Chapter 10 – Amusement & Blood
Four elegantly dressed females emerged into the spacious room. Two of them, Judy noticed immediately, were none other than Ms. Veronica and her mother. The other two females, a tiger and a black-backed jackal, laughed as the party entered. Rising from her seat, Sophie copying her, the pair remained by each other's side. Unable to turn away from Veronica, Judy watched as she slowly approached Sophie ahead of her mother.
"What a beautiful young vixen you are, my dear. You must be the famous Sophie Nicholas talks about." Ms. Stevens smiled as she held out a paw to the young fox, brushing her cheek, not paying any attention to Judy, before whisking the young vixen away from Judy's side toward the group of females. "Mama, look over here," Veronica called across the room. "At this adorable little vixen. Is she not the most beautiful thing you've seen?"
"Not since you were her age, I think." Mrs. Stevens, laughing, looked over at Sophie as the young vixen was brought to the adult group. All four ladies immediately consolidated around the vixen, talking and laughing.
Judy, who had, by now, been completely ignored, slowly withdrew toward the rear of the room, where she quietly took a seat in one of the room's armchairs next to a window. She noticed a faded covered book Mrs. Otterton had been reading the other day lying on a small table close to her. Upon reaching for it, Judy opened it and began reading quietly in the chair. Carefully turning her ears toward the drawing-room door, she listened eagerly for Nick's voice to emerge from the room beyond. Knowing the males would arrive sometime after the females.
Her wish was soon granted as male laughter grew louder by the second. "Now, Thomas, I mean it. We shall have none of that here tonight." Nick's voice spoke as the group of males joined the ladies. An older fox beside Nick slapped his paw on Nick's back as the two entered, followed by a younger-looking coyote. Lowering her book slightly, Judy felt her heart suddenly race within her at the sight of her employer. However, Nick, crossing the middle of the room, did not glance over at her like everyone else. Instead, he made his way to a table, where a decanter of wine and some glasses had been laid out.
"Nicholas, come here," Veronica called out in the room. "You have the sweetest young vixen here. Truly, she is. How do you travel so much and leave her alone here?"
"My life and work are always taking me somewhere in this world, Veronica, but I assure you," Nick replied, pouring himself a small glass of red wine. "When I'm fortunate to be back home, I enjoy nothing more than having her in my company. He smiled over at Sophie, who returned the smile, blushing slightly.
Veronica covered her mouth with a paw and laughed at Nick's words while keeping a firm grip on Sophie's shoulder with her other. "But a vixen, at her age, shouldn't she be enrolled in some academy already, Nicholas? I know of one or two highly accredited establishments."
"Oh no, Veronica, I will have none of that. Also, most academies are far too expensive. Besides, she tells me countless times that she loves being here at the manor. Do you not agree, Sophie? Nick continued to smile as he gave a wink to the young vixen.
"Yes, I really do," Sophie turned her head in search of where Judy had gone before finding her sitting where she was. She gave the doe a beaming smile that at once filled Judy with warmth. While sitting in her seat, Judy thought about how much she had grown so fond of the young vixen since taking up the post here. Noticing Nick turn her way, she returned to her reading as his guests moved about the room, talking amongst themselves.
Prying further, Veronica continued with her questions. "I will never fully understand you, Nicolas." She placed her arms between his before pulling him aside so they could speak without the others hearing them. "There are plenty of simple boarding schools that are very inexpensive. So why keep her confined here, all alone?"
Nick let out a slight cough before taking another sip from his glass. He took a few steps around Veronica and refilled his drink. "I remember when I was sent away to boarding school. Every day, I missed being around familiar faces and being treated like a normal child, not one of privilege or despised by the other classmates." He took a quick sip from his glass. "Veronica, my dear, I do not wish to put Sophie through that kind of childhood as I once did." A medium-sized oil painting on the wall near them drew his full attention. "When I had received word of the death of my dear sister, I was destroyed. Knowing I was not there by her side at the end." Nick took a step back and simply stared at the painting briefly. "After I could finally return home a month later, I would spend hours here, in this very room, and ask why such a kind-hearted creature had been taken from this world at such a young age.
