Chapter 5. Escaping into a fantasy

Sarah looked disinterested at her lunch; she was sure it would taste like sawdust. She was in a little room off the Headmaster's office, totally isolated from the rest of the student body, and still mulling over the warning sent by Meg; 'Don't tell that frickin' doctor anything more than you have to.' Sarah thought she recognized the voice behind her; it had to be Lana. She was just about sure it was, after all for the last year Lana was like Meg's shadow. No, Lana was more like Meg's lap dog, doing her masters' bidding. Sarah wondered just what she was not supposed to tell the man. She shoved the lunch tray away from her and sulked.

'This is so unfair.' She thought bitterly getting up and walking to the large window that took up one wall in the little room. 'Why am I here?' she huffed. 'I should have told that old man off! I should have told him the cuffs were his son's and his precious stepdaughter wanted to be cuffed. Oh how I'd have loved to have seen his face…' Sarah's eyes wandered out the window, toward the trees whose leaves were gone. 'It wasn't my idea to hang Meg, it was hers.' Her mind wandered. Sarah thought about the exercise area in the Henderson house where Meg had insisted on being cuffed and hung from the beam. An image of Hank popped into her mind. He was shirtless, and wearing satin boxers, red satin boxers and a disarming smile. Seated; no straddling the weights bench, pumping the swollen muscle of his bicep with a twenty five pound weight giving her one of his wicked smiles. His skin was taunt and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Sarah began to quiver as she let her mind wander and play out this dangerous scenario. The man in the red boxers stood up, looking like a god, his powerful bicep was not the only muscle on his body that was pumped. Sarah moaned, her hands gripped the window sill and she dug her finger tips into the wood. Her breath was coming in short pants and her heart was racing.

"Stop," she said aloud. "Wake up Sarah! It's a trap…." She shook off the image violently. Turning she looked at the lunch she'd abandoned on the table. She returned to it, forcing herself to eat. The last thing she needed was to be seen as weak before the dangerous eyes of that man, that Mayfaire. Something about him was well-known to her… but she could not or would not place it. She thought about him and his voice… his voice… that accent…where had she'd heard that accent…. "Jeremy!" she stood up with the realization that didn't give her any peace, but rather brought up a rather unpleasant memory. She was sure it was only a matter of time before Mayfaire started to harp once more on her family relations… and she sure as hell didn't want to tell him anything about Jeremy. Sitting down she put her head on the table and moaned softly, making a silent vow not to mention the incident at her mother's.

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Dr. Madison approached the isolated man eating his lunch and reading notes on a yellow legal pad. "Forgive me for disturbing you, Doctor we were wondering …have you made any progress?"

Mayfaire covered the notes; "Not as of yet, she's still very guarded." He didn't even make an effort at looking at the Headmaster.

Dr. Madison took a seat at the man's table without invitation; he sipped the coffee from the mug in his hands. "I'm sure you understand the importance of getting to the bottom of this with as little… publicity as possible. We were told we could count on your… prudence and discreteness."

Mayfaire's eyes were cold and expressionless as he regarded the man sitting opposite him for the first time since the man had taken a seat. "I understand that you're keeping the authorities out of this for now."

"Until we know what this is." Madison agreed. "If it's nothing, why bring in others… if it's nothing more than two girls being rambunctious... we'll deal with it." He set his mug down. "When do you want to see the other girl?"

"Perhaps tomorrow… I'm going to be working with the Williams girl the rest of today." Mayfaire said. "I think that she should come back to school… be kept isolated for now, but be here. That way she's here when I need to speak to her. You understand that I'll be occupying conference room G for the remainder of my stay."

"I suppose I could allow her to use my library for her studies," the Headmaster sighed. He seemed to be hesitant about reinstating the girl at all.

"Forgive me for asking, but is she a problem in other areas?" Mayfaire asked. "You don't seem thrilled with the idea of her being back here."

