Today is a two-fer! Meaning that I just posted another chapter after this one! Keep reading! ;D
No Warnings - At least, I don't think so.
Dick moved up behind her as she finished putting on her earrings; setting his hands on her shoulders and meeting her gaze in the mirror. It was time to leave for the funeral home. Elle's emotions were mostly numbed disbelief, overwhelming dread . . . and fear. He wished, at times like these, that their bond was more developed. The first two emotions weren't difficult to understand, but he worried a bit over the fear.
He couldn't tell what it was that she was afraid of. How could he banish it if he didn't know what was the cause?
Elle looked as beautiful as ever, but for the red-rimmed eyes and the dark circles. She wasn't sleeping, and he suspected that her grief was a major contributing factor to her constant fatigue and loss of appetite. She had refused breakfast again this morning, and had locked herself in the bathroom for an hour. Dick had been ready to pry the door off of its hinges when she finally opened up and came out.
"Are you ready?" he asked, softly.
Tears welled in her eyes and her lip trembled as she shook her head.
"Aw, baby," he turned her around and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed against his shoulder. She tugged his handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at her eyes. "I'm going to make us late."
"You are the man's daughter," Dick told her. "I think they would wait for you."
She sniffled and then looked at his sodden handkerchief in dismay. "Oh, I ruined this," she told him as the tears reappeared.
Dick chuckled, sadly. "Elle, that's what it's there for. Besides, I came prepared. I have several on hand." To prove his point he stepped back and tugged another piece of folded linen from another pocket. He made a couple folds and tucked in in so that it showed perfectly.
"Did Alfred show you that?" she snuffled.
"A combination of Alfred and Bruce," he said. "Alfred showed me how to get it to look just right, but Bruce taught me to always be prepared. Hence all the extras."
"He sounds like a Boy Scout," she gave him a wavering smile.
Dick laughed. "Bruce would make the Boy Scouts seem disorganized."
"I can't quite picture Batman helping little old ladies across the street," she gave a watery chuckle.
"No," Dick was grinning at the thought. "But he might swing down to clobber anyone trying to mug one."
"Maybe he could swing her over the crosswalk with his bat-rope?" Elle supplied, smiling wider.
Dick snorted. "I suppose that one might be possible, depending on the circumstances. Speaking of Bruce, he and Tim and Damian are waiting downstairs to accompany us, unless you want to take a separate vehicle."
"They came all the way to Chicago for Poppa's funeral?" Elle probably shouldn't be surprised, but she was.
"You're family now," he reminded her.
One she was incredibly thankful for as her family dwindled. She glanced in the mirror again. Waterproof mascara really wasn't all that waterproof, was it? She dabbed at her eyes once more, but didn't bother reapplying something that would be smudging in another hour or so. She wasn't attending a red carpet event, but her father's funeral.
When Dick wrapped a protective arm around her waist, she allowed it and leaned on his strength gratefully as he led her downstairs. Bruce and the boys could be seen in the front parlor from the stairs, and got up to greet her when they saw them.
"Elle, I'm so sorry," Bruce told her taking her hand. "How are you holding up? Is there anything that we can do to make this day go smoother?"
"No," she shook her head. "No, nothing. All the arrangements have been made. You are helping just by being here. I appreciate you driving all the way up . . ."
"Nonsense," Bruce interrupted her. "Of course, we would be here. You're family now," he said, repeating Dick's earlier claim. "We take care of our own."
"I beg your pardon, Miss Bella. You have company," Franklin interrupted.
The butler had smoothly reclaimed his position when Elle finally dipped into the bank account that her father had set up for her and rehired him. Aiden couldn't fire the man this time since Franklin was now her employee. He would retain his position for as long as he desired it.
Elle checked her watch. It was almost time to leave for the funeral. Who would show up today of all days? Curious, and prepared to send them away, Elle followed Franklin back toward the foyer. She stopped in the doorway and gasped.
Dick and Bruce moved forward at her startled cry.
"Nonna? Nonno? Oh, my goodness," Elle cried. "I can't believe you're here! Quando seite arrivati?" ("When did you arrive?")
