Claire Read online

  "Thank you sir!" Peaks said happily. He bowed again.

  Julius put a hand on the man's shoulder. He turned him around and led him to the door. "Just remember, tell no one of what we have discussed today."

  "Yes Sir, of course, Sir." Peaks said earnestly, bobbing his head. "No one."

  Julius' smile widened. "Excellent." He opened the door for the man and showed him out. He shut the door and walked around his desk again, sitting again. He hit a key and the light screens vanished. He leaned back in his chair, setting his polished black shoes on the mahogany's mirror finish. He steepled his hands again in thought.

  A button on his desk glowed. He pressed it. "Yes?" A light screen appeared over the desk. It showed a map of the first floor. A red dot blinked in the Front Hall. "Sir, Miss Claire has arrived. She is being escorted to the study."

  Julius rose from his chair. "Excellent! But not the study, it's a mess in here. Take her to the Library, no, the Garden." He paced quickly.

  "Yes, sir." The light panel went out.

  Julius grabbed his jacket, shrugging into it. He walked over to the antique mirror on the wall. He smoothed the front of his jacket and straightened his tie. He smiled charmingly at his reflection. "Perfect."

  Then he caught himself and laughed. He must be stuck in routine. Why was he getting so worked up over a child? Her red hair fascinated him, yes. And he was curious about her parents. She must have gotten her hair color from one of them. But, he could not recall anyone else in the city who had red hair. He would have to have Jacqueline look into it for him.

  He wondered if Mary Kennie had plans for adopting the child. It would be such a waste if she did. Such a perfect little seed condemned to working in kitchens all her life? It was so much of a waste that it was almost unthinkable.

  Ideas began forming in his mind. The child was like an untapped mine. There were so many possibilities. Even just using her looks alone... If he put her picture in any of his product's advertisements, he could probably expect a double increase in profits in under a week.

  It was definitely something to keep in mind...

  ***

  Claire was led outside. "Welcome to the Garden Patio." The maid bowed to her. She pressed at a small black receiver over her ear. "The Regent will be down for tea, he asks that you please sit and wait for him." She led Claire over to a wrought iron outdoor table. Two matching chairs were pushed underneath. The maid pulled a chair out for her, then pushed it back in when Claire sat down.

  She pushed her hair behind her ears and took in the view of the garden. The patio that the table and chairs sat on was huge and high up, so her view was impressive. Everything here was so green. She had never seen anything like it. Shrubs, trees and hundreds of flowers of all colors. There was even a maze in the center of the garden. It was huge. She wondered how many gardeners got lost in it.

  A cup of tea was brought to her, but it was too hot so she let it sit and steam. She felt so comfortable just watching the wind move though the leaves on the trees and shrubs. It was a peaceful, serene moment. She had never had a moment quite like this in her life, and she enjoyed it.

  Julius paused at the glass doorway leading to the patio. He pinned a fresh black rose to his lapel before walking through the doors.

  Claire sat facing away from him, her unbound red hair fluttered in the breeze. It looked impossibly light and fine. Julius wanted to take off a glove and touch it, but knew that was impossible. He wondered if something so light could even be felt.

  As Claire watched the garden she thought she saw a shadow move within it. She focused her eyes, but couldn't find it again. It must have been her imagination. "An excellent view, isn't it?" A gentle voice asked from behind her.

  She jumped, startled. A sudden wind blew her hair into her face, she put up one hand and brushed it behind her ear again as she turned. Julius knelt before her. He took her free hand, kissing it lightly. "Thank you for coming." He said to her, his dark eyes glittered.

  He watched her cheeks flush lightly. "It's very nice here." She said demurely. Her clear, bright blue eyes looked at him shyly.

  "I thank you again." He released her hand, standing. He sat in the chair opposite her. A maid placed a teacup and saucer in front of him. He picked up the teacup and drank immediately. Claire held hers in two hands, blowing on it lightly before taking a tentative sip. She found the flavor strange, bitter, but not unpleasantly so.

  A plate of sandwiches and cake arrived. Julius cut Claire a small slice of cake and offered it to her. She accepted it immediately, she absolutely loved cake. "You trust me and my food so easily?" He asked her, amused.

  Claire hesitated. "Should I not?" She asked, picking up on his eloquent way of speaking.

  "If I were Hades, you would already be under my spell." He told her. “Since you drank the tea.”

  "Hades? Who is that?" She asked.

  "Hades is the lord of Hell. He fell in love with a human girl and kidnapped her, forcing her to eat a fruit grown in Hell. If you eat or drink anything made in Hell, then you are unable to leave. Thus, she was under his power forever."

