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The Tessarae Inn |
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Suspicions In Scarlet Repose CHAPTER 18 Dorian swirled the amber colored liquor in her glass for a second then took a sip. "This is quite a nice place. Odd that I’ve never heard of it. Did you bring my daughter here often to keep her hidden away and to hide your dubious intentions?” Carl studied Dorian. She was not at all what he expected. She was surprising in ways that commanded his attention and engaged all of his senses. He had been prepared to hate her but instead he was intrigued. She was a woman of substance and fire and she knew how to use her power—her intelligence, her beauty, her moral ambiguity. She was fully formed, fully-grown and he found himself excited and holding his breath waiting to hear what she was going to say next. He leaned over and stared her in the eye. “No. Cassie has not been here. I tend to like to keep some things in my life private.” “Even from the young women you’re dating?” “Yes.” “Yet you brought me here.” “I just assumed that you would rather have this meeting in private.” “How considerate of you.” He leaned back and stretched out his legs. “I try, Mrs. Lord. We live in a complicated world.” “Some more complicated than others. I’ve done some research on you, Mr. Shuttlesworth. You have quite the reputation.” “Well earned, I assure you.” “If you were an Arab sailor, they’d say you have a harem in every port.” “I like beautiful things. Lots of them.” “I see. I guess it’s easy to sustain such a reputation if you never focus your energy on a challenging target. It’s like getting an A average in college by majoring in drawing within the lines with crayons.” “Actually, Mrs. Lord, I majored in biochemistry and womanizing. I still managed to keep an A average.” “How dreadfully stereotypical of you.” “Practice, they say, makes perfect.” “My daughter is not something to practice on, Mr. Shuttlesworth. She is a sweet, vulnerable child and you need to get out and stay out of her life.” Carl smiled at her. “Does your daughter know that you think of her as little more than a child?” Dorian flipped her hair. “The question is why can’t you handle a real woman?” “Like you?” “Believe me, you could do a lot worse.” Carl ran his tongue across his upper teeth then raised his finger and signaled the waiter that he wanted another drink. He glanced at Dorian. “You want another?” She quickly drained her glass. “Yes.” He signaled to the waiter to bring a refill for Dorian as well. The waiter brought the drinks quickly then disappeared into the background. He took a sip of his drink. “So what did you major in in college?” Dorian sighed. “Are you trying to tell me you didn’t do your research on me? I really am not some little naïve milkmaid.” “The research will be waiting for me when I return to the office. I’ll know what color panties you like by the time I’m finished but the game is more interesting if you play it without a cheat sheet at least in the first round.” “Pink and I was pre-med.” Pink! He’d have a few sets sent to her from that shop in Italy his wife had loved so much. “So what happened to your med school plans?” “Oh, I went unlike you I assume.” “No, I didn’t go. Found I liked the idea of operating on money more than I like the idea of trying to fix people.” “It helps if you care about people.” “I suppose it does. So are you still practicing medicine?” “No. Unfortunately, my life became so complicated I had to defer my career ambitions to concentrate on my family.” Defer her career ambitions? Yeah, right. There was a story there. Couldn’t wait to read it when he got back to the office. “Excuse me, sir,” said the waiter who had somehow appeared at his right without him noticing him. “The chef would like to know whether you and Mrs. Lord are ready for lunch.” Carl tipped his head to Dorian. “Are we?” “I didn’t know we were having lunch. I just thought--” “A beautiful place, delicious food, good wine and a beautiful woman is a hard combination for me to resist.” Dorian’s cheeks hinted at a ting of pink. He keep his expression neutral but it was hard not to smile. He was winning her over and for some reason that made him very happy. “Tell Constantine that we are ready,” said Carl. He stood up and then walked next to Dorian and extended his hand. “May I escort you to the private dining room?” Dorian slowly raised her eyes and met his. After what felt like a long pause, she nodded her head and stretched out her hand. Lunch was superb. Constantine had gone all out. The dining room looked gorgeous. The glow from the candles gave Dorian a soft amber aura and he found himself wondering about time. Dorian carefully took her napkin out of her lap and placed it beside her plate. “I must say that I don’t believe I have ever had a more delicious lunch.” “I tend to go for the best in all avenues of my life.” “As long as it’s an easy sale.” Carl stared at her. He knew she was talking about Cassie. Poking at him. Stirring the fire trying to provoke a reaction but he had to wonder if she right. Up until this moment he never thought so, but looking at Dorian it dawned on him that he would never have pursued her. In an instant, he would have decided that she was likely to be too much damn trouble. Trouble? Most definitely but maybe the payoff would have been worth it. There had been lots of women since he got rid of his wife but none of them had ever even scratched the surface until