A Man's Black Heart. Nuria Farai

„Aye, but there are many benefits in working here.“ Yes, like looking at the gorgeous Ms. Arnheim. He would work here himself, if he could. Ms. Arnheim now approached, holding a plate with a delicious-looking cake in one hand, and a cup of coffee in her other. „Please.“ „Thank you.“ The children stared at him as he took the spoon, eyed the cake, and slowly, cautiously, took a bit unto his fork. They watched meticulously, as he opened his mouth and put it inside. As he chewed, they eyed him, still. „Children, it is not polite to stare“, Ms. Arnheim admonished gently. „But he looks like he’s never had cake“, a small girl said. „Belle!“, she exclaimed, coloring. „It’s alright“, he said, wiping his mouth with the flowery serviette she had given him. „This is the second time I eat cake.“ „Oh“, they all said. There were suddenly tears in Ms. Arnheim’s sensitive green eyes. She quickly turned around, seemingly looking out of the window. „I wonder where Mr. Vanderbeek is staying“, she said with a shaky voice, trying to give an air of lightness. „He helps me with the repairs“, Seth explained. He kept a sympathetic eye on the woman. A sting of jealousy went through Ryker, which he quickly subdued. He had little heart left, so he could not feel jealousy. She returned to the center of the room, and seated herself in a chair on his right side. „The cake is spectacular“, he said in an attempt to cheer her up, and she smiled sadly. „Mr. Black, the children would like to sing a song for you, if that’s alright. We then have a music lesson and later, drawing“, she explained. „Our teacher is coming in soon.“ „What else do you teach them?“, he asked interestedly. „Mathematics, English, history, natural science, and religion. The elder children learn French, some Italian, as well as philosophy, including political sciences.“ „Honestly?“, he managed to correct himself in time, for there was a coarse word of incredulity on his tongue, and Seth chuckled silently. „Yes.“ „And what is it good for?“ She looked at him indignantly, and he suddenly felt the strong urge to touch those sassy, ruby lips. „You are yourself well-educated, Mr. Black. Did it not help you to build up your life?“ Yes, but my fists and my cunning helped me much more, he wanted to say. But he saw the anxious expression in her face. She wanted him to speak well of her endeavors in education, to motivate even hardened children like Oliver. „Undoubtedly. Every thing one knows helps to understand the world more, and to stand out from the mass of uneducated poor“, he said calmly. He shot a glance to Oliver to emphasise this was meant for him. The boy swallowed, then nodded grimly. „Shall we take a tour de maison?“, Ms. Arnheim asked friendly. He nodded, and got up immediately. „I’ll show Mr. Black the house, and then we will join you for your music lesson and the song, alright?“ „Alright, Louisa“, they said in chorus, and a little girl came to hug her. She lovingly caressed her dark locks. „I’ll be back soon, Thea“.

      „They call you by your given name?“, he asked in surprise, as they mounted the stairs. „Yes. You may also call me Louisa, if you like“, she said in her usual kind manner. „I … I’m Ryker“. Why was he stammering? „I like your name“, she said gently. She was so close now, he could see her fine-pored skin, and the long, dark-blond lashes. And the gold in her long, wavy hair. „You are staring“, she smiled. „Sorry. You are very beautiful. I hope you know how to take care of yourself“, he mumbled. She colored with pleasure. „I do. Come, please.“ She showed him the top rooms, were the children slept, the bathrooms, the homework room, the small library full of children’s books and illustrations, but also encyclopedias, atlases, dictionaries and science books, as well as some novels. Downstairs, they visited the kitchen, the dining room, the pantry, the play room. „I admire your work. You have my respect“, he said gruffly, because his chest felt all contracted. If only he had known her when he was a child. She lay a slender, perfect hand on his arm, then stiffened slightly, when she felt the muscles. He was a man, after all, and she suddenly seemed to realise it. Her lips quivered a little, and he thought he much preferred to know her when they both were adults. „I’m so sorry for you. I wish I had known you as a child. But then, of course, I was a child, too.“ „How old are you?“ „I am twenty.“ „And you do all this.“ „Other woman already have a family. And work very hard. Too hard. This is an extremely cruel world. In Germany, poverty is not so pronounced. England is a country of strong class divides and extreme poverty. It breaks my heart.“ „And yet, it is not broken. It is strong, and enterprising.“ He took her hand gently, and removed it from his arm. She looked flustered. „Let us join the kids for that song", he said softly. If she continued to quiver and stand so close to him, he might kiss her.

