She turned. He was pointing at the manor, at one of the two, thin towers that rose from each end. She looked back at him. "What's up there?"
"An excellent view of the Crystal Palace." Thinking of the High Empress had made him think of the palace. "What do you think? Care to join me?" He asked charmingly.
She thought it over. "All right."
He got to his feet and held out his hand to her. "Come on, then."
She stared up at him. He was offering his hand to her. The thought of it buzzed through her like an electrical current. Holding his hand... She tried to remember how to breathe. Hesitantly, she reached her hand out for his.
Suddenly, right in front of her eyes there was a purple spark. Startled, she jerked her hand away.
Julius looked around. "It really is getting late. The fireflies are coming out." All over the garden, yellow and purple flashes were appearing. Each one only appeared for a few seconds before disappearing. The overall effect was akin to an expanse of twinkling stars. He felt a small weight in his hand and looked back at Claire.
She had placed her hand in his, her head bowed. Her cheeks were red again. "What are fireflies?" She asked quietly as she rose to her feet. She was trying to distract herself from the way her heart was racing.
"Flying insects. Their bodies glow gold and purple. That's how they find each other in the dark." He bent down and picked up her parasol, tucking it under one arm.
"Why do they need to find each other?" Claire asked as they walked through the maze. Her voice and demeanor were more subdued in comparison to when she first entered the garden. She also wasn't looking at him directly. She didn't think she could handle it.
"Procreation." He answered simply.
"Oh." She thought for a moment. "What does-"
"That is one of the 'when you are older' things." He replied.
"Oh."
The path before them forked in two. He paused for a second, looking down each way. He felt Claire tug on his hand. "It's this one." She pointed down the right path.
She was right. He frowned. "I knew that." He said to himself as they continued on.
They exited the maze and walked back to the manor. They entered through a side door. Julius led her to the back stairs. She stopped walking, but still held onto his hand. He looked down at her. She looked tired. "Can we use the elevator, please?" She begged him.
He gave her a shrewd look. "I suppose." He sighed.
"Thank you." She said in relief. She turned and led him over to the silver doors and pressed the 'up' button.
They slid open open at once. Julius leaned against the rail as they rode up the floors. He looked down at their still clasped hands. "We're inside now." He said to her. "You don't have to hold my hand."
He saw her fingers tighten over his, as if he might suddenly snatch his hand out of her grasp. "It's fine." She said quietly, looking at the elevator doors steadily.
She truly was cute. He smiled. Cute, and very strange. But in an interesting sort of way.
The elevator stopped on the fourth floor with it's usual soft ding. He led Claire into a richly carpeted hall. The walls were of dark wood and there was soft lighting. The carpet was a plush, dark red. In the middle of the hall was a door with a gold handle. While he pulled out a set of keys and searched for the right one, Claire looked around.
This hallway felt disused to her. Like not many people walked through here regularly. She wasn't sure how she knew this. This hallway was immaculate, like everything was in the Manor. There were no signs of dust or wear on the furniture or walls. (Julius' maids, Claire would discover, were as fierce and dedicated as a police task force and would rather chew off their own arms than leave something dusty.)
But still, she couldn't shake the idea that this place felt... lonely.
Up on the wall next to the door was a square golden plate. She squinted at it. Two words were etched elegantly onto it's surface. The second one was definitely 'Cantor'. Claire had looked at the small white card that Julius had given her so many times that she had committed the spelling of his name to memory.
She stared at the first word intently, the given name. The first letter was a 'C'. She tried working it out in her head, getting a little frustrated. She could do this, she spent so much time practicing her reading with Beast, when they weren't watching her show. She sounded the name out to herself quietly. "Ca- Cor-" She paused, moving to the second syllable. "Nah-" No, there was an 'e' next to the 'n'. Was it pronounced eh, or ee? She frowned again.
She stared at the word for a long moment and finally it came to her all at once. "Cornelia." She said, a little loudly in her triumph.
