La Vita Nuova
Chapter 1
Hannibal Lecter leads Clarice Starling to the front of his flat overlooking to Mediterranean to take her through the front door. She is clearly thrilled by the view but turns sombre when she crosses the threshold of his flat. He can guess at the source of her anxiety, but is happy to let her come to the questions herself. If this was going to work, which he very much hoped it would, she would have to have peace with her decision to stay with him.
"What exactly is this going to be?" she asks him, and even though he is tempted to tease and play with her, he senses that now would not be the opportune moment, and so he answers her honestly
"Whatever you want it to be. I want you to stay with me. In whatever capacity you deep fit"
"For how long?"
"As long as you like"
He hasn't moved from the open door, and only now moves to close it behind them. He puts his wallet and keys in the waiting glass tray and is encouraged when she puts her handbag down next to it and he can sense some of her anxiety receding.
"Let us get the risotto started, then I'll show you where you'll be staying" he can sense some of her nervousness returning and only increases when they enter the kitchen.
Why the spike in her stress levels now? Is it our living and sleeping arrangements? That should be easily allied.
"I think I'll rather just watch you" she says and seats herself, her body language conveying quite strongly that she means to stay there.
Ah so her nervousness is due to her perceived inadequacies in the kitchen. This will be fun disabusing her of that idea.
He allows her to stay seated for now but is determined to get her participation.
"I thought a good beef risotto will do nicely" She lifts an eyebrow at the word beef, and he grins, winking at her "just beef Clarice, nothing else"
No spike in stress, good, so the content of the meal isn't the cause of her anxiety. How very interesting.
Deciding to take him at his word, she looks around the kitchen.
There are pots and pans hanging from the ceiling as well as dried herbs. Seeing the questions on her face, he answers without her having to ask
"I've rented this flat furnished and fully stocked, I simply added a few necessities. Such as better cooking utensils" she smirks at him and he continues "It means my comings and goings are unmonitored which makes it very convenient"
He is stirring the dish as he talks and Clarice is struck by the precision and grace moving through the kitchen. He has always been a graceful man, but clearly the kitchen is his element. He is utterly at home in it.
"Will you help me with these vegetables Clarice?"
She smiles in a self-deprecating way and shakes her head
"Not if we want to eat them, no" but he only grins and holds out a hand to her.
Her anxiety is back in full force and he smiles encouragingly. She gingerly gets up and lets him lead her to the table. He has her stand before him and reach over to take a big chopping knife out of the block. A nervous flutter runs through her, seeing him holding a knife with her basically in the circle of his arms.
He takes up a carrot and hands her the knife. Taking the big knife out of the hands of Hannibal Lecter feels surreal to Clarice but if he notices her discomfort he doesn't show it. He simply shows her how to hold it properly, correcting her grip, and then how to chop the carrots.
She is beyond nervous but the first couple of pieces does look OK and she still has all 10 of her fingers to she takes a bit if confidence from that. He puts his hands on her upper arms and gives minute instructions. She blushes slightly at the intimacy of the gesture but focuses as best she can on the carrots.
Once she has gained some confidence in the chopping, he squeezes her arms slightly before stepping back and going back to whatever it was he is doing with the ground beef.
When the carrots have been chopped to his specifications, or as close to it as she could manage, he adds them to the gently simmering dish on the stove and wiping his hands on the dishcloth, casually hangs it over shoulder. It makes her smile to see him so relaxed and he smiles back. He cuts an endearingly domesticated figure.
"Okey dokey, these will simmer and reduce for about 30min. Care you join me?"
He leads her into a small sitting room with a breakfast nook overlooking the ocean. There is a piano in the corner and a door leading up some stairs. Upstairs she finds a short passage with three doors. Two bedrooms and one bathroom. Both bedrooms are facing the ocean. The first is clearly his room and is filled with various masculine sings of occupation. The second bedroom has an unlived-in feeling but there are fresh flowers next to the bed, and rose petals on the duvet. Clearly this would be for her use. She finds the presence of the second bedroom, her room, both comforting and disappointing but doesn't examine her feeling too closely.
