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Chapter 24
“Anna. Anna!”
Someone grabbed my shoulder and shook me. It took me a few seconds to recognize the voice. Barely tearing myself away from the dream, I looked up at Albert. It happened to me sometimes, and Albert must have known by now—I had dreamt the same dream again.
He wiped my face with a towel dampened in water. His eyes looking down at me were filled with concern.
“Anna, are you alright?”
“I’m fine… it was just a dream.”
“I thought something had happened. You suddenly screamed.”
I glanced out the window. Dawn had already broken. Albert had stayed by my side the whole time, not even going home for a day. I felt guilty, but I couldn’t help it.
I simply couldn’t be alone. Even the faintest sound outside the gate sent me into panic, locking the door and hiding for hours.
“Bertie, I’m sorry. I just…”
He took my rambling hand and only gave me a small smile.
“It’s fine. Just as you said.”
“I want to leave this place already. I’m so tired of living in hiding. I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“As soon as the sun rises, we’ll leave. Just get some sleep and we’ll be gone. It’s alright, Anna. I’ll be right beside you. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Hearing that, I closed my eyes. Yes, I wasn’t alone. There was someone beside me I could trust. That alone gave me the courage to fall asleep again.
Albert turned off the lamp. His voice whispered gently through the dark.
“Once we’re on the train, everything will be alright. For you, and for me…”
He stayed by me until I drifted into sleep. Sitting silently at the bedside… what was he thinking?
It was the end of a long, weary week.
The day had come for the Orient Express to depart.
We cleared the house completely. It didn’t take much time—after all, I didn’t have many belongings. This wasn’t a trip. It was leaving for good. I didn’t want to leave even the smallest trace behind.
What bothered me was that Giles knew about the train. I couldn’t shake the thought that he might chase us all the way to the station. I clung to Albert, refusing to let him drift from my side.
He drove us himself. I sat in the backseat, silently watching the passing scenery.
It was the season of blossoming spring flowers. Even in Ipswin, once shaken by revolution, a measure of peace had returned. Children in spring clothes ran alongside the car, giggling, before falling behind.
The station was a little far from where I had lived.
“Anna, what do you want to do when we get to Vittelsden?”
Albert suddenly asked as he drove. It wasn’t something I had ever thought about, so I had to pause before answering.
“First, I guess we’ll have to find a place to live.”
“Not that. I mean, something you’d like to do. Maybe go to a restaurant, visit somewhere…”
“I don’t really know.”
Ordinary people, it seemed, thought of such things when leaving for a new place. But not me. Longing or anticipation for another land was secondary. I was leaving Ipswin only because of Giles Hessen.
I had made a new identity. Eloise Bismar was completely dead now. No one believed she still lived.
No one except one man—the only one who knew my real name, the cause of all my misery. He was a soldier, ruthless, and he wanted me. And I had abandoned him and fled.
Two seasons had turned, and he should have forgotten me by now, yet he stubbornly hunted for my trail.
In the end, I had to run again.
In Vittelsden, I wanted only one thing: the right to live openly. The freedom to walk the streets, shoulders straight, looking others in the eye. That was all I wished for.
“Come to think of it, I’m not very good with foreign languages,” I murmured. In my desperation to escape, I hadn’t even considered the language barrier.
“What if I can’t even shop at the market? I could get scammed if I can’t speak properly.”
“You won’t need to worry about that.”
“Why not?”
“Because Anna Keating will never go to the market herself again.”
I didn’t quite understand what he meant. But then again, was the market really important? I longed for the kind of life where I could worry about such trivial things instead.
Resting my head against the window, I suddenly said,
“Maybe I should get a cat.”
“Why that, all of a sudden?”
“No reason… just thought of it. I don’t like empty silence in a house.”
“Anna, let me warn you, they’re not easy creatures. They only look tame and cute, but they’re predators through and through. You might end up having to cater to them.”
“Strangely, I like the sound of that.”
I chuckled softly.
“I think we could be good friends.”
After a while, Albert pointed out the window. I straightened up. An old station was coming into view.
He parked in a suitable spot and unloaded the luggage. I clung to his side as we walked toward the station, scanning the crowd constantly, terrified of catching sight of Giles.
The place was already bustling with travelers boarding the train. Albert pushed through the throng ahead of me, clearing a path so I could follow easily.
Finally, we stood before the platform.
“Anna, this is it. The train we’re taking.”
I lifted my gaze. A massive steam locomotive loomed, belching thick smoke.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the dark, hulking machine. It was hard to believe that such a beast could carry me all the way to Vittelsden. Just how much power did it take to move something like that?
We followed the crowd aboard. To my surprise, it wasn’t filled with coal and soot as I had imagined. Inside, it felt completely different, almost disorienting compared to the grim exterior.
Finely carved wood and elegant interiors surrounded me. Lamps hung at intervals, glowing with warm light.
For a fleeting moment, I thought of the Bismar estate.
“We’re on the right train, aren’t we?” I asked.
Albert nodded.
“Yes. It’s the right one. Of course it’s different from ordinary trains. Just think of it as comfort until we arrive. You don’t get to ride an express like this often.”
He guided me in one direction, and I followed blindly. It was my first time on a train. I knew nothing.
I expected him to take me to a cabin to leave our things. But instead, he brought me to… a dining hall.
Giles Hessen scanned the station. As far as he knew, this station had been closed for years. Yet at this moment, it teemed with travelers.
It felt like stepping into the past, as if out of a science-fiction tale. Perhaps Montreal station, too, once had days like this.
What was happening? A closed station, throngs of passengers, a sudden appearance of an express train, tickets that shouldn’t exist… One thing was certain: this wasn’t the work of a lone individual. There was something much bigger behind it.
He had hoped Anna wouldn’t board, but it was already too late. She hadn’t believed him, and by now she would be on the train. There were too many riddles to unravel. To get answers, he had no choice but to board as well.
Giles couldn’t leave Anna alone. Months had passed, yet inside he was still hollow. Just like before, he needed a force to drive him forward… and in the dark tunnel of his life, the only light was her.
Anyone left alone in the dark eventually goes mad. To keep from falling apart, Giles needed Anna—not to demand anything from her, but simply for her to exist, intact, within his sight. That would be enough.
If only by that, both of them might survive.
Blending into the crowd, Giles boarded the train. Dressed out of uniform, he looked like any ordinary traveler.
After a brief look around the opulent interior, he began searching for Anna’s trail. His ideal scenario was to find her, convince her, and slip out before the train departed.
He had to find her.
Just then, as he moved toward the dining car, a steward stepped in his path and said politely,
“Sorry, sir, but Dining Car No. 2 is full. You’ll find No. 1 straight ahead in the opposite direction. We ask for your understanding.”
“I’m looking for someone. We were supposed to meet here, and she might be inside. Couldn’t you make an exception?”
The steward remained unmoved.
“For the convenience of our passengers, we must insist. Thank you for your understanding.”
Giles was no longer a soldier here. The rules were different. He couldn’t simply knock the steward aside as if on duty.
There was no helping it. Giles decided to back off. But just as he turned away—
HOOOOOO― The train roared, belching steam. The scenery outside began to shift sideways.
The journey of the Orient Express had just begun.