Julius startled, but he didn't turn to her. "Yes, that was my mother's name." He said quietly. He found the right key at last and led Claire through the door. He closed it behind them with a snap.
Claire found herself in yet another extravagantly furnished room. She was starting to wonder if there were any rooms in the Manor, other than the Range, that didn't look like an antique shop.
There was a floral motif to this one. The carpet was a rich green color. It looked a little like very short soft grass. Scattered randomly over it was a small flower design. The walls were papered a pale beige with dark green vines running along the top. The delicate sofa and love seat were covered in flowery upholstery.
"This is the South Tower." Julius said, gesturing around. "It's not in use at the moment, but it does have the best view of the Crystal Palace. My rooms are in the North Tower, which is closer to the palace, but a new skyscraper went up about a year ago and obstructed the view from there." He frowned darkly for a second. The weaker, paranoid part of his brain believed that Dahlia Inc., his old rival, had chosen that location specifically for their new office building just to spite him.
Then his face cleared. "We're in the sitting room of course. The bedroom's that way. And the bathroom, if you discover you have need of it." He pointed to a pair of dark wooden doors on the right wall, both were closed. "But for now, we are headed this way." They walked across the room to the right, through an arch, arriving at the foot of a stone staircase. Claire looked up the staircase in awe. It seemed to spiral up forever. The thought of all those stairs made her groan.
"Tired?" He asked her.
She nodded weakly. "Exhausted. No elevators here?" She was hopeful, but she knew there were none here.
He laughed heartily. “Sorry, little one. But, do not distress yourself.” He bent down and swept her up into his arms easily. He held her with one arm behind her back, and the other under her knees. Her eyes widened in surprise and she grabbed onto his shoulder. He sprinted up the spiral staircase swiftly. They were up at the top before she could even react.
The staircase opened up into the tower top. There were large, airy portals cut into the white stone on all sides. The room was very small, with just a stone bench by way of furniture. But the entire city was laid out before them from up here, so the room didn't feel cramped at all.
Julius set her down immediately on the stone bench and took a seat next to her. “I wasn't heavy?” Claire asked him dubiously. He didn't even look short of breath.
“I think a sack of feathers would have been heavier.” He grinned at her. Claire frowned at him. She turned away, looking out the large open windows.
Night had fallen completely; the sky was a complete expanse of blackness. She could the see all the way to the glass towers of the Steel District. Far below, the garden looked like a tiny patch of green.
It was windy up here, and her hair blew around a little wildly. She pushed it back behind her ears again, but still the wind lifted up the ends and teased it. Julius lifted one gloved hand, gently touching a flying lock of hair. He pushed it back, leaning close. He placed his black rose behind her ear, holding that side of her hair in place.
She didn't move the entire time, watching him with those deep sapphire eyes. She drew in a deep breath, trying to counteract the feeling of a fist squeezing her heart.. "Julius, I-
" Her words died as he placed his hands gently on her shoulders. She stared into those dark eyes of his. Her heart was pounding in her ribcage. Her hands tightened into nervous fists.
But, he only turned her around. "The Crystal Palace is in that direction." He told her, pointing.
Claire saw the glittering Crystal Palace in the distance and her nervousness drained away. She had seen it from the ground before, during the day. But sunlight made it hard to see clearly. In the darkness it shone with it's own light. Tall and shining and breathtaking, it looked to be made entirely of glass. No other building could ever compare. Maybe it really was made of crystal, like the name suggested. She didn't think there was that muck crystal in the world though.
Julius watched her as she stared at the palace. She was so... unusual. He was sure that there was nothing else in the entire city like her, even taking away her hair. He wanted this child to belong to him. She was not like a painting or a piece of furniture though. He could not simply buy her and place her in a room at just the right angle. More effort must be spent in acquiring a human being. Even after he got the papers ready.