      Chapter 3

      He returned the next week to meet with the elder children. He had promised to become a patron and to use his many contacts in the entrepreneur world to help young boys get apprenticeships. Some would become salesmen, others tradesmen or even accountants. Two of them he would place with his own sister. If Louisa had asked him to give her all his money, he would have done it. If he had a functioning heart, he would already love her. She was a stunning, wonderful woman, and she made him ache with desire - and care.

      After a long, rather tedious meeting with three other men involved in the arrangement of apprenticeships, he sped upstairs to say good-bye to her. All the time, he had wondered what she was doing, how she was. Apart from a quick greeting, they had not had time together. He lightly knocked at the door of the laundry room, although it was ajar, to announce his arrival. Her housekeeper, Mrs. Stove, and herself, stood folding bed sheets. She looked angelic, as usual, with her hair piled atop of her head, and a dark-blue, simple day dress. „Ryker“, she smiled, and came to meet him. His breath slowed, when he saw the enticing movement of her hips under the folds of the dress. He quickly looked back into her eyes. She took his hand. „I am so grateful to you“, she murmured in a sweet, low voice. If she continued like this, he would have to leave, immediately. She now looked up at him under long, thick lashes. Her look was not so innocent, anymore. Then again, also a woman like Louisa could use her womanly charms to gratify a man. After all, she wanted him for a sponsor. „I will leave for tonight, Louisa. See you in the morning“, the other woman said, clearly sensing they wanted to be alone. „Yes, thank you, Fanny“, she said, but her eyes never left his. As the elder woman hurried down the stairs, she smiled at him. „Tell me all about it. What placements do you have in mind?“ He explained, and she listened interestedly, asking intelligent questions. He felt completely at ease with her, although he loathed to share opinions on business issues. He decided, full stop. As he stood up to leave, she rose, too. Then, she stepped towards him. „Ryker …“, she said hesitantly, shyly. And then she flashed him a heart-melting smile, that suffused his constricted chest. „How can you be so beautiful, and so good?“, he mumbled, and he drew her into his arms. Before his lips found hers, she managed to murmur: „I’m not so good, right now“, and then she kissed him passionately. Well, no-one could say the woman did it not have it in her. Within minutes, she was so emboldened, and aroused, that she asked him to strip her completely. He had already managed to peel her out of her blouse. Her breasts were as perfect as he had suspected, and firm, and high. He loved running his large hands over them in reverence, but she pressed them down on them. „Knead them, please“, she moaned. „Louisa, I think we should stop.“ „And I think you should continue!“, she said with a small smile. He turned her around, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her neck. „You are a saintly woman. You would be ruined if someone like me were seen with you.“ She wrestled out of his grip, and indignantly, she narrowed her eyes. „You are a wonderful man. I want you, Ryker.“ He faltered. His eyes caught the mirror in the corner of the room. „Come“, he said. He placed her in front of the mirror. She reached to his chin, was graceful, and slender, with her fair, angelic complexion and soft features. She was love, and trust, and goodness. He, however … His hair was pitch-black, his eyes dark-brown and hard, his face was angular, joyless. There were scars on his upper lip, and others on his fists, his under-arms, his ribs … His large body had saved his life countless times. He had been beaten so much in his life, he knew hardly how it felt not to be in pain, for twenty-two years. Now he was twenty-eight, and this angel here wanted him, for some very strange reason. Women had always liked him, that was no surprise. There was something dark and sinister about him that the fairer sex admired. They saw a man in pain, and it awakened their fantasies. He had had many aristocratic women make him offers, too. But rarely did he bed a woman. He felt so lonely, he did not even want someone else to share his body. But she looked at