A handsome older couple turned around. The gentleman had snow-white hair and looked to be in his mid-sixties; the woman with him appeared much younger in age with nary a white hair and hardly a wrinkle. In fact, she looked not much older than Bruce's own age of forty-one.
"Ieri sera, dolce Bella," her grandfather told her. ("Last night, sweet Bella.")
"You stayed in a hotel? No! Sareste dovuti venire qui. C'è spazio in abbondanza," Elle admonished. ("You should have come here. There was plenty of room.")
"Bellina, stai bene? So quanto questo possa essere difficile per te. Devi cercare di non essere triste, perchè tuo papà è finalmente di nuovo insieme con la sua Cara Esmeralda." Her grandmother held out her arms. ("Little Bella, are you alright? I know how difficult this must be for you. You must try to not be too sad, for your poppa had finally gone to be with his dear Esmeralda at last.")
And just like that all control she had found was gone. Elle threw herself into her Nonna's arms, sobbing.
"Nonna, non ero pronta per perderlo," she cried. "E' troppo presto!" ("I wasn't ready for him to go, Nonna! It was too soon!")
"Tut, tut, tesoro mio," her grandmother crooned; stroking her hair. "Saremmo dovuti venire prima. Bisognava aspettarselo. Dopotutto tu hai trovato il tuo compagno di vita." ("Tut, tut, my darling. We should have made arrangements to come sooner. It was to be expected. You had found your bondmate, after all.")
Elle pulled back. "What? What has that to do with anything?"
"Bella, può andare avanti adesso. Non deve più preoccuparsi per te adesso," she told her. "Sapeva che il tuo promesso si sarebbe preso cura di te." ("He could go on now, Bella. He didn't have to worry over you anymore. He knew that your bondmate would be here to take care of you.")
Suddenly things her father had been saying to her recently made sense. In fact, a lot of things were suddenly making sense. Like all of those escorts he had pawned her off on for all these years . . . He had been searching for her bondmate! So that he could do what? Die on her?
Had her father really been so desperate to leave her?
The pain that struck her heart was so intense that Dick took a step forward. As if she knew he would be there, Elle stepped back and reached for him blindly.
Cedric had told her these things but it never really struck her until now that all this time her father had merely been biding his time until he could find her another keeper and he could leave her without guilt. He had promised her mother that he would watch over her and he had done his duty admirably. How long had he been shoving the sons of his business associates at her? Since she had been sixteen . . .
Good Lord! What if she had met her bondmate in high school? Would he have allowed himself to die even then? She would have been too young to have married. She would have been left at Aiden's mercy. Elle had already had a taste of Aiden's mercy and it had tasted a lot like blood.
" Bella? Che cosa c'è, tesoro? Cosa c'è che non va?" her grandmother asked. ("Bella? What is it, my dear? What is wrong?")
Now was not the time to break down. The funeral was in less than an hour. Elle shored herself up and swallowed her tears.
"Nonna, mi manca papà. Tutto qui," Elle said, with only the faintest quiver. ("Just missing Poppa, Nonna. That's all.") "I must introduce you," she said abruptly.
"Dick," she drew him forward. "These are my grandparents; Luca and Noemi Constanzo. They flew in all the way from Italy. Nonno, Nonna, this is Richard Grayson-Wayne; my fiancée."
Luca Constanzo stepped forward and shook Dick's hand.
"Welcome to the family, young man," Luca smiled at him.
"A pleasure, sir," Dick murmured respectfully.
Noemi, however, pulled the startled young man into a strapping hug and kissed both of his cheeks.
"Ricardo, how wonderful it is to finally meet you," Noemi told him. "And I see you will finally marry our little Bella and make an honest woman of her, yes?"
Dick returned her grandmother's greeting. He noted the blush staining Elle's face. If Cedric spoke bluntly, he had the feeling that Elle grandmother would be like taking a bucket full of ice water to the face.
"Yes, ma'am. That I will," he assured her with a smile.