Cassie. He had loved his wife, which was a funny thing to realize more than two decades after he’d forced her out of his life, but he never would have been able to become the man he was if he’d let himself stay tied to her and her fixed sense of morality and small time dreams. If he’d stayed with her, he would have given it all up for her and turned out to be like any other bitch-whipped guy doing a nine-to-five—overworked, under appreciated and poor. “I guess you grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth and diamond studs on your earlobes.” “I wish,” Dorian said quickly then seemed to catch herself. He studied her. As far as he knew Victor Lord had been dead for thirty or more years. Surely she had married again in that time span yet she still referred to herself as Dorian Lord. She probably hadn’t wanted to grow up with just any ol’ silver spoon in her mouth, she'd wanted that one—old money, status, prestige, power. As far as he was concerned as long as he had power you could keep the rest of that crap. “Mr. Shuttlesworth—“ “Carl. I think we can go by first names now. We’ve shared a meal. Doesn’t get much more intimate than that.” She stared at him with the most interesting brown eyes he had ever seen—they were hard as steel but soft as dew. How did she do that? All steely resolve and vulnerability. “Carl, I want you to leave my daughter alone.” “What do I get in return?” “Peace of mind. The ability to look at yourself in the mirror.” “I really care about your daughter.” Dorian sat up straight and stared at him. “I do,” he said softly. She brushed her fingers lightly across the edge of the table. “Well then, we have a problem.” “Agreed. I am willing to discuss it further. Dinner tomorrow night?” Heather twisted around so that she could see herself from behind in the full-length mirror. Her skirt was short and tight and hiked up just a smidgen in the back to remind people she had a behind to die for. Her heels were high and her green cashmere sweater, the color of envy, draped beautifully and did justice to her amply endowed chest. She turned around and studied her face. Her makeup was perfect and her hair looked like she should be recruited to do one of those shampoo ads. Finally. Heather Shuttlesworth was back in town. She strutted down the staircase and strolled through the living room and into the kitchen. She put on water for herbal tea then called de March’s and told them she was ready for her lunch delivery. She still couldn’t get into eating breakfast. Had to try to learn how for Pumpkin but today she just couldn’t seem to get out of bed in time to even think about breakfast. But then things were changing. She was getting a handle on her life again. She’d do what she needed to do even if that included eating breakfast. She walked back into the living room and sat at the small desk and began to make a To Do List on a yellow legal pad. She did not kill Carmen Duvet and that would become clear to everyone soon enough. The chips would have to fall where they may about that. Her priority was Pumpkin. She wrote the name Bryan on the pad and circled it four or five times. She needed to talk to a lawyer about coming up with a way to sever his parental rights. It’s not like he’d want the baby or anything but he could make what was easy hard if he decided to stick his nose into how she chose to raise her child. She finally understood why her father had done that. Her mother didn’t want her or Robyn but as long as she had official claim to them she could have chosen to cause problems just to stick it to her father. Luckily, her mother signed the papers gleefully and then ran off to her brand new life and never looked back. Pumpkin would never know what it felt like to not have a mother. Never. That was one promise she intended to keep. She sighed and ran the tips of her fingers across the edge of the pad. Pumpkin wouldn’t know Bryan though but that couldn’t be helped. And if one day Pumpkin wanted to go find him, she wouldn’t stop her but she needed to make sure she had that piece of paper to show Pumpkin that he’d more than willingly thrown her away. He wouldn’t be able to lie his way out of that one or blame it on her. It was not that she believed in separating children from their parents but she believe if the parent didn’t want the child it was better to break that tie than to scrape and beg to try to form a bond where none existed. Her mother never called, not once, after she left. She and Robyn had been better off without her. Money. Job? That was the next thing on her list. Daddy Carl letting her sit in that jail cell had made her see the light. With the wave of his hand he cut off access to every dime she thought she had. One wave. That couldn’t happen again. She would do whatever was necessary to make him believe she had learned her lesson and had forgiven him for the harsh way he decided to teach it. There was no need to pretend that she could jump on a high horse and tell him she was going to make it on her own. He’d clipped her wings early on and she knew that now, but feathers can sometimes grow back and you can learn to fly. She’d get what she deserved from him. She would become his Number One again and she would do whatever was necessary to shift the assets she had already earned into her name. Maybe even also demand an official job title with a specific salary and a signed contract. Then she’d decide what to do in the long run. Of course he was going to be suspicious but she