The Halfbreed Threat

Chapter 6 - Breakfast is at 11 - Part 1

"Morning sunshine!" he said heading to the 1951 MK armchair near the door, then sat. "All the furniture in here is antique. Please don't ruin any of it. It's my favorite room in the house and some of these pieces are really hard to replace. Like that armoire by the window..." He continued pointing at it.

Her figure was hunched low, curled in a ball, practically hiding behind the bed in the opposite corner of the room relative to where Vincent was. She didn't respond, but he could tell she wasn't sleeping either, as there were no signs of that regulated breath people have when asleep. He also noticed the top of her head move quickly to look at the armoire, and then back to him, probably because he must have been perceived as a threat, though he had not looked in her direction once since going in.

" ... which is a Late 17th Century French Oak Armoire with Paneled Sides while the bed... " and as he said that and looked in the direction of the bed, where she was, it seemed to him that she had flinched, but he continued pretending not to notice,

" ...is by far the most valuable piece here, at least in terms of history, being a King-size antique carved oak bed with Elizabeth I in her Coronation robes in the central carved oak panel. At least that panel dates back to 1560, more or less... " and he smiled as he added that.

" ...though I suspect the rest of the panels are newer, maybe around the 1800, but it was such an interesting piece, I could not resist it. Are you feeling ok?" she did not answer him.

"The view from this window is also..." he added as he got up and headed for the window. She tried to curl up even more; make herself unnoticeable, smaller if that was even possible.

"...the best in the house in my opinion. You can see the courtyard all the way to the trees at the edge of the forest, and if you squint your eyes and focus through that small opening over there, you can see the glitter of the lake in the mornings, when the sun touches the surface of the waters just right. This actually used to be my room when I first came here."

He headed back to the armchair and sat once more. She visibly relaxed. "Are you hurt?" She still did not answer him.

"If you answer me, I promise to leave you alone until breakfast. Otherwise I won't be able to know, and I could be here a while."

"I'm O.K." she answered shortly and barely audible.

Vincent wondered why he was expecting - or was it hoping? – for more than that.

This is going to take time. He thought to himself.

"Thank you! As I said, I will let you rest now. See you at 11!" after saying that, he got up, heading for the door. She almost didn't flinch that time.

"Maybe check the view from the window? It's a real sight to behold!" were his last words before closing the door and heading to the office.