Page 17 of Her Creation

“It said, I look forward to seeing you. Please reserve a dance for me.” Victoria’s features were well trained. She had gotten shockingly good at looking as though she didn’t have a care in the world. “And as I’ve told you, I wear black because it suits me. No other color has ever felt right to wear since Mother passed. Everything merely serves as a painful reminder of her, especially colors. Everything else is too…happy. She never wore black, and well, it seems sometimes to be the only escape I have from missing her in everything my eyes land on.” She worried her lower lip as she looked out the carriage window. “Sometimes I miss her so fiercely I feel as though I’m not actually here—that I am myself only a memory of sadness, lost and floating around with nowhere to land, like stray dandelion seeds.”

Alphonse stood again, his arms trembling and shaking in a steady rhythmic motion. “As it is, I believe Wilhelm’s interest in you could be quite a tolerable answer to our predicament. I’m certain there are complexities to the rumors, and he is a rather handsome-looking young man, would you not agree? Our standings are not a secret to society. They accept us, but certainly it would be more permanent and comforting for them if we were in a more solid position.”

“Papa,” Victoria warned.

“Surely a few dances with the lad would not hurt; perhaps you might even enjoy your time.” He cleared his throat. “I know the baron has impressed upon Wilhelm the intent of a marriage to you as an act of gratitude for me saving his life. He also believed you two to be a good match.”

Victoria held back her disgust at the thought. “I will refuse. He’s a known rake. I understand the baron’s appreciation, though; you saved his heir.”

“You saved his heir. All the more fitting that you should reap the reward.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He clearly didn’t want her married off, despite wanting her safe and secure.

“I did nothing but sew the final work you did, and poorly at that. Marriage is hardly a reward, either way.”

“Maybe not, but his money would be. And what would you know about his being a rake? You hardly speak to a soul,” he chuckled.

“I’ve been attending the social events that you—”

“You’ve been reading in the corners of the social events I ask you to attend.” Alphonse’s laugh settled into his belly. “Don’t think word doesn’t get back to me. You would rather die of dysentery than know how many mothers are offended and appalled by your independent tendencies at events.”

Victoria frowned. “I think frequently that I should have been a man, for my interests don’t align with my sex. Would anyone say such things if I were a man?”

“Yes, well, nonetheless, I wish you would try to make friends. I feel sad that you spend all your time on our experiments and lessons. We’re at the baron’s,” he said with a great sigh. “I know you haven’t brought a book tonight, because the one I’ve given you most recently to study is as thick as my skull and will not fit in your reticule.” He smiled widely. “Come, let’s—” He snorted out a small chuckle when Victoria pulled out the enormously thick tome he was referencing from under the black silk wrapping that tied around her waist and set the book on the carriage seat next to her. “Good heavens, Victoria.”

The two removed themselves from the carriage and sorted each other’s clothing, straightening the disheveled bits before they entered the front door of the enormous manor.

“Good God, all this and it’s only Wilhelm and the baron?” Victoria whispered. “It grows larger and more pompous every time I see it.”

“Yes, though it’s rumored that Wilhelm has taken another estate nearby with the intention of marriage.” He wiggled his bushy gray brows playfully as they moved up the grand steps.

They were announced and their outer coats taken. “Herr Doktor Frankenstein and Fräulein Frankenstein.”

The people mingling about the enormous entryway and front rooms paused their lively conversations to look. Since they rarely saw Dr. Frankenstein, the people were quite excited to gaze upon the man who had performed so many miracles.

“Herr Doktor! I am so pleased you have arrived safely,” a domineering man with slicked-back brown hair and brown eyes, one opened slightly more than the other, shouted. Bushes of thick brown hair shot out in various directions over his eyes, matching the mustache and sideburns that decorated his stern face.

“Baron von Lichtenmarstein,” Alphonse said with a forced voice that Victoria rarely heard. “I am embarrassed by our lack of promptness; you see, the roads through the forest are still muddy from the unending storms we’ve been experiencing.”

“Nonsense! You are perfectly punctual. The clouds have parted this evening in your honor. I hear it is glorious in the gardens at this hour. Perhaps you would enjoy a tour of my humble house before we begin tonight’s festivities?”

Alphonse and Victoria looked at one another in silent conversation.

“Fräulein, you will enjoy the fresh air immensely; the roses hold on despite the cold weather that comes our direction,” the baron added.

“Yes, of course,” Victoria answered for both her and her father. “We would love a tour. Thank you.”

“Dr. Frankenstein! Alphonse, tell this man that what Napoleon is doing is absurd.”

The doctor glanced back apologetically at his daughter before several other men pulled him into conversation. Victoria stood awkwardly with the baron, wishing it were appropriate for her to follow her father and partake in the more intellectual conversations instead of being forced to loom awkwardly around the women and pretend to care about their mundane topics.

“You are lucky you do not have to suffer the obnoxious conversations about to take place. Please find your way to the gardens and enjoy the roses. I will gather your father and meet with you in a moment to give you both a tour,” the baron said, as if he’d read her thoughts.

“Oh, please, do not bother your—” She’d already seen the gardens no less than five times and could not have cared about his additions less.

“Nonsense! Have a look around and I will meet you in the garden shortly. Pop into the office on your way out, if you wish. It’s the last door before the gardens. Your love of books is widely known, and I have plenty collecting dust. It would bring me joy to have them interest the daughter of the man who saved my heir’s life.”

Saved from an awkward span of wordlessness, the baron bowed quickly and took off in the direction her father had gone. When Victoria stood from her curtsey, her fake smile fell, and she glanced about the space before moving in the direction with the least amount of people, which also happened to be toward the gardens and office. She hadn’t realized that another set of eyes had begun to trail behind her.

Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik wafted quietly through the air over the many voices. It grew louder for a moment as she passed the string quartet. A short, incredibly serious waiter cut her off and offered her something to drink from a shining silver tray filled with delicate-looking glasses. The smell of muslin and hot meat permeated the space. Victoria declined a drink and continued on past the servant, eager to escape the sight of so many people she didn’t know, only to be bombarded by yet another servant, this one offering small glasses of spiced wine, which Victoria eagerly took if not for any other reason than to busy her hands and keep the other servants from pouncing.