Glazier

by Bri Clark

  Abbass entered with his wife at his side, and he seemed as arrogant as ever. He assisted her into her chair, then took his seat. With a little flourish, he signaled for quiet. “I’m truly sorry for the inconvenience all of you have had to endure recently. I may have been overly cautious, but I cannot afford for any harm to come to anyone on my estate. Nevertheless, I’m relieved to inform all of you that you may leave your room and enjoy the rest of the house and the surrounding gardens. However, that is the farthest you should venture. The ball planned for tonight is on schedule. Make sure to be punctual. Now, let’s enjoy lunch.” He waved his hand, and the servants moved into step rapidly serving each guest their meal.

  I winked at Shae. She replied with a smile. I could feel her beginning to relax. Hagar served us, and I thanked her graciously in the lowest voice I could muster. She always seemed to be able to hear me, letting me know with a nod or a wink. She disappeared with the other servants. We all began to eat. I was comfortable in the silence because no one would bring up the day we all spent before with Berg. But the quiet didn't last long.

  “Mr. Rathbone, I’m glad to see your wife unharmed and my horse safe as well.”

  “Yes, as am I,” Henry replied.

  “I apologize for not accompanying you and the Stryker’s to find Mrs. Rathbone. As you probably already figured out, matters that were more pertinent required my attention. It’s ironic how it all happened at once.” Abbass commented, one of his brows arched in suspicion.

  “Yes, it is ironic. I’ve heard of horse’s being capable of sensing danger, but that was remarkable. Nevertheless, you yourself have commented on how that’s just one of the many reasons you prize the stallion.” Henry’s response was fluid and natural. He never ceased to amaze me.

  Collin jumped in, sealing the deal. “A glorious specimen, that he is. I can speak for myself and my wife. We’ve traveled around the world and have never once encountered such an amazing creature. You’re a talented man for picking such a fine beast right out of the wild.”

  I sensed Abbass was still suspicious, but his ego got the best of him. He smirked arrogantly telling the story of how he captured Berg. I had to tune him out. I could already feel Glazier stirring, a tempting offer. I knew if he said one thing to set me off over the capture of Berg, it would get ugly quick. Through the meal, he wasn’t as attentive as before. I assumed his mind was otherwise preoccupied. I hoped his infatuation with me was over.

  After lunch, Shae and Collin said they were going for a walk to get some air. Henry wanted to change and catch up with them later. He had something else on his mind, something he couldn’t discuss with them around. We headed to our suite, and he went straight to the closet with me on his heels. He started to pull some clothes out from the back of his suitcase. I knew what it was; his mission attire. I headed toward where my clothes were hidden, a large hand clasped down on my wrist, stopping me.

  “Where do you think you’re going?" he asked, his voice firm and severe.

  “I don’t know, but apparently wherever it is, I need to be prepared.” I answered.

  “You’re not going with me. I need you to stay here.” He smiled.

  “I want to know what you have on your mind. Its mid afternoon, not a great time of day for surveillance,” I stated, crossing my arms. He pulled me into the circle of his embrace.

  “I’m going to go check out the shack. Now is the only time I’m going to have. We have to attend the ball. I have a suspicious feeling that something bad is going to happen. I don’t know how or what exactly. I do know that I can’t afford for you to be hurt. That’s why I’m asking you to stay in the room. I know you’re sick of being in here. I don’t care what you do, get ready for the ball, practice dancing, take a bath, just whatever you do, stay in this room till I return. Please, Love.” He was being unfair again, pleading with me like that, and then calling me Love. I could never refuse him. Worst of all, he knew it.

  “Fine,” I answered, forcing a smile. He lifted me up to his anxious lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck; our kiss was earnest and long. It was nothing like any of our other kisses. We both suspected something dark approaching us and reluctantly broke apart.

  “If I don’t get back here before the ball starts, I’ll meet you there. Don’t dance with Abbass. I promise you, I’ll break his neck right in front of everyone,” he swore through clenched teeth.

