by Anna Edwards
Chapter Fifteen
William
Sitting at the breakfast table shoveling my Weetabix into my mouth, I keep staring down at the small piece of paper in front of me. It’s a picture drawn by Cory from the center the other day. It’s of me and him lying on the floor in the sensory room staring at the lights. We must’ve lain there together for at least half an hour just saying the color of the lights or a variation when they changed. He was really impressed with my knowledge of the color wheel and even more that I knew of a blue-green color called zomp. He’d always wanted to know if you could get a color for every letter of the alphabet. I was hesitant at first when I found out the center was for those on the autism spectrum, but the more time I’ve spent there, the more confident I’ve become. Although at the same time a sadness has developed within me when I see the interactions and the love between the children and their parents, reminding me of what I didn’t have growing up. To be different is not the scandal or embarrassment my father led me to believe. It’s something to be cherished, making the person unique. I need to try and keep that thought in my head.
My brother pops his head over my shoulder. “Good picture, little brother, but I’m not sure you are up to the standard of Van Gogh, just yet. I’m uncertain whether Victoria’s critical eye will accept it as a replacement for the ‘Poppies’.” He laughs at his unfunny joke.
“It’s not mine. It was drawn by one of the children at the day care center,” I reply testily.
“I know.” Nicholas chuckles. “If it was your drawing, it would be so much worse.”
I snort my frustration and folding the picture up, I tuck it in my pocket. I think I’ll get a frame for it and put it up on the wall in my room, later.
“Has Victoria got her head down the toilet again this morning?” I ask my brother with blunt honesty.
“You’ve such a delicate way with words, but you always speak the truth. I left her trying to eat a ginger biscuit to settle her poor stomach. I think I’ll get a doctor out to her today. This has been going on far too long now,” he says, shaking his head. The butler steps forward and pulls out a seat for my brother to take his position at the head of the table for breakfast. “I’ll have two slices of toast with a piece of bacon, two poached eggs, and a large coffee please. The Duchess will also be down in a minute. She’ll have a slice of toast and lemon water please.” My brother turns to me, “What do you think Tamara will want?”
I shrug and push my finished bowl of cereal away.
“Food?”
“Helpful.” He rolls his eyes. “Bring Miss Bennett the same as me, but with one egg.”
“At once, Your Grace.” The butler scurries away.
“I miss Reggie,” Nicholas states flatly. “He would have known immediately what Tamara wanted.
“I know.”
We both fall silent in memory of our previous butler and stand-in father figure who was killed during Victoria’s trials.
“I don’t give a fuck if he’s taking his breakfast. I’ll see him now, or I’ll shove your head through this god damn door.” I instantly recognize the not so dulcet tones of Lord West, coming from out in the hallway.
“He must have received the legal letters from Tamara.” My brother pushes back his chair and prepares to greet our uninvited breakfast guest. I remain seated, continuing to eat my toast.
The dining room door bursts open and ricochets off the wall behind it. An antique vase on a nearby table wobbles but doesn’t fall.
“I will ruin you, Oakfield.” Lord West storms into the room. He’s dressed in a navy blue, formal suit and brandishes an umbrella in his hand.
“I believe it is you who’ll be ruined, West,” my brother replies with a bored nonchalance. “In accordance with the letter, unless you comply with the new rules of the society, you will be ejected and will forfeit assets to pay the subsequent fines as a result.”
“I’ll do nothing of the fucking sort. Just because you’re too much of a wimp to run the society as it should be and has always been, it doesn’t mean we’ll allow you to ruin all our hard work and fun.”
“Fun!” my brother spits out. “Have you met my wife and seen all the trials she had to go through.”
Lord West smirks. “Yes, I’ve met her, and I seem to remember how good her perky little tits felt in my hands. Shame I never got a chance to savor her pussy.”
Nicholas steps forward, prepared to make Lord West pay for his statement, but I’m on my feet quickly and place myself between the two.
“No,” I tell my brother. “He’s baiting you.”
“Yeah, Nicholas. Listen to your freak of a brother. Hit me and I’ll have you arrested for assault. Another reason for me to gather a ‘no confidence’ vote in you as the leader.” West waits a heartbeat before continuing to antagonize my brother. “I’m sure Viscount Hamilton would make a perfect new leader. After all he’ll be able to keep his bitch of a daughter in control better than you can.”
My brother struggles harder in my arms, and I’m on the verge of not being able to control him when I hear Tamara’s authoritative voice. Seeing her so near to this man, and knowing what he’s capable of, sends shivers down my spine.