He was willing to make that effort. Not only in gaining her, but in raising her as well. She would change as she grew older, and how she was raised would affect heavily in what she would become. It was all completely worth it to him. Even if she couldn't help him financially, or politically. Even if she learned nothing at school and couldn't sing a note. As a mere fixture, she could carry so much weight.
He could hardly wait to show her off. The very idea made him feel incredibly smug.
He feared he was beginning to genuinely like her as well. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
"Time to go." He told her. "I'm sure you have a bedtime, just as much as I am sure we're getting close to it."
She pouted at him, then sighed heavily. "Fine..."
"Do you do that on purpose, or does it come naturally?" He asked her impulsively.
"Do what?"
His smile was captivating. "Look so incredibly cute."
She flushed brightly and turned to the stairs. He laughed to himself, it was just too easy.
Something was nagging him in the back of his brain. It was that flicker of movement he had spied down in the garden. He couldn't seem to push it from his mind completely. Even after he told himself that it had been nothing.
He was suspicious and paranoid by nature. As a Cantor, and as the Regent, he had had his share of plots and assassination attempts against him. Bringing Claire into this would expose her to it as well. He would have to be vigilant in watching over her. He escorted her back down the spiral stair. They took an elevator down to the Main Hall. Neither of them spoke, they were both lost in their own thoughts.
'He wants me to stay here one day...' kept running around aimlessly in Claire's mind. It was followed around by that charming voice saying 'Wouldn't it be nice to have a home?' She closed her eyes. What did she think of, when she thought of the word 'home'?
Warm arms and smiling faces. A hard chest under her cheek and a voice singing softly. Tears streaming down her angry, red face, with a cool hand rubbing her back and a light shushing in her ear.
All through her memories, there was that ever present sensation of being held.
When was the last time she had been held?
Julius looked over the tiny parasol in his hands. He made a decision then, one that he would never be able to take back. When they reached the Main Hall, Julius knelt before her once again. He presented her parasol to her, as a knight presents his sword to his king. "Take care." He said seriously.
She ignored her parasol, throwing herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face in his shoulder.
His eyes widened as shock went through him. No one invaded his personal space like this. No one. He hadn't received a hug since his mother was still alive, when he was ten. His arms dropped to his sides. "Claire..." His voice had a warning edge to it, not his usual charming tone. He closed his mouth when he heard that tone. No, he would be more patient with her.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "But, if you want me to stay here, I have to know if you're..." What was the right word here? "Huggable. Home isn't a place, it's the people in it."
His arms wound around her automatically, if a little awkwardly, while he wondered if he could take this intrusion on a regular basis. He hadn't thought of things like hugging throughout his plotting. And there was no reason he should have. Hugs were something that happened on sappy television shows. Not that he had much experience with those either, since he only ever watched the news.
After a long moment, Claire pulled away from him. He dropped his arms again at once, relieved. He handed her the parasol, which she took from him shyly. She turned quickly to the doors.
Bates opened the front door for her. Claire waved good bye to Julius without looking at him.
In the car, she thought about that hug. Julius' chest and neck had been so warm and comfortable. But she hadn't felt any warmth through the thick fabric of his jacket sleeves. And his arms had held her a little too tightly.
Claire smiled to herself. Maybe she could teach him how to hug properly.
***
Julius sat behind his desk with his feet up. A light screen was up, hanging in the air over his desk. Numbers crawled across the bottom of the screen. The display flashed: Recording... in bright green letters. A large crystal container filled with amber liquid and two thick glasses sat on the desk before him. He was just pouring a glass when there was a knock on his study door. He downed the glass before saying "Come in." and poured himself another.
Augustus walked in, shutting the door behind him. "I make for the war front tonight, I leave the house in your hands till I return."
Julius toasted him. "Yes, sir! Major-General Cantor!" He downed his glass.
"Julius." Augustus growled sternly.
