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The heavy rain pattered against the window, leaving mighty big droplets to stick to the glass, only for them to slide down off of it seconds later and for new ones to take their place. The weather didn’t seem to want to clear up any time soon, it has been like that for the past few weeks now, and thus this will be another day spent inside the confinement of the four walls of her room in the hotel. To entertain herself and keep herself from losing her mind to boredom, Madame Romanski has been flipping playing cards into an old hat that she found lying somewhere in her wardrobe. As a sort of difficulty she placed the hat on the wheelchair part of James, and it was indeed harder that way, she hasn’t gotten a single card inside the hat yet, only near it. The automaton of course had a say in it, or at least he thought he did before his mistress completely ignored his protests and just did as she wished, as always, and he was reduced to nothing more, but an over-glorified hat rack. As a sort of payback he decided to completely ignore her and buried his head in the newspaper, completely blocking out even the very image of the old woman and it seemed to have worked. Helena was growing tired of the only noise breaking the silence between them to be the sound of the heavy rain pouring outside and decided to chat up the automaton.
- What are you reading there, James?
No answer, he wasn’t giving in that easily.
- Is it anything interesting?
Again no response, just an overly dramatic way of turning the pages and ruffling the papers to make noise, but nothing more.
- I see, so that’s how you want it to be. … Fine by me. … I don’t care.
She folded her arms and tapped her foot, and the automaton felt triumphant from the sound of her huffing in anger, sadly it didn’t last for long.
- James … heads up!
- What?
The remainder of the card deck was thrown in his direction and he hardly had time to hold up the newspaper to defend himself from the sudden attack. Now that the tables have turned, Helena was once again gleeful, and not only that, but she also finally won at her own game with getting a few cards inside the hat as well.
- Oh, look I finally figured out how to win!
- Congratulations, Madame … bravo ... I knew you could do it … I always believed in you.
He replied in the most unenthusiastic tone as he came out from hiding behind the papers and brushed a few cards off of his shoulders.
- No need for sarcasm, James!
- It’s how I was programmed, Madame. It can’t be helped.
- Oh, shut up already and clean up the place!
The automaton looked around and noted the cards that were scattered in every possible direction of the room and then looked back at his mistress.
- Go on! What are you waiting for?
He made a half-hearted attempt at trying to reach the ones nearest to him, not that he would’ve been able to reach them in the first place anyway, but an overly dramatic presentation of it was necessary before he returned his gaze back to his mistress.
- I’m terribly sorry, Madame, but I can’t seem to reach it. You know, bad back and all.
The old woman huffed again before getting up from her seat, walking over to his side and glaring at him, before picking up the cards herself.
- You’re completely useless!
- Complain to my creator for it!
Right after that comment he decided it was best to return to reading and hiding behind the newspaper once more now that he bought up Hans Voralberg again. He was preparing for another fight that usually occurred between them every time he dared to make a snide remark about his creator and the once sweetheart of Helena Romanski, but it didn’t seem to come this time around and only after enough time had passed did he dare to look at her. She still busied herself with cleaning up the room, not even caring that he was still there and the silence between them started to grow just as heavy as the rain outside.
- Madame, I …
- You know I should really trade you for a dog.
- … Pardon?
- At least you can teach a dog to do a few tricks, you on the other hand …
- Ah, yes, stand, sit, roll over … I can’t do any of that. … I can recite Shakespeare though.
- What good am I with a butler that knows a few witty lines?
- You can show me off to guests.
- What guests? No one ever comes to visit … not anymore. … I’m stuck with you.
- A real tragedy.
- You can say that again. The greatest opera singer of the Soviet era ended up with … the dullest man ever.
- Automaton, Madame, if you may.
- Oh, what does it matter? I was once hailed by kings, courted by princes, grown men would sink to their knees when they heard the first notes of my recital. My voice could break crystal glass and hearts, many, many hearts of men.
She laughed to herself as James mumbled that she could add one automaton to that list as well.
- What did you say?
- Nothing, Sugar … I mean Madame.
He tried to return to hiding once again, but the safety of the newspaper was torn from his hands by his mistress.
- Do you know how to play?
- … Play what?
Then he noticed she was done with cleaning up and held up the cards to him.
- Oh, card games … I … not really …
- Do you know anything that’s fun?
- I know solitaire.
- Can we play that together?
- That … that’s a one man game, Madame.
- Oh, I see …
She decided to throw the hat that was still there away to take its place in the seat of the wheelchair instead, and waved the cards at James while looking up at him.
- You can still teach me, right?
- O-of course, Madame. As you wish.
He started to set up the cards while explaining the rules to her.
- First comes the Ace, then the numbers from 2 all the way to 10, then the Joker, then the Queen … and on top of the Queen comes the King.
The wording could have been better, but it did get a good laugh out of her and that seemed to be his intention.
- Not like that, Madame.
- I know … I know …
She lightly hit his chest with the back of her hand and he continued on with explaining the rules.
- After you pile up all the symbols in the 4 stacks you win.
- That’s all?
- That’s all, Madame.
- It doesn’t sound too entertaining.
- It’s good to pass the time with.
- Will you help me play?
- … If, Madame wishes to, then yes. By all means.
He watched her flip the cards and stack them up in piles, running her long fingers across them, occasionally helping her and guiding her hand in the right direction, but as time passed he was needed less and less and just ended up wrapping his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulders, taking in her perfume and absent mindedly playing with her necklace, he could have stayed like that forever, but her words broke the silence once again.
- What was that, Madame?
- I just said you don’t have to hold me like that, James. I’m not that helpless.
- … Oh! I’m terribly sorry! I … I didn’t mean to …
He quickly pulled his arms away from her and tried to put as much distance between them that was physically possible, which wasn’t much, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and got up from the wheelchair and moved over to his side.
- Was it not entertaining? … The game … I mean.
- Not really. It really is only good to pass the time with.
- Well, as Madame has so cleverly put it, I am the dullest man ever.
- Automaton.
- Does it matter?
Again only the sound of the rain broke the silence for a good few minutes.
- I … I’ll go lay down, James …
- And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
She smiled.
- Shakespeare?
- Naturally. Is it not better than me playing dead or bringing Madame her slippers?
- I wouldn’t mind it if you would bring them to me in the morning, but …
She leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek.
- I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The sudden affection left him dumbfounded and sputtering all sorts of gibberish while his mistress just smiled at him.
- Woof … erm ... I mean … I … I’ll go and prepare tea until then … Sleep well, Sugar … Madame … G-goodbye!
He quickly rolled out of the room trying and failing at hiding his excitement as Helena just continued to smile at the flustered automaton.