from time up here, or so it has seemed, and I believe that until now he had not realised that the sun has been fully risen for some minutes.

“Of course,” he answers after only a moment’s pause. “We can go straight there from up here, if you like.”

“I would like that very much. Must I be blindfolded this time?”

“Only if you want to be.”

“I think that would render me incapable of seeing my rooms and as such I must decline.”

“As you wish. Once you are unpacked and settled, I’ll take you to breakfast and give you a tour of the mansion, if you don’t mind.”

“That sounds like a splendid plan.” Although I find him somewhat irksome, and I know he is keeping as much from me as he reveals, I cannot help feeling somewhat drawn to him. But if that is because of some charm my grandmother has placed on this necklace, I must resolve not to give in to it. I have been under her thumb long enough, and now that I am free from her house I refuse to be her puppet. Perhaps while we are wandering the mansion we will run into his parents and they can explain what Dmitri will not.

***~O~***