She patted his face with stinging vigor. "Buono. That is very good news, indeed." She turned around and began chiding Elle strongly in Italian; not aware that Dick and Bruce both spoke the language fluently.
"E' un bene che tuo nonno ed io siamo venuti. Qualcuno deve essere presente per sorvegliarvi. Che cosa penseranno i vicini, tu sola con un uomo? E' sconveniente per una signorina!" ("It is a good thing that your grandfather and I came. Someone needs to be here to chaperone the two of you. What would the neighbors think, you staying here alone with a man? It is unbecoming of a lady to act in such a manner!")
"Nonna, è il mio fidanzato," Elle attempted to cut in. "Siamo bondmates. Nessuno può pensare male! Non è come dici tu!" ("Nonna, he is my fiancé now. We are bondmates. No one thinks of us like that! It is not like you are saying at all!")
"Psh!" Nonna waved her words away. "Per la gente comune non vale niente se non c'è una cerimonia e un certificato di matrimonio! Non vivi nel mare con i pesci dove la morale e la decenza comune non esistono! Stai portando disonore a questa famiglia." ("To the landed, it is nothing without the ceremony and the certificate! You are not living in the sea with the fishes where morals and common decency do not exist! You are behaving in a manner that brings shame to your family.")
Dick wanted to treat Elle's family with the utmost respect but he couldn't stand by and let her grandmother vilify her reputation unjustly, particularly not today when she was expected to say her final goodbyes to her father amongst both well-meaning family friends and a host of media and other strangers.
"Le chiedo di perdonarmi, Mrs. Constanzo," Dick interrupted, tucking Elle into his side and gently placing himself in between her and her grandmother. "Non si permetta di parlare a Elle in questo modo. Non ha fatto nulla di vergognoso per se stessa o la vostra famiglia. Inoltre, oggi deve seppellire suo padre, quello di cui ha bisogno è il sostegno e l'affetto della sua famiglia. Non certo disprezzo e disappunto. Se avete qualcosa da dire riguardo alla nostra relazione dovrete dirlo ad entrambi. Ma non oggi! Apprezzerei molto se potesse evitare le critiche. Almeno fino a un momento più opportuno." ("I beg your pardon, Mrs. Constanzo. You will not speak to Elle in that fashion. She has done nothing to shame herself or her family. What's more is that today she goes to bury her father and is in need of your support, not your judgment and disapproval. If you have something to say about our relationship, you will say it to the both of us. But not today! I would greatly appreciate it if you kept your criticisms to yourself until a more appropriate time.")
Noemi stared at Dick for a long moment. "You speak the language quite well," she said finally.
Dick held her gaze. "That I do, Mrs. Constanzo."
She turned to her husband and spoke to him, this time in French. "Il est fort, Luca . Comme Cédric, je pense. Nous devons faire attention à ce que nous disons en face de lui jusqu'à ce que nous pouvons apprendre à le connaître mieux, non?" ("He is a strong one, Luca. Like Cedric, I think. We must be careful what we say in front of him until we can get to know him a little better, eh?")
"Comme vous le dites, mon amou ," Luca assured her. "Mais je pense qu'il est correct. Vous êtes un peu dur sur Bella. Les choses sont différentes dans cette génération." ("As you say, my love. But I think he is correct. You are being a little hard on Bella. Things are different in this generation.")
"Je parle plusieurs langues très bien, Mme Constanzo," Dick said to her in French. ("I speak several languages quite well, Mrs. Constanzo,")
Startled, Noemi looked back at him and narrowed her eyes in thought. Then she smiled and laughed; taking Elle by the hand. "You pick a good one, yes?"
Elle smiled back, if a little sadly. "Yes, Nonna. He is the very best. Now, allow me to introduce you to the rest of his family."
Dick finally settled down beside her, wrapping his arm around her middle and nuzzling his face into her hair. He kissed her shoulder and slowly the sound of his breathing changed, deepening, heralding that sleep had arrived. Elle's eyes opened. She was still too wound up to sleep but she knew that Dick wouldn't until she did.
