Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and the characters in them don't belong to me.
By Lady Fenix
After having met Marcus' family it became apparently clear to me that our whirlwind romance and thus far rocky free relationship was soon about to meet obstacles. Unlike Marcus, it seemed his family was not as eager to warm up to me.
Among those I found most difficult to get along with were Terrence and Marcia. Terrence was Marcus' older half brother and Marcia, his wife. While Terrence was the one who was openly rude to me, strangely enough, it was Marcia who made me the most uncomfortable. His attitude never made me warm up to him but at least I could respect him for his honesty. Marcia on the other hand was never openly rude to me, on the contrary in the few times our paths had crossed, the woman had been extremely cordial. But I just can't help to read more into to her harmless remarks, nor can I shake away the feeling that she doesn't like me. Marcus tells me it's just my imagination. Maybe he's right after all he seems to get along well enough with Marcia. And yet I still can't shake away that feeling that there's something that Marcus is not telling me…
Rei studied her own image on the full figured mirror at the corner of bedroom with critical eyes. The black dress she wore was full skirted and long sleeved and would have been too long for her if it weren't for the extra inches her sandals gave her. The dress belonged to Ami. Rei herself had always preferred bold colors in her choice of wardrobe and the only black dress she owned was too inappropriate to wear at a funeral.
Rei grimaced at the image she made. With her long hair tied back with a black ribbon she looked like a schoolteacher. The style, while feminine, was still practical and conservative enough to remind her of Miss Tanaka, her home teacher back in high school. It didn't help that at the moment her face was just as pale as miss Tanaka's had been. At least she was able to hide the dark rings under her eyes with make up or she might truly have been the woman's twin.
Sighing Rei cast a glance at the clock. Eight thirty. She knew it was time for her to go downstairs and eat some breakfast with the rest of the household. The funeral was to start at ten and they were supposed to be leaving here at exactly half past nine. Everyone was to go together.
Idly Rei wondered if she would actually be allowed to go with the rest of the clan or if they would stick her in a car of her own and let her handle herself. After the reception she got yesterday, it wouldn't even surprise her. Well, she would find out sooner or later, she supposed. Taking a deep breath, Rei checked her image one more time, fixing her hair slightly and prepared to face what was no doubt going to be a long and trying day.
The hallways were quiet but there was a sense of motion that told Rei that somewhere in the great mansion, people were up and about. As she rounded a corner, she quickly came face to face with one of those early risers.
While she didn't exactly stop in her tracks at the sight of the woman standing by the old mahogany table seeming to be busy arranging the flowers on the vase, Rei did slow down as she contemplated on her next move. Should she walk past and pretend she didn't see the woman or should she stop and greet her? Before she could decide on either move, the woman in question looked up and met Rei's eyes through the mirror reflection.
Seeing that look, Rei unconsciously stiffened in response. There was a calculated look in those eyes that told her that this was not just a happenstance. The woman had been waiting for her.
"You are an early riser." Marcia observed. "Slept well?"
She quirked one slim brow.
"Well enough." Rei replied shortly. The reminder of her night dampened her mood considerably. Falling asleep had been a trial, her mind had kept reverting back to the anonymous pianist and trying to figure out that person's identity. When exhaustion finally did claim her, her dreams had been too disturbing to give her any kind of restful sleep. She kept re-experiencing the incident by the lake with the exception instead of leaving the place she kept seeing herself wrapped in Jay's arms and being kissed senseless. The dream had weirded her out enough to make her wake up with a bolt.
"Yes a little midnight stroll does do wonders for sleep." Marcia agreed and pulled aside one of the roses from the vase.
There was just the hint of bite in her tone that had Rei's eyes narrowing. "Your point is?"
Marcia threw her an indulgent smile over her shoulders. "Oh come now, we're both women. There's no need to pretend. A midnight stroll, a lakeside view, a handsome man by the moonlight. There's nothing like a romantic setting to set a woman's heart racing and make her start dreaming."
Because the word had hit a bit too close to home, anger rose. "Are you actually suggesting that Mr. Arlington and I are having something going on between us?"
"Well I do have eyes, little one."
"Well get yourself a pair of glasses." Rei snapped not particularly liking the patronizing tone the other woman was using. "We were just talking."
The smile Marcia bestowed on her was slightly frigid. "Since you are that certain of it then I must commend on your sound judgment."
"Oh really?" Rei said sarcastically.
Marcia gave her a pitying look. "Take it from a woman who has seen Jay grow up. Unlike his gentleman grandfather, he has the heart of steel. He never does something without a reason and once he's achieved his goals he leaves them crying. I've seen it happen often enough."
While Rei had suspected as much, oddly enough having it confirmed by someone else didn't please her as much as she would have thought. Or maybe it was just the fact that the confirmation was coming from this particular woman. The combination of Marcia's treatment of her yesterday along with what Rei knew about her mother's own experience had made her decide that she disliked the woman.
Deliberately making her voice sound amused and disbelieving, Rei said. "Am I to take it then that you are concerned for my wellbeing?"
Dark eyes hardened with temper and the tone was hard as a rock. "Suit yourself if you won't take the warning to heart. If you want to end up with the same fate as your mother, then by all means."
She turned to leave but Rei reached out and grabbed hold of her arm. "What do you mean by that?" Rei demanded fiercely.
Marcia took one deliberate look at Rei's arm. The message was clear. Forcing herself to reign in her temper, Rei reluctantly let go of the woman's arm.
Satisfied, Marcia looked up at her and said. "Your parents' relationship was doomed from the very beginning. They came from two far different backgrounds. There was no way it could have lasted for them. Girls like you grow up reading Cinderella stories and think its going to happen to you too but reality is far more different; as your mother found out. No matter how hard she tried, Sakura could never completely adapt to our world and our way of living. She didn't belong here and neither do you." The last was said with finality in her tone before she swept off, leaving Rei staring at the spot she had just left.
It took Rei a moment before she gathered enough of her scattered wits to close her hanging jaw with a sound click. Feeling disoriented by the whole conversation, Rei shook her head. All of that just to make her point that she didn't belong here? Here she thought she would have something far more interesting revealed to her as the Marcia's tone had implied. But the woman hadn't revealed anything Rei didn't already know.
A thoughtful frown marred her delicate face.
Why was Marcia repeating herself? Why was she so adamant to make sure Rei understood that she wasn't welcome here. It was as if she was trying to get rid of her as soon as possible. If Rei didn't better, she would almost say that Marcia was afraid of her. But the thought was just ridiculous. Had she had a closer relationship with her father and not to mention if the rest of the Holden's would even acknowledge her relation to them then the theory might have been more believable.
No, Rei shook her head mentally. She would just have to accept the fact that her father's relatives were just plain nutcases. The sooner she got this over with, the better for her. Who knew, it could be contagious! Already she was feeling the urge to want to bang her head against the wall and what normal person would ever think about doing that?
Fortunately for her it was still a bit early and it seemed none of the Holdens' were up yet. The staff left her alone and Rei was able to treat herself to a breakfast in peace and quiet. The moment of sanctuary did a lot to restore her equilibrium and mood.
Afterwards, since there was still some time left, Rei decided to take a tour outside. Slipping out through one of the side doors, she came immediately upon a paved pathway which led in two different directions. The backside of the mansion was to her right and having already seen the place, Rei decided to take the left fork that would lead her towards the main entrance.
As she walked alongside the path, Rei had to marvel at the care the gardeners seemed to have put into the greenery. Well tended bushes, flowerbeds, lawns and even ivies followed the architecture of the house to make the house look like it was part of the nature rather than a structure built in it. Clearly a lot of thought and heart had been put down into the designing of this place.
