"No, call Armand and tell him that we want to subcontract his tankers." Blayne noticed Gabriella and motioned for her to sit down. "Yes Paul, no more than two million. Call me back on my cell, I have a dinner meeting. All right, bye."
Gabriella stood up while Blayne remained seated. She took a good look at Gabriella and it was obvious to both of them that she liked what she saw.
"Will you be long? What time shall I be ready to leave tonight?" Gabriella asked nervously.
"We will not be leaving tonight. I'm not sure how long my meeting will run. I have spoken to the hotel and they will have a car take us tomorrow morning."
"How far is it?"
"Oh…less than an hour." Blayne guessed.
"Why not tonight then?"
"Because I am tired. And it will be late. It will be best if we arrive tomorrow morning."
"Best for who? For you?"
"No, for you!" Blayne barked out as she stood up now. "Chaz and Diana are probably already waiting for you. Mother was upset when I left but she is a loose cannon when she feels threatened. And Arthur, as much as he thinks he can handle them, he can't. I have this meeting and I am tired. I could send you ahead but I won't. I said I would try to…." Blayne trailed off in exasperation.
Gabriella watched her walk towards the window and stare out at the city.
The phone began to ring. Blayne closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again and walked over to pick it up.
"Hello."
"Blayne, I haven't heard from you. Then I picked up a message that you had checked into the Harbor Inn." Arthur sounded winded.
"Yes, we checked in about an hour ago," Blayne said as she looked towards Gabriella. "I have Gabriella here with me."
"She is there? In the hotel with you?"
"Yes, we should be arriving sometime around mid morning tomorrow." Blayne had not broken eye contact with Gabriella.
"I knew you would bring her to me Blayne. I knew that you would," Arthur said emotionally. "Thank you Blayne. Thank you for doing this for me."
Blayne was silent. Arthur was obviously very emotional and she was afraid to allow herself to feel. Arthur was dying. Her father was dying.
"I…" Blayne looked down for a moment as her eyes began to tear up. "We will both be there in the morning."
"Thank you Blayne."
"Goodnight father."
"Goodnight Blayne."
Blayne hung up the phone with her back towards Gabriella.
"You love him don't you?" Gabriella asked in surprise.
Blayne's shoulders straightened as she turned towards Gabriella.
"Yes, I do have feelings Mrs. Matheson. If you prick me I do bleed," Blayne answered sarcastically.
"I didn't mean it that way," Gabriella replied softly.
"How did you mean it then?"
"I just thought…." Gabriella looked down.
"You just thought that a bitch like me can't possibly feel, is that it? Well, I feel a lot of things as you obviously know….or would you like to be reminded?" Blayne said menacingly.
Gabriella looked up immediately. "Does he know?"
"Know what?" Blayne was now not only angry but also confused.
"About you!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"He doesn't know does he?"
Blayne suddenly understood what she meant and her features showed the shock.
"He doesn't know then." Gabriella sounded like she had the upper hand. "What would he say if he knew how you have treated me?"
"What would he say if he knew you liked it?" Blayne shot back quickly.
"You attacked me!"
"Tell him and I will tell too," Blayne said coldly.
"There is nothing for you to tell."
"Some may believe you, some may not. Will your husband believe you? Will your children believe you? Will your mother believe you? I can be very convincing." Blayne purred from the enjoyment of the game.
Gabriella stared at her in horror.
"Don't play this game with me. You will always lose. Now go to sleep we will leave early in the morning. Order dinner from room service. I will be back when I am done with my meeting. And don't get any ideas about flying the coup, my little dove because if you try to jump ship I will come after you and believe me…you don't want that." Blayne took a step closer and Gabriella one back.
"Well, I can see you understand," Blayne said with a smile. "Go to bed."
Blayne walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, little sister."
Gabriella looked up to meet her eyes and saw the hatred behind those words.
"You are not my sister," Gabriella said trying to control her nerves.
"No, I'm not," Blayne said as she leaned closer to her. "And if I were it wouldn't change a thing."
Gabriella looked up at her again with a shocked expression.
Blayne laughed out loud from the result of Gabriella's shocked reaction.
"You're disgusting," Gabriella said as she went to slap her.
Blayne held her hand and looked like she was about to strike her herself.
"Don't push little sister. Don't push," Blayne said menacingly. She then released Gabriella's hand and left her alone in the room.
The trip up to Quincy was made quietly. Blayne had been reading the paper or on the phone. Gabriella made no attempt to engage her in conversation. Quincy was obviously rich in history; it boasted of manicured lawns and scenic shorelines. Blayne noticed Gabriella's interest.
"There is a lot of history that took place here. Quincy is called the city of Presidents. The second and sixth U.S. presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams were both born here. I can arrange a tour if you like?" Blayne did not wait for her to answer as she began to read her newspaper again.
"That might be nice. Thank you." Gabriella only saw Blayne nod acknowledging that she had heard her but nothing else.
The limousine then pulled into a private drive. And as they turned around a clump of trees the house suddenly became visible in the distance. Gabriella took in a deep breath and Blayne looked up, smiled, and then looked back down to her newspaper.
The house was impressive to say the least with its columns and manicured hedges and colorful flowerbeds. When they pulled up Blayne opened the door and got out without waiting for the chauffeur to come around. She than put her hand out for Gabriella to take. Gabriella looked up for only a moment then gave her hand. As she got out of the car the front door opened and there next to a man dressed in morning coat stood an elegantly dressed woman with golden hair. Her features seemed familiar and suddenly Gabriella looked towards Blayne and saw the resemblance.
"Yes, she's my mother," Blayne said still holding her hand. "Come."
"Hello, I'm Abigail Aston-Carlyle." Abigail said as she put her hand out to Gabriella.
Both women shook hands. "Hello, I'm Gabriella Matheson."
"Yes, my dear, I know who you are." Abigail tried to smile as she spoke.
Gabriella felt uncomfortable and looked down. Blayne was beside her and her hand was on Gabriella's back. "Let's go inside," Blayne said as she guided Gabriella away from her mother. She spoke to the majordomo as she passed him. "Henry, our bags are in the car."
They walked into the hall and Gabriella could not help but be impressed. She looked around noticing the original oil paintings by Monet and Tintoreto. On one wall she saw a Rembrandt. There were sculptures by artists that she recognized that, in her opinion, should be in a museum. The walls were covered in rich creamy Muslim silk paper and the antiques were exquisite.
"Blayne..."
Blayne turned towards an older man walking toward her who only had eyes for Gabriella. Blayne turned towards her and made the introductions.
"This is Arthur…"