Disclaimers, etc in Part 1.
I'm speechless. I'm so excited that I'm literally speechless. As he helps me out of the car I lean right into his ear and whisper to him.
"Sean, this is amazing."
I kiss his cheek ever so quickly.
"Feel free to exchange that for a better one later."
"I'll do that. Shall we?"
He holds out his arm for me to take and we walk into the theatre together, my hand nervously slipped through the crook of his arm. He hands the attendant our tickets and he directs us to where we can check out coats. Sean helps me with mine, then hands his to the attendant and this is the first time I've seen him without his coat tonight.
"It's a good thing you didn't take your coat off when you picked me up."
There's something about the simplest muscle twitch he does that makes me absolutely crazy.
"Oh really? Why is that?"
"We wouldn't be here right now, that's why. Something about you right now looks almost Regal."
He smirks at me, then holds out his arm for me to grasp again, helping me climb the stairs. There is beautiful music playing through the speakers, and I'm starting to wonder if we're the only people here. Other than the attendants we've seen so far, we've seen no other patrons. We reach the top of the stairs and we walk down a hallway to what seems like a staff only area. There's a door open and I can hear people talking and laughing inside. I stop dead in my tracks, and he stops right beside me as he grasps my hand in his.
"Are you okay?"
I nod my head as I respond quietly.
"I'm just a little nervous, that's all."
"Imagine you're in a Courtroom."
I shake my head at that statement.
"Can't do that when you're near. I'm just situationally nervous. I'll be okay."
"I won't leave you alone, I promise. Okay?"
I smile and take a deep breath.
"Okay."
He takes my arm again and we walk into the room. The moment we walk in everyone's head turns in our direction. They keep talking to each other, but if subtlety were a requirement to be here, they certainly wouldn't be. We walk towards the crowd and Sean introduces me.
"Captain Renard. It's wonderful to see you."
A gentleman extends his hand towards Sean and he grasps it firmly, never letting his left hand leave the small of my back.
"You as well. I'd like to introduce you to Winifred O'Connor, Portland's new District Attorney. Winifred, James Wilson the Director of the Portland Opera Company."
I extend my hand and he grasps it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Wilson."
"It's James, and the pleasure is all mine. How long have you been with us in Portland?"
"Well, I moved here about six weeks ago, and am just starting to get used to everything. My job doesn't really allow for a lot of social time."
His smile is genuine, and he laughs at my comment.
"I can completely understand that. I do hope we'll see you both as often as possible, tho."
"I'll do my best, Mr. Wilson."
"It's James."
"James."
"Excellent. Have a wonderful evening both of you. Enjoy the performance."
He shakes Sean's hand as he leaves us to greet another guest.
"He seems lovely."
"He's a nice guy. Something to drink?"
I smile at him as he takes my hand.
"Whatever you're going to have is fine with me."
"I'll be right back."
He places a chivalrous kiss on the top of my hand and heads to the bar to place a drink order for us. Standing here taking in the scene, I realize that other than Sean and now James I know no one else. I dare say that many if not most people here know Sean, however. This could explain the not so elusive glances our way when we came in. The music stops and James takes a microphone in his hand so we can all hear him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Portland Opera Company I would like to personally thank you for attending this fundraiser this evening. As you know, we are funded solely on donations from the public and from ticket sales."
Sean is at my side, and hands me a glass.
"Champagne?"
"It's a special night. Why not?"
We clink our glasses quietly and take a sip. His arm slips casually and comfortably around my waist as James continues his speech.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank our performers this evening who have volunteered their talents to help ensure that this fundraiser is a success. I can officially announce that we have exceeded our fund raising goal with this event, and have raised in excess of $150,000 for the POC and that will ensure our success for the forthcoming season."
Everyone applauds at the mention of the amount that has been raised.
"The performance will begin in about 20 minutes, so at your leisure please head to your seats and enjoy the show. Thank you again for your very generous support."
Again, everyone applauds.
"Well, I suppose we should head to our seats then."
He shakes his head.
"No, we'll go in last."
I know a curious expression has crossed my face, as he gets the smirk on his in response.
"Trust me. It'll be worth it."
"Alright."
The room slowly empties as we finish our glass of champagne, then he holds his arm out for me to grasp.
"Now it's time?"
He nods his head.
"Yes, now it's time."
The halls are cleared and we walk through the foyer up one more flight of stairs and to the end of a curved hallway. There are velvet curtains that are closed, blocking our entrance. He holds the curtain back and I see that there are only two seats.
"We're in a box?"
He nods.
"Best seats in the house."
I lean towards him and we share a very brief lip touch.
"You're amazing."
"After you."
He gestures for me to enter the box and he holds my seat for me as I remove the program from my chair and sit down.
"More champagne before I join you?"
"We're allowed to have champagne in here?"
"There's an ice bucket in the corner and our bottle is in there."
"I'd love some, please."
I collect the program from his chair and he returns with two glasses in his hands.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
Just as he's about to lean towards me for a kiss on the cheek the lights flicker and we know the performance is about to begin. I place my glass on the side table beside my chair, and he does the same. The audience starts to applaud, as they see the members of the orchestra stand, and the conductor approaches his podium. A moment later he raises his baton, and the orchestra begins playing the first selection on the program. I feel his hand reaching for mine, so I grasp it and turn toward him. We smile at each other, then give the performers our full attention, enjoying and absorbing the music.
