The Darkest Soul of Light
Part 8
"It wasn't as terrible as you thought, was it?" asked Miss Ives the minute they came out of the building.
"I shall not come here again, shall I?" Florence parried a question.
"You are going to come here every Monday and Wednesday together with me," was the response.
"It's just a waste of money! How do you suppose to treat epilepsy by talking for an hour? It's nonsense! If you've given me half of the money you pay for that charlatan, I could have rented somewhere a room to live and in order not to trouble you anymore."
Vanessa smiled at such a remark. This girl could become a great merchant if she already thinks how to wring money out of the thin air.
"Is it so bad to live at Grandage place?"
"I don't want to be a burden. You need to admit I'm useless. I can't do the household duties. I can't work anywhere else. The only thing I'm capable of is stealing food from delivery baskets," the girl concluded.
"Florence, look at me, please." Vanessa stood in front of the girl to see her dark brown eyes clearly. "You are a child not a burden. To have a child for every normal person is a blessing not a burden. You don't owe me anything. All I want from you is to be happy."
"Miss Ives, you are the weirdest person I ever met but there are thousands of orphan children out there, why should it be me?"
"One little girl once told me: 'O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei quam inconprehensibilia sunt iudicia eius et investigabiles viae eius'. Maybe it is providence." Vanessa beamed. (How unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out!)
"Fair enough! Now can we go home?"
"It's lunchtime already. Why don't we go eat somewhere because, to be honest, I'm sick and tired to cook every day," the woman suggested.
"I can cook today if you don't mind some blood in your meal," the child proposed giggling.
"Yuck! How disgusting, Miss Welch! No, right now we will go to one small but cosy place where we'll be served some delicious dishes."
"It's a bad idea 'cause you know I can't properly eat with these deep cuts on my hands." Florence showed her bandaged hands in gloves as a reminder of her suffering.
"Yesterday it didn't prevent you from eating the stew. Besides, don't worry I can feed you."
"I'm not a cat to feed me!" The child pouted. "I've got a better idea. We can buy fish and chips in the street and eat at home!"
"I agree, we are going to eat in the restaurant plain and simple." Miss Ives concluded firmly pressing her lips to show that all the following arguments would be in vain. Florence sighed and went after the woman.
"Miss Ives, what an unexpected pleasure!" A young man immediately jumped from his chair to greet Vanessa while she was passing his table.
"Mr. Gray, glad to see you too!" She gave a chilly smile. "Miss Frankenstein, it's so nice to see you!" She gave the blonde woman a searching look, who returned it coolly.
"Nice to see you too, Miss Ives! Who is your little companion?" Lily stared at the girl who had the goose bumps the moment she saw the couple sitting at the table. It was the same strange hallucination as with Dr. Sweet the previous day but here for a blink of an eye Florence saw an old man with dry loose skin covered in ugly pimples and age spots. The woman was even worse. The girl noticed signs of decomposition on her face and chest as Lily had quite a low décolletage. The hallucination lasted for a second but it was so vivid that Florence swayed a little.
"Florence, are you alright?" Vanessa noticed this barely visible movement of girl's body.
"Yes, Miss Ives, everything's fine!" The child gave an assurance that she was alright.
"This is my cousin's daughter, Miss Florence Welch. Florence, let me present you to my old friends Miss Lily Frankenstein and Mr. Gray."
"How do you do, Miss Frankenstein, Mr. Gray," the girl curtseyed.
"What a lovely girl!" Lily exclaimed.
"Miss Ives, maybe you join us?" Mr. Gray invited new guests to sit at their table.
"I'm afraid adult talks are not for child's ears. Maybe some other time. It was nice to meet you. Mr. Gray, Miss Frankenstein." Vanessa made her bet bow, took Florence's hand in hers and led the girl to the table indicated by the headwaiter.
She understood a lot from this encounter. Victor was right a girl from province was an opportunist. Of course, Vanessa couldn't deny the charm and charisma of Mr. Gray, his youth and money were just other advantages for any woman even Miss Ives herself. Mr. Gray was a kind of a local Don Juan. One day she saw him in a company of Angelique, now it was Miss Frankenstein. The truth was that Vanessa couldn't forget her hot night together with Dorian after which she suffered for several months and suffered enormously. This man was a reincarnation of evil, that's why she regretted a lot that Lily chose the monster instead of noble Dr. Frankenstein.
"Are all your friends like them?" The question brought Miss Ives back from the melancholic reverie she was in.
"Like whom?" Vanessa asked to repeat.
"Like Miss Frankenstein and Mr. Gray?"
"No, why? Don't you like them?" She looked curiously at the girl who seemed to be paler than usual.
"Not very much."
"Why?"
"I don't know they seem like they don't belong here." Florence didn't want to tell the truth. Miss Ives already made her going to the alienist if she told her about hallucinations the woman would definitely send her to an asylum.
"How can you tell that if you don't even know them?"
"You weren't too eager to have lunch with them. Why so?"
"I don't want everyone asking about your poor hands. That's why I asked for this table. It's in the corner and far from other guests." Vanessa explained but admitted that Florence was right.
