Title: Diamonds, Chapter 3.
Rating: PG
Warnings: mild language, angst.
Characters/Pairings: Alistair, Pilar, Ivy, Sheridan, Luis, Julian, original character.
Summary (for chapter): Brokenly, she told Pilar, "I'm to be married at the end of the summer."
Chapter 3
"Where is that foolish daughter of mine?!" Alistair boomed, bringing his fist crashing down on his antique desk. He snarled in disgust when his outraged actions caused a glass of brandy to shatter on the floor. "Pilar! Get in here and clean this mess now!"
"Yes, Mr. Crane," Pilar said nervously. Kneeling to her floor, she began to painstakingly gather the slivers of broken glass.
Alistair abruptly changed his mind and barked out a different order. "Have someone else do that for you and find my daughter."
"Yes, Mr. Crane," Pilar demurred before rushing out of the library. She eased the door shut behind her with a heavy sigh. "Miss Sheridan," she muttered under her breath. "You are in so much trouble." She startled when she discovered Ivy in her direct path.
"Oh Dear," Ivy murmured sympathetically. "I'm afraid Sheridan's stay here will be filled with incidents such as these. She doesn't belong in this house, Pilar. Surely you must recognize that." When Pilar agreed, nodding her head slowly, Ivy lamented, "Damn that miserable father of hers. She'll be devastated when she finds out his plans, that he had an ulterior motive for bringing her home."
Worry for Sheridan emboldened Pilar's tongue. "Mrs. Crane, what are you talking about?" A horrible feeling of dread began to fill her, and she couldn't stop herself from questioning further. "Mrs. Crane? Who is this Colin person Julian and Mr. Crane speak of?"
Twirling the delicate chain around her neck between her fingers, Ivy smiled sadly and confided, "They're doing it again, Pilar. They're doing it again. You better hurry. Alistair is furious enough already."
No, Pilar thought. He couldn't be that cruel, that heartless. She's only seventeen, too young to serve out a life sentence like the one he has planned. Her heart heavy, Pilar summoned her young charge. "Miss Sheridan." Squinting against the brightness of the sun, she walked the short distance to the stables, calling out Sheridan's name again. She slowed when she heard the happy sound of laughter and peered cautiously, curiously, around the corner when she could make out Sheridan's soft voice (You asked for it). Her brown eyes widened when she discovered Sheridan, soaked to the skin, her short blond hair dripping and matted to her head.
"Didn't he, Juliet?" Sheridan giggled as she patted the horse on the neck. The horse nickered softly in response and tossed back her head in seeming agreement.
Pilar's brows furrowed in her confusion, until the he in question spoke up, and she clasped a hand to her suddenly racing heart (Dios mio! She recognized that voice!).
"And I suppose I asked for you to attack me back there, too, huh? Are you always so full of surprises?"
Taking an unsteady step forward, Pilar revealed herself.
"Pilar!" Sheridan exclaimed in surprise then smiled. "I didn't hear you."
Pilar didn't want to do what she was about to do, but she had to put a stop to this now, whatever it was, and save her son and Sheridan a world of future hurt. "I suppose not, Miss Crane."
Sheridan's blue eyes studied her curiously, searched for clues that would help her understand the sudden chill in Pilar's tone, the formality. She didn't immediately notice the way Luis's eyes hardened or the disappearance of his light mood and humor.
"Miss Crane?" Luis asked in belief.
"Yes, silly," Sheridan teased. "Sheridan Crane." Belatedly, she registered the fact that the boy she'd spent the better part of the afternoon with had all but vanished. Oh, he was still standing before her, but he was emotionless, cold, quiet, and Sheridan couldn't help but feel hurt and confused by the unexpected change.
Pilar had to look away from those expressive eyes, guilt gnawing at her and making her voice soften. "Your father is looking for you, Miss Sheridan. It's very important. He's…he's very disappointed that you missed lunch. He had someone he wanted you to meet."
"Oh," Sheridan let some of her disappointment bleed into her voice (she could tell Pilar was downplaying things a bit; most likely her father was furious). Casting her gaze to the ground, she said her goodbyes. "I should go then. Bye, Luis," she favored him with a tiny, unsure wave. "See you again sometime?"
Pilar wasn't so hopeful, wasn't so sure as she turned to face her son.
"A Crane. A damn Crane," Luis ground out after Sheridan had disappeared into the grand mansion. His hands brushed Juliet in rough, agitated stokes.
"Luis, Mi hijo," Pilar found her son's dark, turbulent eyes. "It is not her fault. Do not hold it against her. Sheridan does not have a malicious bone in her body."
"Why the apology, Mama?" Luis spit out. "You obviously knew what my reaction would be to hearing her name, and that's exactly what you wanted. Don't deny it."
Her son's eyes glittered blackly with anger, and Pilar struggled to explain herself. "Mi hijo. It is better this way."
"Yeah," Luis interrupted. "It is better. Now I know to keep my distance. Alistair Crane sure as hell doesn't want his princess fooling around with the stable boy, much less Martin Fitzgerald's son. Not after what he did."
"Mi hijo," Pilar delivered harshly. "You have no proof, absolutely none that Mr. Crane had anything to do with your father's disappearance. So, please. I beg of you. Drop it. For my sake, and the sakes of your brothers and sisters."
The hard line of Luis's jaw relaxed somewhat, and the biting tone of his voice softened as he wrapped his strong arms around her. "I'm sorry, Mama. I am. It's just…"
Pilar cut him off with a finger to his lips. "I know, Mi hijo. Now get to work," she ordered. "Mr. Crane…he is not in a very forgiving mood today." She sighed, cupping his cheek tenderly and kissing him goodbye.
"Bye, Mama," Luis muttered. "When is Mr. Crane ever in a forgiving mood," he wondered aloud as he stroked Juliet soothingly between the ears. He almost felt sorry for Sheridan. Old Man Crane was definitely not going to be happy when he saw her. Luis was helpless to stop the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips when he remembered just how she'd arrived at her present appearance. Sheridan sure didn't seem like a Crane. But if there were one thing Luis knew for sure, it was that Cranes were good at hiding their true identities from others, their true feelings.
Pilar wiped the perspiration from her brow when she stepped back into the coolness of the mansion. Her heart twisted painfully when she heard the voices down the hall (Sheridan's, Alistair's, Colin's?). She nearly jumped out of her skin when Julian passed by, hissing a disdainful warning.
"You aren't paid to eavesdrop, Pilar. Go. Dust something."
Pilar ascended the stairs wearily. She would never understand the Crane ways, never. When she returned to the library, later, Sheridan remained, cloaked in darkness. Helpless tears coursed down the girl's pale, smooth cheeks, and she stared forward listlessly.
"Did you hear, Pilar?"
Pilar startled when the girl's toneless question pierced the awful stillness, the tomblike silence. Gentle sobs followed the question, and Pilar found herself stroking Sheridan's damp blond locks back from her face in tender apology. "Hear what, Miss Sheridan?" she asked softly.
Sheridan twisted the ring on her finger nervously. Brokenly, she told Pilar, "I'm to be married at the end of the summer."
Her blue gaze lifted, cleared, for the first time, and the sheer pain reflected back at Pilar ripped her heart to bloody shreds. She brushed Sheridan's tears away with the pad of her thumb and swallowed back her own tears as the child crumpled in her arms.
"Oh, Pilar. I don't even know him. How could Father do such a thing? Does he hate me so very much?"
*sigh* I miss this story.
Anybody else?
;)
Thanks for reading!