When Jane opened her eyes again, she was back on the couch in Victor's cabin. The couch had been moved closer to the fireplace so that she was bathed in the heat from the burning logs and she was wrapped in a soft blanket.
Her head hurt, and when she raised her hand to feel the wound the blanket fell from her shoulders, and she discovered that she was naked. Fear and panic clutched at her soul as she pulled the blanket around herself as if to form a shield. What had happened? Why was she nude? Did he force himself on her while she was unconscious?
She fought the urge to cry and sat up when Victor entered the room Jane struggled with the urge to scream at the sight of him as he set a bottle of wine on the small table in front of her.
"You stripped me naked. Why?" she stated.
"I had no choice. You were soaked to the skin and shaking from the cold."
"Where are my clothes?"
"Over there."
Her clothes were draped over the back of a chair to the left of the fireplace. She pulled the blanket tighter around her naked body and Victor gave her a faint smile.
"You have nothing that I have not seen before."
"May I have one of your shirts?"
When Victor rose and headed to the back of the cabin, Jane lunged for her backpack. She discovered that all her cameras were missing. She started retreating back to the couch when she heard Victor returning.
"I have hidden your cameras as I want no pictures taken of me," he said simply as he handed her a soft looking peasant shirt. He then turned his back so she could put it on.
She poured herself a goblet of wine and took a healthy swallow. Jane then just stared at him for a few seconds.
"OK, this time, you can't bullshit me. I saw bolts on your neck and a bolt of lightning strike you."
"You mean these?" he asked as he set down what looked like a half of a collar with bolts sticking out each end.
"It's heavy," she commented as she picked it up to examine it.
"It is made out of 99.9% pure silver. One of the best conductors of electricity."
"So I can surmise that you are Frankenstein's monster?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to kill me now that I know your secret?" Jane asked as she trembled as tears formed in her eyes.
Victor looked insulted as she spoke.
"I have no intentions of killing you so dry your eyes. And for the record, I dislike the word monster."
Jane tucked the blanket around her waist even though the shirt tails went past her butt and dried her eyes. Victor refilled her goblet and took one for himself.
"Silence? Not two days ago you talked about meeting Frankenstein's creation. Now he is sitting here in front of you, and you're silent."
"I'm afraid," Jane said simply.
"Of me? What nonsense. I rescued you, and we have shared our lives with each other. Now you're afraid of me?"
"Did you actually meet Mary Shelly Wollstonecraft?" Jane asked.
"Yes, I did, along with her husband Shelly and that thundering bore Lord Byron. By the way, she was nowhere as pretty as Elsa Lancaster looked playing her in the Bride of Frankenstein."
"You really inspired her to write that novel?"
"Yes. It was during one of the few moments that we had alone that I told her the story of a dead man brought back to life."
"The bolts were not mentioned in the book."
"No, she didn't think to include them. I was pleased when Universal used them in their movies."
"But you killed your creator," Jane said,
"I did not. He chased me across the frozen wastelands and died of exposure."
"Did you kill his fiancee?" she asked.
"Yes. He promised me a mate and backed out of our deal. I was angry and had not learned to control my temper, And please don't tell me what the book says. I read it when it was first published and I wasn't really pleased. I probably have the first edition in my collection," Victor continued.
"It would be worth some money," Jane told him.
"Now you must swear that you will never reveal my existence to anyone and I do mean anyone."
"You have my word," Jane promised.
"Good. Then it's time I show you everything," Victor said as he rose and extended his hand.
Jane hesitated for a moment and then took his hand.
