Immortal Beauty

by Thomas McDermott

  “Miss….Miss? It’s morning now and I’ve brought you some strong French coffee and some rolls. I thought you might like to eat in bed.” The woman heard her quiet assuring voice and looked vaguely in the direction of the maid. For a moment she looked bewildered and then the appearance of recognition showed on her face. She gave the French woman a wan smile and said in a sleepy morning voice.

  “Oh good morning Virginie. That was really kind of you. You can leave it here. I think I will eat right here in bed.” She seemed reluctant to stir herself any further and for a minute Virginie thought she had fallen asleep again.

  “As you wish. When you feel up to it Monsieur Dellassandro would like to speak to you on the terrace. But please don’t rush yourself. He gave me explicit instructions not to rush you. If you don’t want to meet with him until later you just tell me. O.K.?” She smiled and began to walk out the door when she heard Ellen’s thin voice ask.

  “Do you think I’ll have to stay here much longer? I mean I have to go back to my apartment sometime. Everyone must be worried sick by now.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know Miss. Monsieur will have all the answers you need. I will let him know that you are up.” She left the room before Ellen could ask her anything else. She had no idea what was going on and that was how she liked it. Marcus paid her three times the salary she could get anywhere else and she knew that part of the money involved her minding her own business. Even when things got a little strange as they did from time to time at Rue Raynouard.

  Back in the elegant room Ellen sat and stared at the coffee while pondering her own fate. Who could have imagined that her entire life would turn into one of those cheap novels she was always reading. Her new neighbor introduced her to Marcus after they had met the other afternoon. He knew all about her and her position at Celgen. What he told her left her very cold and very afraid. She could not believe that Celine would ever do anything to harm her yet he had so much overwhelming proof stating otherwise. She was alarmed and confused and thousands of miles from home. There were files taken from Celine’s computer outlining a plan to abduct Ellen the night before the launch of the new line. It was all so very unreal yet there was a part of Ellen that was excited that finally something real and very exciting was happening to her. No matter what happened from this moment on Ellen would never be able to say again that she had lived an uneventful life. This was the stuff that movies were made out of. There was corporate espionage and secret plans and people for hire all who seemed at the moment to be centered around Ellen plain and dull. Marcus immediately offered her a job as his assistant asking her to name her own salary. He wrote her a bonus check for fifty thousand Euro either way if she took the job or not she got to keep the money and told her that she could stay at his luxurious home for as long as she like even after she was out of danger and Celine were handed over to the authorities. It was all so fantastic that she had a hard time believing this wasn’t some elaborate hoax. Her life did not seem like hers anymore and she wasn’t sure how to respond to all of this sudden change. But the knowledge that Celine had planned something illegal and maniacal frightened her timid soul to the very core. She slowly drank the delicious coffee and ate one of the flaky buttery rolls that can only be found in the finest patisseries in Paris before she made any attempt to leave the sumptuous bed. Finally she roused herself and walked over to the windows to peer out into the garden. On the terrace below she could see Marcus talking to his personal physician who also had a room in his home. The man was old but wise and Ellen liked him immediately. The strain from all of the excitement had taken a toll on her fragile nerves and the last few days felt as if she had no energy left and spent most of her time sleeping or lounging on one of the sofas on the terrace. The maid had opened the window a crack to let the fresh air into the room and she could hear the voices to the two men seated at a table below. They too were having their breakfast and were obviously old friends enjoying the warm weather and the sunshine.

  “How is she? I mean is she stable?” Marcus was asking the ancient physician.

  “Oh yes, I’m sure her nerves are just fine now. I don’t see any more need for the sedative.” She barely heard his lean old voice.