Recalling that Martin had told her yesterday that this place had been built by the combined effort of Madame, James Arlington and her grandfather Franco, Rei couldn't help but to wonder. It didn't surprise her to find out that James Arlington designed the place. He looked like a man who was passionate and creative enough to sketch a dream like this from thin air. What was harder for her to wrap her mind around was Madame being part of this. The woman was clearly ambitious and capable, or else the company wouldn't have flourished under her directive. But she seemed too controlling, and if Rei had to describe the type of person Madame was she would have pegged her as a fixer and not a dreamer. As for Franco, anything was possible there she supposed. Aside from the fact that he seemed to have been the love of Madame's life and had died tragically in an accident before the birth of his son, Rei had to admit she knew little of the faceless man that was her paternal grandfather.
It was a pity. If there was one person she might have wanted to get to know better, it would probably have been Franco Gierro. From what she had seen of the house, he had truly been an artist. She could sense the passion he felt for his work in every corner and every detail of the house. It was the legacy of a man of who had truly loved his work and left a part of his soul in the things he created.
As she rounded a corner, Rei stopped to look at the building that appeared in front of her. From the wide doors she could clearly see that it was the garage and yet half of the building had been built with a second floor that clearly indicated that it was used as a living quarter as well. In a way the place looked like a small miniature of the mansion if slightly disfigured. Strangely enough, Rei found that building a lot more pleasing to the eye than the mansion itself. If one didn't look too closely at the wide garage doors and just focused on the living quarters there was something very charming and almost fairy tale like about the building. She could almost imagine a princess sitting by the windowsill on the second floor framed by the flowers there and waiting for her prince to arrive.
Curious at how the inside looked like, Rei walked closer and touched the door gently to see if it was locked. The door swung open with a slight creaking sound. She winced and tensed, waiting to see if anyone heard her. Faint sounds drifted out towards her as she heard two voices talking.
Her first instinct was to turn and leave. Socializing was the last thing she wanted to do but then she heard the tone of voice and the anger in it caught her ears. Curiosity won over and she found herself standing there by the threshold and straining her ears.
"…you're always like that." A woman spoke up, frustration lacing her voice. "Why can't you just for once just chill out and act like a normal person instead of a mechanical doll who lets an old lady think for him?"
The voice sounded familiar but Rei couldn't put her finger on who's exactly, it belonged to.
"If you are referring to me not letting you use the Porsche, Miss Louise. I was only acting out for your own best interest. Considering your destination, the red Porsche is not a suitable choice of transportation to use." A calm voice replied.
Rei's eyebrows nearly disappeared under her bangs. She might not have recognized the earlier voice too easily, but she definitely did this one. The dark voice with the slight hint of Southern drawl was not easy to forget. The last two people she would have imagined conversing with each other were Louise, the vibrant daughter of Trish, and Emmet, the stoic chauffeur who had driven Rei and Marcus from Manhattan to the estate.
"Considering your destination the red Corvette is not a suitable choice of transportation to use." Came the mimicked reply. "Arghhh! Stop talking as if I'm still a child. In case you haven't noticed I'm a woman now. Or maybe you would like to take a closer look?"
Louise's voice quickly dropped into a husky seductive tone. There was a moment of silence and despite telling herself not to, Rei found herself moving closer to risk a peek around the corner. What she saw there had her blinking her eyes in surprise.
Among the rows of expensive looking cars, the couple was standing together by a bright red sports car. Emmett, wearing his usual dark uniform was standing completely still in front of the door on the driver's side, his hands kept firmly to his sides. Louise was standing so close she was practically plastered on him as she covered his lean frame with the softer curves of her body. The difference in height was minimal and with her arms wrapped around his neck, their eyes were nearly at the same level and their lips barely an inch apart. Even through the distance, Rei could see the intent gleam on Louise's blue eyes as she leaned closer.
There was a faint sound, Rei didn't catch what was said but there was no mistaking her intent as Louise covered his face with light feathery kisses between each pronounced word.
"Miss Louise, if you would kindly step back I need to get the limousine out. The service is about to start soon and we would not want to be late." Emmett requested politely as if having a woman as his second skin was nothing out of the ordinary.
Louise tensed and looked up. Her eyes studied his carefully and whatever she saw must have convinced her that he meant business. The warmth in her eyes disappeared, like frost covering the lake on a winter morning and she loosened her hold on him.
"Suit yourself." She shrugged and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. "It's your loss."
Emmett didn't say anything in reply.
Louise threw him a feline smile before she turned on her heels and sauntered towards the exit. When she reached the threshold, she stopped and looked over her shoulder. "The limo looks a bit dirty. You might want to give it another polish before taking it out. There's going to be plenty of people around today and we wouldn't want any of them to think we hire just about anyone to work as the family chauffeur."
The remark was scathing and reminded Rei very much of a woman who felt insulted because the man she had tried to seduce hadn't reacted to her advances. Rei wondered how Louise would have reacted instead if she knew the truth.
While Emmett might have appeared to have been indifferent by Louise's seduction, Rei knew better. She had seen the way his fingers had twitched when Louise had leaned close to kiss him and rubbed her body against his. He had looked like a man who had been tempted to bury his hands into those thick curls and taken himself a more proper kiss. He was certainly far too still now for a man who had been very insistent on returning to his work.
Figuring that Emmett most probably wouldn't like to know that someone had witnessed a private scene like that, Rei snuck quietly back out again.
She knew it wasn't her place to say anything but she wished she could take Louise aside and give her a good slap. Maybe the violence would jar some sense into her. Acting like that just because the man was doing his job was just plain childish and stupid. Fortunately for Louise Emmett seemed to have more sense, otherwise things might have gotten real bad for her. That of course made Louise's parting remark truly heartless. Rei disliked people who used their position to put other people down.
"You know, once in a while it would be nice to come upon you when you're not trying to chew rocks." The sudden remark came out of nowhere, startling her enough to scatter her thoughts out of her mind.
Whipping her head to the right, she met the slightly amused face of Jay Arlington as he leaned negligently against the wall with his arms crossed.
Gathering her wits fast, Rei shot back. "And once in a while it would be nice to see you when you're not trying to give me a heart attack."
One brow quirked up. "I didn't figure you were the kind of woman who scared that easily."
"I'm not. But you might try once in a while announcing your presence."
"I thought I was just doing that."
"I meant other than throwing out remarks into thin air." Rei gritted her teeth.
"And miss seeing that lovely scowl on your face." He parried with a glint in his eyes.
Idly, Rei wondered if she could wrap her hand around that neck of his and squeeze the life out of him. "I don't scowl."
"You go around looking at yourself in the mirror?"
"No, of course not." Rei told him in an affronted tone of voice.
"Then trust me, honey. You were scowling." He informed her.
Maybe she could hide his body inside the coffin with her father? "I wouldn't trust you as far as I can throw you." She muttered instead.
"Well obviously someone has woken up on the wrong side of the bed today." Jay observed, either ignoring her last remark or not taking offense to it. With a lithe movement he pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to her. He stopped and bent slightly to peer at her face closely. "You've got dark rings under your eyes. That bad a night, huh?"
