Chapter 7 – The Attic

He too had bared the front part of his body and she felt his naked flesh against her as he came into her. For a moment he was still inside her, turgid there and quivering. Then as he began to move, in the sudden helpless orgasm, there awoke in her new strange thrills rippling inside her.

"Miss Barclay?"

Elaine started when she could hear a dark, familiar voice.

"Miss Barclay? Are you awake?"

Elaine heard the voice again and then she knew it was Thomas Delahay standing in front of her door. Then she could hear Delahay knocking at the door.

Quickly, Elaine packed "Lady Chatterley´s Lover" away she was holding in her hand into the footlooker and locked it. She could feel her face burning like fire. But it shouldn´t surprise her that much thinking of that scene she had just read. Although Delahay mustn't know by all means the real reason her being so much out of breath.

Crawling through a hole like this should be enough reason to be out of breath actually,´ Elaine thought while crawling back through the secret tunnel leading from the attic back into her room.

In the meantime, Delahay had knocked on her door again, asking if Elaine was awake.

"Just a second, Mr. Delahay. I´ll be right there!" he could hear her voice now coming out of her room.

For a moment, he felt guilty when he heard a loud rumble.

Obviously she was sleeping and I indeed threw her out of the bed.´ the thought flashed through Delahay´s mind.

Anyhow, the ladies needed their time to dress, but according to the noises coming out of Elaine´s room, someone could think she just had fallen into her closet head over heels!

Delahay cleared his throat and folded his hands behind his back when he heard the lock clicking and the door opening slowly in front of him.

"I am sorry, Miss Barclay. This was very clumsy of me," Delahay started carefully when the door opened a bit more and Elaine appeared. "When I returned from the train station, Aunt Maggie told me that you went upstairs to sleep. And now, after two hours, I hoped that you maybe ... well ... Aunt Maggie said, I should ..."

"No worries, Mr. Delahay. Probably, Aunt Maggie heard a noise coming from upstairs, thinking that I was awake," Elaine finally said and smiled lightly. "I didn´t sleep that much anyway."

Only now Delahay realized that Elaine was wearing the same oversized clothes again since he had first seen her at Ten Oaks after getting back from fishing.

"So, is my brother already on the way back home," Elaine finally asked and Delahay snapped out of his thoughts.

Seeing Elaine in those clothes was still so unsual for Delahay. Probably he was just standing there again, staring at her from top to bottom.

"Umm ... yes ... yes, of course," he stammered, feeling himself blushing. "I went along with Neil to the train station and I personally brought him over to the train. I think he should be at your home very soon."

"Oh, good ... good ..." Elaine responded and grinned.

She couldn´t help herself, but Thomas Delahay looked incredibly sweet when blushing. She already noticed before how much he was blushing the last time, but of course she couldn´t tell him.

"I wondered ..." Delahay finally started and cleared his throat. "If you maybe want to go out for a ride or a walk. It's quite pleasant outside and not at all hot like it was at noon. We would still have enough time before it´s getting dark."

Elaine´s gaze seemed surprised and for a moment Delahay wondered if this has been too forward to ask her this.

"Umm ... yes, why not?" she finally said and smiled lightly. "I am ready with my work anyway."

Delahay frowned.

"Your work?" he repeated.

He didn´t quite understand what Elaine actually was talking about.

"Yes, my work ..." she answered, grinning widely when gazing at the puzzled look on Delahay´s face.

Indeed, he had no idea what she was talking about, how could he?

"Do you want to see what I am working on?" she finally asked, gazing at Delahay.

He cleared his throat.

"I would love to, Miss Barclay," he responded truthfully.

What else he could say as he wanted to know everything about her!

Suddenly, Elaine grabbed Delahay´s revers of his jacket and before he could say anything, she had pulled him into the room and closed the door without saying a word.

Promptly, Delahay realized in what situation he found himself now. Being in a bedroom with his best friend´s sister! No matter how much he would tell the truth, anyone who would find him here would immediately assume just one certain purpose!

And as much as Delahay had dreamt of getting intimate with Elaine, it would be pure suicide to stay here with her now! If Aunt Maggie would catch them both here, she probably would chase him off Ten Oaks like a thrashed dog and deservedly so!