He had been hovering all day. She had had to pretend to sleep before he relaxed enough to allow himself to drift off. Her eyes drifted over the treasures of her childhood. All of the good memories, some of the bad, all of them had found a niche inside this room. She remembered when her father had given her that teddy bear the year she first went away to boarding school.
He had worried about her being all along but in truth it had been a relief. Even in what should have been a father/daughter moment, Aiden had marred it. She had had to give up her father in order to find a little safety. Even in her last moments with Cedric Hamilton, Aiden had been there, his hatred suffocating her. They hadn't had to act, however, for the people around them this time. Perhaps neither of them had had the strength for it today. Brother and sister had simply kept a buffer between them at all times; people, an aisle, a casket . . .
If anyone wondered why they didn't hug or turn to one another in their grief, nothing was said. And Elle had been surrounded by her fiancé and his family as well as her maternal grandparents. Tomorrow's newspaper would likely tell them soon enough if someone had thought it odd. Frankly, though, Elle couldn't bring herself to care one way or the other.
The time was at hand to go toe-to-toe with her brother. Tomorrow was the reading of the will. Tomorrow she would gain the power to shrug off the hateful man's presence and order him out of the house forever.
Her hand slid over Dick's forearm where it held her, her fingers tracing his amazing musculature. Dick was so strong, her rock in her time of need. He hadn't seemed to mind that she had been a basket case all day. Even more amazing was the fact that Bruce and the boys had traveled up to attend the funeral with them. They hadn't stayed although she had offered them rooms but she understood their need to head back to Gotham tonight. Tim had promised Dick he would patrol Bludhaven in his stead so that he wouldn't feel conflicted in any way.
Dick had told her that there wasn't a conflict. He was where he needed to be but he was still grateful for his brother stepping in for him all the same.
When she thought that Dick was sleeping deeply enough, she lifted his arm and slid out of the bed. She didn't need a light to find her robe and to make her way into the hall. Her feet knew the way to go. They had been marking the path all of her life.
When she opened the door, a wave of humidity washed over her and Elle breathed a little easier. She dropped the robe and her nightgown and in four steps she dove into the pool and allowed the silence of the water to engulf her. At times, this felt more like home than did the house above her. Now she knew why . . .
She still had questions but they could wait until another day. Right now all she wanted to do was swim. She skimmed the bottom and didn't bother rising to the surface, now that she knew she didn't have to. Lap after lap, Elle allowed the water to soothe her.
She lost track of time. It wasn't until the first ray of dawn streaked through the windows and hit the water that she realized that she had swam through the entire night. She moved to the shallow end. She wanted to be back in bed before Dick woke up and found her gone. He would know she had left by virtue of her hair being wet but Elle didn't want him to know she had been down here all night long. He would worry.
Climbing out of the water she turned to the cupboards that held towels only to find Dick standing there holding one out to her.
"Oh," she said, startled. "I just came down for a little swim." She took the towel from him. "How long have you been here?"
He looked at his watch. "About six hours now."
Elle's mouth dropped open. He must have woken up shortly after she had left the room.
"I didn't realize you were here," she stammered, flushing pink.
"That's only because you never bothered to surface," he remarked casually. "When I told you I don't sleep well without you now, I wasn't exaggerating."
Guilt swamped her. "I'm sorry. You must be exhausted!" She tucked the ends of the towel around her.
He produced another towel and started drying her hair for her. "Not so much," he tilted his head in the direction of the lounge chairs. "I caught a few Z's here."
Her eyebrows rose. "You slept in the lounge chair?"
"It wasn't so bad. The sound of the water was soothing," he reassured her, "and the cushions were rather comfortable."
She quirked a smile at him. "Why didn't you just go back upstairs?"
Dick kissed her forehead. "Because you were down here. Really, it was fine. I could see that you needed to swim so I watched you for a while. It's better than counting sheep," he teased, "watching you do laps along the bottom of the pool."
"Put you right to sleep, did it?"
This time Dick blushed. "Not immediately, no. You were naked, after all."
Elle laughed. "I'm surprised you didn't join me."