knew how his mind worked and she also knew that he was going to be as distracted as hell by Pumpkin. If she played it right, he wouldn’t know what hit him. Pumpkin. She needed to start preparing. She already had an appointment with Dr. Conklin next week. And there was this baby boutique on Ninth Street that she had passed by often but never paid any real attention to. The window displays had always been a nauseating combination of cuteness and luxurious excess. A silly idea that now suddenly seemed brilliant. She’d go shopping tomorrow and-- The knock on the door startled her even though she had been expecting it. She grabbed her wallet from the desk drawer and took out a five-dollar bill to pay for the tip then rushed to the door. She was hungry. Good thing she’d ordered enough for four people. That should hold her over until dinner. She swung open the door without bothering to check through the peephole so she stepped back when she was confronted by the sight of an elegantly dressed woman with dark chestnut hair and hazel eyes. The woman was clearly over thirty but how much over was hard to tell. She looked like she’d stepped out of one of those fine living magazines that featured dogs, horses and stately manors on the cover. The hairs at the base of her neck sprang upward as if a bolt of static electricity had struck her. “You’re beautiful,” the woman said. “What?” “I never expected…I just never expected…You look just like her.” Reporter. Heather sighed. This was a new approach. Nice try but no cigar. “I am not giving any interviews. Now if you will excuse me.” She moved to push the door shut but the woman reached out and grasped her hand. The woman’s hand felt so hot it threatened to fuse to hers. “No. Please,” the woman said in a slightly raised voice. “You don’t understand.” Heather sucked her teeth for a second. “Yes, I do. You’re planning to write the true story unlike all those other bloodsuckers. You understand me. You’re kind. You’re empathetic. You’re—“ “Your mother.” Heather snatched her hand away and stepped back. “I’m your mother,” the woman said softly. Heather sat with her body pressed against the side of the couch. She told herself to breathe and to stay focused. She had to protect Pumpkin. Flying off the handle and having a meltdown was not the way to do that. Her mother was sitting in the chair across from her with her legs crossed and her hands folded in her lap. Her back was straight and her thousand dollar Phillipee purse rested in the chair next to her right thigh. “I never abandoned you. Well, not actually. Your father—“ “My father took care of me my whole damn life. My father was there for me. He wanted me.” “Yes, he did. He wanted you. And Robyn, too. He wanted both of you but he didn’t want me.” “And you didn’t want us.” Her mother shook her head and walked to the couch and sat on the other end. “I always wanted you but your father was a very powerful man even back then. He’s not a man who believes in loving what he can’t control completely.” “Then why didn’t you just let him control you?” She smiled benignly then said, “I suspect you know the answer to that already but I’ll tell you why. Love at the price of your soul leaves you emptier than being alone. The pain is excruciating. The loneliness eats you alive.” “We would have loved you. Me and Robyn would have loved you.” “He wouldn’t have let you.” Heather hated the way those words rang in her ears. Her father loved who and when he wanted. He crushed competition even when it was for the heart. Maybe she had been wrong before. Her father was probably going to hate the idea of Pumpkin. But none of that mattered right now. “Why are you here? It’s been so long I don’t even remember you. Why come around now?” Her mother delicately wet her lips, brushed a hair off of her forehead and then folded her hands across her lap again. “Actually I came to town on another matter and saw the news about your release from jail. I just couldn’t ignore it anymore.” “Ignore what?” “The tug in my heart.” Heather scoffed. “I really don’t expect you to understand and to be honest I don’t expect you to forgive me. Maybe when you have children you will have some sense of how hard it was to let go.” “Unlike you, I guess I’ll never learn that lesson because I will NEVER abandon my child.” Her mother’s eyes flickered for a second but then her face regained its composure. “I made a choice and I’ve lived with it for all these years but it wasn’t easy. Despite what you think it was never easy.” “I don’t believe that. People do what’s easiest even when they try to pretend it was hard.” “I chose life, Heather. I ran because it was a choice between life and death for me.” “Like I said, people do what’s easy.” “If you believe it was easy then you don’t understand anything. But then I never believed I had any right to ask anything from you. Not a hug, not a smile, not a memory. I closed both of you out of my mind. It was the only way I could survive. But I never closed you out of my heart.” “Mind? Heart? What does it matter? You left. And you left us here.” “I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances.” “Yeah? So why are you here now? What’s so special about now?” “Because he broke faith with me.” “Who?” “Your father. He was supposed to take care of you. And he didn’t. Now all bets are off.”
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Suspicions In Scarlet Repose FAN FICTION SLIDESHOWS
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