by Jack July
“Only if you are on the menu.”
She turned around and gave him a long, hot kiss. “You know it, lover.”
“I’ll be here.”
“I think I’ll take Claire with me.”
“Good idea.”
Amy became serious. “We have to get them in school.”
Bogus nodded. “Legal is working on guardianship for Micky.”
Amy smiled, “Really? To tell you the truth, I was trying to figure out how to bring it up. I wasn’t sure how you would feel.”
“He’s a hard worker, and I watched how he treats Manchin. That’s all I needed to see. Kid’s got a big heart.”
“Yes he does,” Amy agreed, “We’ll have to ask him first.”
Bogus nodded. “Claire will be a bit more difficult.”
“Do I talk in my sleep? It’s like you know what I’m thinking.”
“Oh no, my dear, Claire belongs to me.”
Amy gave him an adoring look and shook her head. “And just when I think I couldn’t love you more.”
“There could be a problem. Her uncle may not want to give her up.”
Amy’s face changed quickly and Fenian peeked at Bogus through her eyes. “Not a problem. He’ll give her up one way or the other.”
“Okay then. You’d better get going.”
“What are you up to today?”
“I’m going back to bed and get some more rest. I have a young wife to please.”
She kissed him again. “Yes, you do.”
Claire sat on the ornate ceremonial throne with her feet up, reading a book. Sometimes Amy would look at Claire and feel like she was looking into a mirror twelve years ago. “Good morning, Lady Claire.”
“Good morning, Lady Amy.”
“What are you reading?”
“One of the books you got me, Underlake.”
“Yes, my friend Kia is a fine author. Are you enjoying it?”
“Aye.”
“Feel like taking a ride with me?”
“Love to. Where are we going?”
“I have a new project, maybe you can help me?”
“Sure.”
Forty-five minutes later, they pulled up to the children’s home. A man sat in a truck waiting for them. Amy and Claire walked to the truck. “Mr. Baskin?”
“Yes, you must be Lady Amy.”
They shook hands and walked into the building. Claire looked around and said, “What’s this?”
Amy smiled at her. With a little excitement in her voice she said, “We are going to build a shelter for the homeless children of County Clare. I thought you might want to help me design it. We’ll pick out colors and furniture, design the rooms and maybe you can help me to understand what would be inviting, I mean, what would make you want to come here.”
Claire’s face fell and she looked stricken.
“What’s wrong?”
“Is this where you are going to send me?”
“What? Oh no, honey, no. Bogus would be broken-hearted if you left the castle. For that matter, so would I. No, we made you a promise.”
Claire looked relieved and managed a little smile. “Come here,” Amy said tenderly. She held out her arms and Claire stepped into them. Amy whispered to her, “You will always be safe with me.” Claire hugged her tight. Amy reasoned it was probably the most secure she had felt in years.
Claire’s bangs were in her eyes, so Amy brushed them away with her fingers. “You need a haircut. What do you say we get Mr. Baskin started and ah, maybe a trip to the spa?”
Claire whispered to her, “I’ve never been to a spa.”
“Well then, we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?”
Claire nodded, looked around the room and said, “Warm colors: oranges, yellows and reds. That’s what I would like.”
“I like that. But first Mr. Baskin and I are going to make some drawings to try and improve the layout. Just watch and if you have any ideas, speak up, okay?”
“Okay.”
Two hours later, Amy pulled the Mercedes Maclaren in front of The Dromoland Castle Resort and Spa, one of the premiere spas in all of Ireland. After dropping the car at the valet, they went inside to the front desk.
The woman at the desk looked down her nose at Claire and Amy. The spa had been a spur of the moment decision, and they were not exactly dressed for it. Amy was in her typical uniform with a Ferrari ball cap and sunglasses. She looked at the woman’s nametag, “Zelda, is it? Lady Claire needs a haircut, we would like the Royal Dromoland body escape and lunch.”
“Reservations?”
“No, sorry, this was unplanned.”
“Ah huh, well, we are backed up for two weeks. You will have to make reservations and come back then.”
“Yes, well, Paul said that when I wanted to visit, just stop by.”
“Paul Ward? Our manager?”
“Yes. We met at Shannon Knights.”
Zelda put a sour look on her face and grumbled, “Great, another one of his whores.”
Claire’s mouth fell open and her eyes got big. “Did you just call Lady Amy a whore?”
Amy reached down and gave Claire’s arm a gentle squeeze. Amy saw a teachable moment.
“Lady?” Zelda sneered and not wanting to make a scene said quietly, “Leave before I call security.”
Amy nodded, took Claire’s hand and walked her outside. They sat down at a bench to the left of the doors.
“What are you doing? How could you let her treat you like that?”
Amy smiled and nudged her with her shoulder. “Claire, whenever you enter any structure, take a look around, see what’s going on and see who’s there. On the other side of the room was Joanie, the daughter of the Granary’s owner.
“I know her.”
