Chapter 27. The Ruse
Fred drove to the Brownstone, there were reporters there waiting, and photographers with cameras flashing. Questions being shot at Sarah ranged from 'When would she let Hayden see his baby?' to 'Are you upset that Hayden was now getting married to someone else?' Fred escorted Sarah through this new gauntlet of press and paparazzi. Once inside the building he called the local station house and had officers sent over to control the thong of unwanted pressmen.
"I'm calling your father." Fred informed Sarah after the police arrived to put up barricades to keep back the now gathering crowds. "This is out of hand."
Sarah looked up as her mother entered the room with Joey in her arms. She moved forward to take her son into her own arms. Needing to feel him close, she whispered to her mother in a choking voice. "Hayden is suing me for custody of Joey." She kissed her baby, and looked at her mother. "Fred's calling Daddy."
Linda nodded in agreement, "I think that's the best thing to do. No one messes with Robert Williams family and gets away with it." She hoped the words sounded convincing because right now, she herself didn't feel convinced. She looked out the window at the gathering crowds. "That little bastard," she muttered when she saw Robin Hayden standing on a sidewalk across the street. "What the hell does he think he's doing?"
Sarah didn't look out the window, she paced holding her son.
Fred got off the phone with Robert and addressed the women, "Robert says stay in, don't go near the windows, don't answer the door. I'm staying here, and I'll take door duty until Jeremy arrives. I put a call into him and he's on his way. Robert will be here this evening." He looked at the girl with the baby in her arms. "Honey, you look all out, why don't you go up and lay down."
Sarah carried her baby up the stairs, when she'd gone Fred turned to Linda. "He's claiming he and Sarah were lovers from almost the first day of rehearsal."
"Fred," Linda heard her own voice go gravelly. "Sarah could barely stand to be on the same stage with that ego maniac!"
Jeremy showed up an hour later, in his hand was a copy of a tabloid that was known to be dishy. The headline was accompanied by a picture of Kat Harper saying Sarah had stolen Robin Hayden for her. "The vultures are gathering," he said as he handed the paper over to Linda.
Linda read the interview and looked at Jeremy, "I wonder if we were in the same production, I don't recall one tenth of the events the way Kat has related them."
Jeremy looked at Fred, "Can we sue for slander?"
Fred was looking worried as he paced. "I don't like this… it's too calculated… First demanding his name on the birth records… and then demanding custody… and now this bit." Fred frowned deeply. "It's like he knows he's got cards stacked against us." He ran a hand to his brow. "And why is it we've not be able to find this Jay King person…it's like he never existed."
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Robert, much like the knights in days of old, came riding in to the rescue. Or so Sarah and Linda had thought. Fred had warned him the brief from the clerk read like a Harold Robinson novel with the exception that everything was sketchy and circumstantial. Robert arrived that evening, Karen and Toby in tow. Linda had a room for her ex-husband and his wife, Toby was going to stay up stairs with Sarah and the baby. He parked his car in the garage behind the house, and with the aide of some of New York's finest, was able to make it up to the house without much trouble. Fred greeted him in the entry and thanked him for coming so quickly.
Robert and Fred sat in the parlor going over the papers Fred had been handed by the clerk. Karen and Linda were huddled in the kitchen with Jeremy over tea. Toby had wandered up to his sisters flat and was sitting with her and the baby.
Sarah didn't dare go to the window; there were too many paparazzi with telescopic lens. She felt trapped in her own place; she figured that's why she was seeing shadows moving about. She figured she was going stir crazy.
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One week later the morning headlines in the paper read like a tabloid sheet, and Linda didn't even bother reading the article that went with the pictures. She tossed it in the trash. Who cared if Robin Hayden thought Sarah was unfit to raise a baby? How would he know, he was not around.
Sarah called the ad agency and explained she was going to have to ask for a few days off. She'd been scheduled to do an Avalon voice over, and now she would not be able to make it as she could not leave the house with out a swarm of paparazzi and reporters chasing her down any given street. An hour after she called the agency she received a call from Mr. Auberon.
