The afternoon sun hit Lorelei's skin, making her look even paler under the golden light. Their neighbor, Mrs. Evie Baker, had just walked out of the door to dispose some things when her eyes fell on the two. On sighting her, Lorelei greeted;
"Good afternoon Mrs. Baker."
"Oh Lorelei," her tone was rather different from before. "Where are you going and who is this gentleman with you?"
Lorelei could easily tell that she was more concerned about Vincent because of the way she now focused all her attention on him.
Vincent greeted her with a respectful bow and introduced himself, "My name is Vincent. I came here with Mr. Sheridan to—"
"Oh, the doctor," she interrupted, expressing surprise and she moved closer to them. "You have such a fine skin," she said, assessing him with her eyes. "With your dressing, one would think you belong to the higher class," she laughed at her last sentence.
Lorelei couldn't believe Mrs. Baker. Why is she so interested in knowing Vincent's background when her only daughter already left in search for a better future? Are people always this unsatisfied?
Vincent's lips curled up into a smile and his simple response was, "You could say so."
Although, Vincent looked like he belonged to the higher class, Mrs. Baker doubts he really is one. She could only assume he is from the Middle class, but why would he come down all the way to Brittletown and relate with some lowly family like the Voss's?
Turning her attention to Lorelei, she gave an awkward laugh and said, "Lorelei, is it good for you to be outside? You know, considering the risk of your health, the sun might be too harsh for you."
Lorelei wondered since when she started caring about her health. Mrs. Baker would rather not want her outside until there was not any promising man left to come visiting.
"The sun is what she needs," Vincent spoke on her behalf. "The sun gives more vibrancy, even to plants. Who doesn't need it?" He turned to Lorelei and said, "You should find someone to take you out more often. Forget about your illness and start exploring life. Even a second can mean forever." Turning to Mrs. Baker again, he said, "If you would excuse us, I will like to give Lorelei a tour."
Lorelei was touched by Vincent's words and she could see the bitter expression on Mrs. Baker's face. A man had just stood up for her, something she would never have imagined in all her years of living. He offered her his hand and she looked into his eyes, as if undecisive about it, but something in her assured her it was alright, that she could only get this kind of opportunity once in her lifetime. Not wanting to lose that chance, she placed her hand in his and he held it gently, a little too firm, as if not wanting to let it slip even slightly.
Mrs. Baker couldn't believe what she was seeing and she felt bitter inside. She wished it was her own daughter being held like that and spoken to with love. The house they sent her daughter to was nothing to be happy about as almost every time, they receive letters from her that reports how she is being treated badly and still looked down on, and how she feels less than a maid. Of course, they had sent her into an Elite home to serve them, but they had only focused on how their status would change from being called a lower class. Still, she knows that Lorelei would be gone soon and there won't be a competitor with her daughter. With that, she dismissed the thought, though it still lingered in one side.
Lorelei's mood lit a bit as she now walked hand in hand with Vincent. She has never felt this much happy walking with a stranger she just met today. Maybe it was time to start ticking off her Wishlist now that she has experienced what it feels like to be held by a man.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked her, as if ready to take her wherever she said.
Lorelei looked around and a smile crept up her lips. "If I said Auroria, would you still be willing to take me?"
Vincent stopped walking and he turned to face her. "If it were a real place, I would come back and take you there." He excused himself and Lorelei blinked while staring at him. Auroria isn't a real place. It refers to a golden dawn that is promising but never arriving. It is the common word used among bottom feeders like her.
Vincent came back shortly with a small brown envelope in his hand. He stretched it to her and said, "The candies here are good. Have you tasted them before?"
Lorelei gave a nod. Her father always makes sure to get them for her whenever he comes around.
"Thank you, Sir Vincent," she expressed her gratitude.
"Oh you can just call me Vincent," he said.
"But that would be rude of me, seeing that you are in a class higher than I am. I would rather call you Sir Vincent," she said politely.
Already, the other townspeople that walked by or were attending to their business, stared at her and whispered to one another such that it started to become obvious that they were talking about her. Lorelei wondered if Vincent was not paying attention to anything other than her, or he was just choosing to ignore it.
