Page 79 of Her Creation

“Oh?” he asked, but his eyes and face remained neutral. Victoria felt as if he were looking right through her.

“You will always remain in the dark. You are cold, intolerable and a predator…a silent, viscerally disturbing parasite.” That was close to crawling inside and consuming her wholly.

As she stared at his face, her eyes roamed beneath his jawline to the jagged scar along his right side. Her father had done that stitch—one of the last that hadn’t needed her to correct it.

Needing to leave the laboratory immediately, Victoria moved toward the woman. “Carry her out carefully to the stables. I will lead the way.” She checked the woman’s bandages one last time.

He said nothing as he moved to the woman’s side and lifted her, and as he did, Victoria’s hand brushed across his slowly, as if she couldn’t help it.

She pulled her hand back against her chest and looked at him as if he had struck her. As Victoria led him out the door, she stopped suddenly and spun around. “Remember, you assisted my father, not me.”

“I remember,” he said, the corner of his mouth quirking up almost into a grin before dropping again.

After they returned to the laboratory, Victoria practically bolted up the stairs. If she didn’t create some distance between them, it would be bad. She couldn’t bear to look at him because she loved him so much.

“Victoria,” he called after her, and she saw him holding the deck of cards, wiggling it in the air. “Play a game with me.”

She paused briefly near the top of the stairs before continuing up. “Your food will be on the top step in an hour. I’m—I’m so sorry.”

He watched her climb the stairs as his shoulders began to slump. “My lord and master, please play—”

The sound of the door slamming silenced him, and once again, the darkness consumed him.

Chapter 23

Log entry March, 1803

Recounting events 1773–1795 Location: Unknown

Tell me what you are wearing to the baron’s ball tomorrow night,” Helena crooned, stretched across a floral upholstered nook surrounded by pale sunlight pouring through the windows.

“I’m not attending,” Victoria said, feeling a flutter of unease at how comfortably her friend lounged.

Helena sat up, her eyes sharp and bright. “What do you mean you aren’t going? You’re going to throw your father’s assistant—what was his name?—to the wolves like that?”

“He is not going either,” Victoria said sharply, her chest tightening.

“What do you mean?” Helena’s gaze rested on Victoria with mischief and concern, the sunlight catching the green flecks of her eyes like sparks. “Does the baron know this? The Viscount Klein and several dukes are coming just to meet the man who will eventually take over for your father.” She looked away, a playful sigh escaping. “It should be you.”

Victoria’s stomach knotted. “It’s all fine and—” she began, but her words faltered. Talking about her skill in front of anyone but her father felt dangerous, intimate even, and Helena didn’t need to lecture her on the unfairness of the situation. She understood it well enough.

“Just because you’ve got a muff, they think you are incapable of learning? Well, I’ve seen you in action,” Helena continued, leaning forward slightly, the casual closeness making Victoria’s pulse quicken. “I watched you with Sophia, whom I know you hate, by the way. Your father would have been so proud of how you handled that.”

“I do not hate Sophia, not in the slightest. I empathize with her greatly. As with any woman, she is in search of immediate relief, desire…validation. Self-preservation.” Victoria closed her eyes briefly, her fingers curling around the intricate wood of her chair. She pressed against the carved lion’s paw, grounding herself against the ache in her chest, the memories clawing at her from every corner. The laboratory felt miles away, yet she wished she could go to Innominatus and cry on his chest now as she once did before he came alive. “She loves Wilhelm, and I cannot fault her for his offenses. It was a horrid situation, all too common. I’m just grateful to be free from it,” Victoria said, tracing between the wooden toes of the lion’s paw as though she could feel the weight of her words in the polished grain.

“Are you free from it? I must admit, I wouldn’t have thought a bear of a man like Wilhelm would have listened to your threats. I would have bet it only incited worse from him.” Helena tipped her chin, and the green in her eyes glittered with mischief. “Though I suppose once a larger threat comes along…” Her voice softened slightly, teasing.

Victoria’s breath hitched slightly, her lips pressing into a small circle. “Innominatus Creatura—”

“How impressive a name. He’s clearly not from around here. Where is he from?” Helena asked, eyes bright with curiosity, leaning just enough that Victoria felt the subtle brush of her sleeve against her arm.

“Russia…and other places, I believe.” Victoria’s forehead was dotted with a sheen of sweat. “I’m not sure when you will meet him. He’s quite busy since my father’s been ill.”

“So, has he brought up marriage?” Helena’s tone was casual, but her eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“What?” Victoria almost dropped from the chair, both hands clutching her head as her heart stuttered.

“Well, yes,” Helena said, as if she couldn’t understand why Victoria’s reaction was so sharp. “He is working closely with your father, you are adept in the same skill set, and I assume he is residing at the castle. It’s only practical that the two of you would marry. He’s not married, is he?” Helena gasped, leaning forward conspiratorially. “The way Wilhelm won’t stop talking about how the man acted toward you, I’d just assumed he was single and highly interested. Was I mistaken?”