"Miss Williams, I was informed that you would not be able to come in today. You're not ill I hope." He said graciously.
"No, although I have quiet a head ache," she muttered. "No, sir… I'm having press troubles… I'm in the middle of a court case. Some idiot thinks its great fun to give me and my new son grief."
"I had heard you had the baby," the man on the other end of the phone line said softly. "Would it be permissible if I were to come and see you and the new babe?"
"I'd be honored," Sarah said but added with caution. "You'll have to give your name to one of the officers at my door."
"Officers?" He asked.
"My lawyers think it's wise for the baby and I to have protection right now." She said quietly not really wanting to tell her woes to this man.
"Of course," He murmured. "Would this after noon at three be alright for you?"
"Fine, look forward to seeing you." Sarah hung up and began to prepare for her guest.
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Oberon stood on the bridge looking worried, "Puck! To me," he called softly. It was not long before the impish hobgoblin appeared, bowing to the High King; "Tell me good Puck, how bad is all this?"
Puck dropped all pretenses, and looked at the High King with concern. "If Sarah can not prove these lies false she could lose custody of the babe."
"This Hayden, what does he have to gain?" Oberon asked.
Puck looked sideways making sure they were not being observed, "Tis not Hayden who has anything to gain but the master who works his strings."
Oberon placed an arm about the shoulders of his henchmen. "Is my son aware of this?"
"Indeed," Puck assured the High King. "My Goblin King says timing is everything in this game."
"Game," growled the High King. "Is that all he ever thinks of?"
Puck shook his head, "I think he plays this close to the vest as it were, Sire. Even I do not know all of what he is doing or has done."
"I go to visit Sarah and the babe," Oberon said firmly. He looked about the garden, and knew there was someone he had to see first. "Return to what you were about." He ordered the impish man. Slowly he moved to where he knew Papa would be waiting with a chess board set up. "I have need of your help."
"Ask, anything I can do, I will." Papa said.
Oberon took a seat, picked up a bishop and began to roll the chess piece between his fingers. "Tell me about Robin Hayden."
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At nearly three in the afternoon, Sarah stood in her own little parlor waiting for her guest. She had set a tea tray and even had made some sweet apple tarts with the lovely apples that her guest had been sending her since he had asked her to be the voice of Avalon Art Glass. She had dressed in a comfortable long skirt and a blouse that was easy to open to feed the baby. Joey was lying in a bassinet, covered with a blanket that Dido had sent over with embroidered fairies and elves. He was sleeping peacefully. When Jeremy showed the man upstairs Sarah was not ready, greeting her guest at her flat door was interesting; he had a gift in his hands for the baby.
"Sarah, my dear," he said warmly. "You look well."
"Thank you," She said nervously. "Thank you for coming to call, won't you come in?"
Looking about the flat he could find nothing he didn't approve of. "You've a lovely home, my dear."
"This was my mother's place for years." Sarah explained. "When she bought the brownstone she gave her flat to me." She motioned the man to be seated, "I just tried to make it homey."
"And you've succeeded." He nodded when she offered tea. "I understand you've got some legal woes right now."
Sarah feared he was going to be asking her to leave his companies advertising spots. "Yes," she didn't try to deny the obvious. "And if you'd like me to stop being the voice of Avalon Glass… I'll understand."
Auberon placed his tea cup and saucer down on the table. "Don't be foolish girl, I'm not as thin skinned as that." He leaned on the walking stick that always seemed to be in his hands. "You need your friends right now, and I'd like to be counted among that number."
"That's very kind of you sir." Sarah looked over at her son.
Auberon stood up to move toward the baby's day bed. "Not at all," He said steadfastly. He looked over at Sarah, "I wonder may I hold him?"
Sarah stood, moved to the bassinet and gathered the child up into her arms; "Of course." She handed him over to the man who cradled the child gently.
"Hello," He greeted the eyes that opened wide as if in recognition to him, "little man."
Sarah smiled. "He's the sweetest baby that could ever be."
