Frankenstein Theory (5 page)

Without another word, Igor vanished from the laboratory. The silence was a joyous backdrop to the chaos running rampant within my mind.

xXx

As I pulled the secret door to the laboratory closed, the scurrying sound of rats fell victim to the silence of darkness. It was at this same moment, each night when I departed from my work, that I felt disconnected from self, from soul. All that inspired me lay within the depths and wells of Castle Frankenstein. The trivialities beyond the boundaries of science meant little more than an escape from the vagaries of life. The longer I spent in death’s seduction, the less I wanted from the living world.

The living of life was nothing but a distraction from the pursuit of truth. I could sequester myself in the bowels of my domain and never return. That would satisfy my every need; to finish the work my father had begun, to become death’s master.

“
Victor.” Elizabeth’s kind voice pulled me from my reverie. “Supper has begun. Won’t you please join me and your mother?”

I wanted nothing more than to secret myself into bed and beg the Lord of dreams to shuffle me away from the insufferable interaction with family and loved ones.

I had precious little time for the triviality of small talk.

“
Of course, my dearest.” I offered a half-hearted smile.

Elizabeth reached her slender arm toward me—her dancer’s frame held a grace and elegance far too few would ever know. She led me into the dining hall, her every footfall a mere wisp against the marble floor. Her scent wafted behind her, a delicious concoction of jasmine and cinnamon. Elizabeth spent as much time bringing to life the gift of sweet sensation as I did bridging the gap between life and death.

To each their own, I supposed.

“
Victor.” Mother stood and grinned, her eyes glistening under the many splendid chandeliers my father had purchased for an anniversary. I never could remember which. “How long has it been since you’ve sat with us at the table?”

I pulled Elizabeth’s chair and awaited her arrival. She spun into a seated position, the movement breathtaking to behold. Even lost in other worlds, I could still appreciate the truest beauty and art that was my wife.

Before taking my own seat, I rushed to my mother and seated her. She gave my hand a gentle pat, and I bent down to kiss her cheek.

I sat and gazed over the feast. “I’m famished. When will the servants be bringing out the meal?”

The chimes of feminine laughter brought the room to life. For a brief pause, my heart warmed, and I managed to leave behind all thought of studies, cadavers, systems, and humors. The abstraction of being human was satisfying. The ever-present ennui lifted from my shoulders and I breathed.

Life.

“
Elizabeth, you are as beautiful as always. And Mother…” I stole a glance toward the elegant woman at the other end of the table. “Your charms know no bounds.”

Mother’s eyes alighted with joy. “You sound just like your father.”

Oh, that she knew the depth and breadth of the compliment she’d just given me. I didn’t dare explain how I’d picked up where the Baron had left off; cracked open Frankenstein’s Grand Grimoire. The secret would go to my grave.

Mother sipped her tea. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, dear Victor, where has Henry been off to?”

I nearly choked on a mouthful of venison. The subject of Henry’s departure had miraculously been avoided. My brain stumbled on a bit of fiction to weave to keep the questioning at bay. “He was recalled to university. A fair portion of our work has to be done within the classroom. Our mentor decided it would be best to have the more bookish of us handle the task of navigating those dreadful waters. Henry was reluctant to leave without bidding his favorite women ado, but there was little choice.”

Elizabeth patted at her lips with a brocade napkin. She offered a puckish grin to me. “Victor, my love, I was hoping you and I could venture into town tomorrow night. There is a recital everyone is talking about; a pianist from Vienna, a virtuoso, I hear. I don’t recall his name, but he’ll be performing the sonatas of Haydn. Won’t you please take me?”

How could I resist the blush and dimple of her cheeks? I could not.

“
I could use the distraction, my love. Have your lady make the arrangements.”

Mother clapped. “Why not make an entire evening of it? I hear there’s a new restaurant opened on the promenade. You should go.”

Elizabeth rejected the notion. “We couldn’t possibly leave you hear to sup’ alone, dearest Mother.”

“
Pish posh, child. I am a grown woman, perfectly capable of entertaining herself. You need not concern yourself. Besides, I have a rather saucy book I’m reading that simply begs for me to tip back a bottle of wine and lose myself between its pages.”

I swallowed the last bit of meat from my plate and proclaimed, “It’s settled. Tomorrow night, my dear, we walk among the townsfolk.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Victor, shame. You make it sound like we are well and above the citizens of Geneva.”

I winked. “I am a descendant of the great Baron von Frankenstein. Doesn’t that, by very nature of our family crest, put me above the commoners?”

An awkward silence wafted over the room. I held my tongue as long as I could.

“
I’m teasing you, my dear.”

The pink returned to Elizabeth’s cheeks.

“
You are such an easy mark, wife.”

Elizabeth tossed her napkin at me. “And you are a rapscallion, Victor.”

“
Guilty as charged,” I replied.

Mother sighed. “I cannot begin to tell you how good it does me to see the two of you getting on so splendidly. It reminds me of how your father and I bandied about during our youth.”

Tears welled and broke the dam of Mother’s eyes. She delicately dabbed at her cheeks with a napkin. “Will you look at me? The Baron has been gone for nearly a year, and I miss him as if he only just passed.”

Elizabeth made to stand; I stopped her with the slightest shake of the head. She nodded and rested her hands on the table.

Mother lifted her glass toward us. “To my son and his wife; here’s to a long and fruitful marriage and life lived to its fullest.”

In perfect symmetry, Elizabeth and I raised our glasses and accepted the warm and heartfelt wish.

“
To love and life,” I responded.

Elizabeth and I clinked glasses, the sound a miraculous celebration.