  "Do you think it’ll take you that long?” I asked with concern. He ran his fingers lightly across my cheek.

  “Settle, Love. I just want to be prepared. Abbass has security doing extra patrols. Something tells me there’s more going on than what he’s letting on. Believe me, I hate thinking about the fact you might have to show up at the ball without my arm over yours.”

  I felt his trepidation. “Just hurry back so I don’t have to.”

  He finished changing, and I started a bath. If I was going to be stuck here, I might as well try to relax. I watched him slip out the French doors silent as a breeze. I turned off the water after the tub was full. The sweet fragrance of the bath salts I added drifted up through the air. I undressed, then tested the bubbly water with my fingertips. I stepped in, letting my hair spill down my back and float around me in the water.

  There was a bath pillow attached to the end of the tub. I leaned my head against it, closed my eyes, and sighed. The mixture of lavender and jasmine pooled together in the water and created a heavenly atmosphere.

  I awoke to the bong of the horrific clock. The chill of cold water chased away any drowsiness the clock hadn’t dispelled. I heard the door open and close as I got out of the tub. Waiting to feel Henry’s special connection, I hesitated. The lack of his link and the noises and movements of someone going through our room alerted me to the fact it wasn’t Henry. I finished stepping out of the tub, dripping wet, trying to be as quiet as possible.

  Wrapping a towel around my partly crinkled, partly goose bumped skin, my hand found the hair clip Hagar had given me. I hid behind the doorway leading from the closet to the bathroom. Light footsteps moved toward the bathroom. My fingers wrapped around the diamond hilt of the hidden blade. When the footsteps reached the doorway, I shifted my weight, ready to attack, debating between a lethal throw or direct confrontation.

  I decided to throw.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Marie

  As the unknown intruder rounded the corner, I jumped out with the small dagger raised. It was Hagar. She screamed, and we both fell back against the wall clutching our chests. When my breathing became somewhat normal, I apologized, feeling like the biggest twit ever. She laughed it off then scolded me for staying in the bath too long and letting my skin get pruney. Of all the things to be upset about.

  When I saw that it was almost seven, I began to panic. I didn’t have a plan for my hair. Hagar grabbed my hand and set me on a chair in front of the mirror, pulling out several colorful bottles I had never seen before.

  She opened a bottle of cream with a light and pleasant fragrance similar to the flower Henry had left on my pillow. She rubbed the lotion on my back, arms, and shoulders. I instantly relaxed, forgetting about the time. Hagar insisted on rubbing the same sweet lotion on my legs and arms. At first, I was apprehensive, but when she started, it disappeared.

  My skin felt soft and it glistened. I asked her what she used. She simply smiled and winked. I ran a hand over my face. My skin felt smooth under my fingers. Looking in the mirror, I was surprised to discover my cheeks glowed. In fact, my whole body shimmered.

  “What did you do to me? What’s in that cream?”

  Hagar simply smiled and winked. In Egyptian, she said, “All diamonds should shine.”

  I laughed. Her nickname for me was odd. But it was such a sincere compliment, I couldn’t complain. She towel-dried my hair, intermittently scrunching in a liquid from one of her bottles. It smelled just as pleasing. I could tell what that was, Jasmine. She smiled and hummed a melody I couldn’t decipher but I heard the word Neith and a
ssumed it was about the goddess mention. Nevertheless, it was beautiful.

  My hair fell just above my waist in a cascade of ringlets. I turned my head to the left and right trying to see better. My skin and hair shined like the soft light around a candle. It was amazing. She then picked up the hairclip/weapon and ran it up the right side of my hair lifting the shiny tresses off my shoulder.

  I was so excited. I felt like a princess. I hugged her, only stopping long enough to kiss each of her cheeks. She pushed me away scolding me like she had Henry, only her voice was thick with emotion. Ushering me back into the bedroom, she disappeared into the closet. With a garment bag over her shoulder, she smiled. I hadn’t bothered to open yet. She hung the bag on a hook on the back of the bathroom door. Then, opening the long zipper dramatically slow, revealed what was inside.

