~ Part IV ~
~ The Evil Men Do ~
1.
~ "I told you, I... I wasn't well." Arthur said and rubbed his hands together. Cobb noticed for the first time that the normally smooth skin of his friend's hands were now worn and callused.
"You told me that, but what does that mean?" he asked.
Arthur looked uncomfortable.
"After the sinking... I can't explain it. I was grouped in with the crew. I... I wasn't even asked my name for a days after. I gave them the name John Smith and they were fine with it. I was put up in a boarding house for a week and given some money. I worked the docks because that's what everyone around me did. I... it was like... before the sinking, I was another man." Arthur said.
"Another man?" Cobb repeated.
Arthur looked up at his friend hopefully.
"Arthur, you realize you've been declared dead. Your wife, Ariadne, thinks your dead. I attended you funeral for Christ sake!"
"I'm sorry, I know... I know I should have said something before now. I had a break down a few weeks after the sinking. I was put into some kind of sanatorium for a month. The doctors called it some kind of stress related trauma. Then, when I got out, I started drinking." Arthur explained.
"All this time, you could have contacted my office." Cobb lectured.
"I know." Arthur said sadly.
"Arthur, you don't know. This is not just about having you declared alive again. It won't be easy, but I can do it. It's about the entail of Blue Rivers. Your assets, you holdings, everything is now in the possession of your cousin Charles Ray Eames." Cobb said.
"I know." Arthur said. "It's a problem."
"It's more than a problem! We need to collect witness statements, have your prints taken. Have your factory foremen make a swore testimony you're still alive. Not to mention how we'll break the news to Ariadne." Cobb ranted.
"I don't want her to know." Arthur interrupted.
"What?"
"You heard me. I don't want her to know." Arthur said sadly.
"She's you're wife." Cobb said.
"She was my wife. I married her for my own convenience. Love wasn't involved when we said 'I Do'." Arthur said and pulled out a battered newspaper clipping. "I saw this, yesterday. I've been keeping up with her."
He placed the already well worn newspaper clipping on the table and Cobb saw the black and white photograph of Ariadne Bradford and Fredrick Hays.
"She's going to marry him. It's her wedding announcement." Arthur said sadly.
"We need to telegraph her; tell her you're still alive." Cobb said beseechingly.
"I already told you, no!" Arthur growled.
"Arthur." Cobb sighed.
"This man is the husband of her choosing. She can finally have the wedding I denied her. She might really love him." Arthur insisted.
"So what? You want to work the docks forever as John Smith?" Cobb snarled.
"Am I correct in assuming the entail is still in effect?" Arthur asked. "Including all it's clauses?"
"What do you mean?" Cobb asked.
"Eames is getting married." Arthur said and pulled out another clipping. This one much larger than Ariadne's wedding announcement. It was high society news and came with large pictures of Eames with his prospective bride as well as full biographies.
"He's getting married to secure his fortune, isn't he? MY money." Arthur reiterated.
"So you want Eames to know you're alive, but no one else?" Cobb asked.
"I'd rather Eames not know I'm alive either. He's all the way in Europe and he's going into the army. He might die over there. I want my money to come back to my control. It's not right Ariadne was left penniless." Arthur said.
"So, you want your money back, so you can take care of your wife. But you want your wife to marry this other man?" Cobb asked.
"Correct." Arthur said and sat a little straighter. "I want her and Olivia provide for. You can tell her anything you want. That you were able to break the entail and she would be granted a living allowance for her and Olivia. Enough that she would always be comfortable. I don't want her to have to live off of Eames' charity or anyone else."
Cobb looked at his old friend. A shell of a man now.
"Arthur, you don't look well. I want you to come home with me. I'm married now to a very nice lady. We can get you back on your feet and healthy again." he said.
"I have a room at a boarding house." Arthur said.
"I want you to stay with us." Cobb said.
When it looked like he might object again, Cobb said sharply.
"You're either going to get healthy, or I'm telegraphing Ariadne tonight and have her stop the wedding." Cobb said.
~ "Now, I don't want you to expect too much of a turn out for your own reception, dear." Juniper said as she helped Ariadne into her wedding dress.
It was the final fitting and Ariadne had chosen a very simple pale gold. It was her second marriage, and Juniper absolutely refused to let her wear white. Or have anything to heavily decorated.
Still, Ariadne liked the whole preparation for her big day. It would be the day before Eames' wedding to Charlotte. They would even re-use the flowers in the chapel. Charlotte had jokingly called it a dry run for her own wedding.
Still, Ariadne didn't care. Her nuptials with Arthur had been so hurried and informal, it was nice to have a real wedding celebration.
"Charlotte has so many friends and relatives coming in for the big day. She was very popular in school." Juniper added as Ariadne admired herself in the French lace veil Lady Percy had lent her as something borrowed. It was a little old fashioned, her mother had worn it on her wedding day in 1840, but it was very becoming on Ariadne.
It was styled after Queen Victoria's wedding veil and sat on the back of her tide back hair.
"You look beautiful, Missus." Maura told her.
Ariadne smiled at her reflection and wished she could be a bride forever.
She turned to her daughter who was walking around the room.
"What do you think, Olivia? Will mommy do?" she asked.
The toddler was indifferent to the wedding dress and only cared about pulling things off the vanity table and letting them drop on the floor.
"A ringing endorsement." Ariadne laughed.
She turned to her reflection and tried to imagine Fredrick at her side at the alter.
She tried to picture his handsome face, his bright blue eyes.
A pain went off in her heart as all she pictured was Arthur at her side.
