“Maximilian...” The snobby woman spoke. “...we had expected to see you much sooner after you arrived. Naughty boy staying away from me like that.” Lou found the woman’s voice grating with overly seductive tones.
“Corinne.” Max greeted the woman, taking her hand and barely touching his lips to her knuckles. “A pleasure to see you. I’ve been very busy since my arrival and haven’t been able to make the rounds as of yet. Allow me to introduce you...” Max released the woman’s hand and stepped in closer to Lou, drawing his hand up her back while the other skimmed her arm as he nudged her more in front of him. “Lou Donovan, my companion and newest Principate.” The woman’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at the declaration and Lou wondered what the implications of being referred to as his companion were, but simply smiled brightly at the woman who appeared to be trying not to choke.
“Lou, this is Corinne Corgan, an old friend and devoted patroness of the arts.” He looked at Lou and gave her a reassuring wink that went unnoticed by the goggling Corinne.
“Good to meet you.” Lou extended her hand.
Corinne reluctantly took Lou’s hand in hers very briefly and obviously only for appearance’s sake. “Yes, likewise I am sure.” She studied Max’s face carefully as he looked at Lou, and raised an eyebrow.
“And these are her parents, Shevaun and Joe McAllister, as well as Caroline Devereux, of the Richelieu Devereuxs” Max turned slightly and gestured to the three.
Corinne’s eyes goggled again at the mention of Richelieu. “Really?!” Her voice squeaked slightly.
Joe and Shevaun shook the woman’s hand politely but Caroline had Corinne’s number and relished dealing with her type.
“Really.” Caroline said smugly. Obviously knowing something about the woman that Lou didn’t. “Corgan? Aren’t you the Corinne Corgan from the Falsbey films?”
Corinne instantly puffed up. “Why yes, one and the same. You’re a fan of my work?”
“Well, actually I just took a historical cinema class as a filler in college. I remember you from a paper I did on the failure of burlesque on film. Too bad things didn’t catch on for you back then.” Caroline smiled at the woman cheerfully.
Shevaun hid her laughter under a cough as the steam almost visibly rose off of Corinne’s face.
“Corinne, darling...” The man who had gone unnoticed by the group stepped in as if trying to diffuse a bomb. “The Duke has been asking for you since he arrived. I think it’s cruel for you to keep him waiting any longer. If you all will excuse us.” He ushered the fuming Corinne away from them and as soon as she was gone, they all started to laugh.
“Pompous bitch.” Caroline declared as she took a solid gulp of her champagne. “I always hated her type growing up. My momma taught me early on how to deal with the likes of her.”
“You’ll need to learn to ignore those bitches, Lou.” Abby said as she suddenly appeared next to them. “They are so old and crusted with self importance that they forgot how to be discreet about their jealousy.” She reached for Lou’s hand and squeezed reassuringly. “And this guy is oblivious to it most of the time so you gotta thump him on the head when someone is being so overtly rude.”
“That was very overt.” Max admitted. “I despise having to deal with that woman.” He scowled and swapped his empty champagne glass for a fresh one as a waiter walked by.
“Well it would be nice to know if I am allowed to be rude back to them or if I’m required to play nice with the shrews?” Lou glared across the crowd at the woman as she tossed her head back with phony laughter over something a short, fat, bald and shiny man had said.
Max couldn’t help grinning at Lou. “You have my blessing to be rude right back to anyone that annoys you” He skimmed his hand up and down her arm again which gave her goosebumps. “Remember though! You still have to deal with your normal strain of politics within the departments as always. I can’t step in there on a daily basis. The normal world still turns as usual.”
“I understand all that and am used to it. Don’t worry.” She tore her eyes away from him briefly to catch Corinne scowling at her from across the crowd. She simply couldn’t help herself and stuck her tongue out at the woman who gasped in reaction. “It’s nice to be able to do that though.”
Max erupted with laughter, nearly doubling over and drawing even more stares from the other guests. The sight of Lou in all her sophisticated splendor resorting to such a juvenile, albeit effective, tactic, was priceless.
“Okay, enough fun and games, we need to make some rounds and introduce all of you to key people and get it out of the way so we can enjoy the rest of our evening.” Max regained his composure and looked to Abby to lead the way.
“Probably wise to start with the east coast admin.” She led them away from the base of the steps and into the throng.
Forty-five minutes later Lou had forgotten more names than she could remember. Everyone she had met after Corinne had been genuinely glad to meet her and very kind. She had stuffed at least a dozen business cards in her purse with all the givers insisting she contact them for any reason if they could ever be of assistance. Of course there was a new level of brown nosing which she found highly amusing. At least it was sincere with kindness rather then poorly veiled attempt to gain favor from Max. Lou had just finished listening to a bad joke told by the agent from the Department of Justice when she heard a tap on a microphone from the sound system that had been piping in the stringed music.
