Love Pattern Londonesque

  Spring evenings are special. You never know what to expect from them, they are always full of surprises and surprises. And then it is so unbearable to feel at the same time a pleasant fresh aroma of foliage and the bitterness of resentment and disappointment. So it was at the end of May a few years ago, when I was sitting on a fallen tree in the forest near our house and saw a happy Ashley walking along the edge of the forest thirty paces from me, because that's where we almost always met. Now he's waiting for me to come, fiddling with the second button of his police uniform in his usual impatience, and I don't dare go up to him and tell him everything. Somehow gathering my courage, I leave the forest thicket and walk with hesitant steps, quietly, to Ashley. The whole picture is still before my eyes.
My knight has excellent hearing, and of course he heard me.
“Honey, finally! It's been so long since we've seen each other! It seems like an eternity since we last met! I called you all the time, but no one answered. You forbade me to come to your house, or I would have waited for you there long ago. Well, tell me how you are. You needed time and now you're thinking of something? Why are you so sad? Anything wrong? Do not hide anything from me, I am always ready to help you.”
"Wait. I wanted to tell you some important news that concerns you personally. It concerns us personally. Anyway, I can't wait any longer, and I have to tell you.”
"What is it, darling?”
“I'm getting married…”
” I didn't understand you very clearly. Really you... agreed?”
I realized that I had chosen the wrong way to communicate my plans jumping into things.
Ashley proposed to me the last time I saw him, but I asked for time to think about it. A month passed, and every time I was going to call him, I gave up. I couldn't bring myself to tell Ashley that I couldn't marry him. And it was all about my grand-tante. She said that she was against marrying Ashley, even though she had never even met him, and so she chose a life partner for me, who worths it, in her opinion. And grand-tante was not embarrassed by the coldness with which I communicated with him. But there was no way to delay the news now.
"No, you heard it right. I'm getting married, but not you.”
"I beg your pardon? Are there any other candidates? Oh, I'm sorry, dear, of course, a girl like you should have a lot of fans. But not all of them dare to take such a responsible step?”
"You're absolutely right, a lot of young people were courting me. But you don't have to know who I'm marrying. Besides, you have never met him tet a tet. I'm so sorry, but we have to break up. I don't want to continue dating with you. Farewell, Ashley.”
"No, wait. Explain what was wrong with me at least. You just walk away without saying a word about the reason at such a moment!”
Such a reaction was expected on my part. Ashley and I were dating for more than six months, he was in love with me at first sight and did everything for my happiness. But I couldn't tell him all the thoughts of my grand-tante. She told me not so long ago, when we were once again arguing about my future life, that she would leave me penniless if I did not behave like she desires. My feelings for Ashley were the strongest I could possibly feel, but the fear of becoming a pauper got the better of me and I gave up. I didn't know at that time that Ashley's intentions for me would be so serious. And my grand-tante decided to strike while iron is hot, and hastily arranged a public engagement, and I was trapped. The very next day, Ashley said that he wants to connect with me for the rest of his life, and I couldn't hold back the tears, although I told him that it was out of joy.
"Ashley, please don't get me wrong. Grand-tante wants me to marry this guy. It's not my wish.”
With a sigh, I told Ashley everything that was weighing on my soul.
When I finished speaking, I saw nothing but longing in his eyes. He wasn't offended or angry, but an indescribable longing, longing and sadness were clearly visible in his gaze. He sincerely said that he wanted me to be happy, and he was not going to interfere with us any more.
I couldn't breathe, and my chest was aching, and my legs felt weak, as if they were eating in the wind. I couldn't stay in the company of the unhappy man, even though we could have been a wonderful family. As if in a dream, I uttered two or three words of politeness in farewell, and without even listening to the answer, I rushed through the forest to the road that led to the house where I lived with grand-tante. I ran for quite a long time, and this calmed me down a little. Grand-tante was not at home, and I was able to walk in alone. Like a movie, my brain replayed the events of the last few days. I realized that from now on and forever my life will change. I will not be able to see my loved one, I will be in the company of people who are indifferent to me around the clock. It was obvious to me that Alexander, my imposed grand-tante fiance, was pretending to be attached to me only by knowing what I was entitled to in the form of an inheritance. And that made him more repugnant to me, and I almost hated him at that moment.
While I was sitting in the living room under the impression of all this, grand-tante came back. She had always been prone to thinness, but in old age she had become almost a skeleton, and wearing only gray colours, she looked like a wolf, which was very consistent with her character and manners.
