Bittersweet Legacy (The Patricians Book 1)

by R. G. Angel

  His lips puckered with disgust at the word ‘nice’. “Don’t think too much of this, Esmeralda, don’t see chivalry where there is none. I told her to disappear, by disrespecting you she’s disrespecting me and that’s not something I will ever let go.” He sighed, reaching in his pocket and extending a $100 bill toward Taylor. “She barely ate today, make sure to take her somewhere for food. I wouldn’t want her to lose her curves.”

  I never thought you could feel both insulted and cared for at the same time. Insulted because he talked about me like I wasn’t there and somehow cared for because he was keeping an eye on me.

  Taylor glared at the money in his hand as it personally offended her. “I don’t need your money to feed my friend,” she barked. “I don't need anything from any of you.”

  Caleb smiled coldly at her. “Suit yourself.” He turned to me. “Behave,” he added before disappearing down the corridor.

  “What was that?” I asked, hoping Taylor had the answer but the way she looked, her eyebrows etched in wonder, she was just as confused as I was.

  “I don’t know – Caleb’s not a defender of anyone. This was a slip-up, a mistake.” The second bell nudged her into action and she hurried us to our first afternoon class.

  “A mistake of what?” I whispered as we took our seat at the back of the class.

  She leaned toward me as the teacher started to hand back our assignments. “The kings are untouchable because they have no attachment, no pressure point, but he defended you, he lost his cool. We’re lucky she’s too scared to retaliate but this is a chink in his armor.”

  “He doesn’t care about me.” I offered, rolling my eyes, but a little treacherous part of me hoped it was the case.

  She shrugged- “I don’t know, but now? I just can’t wait to find out,” she added with a grin.

  What’s your game, Caleb Astor?

  Chapter 15

  On Friday morning a knock on my door startled me awake.

  I turned to my alarm and growled, I still had 30 minutes before I was due up. If it was Archie pulling one of his crap revenge tricks I would snap.

  “What?” I called.

  “I’m- I’m sorry, Miss Esmeralda.”

  “Molly?”

  “Yes?”

  I rolled my eyes. Molly was the loveliest girl, and the first maid I ever had, which made me very uncomfortable, but she was such a scared little mouse, I wondered how working for my father and brother hadn’t frightened her to death yet. I looked at the door – I was too comfy to get out of bed and unlock it.

  “What is it, Molly?”

  “I- yes- I’m sorry to bother you but Mr Caleb just called and-”

  “Caleb Astor?” I asked stupidly, now actually getting out bed and opening the door.

  She took a step back when I faced her, oh come on, I was not that scary. “Yes, Mr Astor, and he gave me a message.”

  I looked at her for a few seconds but she just looked back at me with wide eyes, wiggling her hands in front of her.

  I sighed again. “What’s the message Molly?”

  “Oh yes sorry. He said, you – I’m not sure I can say it.”

  “What did he say? It’s okay.”

  “He said ‘Tell her to get her butt into gear and be downstairs in 30 minutes dressed like the pauper she wants us to pretend to be so we can go to Port Harbour.’”

  I cracked a smile. Damn him for surprising me. I nodded. “Yes, thanks Molly.”

  I was so sure he would refuse I wasn’t ready for the start of my plan. I jumped in the shower settled for the pair of blue jeans, plain red waffle Henley and the black chucks I had when I arrived here – the rest of my clothes never made it to me.

  I tightened my hair into a high ponytail and kept my face free from make-up. I looked at the clock – 10 minutes before Caleb’s pick-up time, 10 minutes to write the note I hoped would set the wheels in motion.

  Alice, I know it sounds weird but I beg you to believe me. I need your help. I need you to ring Ben at school, ask whatever you want but get him on the phone and read him this.

  Ben,

  I know this seems crazy and I'm sorry to go through all of these hoops to get you this message. It all sounds like a cheap spy movie and in some ways, it is. I told you it was not what it looked like and it’s not but I can’t explain, not in person – not yet. I highly suspect your phones are tapped, the same goes for my father’s.

