Greetings, Hola, and Konichiwa everyone.
Chapter 7
Therese
The time has come. Elisabeth begins her labor in the afternoon. The nurses let me know, and I leave to join her. I took the children to the conservatory to sit with Thomas. He is a gifted story teller, and will keep them entertained for a while.
Holding her hand, we walk slowly around her home. She pauses when the contractions start, gripping my arm and wincing. As they pass we continue. We do this for several hours until she decides to sit in a rocker and rest between the pains. Victor is noticeably absent. She must see my glance towards the door and smiles. "He hates this part, you know." She says. "He will attend the birthing, but says he hates to see the pain before it."
I smile back at her. She is a lovely woman, golden haired, with light blue eyes. I truly believe he loves her, I just don't understand why he keeps going back to Astrid. I wonder if he will ever send Astrid away. A chilling thought comes to me.
Astrid has the scars, he could say they were caused by the make believe injury that took her intellect. Like Michael she was pieced together, I wonder what he did with the rest of the bodies. Did he simply take pieces out of graves, or did he bring the whole back. If so, how does he dispose of them?
I need to ask Michael. Are the grounds littered with corpses, or does Victor know a way of disposing of the rest? If I know the answer to that, I know the answer to the fate of all of us he created.
Just near midnight, Elisabeth asks me to get Victor, the pains are closer. I give her a last look, and leave the room to find him.
He is sitting in the conservatory that buffers his house from the rest of the sanitarium. It is a peaceful Eden of chairs and plants. The air is moist and heavy with the smells of rich soil that the plants thrive in. I come to his chair, "Victor, it is time."
"Will you come with me?"
I nod and follow. I will help with the sheets, and the cleaning of the child.
The birth is quick; it is Elisabeth's third child. She seems tired, but elated. They have another son. Victor finishes delivering the afterbirth, and I hand over the swaddled baby to Elisabeth. Victor washes quickly, and joins her, looking at their new child.
I leave them, it is their time together. I take the basin and the towels away. A while later I return, tapping lightly on the door. Elisabeth is asleep and Victor sits in a chair holding his son. He looks weary, but happy. As I look back towards Elisabeth, I notice there is a bright crimson stain on the sheet. Dread wraps icy fingers around my throat.
"Victor."
He sees my face. He quickly stands and puts his son down into the cradle. Coming to the edge of the bed he sees the blood.
We work quickly to remove the sheets, and prop Elisabeth's legs up over pillows. I run to bring in an extra lamp. Victor's hand is covered in bright blood. "The north room," he tells me, moving to pick up Elisabeth.
He carries her to the room as I run to wake up Frau Radmacher. She opens her door and sees my face; she throws on her robe and follows me. We converge in the room. Another orderly is inside with Victor, he is lighting lamps above the table. Victor is taking out surgical instruments.
We lift Elisabeth onto the table; Victor sets her feet in the stirrups and aims the light at her belly. Frau Radmacher shows me how to drip the liquid into the cloth over her face to help relax her. They tie Elisabeth's hands down and her legs to the stirrups. The drug will make her drowsy, but there is nothing that can be done for the pain.
From her first sharp cry, it seems an eternity as I stand at her head watching Victor work steadily to find the vein that will not close. He threads a needle, and I wince every time I see it disappear below the sheet. I wipe the tears of pain from Elisabeth's eyes. I can feel my own tears coursing down my face.
Women die this way. Their bodies cannot repair the sudden shock of the birth as the sack the child has grown in tears away leaving the veins to turn to open rivers of blood. Victor finally is slowing. He rests a bloody hand on the table and I see relief on his face. "It has stopped," he says.
We all breathe a collected sigh. Death has come this way tonight, but turned aside. We get things cleaned up, and Victor says to take care of the children. He wraps Elisabeth in blankets, sitting on the stool next to her, he holds her hand.
I remember a hand holding mine.
Victor
Elisabeth might have died. The fear of losing her hammers at my brain. If Therese had not come in when she did, I might have fallen asleep in the chair to wake seeing Elisabeth's pale body in a sea of blood soaking our bed.