“Lord West.” Tamara steps into the room with her head held high while Victoria lingers in the doorway behind her, looking white as a sheet. Tamara’s dressed in a tight skirt and blouse with a jacket over it. Her long black hair is pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck, and she looks every inch the professional lawyer… fuck…she's hot as hell. “I must advise you that I’ve just recorded every word of slander you’ve made against my client, the Duchess of Oakfield.” She holds up her phone, and I can’t help but smirk at her genius. “In it, you’ve also admitted to touching the Duchess inappropriately. I’m sure if she were to give me a statement to that effect, then a court of law might find you guilty of sexual assault. Furthermore, should His Grace, the Duke of Oakfield, escape his brother’s restricting arms and feel the need to administer a punch to your face – one, which given his strength and current demeanor, would be likely to damage your good looks via a broken nose, then I’m sure a court of law would also find he had due cause to protect his wife’s good character and person. Especially having heard your previous admission of sexual assault upon her person.” Tamara moves closer to Lord West as I let go of Nicholas who’s stopped struggling in my arms. I step back into the shadows and can feel myself getting hard at Tamara’s majestic display. I’ve thought her a weak woman before, but here in this room, she’s commanding and authoritative. It’s the biggest turn on ever. She could match me blow for blow in a duel of words. Maybe she is the woman for me and could handle the darkness within me.
“I suggest you leave this place immediately. At the very least, the recording I’ve made will be enough to have a restraining order put in place against you. I’m certain that would affect your ability to continue as an active member of the Oakfield Society despite its unlawful conception and activities.” Standing directly in front of Lord West, Tamara places both of her hands on her hips and stares him down.
“Damn.” West grabs his groin and re-arranges it in front of us all. “That made me so fucking hard. Do you talk like that in the bedroom?”
“I’m still recording, Lord West,” Tamara counters while my fists clench ready to attack should West make any attempt to hurt the woman in front of him. My protective instincts are flooding through my body, but they are also joined by feelings of darkness, which shroud me in their shadows. Lord West finds her display a turn on, and so do I. He is evil incarnate, but I’m experiencing the same responses as him. Surely, this proves how dark and dangerous my soul is.
“You, my darling, will be fun to break,” he sneers and turns his attention to Nicholas. “Oakfield, remove the sanctions against me and desist with your plans, or you’ll regret it. I won’t rest until I take everything from you. This house, your wife, your hot little lawyer, and even your brother. How would you like it if I get him locked up unde
r the Mental Health Act for some of his past perverted deeds?” West's laugh sucks all the air out of the room, and I know he’s referring to the incident with the girl in my bedroom. My heart is starting to beat rapidly, the air in my lungs feels cold and seems to lack oxygen. My head clouds with a foggy haze of emotions: anger, protectiveness, fear. The stimulation is too much. I know I’m rocking, and I know I’m tic’ing. “Are you videoing this one, Miss Bennett? There’s all the proof needed to demonstrate that William Cavendish is not safe to be allowed free in society.”
I can hear the words being spoken around me. More angry exchanges then doors slamming before silence. West has gone. His evil presence is no longer constricting the aura of the room. Now there’s only mine, flowing and twisting around the edges of the royally decorated room like black plumes of smoke. It’s as if the dementors from Harry Potter are pulling me under their spell.
“Victoria, get me a sedative, quickly,” Nicholas calls out, and it permeates my bewildered brain.
“Wait.” I hear Tamara say, and I can feel her getting closer to me.
“No!” I shout, bringing my hands up in front of my face. “That was beautiful. You were so majestic. But, I’m like him.” I bring my hand down to my groin and can feel the hardness there.
“It’s not wrong, William. I promise you. It excites me to know you liked my display.” Tamara is speaking, and I know she’s near, but she sounds so far away.
“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word,
Mama’s going to buy you a mocking bird.
And if that mockingbird don’t sing,
Mama’s going to buy you a diamond ring.”
I feel a finger touch the top of my nose. It’s soft and tender, and while Tamara continues to sing, it is stroked down to the tip and then back up.
“I’m here, William. Nothing’s wrong...I promise you. Nicholas and Victoria are here as well. West has gone. You’re not him.”
I stop rocking and allow her words to sink in. “I’m not him. I’m NOT him.” I shut my eyes and take a deep breath before opening them again. My mind has cleared, and my meltdown has been averted without the need for a sedative. I’ve responded to Tamara. She’s talked me down when I needed her to. Reaching out, she takes my hand.
“How do you feel?” she asks, and I blink a few times to center myself further.
“Good. Thank you.”
“You’re not a bad man, William. Just because you liked my little display of power doesn’t make you anything like West.”
Nicholas steps forward.
“Hell, little brother. I liked her display too. I might have to take Victoria upstairs and get her to talk all legal-like to me.” Nicholas chuckles.
“That’s probably a case of too much information.” Tamara screws her face up.
“I’m sorry,” I tell them both. “Everything is different from what I’m used to. The world is a crazy place and so vibrant. Sometimes, I can’t fully handle everything around me.”
Tamara leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her shoulders.
“That’s what you have us for. Everyone has their mad moments. It’s what you do after that counts.”
She looks up at me, her eyes wide with both wonder and the affection she holds for me. For the first time ever, I don’t see any fear. It’s gone because I’m finally accepting my needs. It’s then I realize that everything Tamara has been doing has been for a reason. She’s been helping me to discover the life I can have outside the confines of my father’s rules, giving me the chance to be myself, not a monster created by him. Leaning forward, I press a kiss to the top of her forehead just as Victoria comes running into the room with a hypodermic filled with sedative.
“Damn!” she exclaims. “I hate being pregnant. I spend all day throwing up and then get to miss all the good things.”
