at his feet, his eyes searching the night for another!”
As if to punctuate this last sentence, she slammed the cover of the book shut and heaved the text into the awaiting flames.
I raced over, tried to hold her, but she fought me. Oh, how she fought me! The strength possessed by her will was that of ten grown men! Of this I do not lie. She shook me off with a start and sent me falling backwards against the chaise. I was grateful for its soft cushions; another two feet to the left, and I would have crashed into the end table. With its surface populated with small china figurines, I might have been injured, and Emily’s nurse, Florence Dugdale, had long been sent home for the night.
When I recovered, I found Emily staring at me, her mouth agape. A moment later, she turned away and seemed to forget all about me as she plucked another volume from the shelf. She had tossed so many books on the fire that she smothered the flames, and the room began to fill with thick gray smoke and the reek of smoldering leather. It was then that I grabbed the pitcher of water from the table and tossed it in her face. She gasped, and her body twitched at the cold shock of it. Her glazed stare focused in a blink of the eye, and her head pivoted this way and that in confusion. I recognized this look and went to her, quickly wrapping my arms around her. “There, there, my Emily. Everything is okay. I’ve got you now. Everything will be all right.”
Her voice at my ear sounded like that of a frightened child, her words nearly lost behind thin breaths. “His red eyes again; they are just the same.”
“Who, my dear? Of whom do you speak?”
“He will come for you, you know. If you injure me, he will come and inflict such wrath on the likes of you,” she said.
“Emily, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re rambling.” I pulled her closer, feeling her heart pounding fiercely against my chest. “I would never hurt you, my love.”
She let out a soft laugh, a tainted giggle. “He’s watching you. Right this very instant, his eyes are upon you, and he is not happy.”
I knew when she entered this state it was only a matter of time before she became violent once again. This momentary lapse was nothing but a respite, so I guided her gently to the chaise. “Wait here, my love. I will be right back.”
I ran to the kitchen and quickly poured two glasses of wine, then retrieved the small bottle of laudanum from the pantry and added nearly double Emily’s usual dose to hers. I stirred the drug into her wine and returned to the library only to find Emily sitting on the floor, the skirt of her dress bunched around her waist like a little girl at play. She glanced up at me with tear-filled eyes, red and puffy now. “Please make me better, Thornley. I don’t want to feel this way any longer.”
Clarity had returned to her, but for how long I did not know. I handed her the glass of wine and sat upon the floor beside her. “I will do everything within my power, my dear Emily. We will beat this illness and send it back to whatever hell from which it came. I promise you my word.”
At this, she forced a weak smile.
I watched as she took a sip of the wine, followed by another after that. The anger and confusion that had lined her face began to fade, and soon her body began to swoon. When at last her eyelids drooped, I ran my hand through her flowing dark hair. “Finish the last of your wine, and I’ll help you upstairs. You need your rest. It has been a very long night.”
“It has indeed,” she said. The words, no louder than a whisper, were garbled.
I helped her lift the glass to her lips and drink, then took it from her weak hand and set it on the table at my side. “Let us get you to your feet and upstairs, my love.”
She nodded and