Maybe Lucian sensed my hesitation because he didn’t press me when I didn’t answer.
“Anna, you will go to whatever college you desire. They, nor the church, have any control over it. So, base your decision on whatyouwish, not what they tell you. Do you understand?”
I nodded.Can it really be that easy?
He rapped his fingers on Sister Mary’s oak desk. “As for you—”
“I don’t know who you think you are or how you know this child, but you will leave at once or I will call the police.”
Lucian’s deep, rich laugh wrapped around my heart as he defied Sister Mary, and I had to stop myself from pushing closer to him. My fingers itched to touch his face and see his physical form, to know what shape his mouth took when he laughed like that, to sear it into my memory so I could transfer it to canvas later.
“Go ahead, you righteous prude. Try.”
I put a hand to my mouth and turned my face to where Sister Mary sat. He might be the devil, but he’d never had to deal with Sister Mary when she’d been crossed. Inwardly, I cringed. No matter what happened, I would pay for his arrogance.
“Wait, Sister Mary. This is the…um…person responsible—”
“Carrie, remember what I told you?” Lucian asked, his tone flat.
I frowned and shifted toward Sister Carrie.How do they know each other?If they’d spoken before, it had to mean something.
“Uh, he’s the one who makes the yearly visit, the…uh, benefactor.”
Silence filled the room. I still stood in front of Mary’s desk, but the normal rustle of clothing and soft breaths of people seemed to freeze.
“Hmph.” Sister Mary’s chair creaked.
“Anna,” Lucian asked. “When is the last time you left these grounds?”
The sudden turn of conversation made my head whirl. “W-what?” I replayed his question in my mind. “I’m not sure. Maybe when the church took us to the zoo last year?”
That trip had been one of the highlights of my life. Sister Carrie had taken me to the area normally reserved for the smaller children and let me pet the smaller animals, such as donkeys and goats. I’d loved the way their fur had felt under my fingers, how their warm, wet noses had nudged against my waist as they begged for the food I’d held.
“Come with me, dear Anna.” Lucian’s fingers brushed against mine, and he gently pulled me away.
“Sir.” Sister Carrie’s voice sounded alarmed. “It is not appropriate for her to leave with you.”
“Is it appropriate for her to be stuffed away like some unwanted doll, always denied the experiences of this world?”
My heart beat a faster rhythm at the underlying anger in his words. I knew Lucian cared for me, considered me a pet project, even looked at me like one of his children. But I no longer wanted him to see me as the poor lonely blind girl needing his protection. How I yearned for him to think of me as an adult, even think of me as a woman—
No, he will never look at me like that. He’s an angel, I’m a flawed, disabled girl with nothing to her name.That was just a dream, and I needed to stop thinking of him like that.
I inhaled deeply, letting his warm spicy scent caress me.No, he’s my friend, and he will never be anything more.
“You cannot leave with her,” Carrie said. “Or—”
A crack split the air, like a burst of thunder contained in the office, the sound crashing and loud.
Both sisters yelped. Beside me, Sister Carrie’s chair scraped across the floor, as if she jumped.
“Come, Anna. Let me take you away for a while.”
“But, Lucian, I can’t.” I turned toward the women, afraid for them and for what this meant.
“Do not worry about repercussions. I have wiped their memories and sent them to sleep. By the time you return, the only thing they will remember is that you chose the art school. Nothing more. They will think the warmth of the sun and lack of air conditioning must’ve made them drowse off. You can perpetuate the tale or make up your own. I care not.” His fingers tightened on mine. “I only wish to give you some freedom. I grow weary of seeing you so sheltered and hidden.”
My heart did that weird pitter-patter again and wings of hope flew inside my stomach.
