As they walked up to the castle, Jefferson strayed behind, his thoughts wandering as his pace slowed. He made a point of observing the plants, though his thoughts were really elsewhere, in a place Jefferson hadn't been to in years. He shuddered slightly at one particular memory, hurrying back up the path to where the unsuspecting Elizabeth was waiting.
'You have to tell her; else she'll think you're a complete imbecile.'
"I didn't have any parents to teach me to read," Jefferson said sombrely.
"I know," Elizabeth replied, her voice devoid of any empathy towards him. "Victor said you were an orphan, like I was."
"Well, I was taught to read a little at the orphanage, but only the basics. And that was years ago, I've never really needed to read, I mean, I can recognise my name and phrases," Jefferson rambled, as though he could talk himself out of seeming like an illiterate imbecile.
"After all, portal jumping hardly comes with an instruction book," he joked, relieved at the sound of Elizabeth's melodic laughter that didn't appear to be at his expense.
"Look, I know you're not stupid- you have a way with words and a wicked tongue," Elizabeth said winding her arm through his when Jefferson had caught back up with her, "orphanages are awful, regardless of what realm you are in."
"I thought you were adopted?"
"Not at birth. I spent the first seven years in an orphanage," she explained, hurriedly withdrawing her arm as they approached the castle doors.
Elizabeth pushed the door open before calling Victor's name. There was no reply.
"You know, we could get started with your reading lesson now?" She suggested; the door creaking shut behind Jefferson as he stepped inside.
"What about your fiancé? Don't you need to continue your wedding plans?"
Elizabeth sighed, an injured look on her face. She didn't reply, instead she turned on her heel and set off down the narrow staircase towards Victor's laboratory. Jefferson followed, bemused at why his words seemed to have offended her. Their arrival startled Victor, papers flying from his desk as he rose from his chair to greet Jefferson.
"What are you doing?" Jefferson asked, unable to ignore the bags under the doctor's eyes and his lethargic movement.
"Trying to find a cure for my br-patient." Victor muttered, correcting himself at the sight of Elizabeth before slumping back into the chair.
His fingers massaged his temple and he began to sort through the mass of papers. From what Jefferson could see, they appeared to be covered in Victor's sloped writing, his annotations detailing various diagrams and equations.
"Where is this patient of yours?" Elizabeth asked, picking up the sheets on the floor and handing them to her brother.
"It doesn't matter!" Victor snapped, slamming his hand down on the desk, "none of it matters; I have no money to continue. The experiment is a failure," his voice had become strangled, and Victor placed his head on the papers, a sharp sob escaping him.
"That's not true," Jefferson took the pouch from his pocket and set it down in front of Victor. The doctor raised his head, his reddened eyes widened at the sight of the bulging money bag.
"It appears you have a benefactor- Rumplestiltskin," Jefferson continued, "and he will continue paying you until you succeed."
Victor sat up at his words, his evident fatigue vanishing.
"This is excellent! There is still a chance I can save him." Victor cried, ecstatic, suddenly embracing Jefferson before placing a kiss on Elizabeth's forehead.
"Indeed," she agreed, "now Jefferson, there is something I wish to show you," Elizabeth outstretched her hand for him to take, her fingertips brushing his skin.
She snapped them away when Victor demanded:
"And where do you think you're going with him?"
"The library," Elizabeth retorted. "What is wrong with that?"
"What is wrong is that you appear to be spending every minute you can with a man you've known for all of a fortnight, when you are to be married to another in less than two months!" Victor said, raising his voice.
His attention shifted from his sister to Jefferson. He gave the portal jumper a hostile glare as he added:
"You barely know him. You don't know what secrets he keeps."
"Oh and you do?" Elizabeth shot back.
Jefferson watched as their arguing continued, absent-mindedly picking up a nearby operational instrument as he waited for them to finish.
He knew he should probably intervene, but Jefferson felt that both Elizabeth and Victor had forgotten his presence entirely, completely absorbed in their acrimonious row. Jefferson jumped at the sound of the laboratory door slamming shut. He looked around to see Elizabeth was the one who had stormed off, leaving a shamed Victor stood behind his desk.
"I'm sorry that you had to witness that," he apologised.
"I'm the one who ought to apologise," Jefferson said, "I'm the reason you two were rowing."
Victor gave a bitter laugh at that, shaking his head.
"No, you are not. Elizabeth and I have been on edge for a while now: what with my work, her upcoming marriage and now the 'disappearance' of Gerhadt and our father," with a despondent sigh, Victor continued, "Elizabeth is very...confused as of late. She does not want to be made to marry the Count, and is angry at me for not helping her get out of the arrangement. Elizabeth doesn't understand that all I want is the best for her. She is young and naïve- she doesn't fully know what she wants. I hope you won't take advantage of that."
"Of course not," Jefferson replied, 'Reading and dancing lessons are perfectly innocent.'
He thought over Victor's words for a moment, a sudden realisation confusing him.
"You haven't told Elizabeth about what happened to your father- or that your patient is your brother?"
Victor gave a sheepish shrug.
"No: I can't. If she finds out about their deaths, the few strands of our relationship will break entirely."
"But you have to take responsibility for what you've done," Jefferson urged, "surely it would be better for Elizabeth to hear what has happened from you than for her to find out for herself?"
"I can't tell her: and you won't either," Victor said, "if you do, I'll tell the Count that you have been romancing his betrothed. You do not want to get on the wrong side of vampires.
Jefferson swallowed hard, pushing his momentary fears aside as he grinned at the doctor.
"Blackmailing me? I'm impressed. Now, I have business to attend to," he strode past Victor, opening the door to the cellar staircase.
"Does that business involve my sister?" Victor called after him.
Jefferson didn't reply.
The hallway was silent; the grey walls, ceiling and floor making the room feel like a prison as Jefferson went towards the front door. He stopped by the grand staircase, looking up to the landing in the hope of catch sight of Elizabeth. But she wasn't there, and Jefferson had no clue where the library she'd intended to show him was. He lingered for a minute or so, though still nobody appeared and Jefferson continued on. Laughter drifted in through an open window, a fluttering echo that resonated in his ears. Jefferson cast a glance through the window, immediately regretting it.
Out on the drive was the Count, and for the first time Jefferson could see him properly. The land's lack of colour paled him completely, contrasting to his dark clothes that draped around his gaunt figure. But that was not what Jefferson was really observing. His focus was pinpointed on the young woman by his side, with her sweet laughter that he couldn't fail to recognise. Elizabeth. Her arm was linked through the Count's the way it had been with his only an hour ago. They were walking down towards the garden.
'No doubt they'll go to Elizabeth's part of the garden. They'll sit on the bench we were sat at,' Jefferson thought, Victor's words flitting into his head:
'She doesn't fully know what she wants.'
Suddenly Elizabeth's head turned as she looked back towards the house. She caught Jefferson staring, her eyes locking onto his for a second. With that Elizabeth continued on, engaged in her chatter with the Count once again. Jefferson waited until they were far enough into the garden before slipping out of the castle.