S E V E N

Elizabeth leaned into me, her arm curling around mine. “Isn’t this lovely, Victor? It is such a perfect evening. Thank you for suggesting we go out. You make me feel like the queen of the night.”

My mind had drifted away from the moment, beyond the realm of beauty into the inescapable truth of entropy. My work haunted my every waking moment. Consumption of thought would be my undoing. Instead of making some benign reply, I patted her hand and laid my lips to the flesh of her forehead.

“
Frankenstein.” A familiar voice broke the spell of the moment. I pulled my eyes from my beloved to spy Franz Geib. He’d been a senior student at university, constantly with his nose in my business. My failure was his fancy. Franz made sport of reveling in my folly, taking every chance to spar with my emotions and temper. “What brings you back to Geneva? I thought certainly your…”

I pulled away from Elizabeth and forced myself into Franz’ personal space. He stared down the length of his crooked nose as he tilted his gilded halo away from my hot breath. In my best threatening voice I whispered, “I trust you remember the compromising position in which I found you and your esteemed roommate. Should you continue this line of conversation, I will make it my business to expose your untoward proclivities to your darling wife and family. Give me the opportunity, and I will derail your future before it leaves the station.”

Geib stepped back, smoothed down his waistcoat, and offered a patronizing smile. “What measure of depravity must go on within the walls of Castle Frankenstein?”

“
Ah, but Franz, the truest delight is in the unknowing.” I tipped my hat. “And with that, my good man, I bid you
adieu
.”

“
Will you dare continue your father’s work, Frankenstein? Such a pity, his death. Had he lived long enough, he’d have found himself strapped into a straitjacket and hauled off to Tristran Asylum.”

I rushed back to Geib, my fist rolled tight, ready to crack his salty cheek. “Dare to speak of my father again, and I promise you the suffering visited upon you will not be reparable…even under the most perfect conditions.”

My teeth threatened to chatter from fear and rage. I spun on my heels and returned to Elizabeth’s side.

“
You cannot hide for long, Frankenstein,” Geib hissed. “Eventually your family’s skeletons will burst forth from those chained and bolted closets. When they do, all will finally understand the monster tucked deep within the branches of your family tree.”

I guided Elizabeth away from the bastard’s proclamations.

“
Victor, whatever was that wretched man going on about? What manner of depravity did he speak? And please, for the love of the Holy Spirit, please tell me you are not furthering your father’s work. As much as I adore your family…”

“
Never mind his insipid protestation. He is merely jealous I was chosen by the dean of medicine to undertake one of the most important studies the university has ever sponsored. He’d thought the post his, bragged about it across the campus. When the dean handed the task to me, Franz grew enraged and threatened to make me pay for undermining his brilliance.” I upped the ante of the lie with an innocent grin. “His words, not mine.”

I proffered my arm; Elizabeth happily accepted the gentlemanly gesture. We continued our stroll in the cool evening air.

xXx

Dinner was an elegant seven courses, ending with a desert decadent enough to shame the Marquis de Sade. Elizabeth placed a morsel of pastry in her mouth, rolled her eyes, and slowly chewed as if it might well ruin her palate for all other tastes. When she finally recovered from the exquisite flavor, she opened her eyes and smiled at me.

I reached across the table and took her hand of porcelain flesh in mine. “I have glanced upon the face of timeless and boundless beauty, but gazing into your eyes wipes all memory of such traces.”

Elizabeth sighed an angelic sound. “Is that Goethe?”

“
Oh, heavens no, my love. I believe the poet in question was none other than V. Frankenstein. He first drafted the line in a letter to his darling wife whilst sequestered away at university.”

I offered a mischievous smile; she blushed.

From a distance, the mournful tone of a church bell sang.

“
Goodness, Victor, we must hurry or be late for the recital.”

I retrieved the pocket watch Father had given me when he’d finally declared me worthy of the name of Frankenstein. I’d thought it little more than pomp. Even as I protested, Father informed me the passage of the watch was a tradition in the Frankenstein family. The man was certain one day I’d follow in his footsteps and pass the timepiece into the hands of yet another Frankenstein.

That Elizabeth couldn’t bear the fruit of passion would have broken the Baron’s heart.

I stood and made my way to Elizabeth. “Shall we, my dear?”

As we left, I caught sight of Franz, chatting with a small collection of men who’d also attended university. I bit my lip and turned Elizabeth toward the recital hall. I wanted nothing to spoil the evening, for I knew full well this could be our last chance for any sort of intimacy—until the work was complete. Although distance of mind had settled itself between us, matters of the heart were in full blossom. I adored my wife beyond time and tide. The silly poem I’d written so many years ago could just as easily have been born in the very moment we’d just shared. Elizabeth still carried the power to seduce me with body, mind, and heart. Her laughter was a siren song, her smile a Gorgon which could steal and still my heart.

My darling’s hand in mine, dire thoughts of Franz rattled in the cage of my mind.

“
Victor,” Elizabeth whispered. “Your palms are sweating. Might you have regressed into your youth? Is this the first time you’ve held a girl’s hand?”

Elizabeth’s distraction was a perfect respite from the rage boiling just beneath the surface.

“
It could be, my darling, the thought of stealing a kiss from lips that love’s own hand did make.”

A delicate laugh emanated from her mouth. “Shakespeare…he, I would recognize in an instant.”

“
Very good, my love.”

I pulled Elizabeth to a stop and spun her to face me. “Now, about that kiss.”

In a moment of pure tenderness, Elizabeth blushed. I wasted no time and pulled her mouth to mine. As our flesh became one, all torment and tirade faded into the sweet abyss of moments past. After a perfect length of kiss, I pulled away and spoke softly. “Shall we enjoy the art of the piano?”