"I was tempted," he admitted ruefully, "but I thought you preferred a little alone time."
She snorted. "Alone time . . . With you in the same room?"
"Sorry, but after the last time you were here, this was as alone as you were going to get," Dick told her.
Elle pursed her lips but didn't say anything. He had been as upset as she the night her father had passed away and Aiden had attacked her. Despite Dick being in the poolroom with her, he had still given her a modicum of privacy. She had thought she had been alone and that was enough for her. The truth was that his presence wouldn't have bothered her except for the guilt that she might have been keeping him up. As he just admitted to sleeping in the lounge, that wasn't an issue so in the end, everything worked out fine.
They turned to walk out. Elle paused to pick up her nightgown and robe, although she didn't bother to put them on, the towel covered all her pertinent parts easily enough. Dick, however, stared at the windows that separated the pool from the hallway.
"You don't worry about swimming naked while being surrounded by all this glass? Anyone could have seen you in here," he asked her.
"No. It's just you and me here," she said.
"And Edward and Hugh," he muttered, "and your grandparents."
Elle smiled at him. "Edward and Hugh wouldn't interrupt me here unless they had reason to believe I was in danger."
They had apparently known when she went skinny dipping at night while growing up but hadn't bothered to follow her because, unlike Elle, they knew more about her heritage than she did herself. She couldn't drown . . .
And all this time she had thought she was being sneaky . . . But, as her bodyguards explained, she was a bit too clumsy on land to make a good sneak.
"And your grandparents?"
"They sleep at night," she replied.
"Jet lag?" he retorted.
Elle laughed. "Their European," she reminded him. "They don't have as many hang ups about nudity as Americans do."
"Elle!" Dick gaped at her. "The woman lambasted you just yesterday for living with me out of wedlock! I doubt she would see you parading around in nothing but your skin as a mere hang up."
"Take it easy, sweetheart," she patted his cheek. "They would have either turned around or announced themselves. Nonna would have tossed me my robe until I could grab something suitable from the changing room."
He snorted. "The changing room . . . I wonder if you even know where it is," he teased. At her look, he clarified. "I've never seen you actually use it. You usually just strip in the hall or in here and dive in bare-assed."
Elle smirked and pointed at the doors a few feet away. "They're right over there," she informed him.
"And what if Bruce and the boys had decided to stay the night?" Dick held open the glass door that led to the hall for her.
She stopped and looked at him. "Would they have wandered the house at night, do you think?"
"Without cause? No," he shook his head. "At least, not farther than the kitchen."
She started walking again. "Well then, there likely wouldn't have been an issue. I don't always traverse the kitchen in the buff."
"You don't always?" Dick glanced down at her and saw her smile.
Elle trotted up the steps that led to the house proper. Swimming always energized her despite the sleepless night.
"What exactly does that mean?" Dick called after her as he followed. "That you do sometimes?"
Elle ignored him.
Dick took two steps at a time to catch up to her. "Or did you mean you don't go naked in the kitchen as opposed to running around naked elsewhere?"
She laughed but didn't bother answering him.
"Elle?"
REACTIONS?
Elle's grandmother (Nonna in Italian) is something else. Dick surprised her, however, and she has a grown some respect for him, I think.
I had help on the Italian translations but the French . . . Well, I did the best I could. (I can count in German, and can swear in Spanish - Neither of which could help me here.) Any mistakes are mine alone. There won't be any more French (I don't think so, anyway, but you never know.) but if any French readers would care to correct my translations into their language, please feel free to PM me!
Oh, and I know my bad guy had a French mother but be aware that I love France as much as I do Italy . . . (Although, Italian drivers are a little scary - No offense!). I've visited both countries and they are very beautiful and, I must say, that the people were nothing but polite and very kind to me and my family - despite my being a "rude" American. LOL! Actually, although I cannot speak either language, I kept my easy translation books open to the pages that had "please", 'thank you", "excuse me", and "I'm sorry". I find that those are the most important words to have ready in any language while visiting a foreign county. Most other fumblings and mistakes can be forgiven or overlooked if you know the polite words.