I know I should be watching and paying attention to the performance, but there's a much more interesting performance happening less than three feet to my left. It started when one of the performers sang an aria from Winifred's favourite composer. She is mouthing the words in perfect unison to the performers'. When the climactic portion of a song is approaching she takes in a deep breath and tightens her grip on my hand, which I don't mind at all. She seems to be completely absorbed in the music, which is what I had hoped for. She glances in my direction and sees me looking directly at her so of course, she turns and looks at me.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You should be enjoying the show."
I look at her with as serious of an expression as I can possibly muster.
"I am."
There's a little flush that comes up on her cheeks as she smiles that is positively adorable. She turns to focus on the performance again, but as she does an evil smile creeps up on her face. She removes her hand from mine and sweeps her hair from the one side to the other, letting me see how long her neck actually is. She returns her hand to mine and gives it a little squeeze, and I can see the mischievousness in her eyes. It's going to be a very long night.
The performance is over and we've been in the car for a few minutes, holding each others' hands as he drives, and just taking in the experience.
"I had such an amazing time, Sean."
"I'm glad."
"I sort of wish that it wasn't over."
"It doesn't have to be, you know."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we're dressed in our finest. There's a cafe a few blocks away that's open late. Desert and coffee?"
"I'm in."
He pulls into the parking lot, finds a space closest to the door and parks. Escorting me to the door he holds it open for me and we sit in a booth that's as far away from everyone else as possible. The waitress takes our order then he sits across the table from me, holding my hand and smiling.
"Winifred, I need to be honest with you about something."
Oh God. Here it comes. I can feel myself tense and as he's about to speak the waitress brings our desert and coffee. Great, 'cause I really want to eat now. I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. I pull my hand away from his, and with lightning quick reflexes he grabs it and holds it tightly.
"Relax."
"How can I?"
"Please let me tell you what I have to tell you, it's difficult enough. I don't even like to talk about it."
"Fine."
I'm gonna murder him on the witness stand on Tuesday.
"I just don't know how you're going to react to this."
"Well, now or never, right?"
He takes a deep breath and runs his thumb across the top of my hand as he talks.
"I'm just going to say it and hope that you don't react terribly. I have a daughter."
Well that was most definitely not what I was expecting. I know a look of confusion has crossed my face.
"That is what the juicy piece of self-divulging gossip was that was going to make my head explode? That's wonderful news, Sean."
He smirks as he lowers his head.
"Well, her mother is a Hexenbiest."
"You're a Zauberbiest. Why should that bother me?"
"This is the part that I'm not sure if you're going to be able to deal with. Just please hear me out, okay?"
I nod my head, encouraging him to keep going.
"I haven't seen her since in over a year. She had to be... protected."
"Oh my God. What was she in danger from?"
He takes a deep breath.
"From my family."
"Why on earth would your family want to hurt your child?"
"My family is a little more complicated than others."
"I'm sure I can keep up."
"My family would rather I not have been born. I'm the illegitimate son that no one other than my mother wants. My father's wife put an order out to have me and my mother killed. My mother found out about the order so while I was in class in Geneva, she came and removed me from school and together we fled to the US."
"That's terrible. Why didn't your mother go to the police and report that your father's wife had a contract out on you both?"
"It's hard to do that when the person who issued the order was the Queen."
Excuse me?
"Can you repeat that again for me please?"
"I said it's hard to do that when the person who issued the order was the Queen."
I'm frozen. I can't move, I can't think, I can't breathe. He grasps my hand.
"Are you okay?"
My hand goes up instinctively to ask for a moment. He nods at me and takes a sip of his coffee as he lets me process this. After a moment of processing this information, I speak very quietly.
"So let me know if I am understanding you correctly."
He nods.
"You're a Prince."
He nods his head.
"In status only. I really want nothing to do with the Royals, as they are."
"But you're a Prince."
"Yes."
I take a moment, take a sip of my coffee and look across the table to see him looking directly into my eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Sean, it will take me a little while to process that."
"I completely understand."
He starts to pull his hand away from mine, but I am not about to let him do that. I lay my hand over his and grasp it as securely as I can without hurting him.
"Don't pull away from me."
"Why? You said you needed a little time to process what I just told you."
For someone so strong, he can be very insecure.
"A few seconds is a little time, isn't it?"
He looks up at me and smiles.
"It is."
"Sean, I didn't fall in love with you because of any title you may or may not lay claim to. I love the man that I see in front of me right now. Prince or not, that makes no difference to me."
"Even knowing that my extended family wants to capture Diana to brainwash her to their way of thinking, and that they also want me dead?"
"Everyone has family drama. Yours is just a little more... dramatic. We'll get through it."
A look of what can only be described as relief washes across his face.
"You're amazing. How you can deal with everything I just told you with such a level head is beyond me."
Running my thumb across his hand I look directly into his eyes.
"You want to get out of here?"
"Absolutely."
He takes out his wallet, puts a $20 on the table as I put my coat on, and he escorts me out of the cafe. He opens my side of the door for me, as usual, but I lean my back against the door. He leans toward me and puts his lips on mine ever so softly, making my knees almost buckle. My eyes are still closed but I whisper to him.
"Would it be forward of me to ask you to stay with me tonight?"
"I don't think so."
"Okay. Spend the night with me?"
"Do you mind if we stop by my place and I can get a few things."
"Okay. I just really don't want this evening to end."
"It won't. I promise."
We drive away from the cafe, and I can't help but sigh. Screw my self-imposed rules. This is going to be a fantastic night.
TBC – Reviews are lovely – like a night at the opera with the Captain. :) *sigh*