I sit holding the hand of the only woman I have ever loved. Since the first time as a child my parents brought her to our home I have always considered her to be mine. I cannot picture my life without her; I do not want to ever find out.
Frau Radmacher extinguishes some of the lamps and leaves. Therese comes back with a blanket for me. She knows I will not leave Elisabeth. As she turns to leave I see her lying on a table, the Demon looking down at her. Did he hold her hand like this? Has my first creation moved beyond the reanimated murderers to grasp humanity once again?
The Demon
It is a strange quiet that descends upon all of us. I hear that Elisabeth has birthed a son, but could have died. Victor stays with her, making sure the bleeding does not start again.
Can you understand me now, Victor, as you keep your tireless vigil over her? A man cleaves to a woman and his life is no longer his own. His sustenance is second in his mind, hers is of paramount importance. Her pain is felt more keenly by the man who is bound to protect her. He knows the fear of her leaving, dying. He knows a part of his soul will go with her.
I had a nightmare last night. I was looking for the woman I had dreamed about. I have something to tell her, I walk through the rooms of an empty house, I know that this house is mine. She is my wife. Young and beautiful with dark eyes and hair, she is the center of my universe. I grow agitated that I cannot find her. I leave to walk somewhere. I pass buildings as I walk. As I look for her my anger burns. I come to the end of the road to another house. I do not knock; I push open the door and walk inside. I find her on her back, above her is her lover. She cries out in her ecstasy, and I grab the man by the neck and jerk him off of her. Her cries turn to a scream as she sees my face; I take her neck in my hands and squeeze, feeling something in her throat crush in my grip. When her eyes are finally empty, I turn to the man who is trying to drag me off of her. I beat him to death with an iron tool from the fireplace. Breathing hard, I look down at her. Her lover's blood covers my hands, the tool slides from my grasp. I feel the trap door open, my body fall, and the rope snap my neck.
Which part of me was this? Was it one of the murderers whose body I now inhabit? Was this the intelligent man who lent me his brain? Could a man of such accomplishments do such a thing? The answer is yes.
Therese
We have all passed the next day feeling tired, listless. I do not think anyone has the energy to do more than their routines. Victor finally comes out of the north room. He goes to the kitchens and gets something to eat, and goes to check on the children.
We have had a wet nurse come in from the village. She was here once before with Victor's daughter when Elisabeth contracted an infection in a breast and could not feed her. The woman is good with the children, talking to them while the newest son sleeps. She sits in Elisabeth's rocker, the child suckling at her milk engorged breast, and hums a song to him. As I look in on them, I feel a twinge in my own breast. Will I ever have a child?
I think of Michael in the stable. He said Victor made sure he was a man, does that mean Victor intend him to father children? And what of me? Was I left fertile, was I to be given to Michael to bear a child?
I have so many things to ask him. I do not go outside during the day. I do not want to be seen or followed. Although Victor has sent some of the men away, there are always prying eyes and wagging tongues in the sanitarium. If someone sees Michael, our time of peace will be ended.
I go to spend some time with Thomas. He seems in good spirits. He is sitting up on his bed, letters around him, and shows me a board that an orderly brought him to act as a writing desk.
I tell him all of what has transpired, he sits asking me how I feel, and I tell him I am not sure. "I did find a name for my husband," I tell him the story of the glass angel and the sword. He finds this highly amusing.
"You call Michael your husband, love. Do you see him that way?"
"I don't know. I know what I mean to him. I am not sure yet with moving into the life of a wife."
He gives the hand he was holding a tug, and I move into the circle of his arm. "It will be all right, Therese." His hand strokes my arm. "If you want to leave here, we will go. I'd marry you, Therese, if you'd have me."
"Thank you, Thomas." I give him a kiss.