"I've been through worse." Her voice was a bit too sharp. Somehow having him standing this close to her, made her think of the way Louise and Emmett had stood inside the garage and that in turn made her remember her own dreams or more particularly what they had been doing in them. She still couldn't understand how the hell her mind could have conjured up a dream like that. There was nothing to base it on. It would have been one thing if she was attracted to him, but she wasn't. No most probably it was just due to an overworked mind and she was just trying to sort out her thoughts and they all got jumbled up inside. The conversation she had with Mako, the midnight stroll and the piano tune she had heard last night; they were all sources of her dream. Not to mention the man gave of an air of sexuality too. Not that she suspected he did that deliberately; no he was probably the kind of guy who was sexual by nature.
Mistaking her tone as annoyance at him for mentioning her appearance, Jay shrugged. "Just showing some friendly concern. Anyways I need to get moving or I'm going to be late. You want to hitch a ride with me or go together with the others?"
Rei glanced at the driveway where two cars were already pulling up. Behind her she could hear the engine come to life, where no doubt Emmett was bringing out his. "Who's riding in what car?"
"No idea. Dean just drove off with Martin. Louisa will most probably ride in one with Trish and Louise. They'll have space for you there if Charmaine is not going with them too. Either that or you can ride with Madame and Gramps. I wouldn't recommend going with Terrence though. The kid is still pissed about yesterday."
Rei would have rather walked barefooted to the church with the ground covered in broken glass than ride with the latter group. Marcia was bad enough, add Terrence and a disgruntled kid that was like taking a ride in Hell. Not that the other two companies were any more appealing. She had had enough listening to Louisa's complaints last night and after the show back there, the granddaughter wasn't exactly a pleasant company either. As for Madame…Well Rei suspected neither one of them would enjoy the others company.
"I don't see the point in me walking all the way there when there's transportation close by." She said casually trying hard not to sound too eager to avoid the others.
His face was too smooth but all he said was. "Well in that case, shall we?" Jay nodded towards the garage.
Rei nodded her head regally and together they headed for the garage. They were just about to disappear through the door Rei had just exited from when a voice shouted out towards them, well to Jay at least.
Halting, Jay turned to look at the person. A girl in a long black coat ran towards them, her shoulder length hair billowing out like a dark mane.
"What's up, Al?" Jay asked when the girl stopped two feet a way from them.
Terrence's teenage daughter, Alice, glanced slightly at Rei before focusing her dark eyes on Jay once more. Taking a few deep breaths, she said. "Can I get a ride with you? Reggie's being a pain in the neck again and Dad'll just get mad and yell at him. I don't want to listen to him cry all the way to the church."
Jay smiled in sympathy. "Sorry, princess. I already offered Rei the ride."
Resentful eyes swiveled towards her before they were quickly masked. "Well can't she just go with someone else?"
The smile vanished from Jay's eyes. "Don't be rude, Al." He told her.
Heat rose up the girl's cheeks as much out of embarrassment at Rei being a witness to the scene as well as shame at being told off like a kid. "Well she could probably get a ride as easily from someone else." Alice muttered rebelliously. "Come on Jay you're the only one I can go with." She pleaded with her eyes.
Jay glanced over Alice's shoulder where the others were already seated in the cars. Terrence was still standing outside and looking impatiently at his watch. Knowing that the man was nearing the end of his patience, Jay said gently. "Al, if you don't want to go with your parents then ask if Louisa will take you with her. If not then maybe you can ride with Gramps."
"Aunt Louisa does nothing but lecture me and you know as well as I that Madame will never let me ride with her. She hates children." Alice told him in a hurt tone of voice. Her eyes clearly said Jay was betraying her.
"Alice. Are you coming or not?" Terrence yelled.
Alice flinched but she kept her feet planted firmly. "Jay, please." She begged.
Jay gave her a lopsided smile. "Sorry princess."
"Oh, you just don't understand anything!" She yelled at him before turning and storming off.
They watched her run back to her father's waiting car. The moment she came near the man he grabbed hold of her arm, no doubt telling her off but she resentfully shook his hand away and climbed into the vehicle. Terrence followed and slammed the door with force.
"Well I'm glad I'm not going in that car." Jay observed glibly. Turning to Rei he said, "Shall we?"
They took the same car that he drove the first day they met. The sleek car shone like it was still brand new; it even smelled like a new car. But when Jay started the engine and the light came on, Rei could see from the dashboard that it hade acquired quite a lot of mileage. Obviously the man hadn't been kidding when he said he loved his car. The thing looked well tended.
By the time they got out of the garage and drove out to the driveway, all the other cars were already disappearing through the gates and down the road. The black vehicles added to the sense of bleakness that surrounded the day. The sky was cloudy and dark and it looked like anytime soon it would open up and pour down. It was a true mourning weather.
"Don't mind, Al. She's just going through her rebellious stage right now." Jay suddenly said breaking the silence in the car.
Turning her head so that she was facing him instead of the road, Rei said dryly. "I'm used to it by now. It's hardly any different from the rest of the reception I've gotten so far."
"Give them time. They're just not used to having you around and don't know how to handle the situation. The Holden's have a tendency to act kind of brusque when they face situations like that."
"And by that are you referring to yourself as well?"
His lips quirked sideways. "I'm an Arlington. We tend to take things with a smile on our face."
"I didn't see a lot of that on our first encounter." Rei pointed out.
"You still carrying a grudge? I thought we were past that." Jay tore his eyes off the road to look at her.
Rei lifted her chin. "I'm not holding a grudge. I'm just stating a fact. You didn't exactly welcome me with open arms in the office. Now would you please keep your eyes on the road? We're heading for a funeral preferably not ours."
"I thought you changed your mind about suing me." Jay grumbled under his breath, but did as he was told.
"Contrary to the opinion of most people around here, I'm not that fond of money." Rei informed him with steel in her voice.
"I know."
The simple statement had her by surprise. It wasn't so much the words as the tone behind it. He sounded so sure. "I beg your pardon."
He took his eyes off the road and met her eyes steadily. She didn't know what rocked her more, the seriousness in that blue gaze or his words when he said calmly. "I said, I know you're not that kind of person."
"And what, pray tell, changed your mind that quickly." She made her voice light but somehow she was strangely holding her breath as she waited for his answer.
Jay smiled and turned his attention back to the road. She did sound like a disgruntled child at the moment. He wondered if she realized just how much she resembled her relatives. Though considering that he was sitting behind the wheel right now, it might be best for both of them if he didn't tell her. Like she said, it wasn't their funeral he was driving them towards.
"You showed integrity and honesty from the very first time I met you. You say what's on your mind and you never tried to pretend to be anything but who you are. I have to say that it's quite refreshing. If you say you aren't after the money then I believe you."
The way he so simply believed her was disconcerting. All her life she had only met a few people who had done that. She didn't know why but it made her glad. Maybe it was because she had been met with nothing but distrust by those who knew her father ever since she arrived in to this place. Having someone who didn't misunderstand her or automatically paint her character black as sin, felt comforting.
"Well it's good to know someone here at least has eyes." Rei grumbled under her breath.
Once again Jay's lips curved to the side. "You know what you're problem is?"
"No, but I suppose I'm about to find out."
The smile turned into a grin. "You care too much about what other people think."
"Well sorry for being brought up to considering other people's feelings too." Rei told him sarcastically.
Jay chuckled. He wondered if the last few hectic weeks at work was starting to take its toll on his mind, because strangely enough he was actually starting to find that prickly tempers of hers endearing.
"I didn't say you couldn't show consideration to their feelings I just said you shouldn't let them bother you that much. Take me for example. I don't give a damn about what other people think of me. They can say whatever they want but I still do what I like. Trust me, it makes your life much easier that way and you can sleep better at night too."
"It must be wonderful to live a carefree life like that."
"Mm, you could live that way too if you just wanted to."