"Charlotte, dear, are you here yet? I never expected you to come so soon. I see you've been walking in the forest again. Combien pouvez-vous!* After all, I told you how dangerous it can be for a young girl there.”
"Ah, grand-tante, stop it, I beg of you! There is no one in our forest except birds and frogs, dragonflies and midges. And I wanted to get some fresh air.”
"Still, if you had gone for a walk like this with Alexander, I would have felt safer for you, and you would have gotten to know your fiance better." By the way, I have met him in town today, and he promised he'd come over for dinner tonight. Well, well, aren't you glad, my lamb? This is such an opportunity, because he is a busy person and will not always be ready to come to you like this. Au nom de Dieu, stop arguing with me. That's silly, really. He is your fiance, and everyone knows it, and it is not good for a bride to avoid her chosen one.”
“Your chosen one, grand-tante, yours! You were the one who wanted me to marry him, although I don't know what the difference is - this one or dozens of others who are also trying to become your relative and get an inheritance.”
"You know why I chose Alexander. I was his mother's best friend, and I swore to her the day she died that I would take care of him. A young man from such a noble family, a father who is a war hero, a mother who is the kindest woman, he himself studied at the best universities, he is in love with you, what else do you want? I do not understand, I have found such a good husband for you, what is rare in our time, and you are dissatisfied and do not want to receive him as a guest!”
"Grand-tante, please, let's end this conversation. I don't mind having dinner with Alexander, he's a really nice person, and even if I don't like him personally, then he has a chance to fix it today.”
"Well, good girl, that's what I was counting on. Well, I'll go get everything ready, and you get yourself cleaned up, too, and I'll see you in half an hour.”
I was depressed and didn't want to receive any guests. I wish I'd locked myself in my room and stayed there at least until morning. But, as I had promised grand-tante, I went down to the drawing-room again in half an hour. Grand-tante was already there, standing by the fireplace. She turned, and I noticed a large gift box on the mantelpiece.
"Charlotte, I'd like to give you a gift for your wedding, which we'll discuss over dinner tonight. This is a very valuable item and I hope you will like it. Open the box and try it on.”
I wasn't in a state to feign excitement, but I found the strength to force a smile and open the gift.
A magnificent mask of turquoise and sapphires, decorated with peacock feathers, a Venetian mask that glittered as brightly as a royal crown, was inside. The mask was clearly a woman's one, judging by the delicate features of the smile and eyes, and the size of it was more suitable for a woman. I put it to my face, grand-tante tied the ribbons, and I went to the mirror. The mask looked great on me, its colors and shape perfectly matched my hair, eyes, and oval face. Grand-tante admired her project of me, although I was sure that if the desire to distract me from thinking about the qualities of the groom was not so strong, the mask would be worn by herself now.
"Thank you for such a gorgeous gift, grand-tante. I'm very pleased, but I really don't know what to do with this mask, as it is weird to wear it outdoors.”
"Well, that's not a problem. A mask, and even more so a Venetian mask, can not only be worn, but also used as a decoration. It will look great over the travel souvenir console in your room.”
"Yes, I think you're right, grand-tante. Let me put it back for now, so as not to frighten Alexander. Let's go to the dining room.”
There was no conversation as everybody could expect. Grand-tante tried to keep me busy by showing me wedding dress magazines, but I was thinking about Ashley and answering her absently.
Alexander arrived a minute late, but apologized profusely to us as if he had kept us waiting for at least an hour. Grand-tante was all politeness, but her obsessive desire to make me talk to Alexander all through dinner irritated me not a little. Alexander did not particularly want to disappoint grand-tante, and so at the end of the evening he asked if he could talk to me alone, which grand-tante was very happy about. As a result, we were left alone in the living room, where the box with the mask was still standing. Alexander talked about his affairs, about his plans for our life together, about the upcoming wedding. And in the end he asked:
“Charlotte, tell me, how did you like my wedding gift?”
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. What gift are you talking about?”
"Well, your grand-tante promised when we have met today that she would give you my present. I wanted to give you an ancient Venetian ...
- Oh, that's what you mean. I thought it was a gift from grand-tante. It turns out that things are different. Well, thank you, too. I really liked the mask.
Alexander was over the moon, and in every way he tried to prove to me how happy we would be. But soon it seemed to him that I was not interested in him, after a while he became sure of this and preferred to gradually withdraw. I couldn't seem to realize that I was destined to be on extremely close terms with him. I opened the box again, took a look at the mask, and left it on the mantelpiece and went back to my room.
 