Dr. Madison became reflective. "Are you familiar with the work of Miss Linda Williams… the actress?" The other doctor shrugged, and Madison continued. "For some time now I've… questioned the merit of keeping that girl in our student body… her family is… well questionable."

"Because her mother is an actress?" Mayfaire shook his head; "I think you'd find yourself pulled before a judge if I read her father correctly."

Absently, Madison nodded his head in agreement. "I fear so, and so I do nothing…until now. The girls continued enrollment here hangs in the balance." He stood up. "I do thank you for your… discretion."

"Of course." Mayfaire watched the man go, and felt a moment of pity for the haggard Headmaster, but only for a moment.

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One o'clock; Sarah was escorted back to the conference room, still being isolated from the rest of the student body. She was alone in the room. She looked at the desk he'd been sitting behind as he judged her movements and her words. 'Who is he to sit in judgment of me? Like some kind of …king judging a subject.' she wondered hotly. She gripped the back of the chair he'd been sitting in. As her fingers moved over the chair she noticed a faint spicy scent still hanging in the air. Closing her eyes she permitted the bracing scent to encompass her senses. It was like nothing else she'd ever smelled, and yet it triggered something in her memory. It was sultry, and inviting and tempting, and … it made the blood pound in her ears and her heart race. It was…sexy… yes that's it, it was sexy… She licked her lips, and breathed in the scent slowly, deeply. She felt warm and a tingle, only this time it was not just her nipples reacting; it was the area between her legs. It was hot and moist and throbbing, an abrupt urgency seemed to be filling her.

Mayfaire entered the room, observed her in the euphoric state for a moment with a bemused grin. He cleared his throat, and watched as the girl awakened from her trance and looked at him with an expression of guilt on her pretty little face. "Daydreaming, Miss Williams?" Sarah's hands still gripped the back of his chair, this time for support. Her lips were parted and she was struggling to breath. Mayfaire moved closer, looking at her with a haughty expression on his face that made his eyes seem more feral and dangerous. There were sharp catches in her breath, as if her body was remembering something and responding. Mayfaire placed one hand over the hand clutching the back of the chair. His touch sent thousands of messages pulsing though her. She quivered and looked at him as if she was trying to place everything she was feeling, experiencing and there was just a touch of panic in her eyes. He looked into her eyes deeply.

"Turn back Sarah! Turn back… before it's too late." The voice had said against the wind that swept the barren hillside.

Sarah looked down at the hand over hers. "I can't…"

"Can't?" Mayfaire asked coolly. "Can't what?"

"Do this." She gasped and pulled away from him. "I didn't do anything wrong!" she protested again in a voice full of emotion. Her eyes were red and threatening tears. "Why are you all treating me this way? I don't deserve to be punished… I didn't do anything wrong. It's not… fair…"

Mayfaire inclined his head. "Calm yourself, Miss Williams." He commanded firmly. Sarah pulled away from the front of the conference room, moved to the window and put her head down. A moment later she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and a voice at her ear. "Calm yourself, Sarah."

She turned her head at the use of her given name, her face now stained with tears she looked at the man who was for all intents her enemy. "I didn't do anything wrong…I swear it."

"Sarah, there have been serious charges made… charges that could have serious repercussions. If you are innocent, then let me prove it." He said firmly. "Let me investigate the charges and prove you're innocent."

Sarah sighed, feeling perplexed. "Fine;" She didn't fight when he led her to a seat.

Mayfaire took his seat behind the desk. "Let us continue with our background questions… Your mother… she's an actress…" He looked at his notes.

"Yes, she lives in New York City… and travels the world following parts that will bring her fame and fortune." Sarah repeated the lines she'd been saying on the subject of her mother for years now. She'd never before noticed the singsong tone.

"She left your father when you were ten?" he looked up from his notes, expecting a fight. She nodded, closed lipped. "And she lives alone?"

"Yes," the girl sighed.