Whatever more he was about to say, he never got the chance as his cell phone started to ring. The music was fast beat and it took Rei a moment to recognize is as the tune from Destiny Child's "Survivor." Somehow she didn't figure he was the kind to like songs like that. It seemed out of character.
Jay groaned, took up the cell from the inner pocket of his jacket and flipped it open. "Yeah, squirt. What do you want?"
Rei's brows rose up in surprise at his tone.
There was the static sound of someone talking on the other side of the line. Having eavesdropped on one embarrassing conversation earlier today, Rei wasn't too eager to make that mistake twice so she forced herself not to strain her ears to listen to what the other person was saying, though she couldn't do anything about shutting Jay's voice out as well.
"As much as I would love to come to another one of your rescue missions, I would have to decline this time. My car is already full." Jay's tone was awfully dry.
There was a sound that very nearly resembled a whine. After a few more moments, Jay interrupted. "Well too bad for you. Told you to plan ahead and stop doing things in the last minute. The way you've been zipping down the roads lately this was bound to happen to you sooner or later. Be glad they just towed away your car and didn't take your license as well. Just call up a cab to take you to the church and have Emmett send someone to bail out the car later."
Rei wondered who it was he was talking to. Her female instinct told her it was a woman on the other line but it didn't seem to be a lover. His voice lacked a certain intimacy. And yet his eyes were shining and his whole body gave off a warm attitude that spoke of his tender feelings towards whoever it was on the other line.
He was silent for another few moments and then he said. "Well as much as I love to hear you beg, I gotta go now. We've just reached St. Marcus. You had better call up that cab or you're going to be late for the service. See ya."
He disconnected the phone cutting off the protesting sound and turned to Rei.
"Remember what I said about not caring about what other might say? Now is the time for you to try out that theory."
He nodded towards the road. Following his direction, Rei looked ahead of them and her eyes nearly bulged.
Appearing ahead of them was the tower-like structure of a church building. High hedges surrounded the place and outside by the entrance were rows and rows of cars and people standing by the road.
"Who are those people?"
"That," Jay told her, "is called the press. They are part of the daily life of anyone who is rich and famous. The higher you are in the social ladder and the more well known your name is, the more the press surrounds you. Unfortunately, your father was not only a member of a well known family in this country but also as a Congressman and add the tragic way he died well those three combinations draws the interest of the press like vultures to carcass."
Rei didn't know whether or not to be shocked by Jay's tone of voice. Despite his choice of words, there was an indifference to his tone that spoke of his acceptance of this as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. Didn't he see something wrong with the fact that they were attending a funeral? What happened to giving the close family some respect to mourn in quiet peace? This looked more like a circus.
As if sensing their prey approaching the people gathered around the gates started to stir the moment the car came closer. Even though there were cars both in front and behind them waiting to be let into the cemetery, Rei got the impression that they received more attention than the other cars. The moment they were close enough, flashlights exploded around them and comments flew. Rei caught enough to realize that the press had identified Jay. A few bold ones even threw questions at them. Jay gave a few of them a curt nod acknowledging their presence but he refrained from saying anything as he drove past them.
By the time they reached the courtyard outside the church, Rei's eyes were still covered with blind spots from all the flashlights.
"Don't worry. Your eyesight will come back in a while, it's not permanent damage." Jay murmured softly as he went around and opened the door for her.
Reaching out more out of instinct than sight, Rei took his offered hand and allowed him to help her out of the car. "For their sake, they'd better hope so." Rei grumbled under her breath and blinked her eyes blindly.
Jay chuckled lightly.
They didn't get the chance to talk more either as some of the guests gathered outside spotted Jay and called out to him.
For the next ten minutes, Rei was introduced to a score of strangers half that she didn't even see due to spots that still seemed to cover her eyesight and half whom she would never be able to recognize in all that haste. The only thing they had in common were the sympathetic features in their eyes as they gave her their condolences. Many also wore startled looks and threw a quick glance towards Madame, who was conferring with the priest, while Rei was introduced to them.
There were only two whom made any lasting impression on Rei and those were Artur Kent and his niece Serena Kent.
Artur was an elderly man, slightly short and portly in size. He had a pair of bright blue eyes that were framed by small round glasses and a quickly receding hairline that made the top of head glow. It was not a face a person forgot easily and from the moment Rei spotted him she remembered having seen him before. Her father had brought the man along in one of his rare visits to see her outside of her birthday. She recalled that her father had introduced him as his lawyer and there to help him out with a sensitive project that the US and Japan was doing. Like the last time they met, Artur acted very polite and also slightly absentminded. He patted her hand like a caring elderly uncle and told her not to grieve too much since death was something that came to everyone sooner or later but his eyes kept scanning the crowd as if he was looking for someone.
Aside from her short appearance and blue eyes Serena Kent didn't show any kind of family resemblance to Artur at all. Her hair was pale blonde almost silver in coloring and it clashed strongly against the black dress she was wearing. What made such a strong impression on Rei was the innocence and sincerity that surrounded her. She seemed so pure and so youthful that it reminded Rei of a child though her feminine figure clearly said she wasn't. Unlike the others who clasped Rei's hand or told her how sorry they were about Rei's loss, Rei could feel the sincerity in Serena's voice. Of all the condolences she received, Serena's was the only one who managed to pierce the armor Rei had created around her heart and make her feel some of that pain she had buried.
Fortunately for Rei, Serena Kent was the last person she was introduced to before Jay led her to her seat among the front rows that had been reserved for the family, and she got the chance to be by herself for a while. There was something about meeting Serena Kent that had her finally realizing just exactly what was occurring right now. Things had been happening so fast lately and her senses had been bombarded the whole time for her to truly take the time to wrap her mind around the ugly truth. And that was that her father was dead and this was the last time she was ever going to see him again.
Rei's eyes drifted to the open casket and stared at the man that was lying there sleeping peacefully. According to Martin, who had talked to the doctor, his death had been clean and swift. His neck broke the moment the plane crashed into the sea and he never had the chance to experience the horror as some of the others did, namely drowning to death. That was at least something to be grateful of, though she doubted the experience of riding a plane as it plunged from the air was more enjoyable. She had seen the results of living through an experience like that on Mako's face. At least her father hadn't had to experience both.
The priest didn't touch upon his death though. In fact he focused most of the service on the subject of life. How it was a gift given by God and should be experienced to the fullest. Instead of mourning the loss one should focus on the good things the departed had accomplished before they left the world of the living.
As Rei listened to the priest's words her mind couldn't but think about another funeral that she had attended a long time ago. It had been a quiet ceremony with only a handful of people. Most of those attending had worn the traditional white Shinto robes, even Rei, though she had not officially begun her training as a miko at that time. The air was filled with the prayers of the priests along with the smell of burning koden. Even with the lack of people attending, the sorrow in the air had been more poignant, the mourning more intense. It was as if the very air was crying. Nobody had spoken up, not even her grandfather, even though as the head Shinto priest he was presiding over the funeral. Even at that age, her sensitivity had been sharp and Rei had felt his pain. It had been a mirror of her own. The emotion had been too much and she cried, and cried even harder when he held her close trying to comfort her even as a part of him was dying inside. They had stood together as they watched the others build Sakura's shrine underneath the crown of the very tree she was named after. Two lost souls holding on to each other, seeking comfort in the other's presence.
