Tea party with the Count (2)
The painting showed Mr. and Mrs. Bellunita, with young Vincent standing between them in the center.
I clicked my tongue as I looked at the cute boy's smiling face.
«Как же все докатилось до этого? It's a pity, it's a pity."
They say people change in an instant. I don't think little Vincent in the frame could have imagined losing his sight and being confined to his room.
After a quick inspection of the outbuildings, I went out the back door and took a leisurely stroll through the garden. The annex was hidden behind the largest and most ornate mansion, but it also had a garden, even two: a small one at the back door and a large one at the exit through the front door.
I've never seen gardens before. The well-groomed trees and flowers looked so fresh that even the weeds I stepped on seemed well-groomed. I felt the care of the gardeners.
It was a wonderful day.
He was too good to waste.
“Such good weather for tea in the garden.”
Returning from my walk, I read the letter with gold letters that I received today and smiled. Here it is!
– Why don’t we have a tea party in the garden today? – I suggested to Vincent at dinner, but he just frowned.
-What nonsense?
I thought it was a good idea, but he didn't seem to like it. The weather was truly wonderful. The sun finally broke through the clouds, warming the air. On days like these, staying at home is pure poison.
“They say it’s good to get some fresh air from time to time.”
– I don’t want anyone to see me.
- Can anyone do it?
I didn't see anyone else using the outbuilding or the garden. There were no people here at all, because entry here was prohibited. So there is no danger of anyone seeing him.
– How will I get there?
- I'll take you! – I shouted, and his face contorted with annoyance.
I ignored it and started getting ready. Clothes for going out were easy to find since I had prepared them in advance. Of course, he resisted, but I really wanted to take him to the garden today.
I clenched my teeth and strained my legs with every step.
- I'll fall along the way.
- I'll carry you.
My voice trembled as I spoke. I grabbed his arms tightly, which I threw over my shoulders and took another step, hearing sighs behind me.
– You can’t cope anymore. Your legs are getting tangled.
I carried him on my back, bending under his weight. His legs, much longer than mine, dragged along the floor. Vincent's body fell over my back. Plus it was heavy. It was a difficult situation.
There was a lot of inconvenience in walking around with him on your back. I was caught off guard because I was thin.
- Let's go back to the room.
- Cough, no, I don’t want to, haha. Oooh, how inconvenient. Please be patient.
I insisted, despite his protests. I wanted to take him outside. I could have just helped him walk, but I was afraid that he would resist and I wouldn’t be able to move him. Holding his weak arms tightly, using all my strength, I walked forward.
I struggled against the weight, sweating from head to toe, and finally made it to the garden. I was filled with pride when I was able to seat him in the pre-prepared chair. I grinned and wiped the sweat from my face.
A light breeze ruffled his golden hair. They swayed under his breath.
– Where am I?
– This is the garden at the back of the outbuilding. I didn't want to go far, but there is a table here. And I decided that this would be a good place to sit and have some tea, so I brought you here. I don't think anyone uses this place.
The table was unkempt and dirty, but I tidied it up. I often noticed this table when I looked out the window. It seemed strange to me that it was in the garden behind the outbuilding, but I had never thought before that I would decide to use it. No one walked past the back of the outbuilding, so of course there were no people here.
He didn't ask any more questions, just enjoyed the breeze. His face relaxed slightly, and I realized that he liked it. I expected him to beg me to come back, but it’s good that it turned out differently.
I smiled, laid out the prepared things on the table and guided Vincent’s hand to the handle of the cup into which I poured hot black tea. This was the same tea that he liked so much last time.
He really liked drinking Nowell tea, which somehow came as a gift, so the tea leaves quickly ran out. When I asked the golden letters where I could buy them, they sent me three more jars.
"Let me know if you need more."
It seems to me that these letters are written by a good person. I will definitely write him a reply to thank him.
- Tasty.
- It's the same one as last time.
- I know, but today it tastes better.
He looks relaxed as he sips his tea. He really likes it. I've been giving him black tea a lot lately, especially as a calming aid when he was on the verge of throwing a fit again.