"Yes, dear brother?" Julius' smile was saccharine.
Augustus made his way around the room slowly, taking in his youngest brother's appearance. He strode behind his chair. Julius busied himself pouring another drink. Augustus took the decanter and glass from him. "That is quite enough. You always drank too much."
Julius gave him a narrow look. "You have something to say, other than about my bad habits, so say it." He leaned back in his chair, waiting.
"It's about the young girl." Augustus chose his words carefully. "I fear she might be a distraction for you."
Julius laughed harshly. "Brother, your concern is not for me. You fear I will do something dishonorable to the poor thing." Augustus was silent, confirming what he said. Julius thought a moment, choosing his words carefully. "I have found a tiny seed. I will tend it and water it, because it will grow into the most beautiful flower in the entire city. Do you really think I would crush or wither it before it had the chance to bloom? I'll not taint her, nor will I allow anyone else to." His eyes took on a hard look.
Augustus gave his youngest brother a long, hard look. "I know you brother. You lack... patience when it comes to women."
"Claire is not a woman." Julius answered. "She is a child. She is an investment to me. I have incredible patience when it comes to my investments."
Augustus watched his brother's face carefully. Julius looked back at him steadily, then dropped his eyes. "She's recently lost her parents." He said slowly. "But she can still smile like that. She's younger than I was, when Father..."
Augustus set the decanter and glass back down on the desk, sighing heavily. "I just worry, brother. There is change in the air. I can feel it in my bones. Something is happening. Not just in the war, but here in the city too. And I feel you will be in the center of it." He turned and walked to the door. "I hope for your sake that it is worth it." He shook his head. "You, raising a child..."
Julius frowned. "I think I would be a quite capable parent. Or guardian in this case." He mused thoughtfully. "It had just never occurred to me that I could pick out whichever child I wan
ted."
"That reminds me." Augustus lowered his eyes. "If I should not return... my family..."
"Not another word." Julius interrupted. "I will take care of everything. Emily and Sebastian will never have to worry about a thing."
Augustus nodded in relief. "Thank you, Julius."
Julius shook his head solemnly. "No thanks are needed."
"Good bye, Brother." Augustus opened the door and stepped out.
"May the Empress watch over you." Julius said as the door closed. "Good luck." He turned his attention back to the panel of light over his desk.
*** Beast walked into Mrs. Kennie's small personal kitchen scant minutes before Claire herself entered. Mrs. Kennie exclaimed over her hair, which was extremely windblown. She seated Claire at the table and put a bowl of thick beef stew in front of her. The large kitchens next door were busy as the dinner rush was in mid swing, so there was no room for talk. Mrs. Kennie soon had to run off anyway.
Claire ate quickly, sighing contentedly when her stomach was full. She looked into the corner of the room where Beast stood. "Sit with me. I missed you." She said, pushing out his chair with one foot. He strode silently to the table and took a seat.
"What did you do today while I was gone?" She asked him. He had probably been on the roof, brooding. She smiled to herself.
Beast didn't answer her, his eyes were on her parasol, which was propped up against the wall behind her. "I had a lot of fun today." Claire offered. "Julius has the most amazing garden. He's a very interesting person, and he really is handsome, despite what you say." Her voice turned shy suddenly. Still Beast said nothing. "Did I tell you we even have the same birthday."
She prodded his side with one finger. "I'm sorry I didn't take you with me, but Julius doesn't know you. He's only ever invited me..." She paused, looking at him closely. He continued to stare past her. She sighed. "I guess I should tell him about you eventually, considering..." She wondered if she should tell Beast now, that Julius had mentioned living at the manor one day.
Mrs. Kennie came back just then to send Claire off to bed. Claire was disappointed as she rose from the table and headed for the stairs. Was Beast upset with her? If he didn't like that she was gone all day, then he should tell her that. "Don't forget your parasol, child." Mrs. Kennie said, reaching for it.
Claire Page 11