Red Wolfe (5 page)

“I’m not sure I feel comfortable drinking wine with strangers,” she confessed.

“If I were going to harm you I would have done it long before now,” Lord Wolfe said as he relaxed back into his velvet chair. “I am a gentleman of utmost character, after all.”

Ellena certainly didn’t believe
that
, but what he said did make sense. She was stranded alone with him in a secluded house deep in the woods and he had yet to lay a hand on her. He may have been an egotistical jerk, but he certainly didn’t mean her harm.

“Here, let me,” she hastily said, picking up t
he wine and pouring her own cup when the old man tried to lift it.

“It is his place to serve to my guest.”

“I am no one of any importance that he has to wait on me in such a manner. That you cannot argue.”

Lord Wolfe said nothing, but took a long drink of his wine as the old man once again moved to serve his master by placing a variety of potatoes, meats, and cheeses on Lord Wolfe’s plate. Ellena, seeing
no reason to bother him with something that she could so easily do herself, began to fill her own plate.

“I suppose I shouldn’t expect your kind to be used to the finer aspects of cultured living since your inferior breeding has left you with little advantage in life.”

“If cultured living entails being unable to feed myself then yes I suppose my sad upbringing has neglected in making me completely useless.”

A flicker of rage flashed across his face before he quickly regained his composure. Ellena couldn’t help but feel somewhat
vindicated with her stabbing comment and the man in front of her may have tried to it, but she saw it. She had gotten underneath that pampered skin of his.

He picked up his fork and started eating.
“I should have known better than to expect gratitude from you. I only brought you into my home, offered you a warm fire and a hot meal.”

Ellena felt her victory short lived. He may have been unbearable to deal with but he
spoke the truth. She would probably be dead right now if he had not been so gracious.

“You are right,” she sincerely said. “Thank you.”

That conceited grin slid across lips again and Ellena suddenly berated herself for giving in to his obvious hook. “Then all his forgiven,” he proudly said, his grin growing wider.

He then bega
n to chat away, asking very little about Ellena, but very content to simply discuss his own pleasures and desires. He apparently loved horses, hunting, and clothes, torturing Ellena by going on about which colors looked the best on him. He didn’t mind reading, as long as it was a book that could keep his attention, but he himself admitted that he rarely read since no such book existed.

Hours passed, agonizing hours of listening to this man and his moronic stories. It didn’t seem to bother him at all that she had
barely spoken a word, in fact he probably preferred it that way.

She didn’t mean to drink
so much, but she couldn’t help but notice that the more that she drank the easier it became to drown out his annoying ramblings. Her cheeks were burning from not only the buzz of the red wine, but from the warm fire and she clumsily untied the red hood which fell to the floor. She tried to bend over and retrieve it but she found that it only worsened the dizziness that was already making it hard to focus.

“
Merc
i,” she beamed brightly as the quiet butler slowly bent and picked it up. “What is your name,
monsieur
?” Ellena asked.

“Gregor,
mademoiselle
,” he softly answered. It was a pleasant sound and Ellena’s smiled widened.

“It is quite uncouth for a woman to get so intoxicated in the presence of a man,” Lord Wolfe quickly interrupted and Ellena couldn’t control herself as she erupted into a jolly fit of giggles. The wine, apparently, was doing its job.

“I’ll bravely chance the dangers of drunkenness to escape the torture of listening to you harp on about yourself anymore!” she wailed in laughter.

Monsieur
Gregor did not laugh, but a small smirk appeared on his face as did an amused twinkle in his eye.

Lord John Wolfe was less amused. “I am growing very impatient with your arrogance,” he growled, slamming his cup down.

“My arrogance?” Ellena asked, still laughing. “My arrogance leaves much to be desired in comparison to yours, no doubt due to your superior breeding. I am quite sure that you were bred to be superior in all things— especially arrogance!”

She clamped her mouth shut as the table suddenly lurched, spilling over her glass. Lord Wolfe had jumped from his seat, hitting the table as he came stampeding toward her.

Ellena panicked. Whether she was actually in danger or not, she couldn’t think clearly due to the wine swimming around in her skull. She acted on impulse and did the only thing she could think to do. She grabbed the nearest object, which just happened to be a plate of sausages, and swung. The plate shattered, crumbling as it collided with side of Lord Wolfe’s face. He howled, doubling over as he clutched his head.

“Are you mad?” he
howled.

By this time Ellena had scrambled t
o the other side of the table.

“Stay away,
” she warned, but he did not listen. This time Ellena’s hands found a rather large bowl of what looked like some jelly substance and she threw it. He ducked and it smashed against the wall, plopping to the ground in a splash.

“Stop that!” he ferociously barked.

“I told you to stay away!”

Before he could respond, she grabbed one last weapon, the jug of wine, and flung the red liquid in
to his face. He sputtered, trying to wipe his eyes and Ellena darted for the door. She knew now was her cue to make a run for it. In her right state of mind she would never have blindly ran into the dark recesses of an unknown mansion, but unfortunately she was not in her right state of mind.

The hallway seemed much longer than before. She tried to keep running, but she stumbled, falling against the wall. She caught herself, straining to focus her vision that had suddenly gone blurry. She was staring a picture of a rather jolly, looking servant woman wearing a white bonnet covered in blue flowers.