And now here she was again, attending yet another one of her parent's funeral. A lot of things were different however. Not only the environment and the ceremony itself but how she felt. Rei wanted to believe the reason why she wasn't crying now was because she was older and more in control of her feelings. Public display of her emotions was not something for her. But she knew that wasn't the entire truth. She didn't cry because to tell the truth she wasn't hurting as much. The pain she felt the time of her mother's funeral had been sharp, like slashing knives in the regions of her heart. What she felt now was only a dull aching pain. It was sorrow and pity for a life that had ended early. Not anger or pain for a father she had lost. She didn't know if that made her a bad person. It certainly didn't make her a good daughter; she would give Marcia credit for that. But to Rei, she lost her father a long time ago, even before she lost her mother.
Listening to Martin and the others talk about her father, Rei realized that she did indeed not know him. The glowing picture they painted of a man who had dedicated his life into helping others and making this country and the world a better place to live in, wasn't someone she could have connected to the distant man she knew. The passion, the loyalty and the kindness, they were things she never got to see or experience. In her mind the only thing she could recall was the image of those wide shoulders and the straight back as he left her at the grounds of her grandfather's temple and walked away from her towards his waiting car.
The ceremony ended. Those attending started to move, to follow as a handful of Marcus' male relatives and close friends lifted the coffin and carried him down the aisle towards the waiting car that would take them to his burial ground.
As Rei followed the silent train of people, she wondered if the estrangement between her and Marcus could have been her fault as well as his. She had spent most of her time being angry at him for his lack of attention that she never really tried to get to know him either. If either of them had tried harder would it have made any difference? Did they rob themselves of a wonderful time together because of their pride and refusal to be the first one to bend and give in to the other?
They stopped at the burial grounds. Hundreds of flowers, white gardenias, pale orchids, delicate roses and even snowy white casablancas had been planted around the hole in the ground. The priest read a small prayer and a blessing for the departed soul. White tissues, small handkerchiefs could be seen here and there as the women, mostly Holden women, discreetly wiped away their tears. Rei and Madame were the only two who stared ahead with their eyes dry and faces unreadable. Even Reggie had his face buried in mother's waist, his small fingers clutching her clothes so hard his knuckles turned white.
The priest finished his sermon and closed his bible with a finality. The mourners shifted and moved. One by one they approached the coffin and laid a single flower on the topside of the coffin before turning to leave. Rei stood where she was. Her eyes stayed on the coffin, the violet depths shrouded and unreadable. Someone, she thought it was Jay but she couldn't be sure, gave her arm a light squeeze before moving away. The crowd thinned until there was only her and the gravediggers left.
The coffin lowered slowly into the hole. The first spade of earth was shoveled into the hole, the dirt cascading down like brown rain covering the top of the shiny mahogany surface. It was like a final sign. The sign that showed the ending of another chapter of her life.
Rei stirred as if wakening up from a long dream. Looking around she bent down and plucked the stem of a delicate blooming Casablanca lily from the bouquets lying on the ground. Casablanca, it was her favorite flower and it had also been her mother's and maybe, just maybe Marcus had held a fondness for them too since they were here today. It made her feel slightly better to know that whatever might have gone wrong at least the three of them could share that.
I guess we will never know if you and I could have patched things up.
She threw the lily into the hole. It sailed down and landed gently in the middle. A single white flower in the mist of brown earth.
Goodbye, father.
For the first and last time in her life, Rei was the one to walk away from her father.
~ o ~
Jay moved through the throng of people on their way to their cars. His six feet gave him the advantage of looking over many people's head in search for the person, for his target. As he had suspected he spotted the black haired man standing close to a tiny woman with a crown of pale blonde hair.
His friend was becoming too predictable. If Serena was around, you couldn't find Darien any further than two feet away from her. He knew his friend had caught the L-word bad but this was way beyond that, this was sick. If Jay didn't find a way to cure him soon he was going to have to stay away from him. Staying close to a lovesick puppy was bad for a confirmed bachelor's image. The women around him would start getting the wrong idea. Already those close to Serena were eyeing him in a cagey kind of way that has his instincts giving off alarm bells and telling him to run the other way as fast as he could.
The couple was walking hand in hand, heading for Darien's car. Jay had to push his away through the crowd to reach them before they entered the car. He had initially wanted to talk to his friend before the funeral and ask him about his London mission but the guy had arrived late, entering hurriedly nearing the end of the sermon together with Mina and there hadn't been any chance of that.
Wryly, Jay had to admit that despite Mina's lousy luck with cops, she always did have a knack in finding a guy to do what she wanted. Jay had been so sure she was going to miss the whole thing. The thought of Madame giving her a little showdown had been very appealing to Jay. It might make her rethink this stupid notion of becoming an actress. There were so many things she could do, why the Hell did she want to become an actress?
Unfortunately he had too many things on his mind right now to deal with Mina's current obsession. Hopefully she would realize her mistake in time and focus her energy on something more practical.
"Dare!"
Darien looked over his shoulder and nodded his head when Jay came up to them.
"You got a moment?" Jay asked.
Darien gave Serena a look. She glanced at Jay and back again to Darien and gave him one of her serene smiles. "I'll drive back to the mansion. Why don't you go with Jay? That way the two of you can talk in private."
Darien gave her one of his rare smiles. The tenderness in his eyes was a true evidence of his feelings for her. "I'll see you soon." He told her and gave her a swift hard kiss on the mouth.
Jay couldn't quite help to keep the amusement away from his eyes. It was apparent that the whole abstinence thing was becoming more and more frustrating for his friend.
"See you later, angel." Jay told the blushing Serena and headed for his car.
"So where's your date?" Darien asked curiously and looked around as he fell into step with Jay.
"Who?"
"You know, Marcus' daughter." He gave Jay a sidelong glance. "I spotted the two of you sitting together at the church. And you had been inseparable ever since."
"I gave her a lift from the house. Just seemed the right thing to do to keep her company later on. Especially since the others are ignoring her." Jay told his friend. He didn't add that he had felt the need to stay by her side the whole time to make sure she was alright. The strange protectiveness he felt for her was not something he wanted to delve too much into. Especially if he intended to go through with his plans: plans that might include him having to hurt her.
"So the freezing out thing has started, huh." Darien murmured.
It was not a completely alien experience for either of them. Jay had experienced it first when his grandfather first brought him and Mina to live at the Holden's guesthouse. Darien got a shot of that too when he started hanging out with Jay. The Holdens had a tendency to be very suspicious of outsiders before they warmed up to them.
"Then why aren't you with her now? How's she going to get back?"
"I asked Artur to give her a ride. He's coming to the house anyhow."
"He's going to read the will this soon?" Darien's brow shot up in surprise as his head swiveled to his friend's.
They reached Jay's car and climbed in. Jay took his time to maneuver them out of the crowd before he answered him. "I got the impression that it was part of Marcus's will." He didn't say anything more but having known him for years, Darien knew how to read things without having him voice it.
"There's more to it than that, isn't there?"
By this time they had cleared the burial grounds and come out to the countryside. The side road was empty. Still Jay cast a sidelong glance at the mirrors.
"Artur was edgy and very absentminded. Even more so than ordinary." He added while he switched on the radio. Music blasted through the speakers with enough volume to have him wincing and Darien clutching his ears in pain.
"Sorry." Jay muttered and hurriedly lowered the volume. He changed the hard rock music for something softer; something that went with the occasion. Soon the soulful bittersweet tune of saxophone started playing in the background. He always did prefer to drive his car with music on even if he wasn't really listening to it, there was something about having that sound in the background that felt soothing.
"Anyways as I was saying, something tells me that Artur is behaving this way because of something in Marcus's will."
"You mean something that even we didn't predict?"