 
In the morning  before I could go out on the balcony to get some air, I heard grand-tante was shouting below. This happend extremely rarely, despite the old lady's advanced age, and I hurried to the living room to find out what had so sad of her. I ran down the stairs and saw grand-tante standing in the middle of the living room, clutching her head, over a box of mask and almost moaning. I immediately ran to her.
"What, what is it, grand-tante? Something with the mask? Don't be silent!”
Grand-tante stopped moaning and pointed to the open box. The mask wasn't there. I looked around, holding grand-tante's hand, but the mask was nowhere to be seen.
"What are we going to tell Alexander now, Charlotte? The mask is gone and now you will not have to count on his desire to marry you. Are you sure you didn't take the mask with you yesterday?
"Yes, I remember exactly how I left it here. I still remember not putting the lid on the box... Oh yeah. Perhaps someone saw her from the street, through the window.
Grand-tante immediately came to her senses, in such situations, she was able to pull herself together with an effort of will.
- Yes, exactly, what else could have happend? The window is in front of the fireplace, the mask is a noticeable thing, someone ran through and saw it. All right, we need to go the police right away. Hurry up! It's also better to tell Alexander nothing.
 
 
 
As luck would have it, grand-tante chose the police station where Ashley served. How surprised he was when we entered, but I gave him a sign that he would not discover our acquaintance.
"Mr. Police Chief, something extraordinary has happened in our house! An ancient Venetian mask that my great-niece had received as a wedding present from her fiance was missing.”
Ashley's face fell visibly at this.
"I'll try to help you in any way I can. First I need to know what the mask looks like so I can identify it.
- Well, it's all decorated with turquoise and sapphires and peacock feathers...
- No, no, excuse me, ladies, I need a more accurate description of the mask, otherwise I may be mistaken.
Ashley looked at me so quizzically, as if he wanted to find out if this grand-tante of mine was the one I was so afraid of disappointing with my choice of groom. Grand-tante clearly didn't like his tone.
"How many of these masks will you find? However, Charlotte is very good at painting and can quite adequately portray her. Honey, do me a favor.”
I asked them to bring the paint and paper, and in half an hour the sketch, by which you can recognize the mask, was ready.
"Very well, that will make my task much easier. Now, I need to find out some other facts.
When Ashley had written down all our answers, he assured us that everything would be all right, and escorted us to the door. I let  grand-tante pass, so Ashley managed to slip a note into my hand, which I immediately tucked into my sleeve.
We returned home, where we were not waiting for the surprise, namely Alexander. I honestly told him everything that had happened, ignoring the first pitying, and then a little thunderous glances from grand-tante. Alexander, oddly enough, was not quite indignant, as if he had secretly taken the mask himself.
"If you excuse me, I'd like to speak to your niece in private, which is very important and concerns what happened."
Grand-tante left us, apparently decided that Alexander did not want to marry me anymore because of such a scandalous case.
"I wanted to tell you something about my gift, to prove that it is really gift of mine, and not of your grand-tante. After all, you probably thought that it was grand-tante's idea and I only listened to her advice to give you a mask.”
So, you know that the mask is an ancient Venetian treasure, which is associated with the legend. Some people think that this is a pure fairy tale. But I believe it was all true. The mask belonged to a princess. And she, like every other princess, had a knight. So, for a long time they were dating in secret and everything else that should be in such a story. But one day the knight had to leave. I honestly don't remember the destination: whether to war, or to another city on behalf of the king, or something like that. And before he left, the king held a big carnival, where both the knight and the princess were invited, of course. Before the carnival, the princess did not know that her knight was leaving the next day - he only told her about it at the carnival. The princess, of course, was very upset, but the knight suggested that they go to an old man who could work miracles, who could help their love survives the separation. When they came to him, he actually agreed to help?     But in a very peculiar way. Since they came right after the carnival, as there wasn't much time left, they still had their masks on. The elder thought for a long time, and then asked for permission to take the masks, turned away, whispered something, turned the masks over and gave them back, but on the contrary. The princess had the knight's mask, and the knight had her mask. The wizard told them that the masks were now enchanted in such a way that when the knight left, he would still have her mask, which could come alive and be a princess. The same thing will happen with his mask, which the princess left behind. They were still sad to part, though they consoled themselves that they would have some memory of each other. After all, the times were so dangerous that the knight might not return... Aren't you interested?”
