The Nutcracker Bleeds by Lani Lenore Read Free Book Online Page A

world and Olivia did not. She had no use for
dolls–perhaps only because she had never been granted many of her own growing
up–but she had to admit that the soldier in her grasp was more than a little
bit interesting.
    The
nutcracker was certainly not new in make, but he was masterfully carved. His
face was done with such detail and was smooth with polish. The long white hair
was of such high quality that she might swear it was from a human head. He was
anatomically correct, and every part of his decorative suit was meticulously
engraved.
    He’s
almost real ,
she thought to herself, lifting him up a bit to peer into his hollow eyes. Almost
real enough.
    Weighing
his body in her hands, she turned her attention to the broken leg. Would Olivia
have done this, even in a fit of anger? She loved her toys more than anything
else.
    Olivia
had said that he was bleeding, but as Anne peered down at him, she didn’t see
anything at all.
    She
had almost passed the toymaker’s room before she had realized it, looking down
as she was. This room had always unsettled her, even more than Olivia’s, but
the nanny had never been given much reason to go inside, and that suited her
well. All the glass eyes watching her was one thing alone, but the pieces of
the unfinished toys disturbed her more. The heads without bodies, staring at
her…
    Perhaps
he’s not even here. He could be downstairs.
    “Did
you need something, Anne?” She detected the thump of the cane only after
hearing his voice, and she jumped in surprise. Euan had approached her–stringy
hair, crooked spine, and with a patch over one eye. Anne couldn’t see how he
didn’t frighten the children. He certainly frightened her. His one eye traveled
downward, and he was quick to notice the nutcracker in her grasp.
    “Oh,
what’s happened?” he asked with a furrowed brow.
    “I
don’t know. I wasn’t there,” Anne said dismissively, crossing her arms after
she’d handed over the pieces of the nutcracker “Can you fix it?”
    Euan
stared at the broken nutcracker, and Anne thought she saw a mixture of sadness
and confusion on his worn face, but she could not trouble herself with that.
    “Yes,”
he said finally–absently. “I’ll deliver it back to her later.”
    The
man who seemed so old to Anne–though he was not much older than his brother
William–opened the door of his darkened room. Freezing air rolled out, but Anne
did not see inside before she turned away abruptly, and he pulled the way shut.
     
    6
     
    After
a while, once the house had quieted, Euan knocked twice on Olivia’s door before
he entered without admittance, using his key. He knew she wouldn’t protest, for
he knew he was always welcome here, even in her worst moods.
    He
found her just as he had expected to, sitting on the bed, cross–legged on the
mattress in her night dress. Her long hair was loose and draped over her
shoulders, her watery eyes staring down at the ballerina that danced in front
of her. She’d heard him come in, but she didn’t lift her eyes, simply laying
the doll long–ways across her legs.
    “Why
did Todd hurt them?” Olivia asked. “They did nothing.”
    “Todd
was just upset,” Euan said gently, already suspecting the truth that Todd had
been the one to break the dolls. Olivia hadn’t done this. He knew the girl–knew
her limits and her mind. Euan only regretted that he’d not noticed the young
man’s absence from the hall sooner.
    “He
didn’t mean to hurt your dolls,” Euan said, merely trying to make her feel at
ease.
    “Yes,
he did,” Olivia said, her words forceful. “You don’t have to lie to me.”
    Euan
smiled, taking her pause as a signal to step forward. He seated himself on the
large wooden chest near the foot of her bed. He watched her for several
moments, waiting for her to acknowledge him until finally she looked up and
smiled, almost as though she hadn’t just been crying, wiping her tears away on her
ruffled sleeve cuff.
    He
smiled back