She still worked diligently on their
finances, they still taunted her mercilessly. She just kept ignoring
them. If they had cared, they would have seen the dark circles under
her eyes, the haunted expression on her face. The encounter with Howie had
left her jumpy and fearful. Every knock, every sound in the hallway
startled her. Sleep was slow to come most nights. She still had the
dreams, but not as often. The mysterious presence, however, was with
her every waking moment.
They were in Paris now. On her day off she decided to go
to Versailles again. The gardens would be in full bloom and she was dying
to see them. She was going to skip the palace, but changed her mind at the
last minute. Taking the tour yet once again, she marveled at it's
splendor, at what it must have been like during it's prime. She broke away
from the tour in the Hall of Mirrors. It was her favorite room. If
she listened hard enough, she would swear she could hear the musicians playing
in the background. The presence was with her again today. As she
looked in one of the mirrors, she actually thought she caught a glimpse of
it. It wasn't a person, just a shadow that passed quickly from her
vision. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it must have looked
like, candles lit, their flames reflecting off of the mirrors. When she
opened her eyes, she couldn't contain the gasp that escaped her lips.
It was dark out, the candles were lit, women were tottering
awkwardly on their heels trying to balance their wide dresses and tall wigs,
foppish men in their silks and satins flirted shamelessly, all the while the
musicians played in the background. She too was dressed in the manor of
the day, a handsome man at her side. "Would you care to dance, my
pet" he murmured against her ear. She nodded her ascent.
Following him to the middle of the floor, they joined the rest of the couples
dancing. She was able to follow the dance, but couldn't seem to get a good
look at his face. She curtsied gracefully to her partner as it ended and
hoped to thank him, but he disappeared into the crowd. She felt a
hand on her shoulder. "Miss, miss, would
you...."
"Are you OK?" A short woman in a loud shirt
was gently shaking her. "You seemed to be off in space there for a
minute."
"I'm fine, thank you. Just a little dizzy" she
answered as soon as she regained her composure. Turning quickly, she
headed for the gardens, losing herself in the heady scent of the flowers.
She spent hours marveling at their grandeur. Avoiding the palace, she
headed back to the train station feeling slightly unbalanced, like something was
affecting her equilibrium. Of course, losing one's mind was apt to cause a
few problems, she thought to herself, smiling at the thought. She was
asleep before the train pulled out of the station.
"Did you enjoy our dance?"
"Yes, but you left before I had the chance to thank
you."
He pulled her into his arms. "I'm here
now." She kissed him softly. "That is all the thanks I
need. Go back to sleep, I'll be here when you wake up." He left
her dreams and she slept peacefully.
"And what did the brainiac do yesterday? A
museum maybe, another historic cathedral, perhaps Versailles again?"
Carmen had started the minute she walked into the room. She took the
papers out of her briefcase and started working. "God, she's like a
robot, isn't she? No wonder you hired her Nicky, I guess she is good for
something after all." She couldn't stop the look of scorn
she gave Carmen. "Oh look, I've gotten under her skin. My dear,
are you going to cry?"
If she had a knife she would have cut Carmen's heart out and eaten
it. As it stood, her best defense was to remain silent.
"She asked you a question, answer it" Nick commanded.
"No, I'm not going to cry. Why in the world would I let a woman
of no consequence bother me." Carmen opened her mouth to say
something, but was cut off. "Nick, why don't you put your cock in her
mouth and shut her up. I have money to make for you and she's bothering
me." No one spoke another word to her for the rest of the day.