Delahay swallowed heavily when he noticed Elaine´s hand still gripping his revers. For a moment, a part of him was tempted to seize Elaine and kiss her wild and passionately.

"Miss Barclay ..." he said softly and his face darkened. "What is it you are doing? If someone finds us here …"

Now Elaine´s hand let go of his jacket.

"I thought you wanted to see my work," she answered, raising her eyebrows.

Delahay blushed again. He was so embarrassed because of his ambiguous thoughts – but a part inside him simply couldn´t believe that Elaine didn´t have the same thoughts. And he couldn´t get rid of the feeling that she was playing her own little games with him and even making fun of him in her own way.

"Come on ..." Elaine finally said and turned around.

Delahay snapped out of his thoughts when Elaine started to brush the commode aside, standing on the opposite side of the wall.

This must be the noise I´ve heard.´ Delahay noticed, watching Elaine without a word.

For a moment, he was just standing there, thinking about if he could help her. But Elaine brushed the commode aside with such ease that someone could think she had done this every day.

Delehay noticed a small gap in the wall. Then, when Elaine gripped into it with her fingers and folded back a part of the wall, he saw it … a secret passage!

Surprised, he raised his eyebrows when he noticed a big black hole gaping in the wall.

"Have you done this, Miss Barclay," Delahay asked, pointing to the hole in the wall, but Elaine didn´t anwer him.

"Just follow me," she said.

Grinning, she knelt and started crawling throught the hole.

"Umm ..." Delahay finally started, but his voice died again.

Did Elaine seriously expect him to crawl through this in his dress clothes?! But it seemed that this question was already answered. In other words, he didn´t have any choice.

"Watch out not to bang your head, Delahay," he could hear Elaine´s voice when he knelt down in front of the tunnel and started to crawl through carefully.

Now Delahay realized that the tunnel was much smaller than it first looked. After all, Elaine was shorter and more delicate then he was. For a second, he was afraid he would get stuck in this hole. But to his big surprise, the tunnel was shorter than expected and Delahay was out as fast as he had crawled in.

His eyes needed some time to get used to the darkness in the other room and then he started to look around. From the look of the floor and the walls, it had to be the house´s attic.

A big fanlight was installed in the roof and the light shining though created a broad cone of illumination upon the wooden floor, reminding Delahay of those used on a theater stage.

"This here is my working office, so to speak." Elaine explained and lit a candle while Delahay rose and patted off the the dust from his knees. "Nobody knows anything about this, except Aunt Maggie. Neil and my mother would make a big fuss if they could see all this here."

Delahay´s gaze moved around again. Footlockers and old suitcases were standing around everywhere as well as a small commode with some paper sheets hanging out of its top drawer. Several books were piled on top of each other on the drawer´s top and some of the suitcases. Delahay could recognize the titles, they were written about architecture and he could imagine some of the footlockers and suitcases being stuffed with books as well.

Paper sheets, drawings and outlines were scattered everywhere. In a corner, Delahay noticed a chair and a drawing table, such as used by engineers and architects. Delahay didn´t kow very much about it, though he could recognize self-made modes of houses and buildings strewn all over on the floor and drawing table.

He wanted to make a few steps forward and take a closer look, but then he gazed over to Elaine. Maybe she didn´want him to do so.

"Go ahead, Delahay ..." she said, encouraging. "Take a look."

He nodded lighty, then approached the drawing table and looked at some of the drawings and models.

"Have you done all this?" he finally asked and gazed at Elaine.

She didn´t say anything, but nodded.

Delahay couldn´t hide it. He was completely surprised at what he was seeing here. He knew some students at St. Vincent College who were good painters and illustrators. He was trying to dabble in the arts himself, but he didn´t really have a talent for it. But what he saw here was no comparisom to anything he had seen before. And now he could understand why it was Elaine´s dream of becoming an architect. And he was sure that she could become a great artist as well.

"Miss Barclay, these are fantastic works," he gasped, already scared that somebody from downstairs heard him. "You are indeed very talented."

"Thank you very much ..." Elaine answered, smiling shyly.

