Chapter 2
Raine wondered why he had insisted that she was there for the meeting. She hardly added any input to their enthusiastic conversation about the grand new ride that Regal was convinced could potentially increase their revenue in that sector. She felt she did little more than smile and agree. Regal didn't need her help at all. She was a bit frustrated and had a bone to pick with the old man once this was over.
But Derrick's glance made her antsy. He was increasingly easy on her eyes. He seemed far more naïve last night, but now he seemed authoritative since he was reassured of Regal's interest. His eyes sparked with a beautiful intelligence and yet there was kindness there. Whenever Regal got the other to mention his younger sister, his eyes would become much softer.
Somehow the topic of conversation shifted to Derrick's personal life and she discovered that after the death of his single mother, he was tasked with taking care of his younger sister. For a long time, it had been difficult. The world did not stop simply because of their mother's death; he and his sister had to work through their depression just to get by. He'd already been in school for being a mechanical engineer, but he had bombed his last semester. Then after trying it one more time, he became a qualified mechanical engineer and he was quickly hired by a small local company. That was when he was truly able to get his life and his sister's back on track.
He wasn't ashamed or bashful about telling such a story. It was a matter of fact and Regal had simply been curious. He was young, but he was quite mature having dealt with the circumstances in his life. His story sounded eerily similar to her hardships except that he'd been born a human. While he probably didn't have to deal with the same sort of obstacles, losing one's parents was the same for any child especially if they had an attachment to them and both siblings did.
They concluded their meeting after a couple of hours and as Derrick said his goodbyes, Raine chided herself for smiling like some silly love-struck schoolgirl when he called her "lovely". The full description had included wife as well, but her ears ignored the trivial details.
"Quite a magnificent man, don't you think, Raine?" Regal said as he moved to his shelf of alcohol beverages. "Would you like a drink?"
"I suppose I will this time."
He made her a glass of single malt Whisky with a large, spherical ice plopped in the middle of it and handed it to her. She took a small sip of it.
"So you're really going through with this radical new ride?" Raine asked the musing Regal.
"There's no longer any doubts lingering in my mind. I will need to get approval from my investors, convince them that this is well worth their money and then some. Wouldn't it be nice if I could see its completion before I died?"
Raine looked at him distressingly. "Don't say things like that. Besides, how long could it possibly take?"
"A very long time with the technology we have nowadays. We've made great strides in alternative energy sources since the exspheres were outlawed, but we certainly have a long ways to go. Long-term projects like these hardly ever go as they're planned. Life is unpredictable and even the best laid plans can turn to ruin. Five years is optimistic, it could take far longer than that. Funding has to be secured every quarter to make sure progress can continue. And who would be the one to manage it all? Derrick would work well as an advisor, but he has little experience in being in charge of so many people and handling so much responsibility. I would need someone experienced and dependable." Regal sighed. "But I'm boring you with the details. I think this would be an incredible idea put to reality."
"I believe so too. It would be nice if it was actually accomplished. Then we'd have a new ride to take together."
"With me? You flatter me, but I doubt my heart could take such intense speeds. This ride would be going four times faster than any vehicle in existence. But surely, Derrick would love to take that honor."
Raine looked up from her glass suddenly and gazed directly at her husband as if something had just donned on her. "You don't think I see what you're doing? Is there something you're not telling me? Asking me to come to this meeting where I was completely unnecessary. Complimenting Derrick as much as you do…You're not planning on dying and having Derrick somehow…"
"Raine, these are one of those moments where I'm utterly unable to follow what you're saying," he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Answer me this, Regal, are you dying?" Raine asked.
She'd known Regal for a very long time and she was an expert on telling when he was lying. In fact, he was a horrible liar.
"Of course I am. The average human might reach a hundred, but most die a bit sooner than that. One must anticipate the inevitable."
Raine blinked at his bluntness. "That's not what I was talking about. Are you…sick or…?"
"I would most certainly tell you that if that was the case. There's no sense in hiding things from you. Besides, you'd know already. I'm hardly an expert of keeping secrets."
Raine gazed at him intently, but she could find no trickery there. Was she simply being paranoid?
"Derrick is a fine man—I cannot help but give credit where credit is due."
"Yes, he is. Those blueprints were expertly done and he spoke with good clarity—even I understood some of it."
Regal nodded in agreement. "But," he began mysteriously, "A guilty conscience needs no accuser."
