Part 50

"Mr. Giambetti, you were about to say something in hopes that I won't find a way to tear both of you limb from limb?"

"When I visited your home, Edward and I came to an agreement… or rather, we put a plan into effect."

Lila's tone was frigid. "Continue…"

Maximus was a man that could make many people cower and cry with a look. He had taken down empires, had despots assassinated, and made small governments crumble.

But when faced with the cool, calm, and soft spoken Lila Quartermaine, Maximus Giambetti was well and truly cowed.

"Your grandson has quite a reputation for making up his mind about things," he began, "and when he's done that he rarely changes it."

"I could say the same thing about you, Mr. Giambetti."

"Yes, yes…" he had to acknowledge that much, "well, when Jason married Elizabeth with the intent to protect her from danger I knew he would do what it took to keep her safe and then when I knew that she was my niece, I-"

"Ohhh," she huffed a little, "I hope this isn't going to be some hair-brained excuse that will make me angry."

"Lila, dear… please let him talk and-"

"Do hush, Edward."

"Sorry."

Maximus let out a little sigh of relief that Edward was taking some of the brunt of her anger. "I was on a plane before I knew what I was thinking. When I saw them together at your home. When I saw the connection between them, and when I spoke with your husband-"

He heard the hushed tones of Lila saying something to Edward that sounded like a threat of bodily harm.

"We came up with the same conclusion… that young Mister Morgan was going to go all honorable on us… and then he'd decide that they were better apart… or at least Elizabeth would be better-"

"Without him." Lila's tone was warming. "And so you two gadabouts decided to stick your noses in."

"Now, Mrs. Quartermaine, please understand that we both thought if we… forced the issue-"

"Forced?!" Lila's voice tremored and Maximus could hear Edward trying to calm her down.

"I sent Jason annulment papers, hoping he would-"

"Hoping he would… what, gentlemen? You set my grandson up to make a decision between staying married to his wife and making you happy?"

He heard a thump and leaned in closer to the phone.

Voices made their way through the line. "Reginald! Ow! Why are you-"

"I told him to hit you over the head, Edward. I thought I might 'force' some logic loose in that block head of yours!"

Edward was heard backing away from the phone and presumably Reginald's aim.

"And you, Mr. Giambetti… you are so very lucky you're not here, or even your guards wouldn't be able to protect you from my punishment." She huffed and then the wind seemed to go out of her sails. "Really, the both of you… did you think Jason would just turn his back on the life he's been leading? Did you think my grandson would throw caution to the wind and tell you to stick his life where the sun doesn't shine?"

Maximus winced a bit.

"Did you think that Jason would put Elizabeth in a position to suffer your censure? Or that she would again be cut off from her family? If there's anything I know about both of those children, it's that they care about others. I dare say that Jason is nearly torn apart by this mess… and I hope the two of you can stop this from going any further."

"Mrs. Quartermaine, I am sorry," Maximus truly felt contrite, he'd be so caught up in his own schemes and trying to keep things moving forward that he didn't think about what his pushing was doing to both of the people involved in it. "Edward and I thought it would be so easy. Give Jason a big enough push and get him to admit that he… that this wasn't just some scheme to… to keep her safe from danger-"

"The both of you should be taken out and shot!"

Maximus' wince was nearly audible through the phone line. "Well, it did sound better when we were planning it all out."

"Edward!" Lila's voice was bordering on despair. "You had less than a few minutes outside with Mr. Giambetti… are you telling me that you sought to plan our grandson's life in less than five minutes?"

"We were sure we had him figured out, my dear-"

"And how has that mindset worked in the past, Edward Quartermaine?"

There was wisely a deep silence after Lila's question.

"Not well at all, my dear."

"Now that we have that established," Lila's tone was stern, but held a bit of promise in it, "what are you two going to do to fix this mess you've created?"

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth heard the once familiar voice and turned sharply to the side. "Emily?" She saw Jason's sister step out of the shadows and felt a riot of emotions flood her body. "What… what are you doing here?"

Emily's expression was cautious, worried. "Please… please don't be upset. I need to explain."

"Yes," Elizabeth felt her hand tremor and nearly dropped the pastry she was holding, "that would be a good idea." She felt the weight in her hand and looked about for a place to set it down. She couldn't even think of finishing it now, her stomach wasn't going to allow it. "I'm a little…. shocked."

"Me too." Emily's face lit up a little and then a warm flush crept over her cheeks. "I didn't expect to see you again… so soon."

Elizabeth heard the odd tone in the other girl's voice and chalked it up to the same kind of hesitant fear when you face someone you've had an argument with. "Me too, Emily. I thought you were angry with me."

"I am- I mean, I was." Emily stepped closer and tried to smile at her. "What I mean to say is, damn it… I'm messing this up."

Wrapping a napkin around her pastry, Elizabeth tucked it in her pocket and moved closer to Emily. She wanted to make this easier for both of them. No, if she was really honest with herself, Elizabeth wanted to make this easier on Emily. Because, in the long run, it would make things easier for Jason.

And she'd already put him through enough trouble. She needed to give him something in return.

"Emily. Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're here… I'm just curious how you found me."

"Well, she found you because she's here with me."

Elizabeth heard the familiar voice coming from the wooded area behind her and tried not to shrink away in worry. She needed to hold herself together if she was going to make this odd reunion a happy one.

Turning slowly she felt her emotions struggle with her instincts. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she didn't want to offend anyone, especially Emily. But still when she looked at the other person standing in the grove she wondered why the two of them were there… together.

"Hello, Lucky."

His grin was a little too wolf-like for her peace of mind, but she couldn't seem to muster up any sort of answers in her head. She was still so very confused.