– I decided to read to you today.
– Another boring book.
- No, this is an adventure novel. Krist... I mean, I heard that you like her.
I almost mentioned Ethan, but stopped myself just in time. Now this name was banned for some reason. I picked up the book, pressed it to me and sat down in the chair opposite him.
I opened it, cleared my throat and began to read. Slowly, giving him enough time to imagine, enunciating the words clearly and remembering to breathe in between. I read the book, replaying in my head what Vincent was paying attention to.
My voice became smoother than before. I was quite pleased with myself. And this time Vincent did not correct me, which made me internally happy.
-What do you look like?
An unexpected question escaped his lips. I stopped reading and looked up. He put his cup on the table and was now looking in my direction. His emerald eyes met mine, and for a moment my mind went blank. I didn't know what to say.
I didn't expect him to ask me this question.
– Why do you want to know this?
- Because I'm curious. I want to know what your shameless face looks like.
- I will read the next sentence.
Ignoring him, I lowered my head back to the book, about to turn away from him.
And then, appearing as if out of nowhere, a long finger touched my bangs. It wasn't even a touch, but I jumped in place as if he had touched my face.
A chair overturned behind me. I barely had time to cling to the table, which was shaking from the unexpected push. Books fell to the floor. Vincent's eyes widened and he raised his hands up in fear.
The gust of wind intensified.
“Oh, it’s just... You suddenly tried to touch my face... Sorry.”
I straightened the table, picked up the overturned chair, as well as the fallen books. While I was doing this, I calmed down a little.
- Don't be so surprised. I said I want to know what you look like.
“Then why are you trying to touch my face?”
“Since I can’t see, I have to touch to find out.”
I sat down in the chair and looked at him. He doesn't see. Doesn't see me. So unless someone tells him what my face looks like, he'll never know. And if he asks now, it means no one told him.
- So what do you look like?
– I look normal.
– So how?
My face is not worthy of any discussion. I chewed my lip, trying to think of a way to distract his attention.
- So how?
– I’ll tell you later, but first let me finish reading the book.
“The fact that you're trying to hide it only makes me more curious.”
-...
The excuse didn't work. His fingers twitched as if he was about to reach out again. I nervously looked at his fingertips.
- I'm quite short.
- I know that. Something else.
- …Hair. My hair reaches to my chest.
-Aren't they longer?
- No no. Not longer... I trimmed them a little recently.
I didn't look in the mirror, so I didn't know, but my hair had grown so long that it was getting in the way. So a few days ago I took a pair of scissors and cut it down to my chest.
To tell the truth, long hair is a hassle: unkempt hair becomes frizzy and looks bad. At work I had to tie them in a ponytail because they got in the way. But I couldn't cut my hair short. After all, there will be nothing feminine left in me.
– Do you have curly or straight hair?
– A little curly... At the ends.
- Mmm…
He thought about something for a moment and reached out to me again. I tensed for a brief moment, expecting him to touch my face again.
But this time he didn't. His outstretched hand carefully touched my hair, as if searching for something in the air.
He grabbed my curly ends and began to finger them.
– Indeed, the ends curl.
-...
He ran his thumb through the ends of my curled hair and smiled softly. I looked at his hands, which were playfully touching me.
- AND?
- And... and... and... What else do you want from me?
- All. Tell me more.
“Tell me everything so that I can introduce you,” He demanded this of me.
My mouth was dry and I couldn’t get a word out. I'd never told him what I looked like before, and I didn't want to. And it wasn't worth it.
-Are you thin?
Yes, skinny as hell. Now I have gained a little weight, but before I came here I was so skinny that since childhood I heard that I looked like a corpse.
- Normal.
- And your eyes, are they big?
- They're big. As a child, I was often told that they stood out a lot.
- And the nose?
- This is...
Answering his questions, I realized that everything I told was a lie, with the exception of the length of my hair and the size of my eyes. And then the lies came together to form a man. Oddly enough, the finished product turned out to be Alicia. Unlike me, my sister was so beautiful...