"But ... where did you get all this things from? I mean ..." Delahay started carefully.

All this literature and the drawing table as well must have cost a fortune. And above all, Delahay was wondering how Elaine could manage to bring all this up to the attic without Neil noticing.

"My father ... he was a hobby illustrator and a big architecture enthusiast," Elaine explained while Delahay kept on looking around, fascinated. "All these things, to be precise, the books and the table, belonged to him. He knew Neil and Mother wouldn´t support my wish of becoming an architect. So he assembled the table and the chair here in the attic and he taught me everything about architecture he knew. Then, before he died, he made sure that Aunt Maggie would inherit these things, that they wouldn´t fall into Neil´s or Mother´s hands."

"I see ..." Delahay said softly, smiling lightly but then his smile dissappeared when he looked into Elaine´s sad face.

He frowned, worried about her, then he walked over and gazed into her eyes.

"This is all that remains to me of Father. This here ... and the clothes I am wearing now." Elaine said in a low voice, gazing down at herself and touching her shirt. "And maybe you think I am insane just because of holing up in this attic and wearing men´s clothes. But these here are clothes Father was wearing when he was working here or going out for fishing, taking me with him when I was a little child. When I wear them, I sometimes think that Father is close to me and that he is speaking to me."

For a moment, Delahay didn´t know what to say. In the last quarter of an hour, he got to know more about Elaine than he could dream about in an entire week. Suddenly, Delahay understood why Elaine had been so devastated at Mr. Barclay´s funeral. And he started to understand as well why Neil said, Elaine always had been "Father´s darling."

And suddenly he realized as well that Neil was completely wrong on one point. His sister Elaine wasn´t an off-hand, brainless, egoistic brat; it was quite the opposite. Indeed, Elaine had her own mind and she may not behave as was expected from a lady of her social class. But behind her rough façade, there was a beautiful, but lonely and vulnerable young woman who tried to find her own way after losing the person she loved the most.

"You loved your father very much, didn´t you?" Delahay asked softly and gazed into Elaine´s eyes.

"Yes ..." she answered softly and lowered her gaze as she could feel her upcoming tears. "He was the most important person to me."

Seeing Elaine so sad and vulnerable ripped Delahay right into his heart and he just wished to take her instantly into his arms and press her against him. In that moment, he wondered if Elaine would allow someone – to be precise – another man into her heart ... and Delahay wondered if he would be this man.

"Miss Barclay, your father adored you. I devoutly believe this." Delahay said in a soft voice. "And you have the right to mourn over him in your own way. I don´t think you are crazy just because you are wearing your father´s clothes or because you retire here to work. You have a dream and you have a right to pursue your dreams. And I am sure your father is here to guide you and to protect you ..."

Then Delahay couldn´t hold himself back. In this moment, he realized he would now say and do something his education as a gentleman strictly forbade him to do.

"And I will do the same as well ..." he added softly. His hands tenderly touched Elaine´s arms. "And I thank you for your confidence and for showing me everything, Miss Barclay."

"I wanted you to see all this here. I thought you would understand ..." Elaine said softly and looked up. "But Delahay, you have to promise me not to tell anybody about this here, least of all Neil. He would take everything away from me if he would know."

Delahay´s heart throbbed up to his neck when Elaine´s hand covering his while saying this.

"Miss Barclay, you have my word on this," he said softly and gazed deeply into her eyes.

His voice was trembling slightly when he took Elaine´s hand into his and caressed it lightly.

"Your secret is safe with me. I promise this to you."

They just looked at each other for awhile and Delahay could feel Elaine´s hand pressing his lightly. He bent forward, hoping that Elaine would do the same. But then, she lowered her gaze again and broke off his grip.

"We ... we better leave now ..." Elaine said in a low voice, then she turned around, blew out the candle and walked back to crawl through the secret tunnel again.

For a second, Delahay was just standing there and gazed after Elaine, confused about what just happened. But just in this second, he knew that he had touched Elaine´s heart. And Delahay knew that he was right on the way to fall in love with her, even if he would never confess it frankly.

"Yes ..." he whispered softly, then he followed Elaine and both left the attic.