“I know you do, and she knows you and Miss Constance and Micky and Mr. Z and me. Right about now, Joanie is having a little talk with Zelda after hearing most of that conversation. Zelda is having a meltdown because she realizes she just called the Lady of Castle Dunn a whore and chased her from Dromoland Castle, and she is pretty sure she no longer has a job. She’ll be hitting the front door in 5, 4—” Bang! The big front double doors flew open, and Zelda scanned the parking lot in panic. “Well, looks like my timing’s off. Let’s go get you a haircut.”
“Are you going to have her fired?”
“No, we forgive people and move on, got it?”
“Yes My Lady.”
Amy got a little aggressive with the Mercedes on the back roads and gave Claire a little wink. “You know, I think this car is faster than the Ferrari.”
Claire nodded. “It’s more comfortable.”
“I agree.”
“Don’t get caught.” Claire warned.
“Yeah, that would be bad. Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Aye, that was awesome. I don’t think I have ever felt this good in my life. The body wrap makes your skin feel wonderful.”
“Yeah, we’ll be doing that again. Let’s go to Shannon and look at some furniture.”
“Okay.”
They pulled in front of the store and stopped. Amy walked around to the other passenger’s side and saw she was illegally parked. “I have to move the car, be right back.”
Amy parked the car on the side of the store, and as she cleared the corner of the building she saw two women walking down the street. One looked at the other then pointed at Claire, saying, “There’s that little whore!”
The other one stomped up to Claire and screamed, “YOU WHORE, STAY AWAY FROM MY HUSBAND.” She cocked her fist and punched Claire in the face. Amy watched in horror as Claire fell and banged her head on the sidewalk. Amy moved quickly, looked at her face and checked the back of her head. Then Fenian showed up.
She didn’t say a word. After knocking th
e second woman unconscious with a kick to the head, she went after the one who hit Claire. The first right hand to the jaw did her in, but Fenian held her up with her left arm and continued to pummel her face. Someone grabbed her from behind. She shot an elbow backward, heard a crunch of bone, then spun around and swept the legs from her assailant, putting Luther on his back, staring up at the sky. When she saw it was Luther, she stopped. Luther sat up and pinched his nose to stop the gushing blood. “I think she’s had enough, My Lady.”
“Luther? Oh, I’m sorry.”
She grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him to his feet. “That’s okay. Mr. Z said to never sneak up on you. Now I know why.”
“Do you want to ride home with us?”
“No, no, I’ll drive, I’m fine.”
“Okay. Claire, come on, we’re going home.”
Claire stood looking afraid, like she wanted to run but wasn’t sure which way to go. “Hey, Claire, it’s me.” Amy approached her slowly and held out her hand. Claire didn’t want to take it.
“Come on, honey, let’s go.”
Claire nodded and the walked to the car. Someone had called the police, and they could hear sirens in the distance. Amy drove away from the store. Claire’s chest heaved, then she sobbed and began to cry.
Amy reached over and grabbed her hand. “Hey, are you hurt? Do you need to go to doctor?”
Claire shook her head.
“Then what? What’s wrong.”
“I, I’m a whore. That’s all I am, that’s how they see me. To them that’s all I’ll ever be. A whore, a filthy whore.”
“Claire, no, no that’s, that’s not true. Honey, you’re fifteen, you’re still a kid. None of this is your fault. People took advantage of you. Okay? You listen to me. I have never lied to you. Please, you have to understand, this is not your fault.”
“No, I knew what I was doing. I did it. I was hungry and cold. It was my choice. I did it. I’m a whore.”
“Claire, listen to me. We will have a long talk about this. I promise you. It’s not your fault.”
Claire shook her head no and stared out the window. All Amy could think was, I hope I beat her to death.
Bogus was standing by the drawbridge next to a police car with two Garda officers when Amy returned to the castle. He shot her a What did you do now sort of look. Amy drove past them and parked the car. She called to Constance to take Claire inside and put ice on her face, then walked out to the officers. “How can I help you?”
“My Lady, we have a report that you seriously injured two women in an altercation outside a furniture store in Shannon.”
“Damn right I did. Next question?”
“Well, they want to press charges.”
“Outstanding. Let’s pick them up on the way to jail. I’m filing charges against them for assaulting a child. Put us in the same cell, because I will spend every minute kicking the hell out of both of ’em.”
Bogus arched his brow. “Claire?”
“Yes, Claire. They called her a whore and one of them punched her in the face and knocked her to the ground.”
“My Lady, do you have any witnesses?”
Amy turned and called out, “LUTHER!”
Luther approached, still holding the bloody rag to his nose. Bogus looked at one of the most talented combatants he knew and asked, “What happened to you?”
Luther simply shifted his eyes toward Amy.
“Oh, you snuck up on her.”
He nodded his head, and Bogus shrugged and said, “I warned you.”
Chapter 47
“Good morning, Carter. The director will see you now.”
Carter Spencer was unnerved as he walked into Director Harris’ office. Her head was down as she read from a big stack of files. He stood at attention for what seemed like an hour, but in reality was only thirty seconds. “Take a seat, Spencer.”