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests and friends, our Dominor...” Lou found the source of the voice perched at the top of the entry steps. He was a pleasant looking fellow though he appeared a bit worse for wear with his tie askew and his hair slipping out of place. He placed his fist over his heart and nodded to Max as he addressed him. “It is my great pleasure to introduce our host and benefactor for this exhibit, Sir Albert von Massenbach.” The man stepped aside from the microphone and began applauding, which cued everyone else to applaud.
It suddenly occurred to Lou that all in attendance were Sanguinostri only. Even the media that had been allowed to cover the event must have been. She would have to remember to ask Max about that later. For now she spied the man that was evidently throwing the shindig step up to speak. He raised his hands up in a gesture to stall the applause. He was hardly an aristocratic looking man despite his finely tailored clothes. His wiry ginger hair was pulled back tightly into a pony tail and secured with a black ribbon. Complete with bow that reminded Lou of how men may have worn than in the seventeen hundreds, right along with stockinged feet. His facial features were obscured, thankfully she thought, by a well groomed beard and his eyes reminded her of a dead fish. This man was not at all what she had expected as the host of such an elaborate event.
“Dear friends...” He finally spoke once the applause had died. “... and my Dominor.” He made an overly fancy bow, complete with rolling hand gesture towards Max. Lou could hear Niko chortle at the move from behind her. “It is my greatest honor that you all have joined me this evening! I am humbled to see all the faces of so many dear friends and even dearer loved ones...” To Lou’s delight, he waggled his eyebrows toward Corinne, making her fluster uncomfortably. “... at the unveiling of my most prized collection that I have allowed the museum to exhibit for the next year. Many of you who know me are well aware that the antiquities contained in this collection represent a very fond period of time in my long lived life.” Lou sensed Max tense at the words. “I was very fortunate to have held on to so much when the Empire fell. Even more fortunate to be able to retrieve so many other pieces back from the clutches of oblivion to which precious and beloved things were lost to quite a few of us.”
There was no mistaking the glance directed at Max when he said this. It stirred Lou to look at Max’s expression when he did, and she saw the well disguised anguish in his face. Lou turned to Abby with a questioning look and saw that she was frowning. When Abby met Lou’s g
aze she held a finger up to her lips in a gesture of silence. Something was definitely up with this guy and Max.
“Now that I have rattled on long enough, I invite you to step inside and enjoy the exhibit! Take your time and explore everything, then I shall meet you all on the other side for a lovely midnight supper I have had prepared in honor of all of you! My dear friends! Please enjoy!” He finished his monologue and the crowd began another round of applause. Once von Massenbach stepped away from the microphone, Max was swarmed by his Aegis Council and Lou headed for Abby.
“What the hell was that about?” Lou demanded.
“That was crap is what it was, and I would have never expected it from Albert.” Abby grabbed Lou’s arm and pulled her further away from Max and the other men before she continued. “You remember Max was engaged once, a long time ago, right?” Lou nodded, remembering. “Well...”
Abby went on to tell Lou the tale of Max being sent to defend Constantinople when the Empire began its fall and how his fiance had been murdered while he was gone. She explained how it had devastated Max and that it was common knowledge among the Sanguinostri not to bring up the matter if it could be avoided. Clearly von Massenbach tossed an unwarranted and painful jab at Max but it was unclear exactly as to why.
“The fall of Constantinople? That was what, nearly six-hundred years ago? You mean this guy has an ancient bug up his butt that would warrant salting such an old wound?” Lou couldn’t imagine harboring all that animosity for such a long time.
“It would be news to me but I can assure you that we will find out shortly.” Abby guided Lou to where her parents were standing with Caroline and her family then took off like a shot. Max joined them a few minutes later and Lou watched the other men disperse into different directions. Max seemed to be fine to her but her heart ached for him a bit, knowing that underneath that calm, cool and completely unflappable visage, he had hurt.
As they and the crowd made their way into the exhibit, Frank, Niko and the others came by one at a time to whisper into Max’s ear. Lou tried to use the tricks that Niko had taught her about peripheral observation but other than getting pissed at all the women tossing moon-eyes in Max’s direction, nothing seemed off to her. Lou tried to seem interested at the information that Richelieu would relay with each piece they came upon in the exhibit, but she honestly could have cared less. She was glad when they came to the end of it and were guided by more fancily dressed ushers into a tent that was fashioned into the finest ballroom Lou could ever have imagined possible. The floor was made up of three-by-three foot squares of cream and gold tiles polished to such a mirror finish that the three gigantic chandeliers that hung in a row down the center of the tent were reflected perfectly. Each of the several dozen tables that lined the perimeter of the tent were gilt with giant candelabras at the center, golden china and more cut crystal stemware. At the far end of the tent, Lou could see an entire orchestra that was currently playing some sort of waltz. The usher directed them to a table and Lou saw her new friend, Corinne, standing on the other side engaged in a clearly heated argument with another usher. When she saw Corinne point at a seat, Lou caught that she clearly was not happy about sitting at the same table as her.
“Let’s take the high road sweetie pie and mingle a bit more while Corinne regains her composure.” Lou’s mother was clearly as amused as she was.
