Hello again!!! Here is another chapter!! And it is a loooong one!!! I was thinking about splitting it up, but decided against it.
I am going to warn you, there are alot of people being introduced. And also there are a couple of bad words.
Please review, review, review. Let me know if there is anything that is confusing you.
Please Enjoy!
They arrived at the Alpha Omega Club at 5:00. "We are just in time. How is my hat?" Gillian whispered.
Cal looked her over and said, "It's a little crooked. Let me straighten it out for you. Hold still." Cal straightened her hat and then straightened his tie. He grinned and said, "We are looking foxy!" Gillian just laughed.
Cal went up to the door and knocked. A hole opened from the door and a man said, "State your name and your business."
Cal stated, "Steven and Jules Rigby initiation into the A.O. Club."
The man closed the hole and unlocked the door. He opened it and said, "Welcome. Please take your coats off." They did as they were told. "Please wait here." He turned and walked down the hallway. They stood in silence.
A man came down the hall saying, "Welcome to our fine establishment!" He was an older man, with salt and pepper hair and a matching beard. He was dressed as if he were going to a ball. He looked at Cal like he recognized him. Gillian saw it but decided to keep quiet. He shook Cal's hand and then kissed Gillian's. "My name is Chancellor Charles Knightly. I am in charge of this fine organization. Welcome, welcome. Ahh, this is my lovely wife Serena Knightly." The woman was beautiful for her age. She had more graying hairs than her husband but her face had less wrinkles.
"Good evening. Welcome to our society. We are glad that you have decided to join us. If I may ask, what is your name?" Serena cordially asked.
Cal stated, "My name is Steven Rigby and this is my lovely wife Jules Rigby." He kissed Serena's hand. Gillian shook her hand and said, "It is very nice to meet you."
Serena smiled and said, "Well the pleasure is all mine. Will you come with me, dear. The other wives are in the sitting room waiting to meet you." Gillian nodded, turned to Cal and kissed him on the cheek. She had the slightest bit of worry on her face but Cal calmed her with his radiant smile. Gillian followed Serena into the sitting room, where there were five other women sitting on the sofas. They all stood up as Gillian and Serena entered the room.
"Ladies, may I introduce Mrs. Jules Rigby." No one said anything but they bowed their heads. Gillian bowed hers and said, "How do you do?"
Serena pointed to the oldest woman in a purple dress and said, "May I introduce Mrs. Mae Kingsley. She has been in our group for 43 years." They shook hands. Serena pointed to a middle aged woman in a white and black polka-dotted dress and said, "May I introduce Mrs. Julia Stanton. She has been in our group for 22 years." They shook hands. Serena pointed to a younger woman in a black dress and said, "May I introduce Mrs. Kiera Thorn. She has been in our group for 8 years." They shook hands. Serena pointed to another younger woman in a teal dress and said, "May I introduce Mrs. Natalie Franklin. She has been in our group for 9 years." They shook hands. Serena pointed to the last woman, who was middle aged and said with pride, "May I introduce Mrs. Alexandria Burton. She is my daughter and she has been in our group for 25 years." They shook hands.
Everyone sat down after the introductions. Mrs. Mae Kingsley said, "Tell us a little about yourself, dear."
Gillian took a deep breath and gracefully said, "My name is Mrs. Jules Rigby. I was originally born in New York. I come from the Libby Family. Our heritage can be traced back to the Rockefellers." Everyone nodded their heads as if they liked what Gillian said. She went on, "I married Steven Rigby last week in a small ceremony in Virginia. Steven owns his own real estate business in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. We have decided that we want to start a family soon." Gillian had a look of sadness cross her face but it was very fast.
The women seemed to agree that Gillian's story fit the mold.
Mrs. Alexandria Burton asked, "Do you know Patricia Madison?" Gillian shook her head no. "Ah, poor dear. She just lost her husband not too long ago. Her husband did business in New York. Something with the stock market, but I think he said something about buying a condo in Manhattan. Maybe your husband knows who he is."
Gillian smiled, "I will ask my husband tonight. What was his name again?"
Mrs. Kiera Thorn spoke up and said, "Rodger Madison. They were such a fantastic couple."
Gillian looked very curious and asked, "May I ask, what happened to Mr. Madison?" Gillian's heart was racing.
All the women looked down, some showed sadness, others shame. Serena looked up and said, "He was killed a few weeks ago. Bless his heart, he probably didn't fight back." For a split second, Gillian thought she saw contempt, but it was gone.
Gillian shook her head and said somberly, "How incredibly sad. What a terrible thing to go through." Gillian looked down and said, "I hope nobody has to go through losing a loved one, especially like that."
Mrs. Natalie Franklin said, "Oh, but she is not the only one to lose a husband. There was Mrs. Fraiser, Mrs. Templeton and Mrs. Brown." By the end of her statement every woman was looking at her with much contempt. Obviously, she wasn't the brightest one in the room.
Gillian just looked confused and asked, "What happened to their husbands? Surely they didn't all die." She looked up to find that most women had a look of concern and sadness. Contempt again from Serena but it was very quick. Gillian started to look frightened.
Mrs. Mae Kingsley spoke up, "Deary, you mustn't be frightened. This has all been nothing more than a coincidence. I am sure you have nothing to fear. This whole matter will be solved in no time." She patted Gillian's hand reassuringly. Gillian smiled back at Mae. She didn't see Serena looking at Gillian with disgust.
The women went on to discuss things like homes, vacations, babies and grandchildren. The time went by fast. There was no other discussion on the murders.