Jay brushed back the lock of hair that had fallen over his eyes with an absentminded gesture. Maybe it was time for him to get a haircut. This was getting annoying.
"I don't know yet. We'll find out later once they read it, won't we? If they come out of the study looking like thunderclouds then things are still going as planned. Otherwise… Well we'll just cross that bridge when we get there."
Darien shook his head. "You gotta have balls of steel. If I had so much riding on this, I wouldn't be able to be this relaxed."
"The women haven't complained so far." Jay told him dryly and then in a more sober tone he added. "There's no sense in worrying about things I can't have control over. I'd rather gather as much as I can about things that I can do something about. So tell me how did things go in London?"
"It's like we suspected. It seems Steel had seen Sarah Bryde the night before the meeting in Rome. My guess is he slipped the offer to her there. As for the leak, I have haven't pinpointed it yet. I narrowed it down to three people though: Farshaw, Lex and Winslow."
Darien stopped to take a break and continued.
"Farshaw and Lex worked closely together on this project. Any one of them could have access to the information. But we both know lately Winslow probably knows as much as Lex since the latter can't manage things without his help anymore. If he wants to get at the information it wouldn't be that hard. Plus as a background figure suspicions wouldn't fall on him as easily."
Jay was silent for a moment. "What projects have they've been involved in before this?"
Darien named a few. Both thought the same thing. There were two other project names that they had lost to Tridell.
"They didn't work with the key roles. They wouldn't have access to the necessary information." Darien pointed out.
"No but they might know someone who has. Holden Inc never does large project like that relying on just one person. This means for them to gain the information there's more than just one leak, either that or someone who's sitting very high in management."
A heavy silence filled the car.
Jay's eyes were focused on the road but he could feel his friend staring at him in disbelief. "The only one high enough are the immediate family. You're not saying…"His voice died out, he shook his head. "No. They wouldn't."
"If I can think about rebelling then why not one of them?" Jay pointed out. "It's no secret that Madame's feelings for Terrence had never been any warmer than tepid. Every time she sees him she thinks of his father. The guy is bound to be sick of that sooner or later. Actually I'm surprised he lasted this long."
The ambiguity of Madame's character had always stumped him. The woman could be very generous, caring and forgiving, yet at the same time she could be vindictive and narrow minded. Jay wasn't sure what Edward Hamilton had done to Madame but it must have been something very bad to have her treating the son the way she did. Anybody with eyes could see that of all three sons, Terrence was the least favorite and Marcus the favorite. Just like the husbands.
"I admit Martin is a bit of a wild guess, having been under her thumb for that long but heck people can surprise you. Now Frederic on the other hand, he wouldn't surprise me at all. That guy has always been ambitious."
"She's their mother and aunt." Darien pointed out.
Jay shrugged. "Since when has that stopped people from trying to achieve their goals? Ask Serena she should know that."
At the mention of his fiancée Darien's mouth turned grim.
Serena was the perfect example of what a person was willing to do for power and money. Richard Jennings, Serena's uncle on her mother's side, had worked at Holden Inc as one of Madame's most trusted advisors. Greed had made him think he could take over the company and when the coup had failed, mainly due to his sister's and brother-in-law's interference, he had made one desperate act that had ended in tragedy. Kidnapping baby Serena in hope of ransoming for money, the result ended with a big explosion that cost both Kents' life along with his own and Fred's father's.
"Alright so you made your point." Darien flexed his shoulder, trying to get the stiffness out of it. His body had still not recovered yet from the speedy flight back from London and the straight drive from the airport to the church. "What do we do now?"
"Keep following those leads. See if you can find any connection between them and any other high personnel in the company. Trace their money, their calls, have them followed if you have to. I want to know who they see, who they talk to and who they sleep with. I'm going to work on my own contacts and see if they can find anything from within Tridell. I'm especially curious about this Kenneth Steel that Tridell has hired. From what I could find out he seems to be a wiz guy. Dabbles in everything and has the hand of Midas. Everything he touches turns into a fountain of gold. He was last hired to save Kelsey's from bankruptcy and not only did he manage that, he turned the whole chain into one of the country's most successful department stores in less than two years."
"Well I can tell you is he seems to be a real ladies man too. Sarah Bryde is completely head over heels for him. She keeps a photo of him in her drawers together with her undies."
Jay cast his friend a suspicious look. "And how would you know?"
Darien shrugged. "Called up an old friend. The two of us went on a little adventuring tour in the night."
"Are we turning into burglars these days? And an official's home to boot, you sure have a funny way of dealing with sexual tension." Jay commented.
"Don't even go there." Darien growled. That joke was not even the slightest bit funny anymore. If he wasn't also sitting in the car, Darien would have cheerfully knocked his friend out cold.
Jay as if reading his mind hurriedly said. "Okay, okay. Jeesh, chill out, its only one more month to go and then you will be out of your misery."
He stopped the car at the curving driveway right in front of the main entrance. On queue the moment he shut of the engine, Bentley opened the door and stepped out to the porch.
"Keep talking like that I'll find myself another best man." Darien got out of the car and slammed the door behind him.
Jay couldn't keep back the instinctive wince at the act even though he knew his friend was waiting to see it. "And miss out on the wonderful bachelor party I have arranged for you?" He called after his friend with a gleam in his eyes.
The two of them jogged up the steps and as routine, Jay threw his car keys to Bentley who fished them up in the air.
"Master Jay, Master Darien. Madame would like to see the both of you in the study." Bentley called after their retreating backs as they disappeared inside.
Both men shared a meaningful look and headed immediately for the study.
"Good. I figured the two of you would arrive together." Madame said the moment they entered the room. She was standing by the window with her back to them studying the sky, her pose very much like the one Jay had used yesterday at that very spot.
"So what did you find out?" Madame asked after Darien had closed the door behind them. She took a seat by one of the two deep chairs by the window, its high back made it almost seem like a throne, and added to the image of her holding court.
While Darien took a seat on the opposite chair facing hers and started giving her the same information he had told Jay earlier (with some glossed out facts), Jay settled to lean against the mantle piece with his favorite pose namely his arms and ankles crossed. Madame listened the whole time without interrupting. In fact her face was completely unreadable as she digested the news and the possibilities that two of her most trusted employees could be betraying her.
"I've asked Rich to stay behind in London under the disguise of helping the others out. Bryson especially seems to feel a bit bad about the whole incident and he wanted to see if Holden will consider taking on some other project. Nothing in the league of the Thames-project though." Darien gave a faint lopsided smile. "It seemed to lift the spirits of our people over there."
Madame merely grunted at the news. In her opinion if the project wasn't large or prestigious enough, prestigious as in lots of media focus, then it wasn't worth the time or effort of Holden Inc.
Knowing this, Jay still couldn't keep himself from pointing out, "The fruits of the labor might not be harvested now but who knows what will happen in a few years."
As expected Madame's lips pursed in displeasure. "I've told you before, Holden Inc. has a reputation of being stable and only working on the best constructing projects. That is how we have remained a stable company with a good demand on our stocks. I'm not about to start gambling on these risky projects that you deem might have potentiality later. Can you imagine the scream the rest of the stockowners will give? The share prices will drop like lead. Just stick to designing the things our customers want and leave the running of the business to me."
"The company has reached a state of non-growth." Jay informed her coolly, resenting the lecturing tone she used. Just because he was good at designing didn't mean he couldn't do anything else. The company was as much part of his life as any other members, if not more. Unlike Frederic, Jay had actually worked in all parts of the business branches including the construction sites and the janitor's office. James had believed in giving Jay a thorough education so that he would have the intimate knowledge of all aspects as well as appreciate the work others did.