  The gown looked like something a Greek deity would wear. The design was elegant. Dove white satin covered with clear fabric that flowed as light as air, an empire waist outlined the bodice, separating it from the skirt in an intricate latticework of gold braiding and diamonds.

  Hagar gently pulled the dress down and assisted me. I felt as if I was wearing a cloud. She handed me a pair of strappy gold sandals with a slight heel. When I stood up, the hem of the front glided just above the floor while the train flowed behind me.

  Hagar took a step back to appraise her work. I held my hands out and did a small curtsey. She was silent, clasping her hands over her mouth. Her expression was unreadable. I tried to sense her, but she was feeling too many things. She lifted her apron revealing a hidden pocket in her skirt. Reaching inside, she pulled out an old piece of beige colored fabric with something hidden within its worn folds.

  “Hush, child, and just accept it.” She spoke in her deep Egyptian dialect. Then she opened the fabric, revealing two of the most exquisite items I had ever seen.

  One piece was a set of diamond earrings the same cut and size of the diamonds on my clip. The other item, the most exceptional, was an arm bracelet. Its design was gold bands crossing over one another covered with the same pattern of diamonds as the earrings and clip. My emotions caused me to be silent. Which was what she had wanted in the first place.

  She positioned each earring in my ears then placed the bracelet on my arm between my elbow and shoulder. She stepped back again and appraised me. Moisture lined the bottom of her eye. “The rarest, the most beautiful of all diamonds, my Diamond of the Nile,” she whispered softly.

  I was speechless yet again, searching my brain trying to find something as beautiful and sincere to communicate all that I felt for her. I had no memory of my mother or how it should feel to have a mother, but I knew that it had to be something like what I felt for her now.

  The dreadful moans of the huge clock in our room ruined the lovely moment. Hagar moved quickly, ushering me out the door. It was already eight o’clock. She escorted me down the hallways of the main house toward the east wing. I hadn’t been on this side before. She informed me of the events to take place for the evening.

  Abbass was obsessed with appearing civilized, his arrogance the root of it. He hated the ideas the western world had of Egypt, all ancient pyramids, cloaked women, and desert.

  I barley heard a word because I was nervous. Worry for Henry consumed my attention. I knew he would rather die than put me in any danger. Hagar drew me from my thoughts when she stopped. She gave me directions to the ballroom. Abbass had ordered no house servants to be near the ball. Knowing Hagar, she had already come too far. I hugged her then left.

  As Hagar instructed, I followed a wood-paneled hallway with deep burgundy carpet. I passed another one of the dreadful clocks. It said 8:10. I cringed. Abbass had said eight sharp. I wondered if Henry was already there. My pace quickened at the idea. I could hear soft music traveling down the hall. I knew I was close. She had instructed me to enter from a side door. I took a deep breath, put my hand on the handle, and opened the heavy wooden door.

  As I opened the door of the grand ballroom, I concurred that grand was an understatement. It was enormous. Floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows made up two walls. An elaborate mural portraying pharaohs and their queens played over the ceiling above. Below, the light wood of the floor shone in the soft radiance emanating from the sparkling crystal chandelier. Off to the side, a small orchestra played the Viennese Waltz, and a solitary spotlight reflected off the ebony grand piano.

  The music drifted to silence and the couples dancing ceased moving. As I glanced around the room, everyone stared at me. Cursing myself internally, I realized I hadn’t taken a moment to even get a glimpse of my appearance before leaving our rooms. I felt like a woman on trial under the glare of so many eyes. I didn’t dare sense them. My eyes scanned across the room at all the spectators. What did I look like to command such attention? My scan suddenly stopped, noticing all the attention averted from me. I followed their gazes.

