"Patrick?"
The tremble in her fingers allowed the tumblr to slip to the floor like quicksand and its abrupt smash sent shards of glass spiralling in every direction, yet Victoria barely noticed the sharp prick to her ankle. Even in her wildest dreams, Victoria never dared to imagine the kind of undeniable bond she instantly shared with the familiar stranger before her. Inevitably drawn to him, consumed by the vision of him, she failed to recognise the tender trickle of blood seep to the floor and mix with what little Brandy had lingered behind in the broken tumblr.
The foreshadow of his smile quickly fell from promise as the wound caught his eye. "You're bleeding." The words snapped Victoria from her daze and she tilted her ankle for a clearer observation. "Here, let me help you." Before she had much opportunity to brush off the flesh wound, Patrick steadied her balance and guided her inside.
A lucky guess permitted him to discover the kitchen first, where he helped her to the nearest seat and Victoria became breathless as she reconciled the moment. "Thank you."
"Where do you keep the first aid kit?"
She vaguely pointed across the kitchen, to the row of white cupboards above the marble counters. "The cupboard on the left. It should be on the top shelf." He scanned the shelf and reached inside to pluck the red box out and place it on the counter before him. An anti-septic wipe in one hand and band aid in the opposite, Patrick knelt before her and gently removed the blood from her left foot. The serenity of the moment overwhelmed Victoria and her cheeks blushed somewhat in a rare occurrence of embarrassment. "I'm fine." Her hand stretched to his shoulder but she unconsciously flinched from his skin, still bemused and stricken by his presence. "It's just a small cut." Ignoring her dismissal of the injury, Patrick cleansed the laceration and smoothed a band aid over it with the pad of his thumb. A small smile spread across Victoria's lips and her eyes brightened, her faith in humanity temporarily restored, "Thank you."
Patrick not only returned, but reflected, her smile and Victoria briefly searched his appearance for other characteristics he may have inherited. "You're welcome." The young man rose to his feet with ease and smoothed out any wrinkles in his clothes. "How about a replay on the introduction?" He offered his hand to Victoria, "I'm –"
"Patrick." Victoria blurted out again for him, fascinated by how his name on her lips seemed to ease any painful memories that threatened to re-emerge with his presence.
"Patrick Osbourne." He gently nodded his head, in confirmation. Each as much in awe of each other, they inhaled one another's appearance as if it were the very last time they would come in physical contact and an innate silence fell between them. "I apologise for the late intrusion. The chaos in the city disrupted my travel plans." The reference Patrick unknowingly made to Conrad provoked an instant iciness to develop in the air and Victoria's lips unconsciously curled into a vicious snarl. "I'm more than happy to leave, if you'd rather I come back when it's more convenient for you?"
His reasonable attitude surprised her somewhat, and Victoria disliked the thought of turning him away but her mind had flittered from Conrad to Charlotte, who had succumbed to her slumber, tragically unaware of Declan's demise and the future of motherhood that lay ahead. "I hate to have to ask you to leave just moments after you've arrived but my daughter is upstairs asleep and –" Victoria pointed her finger to the marble ceiling above them and paused, unaware how to casually mention the trauma the entire family had endured in the previous 48 hours. "Well, let's just say she's yet to learn of the incredible loss she has suffered and it's imperative that I be there to support her when she does make that discovery." Although the details were vague, the manners Patrick had been raised with didn't permit him to pry for further explanation and he allowed Victoria to guide him back to the foyer. "But please allow me to have my driver escort you to the Southfork Inn. We have a suite under permanent reservation there and I'll call ahead to have them prepare it for your arrival."
With a shake of his head, Patrick attempted to refuse her kind offer. "No, you don't have to do that."
"But I want to." Victoria quickly insisted, determined to keep Patrick close by after the pay-off she had masterminded to keep him at bay all those years beforehand. "Tomorrow, I'll call you and we can arrange to meet anywhere of your choosing." She re-opened the front door and clutched the door handle, her hands uncharacteristically clammy from a nervous sweat, and Patrick reluctantly stepped back over the threshold. "Patrick." The young man slowly swivelled on the spot to return his attention and, as much as her arms ached to wrap themselves around him and hold him as she had done when he had been a small child, Victoria recognised the bond previously formed had been stretched to the breaking point and refrained from any physical contact. Instead, she softly smiled, "I'm very pleased you're here." Patrick nodded his head, as he walked away from the house, and Victoria resealed the door and paralleled her back against it, the butterflies in her stomach overwhelming her.