Alexander looked disappointed, because I really hadn't been listening to his story very carefully. At the time, I was even partly glad that the mask was gone, otherwise I would have had to see it in my room constantly, and seeing the gift of a person I hated was the worst punishment. Besides, I wanted our conversation to stop as soon as possible so I could read Ashley's note. However, I chose to look complacent.
"No, I'm listening to you with great curiosity. It's just that I don't feel well and I might seem distant. Go ahead.
"All right. In that case, I won't delay. As you have already understood, the masks became charmed and were able to come to life. The knight left that night, taking the princess's mask with him and leaving his own with her. Time passed, and the knight did not return, but he wrote letters, though very rarely. The princess's feelings for the knight were slowly fading, despite the fact that the knight's mask came to life and spoke to her almost every day, and she became engaged to another at the request of the king. But on the day of the wedding, the princess refused to marry this courtier, and could not say the reason, as if she did not know it. The wedding, of course, was canceled, and in the evening, no one could find the princess for dinner. As it turned out later, her knight returned and they ran away. After that, when the king, the rejected bridegroom of the princess, and the whole court came to her chambers, they saw the masks of the lovers come to life. The masks told them the whole truth, and they also said that the princess and the knight would never come back to those who wanted to destroy their happiness. Centuries have passed, these people passed away, yet their masks are still here with us. Or rather, one of them. I couldn't find the other one. So now, in conclusion...
“Yes, let's now you tell the very essence. You mean the mask came back to life and ran away from me, don't you?”
“Yes, you guessed it. Now it remains to find out everithing”.
"In what way?"
"That's what I want to ask you. The mask could not have gone anywhere other than to the owner's lover, if you remember the legend. It is not at my house. So, there is some other person with who you are in love with. And I, then, was in the role of the rejected guy?
"I have already told you that I have already choosen you as my fiance. And please, let's leave this conversation. I'd like to be alone.
This was too much. I am not prepared to be reproached for my heart's affections, no matter who the person is who has ventured to express them to me. Alexander pursed his lips, looked around, clearly looking for support in the face of my grand-tante, but, finding none, hurried away.
I breathed a sigh of relief, touched my forehead, which was slightly sweaty from so many events, and went to my room, fortunately not meeting the grand-tante on my way. When I reached the door and was about to open it, I took out the note that had been lying in the sleeve of my jacket all this time, pushed the door open, and gave a little cry at the unexpected sight that presented itself to my eyes. In the place where the grand-tante wanted to put my mask, there was another mask hanging. White and a bit golden, with the same peacock feathers as mine, the mask attracted incredible attention and was the first to catch the eye when entering the room. It took me a long time to get closer, but finally I took a few steps in that direction and even took the mask off the wall. Turning it over in my hands, I automatically put it to my face and suddenly realized that the mask is much larger than it is necessary. "It's a man's mask," I thought. "What if... Yes, if Alexander was right, and this mask belonged to that knight and now it turned out to be in some unthinkable way with me?". I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out again at my own thoughts, remembering Ashley's note, and put the mask down on the console. Ashley wrote that he had something to tell me about the missing mask case, but that he didn't want to share it with grand-tante, that is why he was likely to talk to me first, so he wanted to meet me in the city center so as not to attract too much attention.
Since it was still afternoon, and the meeting with Ashley was supposed to be in the evening, I went downstairs for coffee and asked how grand-tante was feeling about all this excitement. But I found a note on a table saying that she had gone out for a walk and would be back soon. So I sat down at the table alone and, having nothing better to do, began to leaf through the first magazine I saw. I needed something to distract me, but even then I could not forget about what had happened, because on the second page I came across an article in which the author argued that all people are characterized by hypocrisy in one form or another, and that we all wear different masks depending on situations, life positions, and so on. This thought seemed reasonable to me, and I remembered the legend again. "But really, probably, the masks are the same reflection of the soul, each-its master, princess and knight. Maybe it's not all an accident? Anyway, I need to meet up with Ashley. Maybe he knows some legend too?". That, I thought, would be fun. The more I recalled Alexander's story, the more it seemed to me that I, Ashley, and Alexander were like the princess, the knight, and that another poor guy.
Without waiting for the grand-tante, I left for the city.
 
