IX. chapter: Nothing much
"Darling, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, spare it!" Lin was barging her way towards the staircase with Roy at her heels.
"Please, Lin!" he caught her by her arm, and turned her around to face him. "I was just being friendly! Let me explain!"
"Explain?" she shook her head. "You have no idea how 'being friendly' makes me feel. I don't mind you being nice to other women, but flirting like that is just too much."
"It didn't mean anything, I swear, I …"
"Just leave me alone." She freed her arm. As she turned around she caught Giselle with the corner of her eye. The latter was headed for the stairs, but she was walking much faster than usual, which was enough to get the Chinese's attention. Without a second thought she followed. She wanted to know what was going on. But more importantly, Lady Rayne was the only woman she knew around here, and right now she couldn't' stand men's company anymore. It didn't bother her that they weren't friends. Giselle was a woman, too, she'd understand how Roy was driving her crazy.
A sound of steps muffled by carpet reached Giselle's ears.
"Abby?" she called.
At first there was no answer, only a few more steps; then she heard a familiar voice,
"No, it is me. Pardon my intrusion, Lady Rayne, I didn't know where else to go."
Giselle turned her head and her eyes landed on Lin, who was standing at the door. For a second she considered sending her away, but decided not to. The Chinese looked upset.
"You pardon my condition," she said somewhat huskily, and sat upright. "Do sit down, please. It should help you to calm down."
Lin nodded, a shade of surprise on her face when she sank into an armchair.
"You seem a little upset, too," she noted.
"Nothing to worry about," Giselle stood up, and placed the mask she'd snatched off her face earlier onto a chest of drawers. "Let me guess," she went on, "O'Bannon upset you?"
"Yes," Lin sighed with despair. Tears were about to form in her eyes, but she pushed them back. "I don't understand him. He keeps saying how wonderful I am and how he loves me, but then he goes and flirts with other women! He just doesn't know how to stop, or so it seems."
"Men …" Giselle sat back down on the bed. "They keep doing stupid things just like that … I wonder … Maybe it's in their nature …" She blankly stared into space for a second before her eyes focused again. "Don't worry; I'm sure Mr. O'Bannon loves you. I can tell by the way he looks at you, you need not doubt that."
"Really?" Lin's face lightened up a bit. "But then why does he do such things?"
"Have you tried talking to him?" she answered with another question.
"Well … He doesn't particularly like the topic …"
"Make him listen. And remember to listen to him, too."
Lin opened her mouth to reply, but just then the door opened, and Abby entered with a bottle and a glass on a tray.
"The drink you ordered, milady," she set everything on the night table with a respectful bow, and hurried away. The auburn- haired lady poured some beverage into the glass.
"Here," she offered it to Lin, and glanced at the bottle to see what it was. "A bit of gin might help."
"Thank you, that's very kind."
"Not worth mentioning," Giselle shook her head. She grabbed the bottle, and made three long gulps. Ignoring Lin's raised eyebrows, she put it back onto the night table and let herself sink into pillows. "I needed that," she muttered. Usually she didn't drink, but momentary she was too excited. "Don't look at me in such a manner, I know very well what I've done and even more so I'm not supposed to do it."
"You don't care that much for manners, do you?"
"I do when needed," she answered. "But sometimes there's really no use of them. They just limit one too much. One ends up being a prisoner of his own life."
"You are certainly … an interesting person."
"I suppose that is a compliment?"
"Of course," Lin said quickly. "I meant … You're a lot different than I thought you'd be when I first met you."
Giselle didn't reply to that. Of course Lin's first impression of her can't have been good; she had behaved rather rudely for what she wanted to apologize. However, if she were to bring that up, she's spark the other's interests in her reasons for such behaviour, and she couldn't afford that. Remaining quiet was the best option.
Lin broke the short silence, standing up.
"Thank you for your time. I'm sorry to have disturbed you; I really needed someone to talk to. But I'll leave you now. Thank you for the advice."
"You may stay if you wish," Giselle said, liking the idea of having her mind occupied with something else than the appearance of the man she loved. "In fact, I'd be very glad if you stayed."
"Oh, of course. I just thought maybe you find my company annoying …" Lin sat back down. "I'll gladly stay. It feels nice to have someone I can talk to, too. And I'd like to get to know you better. You always seem to wear a mask."
"People wear masks all the time." She paused. "You don't like staying in London very much."
"How did you know?"
"Some say I'm good at reading people," she shrugged. "I wouldn't know. You must fell lonely here."
"I do," Lin nodded shortly. "I've just made some good friends in America, and now I'm alone here again. No, not really alone, my brother and Roy are here, of course, but they get along with inspector Doyle really well. They act all guy-like and …"
"And you feel left out."
"Yes. Also, being here … brings back memories of my father."
