An hour later
I descended the stairs slowly while holding up my dress to keep gravity from pulling me down to the bottom. The length of the skirt was fairly concerning, but there was nothing to be done about that, so I just had to make the best of the situation. I reached the bottom of the stairs with a relieved sigh and started to walk around to try to find the dining room since my stomach had been complaining for a while now. I looked around while I was walking to admire more of the architectural details that I couldn't see before. After a few minutes, my stomach growled again, and I was reminded of my mission. But suddenly I was hit with a foul stench that nearly knocked me over. I started coughing and held my nose for at least a little relief as I was curious to find the source. Maybe it's a mouse or a rat that died in the wall or something? The stench was strongest from the room behind me, through an archway leading to a large room with many windows on the left side with moonlight pouring in to reveal a large table that had several chairs and a few sofas between it and the dark fireplace with it's opening as black as coal. But I wasn't too concerned with any other feature of the room besides the smell coming from my left.
I noticed that there were a couple of chairs with a small round table in between them. There was something on top of the table that I couldn't quite make out, it was large to be a knick-knack, but it was precariously mounted on a thin pedestal like a candlestick. I started to move toward it when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I gasped in surprise and saw Olga looking at me. Her face was in her normal disapproving expression and she slightly shook her head as she looked down at me. With the hand that she had on my shoulder, she gently guided me back to the first room on my left. This room also had a table, though not as large as the one I saw before, but there were candles lit all over the room, so it was much more inviting than the other room. I saw Oswald standing at the far side of the room looking at a painting on the wall when Olga cleared her throat to get his attention.
He snapped his head toward the source of the sound and a large smile appeared on his face when he locked eyes with mine. "There she is!" he said as he limped toward us, "I was beginning to think you got lost." He chuckled at his joke and I shrugged my shoulders a bit to respond to his comment. "Come in! Sit down!", He took my hand and led me to one side of the table that was covered in many silver trays and bowls that reflected the flickering candlelight while holding a wide variety of food that was much more interesting than the food from Indian Hill and the hospital. Plus, the smells coming from them were much more appetizing than the mysterious odor from before. My stomach again growled in its approval and Oswald laughed. "So, you are hungry! I thought as much!" He released my hand to pull out a chair for me. I carefully sat down, and he limped to the chair that was on the opposite side of the table, which wasn't far.
After he settled, I saw him take up a small wine glass and lift it. "To reunions! And to new beginnings!" I mirrored his action and took a sip as he did. The dark liquid was rich and strong and almost caused me to choke. I quickly swallowed it and gave a small cough. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't drink. Olga, please get Ms. James another water." Fortunately, there was already a small glass with water in it that I used to calm my throat. Once I was recovered, I smiled at him to reassure him that I was alright. So, I'm not a drinker… I then saw a flash of me sitting at a table opposite of a large stranger with menacing eyes, laughing heartily at me as I choked on a glass of wine. But as soon as the memory came, it was gone again. Who was that? I wondered as Oswald started chatting as we started eating. This memory disturbed me for some reason and made me lose my appetite. However, I ate anyway to prevent Oswald from asking questions.
We finished eating after a while and I could tell that Oswald was getting frustrated with having just a one-sided conversation constantly, even while consciously maintaining a smile on his face. As he took my hand to lead me to the library for more conversation, I started considering my options. I can't keep up this ruse much longer. if I don't start talking, he may send me to an institution or send me away. But I can't try to replicate my old voice, or he may react like the man with glasses from Indian Hill. Suddenly, I had a silent epiphany. He doesn't know where I was or what happened, so I can just invent an injury or something that damaged my vocal cords! He led me to a fancy arm chair that had gold trimmings and a deep violet cushion on the seat and back. Olga brought a tray of drinks into the room and left silently. Oswald helped himself to another glass of wine and sat in the chair opposite to mine and said a few more sentences. He obviously was running out of patience with me, so I decided that now was the time to take a chance. As he was taking another sip of his wine, I cleared my throat loudly. This caused him to pause and look at me with curiosity.
With a forced rasp to my voice, I said softly, "I..." This cause Oswald to put down his glass and pop up from his seat with a look of awe. I cleared my throat again to make my act more believable, "I'm sorry... it's...hard to..." "Oh...my God! Fee! You...you can speak!" Oswald suddenly came to me and lifted me up by my forearms to my feet so that I was face to face with him. I could see his face was lit up with joy and he was excitedly laughing as he embraced me tightly. "I'm so relieved," he whispered in my ear, his voice tight with emotion. "I thought that I wouldn't hear your sweet voice again." He withdrew his chest from mine and looked at me while holding my upper arms in his hands. "It sounds like your voice isn't quite back to normal though. Don't worry about talking again for a while, rest your voice. I'll call a doctor to come in and take a look at you." I must have had a worried look on my face because he quickly reassured me that he wouldn't force me to go back to the hospital. I smiled with relief, he kissed my cheek and held my head gently in his hands.
His caress made my stomach flutter and my heart beat a little faster. I felt heat rise to my face, I'm sure it was causing me to blush. He seemed to notice and rubbed a thumb across the warmth while smiling. Without warning, he brought his face to mine and our lips came together in a kiss. I wasn't expecting it, so I inhaled sharply through my nose instead of gasping. His lips were still at first, then they began to move. Each motion caused me to ache for more, so I mirrored his kiss. Oswald withdrew from me after a few minutes to give us both a moment to breath. We smiled at each other in contentment and I hesitantly stepped back from him while holding his hands. "Well…" he said as he looked down for a moment, which lingered as his face looked confused while tilting his head to the side. "Are…are you barefoot?" A gasp escaped my lips as I quickly released his hands to move my skirt over my cold, bare feet. I was embarrassed and mentally admonishing myself for allowing him to see… But then a small chuckle started to ring through the stagnant tension in the air.
Despite his apparent attempt to keep his laughter under control, it escaped his lean frame and caused his shoulders to move as he lifted his hand to his mouth. This caused him to make a small snorting noise that sounded so endearing, I couldn't help but start to giggle myself. In turn, both of our laughter pierced the mansion, causing us both to bend over and hold our stomachs. After a while, we fought to calm our laughter enough to breath again, my abs were burning, and my eyes were wet with tears. We both struggled to get to a chair to collapse in sweet exhaustion. This caused my feet to again be exposed to the cold room and he shook his head with a smile on his face. "I guess we'll be going shopping tomorrow…" I beamed at him and nodded.
