Chapter Seven
I slept for fourteen hours. Straight through the night. I woke early the next morning feeling almost back to my old normal self. The IV had been removed, a Band-Aid placed on the inside of my elbow.
I was thirsty when I woke up. There was a glass of water next to my bed and I managed to pull myself into a sitting position. I took a delicate sip. At first, my dry throat burned from the drink, but soon the water was soothing and I drank the whole glass.
There was a bell and a note in Anton’s slanting handwriting telling me to ring it when I woke up. But the thought of ringing a bell for help seemed too absurd and rude. Anton had taken me in and saved my life, I wasn’t going to treat him like a servant. I pulled the covers off of my legs. I was wearing a hospital gown and a pair of thick socks.
I stepped out of the bed and onto the floor. My legs were shaky and I was unsure on them. Leaning against whatever I could find, chairs, a desk or the wall, I made my way to the window.
The world was covered in white. It blanketed the ground, it hung from trees, it covered the driveway. I could see a raised portion of the snow and I figured there must have been a car buried in there. The world was silent, the snow muffling any sounds.
This was the Lev mansion. It was located next to a large lake on a huge piece of property. I had only seen it from afar. A large, modern looking mansion surrounded by a tall wrought iron gate. It was strange to see it from the inside. I had to re-orient myself.
Everything I touched was perfect. The desk was made of a hard wood with intricately carved drawers. The paintings were all excellent, hung on the walls in gold frames. The bed had a series of lion heads carved into the headboard. They roared, their mouths open, their manes shown in great detail, each tooth was carved to perfection.
I stretched, raising my arms above my head and standing on my tiptoes. I moved my head from side to side and then I heard footsteps on the stairs. I hurried back to bed and pulled the covers around me, finishing just as Anton knocked twice on the door.
“Come in,” I called out, my voice clearer than it had been before.
“You’re awake,” he said as he entered. He held a tray in his arms. There were orange juice, fruit and a covered plate. He moved with a stately elegance, even holding a tray of food he still looked like a king, or maybe czar would have been the better word. “Are you hungry?”
I nodded. I was hungry. My stomach felt empty. He found a stand, placed it on the bed and put the tray on top of it. He lifted the lid off the plate revealing steaming scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. It looked beautiful and smelled even better. My stomach growled loud enough for him to hear.
“Go ahead,” he said nodding to the food.
“What about you?” I asked as I pulled the food closer.
“I ate already,” he said. He sat down in the stiff chair and faced me.
I felt very self-conscious under his gaze. But I was too hungry to ignore the food in front of me. I dug into the eggs and toast, relishing every bite. But my stomach had shrunk in the last few weeks and after just a few bites, I was full.
“You need to eat more than that,” he said. “You need your strength.”
“Oh, I’m trying to get down to a size zero,” I joked, but he just shook his head.
“You’re a beautiful woman, don’t try and change yourself. You should look like a woman.
I looked away. I had only very recently come to appreciate my curves. Growing up my father had told me that men don’t date fat women. He was always judging my food choices, asking me if I was really going to eat that. I let my stomach settle and then went back for more. Taking a few more bites.
“So, this is your house?” I asked.
He nodded, “It’s been in the family for generations.”
“It’s lovely.”
“When you’re feeling better I’ll give you a tour,” he said. “Although you won’t be able to see the grounds. There’s about three feet of snow out there. You’ll have to wait until summer to see the rest.”
“The bookstore!” I cried, sitting up. “I forgot about it.”
“It’s alright,” he said with a calm shake of his head. “I called Sarah and Harold and told them you were sick. They understand. Besides, with all this snow, no one’s going anywhere, anytime soon.”
I should have felt nervous or uneasy. I was in a strange man’s house. No one knew I was here. But I didn’t feel scared. I felt safe and protected.
“I can see why people think you breed lions,” I said motioning to the headboard.
“It’s the family name,” he said. “My family came from Russia. We were noblemen, lords, property owners. At one point some grandfather watched over thousands of serfs. My family were good lords, they looked after their people well. They protected them. But the revolution was a madness and my great-grandparents were forced to flee. We’ve lived in Williamstown ever since. I teach at the University of Maine, ancient Greek history. Although, at the moment, I’m on sabbatical.”
I nodded and reached for the glass of orange juice. I was terribly thirsty and my dry throat was crying for something to drink.
“Now is the point in the conversation where you tell me where you’re from. What your history is. How you ended up in that abandoned office building.”
“I just drift from place to place,” I said, avoiding his eyes. “I always have.”
“You’re lying,” he said. There was a long pause where he waited for me to speak, but my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t say anything. “You are too pretty to be a drifter. Your skin is clear and your teeth are perfect. You aren’t addicted to anything. I think something happened and you ran away. Will you tell me what it was?”
“It was nothing like that,” I said, my voice a quiet whisper. “I just ran out of money in this town.”
“And you didn’t have anyone you could call?” He asked.
I shook my head. Tears were forming in my eyes. I didn’t want to cry in front of this man. I already looked so weak in front of him. I couldn’t stand to fall any further.
“No,” I said. “There was no one for me to call.”
“I’m very sorry. It’s hard to be all alone in this world. I have my family, my sisters and my father. I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t have anyone to lean on. It seems like it would be a very hard life.”
“I get by,” I said.
“You almost died of fever in an abandoned building in the middle of a blizzard. That doesn’t exactly sound like getting by.”
“The only reason I was sick is because your illegal breeding animal trapped me in a barn overnight.”
“You were trespassing,” he reminded me. “Not that what happened is any of your fault.”
“So you are breeding lions?” I asked.
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “I promise you, I am not breeding lions. I would never do such a thing.”
“So where did it come from?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he finally said.
A yawn surprised me and a sudden tiredness came over me. “You should get some rest,” Anton said. “You are welcome to stay here as long as you would like. I’m happy for the company. There’s a bathroom through that door and please let me know if you need anything. All of the staff were sent home due to the storm, so it’s just you and I. But I can help you with anything and we can call the doctor back if we need him.”
I nodded, but already I was sinking back into the soft and warm bed. Anton took the tray away and I watched his tall form as it moved through the doorway.