There was a slight twitch at the corner of Mayfaire's lip. "Who is Jeremy Eden?"

Sarah looked up, blushing and wanting to hide. "He's my mother's co-star… and sometimes…lover."

Mayfaire and Sarah locked eyes. "How do you feel about that?" he asked challenging.

"About what?"

"About him…" he challenged again.

Sarah shrugged, "I like Jeremy… he's… he's… funny and nice… and…" she shrugged again. "I like him…" Mayfaire nodded, and motioned for her to expound on the subject. Sarah leaned back, and closed her eyes. "He's very handsome… and he's famous… and he's… dead sexy." She groaned at last in a huff. "God almighty, I'd have to be blind not to see that!" She stood up, pacing the isle. "He was the one my mother ran off with, you know."

"And you're on good terms with him?" Mayfaire questioned.

"Sure." Sarah sighed.

"Tell me about," He looked at his notes. "Karen."

"My stepmother?" Sarah's body language changed drastically. "What's to tell? She was Daddy's secretary… and after my Mom ran off with the sexy beast my father took pity on Karen and began to see her…. He dated her for about a year… then ran off and married her about a week after the divorce was final…he moved her into our house, … the house my mother had spent years decorating to perfection… and she changed everything… and then she has… a baby…not just a baby! But a boy baby… a baby boy… a son…" the resentment poured out of Sarah not unlike water out a floodgate.

Mayfaire tapped his chin with the pencil. "You like Jeremy, whom your mother ran off with, but you resent this Karen, whom… your father married…"

Sarah on the verge of protesting paused and gave his words a bit more thought. She moved back to the seat he'd had her sit in. "It doesn't sound logical… does it?"

"Do you have a…loving relationship with both your parents?" he asked softly.

The teen gave it a moment, "I think so, yes…. I mean, I adore my mother… and she adores me… even when we have flare-ups… they are over in nothing flat…. She's gorgeous and talented and shines like a star." There was pride in the girl's words. "I love my mother….I want to be like her… I want everyone to look at me the way they look at her… with admiration and love." Sarah giggle at how juvenile that sounded. "Daddy… he used to call me his little princess…. Every little girl should feel like a princess! There was a time when he would sit and talk to me for hours… when he wouldn't leave the house without... seeing me and letting me know he loved me and would be back…"

"And now?"

"Now," Sarah sighed. "Now he has a son…" she whispered.

"And you feel abandoned by the one who stayed?" suggested the man quietly.

Sarah paused, nodded and turned her face not wanting to look into the eyes of her inquisitor. "I know it's stupid…"

"No, just telling." Mayfaire mused as he jotted down a note. "I think we're making progress."

"Oh yeah, progress… I idolize a mother who ran off with a sexy beast, and I heap blame and worse on a father who stayed and provided me with a stable home… and a stepmother… who I have treated like…" Sarah giggled; "Like the wicked stepmother from some fairy tale. Oh yeah, that's progress."

Mayfaire came around to the front of the desk and took a seat, easily. He looked relaxed and confident, and damned hot. "Sarah, my job is to see if you are some kind of predator or just a girl awakening to human urges and sexuality."

"A predator?" she asked blinking. "Me?" She began to laugh.

"Oh you'd be surprised." He winked. "Not all predators are in the guise of say a big bad wolf…"

Sarah closed her eyes, picturing herself in a she wolf get up, stalking innocent men in the woods, she laughed as the picture seemed so out of character. "I'm hardly the big bad she wolf type…"

'More like a very sexy little red riding hood,' he mused. "When charges are made… they have to be investigated."

She looked at him, "What part of England are you from?" He raised a brow at the question. "Your accent…it's the same as Jeremy's."

"Ah," he began to swing one foot. "I'm from a very small place near Avon. You can not even find it on a map."

"Avon…" Sarah said the word softly. "How I love the sound of that word, and the images it evokes." Her eyes had gone dreamy thinking of the lovely English countryside.