Her ears jumping at these words, Judy raised her head slightly and gazed over at the pair as Nick continued to speak. For herself, unable to see clearly the painting on the wall, Judy shifted in her seat as she tried to get a better look at the canvas painting without success. Without drawing attention to herself, Judy rose carefully from her seat and moved along the back of the room. Able to have a clear view from her location, she gazed over at the painting, which she had never noticed before.
Containing a single female vixen, the portrait showed the light red fur vixen in what appeared to be in her early teens, sitting on a green velvet armchair. The vixen wore a beautiful cream-colored ball gown, showing white markings on her front paws and nose. Judy noticed in awe how the unknown artist had taken great care in the fine detailing they gave the young mammal. Her soft hazel eyes amplify her natural beauty and the dress she wore. The beautiful gown with a twist (bustle dress) appeared to be of taffeta. Judy's eyes traced along the dress's high bustier bodice and ivory lace embroidery, which decorated the off-the-shoulder sleeves and ruffles at the bottom.
"Is this your late sister, Nicholas?" Veronica, observing as Nick continued to gaze at the painting, asked.
"Yes," Nick spoke softly before turning away from the portrait. "That was Margery, or Maggie, as I used to call her when she was alive." For a moment, Nick felt his heart race before he had to control his emotions. His eyes, for an instant, begin to water.
"What happened to her? In all the years I've known you, Nicholas, you have never really spoken of your sister." Veronica placed a paw on his shoulder as he sipped his drink further. Nick walked away from her toward his other guests, silent momentarily.
"When we were both born, the doctor had noticed something wrong with Margery." Nick took a seat in a high-backed chair. "As we both grew up, she always felt weak at times, to the point where she had to rest most days. But she never let it stop her from enjoying life. It was not until one autumn day during my teenage years that I received a letter after being forced by my father to return to that hated boarding school. Margery had decided to walk along the grounds during a light rainstorm one day after being confined indoors for too long. By the following morning, she started to develop respiratory problems. It was too late to make it back home to be with her. Whatever she may have caught spread fast due to her weakened immunity. By the fourth day, she was gone."
"So by having Sophie in the house with you, you feel as if you have your dear younger sister back, is that it?" Veronica, a smug look formed on her face as she asked.
"No, Veronica," Nick reacted harshly. "I keep Sophie here with me as a promise to her late mother. To always look after her." He rose to his feet once more, moving further away from her.
Desperate to salvage the conversation, Veronica returned to talk about Sophie. "Perhaps a governess than, for Sophie? Since she would be here full time."
"That, Veronica, I have already done." Nick, his tone more contained, walked over to his male coyote friend, dressed in a tweed suit. "And a competent one at that."
"Oh...," Mrs. Stevens, who had sat on a couch behind Nick, wiped her head around to look at him. "Nicolas, dear, please tell me you're joking." A look of utter revulsion on her face.
Veronica laughed as she rushed around and gripped her mother's paw, finding this comment funny. "Yes, mama, you heard him correctly." She looked over at Nick, still smiling. "That word is enough to send Mama into hysteria these days. The vixen patted her mother's paw in her own. "My younger siblings are on their sixth one, I think, by now, mama?" She looked up at Nick.
"All governesses are simply horrid or too stupid and unsuited to educate any mammal, let alone themselves." Mrs. Stevens spoke over her daughter.
"Mama, tell Nicholas about our last one, Ms. Hornshoe." Veronica let out a quick laugh at the look on her mother's. As if someone had placed a foul odor under her nose. "Never mind, I will." She bent down and took a seat next to the older vixen. "She was a disgusting, aged creature, Nicholas. How she made a living being a governess, I will never know. Whenever my siblings teased her about her looks, she angrily yelled at them. My little sister was so happy when we finally sacked her." Nick, showing his bitterness freely from what he was hearing, released a heavy sigh and turned away. Seeing his unfavorable response, Veronica cleared her throat and sprang to her feet, calling to the group, "Shall we have some music then? Come now, everyone." She moved toward the room's slide doors. "I had the staff set up a new portable phonograph I purchased in the capital a month ago during dinner. We can all listen and dance to a few records I brought."