 
Ashley was waiting for me near the Tate Modern. We decided to walk to this place.
"Please, let's talk abput the case. And everithing else is for later. You know, it became important for me to find this mask. And why did you call me so soon, did you know where it was beforehand?”
Instead of answering, Ashley took a bag of obviously heavy contents out of his backpack and handed it to me. I opened it and couldn't believe what I saw. My mask was there. Apparently, my expression was so dumbfounded that Ashley couldn't help but chuckle, but as soon as I recovered a little and looked at him sternly, he hurried to explain what had happened:
"I found it at my house. Amazing! And how could it be there? Do you understand anything? I don't.”
“I don't know why it happened. Or rather, I may know. Is there anything else wrong with you?"
"You're right. A week ago, a distant relative of mine who had lived in Italy for a long time passed away, and for some reason he decided that I would also be one of his heirs, although we had only met a couple of times. And as a legacy, he left me one or two paintings and, you won't believe it, a Venetian mask from the Middle Ages! He liked collecting such things. What a coincidence, huh?”
“Something extremely disturbing…”
"Well, it went missing this morning! And then you come to me with your grand-tante and talk about an identical situation. Of course, I wanted to meet you right away. But the most shocking thing is yet to come. When I went home for a while after the service, I found this mask in the same box, and I immediately realized that it was undoubtedly the one you drew!”
"That's exactly what happened to me! When I was at home, after our meeting in the morning, I went into my room and saw another mask on the wall.”
“Was it white and golden?”
“Yes, with some peacock’s feathers.”
We stood there, thunderstruck, and stared at each other. Then I thought it would be nice to tell Ashley what Alexander had told me.   We finally got to the Tate Modern and went into the mirror room, as we could not discuss it in the street. Ashley listened to me very carefully. All this time I kept the mask in my hands, only when we went inside I covered it with a bag so as not to attract attention. By the time I finished speaking, we were somehow alone in the mirrored room, and the door slammed shut of its own accord because of a draft. But the wind didn't stop rustling, and it felt like we were back in the forest.
“Where did the wind come from indoors?”
"No idea. We have to get out of here somehow. Let's find a way out.”
"There are mirrors everywhere, and we won't find the door, they are all too much alike.”
"So we just have to sit here and wait for them to let us out. Ouch!”
Suddenly, I felt the mask slip out of my hand. But it didn't fall to the floor, as I did not hear the sound of crack, and the room suddenly became blindingly bright, and we couldn't see anything for a few moments. When the lights went back to normal, Ashley and I were standing at opposite ends of the room, wearing the masks. I was put on the one that Alexander had given me and Ashley was put on that on of his died family member.
"What's going on?" I shouted.
"I have no idea!" Ashley replied. "Wait, I’m coming."
But we both stood as if tied to one place. Then the masks spoke. Actually, we just heard what they said, and the impression was like if we saw alive masks themselves, but we saw only our rejection in mirrors.
The female voice spoke first, addressing Ashley:
 
 Be yourself, do not change.
 You stay yourself while you live.
 When the death destroy your image,
 There will be someone you achieve.
 
The white mask’s voice turned to me:

 Tell me honestly: who do you love?
 You know, many people love you.
 But so carelessly you ruin youth,
 What is clear to everyone - you live without loving.
 
Almost immediately after their solemn speech, the masks disappeared. Our souls were easy, and a strange sense of freedom was present after these words: freedom, probably associated with the contradictions within trampled by the cruel truth. Someone, in this case masks, has said the truth, which I prefered have been false. Now I knew there was the only way. I looked into Ashley's eyes, and I realized he was thinking the same.