He keenly felt some of her anxiety and could detect just the faintest whiff of disappointment. He wondered if he made a mistake in making out the second bedroom as hers, but he would never presume to share her bed unless explicitly invited to do so. He also felt quite strongly that she would come to him, if he was patient enough.
Hoping to ease some of her anxiety, he started talking about the architecture of the flat. Clarice could spot a diverting tactic when she was it, but was nether-the-less happy to play along.
"It would seem our food is done. After you my dear" Dr Lecter said when there was a ping from the kitchen. He smiled and swept his hand out making giving a slight bow
Clarice found his open and courteous demeanour comforting and with a jolt wondered how many of his victims had felt the same sense of security with him.
Back in the kitchen, Dr Lecter used the towel over his shoulder to remove the dish from the oven. It did smell wonderful and Clarice realised she was famished. After plating the food, he led her to the small nook overlooking the sea and seated her.
Clarice took a bite and it literally melted in her mouth and she closed her eyes in appreciation. She was never a great fan of rice, but this wasn't a rice dish as she knew it. Dr Lecter was watching the changes on her face minutely and found her reaction gratifying and quite arousing. Food had always played a special place in his life, and to have the woman he adored enjoy his food, was an almost cathartic pleasure.
"Dr Lecter, this is amazing. I can't believe you just made it now from scratch without a recipe"
Taking a bite from his own plate, Dr Lecter smiled and dropped his eyes as to not intimidate her too much at the moment.
"Hunger makes a good chef, but I appreciate your compliment. The carrots also came out nicely, despite your reservations" he teased her gently but the smile in his voice removed any sting it might have carried
Clarice blushed and smiled at her own plate, taking another bite. It really was delicious. Swallowing she took a sip of the cold slightly sweetened lemonade he provided, which was equally as good and paired well with the meal.
"I wasn't joking you know. Ardelia banned me from the kitchen and I can reliably burn toast anytime you want" she was teasing him back, and his heart felt light.
He felt sure he would be able to engage her in the kitchen with him. She may not enjoy food to the extend he does, but it plays a major role in his life, and he meant to involve her in most, if not all, he does in the kitchen.
The rest of the meal passed in companionable silence. Feeling neither forced or uncomfortable.
"Would you like so more?" he asked when Clarice sat back and put her knife and fork on the plate.
"No thanks. That was great, but enough is as much as a feast"
He flinched at the colloquium
"Don't say 'Thanks' "
"I say what I mean. Saying it in a fancier way would make it equally true"
It occurred to Dr Lecter that he couldn't entirely predict or control her. He found that he was glad. He bowed his sleek her to her in acknowledgment.
"Shall we collect your belongings from the hotel in Florence then?"
He could see her demeanour change and become more guarded again. He mourned the loss of the openness of a few minutes ago a bit, but hopefully it will only be temporary.
"We could leave now, and be back long before sunset"
"How would that work? I know you've been to my hotel room, but what about the cameras?"
"My plan is to drive you to a few blocks from your hotel, and then to wait for you there. I know the city and where to go to avoid the cameras. Do you trust me"
"Yeah, I do. God knows why, and I know I really shouldn't, but I do"
Dr Lecter reaches over the table and takes her hand in his. Bringing it to his lip, he murmurs against her skin "I never plan on giving you cause to regret that trust"
Clarice feels a blush on her cheeks but doesn't drop her gaze from his.
Brave Clarice
"Why didn't you come up to me in Florence?"
He drops their hands to the table and engulfs her one with both of his. Her question doesn't really surprise him.
"Forgive me my dear. I wasn't completely convinced that it wasn't a clever trap. Getting you to come to me in Ravenna seemed a saver route. I would be able to control more of the variables. But I freely admit how hard pressed I was not to approach you at the Sante Croce and then again when you visited the Cupola del Brunnelleschi. Will you tell me why you visited those places specifically? There are many sights worth seeing in Florence. What made you choose those?"