Judy, who had heard every word Veronica and her mother had said, felt disgusted at that point. The book still in her paw, she made the ultimate decision and set it down on a nearby table before leaving the room in haste. Nick, noticing her from where he stood, was taken aback and set his glass down to follow her. Veronica turned around, not seeing Judy, who had slid by her unnoticed and witnessed Nick excuse himself before leaving the room. Instantly
Judy, her head bursting with words she wished to say to the two female Stevens, desperately added a sizable gap between her and the room. She stopped once she arrived at the grand staircase. Reaching the foyer, she took a deep breath and desired to be alone in her bedroom.
Nick, catching up with her, slowed down as he crossed the foyer. "Ms. Hopps, where do you think you are running off to?"
"To my room, sir; good night," Judy answered quickly as she climbed the stairs.
"Are you ill?" Nick asked.
No, sir." Judy replied, refusing to look at him as she continued her climb.
"Then why, may I ask, are you going to your room?" Nick asked again, remaining on the main floor.
Judy stopped halfway along the stairs, her back still facing Nick. "I think it would be best if I retire for the night," She closed her eyes and breathed.
"Nonsense, Ms. Hopps. Now, come back down and return to the gathering in the drawing room." Nick raised his paw and held it toward where they walked from.
"Return for what, Sir?" Judy whipped around to face him. "Only to have my profession openly mocked and insulted by your so-called respectable guests? Her chest heaving at these words, she clutched her right paw in a tight fist. "Or to be ignored and forced to watch the night's events from the corner of the room?"
"I'm sorry you had to hear that; I am. It is something I would not permit in my presence. As to being in a corner, why, may I ask, did you not join in with the party? You had every ability to do so, just like Sophie." Nick asked questionably, his green eyes observing Judy closely in the low burning light along the walls. "Are you not pleased to see me after all these weeks gone? I would think, nonetheless, at some point, it would have been polite of you to have asked how my travels were. Would you not say so, Ms. Hopps?"
"You were otherwise engaged with your guests, Mr. Wilde," Judy calmed down to answer his questions. "But with you back, Sophie will be able to concentrate more on her studies, and I…." She stopped herself before saying. "I am sorry, but I must go." Judy turned around and proceeded up the stairs, determined. Nick stared from below, a look of shock on his face by Judy's actions.
"Hopps… I'm not finished!" Nick called up to her. "I have not dismissed you...Ms. Hopps?" Nick, his voice rising, shouted her name.
"Good night, sir," Judy called down to him before turning along the hall as she reached the second-floor landing.
"Ms. Hopps…Judith?" Nick called out to her by her first name for the first time as he remained on the bottom landing. Finding himself defeated by her, he called up once more. "Alright, I will excuse you this time. But mark my words, Ms. Hopps. I expect you to be in the drawing room every evening, within my sight. Is that clear?" Nick took two steps up the stairs, yelling to the upper floor. "Every evening, Ms. Hopps."
"Who on earth are you shouting at, Nicholas?" Veronica suddenly appeared behind Nick, gazing up at the now-empty second-floor landing and then back to Nick.
"It's nothing, Veronica. Nothing to concern you with tonight." Nick turned and walked out of the room without looking at her. "I need to return to my guests before they start to worry about what has become of me."
For Judy, during the following evenings, Nick held to his promise to ensure she remained in sight of him during the evenings after that. And so, with each new evening, Judy was found sitting in the same chair near the back of the room with a book in her lap. Her gaze rose occasionally to look over at Nick; she would return to her book whenever Nick caught her eyeing him. By the end of the week, since the rather noisy party arrived at the manor, the group had just finished an exciting game of charades that night. Enjoying herself, Sophie laughed as she sat on one of the couches.
When two loud knocks echoed on the drawing-room door before sliding open, the group turned toward the door in utter surprise. "Mr. Wilde?" Mrs. Otterton, who announced herself, slowly walked into the room of mammals. The laughter died away at once.
"What is it, Mrs. Otterton?" Nick moved through the crowd toward her, noticing a worried look on her face.