She must have downed more wine that she thought because the painting began moving. The woman’s little bonnet titled back as she opened her mouth and began to laugh. Ellena could not hear it but she knew that’s what she was doing. The strange woman then pointed and Ellena could barely see her lips form the words.

That way.

Ellena blinked, turning her head as she began to stagger down the hall. There were many more paintings that seemed to move, to be guiding her. She blindly obeyed, turning whichever way that she found the next portrait leading her. After many twist and turns she found herself standing in front of a little red door.

“Are you all right?” Ellena spun around to see
Monsieur
Gregor. “Allow me to help you.” He gently took her arm and opened the door. Inside was a candlelit room with a golden laced bed, bright yellow curtains covered the windows as the soft glow from the candles reflected off of their silken form and more odd portraits of old servant women were hanging on the walls.

“I have to leave,” Ellena frantically said. “I have to get back to the village.”

“Calm down,
mademoiselle
,” he softly said. “Lord Wolfe has gone to his room for the night and he has instructed me to take care of you.”

He helped her to sit on the bed. “I don’t feel safe,” Ellena confessed. “I should never have come here.”

“Well, you were left with no other choice,” Gregor answered. “But trust me. You are safe here. No one will bother you while you sleep.” The old man began to chuckle. “I was quite amused with the vibrant tussle you gave my lord. I’ve known him for quite some time and I’ve never seen him act in any manner less than that of a spoiled aristocrat. I’ve also never seen him attacked with a plate of sausages.”

Ellena couldn’t help but lau
gh, too. “I think I panicked.” She was beginning to feel much more at ease now.

“I should say so,” he grinned. “Lie down and get some rest. Morning comes early.”

He stepped from the room and closed the door behind him. The moment the latch clicked, signaling the door was shut, Ellena rushed forward and locked it before blocking it with a rather large dresser. It at least made her feel a little safer.

She
flopped onto the bed, not even bothering to remove her red hood. She snuggled deeper into the warm blankets. She was already dreaming. She had to be because she was now staring at the same wall where the many portraits were hanging only now, as her eyes began to droop, they were empty.

                Chapter Four

A familiar, annoying pecking woke her up at sunrise. Her body felt stiff, her head hurt, and the bright rays of sun peaking in through the curtains sent a throbbing stab from the front of her head to the back of her skull as she tried to open her eyes.

“I can’t believe I drank so much,” she grumbled.

Ellena rolled over to discover that she was now under the blanket, tucked in safely with her head resting against the lavish white pillows. Her hood was gone, as was her shoes, but she soon found them neatly folded on a nearby trunk. She sprung up in shock, thinking that someone had come into her room, but the dresser was still blocking the door and the door was still securely locked.

The persistent pecking continued and Ellena slipped from the bed and made her way over to one of the yellow curtains and, pushing the fabric aside, found a familiar red cardinal.

“
Mademoiselle
?”

Gregor was knocking at the door.

“One moment!” Ellena replied as she rushed to push the dresser away.

“Good morning,” he greeted when Ellena opened the door. She was happy to see that Lord Wolfe was not with him.

“He’s making his normal bounds around the gardens,” Gregor answered as if reading her mind.

“
Monsieur
?” she asked.

“Yes?” he had brought her some nice hot
breakfast and was busying setting it down on a table nearby.

“May I ask you a question? I understand if you don’t want to answer.”

“Go ahead.”

“Is that man crazy?” she asked, dropping her tone to a whisper as if he could be listening from around any corner. “I mean it’s just strange that he lives out here in the middle of nowhere isolated from anyone else and he seems
very removed from reality with all his talk of peasants and lords.”

“Well, he actually is descendant from a long line of royalty,” Gregor replied. “But I can understand your uneasiness. I guess he does live in his own world.”

She sat down in the elegant chair next to the table and watched him go about his usual duties. “That I could even overlook if he wasn’t so insufferable.”

“He’s been like
that way for some time I’m afraid,” Gregor smiled. “All the ladies use to fawn over him in droves.”

“Well, that explains it,” she mumbled.

“He takes great pride in his appearance. It’s the only quality he cares about not only in himself but in others. I will leave you to eat. Once you are done simply pull the lever by the door to ring the bell. I will be back to fetch you.”

Ellena quietly nibbled on her toast. The red cardinal had flown away, leaving her alone in the silence as she tried to retrace her thoughts from last night. Something had been wrong with the portraits she recalled, but they looked fine now.

She took her time savoring the steamy tea with its sweet lilac scent and sprinkles of peppermint leaves. It was the best that she had ever had and after finishing, she rang for Gregor who appeared shortly after. When he returned Ellena was ready with her boots and red hood already in place.

“Thank you so much for everything,” Ellena began as the old butler picked up her tray. “But I think it’s time that I be on my way.”

“You may find that difficult,” Gregor said. “Have you looked outside?”

She raced to the window and threw the curtains open. How could she have missed it before? The snow had multiplied overnight, rising all the way up to the window seal and only getting bigger.

“We’re snowed in,” she whispered. “But I thought you said that he was outside in the gardens?”

“Actually,
mademoiselle
, I said he was in the gardens. I never said he was outside.”

Gregor departed soon after that, giving Ellena permission to explore any part of the mansion that she wished. She, however, could only think of eluding a certain lord.
She couldn’t bear facing him, not after last night. All she had to do was avoid him until the snow melted. How long could it possibly take, she thought. One, maybe two days? She could do it. All she had to do was just stay in this room.