***
After Gillian left with Serena, Charles took Cal to the smoking parlor. When he opened the door, the sweet smell of cigars wafted towards Cal. He smelled the air and said, "I really miss cigars. Since knowing Jules, I have had to cut back. She hates the smell."
Charles laughed and said, "Well tonight you are a man again. Welcome to our smoking parlor. Anytime you need a smoke, just come here. We will take care of you."
They walked up to the bar where there were four men whispering in a group. Charles coughed to get their attention. "Gentlemen, this is our new inductee, Steven Rigby. His wife is Jules Rigby, an American." Cal noticed the look of contempt pass through on their faces but he played it off, "She is an American, a bloody rich one at that. What is a man to do, but to marry that woman immediately?" They all laughed and they started to shake hands.
A younger man shook his hand first, "Oi, I am Michael Franklin. I am a lawyer."
An older man was next, "Hello, I am Winston Stanton. I run a jewelry store in the Soho district. Well I run many jewelry stores actually." He laughed.
The younger man next to him didn't shake his hand but said, "Hey let me get you a drink. You look like a scotch man. Am I mistaken?" Cal shook his head and said, "Scotch all the way. On the rocks, please." The man smiled and said, "My name is Bart Thorn. I own many bars in the area. My talent is to guess what kind of drink you prefer. I am damn well good at it too!"
Charles then said, "May I introduce my son-in-law, Garry Burton. He is married to my daughter, Alexandria. He is also the Vice Chancellor of our club. If you have any problems, he is the man you need to see." Both men shook hands but Garry had a look of repulsion past through his face. However, Cal kept smiling.
Charles turned to Cal and said, "Now, welcome to the Alpha Omega Club. We are a social based society; however, we have ties to just about everything important in London. Our society was founded by Grinling Gibbons. We are the first society to have ever existed in the Soho district. We honor him." Everyone raised their glasses to a portrait of him and then silently took a sip. "We believe that our culture today will not survive in the coming future. Our world as a whole (and not just in London) is weak. They are weak minded and weak able. The men we choose as a society are not weak. We strive in not only our personal lives with obedient women but also in our professional lives with the contacts that we make. There is no room for mistakes or weakness." At that last sentence all the men said, "Here, here!" and they drank again.
Cal picked up his glass and saluted them. The men sat in silence for a moment. Cal then spoke up, "Do you mind if I ask something that has been on my mind?" No one said anything so Cal went on, "Well, I had a buddy, who works at the Met, come to the wedding last week. He tell me that some of your members went missing." No one said anything. Cal quickly spoke up, "Were they of the weak mind? Good riddance to them. I fucking hate weak people around me."
Garry spoke up and said, "Yes they were weak. They couldn't perform some of the tasks we asked them to do. They had no brass. They were crying little babies." Charles put a hand on his arm. He quietly said, "We are sad that they had to leave this earth like that, but they were weak minded. Take Paul Fraiser, he also had an American wife. She was a hussy, through and through. What did he do to get his woman in line? Nothing, bloody nothing. If he couldn't keep his woman in line, what else has he lost control of. I am like you Steven, good riddance to them."
Cal was hesitated before asking, "Do you know what happened to them? Do you know who kidnapped them?"
Garry laughed, "Steven, are you part of the fucking Met? We don't know what happened to them but like you said good riddance." He was showing full disgust and hatred.
Charles noticed how angry Garry was getting and decided to intervene quickly. "Well Steven, I hope you will enjoy coming to our society. Now remember, if you need anything, and I mean anything, please don't hesitate to ask. Now tomorrow, there is a dinner party at Mr. Stanton's house. Here is his address. It is a black tie affair, so dress accordingly. I am afraid we have to convene this meeting until next time."
Cal went around shaking everyone's hand and said, "Thank you for showing me great hospitality. Mr. Stanton, may I oblige you for a favor?"
***
Gillian was waiting in the foyer with the other ladies. Serena turned to her and said, "Now Jules don't forget about our little dinner party tomorrow night. It is going to be a Julia's house. Please dress formally." Just then, the men walked out of the smoking parlor and greeted their wives. Cal came up to Gillian and gave her a long kiss on the cheek. Well, thank you for having us at this fine establishment. We look forward to meeting you tomorrow." Cal said.
Charles came up and said, "No the pleasure is ours. Let me walk you out." And he pushed them out the door. They walked down the block and Charles turned around and gave Cal a 'man' hug. "Cal, it's good to see you ol' chap! How have you been?"
Cal smiled and said, "I have been doing well. I didn't know if you had recognized me. It's good to see you too!" He looked at Gillian, who looked confused. "Because of this wonderful man, I was able to go to Cambridge. I had granted me a full scholarship. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here."
Gillian just smiled and said, "How lovely."
Charles laughed and said, "Well ol' boy, I have to get back. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. And don't worry; your secret is safe with me and only me." They shook hands. He turned to Gillian and said, "Madam, it was a pleasure to meet you. I shall see you tomorrow." He kissed her hand and then he turned around and left.
They started walking down the street, when Cal called out to a cab. They got in and Cal said to the driver, "To Cipriani on 25 Davies Street." Gillian looked at him and was about to say something when he interrupted her and said, "Darling, can't it wait until I have food in my stomach. I am starving and I am taking you to the best restaurant in town. I got us a table at the last minute. Okay, let's just wait." Gillian nodded and said, "To be honest with you, I felt as if I were in a yellow submarine. The only thing that was missing was the band." She held Cal's hand for the entire ride to the restaurant.
Thank you to Franella! You rock, girl!!!
Again let me know how it is going so far!!!! Please review!! Thank you!
