Tea on Tuesday at Four

Chapter 5

Grace

Oh, what a difference a week makes! Last Tuesday I was very near despairing for my son and his relationship with Ana. But Saturday night proved that all of my fears were misplaced. Whatever might have been wrong last weekend was clearly made right. I could not believe it when I saw him enter the tent with Ana on his arm. She looked stunning!

I had been led to believe that she was a young lady of limited means, but the dress that she was wearing must have cost at least three thousand dollars. I doubt that she even makes that in a month. The diamond earrings that she was wearing were stunning, but I have my suspicions about those! it would be just like Christian to go overboard on some gift like that. Especially if he was trying to make up with her. Not that he would even miss the money.

And her hair looked lovely. Christian had discussed taking her to Esclava to get her hair done. Perhaps he did. She is really quite a beautiful girl. I liked the very understated make up. it really does suit her. And Christian could not take his eyes off of her all night.

Here comes Elena. I know that she attended the ball, but I didn't get a chance to speak with her there. Normally she would have sat at our table, but since Christian was bringing a date, we couldn't make up an odd number. She was so gracious about sitting at a table farther away. But then, I made sure that she was at a table with some important businessmen in the city. It really is a pity that she has been so determined to remain single all these years.

"Hello, darling," she says. "I must say that you are looking very cheerful this afternoon. Why, you are practically glowing!"

"And I am sure that you can guess why!" I answer playfully.

She looks at me knowingly.

"Yes, I saw them at the ball," she replies. "They looked wonderful together. And Christian looked so happy."

"Yes," I say in relief. "He finally looks happy. I'm sure that it must be dear Ana. Why he didn't take his eyes off of her all night."

"I'll have to take your word for it," she says. "I didn't see a whole lot of them together."

"Yes, I know dear," I answer. "I am so grateful that you were willing to sit at another table. But I really couldn't make up an odd number."

"Yes, of course, darling," she says. "But I did have delightful evening with Craig and Mark. If I didn't know better, I would think that you were trying to fix me up again."

"Well, not entirely," I say. "Yes, they are both single, and since Emma brought her sister, she made an odd number for that table. Numbers aside, I thought that you would enjoy making conversation with a couple of businessmen. You are all so successful."

"Yes, we are," she smiles. "And yes, they were delightful to converse with. Although neither of them were interested in much dancing."

"Oh, I never thought of that," I reply. "You are such a marvelous dancer."

"That's alright," she says immediately. "I didn't mind. To return to the subject of Christian, that was quite an interesting confrontation that he had when bidding for little Ana's first dance."

"Oh, yes, the first dance auction," I say. "Well, the poor girl clearly did not know what she was getting herself into when Mia asked her to help with the auction. I believe that the whole process mortified her. Especially when John Flynn made those counter bids."

"That was Flynn?" she asks in surprise. "I was too far away to tell. It did seem as though there was some kind of gamesmanship going on."

I smile.

"I do believe that John is the only one who could get away with challenging Christian like that," I answer. "The two of them did seem to be enjoying a kind of private joke, at poor Ana's expense. Why she turned as red as Lily's dress when the bidding started to escalate like that. It's not like Christian can't afford it, but considering the nature of the other bids, it really was ridiculous."

"Oh, yes," she says. "Lily. She seemed to be in a rather sour mood all night. I do not know what Mia sees in that girl as a friend. She really can be a little witch."

"She and Mia were in school together," I explain. "And she is one of her best friends. She's really not a bad sort, you know. But she has had a crush on Christian forever. Mia is always teasing her about it. But he has never shown the slightest bit of interest in her. And it's not as though she went for a low bid. After Christian made his bid, the others all went for a greater amount. In fact, if you recall, Mia went for ten thousand."

"I noticed that," she comments. "And not even to her date."

"No," I shake my head. "Once the price went above five thousand, I am afraid that poor Sean was out of his league. He's a nice boy, and good looking, but Mia isn't serious about him. I don't think that he could afford her expensive tastes."

"Not after the way that Christian has spoiled her over the last few years," she agrees. "So am I right in assuming that everything is really okay with Christian and Ana?"

"Yes, I believe so," I reply. "I really didn't get much of a chance to speak with her. And of course Mother and Mia absolutely dominated the conversation at dinner. However, Father sat next to her and got a few things out of her about her new job, which she likes very much.