"I'm sorry he died," Giselle offered her condolences. This time she was fully aware of her words, but didn't care much. "You must miss him."
"How do you know …? Surprise was written all over her face. "Roy said you knew a lot of things. Seems he spoke the truth." She sighed. "I do miss him. It is not so bad, though. He's been dead for over a year now. And I still have Chon and Roy."
"Yes … Lin – May I call you Lin?"
"Of course."
"Hold him tight. If you really love him, hold him with everything you have. Little misunderstandings aren't worth losing him. He'll do stupid things again and again, but as long as he loves you he'll regret it. You should forgive him."
"It's not always so easy."
"Forgiving is easy as long as one loves," Giselle said quietly. Lin watched her silently for a few seconds, as if she were thinking about something. Then she said,
"You speak wise things."
"I wouldn't know," Lady Rayne told the truth. "Maybe. But it doesn't make me any wiser than you. I think we all know these things deep in our hearts. It's just a matter of puting them into words."
It was Lin's turn to say maybe before she switched the topic.
"You were upset, too, Lady Rayne?"
"Prey, call me Giselle."
"Giselle. A man's fault?"
"A man's fault," she confirmed.
"That mister you slapped yesterday? He seems to like you, doesn't he?"
"Well … yes. Kind of. We used to be childhood-friends. He's trying to court me at every opportunity, and thinks I'm beautiful. He likes to show off, too. He does like me, so much I can tell, but I'm sure there is nothing deeper behind his words. He'll get over it."
"Apparently he picked the wrong woman to court."
"Absolutely." Giselle's lips curled into a faint smile.
"He surely didn't see your slap coming."
"Well, he should have. He had it coming from the moment he began speaking nonsense. Although I didn't really mean to slap him, it just happened," she sighed. "If not for the dress I might have kicked him, too."
"My, you're a fighter then?" Lin raised an eyebrow.
"Which would make you one of the two women around here who can put a man in their place?"
"May I take that as a 'yes'?"
"You may take it as a statement," said Giselle. "However, I see no reason not to tell you. After all, your own fighting skills are quite an art. So, yes, I can fight."
"How come?" Lin raised an eyebrow.
"I kind of needed a hobby," Giselle replied. "Let's leave it at that."
"Oh. Well, I'd like to stay a bit longer, but I wish to talk to Roy before he can try to sweep everything under the carpet. Thank you for the conversation."
"Thank you. Have a good night," Giselle replied, and got up to walk Lin to the door.
"Good night," the latter returned the greeting. She walked down the corridor with a smile on her face. Giselle had given her courage. How had she known just what words to use?
While Lin was thinking about all that Giselle wasn't thinking at all. With her back pressed against the soft, white sheets, she stared at the scarlet canopy. Her heart begun to race again at a mere thought of him. With a dreamy smile she pushed herself uprights, and reached for the bottle.
The moment Giselle woke up she knew she had drunk too much. Her head was killing her, her stomach was turning, and she felt like all the strength had left her. Getting up seemed to be too hard. Besides, she had no reason to get up just yet, so she remained lying on her back while her thoughts drifted back to yesterday's evening. She went through every single detail in her mind. His slow walk through the crowd, his silent invitation to a dance, how he held her, how he froze, the well-hidden panic in his voice … His dark eyes that mesmerized her again and again …
"Milady!"
Giselle jumped so hard she nearly fell out of her bed.
"God, Abby, do you intend to scare me to death!" She pressed a hand over her heart.
"I've called you three times, Miss Rayne." The maid gave the bottle on the night table a suspicious glance. "Do you have a hangover?"
Giselle grumbled an affirmation. "Bring me some water, please," she added.
"Right away. Anything else? A bath? Breakfast? Your hair is a mess, if I may say. And why did you go to sleep in the dress? You were already fast asleep when I came in here, and I didn't want to wake you … What happened yesterday, Miss Rayne?"
"Nothing much," she muttered.
"Nothing much? Milady, you demanded a drink!"
"Miss Rayne, Abby, not milady. Like I said – nothing much. I just met a man."
"A man!" Abby clasped her hands with delight. "That's good news! One would think man would be afraid of you after what you've done to Lord Dixon." She paused for a moment. "Oh, I'm sorry if I said too much."
"Does the whole palace know about it?" Giselle raised an eyebrow with irritation. "God, Edwin is annoying!"
"I think he resents you," Abby said shyly.
"Of course he does, I slapped him. But he deserved it."
"If you say so, Miss Rayne."
"No, really, he did. He said some things he shouldn't have said … Now, help me get ready for a bath, I don't think I can handle this," she pointed at her hair with a smile, "on my own."
"Right away."
Abby smiled, too. She had no idea what had happened, but whoever Giselle met it was apparently a good thing she did.