I hope you know what you’re doing, my girl. Nancy just nodded. Hurry, hurry.
She was inexorably drawn back to this house in the middle of the woods. Just call me every day, please. Tears came to Molly’s eyes.
I’ll go crazy if I don’t. You’re going so far away. Of course I am, mommy.
Nancy pressed her lips to her cheek and gladly inhaled the familiar, familiar scent of her family and added only 120 kilometers. The mother choked again and let her daughter out of her embrace. Miranda met her near the alley.
It was the first day of summer and she was flaunting an elegant silk dress with a bright floral pattern, hugging Nancy happily. She announced that lunch would be in an hour but in the meantime, she could rest in her room and settle in. After lunch, I will show you the house, she informed me.
The driver took Nancy’s things out and moved them to the room Kelly had prepared for her. In addition to Miranda, Robert and Kelly the driver and the gardener lived in the house. He also took care of the stables.
It turned out that Miranda still kept a couple of horses. The men lived in the outhouse. Kelly in a small room under the stairs.
Nancy had a nice bright room on the first floor next to the library. She was next to Robert’s room and laying out her things. The girl could hear the noise of his chair mechanism and the sound of music.
Apparently her ward was a fan of Debussy putting aside her suitcase, a good portion of which was medical reference books on the rehabilitation of the seriously ill. Nancy began to study the room. It was decorated in silvery lavender tones.
The furnishings were modest but modern and elegant and unassuming. A chandelier on legs would have looked great in it and a computer. Nevertheless, there was neither a candelabra nor a computer.
There was a large comfortable oak bed, two bedside tables a small closet, a small mirror and a pair of empty wall shelves for personal items. Leaving the room perfectly delighted Nancy changed into a peach colored linen pantsuit she bought in Turkey a couple of years ago and a pair of boat shoes. She simply tied her hair into a ponytail before opening the door to the hallway.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Tranquility only tranquility. A new page of her life begins.
Without difficulty, finding her way to the dining room Nancy knocked just in case and entered. Miranda rose welcomingly to meet her. Come in my dear, sit beside me.
But the look of icy gray eyes seemed to nail her. She stood in the doorway unsure of what to do. Robert stared at her, his eyes telling her what the hell you wanted.
At last she pulled herself together. Good afternoon, Robert. She averted her gaze and walked leisurely.
She crossed the distance from the door to the table and sat down in the chair next to Miranda. Hello, Nancy. After a moment’s hesitation, Robert answered.
That is your name, isn’t it? He glared at her. That’s right. Their eyes met again.
But this time Nancy held his gaze. When would you like to start classes? He answered immediately. As soon as possible, Nancy.
The sound of her name spoken in his voice made Nancy flustered, but she quickly pulled herself together. You are still indicated for massages and water treatments, as well as a whole range of medications. How did you know that? Robert interrupted her.
I’ve studied your medical history. Well, he summed it up, didn’t he? Then you must be aware that my case is hopeless. But nevertheless, to please my grandmother, I will do as you say.
The truth is, I simply want to dispel the boredom. Nancy only nodded. Enjoy your meal, Nancy.
And the guy began leisurely, eating the soup with a look that he wasn’t interested in anything else. Miranda, too, ate in silence, occasionally glancing from Nancy to her grandson. And she seemed to be satisfied with everything.
The girl, meanwhile, could not get a bite in her throat. She had barely touched the soup and was now picking it slowly with her fork. It was the best roast she’d ever had.
She knew she was going to have a hard time with it, considering the patient’s disposition, and yet she couldn’t bear to think of leaving. A strange unknown force was keeping her here, and she was going to find out what it was. After lunch, Nancy returned to the room and changed into her medical suit.
She laid out the treatment plan Miranda had given her in front of her and decided that she could start with a massage. She reviewed one million videos on YouTube and medical websites. She was also trained in massage as an additional specialty back in her second year of college.
Nancy found her mentee in the garden. He was sitting with a book in his hands, but not reading it, but looking into the distance behind the low fence, behind the groves, where the river bends in a blue stream. What are you reading? She interrupted his seclusion.
A hundred years of loneliness, the young man replied. There was no arrogance or anger or resentment on his face now. He turned toward her and her heart collapsed in her chest.
She lowered her eyes to his hands with long fingers clutching a thick binder. Where were you staying? I was just getting started, and I don’t like Marcus. Nancy shrugged.
I prefer Dumas or Tolstoy guy. Suddenly laughed such a young lady like you. Must not yet be spoiled by the bitter experience of life.
Still believe in princes. She went over to him and sat down on the edge of the bench on which there was a checkered plate. Not anymore.
The girl smiled. But I believe in nobility, honor, generosity, courage, and destiny. So you are a romantic heroine.
He must have been studying her with interest. At that, the ice in his gray eyes melted. His lips relaxed.
The angry line between his eyebrows. Gone, perhaps. Nancy smiled.
And you? He rolled his eyes faintedly as if he were pondering. I guess it depends on the circumstances. At the moment, the romance is as far away from me as life itself.