Raine froze at this and stared at the other, but he was finishing off his glass and his eyes were no longer on her. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked.
"Disregard that—perhaps it was just my imagination. I've been accused of seeing things that aren't real plenty of times before, but I suppose that comes with age."
Should she correct him? Should she say that, in fact, he wasn't seeing things and that his powers of observation were just as sharp as they've always been? But she couldn't. She didn't want to cause him undue stress now of all times. She didn't like that such a thing had occurred more than once. More likely he would put someone on the spot and they'd, like her, would be too embarrassed to admit their wrongdoing and use the only convenient solution at their hands—his age. It was a depressing thought, Raine realized, that he did not trust himself or his own conclusions about people as steadfastly as he had in the past. And she was not helping matters.
"No, that's alright," Raine said, "We've all done it before. I should let you get back to your work."
She excused herself from her husband's presence and took a deep breath once she was standing out in the hallway. She remembered George as she walked down the familiar corridor. She hadn't even stepped foot in the building for a long while. After George's death, Regal seemed to take his job a bit more seriously if that was possible. It had been subtle, but she'd seen it all the same. He'd taken his death hard, but he was quiet about it for quite some time. Instead, he dutifully went into work without complaint. It was one of the few instances where Regal had not simply confided her. It had been too personal, she supposed. Regal had known George for almost all his life.
He expressed to her that he felt as if he'd taken his presence for granted. He'd been there for so long, always supporting him that perhaps he hadn't thanked him enough. Maybe he hadn't visited him in the hospital enough. It was Regal's way to become guilty after someone's death if Alicia was any indication. It was nothing for him to throw logic to the wind and convince himself that somehow there was some malicious intent in his own actions unrealized. But unlike before, it hadn't been a long, drawn out grieving process. He eventually accepted things as they were. Raine thought after that moment, that Regal had somehow matured, that he had become "older". He was the same, but he was different.
Today would be a short day for her husband, it being Saturday. More often than not, they would do something together on this day and Raine thought that she owed it to him to make herself available. At least for the past couple of years, she'd skipped out on such things, preferring the company of a good book…
Raine stood out on the massive bridge that had an unparalleled view of the ocean and stars. She'd gone out here plenty of times before just to think. When her husband had gotten home, she'd convinced him to go joyriding with her. He had been pleasantly surprised at her sudden interest, she could tell. Of course, he'd been hard pressed to deny her. In fact, Raine could count on her fingers how many times Regal had outright told her "no".
It had been a nice evening. It was always nice to spend time with Regal. He knew her like no one else. He knew the right things to say and when to say them. He could sense even the slightest shift in her emotions. He still held her the same way, though his scent, she noticed, was different. She knew it was him, there was no doubt about it, but that one difference had caused her pause. What could it have been? She had held him closer and she could not place it, but it was different. That hadn't ruined the night entirely, she still managed to keep up a good mood, but she could not hide such things from Regal and she had to make up some lie of "maybe I'm getting a little tired" to explain away her mood.
She heard another group of youths making their way down the bridge no doubt on their way home from the amusement park—the only thing open at this time of night. They sounded so carefree and content. It was a lovely thing to be privy to.
She looked over to her left with a start when she felt someone's presence nearby.
"I thought that was you, Duchess Bryant," Derrick said.
He still seemed to be dressed well but a bit more casual with an unbuttoned one breasted waistcoat a clean white shirt and a pair of jeans. He stood a few feet taller than her and his deep dark orbs sent shivers down her back—in a good way.
"No one ever calls me that," Raine said with a grin. "Please, call me Raine."
"If you insist, your grace."
Her smile widened at this. "I just can't win with you, can I? You did that at the meeting too. I'm surprised Regal never corrected you." Then she looked away from his inquisitive eyes. "It must have slipped his mind," she said a bit sadly.
"Is his grace embarrassed of such titles?"
"No," Raine said shaking her head. "Embarrassed isn't the right word. He doesn't believe himself above anyone else and those titles always suggest otherwise. If you really want to show him respect, then "sir" will do just fine."
"Oh, I see. I'll take that into account, the next time I see him." She still felt his eyes on her. "If you don't mind me asking, why is a lovely woman such as yourself out here so late?"
"I would ask you the same question," Raine countered.