  Abbass and his wife occupied a stairway leading down from a set of large double doors to the dance floor. I silently berated myself. Hagar tried to prevent this, telling me to enter from the side, ever thoughtful. I could handle all the eyes in the room, but the pair on the steps was overwhelming. Abbass’s eyes seemed to be burning with intensity. I looked away only to meet two equally intense black eyes from his wife. They burned with pure hatred for me. Apparently, I had stolen her entrance. I felt awful. She looked amazing, dressed in a colorful, fitted gown. A gold hairpiece kept her hair pulled back from her angry features.

  My knees threatened to buckle under the weight of their stares, and I longed for Henry. Abbass’s face suddenly became hard, his previous smirk now a scowl. Seemingly out of nowhere, a smooth arm glided across my back and locked into place securely around my waist. My Herculean warrior, ever at my rescue.

  Abbass recovered his arrogance quickly and addressed the room. “Honored guests, I thank you for your presence here at the celebration of my family’s one-hundredth male heir. Many enemies of my family made feeble attempts to ruin our festivities. I appreciate the patience that you exercised. Let us celebrate my success. The god of the underworld, Osiris himself, couldn’t have stopped us.” On cue, the orchestra started to play a lively beat, and the guests resumed dancing.

  I relaxed into Henry, unable to find the ability to face him. What if he was disappointed? What if I wasn’t beautiful enough to be at his side? I faced my fear as smooth stone fingers found my chin forcing my eyes upon him, and as I already knew, he was a definition of perfection beyond my wildest imagination.

  Henry stood apart in a sea of black tuxedoes. He wore a taupe jacket and pants with his signature midnight blue shirt and a matching silk tie. The gleam of the shirt highlighted the blue spirals in his Glazier eyes. The taupe appearing darker than it would on a normal man against his smooth, white granite complexion gave him the appearance of a demigod.

  His eyes appeared troubled as I gazed up into their endless pools of crystal beauty. “Why won’t you look at me, love? Why do I sense you’re afraid, terrified even?” His words revealed the reason for the trouble haunting his eyes. I tried to turn away from his piercing gaze, yet his grasp held me firmly in place. I closed my eyes in vain.

  “Is this because you came in alone? I’m so sorry I—”

  “No!” I said louder than necessary, his guilt building between us. “I know Hagar tried her best. You don’t have to lie with me. I understand we have a cover to protect but you don’t have to pretend you find me beautiful. I saw everyone looking at me. I guess I’m not capable of being a lady, just a spy, and I haven’t been good at that part here lately.” I let out a shaky breath having nothing more to say. It felt somewhat comforting to be so blunt. Until I saw his reaction, that is.

  “And you say I’m a fool,” he said frigidly, releasing my chin and tightening his clasp on my hip. Angry, brilliant eyes studied me.

  “Did you look in a mirror before you came or ever for that matter?" His voice was no longer cold but serious.

  I shook my head
unable to form words. His features softened as he escorted me down the steps and over to one of the soaring stain glassed windows.

  “A mirror would be ideal. Nevertheless, maybe this will dispel your completely preposterous idea that you aren’t beautiful. That’s why they stare. They’re jealous, and the men stare because you’re so enthralling. I’m sorry that I’m being so short, but you caught me off guard with your ludicrous remarks.” He sighed. “I get frustrated. You can sense me. Nevertheless, Glazier binds us. I know you have felt that tie. Even with all that, you still don’t comprehend how deep, how endless my love, my devotion is to you. You were right about two things though, you aren’t my equal, you far exceed me, my love. And Hagar didn’t do her best. She could never make you what you are. You are beyond the limitations of tonics and creams, for your exquisiteness isn’t of this world. You’re fairer than the goddess Aphrodite herself. Your love and compassion are greater than the capabilities of Hathor, even.”

  As he spoke, I wanted to ask how he knew so much about the gods, but my questions were lost as my vision and hearing joined forces to betray me. The reflection staring back at me was heavenly. She just couldn’t be me. Her skin was as fair as her robes appearing to flow into each other, only separated by the gold bands, and glittering diamonds that shined.