"Teen aged girls and their romantic natures," Mayfaire mused lightly.

Sarah giggled. "Yes, I suppose so." Leaning back, feeling less under the microscope, Sarah mused. "You have to admit, Avon being the home of Shakespeare, evokes a myriad of romantic images…. Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra, and of course Midsummer's Night Dream…."

"You read a lot of the Bard?" He asked skeptically.

"My mother is an actress…." She reminded him with a raised brow of her own. "One has to read the Bard if one's mother is doing Shakespeare in the Park…." Shifting in the seat she sighed. "I ran lines with my mother last summer when she did Much Ado, and I guess I developed a liking for the style." She sighed, "But, you being a man, I suppose something like Othello is more to your liking; something dark and deadly."

Mayfaire crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her with mocking eyes. "As a matter of fact, young woman, I prefer TheTaming of the Shrew." Sarah straightened up in the seat she was in as Mayfaire began one of the speeches from the play.

"I will attend her here,
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail; why then I'll tell her plain
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale:
Say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly wash'd with dew:
Say she be mute and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence:
If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week:
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns and when be married.
But here she comes; and now, Petruchio, speak."

He looked at her with that now familiar haughty expression, and merriment dancing in his wickedly exciting eyes. "Good morrow, Kate; for that's your name, I hear."

Sarah blinked, "You're very good…."

"I'm better than…good," he said with a confidant quirk of a smile. "I assure you."

Sarah blushed, "I'll take your word for it."

Mayfair looked at the clock on the wall. "Dr. Madison was going to have your stepmother come pick you up before the rest of the student body are excused for the day. Gather your things…. You'll be reporting to the Headmaster's office tomorrow morning at your regular starting time…. You'll still be in isolation, but at least you're back on the grounds."

"I won't see you tomorrow?" Sarah could not believe the sadness in her own voice.

Mayfaire shook his head, "No, we'll continue the following day."

Sarah stood up and nodded, Miss Shelton was standing in the doorway, in her hands were books and papers that Sarah knew were for her. "Thank you, Dr. Mayfaire."

"Thank you, Sarah." He looked down at his desk; the sketch pad was still there. When the girl exited the room he opened the pad to the sketch of the hanging woman and the man that seemed to be watching her. "Thank you very much, my dear." He mused thinking his own wicked thoughts.

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Karen and Toby waited in the car, parked in front of the Academy as other cars began to pull up. Sarah, bundled in her pea-coat, and carrying all the books and pages she'd been handed, came dashing down the walkway. She jumped in and smiled at her stepmother. "Thank you for coming to get me, Karen."

Karen stared at her for a moment, and then smiled back. "You're welcome, Sarah." She said softly. "How did it go?"

Sarah looked out the window, up toward the room she knew she'd spent most of her day in being questioned and interrogated by the handsome foreigner. "Oh, not as bad as the Spanish Inquisition …" she joked. She looked at the window, seeing the man looking down; she wondered if he was looking for her. Then, chided herself for being silly. She was nothing to him, just another case of a girl gone wild. Still the words he'd spoken rung in her ears. 'I will attend her here, And woo her with some spirit when she comes.' Sarah closed her eyes as the car pulled away from the curb. She wondered why men couldn't speak like that anymore. With eyes closed she sent herself to an imagined house in old Padua… and standing there in splendor was Dr. Mayfaire, looking too damned dashing, and debonair for words. His face turned and looked at her, "Good morrow, Kate; for that's your name, I hear." Sarah's eyes shot open, and she shivered.

Karen had seen the shiver. "Oh sorry, Sarah," she flicked on the heat. "I thought it would be warm enough… my bad."

Sarah thanked her in a small voice, trying to control the quiver that the image of Mayfaire as Petruchio had set running wild though her. Did that damn man have to be so freakin' hot, and desirable?