16. Eleanor

16

ELEANOR

O siris had promised her that he would not do anything that would cause her distress or discomfort. She, of course, did not believe his words to be more than empty promises. Her uncle had never kept a single one of his promises to her. Not that he made many. After a while, they both learned that she would not fight him on most matters.

It is how he took things as far as he did.

The next morning, Osiris had once again made her breakfast and even allowed her access to his bookshelf. He had books of the world, books of history, and a few mystery books that she was free to read. Still, that had been days ago. Osiris had yet to do anything to go back on his word.

Eleanor sat at the table, thrumming her fingers on the wood. Surely, surely , he had not taken his promise as though it were an oath to some deity. Though, what else could it be? There was no other way to look at his absence.

He was avoiding her.

It seemed Osiris was determined to make her trust him and his word, with what Eleanor deemed to be rather extreme measures. Upon waking, breakfast was ready and waiting on the table. Throughout the day, Osiris tended to his garden and a horse he called Shadow. At night, he quietly came in when he believed her to be asleep, and kept to the furthest end of the cottage, even sleeping in a chair by the door rather than the sofa.

I know I was upset, still, isn’t he taking it too far?

Eleanor sighed as she let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling.

Admittedly, being around him still caused tinges of nervousness to course through her body, and trust did not come easy for her. Even so, he had given her no reason to think that he would actually harm her, and, being around him more would likely quell the existing apprehension that still lingered within her.

Though, she supposed she was still faring far better than someone like Penny would.

Penny… I wonder how she reacted to word of my disappearance? How did uncle react? Perhaps he was angry or mayhap, even humiliated that the single heir to his family name, who lived under his house and rules, was whisked away right under his nose.

Eleanor did not attempt to bite back the smirk that played at her lips. For years she had obeyed him. For years she was good . Finally being able to get back at him, and in such a public manner, did bring about at least some feelings of justice.

Eleanor stood up, quietly moving the chair back, as she walked over to the door. She followed her routine, which had become habit after the third day of Osiris avoiding her. She lifted herself on her toes to check on his progress. When she had checked earlier that morning, he was working on the furthest corner from her. Now, he was almost halfway done planting seeds across the entire field.

Who would have thought that monsters… no—beings, were such efficient workers? If this was back home, the men would still be at the top of the field complaining about the hard work and then demanding new refreshments every half hour.

She watched as he used his shadows to dig small holes in the dirt, then grabbed tiny seeds from his satchel and dropped a few in, lightly patting some soil on top to cover them.

His white tunic tugged against his muscled form as he continued the cycle of digging and planting.

Lifting her hand, she tapped lightly on the glass causing his head to shoot up. When their eyes met he quickly stood, dusting off his gloved hands as he walked towards her and opened the front door.

Osiris stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Not moving any further than the entryway of the house, he clasped his hands together as he spoke. “Is everything alright, Eleanor?” he asked eagerly.

After watching him give her space for days, respecting her boundaries and clearly going out of his way as not to cause her any distress, Eleanor decided to grant him a show of faith. She took a step closer to him, the scent of amber and sandalwood wafting over her.

“I think,” she began, “that we perhaps got off on the wrong foot. I apologize for my reaction before, it was not my intention to throw you out of your own home.”

“Eleanor,” he said, shaking his head, “I am not thrown out, as you say. I am simply trying to give you space as not to cause discomfort.”

A blush once again crept up her cheeks as his deep voice raked over her. For a moment, the flames in his eyes left hers as he glanced down, but before she could follow his gaze, his eyes lifted once more.

“You needn’t worry so much about causing discomfort. This is all new to me, Osiris,” she started, gesturing between them, “I may stumble and say things that I shouldn’t, just as you might, but I also believe that if you intended to harm me, you would have done so already.”

Osiris nodded his head, offering a warm smile that seemed to reach his eyes, perhaps for the first time since their meeting. “If it is alright with you, Eleanor,” he said, placing emphasis on her name, “I would like to start over.”

“Me too,” she confirmed, taking another step closer to him.

He did not back away, instead, his gaze stayed firmly on her. Something about the way he watched her, sent a daring shiver down her spine. He did not look at her as something to own or someone to teach . He seemed to look at her as though she held all the answers to the questions in the farthest reaches of his mind.

Risking another step forward, she looked up to meet his gaze. Being this close she could see how much larger than her he truly was. If he wanted to, he could dominate her. But, with each second that ticked by, her hesitation dwindled.

Can I trust you?

“Can I ask you something, Osiris?”

He stared down at her, his eyes moving from hers down to her lips.

“Anything,” he said softly.

“Can you take off your gloves?”