"Well, that's easy. I wanted to see the park at night when there were a lot of people there. I was pondering where such a large ride could be situated. Everything's so lit up—it's quite eye-catching."
"Yes it is. A favorite destination for dates." Raine thought she noticed a bit of a blush on the other. His complexion was so fair that it was difficult to conceal. Why was she even bringing up such a subject, she lectured herself.
"Well…" he began stumbling a little, "I did see a lot of couples there. I suppose families with small children would have left much earlier than this."
"Indeed. I like to come to this bridge on nights like these. See how clear the skies are? This is the one area aside from the beach where there aren't any obstructions to the view. Lovely, isn't it?"
"Beautiful," he agreed. They stood together for a few minutes in content silence. "I suppose I'll leave you to your thoughts," he said. He'd decided that he should leave, perhaps his presence was unneeded. He turned, but Raine reached out and took up one of his hands. He looked at her now steadily.
"Please stay—if it isn't too much trouble," Raine said.
"Ah, yes, your grace, I mean…" He was stumbling over his words again. Raine smiled at this as he gathered his scrambled thoughts. "Of course, Raine, I would be honored to," he finally said clearly.
So her evening went with the dashing Derrick who after a few minutes grew a great deal more comfortable conversing with her. They spoke of how their day went and Raine found herself showing him the different constellations she always saw in the sky at their positions. Their conversation was strictly PG, but Raine enjoyed it all the same as if it were something other than a random encounter. She imagined that since he'd be working with her husband's company that they'd have a great deal more "random" encounters and Raine found that she was looking forward to it. She hid her guilt somewhere in a small box in a forgotten corner of her mind.
They parted ways when Derrick kindly mentioned that his sister would be worried if he stayed out all night. His reminder of just how late it was did draw a small blush from her, but they soon parted ways and Raine finally went on her way home. She'd refused his offer to walk her home, besides she had her Rhieard nearby which she hopped on soon enough.
When she arrived at the manor, she quickly took a shower in the bathroom farthest away from the bedroom so as not to wake Regal and then crept into the room as quietly as she could. She felt like a burglar yet she hadn't stolen a thing. As she sat down on the side of the bed, she noticed that Regal had re-adopted his annoying habit of taking up the center of the bed—he hadn't done that in a long time not since they'd been sleeping together permanently. She wondered what would cause him to do such a thing now. Maybe he was trying to tell her something…or maybe she was looking too far into it.
"Hey," Raine said tapping his shoulder, "Hey, could you scoot over a little?"
"Huh…Raine?" he said groggily. Then it seemed to dawn on him. "Oh, sorry."
She waited for him to finish and then she laid down as well, her eyes staring up at the ceiling once again. Regal laid on his stomach with his head turned away from her.
"Where have you been?" he asked her.
Her eyes widened a bit. Did he know? Was he accusing her of something? But she calmed herself when her mind began to think rationally again. There'd been no anger or suspicion in his tone. In fact, she thought glancing towards him, he looked totally relaxed. It was just a casual question. It had been quite late and she normally didn't stay out this long. It was just simple, innocent concern.
"Just watching the stars on that bridge," she finally replied.
"Oh," he said sleepily. "I see."
Raine knew then that he was likely not going to remember their exchange that night. She learned that the hard way when she'd asked him to get something from the store under the same circumstances and later that day when she asked about it, he'd looked at her as if she was speaking foreign language. She'd been a bit too harsh on him on the matter and for weeks he began to worry that he was suffering from memory loss, had even gone to the doctors, but they had discovered nothing. He was completely fine. Just don't expect a half-sleep Regal to remember intimate details about anything spoken to him.
In fact, the very next day, Regal was saying "Good morning" to her as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred last night—it saddened her a bit. She was glad that he was in a good mood, however. He almost always was. She supposed he had nothing really to stress about. His job, surprisingly, did nothing in that regard. He'd gotten used to it, had become an expert at playing his role. Even more, he already had his eye on someone who would replace him and he'd been training him for the past couple of years. Retirement was in the air. That was certainly something to feel good about. In his mind, his company which he had worked for a great portion of his life would be placed in capable hands and he had a wife who loved him…
Retirement, especially one that was a long time coming, was a joyous thing, but it also always preceded death. Death wasn't the word that was used, however. It was simply called "living out the rest of one's life." What would he spend his days doing if he had no work to go to? He would fill her time with her, she thought. She wondered why she felt so distressed at the prospects.