The aged otter began to rub her paws nervously as she addressed him. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late while you are entertaining. But, a gentleman fox, Mr. Gideon Gray, arrived a moment ago to see you." She glanced over at the doorway she entered, ensuring no one had followed her.
Nick made a quick glance behind him before answering her. "Did he? Can you inform him I'm somewhat occupied now and to call back in the morning?"
"I already have, sir." Mrs. Otterton babbled in a softer voice. "But he said he would not leave until he speaks with you immediately."
After exhaling a deep sigh, Nick closed his eyes briefly before answering, "Very well. Escort him to my private office and tell him I will be there shortly." Mrs. Otterton turned and exited the room in a hurry as he walked over to a nearby table and poured himself a glass of some amber liquid. Draining the contents rapidly, he placed the glass back on the table and addressed the group. "If you will all forgive me, I think tonight's activities have concluded for myself. So I will wish you all a goodnight and pleasant rest." And with that, Nick made his way out, leaving everyone in shock and amazement as they started to gather their items and filter out of the drawing room, talking and laughing amongst themselves.
As the late hours passed along, the manor slowly sank into slumber. But not everyone seemed to be resting as the outline of a lonely figure walked cautiously along the darkened second floor. The sound of paw steps groaned along with parts of the floor. Dressed in what appeared to be traveling attire, the medium-sized figure turned along the hallway that led to the locked door to the third floor. With a sudden jerk of its neck, the figure glanced over their shoulder, ensuring they were not followed. Coming to a halt at the wooden door, the figure reached into their pocket and withdrew an old metal key. The figure carefully inserted the key and turned it before slipping through the door and closing it behind them. Silence quickly returned along the bedroom corridors as the night continued.
The late-night stillness was sadly soon short-lived, as a short time later, the muffled sounds of a male voice seemed to cry out in agony, arousing a few of the second-floor inhabitants in their beds. Still sound asleep, Judy, in her room position near the end of the corridor, was suddenly awakened by rapid taps on her bedroom door. Stirring in her bed, she listened as the tapping stopped before the sound of Nick's voice spoke through the door in a hushed voice. "Mr. Wilde, is that you?" She called to the door, jumping out of bed and grabbing her dressing robe as she crossed the room's length to the door. Judy quickly slipped her robe over her as she pressed an ear to the door, gripping the door handle in fear. "Mr. Wilde?" She asked again.
"Yes, Ms. Hopps." On the other side of the door, Nick struggled to keep calm. "I need your help, quickly. Open the door."
Turing the key to the lock, Judy cautiously opened the door as Nick stood in the darkness wearing his familiar long nightshirt and holding an oil lamp. "What is it? Is it Sophie? Did something happen?" She asked, worried by the look Nick was giving her.
"No," Nick replied quickly in almost a whisper. "Come with me, quickly." He reached out and grabbed her wrist as he led her away and along the corridor.
A door to their right suddenly opened as Veronica appeared and leaned out of her room. "What on earth is going on? Was that screaming I heard?" She stepped out of the room, holding a powder blue robe closed around her nightdress.
"It's nothing," Nick called back as he and Judy walked past her. "One of the night staff had an accident. Go back to bed." He called back as the two hurried along and disappeared around a corner. Nick stopped as they approached the familiar door leading to the third floor with a firm hold still on Judy's paw. "I need to ask you first: do you faint at the sight of blood?"
"No," Judy, racing to think why he would ask her this question, realized where they were. "Is it Anna? Did something happen?" She asked as the two went through the doorway. A sudden force of cold, stale air immediately flooded over them as they moved further on. Judy noticed that the short passageway they rushed along had immediately changed from wood to stone. She recalled what Mrs. Otterton had said to her about this part of the manor the night she had arrived. "...makes up the oldest part of the once stronghold the manor was built from."
The pair arrived at what Judy could only describe as a narrowed old stone spiral staircase leading up to a third-floor landing. Nick continued to guide Judy along an upper landing they came out onto, covered in dirt and high-hanging cobwebs, before reaching another passageway. Nick went and pushed open a worn door to his right and entered, taking Judy with him with a final jerk of her wrist.