Placing his lips to the child's forehead, Auberon whispered. "He is a handsome little lad indeed." Handing the baby back to his mother, the man retrieved his walking stick. "I'll leave you now; don't worry about your recording schedule…Your job is secure." He placed a hand under her chin. "Don't worry too much about all this legal nonsense, everything with work out in the end."
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Jareth, watching in the crystal began frowned. What in the duce was the High King doing? And what was with the ruse of being Sarah's employer? Wanting answers to these and other questions, Jareth called out. "Father, I need to see you!"
A moment later the High King, once more in his regal robes appeared. "Yes, my son?"
"Old man, what are you up to?" Jareth asked in a tone that was less than respectful.
"I don't know what you mean," Oberon said innocently enough, but his eyes gleamed just as his son's did.
"Father!" Jareth growled, "I don't want your interference."
"I wasn't…. I was merely paying a call on the new mother…." Oberon said honestly. The High King murmured under his breath; "And seeing my grandchild."
Jareth paused in his tirade; the old man knew his weakness. "Is the babe alright?"
"More than alright, he's perfect," the Fairy King crowed.
Jareth heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear it… not that I doubted he would be. Sarah is a fine, healthy mortal woman; she was the perfect choice to sire a child on." He looked into the orb that rarely left his hands now.
"Boy," the elder addressed the younger Fae with a fatherly voice. "Have you thought this out?"
"No he has not!" Nicole said from the gallery above them. "He's not thought about any of the consequences of his actions!"
"Yes I have," Jareth protested dismissing the girl's arguments. "Father, don't ask me to explain, for I can not… not just yet… I promise you all will be made clear."
Oberon contemplated what to do. "You say you have thought this out?" Jareth nodded, and Nicole protested loudly. "Silence child," Oberon said gently to her, as he looked at his son. "I will give the benefit of the doubt for now, boy. However, you should be aware, Sarah is in jeopardy of losing the boy."
"I have plans for that as well," Jareth said with confidence. "I will respect the edict, and will not have physical contact with Sarah until Beltane; just as the High Queen has ordered."
Oberon's quizzical expression hardened. "What are you up to?"
"A good many things, Father;" Jareth smirked. "But you must promise not to interfere, and not to try to 'rescue' yond fair maid."
Nicole had left the gallery, and was not coming into the throne room. "Don't listen to him Father!" she begged. "He's up to no good, and Sarah will suffer for it."
Jareth gave her a indulgent smile. "You've formed quiet an attachment to her, have you not, Nicole?"
"She's too good for you!" she snapped harshly.
"Of course she is," Jareth agreed shrugging. "But what can I do… she and I have unfinished business betwixt us."
Oberon could see the same rage in Nicole he often saw in her mother. "Child," he said to her gently. "I think you should come home to Avalon."
Nicole's jaw dropped, she felt as if she were being punished for having done just what the High King had asked of her, "Sire?"
"Let this whelp find his own way… come… Daughter, come home." He extended a hand to the girl who placed hers in his. Oberon looked at Jareth; "Until Beltane."
"Remember your word," Jareth warned. "No interference, no rescues."
"My word is my bond," Oberon said softly.
"Father," Jareth crossed his arms akimbo; "Your oath."
Nicole gasped; no Fae had ever made such a demand. However when she looked at Oberon he seemed more amused than insulted.
"My oath." The elder snickered. "You're a hard nosed negotiator," he said to the Goblin King.
"I learned from the best," Jareth winked; "At your knee."
The two Fae men chucked at the private joke, and Nicole kept her opinions of them to herself.
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Allison came to Robin Hayden's rooms, his newest lady love having just gone home. She looked at the smug man and smiled. "Feeling very pleased with yourself I see."
"The stories you planted in the papers and the humors are making my case for me." He admitted as he sipped a scotch and soda. "All I have to do is sit back and look like the injured party."
Allison laughed, "As if any mere mortal girl could injure you."
Hayden cocked a brow up, "I have pride, and Sarah did injure me there." He placed his drink down. "I'd still like to pay her back for that."
