Panda: I would, too! But this is Marguerite and she's so stubborn: the stupid woman. Lol. Yet, she did tell him, she just chalked it up to her nightmare.
Keys: I fear what's going on in my mind, too. Lol.
Clux: I'm glad you thought it was a bit scary. That was what I was aiming for!
Kat: Oh, he won't let it drop that easily. He knows something is wrong.
Taya: Hey, you're story, Revelations, is great. I've been waiting for chapter 9 for over a week now. So don't you dare stop! And don't compare your writing to mine because I hate my stories. I only write because it's something to do: a hobby that I spend very little effort on. I can tell that you, on the other hand, must put a lot of work into your story because it's so well thought out.
Chapter Seven
A Child Knows
Part One
Marguerite heaved William higher up on her slim waist as she trekked around the fenced-in "yard". She refused to allow anyone to take her children passed the security of the electric fence, maternal anxiety overriding the others' assurances that an occasional jaunt would be of no harm. Yet, Marguerite had experienced first hand time-and-time again the perils of the Lost World and was petrified that ape-men, cavemen, cannibals, dinosaurs, shifting planes of reality, and unnatural visitors would threaten her babies' precious lives. Like any good mother, she didn't want to take the risk.
Even caged in behind deadly watts of electricity, Marguerite was on alert. It had been known to happen that the fence's protection wasn't always effective. She shifted her stormy green eyes along the perimeter and scanned the tree line. Any sign of danger and she would be in the elevator within seconds.
She heard the sound of the lift and headed back towards it in time to see Roxton strolling off, Lillian in one hand and his rifle in the other. He swung the weapon onto his shoulder, opting to use his now free hand in order to ruffle William's hair. "There's the handsome lad," Roxton boosted.
Marguerite rolled her eyes. "Did you expect him to be anything else? He is your son."
Roxton grinned like Cheshire cat, bouncing Lillian on his hip. "And this highness here is as gorgeous as her mother."
"Does her highness need her diaper changed," Marguerite accused, giving him "the look". Her husband had been known to go out of his way to avoid changing the cloth diapers. For a man who once hunted wild game for a hobby, he sure was squeamish about what came out of their children.
Roxton chuckled, lifting Lillian high into the air and sniffing her behind. "Nope," he replied lightly, allowing Lillian to drop back into the nook of his arm. "Her highness, Lady Lillian, just wanted to see his majesty, Lord William"
"Oh really," Marguerite retorted with a raised eyebrow.
Roxton rubbed his nose against Lillian's soft cheek, causing her to giggle and wiggle in his arms. "Tell mum what you told me, Lilly. Can you say William? William?"
"Dada, mama," Lilly exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Roxton chuckled. "Yes, Lilly: dada and mama. But can you say William? Will-iam?"
"Wiy-um," Lillian shouted, pointing to her brother.
Marguerite's mouth fell open and she gasped with amazement. "That's right, sweetie." She looked at the baby in her arms. "William, can you say Lillian or Lilly? Lilly?"
"Liwy," he cried, bouncing up and down. "Liwy."
"Oh, John, they're learning a new word practically everyday."
"I know," he exclaimed, utterly awed and impressed with their babies. "You know what Lilly said this morning? I was eating an apple and when I got down to the end, Lilly began saying 'core' over and over again."
"How would she know that?"
Roxton shrugged. "Beats me. Our children are geniuses." He paused, eyeing Marguerite with lighthearted suspicion. "Are you sure they're mine. Because if I didn't know any better I would venture that they were Challenger's little buggers," he teased.
Marguerite was about to retort when she suddenly grew pale as a frightening thought clouded over her. "John…maybe she wasn't referring to the apple."
"What do you mean? What else…" a look of horror washed over him and he instinctively held his little girl tighter. "You don't honestly think…I mean, she was only two months old when she was kidnapped by Klor."
"Core," Lillian announced, thinking her father would be happy that she repeated a word.
Instead, Roxton sighed heavily, scolding Marguerite with a look. "Last night," he said. "I knew there was more to it than what you were telling me, but I didn't want to push you because I knew you weren't ready to discuss it. But now…now you have to tell me everything."
Marguerite gazed at her sweet daughter and murmured: "All right, but inside."
Part Two
"God damn it, Marguerite, why the bloody hell didn't you say something," Roxton reprimanded.
"I told you that I'd heard him," she yelled back, self-protective of her account of the previous night.
"Yes, but then you said it was because of your dream. A dream you claimed you couldn't remember. And you never mentioned that you actually saw him!"
"I didn't say I saw him," she defended. "I said I saw what I can only guess to be was his shadow!"
"Yes, but you didn't even tell me that last night!"
"Will you quit yelling at me! You have no right to stand there and…"
"Oh, I beg your pardon, Lady Roxton," he answered overly sweet, obviously mocking her. Then he bellowed: "I'm sorry for being concerned about the well-fare of my children!"
"Don't you dare, John," she seethed, "think that for one moment I – their mother – am not concerned about their safety. Their well-being is all I've thought about since I learned I was pregnant. I would die before I allowed a single hair on their head be harmed."
"Then why didn't you say something," Roxton stressed.
"I don't know!" Marguerite collapsed onto the bed, bowing her head. "I guess…I guess I just hoped that it was all in my head," she murmured. "I hate the thought that Klor could be here. I mean, the man is supposed to be dead. Veronica killed him. And now to think that Lillian has seen him…" she sighed, tears pricking at her eyes. "What if he comes to her often? What if…what if he plans on taking her again? I don't think I could go through that again."
Roxton gently sat beside her, taking her into his arms. "It's all right, love. I won't let that bloody bastard take her."
"You didn't let him last time, but he still managed to take her."
Roxton squeezed his eyes shut, hating the fact that Marguerite was right. What if he tried his best at protecting his family…and failed? Again.
End Chapter Seven
THANK YOU all who have read this far! I'm shuffling along, but will eventually get to the real stuff soon enough (hopefully).