  Sedative? Ellen’s heart began to beat loudly in her chest. Why on earth had they drugged her? All of a sudden her mind flew into overtime and she began to connect the imaginary dots in her brain. This was all too good to be true; the house, the job, even the perfect Belle Epoch bedroom with it’s perfect bed were part of the con. Marcus had to be a competitor of Celine’s and they had spirited away Celine’s right hand telling her gruesome lies and feeding her poison. Maybe they had gotten information from her while she was being drugged and she didn’t remember. She thought of the many times Celine warned her of the corporate spies and intrigues that surround the billion dollars beauty industry. Even in a city as civilized as Paris unspeakable things happened all the time in the world of business and money. Celine told her that business was simply another form of war and everyone was fighting each other constantly to be the best and to make the most money to trample opponents beneath them on their way to being the best. She had been duped. She had been so naïve and realized that Celine must be frantic wondering where she was. She had left no message or word ahead to anyone, instead she had trusted this stranger with promises of cash and glamour and travel. Her ambition to lead an exciting life had clouded her judgment and she wasn’t thinking clearly. She had to get to Celine right away. She strained her ears To listen to more of the conversation. Anything she learned could now be of use to Celine and the police. The men were still talking about her.

  “Do you think she believes us?” The doctor was asking between sips from his delicate blue and white china cup. There were little bluebirds painted on the rim.

  “Of course she believes us! We have the proof and have shown it to her several times. The least I could do was offer her a job to get her over to our side. I have no idea how much of the truth she knows. It may be too late.” His voice trailed off at the last sentence as if he were loathe to speak it. Marcus sounded so smug and sure of himself and to think she had been swept off her feet by his money and charm and devastatingly handsome looks that can be found rarely on an older man. She even fancied at one time they would fall in love and this would be her home away from the tedium of corporate life. She still couldn’t’ believe what an idiot she had been and was thanking the powers that be she had found out before it was too late. Whatever that meant! She had to escape now. She started to tremble and was torn between the desire to listen to more and urge to get out while they were still occupied. The desire to flee won out and she hurriedly donned her simple garments. It didn’t take more than a minute before she was completely dressed and ready to run. As she placed her hand on the well polished brass there was a knock on the door which almost made her faint with fright.

  “Miss, would you like me to draw you a nice hot bath?” It was Virginie.

  “No thank you. I think I’ll just take a long hot shower and then join Mr. Dallasandro. Could you please let him know I won’t be too much longer.” The trembling voice sounded foreign to her as if it were coming from someone else. She just hoped she had bought herself enough time to get out of the enormous house without being seen.

  “Very good Miss. I shall relay the message.” She heard the footsteps grow fainter and fainter down the hall. She made herself take three really long and really deep breaths before moving. She looked around the room for anything she could take to Celine to give credence to her bizarre story. There was nothing but opulence everywhere she looked and she couldn’t bring herself to take one of the priceless antiques. Besides what would that prove? That Marcus had good taste? She remembered the check in her purse. That would be good enough. They could find out more about him if the bank account were real. Celine could pull strings too, Ellen had seen her skirt around the law many times before with her endless supply of cash. She turned the knob slowly and cautiously she peaked her hea
d into the hallway and saw that it was deserted. She looked behind her and there was nobody there either.

