Read Online Sleeping Helena by Erzebet YellowBoy - Free Book Online Page A

delicious, but she did not have another. She was not very fond of sweets.
    “Suit yourself,” Kitty said.
    “Precisely.”
    Kitty stopped chewing and inspected her sister, caught the look of determination on her face. This might be interesting. Kitty swallowed.
    “Karl, throw another log on that fire, will you? I feel a draft.” Kitty turned her head in order to better hear Eva.
    Karl, his expression one of intense disinterest, did as she asked. As soon as he finished and left the room, Eva spoke.
    “I won’t waste your time, Katza. All of my life I have followed in Thekla’s footsteps. I have allowed her to form my opinions for me — I suspect we all have. We had no one else.” She stopped; she was not here to cast blame. “It occurs to me that I don’t really know you, and I’d like to.”
    Kitty shifted in her seat, moving her bulky thighs to a more comfortable position in the chair. It had seen better days, as had she. She was as unsettled by Eva’s candor as Eva had been by her own.
    “There’s not much to know, Eva. I am an old woman, like yourself, who has carved out a small life by trial and error.”
    “But why have you carved that life out alone? Why did you go off on your own, seclude yourself from us and leave us as you did? I think you owe us the truth.”
    Kitty shuffled in her seat, her face revealing nothing. “You are correct, Eva. There are many things you do not know about this family, and you are better off for it. Thekla did her very best by you all, be sure of it. Even had I stayed, she would have mothered you no differently.”
    “But you didn’t stay and the family has been divided ever since. Did you know that Mama used to cry at nights for you? You couldn’t even bring yourself to attend her funeral. There must be something to this, and I intend to find out what it is.”
    Eva sat back and took a sip of coffee, still steaming in the cup. She noticed the pattern, an old Schumann floral, and silently complimented Kitty on her taste.
    “You always were a determined child.” Kitty said.
    “How would you know?” Eva set her cup down gently, though she would rather smash it to bits. Her anger surprised her, but now was no time to unleash it.
    “What has Thekla done to put you in this state?” Kitty waved her hand in dismissal. “No, I know it must be something. I may not know much of you, as you suggest, but I do know Thekla. Tell me what it is and I will answer your question.”
    It seemed like a fair bargain. It couldn’t hurt (could it?) to tell Kitty about the mirrors. It was her gift to Helena that was causing all the fuss in the first place.
    “She has had every mirror removed from the house and I’m afraid it is only the beginning. She is obsessed with protecting Helena from your gift, so much so that I fear she will do more harm than good. You cannot really mean for the girl to die.”
    Kitty shifted in her chair again. “If she finds out you’ve been here, she will have a fit.”
    “I know. I have no intention of telling her. What we say between us remains between us. I simply must have some answers. I cannot live under her new regime without some insight as to why she hates you so.”
    “You are right to think that Thekla hates me. I am sure she does.” Kitty took a breath. “Before I left home, I allowed Thekla to believe that we would be going together.”
    Kitty paused again. “I imagine she was very hurt when I did not take her with me.”
    Eva was floored. How could Kitty have been so cruel? There was more truth to the matter of Kitty’s wicked ways than she’d suspected.
    “Do not judge me too harshly. Wouldn’t you like to know why I acted as I did?”
    Since Kitty was talking, Eva decided to listen. She raised her chin, giving the slightest indication that Kitty should continue.
    “We all had a very difficult time after Louis died.”
    Kitty paused for moment and closed her eyes, as though searching for the strength to continue there behind her