Chapter 5

The morning sun found Kurt at work in his study. It had been a while since he had decided to arrange his records of past patients to put them into the archive. And he could not think of a better time to do that than Saturday morning.

The house was quiet, so when the doorbell rang, Kurt heard Eliza's steps very clearly as she approached the door. Kurt tensed, trying to hear the voice of the guest. It was a man. But today Kurt was expecting no one.

Eliza knocked on the door of the study. "Mr. Rhein?"

"Yes'," said Kurt and looked up as Eliza opened the door. "There's..."

"Oh, excuse me, I'll introduce myself," a male voice coming from the hall suddenly interrupted her. Eliza paused and turned her head. The next moment, without invitation or hesitation, John Fenrir entered the study.

"Mr. Fenrir," uttered Kurt. His words John welcomed with a broad smile. Kurt didn't have time to control his face; the left eyebrow twitched up in surprise. He got up from the desk.

For a few seconds, there was silence. Kurt looked at John. Now, neither distance nor a numerous retinue interfered, and Kurt could study the man properly.

John was tall and broad-shouldered with a confident upright posture. He held his head slightly upturned, so it seemed that he looked down on everything and everyone with a fair amount of contempt. However, Kurt quickly concluded that this wasn't a matter of wishful thinking. Short black hair was slicked back, exposing the forehead, so the predatory glance was threatening, and at the same time, Kurt felt it again. Attraction.

Eliza awoke first. "Mr. Rhein?' she asked hesitantly, and Kurt turned to her.

"Everything is fine, Eliza. You can go," he said calmly. Eliza, throwing another cautious glance at John, closed the door. However, Kurt didn't hear her steps in the corridor. They were heard only five minutes later. Apparently, Eliza was afraid that she would have to save her master from the boorish guest who had literally burst into the house.

"How can I help you, Mr. Fenrir?" Kurt asked. He immediately understood one thing; John really had seen him yesterday and remembered, and today he came here. One main question remained - why?

Had he been jarred by the fact that Kurt was there without his invitation? But Kurt was sure that John didn't know his entire entourage in person. Kurt stood out because he wasn't a part of this entourage.

John took time to respond. He slowly examined Kurt from head to toe and his entire study. John didn't seem to be pressured by the rules of decency and felt himself at home. Having satisfied his curiosity, John finally looked back into Kurt's eyes.

"I need your help, Mr. Psychologist!" John said and smiled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fenrir, but I don't accept patients on weekends. We can arrange an appointment on a weekday," Kurt countered politely, sitting back in his chair and looking at John through his glasses.

"How much for your appointment?" Not waiting for an answer, John threw a few gold sovereigns on the table. Kurt was silent, looking curiously at John. "More? Well, you probably spend a lot on those frames for your diplomas." John doled out some more gold coins.

"I already told you. I don't accept anyone on weekends."

John smiled predatorily, and again the gold coins rattled.

"I have an emergency," he grinned. "Will you offer me to lie down on the couch? Drink some tea? Relax? I've never paid so much for a conversation in my life!"

"Doesn't anyone want to talk to you for free?" Kurt said with an air of surprise. "Sometimes the world can be so cruel," he added and shook his head. "I'll make a five-minute exception for you, Mr. Fenrir, and even do it for free. Please, have a seat." Kurt nodded at the couch. John looked at him askance, but sat.

"What is bothering you?"

John laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "I don't even know where to start, doctor," he said. "As a child, I had a turtle, and I tried to train it. Alas, to no avail! Do you think it could affect the way that I cannot establish relationships with women?" John turned to Kurt and looked at him with a pitiful look.

"If in your mind all women are presented as wrinkled turtles, then yes," Kurt calmly replied. John laughed, leaning back. He laughed loudly and thunderously with his head thrown back. Kurt watched him silently.

"It was worth paying for!" John contentedly concluded and abruptly rose from the couch. He walked around the study and stopped at a bookcase. The unpredictability of his actions somewhat alarmed Kurt, but he remained calm. He was still trying to understand why John had come to see him.

"What kind of books do you read, Kurt?" Unceremoniously, John began to examine the crammed bookshelves. "Charles Despin, Eugene Azam... psychological folios, boring monographs... I see, you wrote a couple too. I'm sorry you wasted so much time on this nonsense. And I bet your education cost you an arm and a leg. And all this just to get into the head of insignificant people," John snorted. "And I don't need books and education to understand what's on your mind."

Kurt tensed. John came to him and leaned so close he could feel John's breath. His eyes were hazel, but in daylight, they seemed almost yellow and ferocious as those of a wolf.

"If you are still wondering why I'm here, then here's the answer, but not in a simple form, as you schoolboy like, but in a wrapper of ambiguity. So you can spend a couple of hours trying to think it over properly, to make conclusions, and write in your little notebook. Never try to creep up on the beast," John said and looked into Kurt's eyes for a few seconds as if he wanted to consolidate the effect he had produced and then straightened. Kurt's heart was beating much faster than before. And he had to work hard to cope with it. However, Kurt calmly got up from the table and said with an imperturbable smile, "Your time is up, Mr. Fenrir. I ask you to leave. I have a lot of work to do." He looked into John's eyes without fear, without servility. John smirked and left Kurt's house.

Until the end of the day, Kurt sorted his notes, but his thoughts were elsewhere. He was thinking about John's visit, about his behavior. There was no doubt about it - Kurt's attending reception on Friday night had displeased John, so now he wanted to take revenge?

"And he associates himself with a wild beast... classic," Kurt smiled. "I invaded his territory, received an invitation from his younger brother; so I'm no less than a spy. He spoke with me familiarly and behaved very rudely. He was brought up in a very wealthy family, so I have no doubt about his upbringing. That's why his behavior is explained only by genuine grievance, which he, as a child, clothed in such rough shape and displayed, hoping to hurt me. Isn't it incredible? To come to the house of the most eminent psychologist in London, burst into the office, and take him to pieces. I think it is consistent with his nature, his self-esteem. But the strange thing is that I understand all this, yet I'm nervous."

Kurt stood up from the desk and walked to the window. The street was dark; lights shone dimly, and rare passers-by were hurrying home.

I've talked to him face to face just once. His thinking was quite relevant to the existing stereotypes, and he has not hit me with anything extraordinary yet. Gossip is sure an effective thing! Just two persons painted him to me in strong colors, and I gave free rein to my imagination. And we can deceive ourselves sometimes much better than others.

Kurt calmed down. He gathered all the records again and put them in a drawer.

Seated in the living room, where the fireplace crackled, Kurt was reading a book. Eliza brought him a cup of hot tea with honey and lemon; she looked incredibly happy. Her eyes sparkled.

"Thank you, Eliza." Kurt put down the book and looked at her. "How was your meeting with Philip?"

When Kurt spoke his name, he noticed Eliza's eyebrows twitching, and she could hardly restrain a smile.

"Mr. Danee is a very talented artist and a true gentleman," she said.

"And when will the portrait be ready?" Kurt asked, knowing that he would certainly have to let his maid take the day off more than once.

"Mr. Danee said it would take at least two more sessions to finish."

"Mm-hmm," Kurt nodded, unperturbed. "If it's worth the time, I don't mind." He smiled and hid behind the book.