We all laugh, and Nicholas strides confidently over to her.
“How about I take you upstairs and show you something good.”
“If it’s your dick, then I think I’ll pass. It’s got a lot to answer for at the moment!”
Tamara rests her head against my chest as we watch the comic interaction between husband and wife. With him trying to get laid, and his pregnant wife informing him she’s never opening her legs for him again. For the first time in forever, I feel calm… natural…normal.
Chapter Sixteen
Tamara
“Do you want another romantic comedy, or can we have something with a bit more action in it?” William flicks between the Netflix icon of Fast and Furious and Crazy, Stupid Love.
“You can put the car one on.” I shake my head at him. “I’m done with romance for the day. Although I will have to tell you all the laws they’re breaking in the film.”
“Deal.” William switches back to Fast and Furious and sets it up to play. He pauses the screen, though. “Do you want anything more to eat or drink?”
We’ve been watching films for the last few hours. Ever since the clash with Lord West this morning, nobody has felt like doing much. Nicholas arranged for a doctor to come and see Victoria about her morning sickness. She was prescribed some pills and, along with Nicholas, took to her rooms for some rest. I suspect she was also breaking her vow to never allow her husband near her again, especially when chocolate coated strawberries were sent to their room. I can’t take my friend anywhere. Mind you, it’s lovely to see her so happy. William and I took a walk around the estate to clear his head after his almost meltdown this morning. We sent the driver to fetch a traditional takeaway kebab for lunch because I’d discovered during the walk William had never had one before. The Oakfield’s chef wasn’t impressed, and I’m not sure William was either. I kept reassuring him it tasted better after a night out drinking at the pub. I don’t think he believed me. The chef made us a platter of snacks, and we came into the cinema room to watch films for the afternoon. Following his kiss to my forehead this morning, we’ve not engaged in any other embraces but simply enjoyed being close to each other. It had been a perfect afternoon, and I didn’t want it to end.
“Do you think the chef has any more of those chocolate cookies?” I rub my index finger through the crumbs on the plate and lick them off my digit.
William presses a button located in the arm of the comfortable sofa we’re sitting on, and the voice of the chef fills the room.
“My Lord?”
“Do you happen to have any more chocolate cookies left?” William asks.
“I’ve just taken a fresh batch out of the oven.” I can tell the chef is happy to be cooking, and I can imagine him sniffing the freshly baked smell into his nostrils.
“Can you send some for Miss Bennett, please?”
“Of course. Anything for you, sir?”
“I’ll just have another coffee, thank you. Best make it decaffeinated, though, or I’ll be awake all night.”
“I’ll bring them right through.”
“Has Nicholas said whether he’ll be taking dinner downstairs or in his rooms, yet?” William asks.
“I believe he’s eating downstairs, but I’ve not been able to confirm that. He was called into an urgent meeting, according to the butler.”
“Urgent meeting?” I see William’s brows furrow together. I love the concern he has for his brother. The two of them are beyond close. I often wonder if it’s what got them through their youth, making them the men they are today. The bond between them being strengthened with everything that was thrown at them.
“Yes, sir. I believe it was…” The chef goes quiet.
“Was who?”
“I can’t say.” The jovial nature of the chef has completely disappeared, and his voice is caged.
“Now,” William orders, his voice terse and commanding. “I want details. Now!”
“I believe it was Miss Bennett’s mother.”
William turns his head to look at me, and my mouth must fall open in shock. Before I know it, I’m gasping like a fish out of water, trying to find words. William grabs my ha
nd, and we are running through the corridors of Oakfield Hall toward the office we all share. Without knocking, William barges in. My mother is sitting in a chair with Victoria. My friend's arm is around her, and my mother’s crying.
“Mum,” I call, and I’m across the room in an instant and at her feet checking her for injuries. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
I look up at Nicholas and see the frown on his face. He looks over toward William and shakes his head.
“Tamara, why don’t we wait outside? This could be nothing, but I’m sure Nicholas can handle it.” William taps me on the shoulder and tries to assist me to my feet, but I jerk away from him.
“My mother is crying. I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what’s going on.”
“She…came to apologize to me…for knowing about my father’s plans and not helping me,” Victoria stutters her answer quickly, too quickly, and I see it instantly for the lie it is. She’s pale, shaking, and has also been crying.
“You told me she wouldn’t know I’ve been here.” My mother looks up at Nicholas while using a tissue in her hand to dab away the tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Bennett. When William goes in the cinema room, he’s usually in there for hours watching films. I truly didn’t know they’d find out you were here.”
“Will you stop talking like I’m not here and tell me what is going on? I have a right to know.”
My mum lets out a long sob, and I squeeze her hand tightly.
“Whatever it is, Mummy, I can help you. Is it the Viscount? Has he done something to you after our last visit? If he’s fired you, you’re better off away from that place. Victoria wants you here. I want you here.”
She shakes her head and inhales a whimper, trying to dampen it down, so it doesn’t explode into a full-blown cry of anguish.
“I never wanted you to find out. I thought if Nicholas knew, he could protect you. It’s the only reason I took the risk.”