"It isn't the whole truth, Miss Ives, and you aware of it. I guess it is not comfortable for you to be in their company. I can't tell why, though."
"You are a very astute observer, Miss Welch. However, a child shouldn't interfere in the adult affairs. So, let's close down this topic, shall we?" The woman said strictly.
"Of course, Miss Ives." Florence pretended to be reading the menu that lay opened in front of her.
The girl managed not to spill any soup they ordered even without bending her fingers while she was carrying the spoon to her mouth. She ate with the gloves on and her hands seemed bigger than they should be because of the bandages under the gloves but nobody noticed. It was too painful to hold the tea cup, so Miss Ives ordered juice which Florence drank through the straw and some ice-cream which Vanessa fed the girl spoon after spoon.
When the cab stopped near Grandage 8 a boy appeared out of nowhere and approached Miss Ives.
"Good afternoon, are you the owner of this house, Madame?" he asked politely.
A nauseous wave suddenly overwhelmed the child when she looked at the boy. Vanessa also stared at his pale bloodless face but Florence clearly noticed his mouth covered in blood and white protruded fangs as he was speaking. Again the feeling continued for a moment but that was enough for the girl.
"Yes, sort of. My name is Miss Ives and who's asking?" Vanessa was examining his face trying to compare it with Florence's which still wasn't as bloodless as his.
"A gentleman sent me to give this to Miss Ives." He gave Miss Ives a big heavy parcel wrapped in simple brown paper and bound with a pack-thread. Between the pack-tread and the paper was a small enveloped that ran: 'To Miss Ives'.
"Thank you!" Vanessa took a shilling from her pocket and gave it to the boy who expressed his gratitude and ran away happy to earn so much money for the delivery.
Vanessa opened the letter in the living room.
"Dear Miss Ives,
I am so sorry that your visit to our museum ended up under unfavorable circumstances. I hope Miss Welch feels much better today. So, I may be permitted to send your niece these two books which, I am sure, will help to answer that intriguing question.
I am looking forward to seeing such honored guests of the Natural History Museum back.
Sincerely,
Dr. Alexander Sweet"
"Miss Welch, I think this is for you." Vanessa helped the girl to unwrap the books. One was entitled 'Herpetology' and another 'Arachnids'.
"Tell Mr. Sweet that it's the most surprising present for a girl of my age. I'll try to do my research on the subject, though." Very carefully she took both books from the table and carried them upstairs to her room.
Saturday passed by without any important events. Florence was absorbed in her research and Vanessa sent a 'thank you' letter to Dr. Sweet. Together with the girl walked in the park and cooked dinner. It was mostly Miss Ives duty right now because Florence's hands were still useless even with mostly dried wounds.
The next morning Vanessa woke up to the insistent knock on the door of her room that didn't stop.
"Come in!" She invited in a hoarse voice still half asleep.
"Good morning, Miss Ives. Can you help me button this blouse 'cause it's a real challenge." Florence stood in front of woman's bed fully dressed in her underwear, stockings, skirt and her blouse which really surprised Vanessa.
"Are you going somewhere?" Miss Ives asked just in case quickly buttoning child's clothes.
"It is Sunday today. I'm going to church." She said as a matter of fact.
"And if it wasn't for the buttons you would sneak from the house without telling me where you are going?" Vanessa felt really angry by such negligence to her humble self. She gave this girl shelter, she fed her, dressed and washed her but this little creature didn't even think that maybe it would be necessary to inform her about such an unimportant thing as going somewhere alone.
"If my fingers worked properly, I would leave you a note and didn't disturb you at all." The child confessed not giving it a second thought.
"Oh, how kind of you to let me know where you are going to!"
"I'm sorry, Miss Ives. I won't disturb you anymore in the morning. May I go?" The girl didn't understand woman's angry comment. She thought it would be safer to apologize and disappear.
"No, you may not!" Vanessa snapped at the girl getting out of the bed. "I don't know what relationship was between you and your parents and frankly speaking I don't give a damn. If you are going to live in this house, Miss Welch, I would like you to observe some plain rules. First, when you go somewhere you tell me where you go and how long it would take. Second, if you want to invite somebody, you also have to speak to me. No notes, letters or any other messages on paper I need to be informed about every step you make outside this house. If you disagree, you may get away right now and never come back."
"I agree," the child mumbled looking at her shoes. "Now may I go to church, please?"
"No, you may not until I brush up!"
"Will you go with me? I thought you didn't like churches." Florence couldn't hide her surprise.
"It doesn't mean that you are going there alone. What if you have a seizure? I should sit here and guess what happened to you?" Vanessa washed her face in a hurry.
"You are exaggerating! I had been roaming the streets of London for almost five months and now I'm forbidden to go to the church alone. This is the most far-fetched idea I've ever heard!" The child argued.
"Want to stay here then obey! If not, the streets are waiting for you!"
Florence pouted but didn't say a thing.
"Let me see those hands of yours. You need fresh bandages."
The child rolled her eyes and showed Vanessa her sore hands.
To be continued…
