Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
SOPHIE
September was settling in, and while green was still dominating, leaves were starting to fade into gold. I enjoyed the view while having my breakfast on the enclosed patio. I used to keep a few windows open, but as the weather grew colder, especially in the early hours, I preferred them closed.
“Morning.” A hushed voice sent a shiver down my spine.
Viktor.
He was standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen, a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Morning,” I answered, turning back to the windows.
Over the past weeks, he mostly left before dawn and came back after dusk. The only sign he was real was his footsteps on the marble floor. He wasn’t home even on weekends, sometimes away on trips.
We crossed paths only once, when I was exploring the right wing’s library and the home gallery filled with marble sculptures and drawings (Ms. Hale mentioned it was Viktor’s passion—collecting them).
But next to those rooms was also his home office.
Apparently, that day he was there, and we exchanged surprised glances when both of us came out into the corridor at the same time.
That was enough for me to prefer spending my time in the left wing, where the kitchen, dining room, and tearoom were also located.
“I wanted to check how you were settling in.”
“Perfect.” I didn’t lie.
The staff came early each morning to clean and prepare food for the entire day.
Only Ms. Hale appeared for lunch and sometimes dinner, making sure I had no further needs.
So the house was mostly empty—all to myself.
And without the weight of maintaining my smile, carrying on needless conversation, and counting my bites, this was all I could wish for.
I looked back at Viktor as he approached the table, but remained standing.
“What?” I asked as the pressure of his gaze began to burn my skin.
Viktor worked his cheek from the inside, and I was sure he would say something, but his gaze flickered from me to the doorway where he’d come from, then back to me. Finally, he exhaled and turned toward the windows.
“It’s already ten. Don’t you have work?” I said when the silence continued to stretch between us.
“It’s Saturday.”
“Ah.” I’d completely lost track of time. “Well…” I shrugged. “So, what do you want?”
He looked at his coffee, then back at me. “Just checking. As I said.”
“You’ve checked. I’m fine. Was there something else?”
He hummed, shifting the cup from one hand to the other. “I’ll be in my office. If you need anything.”
“Good.” Damn.
I’d hoped to spend my afternoon reading in the library, but with him being in that wing, it was no longer an option.
Perhaps I could grab a book and pass the time on my terrace—the weather should get warmer during the day.
Or I could move to the sitting room attached to my bedroom.
Ms. Hale had asked me once if I wanted to add a piano.
Maybe art supplies. But those were far from my interests.
So the room looked exactly as it had when I first came.
It was only a few hours later, when Cath called me to check how I was doing, that it sank in. Today was Edmond’s wedding.
Not that I cared.
But perhaps that’s why Viktor had no out-of-working-hours meetings. All the people he could possibly meet for business were at the event, where neither of us was invited.
Days blurred to the point I was stunned to learn it was the end of October. But they passed in such silence and peace, it was probably expected. The only disturbances were the calls from Mamma every now and then. If not for her worry of seeming unmannered in Viktor’s eyes, she would’ve called more.
But with her trying to keep up appearances and being satisfied with a once-a-week call, I felt awful for trying to cut those conversations short. At the end of the day, all she wanted was to make sure I was fine. And I was, even if not in the way she wished.
Yet I didn’t know how to entertain her. What else to talk about?
“Honey, your father spoke with your husband. He said you’d join us for today’s dinner.” Mamma’s voice carried cheerful notes.
I closed my eyes, trying to breathe as quietly as possible while my grip tightened on the telephone. “Oh.”
Mamma had actually invited me a few times. So had Cath. So had Anne. And I’d promised to talk to my husband, yet the occasion never came. Whether it was me being sneakier around the house on the days he was home, or Viktor being more considerate of my wish not to see his face, I wasn’t sure.
But had I neglected them so much that they were forced to go directly to my husband?
“We all miss you.” Her voice cracked at the end, making guilt flare inside me.
But not only guilt.
Anger, too. At myself. And at Viktor. Why had he accepted the invitation without first consulting me? It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to visit my family. I did! I missed them so much, but…
I pressed my lips together, trying to calm my voice, before answering. “I miss you too. See you in a few hours.”