  “It’s now or never.” She whispered quietly before stepping out of the room from a fairy tale that had just come crashing down all around her. She tip toed down the carpet running the entire length of the long corridor and prayed she wouldn’t be seen. She quickly thought of asking someone for more towels if she was found. But there was no one in sight and she half ran to the landing before looking around again and saw that the coast was clear. Luck was on her side and she ran up the three flights of stairs to the front door praying there was no alarm to be triggered. She reached for the heavy door and saw a simple lock with a knob which turned to the left with a loud click. She panicked at the sound which echoed down the stairway and she bolted out the door onto the sidewalk not bothering to close the door behind her. She was disoriented for a moment finding herself in the bright sunlight on a crowded street in the middles of a modern city. For three days she had been living in a dream in a château from an ancient world and had all but forgotten that she had been in the heart of Paris the whole time. The sights and sounds shocked her into action and she hastily began running down the street knocking into a few people without bothering to say excuse me. She didn’t have time for manners. She wanted to look back to see if anyone were following her but she was too frightened. She remembered the tale in the Bible when Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. She could not suffer the same fate. She would make it back to Celgen and back to her tiny apartment that she loved and back to her simple lovely life. The dream was over and now she realized just how stupid she had been. Celine might be furious with her but she had not revealed anything to Marcus that she was aware of and besides she barely knew anything anyway. She knew how Celine liked her coffee and which was her favorite table at most of the restaurants in Paris but she knew nothing of the business. She probably needed to get her blood tested to see what they gave her. She prayed it wasn’t anything like truth serum. She saw a sign for the metro and ran down the stairs into the hub of people rushing about. She had a ticket already in her purse and her shaking fingers pushed it into the slot. She wouldn’t feel safe until she was out of Passy and back into the business district where Celgen had it’s offices. She was too excited to sit down on one of the available seats of the train. She clutched the metal pole and stared outside to see if anyone had followed her. Nothing seemed out of place. As the train sped off she felt as if she were going to die of a heart attack but started breathing long and deep until she was well away from the danger she had put herself in.

  Celine was in her office and on the phone with the police when a very alarmed and a very disheveled Ellen burst into the room. She stared at her assistant as if she were a ghost and slowly she returned the red lacquered phone to its cradle and walked towards the small woman with arms outstretched.

  “Ellen where have you been? I’ve been worried sick…we have all been worried sick to death about you. Are you alright?” She hugged the frail woman so strongly that for a second Ellen thought she was going to squeeze her to death. She nodded mutely up and down to her boss before she could find her frozen tongue.

  “Oh Miss D’Aumont! I’ve been such a fool! I believed him and all the horrible things he said about you and I was afraid to come back and then I found out he was drugging me and that’s when I realized he must be one of those spies you’re always warning me about and I just escaped and ran here from the metro and…” her dry whispery voice ran out thus ending her maniacal rant. She knew she sounded like a lunatic but at this moment she had no control over what her mouth was doing.

  “Ellen!” Celine’s voice rang through the office. “What are you talking about? Who drugged you?” She held the woman back at arm’s length examining her up closely for signs of a nervous breakdown.

  “Marcus D’Allessandro! He said you were going to abduct me right before the launch and he had proof with all these documents and he said they came right from your computer but now I know it must have all been forged and they were lying to me the whole time and they were drugging me to keep me from thinking clearly.” Tears formed in her large blue eyes.

  “Ellen, listen to me very carefully. Did you tell him anything about our little project? This is very important.” She sounded like a parent scolding a child.

  “No nothing…I promise. They never asked me anything at all. They just kept saying that I was in danger and that you weren’t who you said you were and all sorts of crazy lies. I’m so sorry Celine. Please tell me that you forgive me!” Ellen broke down into fresh sobs.

  “Forgive you? My poor darling there is nothing to forgive! You’ve been through a horrible ordeal and managed to cleverly find your way out of it and back to safety; back to me.” She held Ellen now like a little girl and stroked her mousy hair. “And you managed to escape without giving away any information whatsoever. Forgive you my dear Ellen? I am so proud of you and so happy that you are alright I could just buy you a house!” She kissed the assistant on the forehead and wiped away her tears.

  “I had to get away Miss D’Aumont. You should have heard the way they were talking about me as if I were some dim witted child.” Her tears now flowed with anger and resentment as much as pity for herself.

  “Of course you did my poor dear.” She kept patting Ellen as if she were a favored pet but Ellen didn’t mind the comfort. “You did the right thing. If you had stayed any longer God knows what would have happened to you. You might have found yourself at the bottom of the Seine!” Celine laughed out loud at the idea of someone as innocuous as Ellen being perceived as a threat and the center of a kidnapping. Ellen ignored the outburst and began to pull herself together. Obviously her job was not in danger and she was safe now. Everything was going to be alright. The sensible girl was kicking in and Ellen began to calculate the work she had missed and the amount of time it would take to play catch up.