"Then Carrick danced with her before the fireworks. We were both a little worried about the bid that she made on Christian's lot, but apparently she can pay for it. She told him that she has just come into some money that she doesn't need and wanted to support the cause."

"So does she know about Christian?" she asks. "And what his life was like before the adoption?"

"Yes, she gave Carrick the impression that Christian had been very forthcoming," I reply. "I believe that this is a further indication of his feelings for her. I mean, he never speaks of his past with anyone, so if he has confided in her then it is a large step forward."

"Very," she says thoughtfully. "I am surprised. He hasn't known her for very long, has he?"

"No," I admit. "Only about a month."

She looks at me with concern.

"You don't think that he's rushing things, do you?" I ask.

"Well," she says reluctantly. "I'm just afraid that his intensity may scare her off. I just don't want to see him hurt."

"Neither do I, obviously," I reply quietly. "Do you think that I should speak with him about it?"

She shakes her head.

"I know how protective you are of Christian," she says. "But it's probably better to stay out of it at this point. Since things seem to have worked themselves out between them, I am sure that he is feeling in control again. Knowing him as we both do, I don't believe he will thank you for interfering."

"I'm sure that you're right," I sigh.

"You know that I'm right," she says.

Yes, of course she is right. Christian and Ana were both so happy on Saturday night. And then Christian took her out on the boat on Sunday. It seems that they had the perfect weekend. I'm so glad that everything has turned around for them! Maybe, just maybe, my son will find his happily ever after with her.

Elena

Boy, oh, boy! Grace really doesn't know shit about what's going on in her son's life. Yes, he did manage to win her back, although not necessarily on his terms. That is my hope, that sooner or later he will miss his old ways so much that he won't be able to help himself. Damn John Flynn!

I know exactly what he was all about with those crazy bids. He was testing Christian to see how high a price he was willing to pay for Ana. Of course the price was only measured in dollars and cents. Putting out a hundred thousand was not nearly as dear to him as giving up the lifestyle. If Flynn thinks that he can turn Christian around with all of his solution based bullshit, then he is sadly mistaken.

Christian certainly does have his hands full these days between Ana and Leila. That was a very interesting scene that Ana created in Esclava on Saturday morning. First, he has the balls (or stupidity) to bring her there in the first place. I am so glad that Portia was sick and I had to fill in for her. Boy, was that a shock to his system, seeing me there. And of course, he couldn't stay away.

First, he had to come over and tell me that Leila tracked down Ana outside her office building the day before. He just had to tell me. He couldn't keep it to himself. Then, he suddenly became worried that Ana might see me and get all upset again. Looking over his shoulder, I could see that she had already figured it out. I guess that she's not as dumb as she looks.

I couldn't help myself. I gave her a friendly wave and then she really looked pissed. Oh, Christian is certainly out of his depth with this one! That's what he gets for telling her all about me. I warned him that that was a mistake. But he has the obsession with honesty when it comes to her. And she can't help herself. She had to keep prying into places where she really doesn't want to go.

When he realized that she was upset about something, he asked me not to go the ball. I readily agreed, but had no intention of following through. I wasn't going to miss another chance to see their interaction. Then he returned to her and she threw a hissy fit and went storming out of the salon. Poor Christian just looked hopelessly lost. That was what made me furious!

How dare she hurt him like that! He's told her more than he's ever told anyone except for me. She knows how vulnerable he is. And she should know the suffering that she put him through last week. And if she doesn't? Well, I'll be only too happy to be the one to tell her. If she pulls that shit again, then she's going to be one sorry girl.

But I am really starting to worry about Leila. Christian is right. She must have seen their picture in the paper from the art show. Who knew that her friend was so talented that the Seattle papers even noticed? And of course any picture of Christian Grey with a woman is hot stuff. Especially when it's the same woman twice in a row. And this time they even got her name.

Leila is certainly more crafty than I would have suspected. She must have figured out some way of finding out who Ana is and where she worked. That little bitch is not only unhinged, she is downright dangerous. Christian is right. That idiot shrink in the ER should realized that Miss Looney Tunes belonged in the psych ward. I really couldn't care less what she does to Ana, but I suspect that the one she is really after is Christian.