  I scratched that word… ‘father’.

  my uncle Luke’s. Please go find him and give him this number 545-534-9875 - Tell him to buy a burner phone and to call me tomorrow night at 9pm sharp – I will be waiting.

  If all goes to plan, I will be able to explain everything to you.

  Your friend, always,

  Esme.

  Please let me get this win, I begged a God I wasn’t sure was there before folding the piece of paper and sliding it into my sock.

  When I made it downstairs, Caleb was leaning against a car, his arms crossed on his chest, however his usual scowl was missing.

  He was dressed in faded blue jeans, with a matching polo shirt and the school letter jacket which I’d never seen him wear before.

  “I didn’t know you played sport,.” I said, stopping in front of him suddenly quite giddy about this day out and not only because of my note for Ben.

  He shrugged. “You never asked. I play for the baseball team.”

  I nodded. I didn’t know much about sports other than football. “I hope we won’t get into trouble for ditching school.”

  Caleb laughed. “You’re Forbes, I’m Astor – we’ll be okay.”

  I sighed and frowned looking at the car he was leaning on. “It’s not your car.”

  He shook his head. “No, you wanted the normal person’s experience, so I borrowed a poor person’s car.”

  It was my turn to chuckle. “Yeah a Mercedes A200… poor indeed.”

  “I did the best I could. This is one of the two cars we keep for our domestics to run errands.”

  I touched his arm. “I’m joking, I really appreciate it.” It was genuine.

  He looked down at my hand touching him, as if it was something he couldn’t process. He finally looked back up at me, extended his hand.

  “I’ll need your engagement ring.”

  “I… why?” I asked suspiciously. This was around $200,000 from my runaway pot – it was basically my whole runaway pot.

  “We’re poor, remember? I’ll give it back at the end of the day.”

  I nodded, handing it to him reluctantly.

  He reached for a little square box in his pocket and opened it.

  I couldn’t contain my gasp when I saw the ring in it. It was the engagement ring I really liked, the white gold ring with the small pink diamond nestled between angel’s wings. It was the ring I would have picked if it had been real, if I’d wanted this marriage. But it was the cheapest of the lot and I needed the money.

  “I only borrowed it for the day,” he said, sliding it on my ring finger and putting the big, ostentatious ring in the box.

  He raised my hand and kissed the ring, making me shiver.

  He smiled up at me. “You look absolutely gorgeous today, Esme, putting make-up on this face should be a crime.”

  I was taken aback by the compliment, the gentleness in his voice, the laughter in his eyes until I remembered it was all an act.

  I smiled. “You don’t look bad yourself.” I removed a strand of blond hair from his forehead, which made him flinch ever so slightly. “You should wear jeans more often; they really suit you.”

  He looked up behind me and his eyes turned colder, wary. I turned my head to see Archie glaring at Caleb, what was that all about?

  I looked back at Caleb, who still had his eyes locked on Archie, his nostrils flaring. He finally let go of the silent war he was having with my brother and concentrated on me. “Ready to go?”

  I nodded, sitting in the passenger seat.

  “Is everything alright?” I c
ouldn’t help but ask as Caleb started the car and left the driveway briskly.

  “Yes of course, why wouldn’t it be?” He was so dismissive, there was no point insisting on this subject. I knew a lost battle when I saw one… just like my life here.

  “I didn’t think you would do it,” I admitted as we merged onto the highway.

  “Why not?”

  I glanced his way but he was concentrating on the road, stopping me from seeing if his face expressed anything. “Because you said it was stupid.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve done a lot of things I thought were stupid.”

  I chuckled “I’m sure you have. Well, thank you for doing it.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  The rest of the drive was done in quite a companionable silence, which I only broke to sing along with the radio.

  “Why don’t you sing with me?” I asked as we got closer to Port Harbour and Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi started.

  “I don't sing,” he replied looking at me as if I'd lost my mind.

  “Caleb Astor doesn’t, but Cal is funny and he enjoys humoring me. Come on, sing with me – I’m sure you know it.”