"Think about it, Therese. I don't care about your past." His hand brushes my ribs, "We wouldn't be here together if that man hadn't done that to you." He adds after a pause, "Victor's treatments have seemed to work." He tosses aside the book from his lap, and the sheet is tented over him. "The sturdy English Oak has returned. I could be a father."
I smile and I feel a heat in my cheeks, "Thomas," my voice sounds husky in my ears.
"I mean it, lass. I would keep you myself if you'd let me."
I am so happy for him. "You are a dear friend, Thomas. But you are not for me, do you understand?" His dark eyes search mine, and he smiles.
I cannot lie with him. It is not my desire, and in a strange way I feel it would not be fair to Michael. He has been patient with me when he could have easily forced me to be his wife. I think he is allowing me the time to learn to love him.
Thomas has become my friend. As I wheeled him around the grounds, he read to me, becoming my teacher. He has revealed a larger world to this village girl, from Scottish castles in Shakespeare to the lower circles of Hell in Dante. I in turn must reveal something to him.
He believes that no woman will come to love him, that he is not a man a woman would want. I believe he has a love for me, but he is clutching onto me because we share that emotion. He needs to see that love is not a thing to grasp in consolation, when there is a larger prize elsewhere.
Going to my own room, I undress and put on my nightgown. I pull on my robe to go out to the stable. I look around, but do not find Michael. I go to the Abbey, but he isn't there either. I have a terrible feeling that he is gone. It makes me panic, I start walking towards the woods.
The Demon
I see her in the night; she is going to the woods. I cannot let her walk there; Victor's traps are still set. I do not want her hurt, but I am afraid to go near her. I remember the dream, my jealous rage, and killing my wife.
I feel disgusting, like the blood of her lover has stained my skin. I should have let them go. I should have just turned and left her. Her unfaithfulness cost her her life. Was it because she wanted another, was it because I was not the man to give her what she wanted? For all the intellect in this man's head, was he an inattentive husband, a poor lover?
I sit on a downed tree; my thumb rubs along the scar on my face. I remember Victor's words. Therese could pass for human. Will I bring her life to ruin as I did my first wife's? What if we go away and she doesn't learn to love me, will simple survival with her be enough for either of us?
I go to Therese.
Therese
I wander along the fringes of the trees. It is too dark to see much even in the moonlight. I fear going in and getting tangled up and tripping over something. If I do not find Michael, I may lay hurt until dawn if I fell.
I turn back to the sanitarium. As I go back, I see Edgar Ragache has returned. I pause at the corner of the building; I do not want him to see me. He goes into the main doors. I feel as if someone is watching me, turning I see Michael. He says, "That man Ragache is back I see."
"Yes. I don't like him. He badgers Thomas and tries to keep us apart." There is a narrowing of those baleful yellow eyes. I try to be honest with him, "I love Thomas, he is a dear friend to me." He says nothing but gives his great head a shake.
I am for some reason filled with such pride at that simple nod. If he was the monster Victor paints him to be, he would have stalked into the building and hunted down Thomas. "Thank you," I tell him.
"For what?"
"For not proving Victor is right." I say and step towards him. I reach for his hand and hold it. He looks thoughtful but does not say more. "I do need to know something," I ask, "how does Victor dispose of the bodies?"
He looks at me and seems to be deciding how much to tell me. "In Astrid's case he had to repair the neck. If you notice she wears a ribbon, necklace or high collar. It covers the scar around the base of her neck. Bette died in childbirth. The other man he created was like me." He holds out his arms to show the scars. "He picked and chose what parts he wanted. We were his examples of how man could improve over what God designed. When the second man died, Victor and Carl took him to the river and weighed the body down with stones. As he was an assemblage of corpses, no one would be looking for a body."
"Carl?"
"Yes, his assistant until your rebirth. On the third day they wheeled you out to the Abbey. While I stood with Victor looking at you, he had Carl shoot me in the back with a shotgun. I killed Carl as I left. I don't know what Victor did with the body."
The Demon
She is looking at me in horror. "I don't remember," she says in a tremulous voice. She looks like a lost child, I open my arms and she steps into them.