As her eyes struggled to adapt to the low-lit room she now found herself in, Judy immediately noticed the figure of a medium-sized mammal lying on the floor. Nick, letting go of her, moved around and set the oil lamp next to the mammal, allowing Judy to see better. The figure, unknown to her, was a male fox with the same red colored fur as Nick, gasping as he struggled to breathe properly. "Please, I need help!" the fox called out desperately. "She tore and clawed at me as if she was some kind of savage." Judy, kneeling on the floor with both legs, quickly examined the tod and the state of his injuries. The fox appeared to be suffering from a deep laceration made by a claw along his neck and several minor claw marks along his chest, the shirt he wore now stained with blood. His snout also showed a few more minor scratches along one side.
"I told you, but you still would not listen to me, Gideon." Nick retrieved a worn medical bag from the room and sat it next to Judy.
"I...just thought…that maybe..." The fox, called Gideon, began to cough up a little blood as he turned his head away.
Moving the oil lamp around, Judy struggled to control her fear and emotions as she began applying pressure to the massive deep cut along his neck. "This wound along his neck is deep; we need to try and close the wound to stem the bleeding." She called over to Nick. "Sir, I need you to help apply pressure on his neck here." Listening to her, Nick reached and pressed down on the spot Judy was holding as she looked through the medical bag beside her. Finding what she was looking for, she opened a small bottle by its cork with her teeth. "I need to clean the wound." She looked over into the fearful eyes of the weak fox. "Mr...Gideon, this will hurt for a few seconds. But I need you to try and take a deep breath for me." Gideon, nodding his understanding, coughed slightly before taking a rough, deep breath through his nose. "Okay, one...two...three!" Judy removed Nick's paw and poured a clear liquid over the open wound. Gideon began to twitch at once as he let out a scream of pain, the wound bubbling white as Judy pressed a clean dressing over the cut. Both she and Nick struggled to hold him down. Nick trying to cover Gideon's screams with his paws. "Okay, you're alright; slow breaths now." She looked over at Nick. "Do you have anything to help with the pain, Mr. Wilde?"
"Hold on, I think I have something here." Nick, letting go of Gideon, rushed to a pie-crusted table in the corner where several small bottles sat.
Gideon struggled to talk as he felt the wound on his neck burn with pain. " She tried…to lick the blood… like some creature or something.
"I told you to shut up, Gideon. What are you trying to do, frighten Ms. Hopps with your nonsense?" Nick rushed over to Gideon as he opened a bottle in his paws. "Here, swallow this; this should help relax you." Nick tipped the tiny bottle down Gideon's throat, ensuring he drank the whole bottle. He continued to lean over Judy as she started stitching the open wound closed. "Ms. Hopps, I need to go and wake up Benjamin. I'll have Ben take him to the doctor in the village. Will you stay here with him until I come back?"
"Of course I will, sir." Judy looked up at him as she stopped her work.
With a nod, Nick turned and left the room quickly, closing the door behind him. Judy returned to her work and slowly stitched the deep laceration closed. As she did this, images of what kind of mammal would do this to another ran through her mind. Minutes began passing as Judy tied off the last stitches, setting the needle and thread on the floor next to her. "This should keep the wound closed until you get to the doctor. He can do a much better job once he's treated you." Judy spoke to Gideon, who had drifted off asleep from whatever Nick had given him. His head fell limply to the side as he leaned against the stone wall.
From outside their room, Judy suddenly heard the shifting of a nearby door, followed by paw steps. The sound of someone or something slowly approaching from the opposite direction Nick had left was moving closer. Judy felt fear creep up her spine as her ears shot up. Her head whipped back over her shoulder, and she stared at the closed door, her body frozen. Gathering courage, she rose and walked softly to the door, listening.
A slow, deep gasping breath could be heard as the unknown mammal approached the door Judy was currently shielding behind. Judy turned and glanced over at the still-sleeping Gideon before she felt the door begin to be pushed open slowly. Judy pressed her paws up against the wooded surface and shifted her weight, moving gingerly with its movement. Her violet eyes grew wider with fear as she struggled to not make a sound, the door continuing to open, hiding her from the unknown guest. She instantly cupped her mouth with a paw to avoid being heard as her body was pressed further against the wall