  He sighed but started to sing low, unsure, but as we reached the chorus, his voice was strong, gravelly, beautiful. I stopped singing and just listened to him, singing it like he meant it, like he felt it.

  He was mesmerizing, I finally understood my mother’s words about James Astor, his magnetism, his charm.

  Looking at Caleb, his smile was like staring at the sun and when he looked at you, really looked at you, he could make you feel special, like you were the only person in the world.

  Caleb stopped signing abruptly, turned to me with a glare. “You stopped,” he chastised.

  “I know,” I replied breathlessly not realizing how much these few minutes had affected me. I shook my head looking away. It’s all an act, Esme, he is pretending – don’t let this fake version of him make its way into your heart. You’ll leave and never see him again.

  I closed my eyes, it had been a mistake, a big mistake. I’d been with him for an hour and I was already confused, I couldn’t add any more ‘what could have been’ to the equation.

  “Esme?” He asked resting his hand on my shoulder.

  I jerked up, turning toward him.

  “We’re here.”

  I turned toward the quaint little harbour with small shops. It wasn’t very busy, probably because it was a weekday and I liked that, I liked the intimacy of walking around close to Cal.

  “Is there anything special you want to do?” he asked, taking his hands out of his pockets.

  I shrugged. “A bit of window shopping.” I stopped in front of a small piece of jewellery. “Don’t you think it’s pretty?” I asked Cal grabbing his hand.

  He tensed for a minute looking at our fingers intertwined together. I knew boys were not especially big fans of PDA but Caleb was shying from any kind of touch.

  “Umm?” He asked, squeezing my hand a bit tighter as if to see if he liked it.

  I pointed to the Angel wing collections in the window and to the necklace which had angel wings in the form of a heart.

  He leaned closer to the window and wrinkled his nose. “It’s awfully cheap,” he commented. “Probably only silver sterling.” He snorted. “Who would buy that?”

  “Normal people who aren’t friends with diamond dealers,” I teased. “I happen to love it.” I pulled him away. “Come on,” I pointed to the shop called ‘Oceanview’ “I like the dress in the window, I want to try it.”

  Caleb sighed and rolled his eyes. “Did you just want a day out to go shopping?”

  I shrugged, trying to hide my apprehension with humor. “No, not particularly, but no girl passes up a chance to do it.” There were so many variables in this plan, so many unknowns, so many things that could go wrong. What if Caleb found out what I was planning? I quickly glanced at him. Maybe he’d be happy. Maybe he would even help me run if it got him his freedom back. A freedom he hated me for stealing even if it had been against my will.

  As expected, except for a couple of old ladies rummaging around, the store was pretty much empty. I sighed with relief when a girl with long dark hair like Caleb’s walked up to us with a ‘commercial’ smile on her face.

  “May I help you?”

  My eyes connected with her gold name tag ‘Alice’ and my smile widened. I didn’t even take that variable into account when I asked Caleb to take me to Port Harbour – it was a possibility she wasn’t even working that day, and then what?

  Caleb took the lead, probably seeing how I just stood there like a weirdo.

  “Hi, yes,” He pointed at the mannequin in the window wearing a red corduroy button-front skirtall. “My fiancée would like to try this dress please,” he added bringing my hand up and kissing the back of it.

  I looked at him with a small smile. I knew it was not real but he was so good at it, the little attentions, the tenderness – I could get used to this so easily, get used to him.

  She turned to me with a dimpled smile that was so similar to Ben’s. “Certainly, what’s your size? Six?”

  I was quite surprised by the spot-on assessment. “How?”

  She laughed. “It’s my job.” She pointed to the back of the store. “I’ll go to the back and check if I have the size, you can continue browsing if you want or wait by the changing rooms.” She pointed in the other direction where the nightwear was and if you have any questions in the meantime don't hesitate to speak to Ling at the till.

  I nodded, my heart pounding even harder in my chest, it was so loud for me I couldn’t believe that Caleb couldn’t hear it.

