The Trouble With Sentiment

Chapter Four

"No, that's mad. The mere suggestion is ludicrous." He wouldn't have thought it possible to add people, and yet here they were. His stomach clenched. The potential consequences for what she'd done were staggering.

Vivian's arms tightened around her knees. "I - I didn't realize. What am I supposed to do now? Delete you?"

"No," he said, voice sharp. The word burst out of him faster than thought. While he wasn't entirely certain of how to proceed, some primal part of him knew that method was wrong and had reacted instinctively. He took a steadying breath. "If I'm anchoring your Mind Palace, then removing me could endanger the whole structure." What he needed now was more information. "Tell me exactly what I've been doing."

She brushed a wisp of hair out of her face. "Well, most of the time you sit in the library reading and ignoring me, but earlier this week I noticed you stacking boxes in the corner. When I asked about them, you told me to stop pestering you and to go make myself useful in the kitchen." A small scowl. "You're quite rude, really."

"I'm hardly responsible for your mind's manifestation of me. What happened tonight?"

"The boxes were gone and so was an entire conversation shelf in the library. I couldn't find them anywhere. When I went back down the hallway, there was a new door." Confusion clouded her face. "It looked like the same door from an old house I used to live in. When I tried to open it, you appeared and said it wasn't ready and told me to shove off."

Relief washed over him. Their situation wasn't as dire as he'd thought, in fact, some of it was even to be expected. "One answer is clear. The structure of your Mind Palace is organic. It grows on its own. When your rooms become full, your brain creates new ones utilizing architecture that is well known to you, in this case, a former home. Currently, your mind is telling you that the new room isn't ready for use yet and to stay away."

"Will having you as my anchor be a problem?"

His mind raced through various possibilities, holding onto some and discarding others. "At this point, it's too soon to tell. I want you to monitor my activity within your Mind Palace, and give me a daily report. Inform me immediately if anything unusual occurs."

"Alright. What about the empty conversation shelf?"

"While I can't be certain yet, I believe your Mind Palace version of me emptied the shelf's contents into the boxes and is now integrating them into your new room." He paused. "It appears you're using me as an organizational tool."

She snickered. "I made you my housekeeper."

His lips twitched. Mrs. Hudson would have been duly shocked. "In a crude manner of speaking, yes."

Another concern rose to the surface. He had no idea how additional people would impact her Mind Palace. It could prove problematic. "Who else is in your Mind Palace? John?"

A huff of laughter. "No, not John." The humor on her face dimmed, and she looked away, fiddling with the hem of her blue jeans. "There's only you."

The steady rise and fall of his chest ceased and an unexplained warmth uncurled inside him. He'd assumed she'd added more people after him, but she hadn't. "I wouldn't recommend adding anyone else."

"I wasn't about to," she said quietly, hand dropping from her hem.

Curiosity nipped at him. No good could come from continuing the conversation. The fact that he wanted to know at all was alarming in and of itself. His gaze swept around the room, and he tapped out a rat-a-tat rhythm against the leather arm of the chair. In the end, he couldn't help himself. "Why me?"