The simple fact that Chilton was so unwilling to
share what was in his mind made Bedelia want to stop
the session immediately and to refer him to one of her
colleages. Unlike Hannibal, he would probably not try
to continue to see her as his therapist. He might want
to be like her patient she had known for so many years,
yet he was only himself, another psychiatrist attacked
by one of his patients and who was trying to get better.
Bedelia was the only because she agreed to see
him, but if he decided to not put his mind into his
therapy, she would not hesitate to let him deal with his
problems on his own. There was no acceptable excuse
to miss a session, especially when it was so important
for the patient’s future life. She had the possibility to
allow him to work or to force him to leave his position
with a simple letter to the right person and she would
do it without any doubt. No one could play with her.
“A former patient of Doctor Lecter who was referred
to me attacked me and nearly killed me. He swallowed
his tongue while he was attacking me. That is the only
thing that saved my life.” Bedelia looked at her hands
before focusing her attention on the man again. “I am
not hiding anything from you, Doctor Chilton, I simply
do not enjoy talking about this to someone who is not
involved with the police or with that specific patient.”
Half-truth. That was what he would get since she
knew he would not give up until he had what he wanted.
There was nothing else that Bedelia could say to him
concerning her assault without taking the risk to draw
Hannibal’s attention on her. What the F.B.I did not know,
Frederick Chilton did not have to know. Her hands now
folded on her delicate legs, she gave him a faint and
cold smile, some sort of warning that he had to stop his
little questioning if he wanted to keep her as his therapist.
”Now, Frederick.” The blonde woman insisted on his
first name, knowing that it would make him react. He
was not the psychiatrist, not when she was sitting in
front of him. “If you are in therapy to gossip about your
therapist, you will have to find someone else. I will not
tolerate that you act with me as if I was one of your
patients. It does not matter to me that your career
depends on those sessions. Truth is that I could not
care less.” Her voice was calm, but it was a real threat.
Chilton fixed Bedelia with a small, knowing gaze as she shared what had apparently happened to her. “Swallowed his tongue? How unfortunate.” He glanced over at his left hand, playing with his cane absentmindedly. “Such a shame that he died, don't you think?” It was clear that there was more to the story that Bedelia wasn't telling, but he decided not to push it any further.
“I understand.” was his only reply. “Though I admit that I am not the police, this is surely a horrifying experience that has happened to you. Does it not help to talk about it?” Frederick knew that he was turning the focus of the session away from himself, which was excatly what he was trying to do. He had no interest in talking about his own problems, yet he did love to talk in general.
Despite how unaware Frederick was of the details he was missing, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was that Bedelia was hiding. She had already insisted that she was hiding nothing, but as one who spent most of his time around criminals (notorious liars) he had the honed ability to detect whenever someone wasn't telling the truth.
He read her body language, however, and understood that Bedelia would not reveal anything more. He didn't apologize — for the doctor rarely apologized to anyone, for anything. Instead, he mirrored the psychiatrist's actions, putting a façade of interest over his bored expression. His brow furrowed at the use of his first name, and it took more strength that was dignified to suppress correcting her.
An undignified noise left the doctor's lips, as though he were a man whose secret had just become exposed. “Gossip? Never! Why, Doctor DuMaurier, I think perhaps you are jumping to conclusions here.” He let out a small, embarrassed laugh, and shifted in his seat once more. “What a ridiculous thing to say...!”
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