Robert got serious all of a sudden. Then perhaps it’s time for me to remind you that we have procedures today. Nancy wanted to distract him from his sad thoughts.
A gust of wind made her shiver. The weather was beginning to change. She took the plate from the bench and threw it over Robert’s shoulders, accidentally touching his cheek as she did so.
It was as if an electric shock pierced Nancy’s body. He seemed to feel it too. And for the first time in their brief acquaintance, he averted his eyes.
Come. It’s getting chilly, Nancy squeezed out, somehow managing her emotions. I’ll have to treat you for a cold, too, if you don’t.
The boy grunted. But let the girl drive herself into the house, opening the door of his room. Nancy pushed the chair inside.
I’ll help you to the bed now, and we’ll start over. I want to examine your feet. She noticed that he was clutching his hands into the chair, his knuckles turning white.
Misinterpreting his embarrassment, she tried to sound as indifferent as possible. You don’t have to be embarrassed. Robert, I’m a nurse.
Thank you very much. He answered sarcastically. I feel much better now.
She even thought he was hiding a smile when he finally found himself on the bed. Robert exhaled noisily. He was extremely unaccustomed to the presence of a young and beautiful woman in his room.
Ever since his fiancée had left him two years ago, Nancy had looked at his once healthy, strong body and her heart ached. Robert was athletically lean and broad in the shoulders with his arms, still naughty from the muscles he had once trained. But it was obvious he hadn’t exercised with dumbbells in a long time.
She shifted her gaze to his legs, which were thin and flabby. Muscle atrophy had already begun, and that wasn’t good. Nancy finally touched his legs, the tingling in her fingertips becoming unbearably shaky.
She didn’t understand what was wrong. Robert, too, sat as if he’d swallowed a steak, afraid to breathe out the extra air. She felt a strange rush of energy.
She began to massage his legs with all her soul, wishing that someday this man could walk again. Suddenly he stopped her. I sensed something in his voice that brought her out of her reverie.
Felt what? She froze. Your hands. On the big toe of her left foot.
Encouraged by his words, Nancy began to massage the ankle. Yes, that’s right. His eyes glittered feverishly.
Jesus Christ. Go on. Lying in his bed, Nancy went over the events of the past day in her mind.
She was clearly aware that something strange was happening to her and the people around her. This place. This house.
The nature. The setting. Everything seemed familiar to her.
She saw Robert’s face again when he felt his body again. A spectrum of emotions was bubbling in him. Joy, disbelief, and fear.
Fear that none of this was real, but by some sixth sense. Nancy knew that it was true. That the miracle had really happened.
And that she herself was the cause. And there was that lingering dream again. This time, it was in the bedroom.
A large bed under a balaclava. Candles in a candelabra. There were two of them.
Two passion-weary men and a young woman who was already very familiar to the girl. She looked at him as if the world around her did not exist. As if he were the center of the entire universe.
His eyes were warm and smiling. Those gray eyes. Nancy already knew them.
I love you so much. The woman said. I will never love anyone like that.
I love you too. The man leaned over to her and kissed her on the lips and let you always know it. Here he took a large gold ring with emeralds as bright as spring green from his little finger and put it on her ring finger.
It is a promise, she asked. There was hope in her voice. Yes, it is my vow.
Nancy awoke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Her fingertips tingled. Her heart was beating like mad.
She sat up on the bed, holding out her hand for a glass of water. She dangled her feet to the floor and fumbled for her slippers. Drinking the water in a gulp, she opened the door to the hallway without knowing why.
There was no one there. But Nancy could have sworn she heard skirts rustling outside Robert’s room. Her feet carried her that way.
And when she reached the door, she opened it without knocking. Robert was sitting on the bed. He was agitated.
Droplets of sweat covered his forehead. He didn’t even seem surprised to see Nancy in his room at night. Who are you? He stared at her point blank.
And the girl said helplessly, I. I don’t know. I just had a dream. I had a dream, too.
You were there. And in my dream, there was you. Did they not notice how the formality had disappeared from the conversation? There was an awkward silence.
Nancy came closer and sat on the edge of the bed. I have the feeling that you didn’t just happen to show up in this house, did you? Nancy didn’t know what to answer. I think I was here a long time ago.
The thing is, I was taken from an orphanage, and I don’t know anything about my ancestors. It’s possible. You think you might be related to me.
The guy grinned no, not that. I would feel, I guess, just these strange dreams. It’s like they’re from the past.
And after she was quiet, seeing Robert looking at her intently, she added, do you think I’m crazy? He shook his head. I have the same strange dreams. It’s like a soap opera.
He leaned back on the pillow. You know, everyone thinks there’s a family curse on my family. How’s that? Nancy thought he was joking.
It’s not hard to believe, considering all the men in our family die before they have hairs. The exception was my father, who lived to be 53. But now I’m in a wheelchair, and my line will probably end with me.
What kind of curse is that? Nancy felt her feet begin to freeze. Despite the warm nights of May, drafts roamed freely through the huge house. It is said that my ancestor once betrayed his love, left her for a lucrative marriage, and that girl cursed him.