Red Wolfe (9 page)

“This is ridiculous!” she shouted, losing her grip on the slippery gadget
and causing it to fall from her hands. Ellena leapt for it, tumbling into the wet snow along with her phone. A river of profanities flew from her mouth as she scrambled to her feet.

“Still as elegant as ever, I see.”

Ellena knew that voice. It may have been in a mocking and insulting tone, but Ellena was glad to hear it.

“Lord Wolfe,” she greeted.

He found her phone and picked it up, turning it over in his hand. “What is this?” He seemed quite mesmerized.

“What do
you mean? It’s a cellphone. Haven’t you even seen one before?”

Ellena was dusting herself off when
he suddenly raced away.

“
Hold on!” Ellena screamed, trying to keep up with him. Of course this is how he would greet her. Stealing her phone and leaving her to die in the woods!

She stopped to catch her breath as she saw Lord Wolfe sweep through his gate and bound toward his mansion.
A familiar face was happily waiting for her at the door when Ellena finally followed, at a much slower and exhausted pace.

“
Monsieur
Gregor,” she fondly said. “How have you been? Are you surprised to see me back so soon?”

“It is always a delight to see you,
mademoiselle
.”

He he
lped Ellena inside, taking her bag and coat. “Whatever happened to your red cape?” he asked.

“
It’s in my bag.”

“I
’ve prepared your room.”

“
My
room? Since when did it become my room?”

“Since Lord Wolfe deemed it so.”

She was surprised and frankly bewildered at such a generous gesture coming from
that
man. Before she could ask dear Gregor about it, he abruptly changed the subject.

“Are you hungry?”

Her stomach did the answering as it released a loud growl. He shooed her off to unpack her belongings as he set out for the kitchen. She found her room again. It was so strange, referring to it in such a way and what was even stranger was Lord Wolfe giving it to her.

The room looked almost the same. A few things were there
that had not been present before, a pair of white slippers and a plush robe, some very bright red tulips in a vase by the bed. Ellena plopped her bag in a chair by the fireplace and began unpacking, carefully laying her extra clothes, red cape, and writing supplies on the bed. Lastly was the red book. She set that on the table by her bed.

Opening the closet to put her clothes away, she was a
lready surprised to see it full of women’s apparel— dresses, blouses, gloves, and hats. Had these always been there? Perhaps that is where Gregor had gotten her dress from last time? She wasn’t quite sure since she had never opened the closet or drawers until now.  Of course, they had to have already been there. She snickered at the thought of Lord Wolfe buying them for her.

The old butler
was already setting a bowl of soup down as Ellena arrived at the dining table. Only one seat, her seat, had been prepared. She sat down and picked up her napkin as Gregor amusingly watched her devour the meal. It was a thick potato soup with cloves and chives, accompanied with warm breads and a delicious cider.

“Did you approve
of the room?” Gregor asked and Ellena nodded. “What of the clothes?”

“Those are for me?”

“Of course.”

Not that she wasn’t grateful, but one t
hought kept her from enjoying the kind gesture. “Were those? I mean did
Madame
—?”

“Those did not belong to her,” he whispered.

She set to work finishing off her soup, idling chatting with Gregor. Lord Wolfe was still pleasantly absent. “May I ask where is my ever so gracious host?” she asked ripping off a piece of bread and dunking it into her dish.

“He’s in his study, fiddling with something.”

“Fiddling?” Ellena dropped her spoon. “What do you mean?”

“He’s taking it apart and—”

Gregor couldn’t even finish his explanation before Ellena leapt from her chair and dashed away. Her feet pounded against the wooden floor as she threw open Lord Wolfe’s study door. There was her cellphone or, at least, the remains of the pitiable thing.
Monsieur
Wolfe was sitting at the oak desk in the corner with some kind of antique tool in his hand.

“What are you doing?” she screamed, marching over and trying to collect the gears and grinds scattered everywhere.

“It’s such a fascinating contrivance. I wanted to see how it works,” was his calm reply. He seemed very unmoved by her enraged outburst.

“Well!” Ellena cried. “Can you put it back together?”

“Of course I can,” he answered, picking up the detached screen and looking at it with a strange expression. He would have almost looked cute if he hadn’t just brutally massacred her phone.

“You have no idea how to fix it! How could you do this without my permission?”

“Your permission?” he snarled. “I do not need your permission for anything.”

“Of course not! What was I thinking?” she sarcastically replied trying to pick up the pieces that were dropping to the ground. “You of all people would never need consent to horribly destroy someone else’s things. No wonder you live alone with only a butler. No one else could stand you!”

She marched out with the pieces in her hand. Gregor had just appeared by the door as she passed.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked.

“He makes me regret ever coming back here,” she hotly answered.

“No one asked you to
return.” Ellena heard
Monsieur
Wolfe arrogantly say from around the corner. “So, why did you?”

“I have my reasons,” she shot back. “And it’s not because of you!”

The cold corpse of her phone lay on the table beside her. After returning to her room Ellena had set to work trying to repair it, but failed miserably. Now all that was left to show were sad broken remains of a once very expensive piece of technology.

“Is he insane? What does he mean he’s never seen one before?”

She ripped her boots off and flung them, one landing in the far left corner and the other hitting the window before falling to the ground.