Rather that fight it, she gave into the fantasy a little.
This was how she should have married Arthur. Not at some court house in New York. She should have worn a real wedding dress and been a real bride. Not just some half scared girl in a silly hat marrying a man she met two hours ago.
Now, she was having the wedding she always wanted. She had telegraphed her parents to tell them of Arthur's death. Then to tell them she was getting married. She never heard a response.
Lady Juniper had questioned her insistently about why her mother wasn't going to be at the wedding. To which Ariadne pretended to not hear her questions.
Juniper gave Maura some very curt orders about taking some of the bead work off of the wedding dress.
"This is a second marriage and it won't do to have her too grand." she instructed.
Ariadne rolled her eyes. No expense was spared when it came to Charlotte's dress. It was beaded and regal and perfect in every way. Her cake was tiered and decorated. Her wardrobe was from France and her father had bought her and Eames a new car as a wedding present.
Compared to Charlotte, Ariadne was the poor relative.
Juniper left them then and Maura stitched the bead work tighter into place.
"I'm glad I'll be coming with you and Mr. Hays when you're married, Missus." she said.
"Maura, I would never leave you here. I can't do without you." Ariadne assured her.
"Thank you, Missus. I couldn't bear it if I was parted from you and little Olivia. You've always been so kind to me. I wouldn't want to stay with Mr. Eames and his new wife. She's horrid." Maura said.
She stood back to look at her handy work as Ariadne didn't hid the self satisfied grin on her face.
"I'm glad your going to marry this Mr. Hays. Maggie and the other maids were all whispering that you were going to marry Mr. Eames. I told them no, I told them you and Mr. Eames were just friendly. But they thought you were more then that." Maura said and gently adjusted Ariadne's veil.
"Why would they think that?" Ariadne asked.
The cold creeper of worry coming back over her. The servants whispering, whispering about her and Eames. That chamber maid had seen them in bed together and now there was gossip.
"Just that you and Mr. Eames are close. They thought he would propose to you, but I'm glad your sticking with a man like Mr. Hays. I told them you always did have the best taste in men." Maura said.
~ Eames couldn't write.
He stared at his note books for inspiration. Reading the words over and over, yet nothing sank in.
He let out a sigh. He had never had writers block before. He hadn't been able to write a damn thing since that night he had spent in Ariadne's bed. He woke up full of inspiration and ready to write a great love story. That love story now seemed meaningless and hollow. His great love was leaving him and he was powerless to stop her.
"Sir?" came Miles' voice.
Eames snapped up and saw the congenial butler standing ten feet away. Well aware of Eames' rules for trespassing in the conservatory.
"What is it?" Eames snarled.
"So sorry to disturb you, sir." Miles said. "But you have a visitor."
~ Eames wouldn't allow any visitors into the conservatory any more. It was bad enough others had been in there. That others had invaded the safe world he had with Ariadne. He had had this visitor wait for him in the library.
Eames couldn't believe it when he saw who it was.
"What are you doing back here?" he asked as Cobb stood and shook his hand.
"I came for Ariadne's wedding." Cobb said with a false brightness.
"You made a trip all the way from America to see her get re-married. You are a good friend." Eames laughed. "Did her parent's come with you?"
Cobb let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid not. I went to Philadelphia myself. Very troubling news I'm afraid." he said as Eames poured him some brandy.
"What's happened?" Eames asked.
"Thank you." Cobb said as he took his drink. "Ariadne's father died last winter."
"My God." Eames said. "Ariadne doesn't know?"
"No. I don't know how to tell her either." Cobb said.
"Not on her wedding day. Wait a few weeks. The dead can wait." Eames advised.
"I'll do that." Cobb said.
"First Arthur, then her father." Eames added.
Cobb pretended to look out the window.
"I've also come about a business matter. It has to do with Arthur's estate." Cobb said.
"I'll be getting married. So the entail will be secure." Eames said.
"Whether or not you get married will not effect anything. The entail is broken." Cobb said.
Eames stared at him.
"What?"
"Yes, certain laws supersede the original entail. Arthur is an American and the will didn't stipulate the new acquisition of wealth or property from someone born outside the country." Cobb said. "It seems Arthur had no right to inherit Blue Rivers to begin with. Hence, his money, his factories and holdings are no longer apart of Blue Rivers estate."
"How can this be?" Eames breathed in shock.
Cobb shrugged.
"I made it my business to look for loopholes in the law." he said. "For Ariadne's sake."
"This should have come to light before he took control of the estate." Eames snarled.
"It's not the end of the world, Eames." Cobb said patiently.
"The hell it's not."
"You can keep the phone hub and Arthur's estate will not demand it's money back for the repairs done to the house. But, the rest will go into a trust for Ariadne and Olivia. They will have no right to live here at Blue Rivers, but they will have the means to live where the choose now." Cobb said.
"So, what does that mean mean for me?" Eames asked.
"It means, you inherit the house, the title, the phone hub, but nothing else. I'm not sure if the phone hub will make enough to finance the run of this house, but it's all I can offer." Cobb said.
"My bride is only marrying me to protect the money. Her words mind you." Eames said. The room spinning. "The hub will not provide enough to secure the running of this house."
"I'm sorry, Eames." Cobb said.
"I'm sorry to."
"Will you still marry this Charlotte person?" Cobb asked.
"I'm not sure."
"I need to speak to Ariadne. I want her to know she doesn't have to marry anyone just to have money and protection. Also, we need to secure her assets before and if she gets married.
Eames was nodding as Cobb rang for Miles. Blue Rives, Ariadne, his whole world was fading away.