"Mr. Sheridan should be done by now," she said, notifying him that it was time to return home.
"Mr. Sheridan can take his time," Vincent said. "I still haven't given you that tour I mentioned about."
Lorelei looks confused. What other tour could there be? "But just now, you—" Her eyes followed him as he hurried to a carriage stop and talked with the rider. Lorelei couldn't believe what was happening. Was he really going to give her a ride through town?
After a short talk with the carriage man, Vincent came back to where she was and said, "Let's give you a ride." He took her hand again and they walked to where the carriage was. The carriage man quickly placed a box down for her to climb and she looked at him. She has never received such treatment, not even once from a carriage man. Was it because Vincent was with her? It made her wonder what conversation they had when they were speaking.
She placed one foot on the box as Vincent supported her and she placed the other foot before climbing the small step of the carriage as she now entered. Vincent came in after her and the carriage man removed the box before shutting the door. He returned to his seat and with one whip on the horse back, the carriage started to move.
Lorelei felt the small bumps and her body slightly rocking with the carriage's movement. She opened the side window and stared out as the gentle breeze wheeze past her face.
"How is it?" Vincent asked as he watched her every expression. He was siting opposite her with his hands on either of his sides.
"It's…beautiful," she answered, still gazing outside.
A smile appeared on Vincent's lips and he asked again, "How do you feel?"
Lorelei's gaze lowered and she turned her head to look at him while adjusting herself. Meeting his eyes, she said, "I feel great, even if it's only going to be for a moment. I'm going to cherish this time and take it along with me."
"You talk like you're going somewhere," Vincent said, his tone a little low just for the two of them.
Lorelei gave a small nod and said, "You must know that I am dying and I can't help but think that all these is because you pity me."
The air between them was a little too heavy, like a weight Lorelei has been carrying.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Vincent apologized, "but I don't think I pity you."
Lorelei moved her eyes to him and he said, "I'm doing this because the people don't think you deserve it. I heard about you way before I met you in the house. I didn't know things like this happen even among people of the same class. It's quite unfortunate."
"You are not really working for Mr. Sheridan, are you?" she asked the question that has been lingering in her mind for a while now.
They both gazed at each other. This feels like the moment where small conversations suddenly turned serious after a moment of fun.
Lorelei had noticed some few things about him starting from the moment she saw him to when he started to show her kindness. She said, "Your appearance…Mr. Sheridan's reaction to how you behaved and…your cold hand."
Vincent's eyes moved to where he placed his hand and he returned his eyes to her. "If you knew all that, why didn't you say anything? Or why did you agree to go out with me?"
"I was surprised," she answered him. "I've never heard good things about people like you, but I guess I didn't care. I just wanted to do some things I haven't been able to do."
"I see. No wonder I keep hearing you think about something called a wish."
Curious, Lorelei asked, "What brought you to Brittletown? It's rare for someone from a higher class to be here, not to talk of being in the same space with a bottom feeder."
The corner of Vincent's lips curled as he gave a snort-laugh. "So that's what it is. It sounds like a kind of human law being upheld by those concerned."
"Don't you have laws similar to ours?" Lorelei asked.
"We do, but it's quite different than what I find the humans doing here. Now, to answer your first question, it's the other way round. Mr. Sheridan works for me. And for the second question, I came to this town for some research work. I should be going back today or tomorrow."
"Are you done with what you came to do here?" she asked, feeling a little disappointed.
Vincent smiled gently as he noticed her emotion. "Mr. Sheridan will take care of it. I only came to see how far he's been progressing with it."
Lorelei didn't understand what kind of research work he came for and what deal he and Mr. Sheridan has together. There hasn't been any raised issue in their town apart from the dispute. Their town hasn't caused any problem nor has the neighboring towns raised a concern against them. She wondered if something was quietly brooding that she knows nothing about.
Breaking into her thought, he asked, "Is there any other thing you want to do? You can as well speak your final wish. Who knows? There might just be someone who can make it happen."