Of course she has a bizarre way of showing it. She has been eluding his private investigators for over a week now. But that may be her plan. She knows that if they find her the chances of her being able to see Christian are slim to none. But if she can get to Ana first, then he's sure to come in and save the day. And of course Christian is going to fall for it. His weakness has always been his need to save these girls. And knowing Christian, he's blaming himself.

He didn't seem to be too worried at the ball. However I did notice Taylor lurking about with couple of security types. And he had his eye on Ana the whole time. It was kind of funny that Grace was so puzzled by the dress. I wonder what she would have thought if she know that little Ana had been decked out by her son, in more than just the diamond earrings? And that bid she made? I know damn well that that was the money he gave her for her VW bug.

I chose not to enlighten her. She would have wanted to know how I knew and that would have opened up one huge can of worms. But damn Taylor for calling Christian as soon as he saw me with Ana. I was not trying to really harass her, but I couldn't let the opportunity slip through my fingers to try and let her know how wretched she made poor Christian last week. And then he had the nerve to get angry with me. Couldn't he see that I was just trying to protect him?

I tried to make up to her by offering her more information. And wasn't that what she always wanted? And then she was mad that I signed my note "Mrs. Robinson." After all, she was the one who gave me that name. No wonder Christian doesn't know which end is up with her. She is one messed up little broad.

And then he wouldn't take my call. Oh what is that little bitch doing to him? He was so cold last night. Why, he almost threw me out of the apartment. How was I supposed to know that she was there? Of course now that I think about it, it probably has something to do with Leila. She has really set him on edge.

And that note that Isaac had sent for the scenario was the perfect excuse for me to visit, especially since I thought that it might throw Christian into protective mode about me. But I was wrong. Once again, Ana decides to rebuff my overtures of friendship. How could she not realize that I am the best thing that ever happened to Christian? The little fool. She has no idea of what he was like before I took him under my wing, so to speak.

Why if he had continued on his self-destructive way, he certainly would have ended up as dead as his crack whore mother. I know about his self-loathing better than anyone. He needed me to beat him into submission. He needed me to give him all the punishment he deserved whenever he messed up. And of course I always knew when he messed up because Grace would come over to share the little debacle. Bit even if she hadn't, he would confess it to me anyway.

I know. I need to call Gail. She lives there and knows more about Christian and his life than anyone but Taylor. And what a little fool she has been all of these years. She was much easier to convince than Ana that I have Christian's best interests at heart. That is and she's a great source of information. That's the great thing about servants. People tend to treat them as invisible so they aren't very careful about what they say or do around them.

"Hello, Elena," she says as soon as she picks up.

"Gail, you sound frightened," I say, feeling very concerned myself. "You sound almost as bad as you did the night that Leila pulled her attempted suicide act."

"Elena, she did it again," she says anxiously. "At least now she's out of our lives for good."

"Calm down, Gail," I reply soothingly. "Tell me the whole story."

"Well, Mr. Grey picked up Ana at work and they stopped by her apartment to pick up her roommate's brother. But somehow Leila had gotten in and when Ana didn't return from going to get him, Jason and Mr. Grey got worried. Then, the brother showed up and they knew something was wrong!" she replies. "Oh Elena! Leila was holding a gun on poor Ana!"

"Oh no!" I cry. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, thankfully not," she answers. "But little Ana was so upset that Jason had to carry her out to safety after Mr. Grey disarmed Leila. Then, they called Dr. Flynn and he took her away to a psychiatric facility. But then, they couldn't find Ana. Oh, it has been such a night!"

"Did they find her? Ana that is," I ask.

"She showed up back here a while ago," she replies. "But, Elena, some really heavy stuff has been going on downstairs between . . ."

Before she can say another word, I hear Taylor's voice in the background.

"Gail!" he shouts. "Who the hell are you talking to? What part of non-disclosure agreement don't you understand?"

"But Jason," she says. "It's Mrs. Lincoln. Surely the NDA doesn't apply to her."

I can hear the silence and then Taylor's voice on the line.

"Mrs. Lincoln," he says coldly. "Before you start making any of your excuses about being so concerned with Mr. Grey's welfare, I am hanging up on you. And in the future, don't call us, we'll call you!"

I yank the phone away from my ear as he slams it down.

Oh shit!