Carter Spencer sat for a few moments, until she looked up and said, “Do you have a plan?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Well, don’t keep me waiting.”
“We are going to take the file, fill it with false information, put a tracking device on it and follow it to its destination.”
She was quiet for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “Sounds good to me. Do you have an agent?”
“I wish to do it myself.”
“Hmm. Miss the field, do you?”
“Not really. It’s just that I know how I want it handled.”
“And if you want it done right…”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did you discuss it with your wife?”
“My what? Huh?” She talked to my wife?
“We talked for a while at the Fourth of July picnic. She was very happy you left the field.”
“No ma’am, I haven’t talked to her yet.”
“You may want to do that. It has been my experience that when Momma’s happy, everybody’s happy, get me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did you interview Carl Stinson?”
“He lawyered up, won’t come anywhere near us.”
“Alright, I’ll work on that. You need anything else?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Dismissed.”
Carter Spencer stood and walked toward the door. Adele stopped him, “Hey, Spencer.”
“Ma’am.”
“You do good work.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Spencer smiled and walked out.
The Garda officers left the castle, leaving Amy to deal with a distraught Claire. She found her in her bedroom holding an ice pack under her right eye, curled up with a big teddy bear Bogus had bought her the day after she moved in. Amy crawled into the bed, put her arms around her, and hugged her. Claire said nothing and Amy didn’t know what to say. An hour later, Constance stuck her head in the room. “Claire, would you like some din… oh, I’m sorry, Lady Amy, I’ll come back.”
“No, that’s all right. Come on, Claire, let’s get something to eat.”
Claire shook her head no.
“That’s too bad, it’s ice cream for dinner night.”
Claire almost smiled.
“What’s your favorite kind?”
“Chocolate.”
“That’s Mr. Z’s favorite.” Amy coaxed her up and got her moving. They exchanged a little smile while they walked through the corridor toward the kitchen. Claire stayed close to Amy when she could. Her emotional walls were high and thick. Amy understood and knew it would take months or even years to break them down. When they walked into the kitchen, the staff was already eating. Everyone stopped, and Amy motioned for them to continue. Chef Donatello insisted on getting whatever it was Amy wanted. She let out a heavy sigh and said, “Fine, we would like ice cream.”
“Ice cream?”
“Yes, ice cream.”
Bogus walked into the kitchen, arched his brow and smiled. “Ice cream for dinner?”
Claire gave him a little smile and nodded. A few minutes later they sat on stools around the large center island in the kitchen eating. Bogus nudged Amy, “I cancelled my business meeting. We have a party to attend tomorrow.”
Amy looked a little surprised. “Where?”
“Warsaw. It’s the President’s birthday. It’s usually quite an event.” Bogus thought for a moment. “Claire, would you like to go to a birthday party?”
Constance spoke up. “Sir, Claire has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow in Shannon.”
“I can take her to my private physician.”
“Sir, he has her test results. It’s important that she go.”
“Alright then. But from now on, she will be seeing my physician.”
Amy nodded in agreement and Constance replied, “Yes, sir.”
Amy looked at Bogus and grumbled, “I suppose
this is formal?”
“Very.”
“Okay. Claire? Would you help me pick out a dress?”
“I would love to.”
Amy asked Bogus, “What are you wearing?”
“A Tux. You know that red Versace is stunning on you.”
“Yeah, but I never took it to the cleaners. It’s got blood all over it.”
Every head in the room turned to look at her. Oh Amy, you idiot. “I, ah, cut myself shaving.”
The following day Bogus and Amy left, and Constance took Claire to the clinic. The nurse called her name and Constance got up to go with her. “No, no ah, I’ll be fine.” Claire knew what kind of examination she would be receiving and did not want anyone else in the room.
Dr. Wirths was very gentle and after a preliminary examination, he sat her down. “Where did you get that bruise on your face?”
“Someone hit me, on the street.”
“Is it bothering you?”
“No.”
“Okay, climb up.”
She lay back on the table with her feet up as the doctor did his examination. He glanced up at her and smiled. “You look healthy. Are you still, um, working?”
Claire shook her head no.
“Good, good, I’m glad. You can get dressed. Do you have a place to stay?”
She nodded. “Some friends are letting me stay with them.”
“What about your parents?”
Claire shook her head. “I don’t have any.”
“Must be hard for you in a small town like this, you know, having that reputation.”
She nodded with a sad look on her face.
“Sometimes the best thing to do is to go somewhere else and start over.”
“I have no place else to go.”
“What if I could help you with that? Would you be interested?”
“What do you mean?”
“My mother is looking for a young lady like yourself to help her around her home. She will pay you. She has a large beautiful house, and you’ll have your own room.”
“Where does she live?”
“Slovakia.”
Claire thought for a moment. No one will know me. I can start over. I won’t be the town whore or bring shame to the Lady. “Can I attend school?”