  “I'll be waiting by the changing room,” I replied, using the opportunity to let go of Caleb’s hand and point to the changing room too. I had a tendency to get sweaty palms when I was stressed or anxious and as the last remaining elements of my more-than-clumsy plan unfolded ,my stress level was off the charts, I didn’t need to give Caleb any suspicion.

  “Want to look at anything else while you wait?” Caleb asked as I bounced on my feet in front of the wooden changing room door.

  I shook my head crossing my arms – “no, I’m good.”

  He arched his eyebrows “Really?!” He got his wallet out of his pocket and waved it in front of me. “My treat.”

  I smiled a little as guilt started to mix with my apprehension. “No, it’s okay, thank you though.”

  He shrugged, looking around. “Suit yourself. I just didn’t think a woman would ever refuse free clothes.”

  “I’m not like the other women, you know.” I replied, and I didn’t mean for my statement to be so loaded, but the way he detailed me with a serious look on his face showed me that it meant a lot and I was grateful Alice appeared before things took a path I didn’t want to take.

  “Hey, sorry for the delay, but we don’t have it in red in your size but we’ve got brown if you want.”

  I had to do my best to school my features and stop my disgusted pout. I was already not a fan of brown to start with but this one was probably the ugliest brown in history.

  “Perfect! I’ll go try it now.”

  Caleb’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, but I looked down at the skirtall to avoid him reading into it.

  I changed into the ugly thing and couldn’t help but grimace looking at myself in the floor-length mirror. The bad lighting didn’t help how awful it looked.

  I closed my eyes, holding the note tightly in my hand. I took a couple of calming breaths, I needed to talk to Alice calmly enough – if I was flustered or agitated I’d be less likely to have her on my side.

  “Cal, I’ve got a problem with the dress it’s stuck - can you call Alice please?”

  “Alice? Just open the door, I'll help you.”

  “No!” I yelped and bit my lip at the urgency of my tone - That was a stupid slip-up. “No please Cal, it’s a little embarrassing, call her please.”

  He was silent for a couple of seconds an
d I half expected him to demand I opened the door or to see him slip underneath the giant gap- I was sure it was what normal Caleb Astor would have done – he was not the kind of man you said no to.

  He sighed in frustration. “Okay just give me a sec.”

  Within a minute there was a little tap on the door - I didn’t even need her to talk to know it wasn’t Caleb - it lacked the commanding hue that followed every action.

  I opened the door a little just to let her in.

  She frowned at my outfit. “I don’t –”

  I rested my forefinger against my lips. “Look it’s stuck right there.” I said extending her the piece of paper.

  She frowned at the paper not taking it. “I don’t understand.”

  Damn it girl, don’t ruin this for me! “Here look, just pull it down.” I nudged the paper toward her. “Please.” I mouthed

  “Okay…” she took a step closer and finally took the piece of paper from me. She read it quickly and arched a questioning eyebrow at me. “How?” She whispered.

  “Are you almost done in there?”

  “Her panties are stuck in the zipper, if I pull too hard, she’ll finish the day commando.”

  I looked at her horrified as she shrugged, mouthing ‘what?’

  “You could have just said ‘no’,” Caleb grumbled. “Listen, I'm thirsty. I’ll go get myself a drink just stay there okay? And just – just rip that cheap dress if need be, I couldn’t care less.”

  “Can you get me a hot chocolate?”

  He sighed. “Fine.”

  I waited a couple of seconds, staring at the bottom of the door now free of Caleb’s shadow.

  “Can you explain?” she whispered angrily. “What’s happening here?”

  “Too much to explain in the few minutes we have.” I spoke while changing clothes. “But I have ended up embarking on something I don't want and I’ve known Ben for years – he’s the only one able to help me. Please, I beg you, Alice, you have to do this.”

  “Are you in danger?” she asked with concern.

  Such interest by a stranger made me a little emotional at the thought of my own family’s disregard for my wellbeing and tears welled in my eyes before I had a chance to stop them.