The House Guest (Unedited)

Chapter 1: Henry

"Get away from her, you drunken swine!" 

Relief fills me, and Henry plants a fist straight into the man's enraged face, knocking him to the ground, followed by Henry shouting a series of curse words.

Cheers erupt around the pub. The man must've been a local scoundrel, and people are glad to be rid of him.

"I should've never taken you here," Henry apologizes, and for the first time his voice is low and deadly serious. I bury my face in his shoulder, weeping uncontrollably. Somehow, we manage to make it back to the estate garden. By now, the sun has begun to disappear in the dusky sky.

Henry and I stand still, facing each other, but neither of us really knowing what to say.

"I am such an oaf. I was so stupid," Henry sighs, "I do not know why I took you there. You are quite beautiful, and someone was bound to notice sometime."

My heart speeds up, and heat rises to my cheeks. I hope the light is too dull for him to notice.

"What do you mean, I'm beautiful?" I laugh, guessing that he's joking. I've never spent time looking at myself for long, and the only people I ever see are the servants, Mrs. Potter, Lady Dorothea, Susanna, and Henry, so the fact has never been brought to my attention. Lady Dorothea never fails to criticize my shabby clothes, or my messy hair, or my homely face, so I never expected anyone to say anything nice about the way that I look.

The fading sun illuminates Henry's face, and I gaze up, noticing that his eyes are searching mine. What he hopes to find, I cannot be certain of. Without warning, he touches my hair, gingerly caressing one of the unruly curls which frame my face. He gathers my face in his hands, then traces the outline of my lips with his thumb.

I hear a gasp, realizing it is mine.

I feel his breath, steady and strong, and his eyes continue to bore into mine, without any given explanation. How are we so close? Delicately, he draws my hands to his and I stifle a gasp. His face reddens, a stark contrast to his tanned complexion. From my recollection, it is the first time I have ever seen Henry blush, and he doesn't seem to find any comfort in it, like he's not used to nervousness.

"I'm leaving for university tomorrow," he announces.

I recoil from his touch, hastily leaping backwards with sudden shock.

"What?"

"I should have told you sooner. I am sorry."

"But, for how long? And why? I thought you were happy here," I shield my eyes from the setting sun with a gloved hand.

"Helene, you have to understand. It's expected for a man to go off to university, to become more accomplished - more informed of the world around him. My tutor and Lady Dorothea have both decided that this would be best for me, and they've made this a part of my future, along with my parents."

"What about travelling the world? You said-"

"It doesn't matter what I said. I have said a lot of foolish things, but since you're so clearly infatuated with me, you take them all quite literally to heart." He folds his arms across his chest, squaring his shoulders and glaring into the sunset as if he's too ashamed to meet my gaze.

"Infatuated with you? What are you talking about?" I demand, my pulse racing with adrenaline.

"Don't pretend to act coy. Lady Dorothea told me everything. How you've deliberately planned to befriend me, in hopes of marrying me for my fortune. Really Helene, how stupid do you think I am?"

Dumbfounded, I sense tears threatening to slip out of my eyes.

"Henry, never would I ever do anything of the sort. I never even... thought of you in that way, until-"

"Until what? Until you saw me as a clever way to escape your social class as a penniless orphan?"

"I... I can't believe you would think of me that way. I care about you, Henry, you're my best friend, my only friend..." My voice trails off, my words caught in a tangle of sobs.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." Henry sniffs. The suddenly haughty tone he is taking with me conceals a thread of sadness in his voice, and on his face.

I watch in disbelief as he stalks away with long-legged, determined strides.

I want to run, to hide, but I can't. It's as if my feet are planted to the earthy ground beneath. The sound of thunder rips across the sky, and ominous clouds dispel tonnes of rain. The rain cascades down around me, satisfying the parched earth and flooding the silvery stream.

Henry's figure disappears, along with our friendship, dissolving into the rain.

~~~