Eugenia's Embrace

"And you? You look good enough to eat," she laughed, walking into her sitting room, and then out into the hallway.

"Come. This way," she said. She didn't want him to share her feeling of gloom, so she tried to laugh and tease as they walked up the narrow, dark staircase. Then when they reached the top, she stopped, wondering which room she should show him first. She chose to show him the room where she had made love with Drew. A night she would never forget. A night when he had left her again, and this time for the last time. She had never heard from him since.

"In here," she said, swinging the door open. "Just an empty room. No mystery about it. Just needed to show you, so your curiosity wouldn't be aroused. And now the

next," she said, continuing on her way, feeling his presence at her side. She was so glad to have him, so glad he was her man.

She opened the door that led into the plushness of Frederick's opium den. It was all still there. Everything. She watched Adam's expression change to one of wonder.

"Damn," he shouted. "What the hell do we have here?" he said, walking around the room, studying it all.

"It's called an opium den," she admitted, standing still, not wanting to touch any of it. She could envision Frederick stretched out on the cushions, lost in his own little world of drugs to idle his lonely hours away. She was glad to have found out that he hadn't frequented the room since their closer relationship began.

"Do you mean the old man actually used this stuff?"

"Yes. But he hadn't for a long time. He had withdrawn from it. I heard that it was quite painful for him at times, but he had withdrawn from it. After we became close. I kept his life happy up to the end. I'm glad I can say that."

Adam opened a bottle and sniffed. He put a finger down into it and put some of the soft white powder on its tip, then put it to his lips.

"Nothing," he said, looking surprised. "Absolutely nothing. I wonder what kind of tricks it can create? Did you ever try it?"

Eugenia couldn't hide a deep shudder. "No. Never. And I don't ever intend to either."

Adam put the lid back on the jar and began to walk to the door. "Well? What other surprises do you have in store for me?"

"The next is quite a shocker. You won't believe it," Eugenia said, shutting the door behind her, hoping she would never have to enter that room again. She had thought of getting rid of all of the equipment, but she didn't want to bother. And how could she? All of it was quite illegal. If she would be caught trying to get rid of it, she could be accused of using it. No. It was safer right where it was.

"Now. This room," she said, pausing outside the room that she had had many nightmares about. "I told you about this one. Earlier. You'll remember when you see." She swung the door open, revealing the dimly lit room with shackles hanging from the walls.

"Damn," he mumbled, going to them, touching them. "And you were made to have these damn irons around your lovely wrists? How can you bear to even come into this room again?"

"I can't, hardly," she whispered, putting her fingers to her throat, remembering Clarissa. Clarissa who had done this to her, Clarissa who had begged for employment at her house.

Up to now, Clarissa hadn't tried anything to get revenge on her. Would she now that Frederick was gone? Had Clarissa been too afraid to while he had been alive? Only time would give Eugenia the answer to that.

"Well, let's get the hell out of here," Adam mumbled.

"And the other room?" she said, hurrying on out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. "I've never been inside it. It will be as much a surprise to me as to you."

She went to the door and opened it, then moved slowly into the room. It apparently was a storage room for Frederick's sheet music and diaries. Some of it was neatly stacked, while others were yellow and crumbling, ready to fall into a dusty heap of ashes.

"I imagine one could find much out about Frederick's sadness by reading all of this," she said, touching things, then withdrawing her fingers, afraid she might destroy some of Frederick's memories if she so much as moved one item.

"Come on. Let's go on downstairs," Adam said, going to her, guiding her by the elbow on out of the room. He shut the door behind them, and held her hand tightly as they headed back down the staircase.

"One damn upper floor, I'd say," he laughed nervously. "Not the usual you'd find in most houses, would you say?"

Eugenia laughed nervously also. "No. I'm sure not," she said, breathing more easily when she stepped out into the hallway. She pulled a set of keys from her skirt pocket and sorted through them until she found the one marked "Tower." Then, determinedly, she put it into the lock and turned it.

"This hallway will remain locked as long as I'm in charge of this house," she said flatly. "No one will need enter for any reason. Only sadness can be wrought upon anyone who enters those rooms. Right?"

"Right," Adam said, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her, at first tenderly, then more passionately, making all remorseful ness leave her mind once again. Adam would make all wrongs right. Forever. Her Adam, her sweet Adam.

* * *

Chapter Twenty

It just didn't seem possible to Eugenia that so much time had passed since Frederick's death. She sat comfortably in the library of The Towers, having lit the first fire of autumn. She sighed pleasurably, feeling like the warmth filling the room was almost the same as a caress against her cheeks. She looked across from her, seeing both Nell and Iris absorbed in books. Nell was no longer fidgety, but refined—a learned young woman—not so much younger than Eugenia, but yet a daughter figure for her to marvel at. Yes, Nell was beautiful with her golden hair piled high in a neat pompadour. And Iris. The color of a chocolate bar, and just as sweet. Always smiling, showing her clean, white teeth, always ready to please.