"Keeping the turnover at twenty billion is not something to scoff at. It still makes us one of the largest companies in the world."
Fine if she wanted to talk numbers then he'd give her numbers. "Turnover is not the only thing that decides the wellbeing of a company. Our market shares have gone from thirty percent down to twenty five in the past three years. Not to mention our earnings per share has decreased over the last two years. Holden Inc has turned from being a coveted stock that has a lot of trade each day into one of those that old ladies keep in their portfolio."
If she was impressed by his knowledge of the numbers, she certainly didn't show it as she regarded him with cool violet eyes. "And what's wrong with having old ladies own Holden' stocks? I'd rather have them then a bunch of young Wall Street pups straight from prep school playing around with my stocks."
It was amazing how, despite the fact that over thirty percent of Holden stocks were floating in the stock market as merchandise that just about anybody could buy, Madame could still view everything as hers.
"The company needs to start taking chances or we'll never be able to beat companies like Tridell. This is just the beginning."
"Nonsense." Madame waved his warning off like an annoying fly. "They might have managed to snatch a few of our projects and turned into a thorn in our side but they'll hardly give us that much trouble. I'll deal with them like I've dealt with those before them."
Jay opened his mouth and was about to point out that things have changed over the years. Business dealings these days were not done the same anymore but he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Enter."
At the curt command given by Madame the knock opened and Serena peeked through with her ever present sunny face. "Are you three talking business again?" She demanded in an accusatory tone of voice.
"We were just about to finish. Were you looking for me or your sweetheart?"
Darien cast Jay a pained look at the endearment but got no sympathy from him. Instead of voicing his own opinion his friend had taken the coward's way out by remaining silent and pretending to study the scenery outside and Jay felt it was only fair that he returned the favor.
"Oh no," Serena shook her head adamantly and cast a look at fiancé. Seeing the pained expression she blushed slightly in response before focusing on Madame again. "I was looking for you, Madame. Uncle Artur wanted me to inform you that the meeting should be ready to take place at your requested time and that nearly all involved parties have been informed to be present. Jay, you are to attend to."
It was news to him. When Marcus had gathered the family, on the day he had his will written five years ago, James had been the only non Holden of those gathered. Jay wondered if Marcus had made any more changes. He certainly hoped so.
He cast a look at Madame and saw something flicker in those violet eyes, something emotional and strong before the same unreadable mask went up, but it was enough to make Jay feel like a lowlife for having that argument with her earlier. Today was after all the day she buried her beloved son, despite her collected appearance, the emotion in those eyes had revealed her pain and what she must have felt all along. Yet to continue on like this, Jay had to salute to her. Madame Holden was indeed a very strong woman.
While both Jay and Darien were clueless what to do to cover the obvious awkward moment, Serena on the other hand was not as helpless.
"Oh Madame." With her large cerulean eyes overflowing with tears, she ran across the room and fell down to her knees in front of the old lady, embracing her in her arms.
Madame had turned quite still at the sudden impulsive and blatant show of emotion. But then a wistful smile crossed her face and she slowly lifted a hand to stroke against Serena's silver head. Her touch was gentle and had both Darien and Jay looking away in a mixture of discomfort and longing. It had reminded them too much of a private moment between a mother soothing her child and neither of them had ever had the luxury to experience much of that.
After a moment Serena drew back and started to gather herself. "I'm sorry. Here I am supposedly to help you and instead I start blubbering all over you." She brushed away her tears with one hand even as she tried to brush away the tears that stained Madame's clothes. "I'm told myself I wouldn't do this. I was supposed to be helping you and instead you end up having to comfort me."
She sniffed in between and tried in vain to dry her herself up with her hand until Darien discreetly handed her his handkerchief. She gave him a grateful smile. Both Jay and Madame watched with amusement as the formerly confirmed bachelor melted like butter under the bright sun of her smile.
Turning back to Madame with a sincere look of concern, Serena asked. "Is there anything that I can do for you Madame? Anything I can help with?"
Madame waved a hand in a dismissing gesture. "Nay, child. Everything is taken care of."
"Would you like me to stay and keep you company? I'm sure Uncle Artur won't mind if I stayed for a few days."
"Don't try to cuddle me, child." Madam warned with displeasure. "You possess more brains than those of my blood and I get enough of that from them."
"They are just worried about you." Having heard that comment before, Serena merely patted Madame's hand. "You could try not to be so harsh on them and just let them show you once in a while that they care."
Madame gave a bark of laughter. "Hah, don't delude yourself, child. The only thing they care about is my money. If I was to turn poor as church mouse tomorrow then we'll see how many of them still hang around."
The frown marring the younger woman's forehead clearly said that she didn't agree with Madame. It was one of the things that made Serena into the special person she was, her rare innocent personality and unwavering belief in the goodness in everyone. No matter how bad the person was she could always find something good about that person. She had a soothing effect on people around her and Jay strongly suspected it was also what drew people to her and made her so well liked among her peers. She reminded them of the innocence they lost a long time ago and made them want to explore their softer side.
Even Madame was not immune to Serena's charms as it was obvious for everyone to see. Serena was the only one who was able to interrupt business and live to tell about it. Had it been anyone else knocking on this door right now Madame would have flayed that person's skin off. She showed Serena patience where she would no other and she indulged her in a way that she did none other than Marcus.
"Enough of about me, tell me how are the weddings plans going? Have you decided on a date yet?" Madame looked at the couple.
"Yes."
"No."
Jay held back a smile while Madame looked at both with a slightly puzzled gaze. Darien wore a slight scowl on his face that turned darker when his fiancée grimaced at him. "Well which is it then?" She demanded when neither spoke up. "Have you or haven't you decided on a date?"
They both remained silent. Serena however was wearing a blatantly guilty look on her face that was making Madame decidedly suspicious.
"Serena."
"Well…" Serena fidgeted with her hand, a bad habit that she and a clear indication that she was trying to stall and come up with an explanation that was not quite a lie but not the truth either.
"Spill it out, child."
The command had the blonde woman jerking up like a soldier and talking. "Well at first we decided on the first of July but then with everything going around we thought we should postpone it a bit." Her voice died out in the end and she gave Madame a helpless look.
"Nonsense child, whatever would you want to do that for?"
Serena spread her arms. A very energetic woman, she rarely spoke without moving her body in some way. "It didn't seem like it was appropriate to start celebrating a wedding so soon after this."
"And what do you feel about this, Darien?"
Darien glanced at Serena's pleading eyes but knew that he couldn't lie to Madame. "I don't agree."
"Oh really?"
He met her stare for stare. The way the muscle at his jaw ticked slightly was a clear indication of temper brewing even despite the coolness of his eyes. "I don't see how postponing our wedding is going to change reality. The fact is Marcus is dead and there's nothing that either one of us can do that can reverse that. A wedding is just as much part of life as a funeral. We shouldn't put our lives on hold just because he died. He wouldn't have wanted that."
There was a long heavy moment of silence. Jay studied Madame interestedly trying to read her reaction to Darien's words. Serena fidgeted with her hands even more fearing the damage Darien might have done. She loved the old lady dearly and viewed her as the mother she never got to know. Having the two most important people in her life facing of like that was pure hell for her. Fortunately her moment of discomfort didn't stay long.
"You're damn right he wouldn't." Turning to Serena Madame said. "You made a good choice here."
Serena blushed prettily at the compliment. "I know." She added shyly. The two lovebirds shared a look that made Jay's stomach roll and his teeth ache.