  “Should we call the police now? I can give them the street where the house is though I don’t know the address I am sure I would recognize it. I can absolutely identify the guy named Marcus and they should probably check my blood to see what they have been giving me.” She tried to sound strong and brave. “I’m ready to do whatever necessary to get these guys.”

  “Don’t you worry about any of that now. How on earth did they find you in the first place?” Celine was all curiosity.

  “Well a real pretty woman with white blonde hair was in my apartment building and she said she needed to use my phone and we ended up having tea and going out to dinner and then to her friend’s house and that’s when I got so sleepy they invited me to sleep over. “Her mind finally connected the obvious dots. “That’s when they must have first drugged me! I’ve never fallen asleep at a stranger’s house before in my whole life!” The righteous indignation was clearly evident in her newly recovered voice.

  “I’m sure you haven’t.” Celine muttered underneath her breath. Nothing interesting could ever happen to this woman. There were men and women like her in every age and every country. The quiet and forgotten people that history leaves behind. Celine called them “the Salt of the Earth” in the most condescending of tones. She roused herself out of her rapidly spinning thoughts. She had to keep her anger in check at the office. There would be no way to cover up an explosion of glass and steel in an office full of people. “You apartment? My God they’ll stop at nothing! You absolutely cannot go back there it’s just not safe.” Celine released Ellen and walked over to her desk to take a sip of water. “Would you like something to drink? You must be parched after your ordeal.” She offered Ellen a glass that was full of ice and water. “I remember how much you like ice.” Celine purred and smiled generously with her perfectly painted lips.

  “Oh thank you.” She reached for the glass and gulped unawares of the sounds she was making. She paused drinking long enough to ask. “But where shall I stay? I have no real friends here in Paris. I should go to a hotel.”

  �
�Nonsense. You will stay with me. I won’t be able to sleep unless I know where you are at all times. I think I’ll have my driver take you home now. You look like you could use a nice hot bath and some rest.” Celine punched a button on her phone and gave orders for the car to pull around. ”I’ll leave work early and we can have a nice long chat and you can tell me about the nightmare you’ve just experienced. I still can’t believe it!” Now it was she who sounded angry.

  “But what about the police? Shouldn’t we call them first? We have to find this guy and arrest him. Who knows what he is capable of?” Ellen found herself matching Celine’s dramatic tone and once again was thrilled that something was finally happening in her dull life.

  “Oh don’t worry about any of that. We don’t need the police to find Marcus D’allessandro. I know quite well who he is and where he lives.” This statement stopped Ellen in her tracks. It was the last thing in the world she would have expected Celine to say.

  “You do? Who is he? Is he in the beauty business as well? Is he really a corporate spy?” The façade on Celine’s face was beginning to crumble. She couldn’t take another moment of this woman’s chattering. She had far too many things to think about now. She was far too busy to sit around and coddle this inane woman she called her assistant.

  “Oh my dear. We’ll talk more about it when I get home. I’m only going to stay for a few more hours to make sure everything is running smoothly. Your disappearance threw our whole company into an uproar. We can’t allow anyone or anything to get in the way of the launch of L’eau Jeunesse.” A woman’s voice interrupted her. It came from the glossy red phone alerting Celine that her car was ready. Thank God! She thought to herself while smiling blandly at Ellen.

  “You see? Your car is already here Ellen and I’ve given Claude instructions to make sure your stay is of the utmost comfort. There are servants at your disposal and I’ve ordered a wonderful meal for you. It’ll be ready when you get there. Oh and Sophie will wait on you hand and foot, she can’t help herself so there’s no use putting up a struggle.” She practically pushed the poor woman into the elevator and kissed her affectionately on the cheek and patted her tiny hand. “I am so happy that you are returned to me safe and sound. You’ll see..everything is going to be perfect.” The mirrored doors shut on the bewildered assistant and Celine stood there staring at her reflection with a look of triumph on her face. If Marcus wanted a fight then he was going to get one.