Touched by his honesty, Clarice decides to give him an honest answer herself
"Those were the places where I could most easily imagine you"
Her answer is short and concise but his heart soars at her admission. It is as he guessed when watching her yesterday. Bringing her hand back to his lips, he kisses the back of her hand before turning her hand over and kissing the inside of her wrist. It takes Clarice's breath away. She had no idea that gesture would feel so erotic.
"Would you like to visit the bathroom before we go? I'll just put the things in the sink to be washed later. It will be about a two-hour drive"
Slightly thrown by the change in direction the conversation has taken, she takes her hand back and nods. Having a few seconds to herself would be a good thing before being confined in the car with him for more than two hours. She wasn't nervous exactly, nervous was the wrong word, she thought to herself. But she wasn't quite relaxed either.
Dr Lecter made quick work of the things in the kitchen. He was fully aware of the mix of emotions Clarice would be feeling. He knew that she made an unequivocal decision to join him, but that it didn't sit quite comfortably with her yet. He hoped that with some time and gentle coaching her new circumstances might feel more comfortable to her than her old ones. A gentle interplay of push and pull is what he felt would net him the best rewards.
To that end he kept his conversation light and entertaining on the drive to Florence. It is Clarice who steers the conversation back to more immediate and serios matters.
"Ardelia knows where I'm staying. I think I'm going to send her a letter telling her I've decided to do some backpacking in Europe and will write to her when I can. I don't want to scare her, and I don't want her to come looking for me"
Dr Lecter nodded as he parked his car two blocks from Clarice's hotel. He wasn't concerned about Agent Mapp one way or the other, and felt that a clean break would be safer for them, however he knew that it was important for Clarice and so he didn't press the issue.
Clarice was up and out of the car before he could say anything more or get out to open her door for her. He was sure she didn't mean it as a slight, but as a gentleman he had wanted to open her door for her. Something to be raised at a later stage he thought. He watched her walking away for a few more moments before getting out himself to avail himself of the little deli across the road. His initial plan had been to simply wait in the car for her, but he felt a nervous energy as he watched her walk away and welcomed the distraction of deciding which cheeses to buy for them. Never before had he felt what he feels for Clarice and it is throwing him a bit off-kilter. Definitely not something he was used to feeling.
Clarice walked briskly to her hotel and quickly packed her things. It wasn't a lot and it all fitted into one small suitcase. She sat on the bed and closed her eyes for a moment.
Is this really what I want? Am I really going to do this?
Ok, so what are my options. One, I can stay in my dead-end job and kept being pushed further and further away from the type of work I had wanted to do.
Two, I can go back and do what exactly? Start something else?
Or, three, I can go with the man whom I have fallen in love with and see where things go.
She used some of the hotel stationary to write a short letter to Ardelia. She knew better than to phone her at the moment as she was sure Ardelia would know right away what was going on and Clarice wanted to avoid that at all cost. She knew she owned her friend a better answer than this, and resolves to find a way to communicate that to her one day.
She was booked for two more nights, and the desk manager seemed both surprised and a bit annoyed at her checking out early.
She walked briskly back to Dr Lecter. She sees him loitering near the car when she rounds the corner. No doubt he meant for her to see him; he did after all admit to tailing her all of yesterday without her knowledge.
Ok so why does that not make me uncomfortable? Lord knows it should.
Dr Lecter smiles warmly as he opens the boot and takes her suitcase from her and stows it. He noticed she was using her left hand to drag the suitcase and wondered if her right hand was still bother her from time to time. She is making her way to the passenger side but finds him already opening the door for her. He gins and winks at her and she blushes as she gets into the car.
"Is there something more you wanted from Florence before we leave?" he asks as he smoothly slides into the driver's side
"Not particularly. I think I found what I came here to find"
He seemed inordinately pleased with her answer.
"Then there is only one thing we still need to iron out" he says and his penetrating stare pins her to her seat.
"I think it is about time, you call me by my name"
A slow smiles spreads over her face as she regards him. The broad forehead, the strong cheekbones, and above the eyes the colour of a rich merlot.
"Hannibal" she says and his face light-up in a way that she hasn't seen before.
Yes, this is where I want to be