"So tell me more about the wedding plans. Have you decided on where to have it? St Patrick's would be the best choice."
For the next half hour Jay was treated to the intimate details of planning a wedding. Many times he felt like making his excuse and leave but one quelling look from Madame had him staying obediently at his place.
He never knew there were so many things involved in a wedding. He always figured it just a matter of attending the ceremony say your vows in front of the priest and off to the honeymoon. Listening to Serena prattle about the details was making his head hurt. He couldn't believe he was suffering alone since he was damn sure neither Darien nor Madame liked those frilly things and yet strangely enough neither interrupted nor told her to stop. Instead one was giving her supporting nods while the other squeezed her hand and encouraging her to continue.
Jay was just reaching the point when he was playing with the idea of killing himself when Serena suddenly remembered something she had to show Madame and dashed out of the room. Despite his fondness for her, Jay admitted he had never been gladder to see a person leave.
He was just about to make a dash for the door himself when something Madame said caught his interest and made him linger.
"I hope you realize what kind of treasure you have there. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life." The old lady was looking pointedly at Darien who in turn was looking back at her with stormy blue eyes.
"Your warning is duly noted but completely unnecessary. I love her and the last thing I would go out to do is hurt her." Darien told her tightly.
Jay figured now was probably not to the time to point of to his friend that by helping him to snatch the company from Madame's hold might indirectly not please Serena considering her feelings for the old lady. Ever since they were children Darien was always the one who knew what he was doing.
Madame grunted. "See to it that you it that you keep your word. Now off you go both of you, it's hard enough getting some privacy around here." She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
Jay gave her a parting nod with his head before following his tightlipped friend through the door. He reached out a hand to give his friend a friendly clap on the shoulder. The rigidity there told him Darien was holding his temper by a thin thread.
"You know how protective she can be of Rena considering what happened to Rena's parents. And considering your track record well that warning wasn't exactly unexpected."
"I know that." Darien snarled. "It still doesn't give her the right to question me or my feelings for Serena."
Jay held up both his hands in a motion for peace. Silence, he decided might be the wisest thing right now.
~ o ~
In another part of the house Rei was looking for some peace and quiet too. The ride back from the cemetery with Artur Kent had been trying on her patience. She didn't understand considering how absentminded he was, how he could actually work as a lawyer. Trying to follow his speech was like walking into a maze, he jumped from one topic to another without the least bit of connection between them. To save herself a headache Rei had closed off his voice until it was nothing but a buzzing sound in the background. Since he was holding more or less a monotone dialogue it was enough that she gave a few commenting sounds at the appropriate places to make it seem as if she was listening.
Rei was just about to use one of the backstairs to head to her room when the sound of Louisa's voice stopped her. It was the harshness that drew her. Rounding the corner, Rei found Louisa berating her daughter, raking her with her sharp criticizing tongue up one side and down the other.
Rei eyebrows rose when she heard the woman describe her daughter's behavior at the funeral as embarrassing and scandalous. From what she recalled the only thing that Trish had done there was cry loudly, there was hardly anything scandalous about that.
The admirable thing was how Trish took all her criticism without even retorting back once. If it had been Rei, she would have snapped a long time ago. Even if the person had good reason, which Louisa didn't even have, Rei would never tolerate anyone talking to her that way. Was the old woman even aware of what she was doing to her daughter? Couldn't she see the hurt in those blue eyes?
Out of consideration for Trish, Rei waited until the other woman had disappeared to freshen up before she stepped out and revealed her presence.
Louisa gave a visible start at her sudden appearance but recovered quickly and barked. "What do you want?"
Ignoring her rude tone, Rei asked her. "Why are you so harsh on her?" She nodded towards the direction where Trish had disappeared. "She seems like the perfect daughter and yet you do nothing but criticize her all the time."
Louisa inhaled strongly and drew herself up erect so that with her added height she could look down on Rei. "My relationship with my daughter is hardly any concern for anyone, especially strangers." She told her in a tone that clearly said it was the end of discussion.
"You can't tell me that I'm the only who has actually found this henpecking attitude weird."
From the way Louisa suck in her breath it was quite clear that she had not expected Rei to actually talk back to her.
"I do not pick on my daughter." She replied in a huffed tone of voice but there was a defensive quality in it that told Rei that she wasn't quite as sure as she wanted to give appearance of.
"I don't know how you people refer it over here but from what I was taught if a person constantly criticizes another especially over small things it's called picking on that person. The only two conclusions I can draw from that are either you hate her or you are a bitter old lady."
"And which one am I?" Louisa shifted her cane in front of her and clasped her hands together on the top. Her eyes had a guarded expression to it and she looked like a woman who was waiting for a verdict.
Strangely enough Rei felt the first stirring of pity when she watched the woman. She couldn't base her reaction on anything but her intuition.
She tried to be gentle when she said, "I haven't been here long enough but the little I have seen of Trish, she seemed to be a pretty decent person. She's nice, polite, respectful and sensitive to others. She just doesn't seem to me like a person who would do something that would warrant that kind of hatred."
Louisa sniffed. "Not a bad assessment for someone who has only been here a day." She muttered under her breath. "So you're conclusion is I'm nothing but a bitter old lady."
"You don't look like you're happy."
One silver brow arched in the air. "Does the occasion seem like something to be joyous about? You might have hated your father and find his loss nothing of importance but I was quite fond of the boy."
The jab hurt but Rei kept her face smooth.
"I wasn't just referring to now but in general. Something tells me that you've spent most of your life being bitter about something."
Louisa barked a laugh but there was a bitter tone to it. "You want to know why I'm so bitter? Ask your dear grandmamma."
The information didn't surprise Rei, she had already deducted from yesterday that there was not much love between the sisters.
Shrugging she said, "I'm not here to dig out your old family skeletons. Whatever grudge the two of you have is between the two of you, you might want to think about that too and not let that affect your relationship with others. From what I can see Trish seems to love you a lot and it would be a shame if she got fed up in the end."
She decided to leave with those parting words and let Louisa mull over them on her own. This was, she decided, the best she could do to help out a person in need. She didn't want to get herself more involved with the problems of this family. From what she had seen they had plenty of those. If it wasn't for the fact that she had stumbled across the pair, she wouldn't have interfered in the mother and daughter relationship either.
Rei sighed; sometimes she wished her grandfather had been less adamant in teaching her the importance of helping others out. Maybe it would have been easier for her to walk away back then. Well at least he wouldn't frown now when she told him about this part of her trip.
Thinking about the fact that she would soon return home lifted Rei's spirit considerably. It was going to be so good to be able to go back home, to return to familiar surrounding and friendly faces.
She was just a few doors from her room when the sound of two of her least favorite people drifted through the hallway and caught her ears.
Rei threw up her hands in the air in soundless despair. Was she going to run into peoples' conversations the whole day? Well unlike the other two times she had no interest in being in the near vicinity. Her spirit dampening, Rei hurried her steps so she could enter the sanctuary of her room and close out their voices when the sound of her mother's name being mentioned stopped her in her tracks.
AN: Sorry for the delay, my initial plan was to finish the next ch of Destinies before continuing with this story but it seems I'm stuck in that one, but anyways I hope the chapter was worth the wait. I have to say I was very surprised at how Trish became the most memorable character of the Holdens. Unfortunately she's not the piano player. The identity will be clearer in the next chapter.
Many thanks to you all for reading this story and especially to those of you who left your reviews. Please continue to do so.
As always a special thank you to my beta, charliechaplin2.
// Fenix