"Taking her child will be payback enough." Allison suggested coldly.
"What the hell am I suppose to do with it once I have it?" Hayden asked just as coldly.
"You can drown it for all I care," the icy woman stated.
"They have laws here against that," warned the actor. "I don't know what rules your people go by, but here, you don't just drown a child like an unwanted kitten."
"Pity," Allison sighed as she took a seat on the sofa. "Matters not, hire a nanny, and when the creature is of age, send it to boarding school. I'll see to it you've the means."
"Fighting for full custody… you are evil." He said with a smile.
"Thank you." Allison cooed. "But we are not at the end of this little race against time." She warned. "You have to make sure you play your part. Beg before the press to see your son…and think of that mongrel as just that… your son."
Hayden paced, "I say, you're sure the real father won't come popping out of the wood work?"
"He's not going to be popping out of anything" she closed her eyes and smiled.
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Jareth watched the orb and frowned, he turned to his goblins. "Are we set?" they nodded and he sighed. "All the little flies I've caught in my web…. One by one they will be given the punishments I measured out. Of all of them, it's Lady Hiver I most look forward to bringing down."
One Goblin, polishing the boot of his master looked up and whispered. "You bring lady home soon?"
The King of the Goblins lounged in his throne, looked dolefully at the little Goblin who was now hanging from his boot hooked over the arm of his throne. "Not just yet, my fine fellow… Not just yet, but soon." He promised gently.
"Lady brings prince home?" Asked the Goblin giggling as he dangled precariously.
"Yes,…" Jareth looked into the orb, the image of Allison and Hayden having shifted to one of Sarah feeding her babe. "Lady brings prince… home." He began to hum, Goblins joined in the humming of the tune.
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A buzzing nose played at Sarah's ear, something akin to the sound of mosquitoes' wings. She looked about, confused; who ever heard that sound so early in the year? She listened closer, and could hear strange music off in the distance. Strange and familiar music and Sarah raked her brain. Where did she hear that song before? Looking at her son who was falling asleep as he suckled she tried to relax. Something in her soul would not allow it.
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Robert looked at Karen, "I don't understand any of this… it's as if the judge were not listening to me at all."
Linda leaned on Jeremy for support. "So when will the judge give us his verdict?"
"Friday… May first." Robert sighed. "We've been ordered to bring the baby to court. Linda I don't like this…. It's not going well…..it's like the deck is stacked against us."
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From the hall Sarah had heard the conversations in her mother's apartment. She quietly returned to her flat, closed her eyes and gave one desperate plea. "Oh God, don't let Hayden take my baby…."
She looked at the sweet bundle in her arms. "Once upon a time…" she whispered in a hoarse voice. "There was a beautiful girl…" she took a seat on the couch unable to continue standing, her knees were like jelly and her legs would not support her own weight. She looked at the baby in her arms. "She had a beautiful baby…." Tears fell and suddenly she whispered. "Oh Joey, I'm so afraid of losing you…."
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Jareth prepared, in just a few hours it would be Beltane and he'd be free. "Are our guards in place?" He asked his Goblin Captain.
"As you wished Sire." Came the answer.
"Good." He smoothed his hair, and looked at his refection. To the mundane eye he would appear to be a very cultured and well to do young English man of means. His Armani suit fit like the gloves he had discarded on his bed. "When in Rome…" He muttered as he pulled the vest down as if it were his Goblin Armor breastplate. He looked at the Captain of his personal guard. "See to it that no one escapes… you know who to look for."
"Sire, what if the High King is present?" Asked the Captain.
"He will understand," Jareth said as he left the confines of his personal rooms. "Lady Hiver is expecting me to use the usual means of transport. She had set traps, but we know her plans and can get around them easily." He motioned the Goblin forces to follow him. They moved into the bowls of the castle and into the hidden passages that only the Kings of the Goblin Realm knew of. Not even Oberon was familiar with the labyrinth of passages that lay between the worlds. "Follow your King!" Jareth ordered as they past through the veil between the worlds.