“That’s it!” Ellena stomped. “I’m breaking into his room tonight and shredding all of his precious clothing.”

She was still ranting and raving when Gregor knocked.

“
Enterer
!” Ellena said and the old man quietly entered.

“I brough
t you something to drink.”

Ellena sat down in the plush velvet seat in front of the fireplace. “
Why is he like that?”

Gregor could only chuckle. “I apologize on his behalf. He’s always been one that liked to tinker with things. When he was a boy he used to take all the clocks and levers apart.”

“You should not be the one apologizing,
Monsieur
.” Ellena remarked, taking the cup of tea that Gregor offered. “You have done nothing but treat me well since the day I came here. Actually, do you have a moment for me to ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Ellena asked him to sit down and join her which he did with some reluctance. He was probably not accustomed to being treated in such a gracious way. Ellena retrieved her pen and paper.

“I’m doing a little research and just wanted to ask you some questions. Didn’t you say that Lord Wolfe comes from a long line of royalty?”

“
Oui
.”

“Did he happen to inherit that red cloak?”

“Why would you ask?”

Ellena showed him the red book. “There’s a story about a prince with red cloak in here. I was hoping that he was somehow related to
Monsieur
Wolfe. I want to know what happened since the story just abruptly ends.”

“It is possible,” he replied. “But I’m not sure. Perhaps you should ask my lord.”

“I was afraid you’d say that.”

The butler stood and bowed. “I will be off. Please enjoy your
drink.”

He began to shuffle toward
s the door when Ellena stopped him. “Gregor, one more question? Why all of these odd pictures?”

“Of the servants?”

“I mean it is a little strange. Does he not have any family?” she gently asked.

“It’s very complicated,” Gregor slowly answered.

“Ah, I understand. I appreciate the tea.”

Ellena
could certainly relate to him in that manner. Her own childhood had not been a pleasant one, but she didn’t want to think about it. Right now, she had to prepare herself. If she was going to get any answers from Lord Wolfe about what she wanted to know there would be only one way of doing it.

Even Ellena had to admit how lovely she looked. It had not been easy trying to doll herself up to Lord Wolfe’s standard of beauty, but she believed that she had gotten some
what close. Light makeup graced her features with a sprinkle of pink blush and her blonde hair was pulled to the side in a lose bun, gently flowing down her neck and back.

The dress she picked was a color that suited her well, a brilliant sea foam color with a scooping neck line. It fell off of her shoulders,
displaying her pale skin. The bodice was tight, very tight, showing off her curves nicely.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she mumbled suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Besides the fact that she had never been one to dress in such a seductive manner, she knew Lord Wolfe would nitpick at her far from flawless skin. She had scars and small freckles, just like any normal girl would have, but normal didn’t seem to ever sway the prideful man. The darkness would hide them, she reasoned. They would be eating by the soft glow of candlelight.
Slipping on her white slippers, she gathered her courage and headed out to find her prey.

He was no longer in his study she quickly discovered, or the gardens.
Perhaps he was in his bedroom waiting for Gregor to call them for dinner? Or was he possibly out with his bow? She was aimlessly wandering when a sweet melody floated down the hall. She followed it, coming across the same music room she had during her last visit, only now it was not empty.

Lord Wolfe sat at the piano, his eyes closed as she gently touched the keys. It was a sad tune, one that Ellena had never heard before, but
was still painfully beautiful. She watched him play, surprised by how enraptured he seemed as he let the music pulse through him. He looked handsome in his blue shirt tucked neatly under his black hunting coat.

He
smirked. His eyes were still closed, but Ellena knew he was aware of her presence. “Are you enjoying my performance?”

“I am,” she
replied. “I didn’t even know that you played.”

“Why else would
I have such a thing?”

“For the same reason you have a library,” she
retorted.

He was about to r
espond, no doubt in some conceited manner, but he opened his eyes. He caught sight of her and slowly closed his mouth, but his experienced hands never faltered as they continued to flow across the keys. He studied her, examined her, racking his eyes up and down her form several times before looking back at his piano. She held up well against his scrutinizing gaze, although her insides were squirming. Ellena waited for him to respond, but when he didn’t she spoke first.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to play. Maybe
sometime you could teach me?”

“Teaching you to play the piano is like trying to teach a dog to read. It’s futile and pointless. You lack the capacity to learn such an
elegant art.”

Her anger soared once
again, but she forced it down. “You do play wonderfully,” she complimented. Flattery was the best way to win him to her side.

“Of course I play wonderfully. I was bred to be superior in all things, remember? This is no exception.”

“Do you mind if I stay and listen?”

“
I see no reason why not, but I doubt you’ll fully be able to appreciate my talent.”

She gave him a look that would burn holes through stone
, but he did not appear to notice. This was going to be much harder than she thought.

Gregor came for them
shortly after, announcing that dinner was prepared. He helped Ellena from her seat in the far corner.

“You look very lovely,
mademoiselle
.”

“
False flattery benefits no one,”
Monsieur
Wolfe remarked as he stood from the piano.

“
I falsely flattery no one, my lord. Even you have to admit how exquisite she looks.”

“I will admit her
laughable attempt at trying to seduce me is quite entertaining.”