Disclaimer: I do not own Cain, Riff. HOWEVER, I do own Ina, Evangeline and Mary.
The Lady Of The Rain
Chapter Two
By Birdie
'The old woman actually gave birth to a daughter, who was like the rain, beautiful, mysterious but somewhat sad. She was very strange, always hiding from heat and light. But when it started to rain, she's rejoice with happiness. She would run outside and dance.
"Mother!" she cried. "Can you hear that? It's my brother and sisters dancing!"
Suddenly, the old woman's husband died. They were very sad, but carried on their daily lives. Though it was hard, they managed.
One day, the king's son was fishing in the river by the kingdom. It began to rain, so he hid under the shade of his little boat. Suddenly, he saw a maiden, dancing in the rain.
She turned to him and said: "It's cruel to take fish out water. Come, and dance with me!"
The prince said nothing. He was so entranced by her beauty. The maiden took no notice and continued dancing. When it stopped raining, she also stopped and went back home.
The prince got up and followed her. He saw the little cottage she lived in, and followed her in.
The maiden was quite frighten. The old woman stared at him. The prince held out his hand to the old lady.
"I am the prince's son. I want to take your daughter as my bride." '
~*~
"The Ina Carter foundation…" Cain was looking through another medical book. "Aha! Here it is!"
He turned to Riff and read: "The Ina Carter Foundation was started by Ina Carter, the wife of Isaac Carter. She had a weak heart and her husband found a cure. They decided to set up a clinic to treat this rare heart disease. They are very expensive, but the results are brilliant."
"Hmmm…" Cain muttered. "The plot thickens…" He turned away from Riff. "What do you think the Ina Carter Foundation would want with killing innocent girls?"
"Why don't we go and find out?" Riff suggested. "The coach is waiting outside."
Cain looked at Riff as if he was a miracle made especially by God (a/n: which he is). "Riff…" Cain said quietly. "You're amazing…!"
The count grabbed his coat and left.
~*~
The Ina Carter Foundation was a hectic place.
"OI YOU!!!!" a very angry woman kept on shouting. "GET OUT OF THE FREAKIN' WAY!!!! YOU'RE BLOCKING THE WAY OF THE TROLLEYS!!!!!"
Cain dodged to one side, just in time to escape another trolley from rolling him flat. Cain clutched his chest to stop his heart from coming out.
The angry woman walked over. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STANDIN' IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CORRIDOR??? DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE IN A HOSPITAL?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Cain looked at her coolly. The woman was grossly overweight, and had a mean frown, but he wasn't scared of her the slightest. The count has seen worse things than an obese lady with an attitude problem.
"I'm here to see Ina Carter." He said.
The woman stared at him as if he had just said the rudest word imaginable.
"NO YOU CANNOT SEE DOCTOR. CARTER. SHE IS TOO BUSY FOR THE LIKES OF YOU! NOW GET OUT! I SAID OUT!!!"
"MARY!!!"
By the door stood a lady, she was very beautiful. She had long blonde hair and ice blue eyes. In her hand she held a clipboard.
"Mary!" she stormed over. "How many times have I told you not to harass the visitors!?"
"I'm sorry Doctor. Carter…" Mary mumbled, looking down to her over-sized feet.
Ina Carter turned to Cain. "I'm so sorry. Mary is just like this."
"It's alright…" Cain was utterly confused.
"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Ina Carter." The woman held out her hand.
"I am Count Cain Hargreave." Cain replied, shaking the hand.
Ina smiled. "I'm honoured. Please," she gestured. "Let me take you around my clinic."
~*~
"This was set up a few years ago," Ina told Cain as they walked down the dimly-lit corridor. "It by my husband for my heart condition."
"I know," said Cain. "I read it in the medical books."
"Yes, but it's been a bit hard lately…" Ina muttered.
"Oh? What's happened?"
The doctor sighed. "My husband died a few months ago. The clinic has been both short-staffed and losing money. Most people just can't afford my treatment."
"Then why not drop the price?" Cain wondered.
Ina sighed again. "It's as low as it goes. Do you know how much it costs to run a hospital, especially in Victorian ages?! The prices are so high, and so is poverty. We much work hard not to fall into the Working Class."
Suddenly, a man ran over. "Doctor Carter! You promised to check my daughter!"
"Ah yes," the doctor said. She turned to Cain. "Come, I'll show you my work."
~*~
The girl sat on the desk, letting Ina listen to her heart.
"What's your symptoms, Evangeline?" Ina asked.
Evangeline blinked. "I get really out of breath, and sometimes my heart hurts, and stuff."
Ina did some more check-ups. "I see the problem."
"What is it?" Evangeline's father asked.
"The artery in her heart has reduced in size, so it is hard for her to do physical exercise. But a simple operation will fix that."
"How much will it cost?" Evangeline asked.
"Don't worry Eva," her father said, hugging her. "However much it costs, daddy will treat you so you'll get better."
"It costs 8 hundred pounds." Ina said. And in those times, pounds meant a lot more than they do nowadays.
"EIGHT HUNDRED POUNDS?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Ina shook her head. "Really, it costs that much. We must pay for the equipment, the doctors, the painkillers, the anaesthetics, the medicine afterwards and the tip."
Eva's father groaned. "Fine, fine, I'll pay. I want Eva to lead of a happy life."
"Would you do anything to give her a happy life?" Ina asked.
"Yes, anything."
Ina looked at the man. "A lot of people say that, but a few keep their promises. If you fail to keep it up, your daughter will be taken away from you."
Cain frowned. /Does this have anything to do with the mysterious deaths?/
Eva's father frowned. "What…?"
"OOH!" Eva cried. "That's a passage from 'Lady of the Rain', isn't it?"
Ina nodded. "Yes, it is."
"Lady of the Rain?" Cain asked.
"It's a story," Ina explained. "About an old woman who was visited by the Lady of the Rain. The Lady granted her a child, saying if she did not love the child more than anything, it will be taken away from her."
"Did it?" Cain asked.
"Yep!" said Eva. "The old woman forced the girl to marry the prince, even though the girl didn't want to! On the day of the wedding, it rained so hard that the river over-flowed and the bride disappeared into the rain and was never seen again."
It hit Cain. The Lady of the Rain. The Mysterious Deaths. The Fact that were all linked to the Ina Carter Foundation. The fact that the girls were unhappy when they disappeared.
It was because Ina led them in the rain to show their parents what comes of breaking promises.
…or is it because of Ina…?
To Be Continued…
Hmm…another cliff-hanger? Thank you "Rain" for reviewing. The Ina Carter Foundation has nothing to do with Delilah. For you, I'll add Jezebel in. Later. Maybe in the next chapter. Hmmm…
So, what do you think will happen, gentle and not-so-gentle readers? Stay tuned!
--Birdie