It was a little upsetting when Lou realized that Max had been seated at another table than she was, but she couldn’t complain too much. She had anticipated barely seeing him at all during the event given his position, but he had nearly stuck to her like glue all night. When she caught sight of the back of him across the dance floor, huddled with Niko, Frank and the others, she smiled inwardly and headed over.
“I thought that was handled while I was dealing with Sawyer?” Was all Lou heard come out of Max’s mouth but it made her stop cold behind him. Max read the expression in Niko’s eyes and whipped around to see Lou standing there.
“Lou...” He started.
“Dealing with Sawyer? Robert Sawyer?” She looked at him with a blank expression.
“Lou I would have told you if I felt it necessary...” He was at a loss for what to say that would help his case.
“Necessary?” It was a rhetorical question. “So dealing with Sawyer, meaning killing him?” She asked him flat out. No pretense.
He wanted to reach out to her but didn’t dare. “I listened to his side Lou.” By her reaction, she hadn’t expected him to tell her that. “I listened to his version of reality. He was all too happy to tell me.”
Lou shifted her stance, clearly uncomfortable with Max knowing the details of her humiliation. “And?” Was all she could come up with.
Max looked carefully into her eyes before he said another word. “He had sent those two cretins to that restaurant to do gods know what to you. He had no problem telling me what he had planned for you himself once he was paroled. Lou, I simply could not let that happen. Please forgive me.” He could see her eyes welling and risked reaching for her hand but she stepped back.
“Excuse me, I seem to need to powder my nose, as they say.” She turned and moved away as fast as she could without attracting any more attention than she already had. It occurred to Lou she had no idea where she was in relation to any facilities. When she spied a group of women heading down a hall she knew the pack was headed for a restroom so she followed after them. She simply needed a minute to gather herself and make sense of what she had just heard.
Max wanted to charge after Lou but he knew better. She hadn’t slapped him or punched him, which was a good sign, but he knew that she was a woman of laws and justice, not of revenge or retribution, which was often his duty to hand down in his world. He hadn’t wanted her to learn all of that yet. To see the darker side of his role as Dominor so soon. Not that his dealing with Sawyer had anything to do with being Dominor but was a pure, primal need to protect and avenge Lou. Max had hoped she could see the good things he was responsible for, the safety and security that he made certain his people had. This was very bad indeed.
“Just give her a little time, she will understand once she has a minute for it to sink in.” Abby placed a hand on his arm in a reassuring gesture.
“You should go and see to her.” He looked at her with urgency.
Abby shook her head. “No. We need to give her a minute and some space. If I go she will know you sent me and that would only make things worse. She’ll be back.”
Everyone started to take their seats for dinner so Abby steered Max to his place before she headed to Lou’s seat where her parents, the Devereuxs and horrible Corinne sat with her footman. Abby had decided she better fill them in before someone went looking for Lou and raised eyebrows at the empty seat. When she sat, Shevaun and Caroline looked at her questioningly so she relayed what had transpired as quietly as she could.
Niko took Abby’s seat next to Max for the time being, smiling politely when he got stares for disrupting the boy-girl-boy-girl seating arrangement.
“My Dom, she just needs a little time to think it out.” Niko could tell he was sick of hearing that already but continued anyway. “I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with her. See first hand how she thinks, her logic. She is a sharp girl, no doubt but more than that...” He looked Max square in the eye as he spoke. “She has the mind of an Aegis, my Dom. She has a truer sense of justice than most, and a keenness to get a stronger hold on it. Don’t underestimate her capacity, my brother, she will surprise you. She certainly has surprised me.”
Max was taken aback by Niko’s words. He was not the type to give praise lightly, if at all, and for him to compare Lou’s sense of justice to that of the Aegis, well, it was truly extraordinary. They were snapped back to reality as the waiters came around to serve the first course and Max clearly noted Lou had not taken her seat yet. Abby remained in her spot and saw Max looking, giving him a soft smile as she picked up a fork and start
ed eating. Good, he thought, Lou could come sit by him when she came back and eat Abby’s food.
Food was the last thing on Lou’s mind as she sat in the bathroom stall of the ladies restroom. She had gone in there to compose herself after the stunning revelation that the two grease monkeys that had attacked her were sent by Robert Sawyer and that Max had killed him. Had the monkeys really killed themselves or had Niko or one of the others used their special gifts on them? Did it really matter either way? She should have been upset, shocked or something to that effect but when she finally sat down and thought about it, she wasn’t. A great deal of things that should have bothered her as of late simply did not. She wondered what the hell that meant exactly. To add to her guilt over not being upset, she found the gossip and chatter of the women coming and going in the ladies room far more interesting than Sawyer and his minions’ demise. Lou was the hot topic among the single Sanguinostri females, and how Max seemed to have eyes for her that none of them had ever seen before. Some of the women were excited and wanted to learn more of the presumed couple while others were even worse than catty and would have liked to see Lou drowned in one of the garden ponds. It had been difficult for Lou not to laugh when she heard two women cheering for Lou when they were told by a third woman that Lou had stuck her tongue out at Corinne to her face.
Shadows of Doubt Page 38