  Claire stared at him, engrossed. She had never heard a story like this before. Most of the stories her mother told her had more happy endings. "What was her name?" She asked.

  "Persephone. Demeter, a goddess, loved her like a daughter and fought with Hades, till Hades finally relented."

  "Hades gave Persephone back?" She asked in disbelief. “After he went through all the trouble to capture her?”

  "Yes, but only for half of the year. The other half, Persephone would live in hell, with him. Demeter was enraged, and for the half of the year that Persephone was gone, she sent icy winds over the Earth, freezing it." Claire had forgotten her tea and cake. She was so utterly absorbed in his words. Julius smiled, amused.

  She turned her attention back to her tea, taking another small sip. She looked at the cake and hesitated. She was just deciding to try some when Julius asked, "Would you like a tour of the house?" She nodded quickly and they both rose from the table.

  He led her indoors, down many long hallways. He pointed out things like lighting and paintings to her, in a rote, bored kind of way, almost formal. Claire was fascinated, she had never seen so much stuff in one building before. Then again, her experience with actual buildings was also pretty limited. She guessed that Julius was used to, since he lived here.

  After a while he sighed. "Let's find something interesting." He said to her. "This way." He led her down a side hall. Claire's legs were much shorter and she had to run lightly to keep up with his long strides.

  He led her down a few sets of stairs and into another hall. There were no windows here and it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the indoor lighting. It felt to her much too dark.

  They came to a set of double doors. Julius threw them open. The room beyond was brightly lit and contained glass cases of various sizes. Claire walked in, inspecting the cases. She recognized the contents. Guns of all sizes, ranges, and styles were displayed here. She had seen guns many times in her life. The junk yard was full of them. Rarely one would work; mostly they were defective and useless.

  She heard the doors snap closed behind her and jumped, whirling around. "Ah, sorry about that." Julius said, his hands on the door knobs. "These doors are rather old and need to be closed quite firmly." He pulled the knobs, then reached over his head and set the bolt. "There we go." He smiled at her. "Shall we?"

  He led her through the rows of display cases. "This is the jewel of the Cantor family. We have been making weapons for the High Empress for generations." He said. "Each model is displayed here. Some are really quite ancient, back when we still used gunpowder." He made a disapproving face.

  Claire nodded, soaking the information in. He continued explaining in greater detail, warming to his subject. They progressed to more advanced weaponry, sleek and shiny metal and plastics. "Ah, here we come to the more recent designs." He pointed out one case. "This is my very first design,
archaic, but effective." Claire looked at the large energy rifle and shivered. She followed Julius, listening to him intently, but she could not really share in Julius' interest.

  "Since then, I have been focusing on smaller, sleeker designs. Like this one here." He led her to a small glass case. It held a tiny energy gun. It hardly looked like a gun to Claire. It was so small and nonthreatening, made of sleek plastic. Simple, bright green designs on the side made it stand out.

  "This model is currently in use by the Police in all districts. Small, light, and non-lethal." He placed a hand on the case fondly. "It stuns the target instantly, very effective. I have professed in my sales pitch to the Empress that it's so simple a child could use it. But now I wonder." He gave Claire a sidelong look. "Would you like to try it?" Claire nodded, this little gun didn't look so bad. Julius smiled. "Excellent, the range is downstairs, come."

  They went down another flight of stairs into a large, rectangular room. There was a row of windows set into one long wall. Along the opposite wall, rows of guns were lined. Julius pulled down one small, black and green energy gun and led Claire to a window. Claire frowned at the bottom of the window, because that was all she could see. Julius laughed and got her a chair to stand on. "There, now you are nearly as tall as I am." He smiled at her.

  Claire felt her cheeks flush. She was much nearer to his face now, and, if possible, found him more handsome. Julius reached around her, pressing a small button with his thumb. The window slid open. He pressed another button and a thin, black paper target slid forward. "Thirty feet is too far." he said to himself. "Let's try twenty."

  He placed the gun in her right hand. He stood behind her, placing both of his hands over hers. He wore soft white gloves, she noticed. Just like last night. "Like this." She watched those hands while he showed her how to hold the gun correctly. Then he placed his right hand directly over hers and showed her how to place her finger over the trigger. She looked up as he helped her aim, then he pressed her finger against the trigger and fired. Claire blinked and missed it. There was a light ping! sound and suddenly there was a hole in the head of the paper target. He let go of her hand. "Now you try." He said briskly. She lifted the gun, but was having trouble holding it steady. She was distracted by him being so close to her. She closed her eyes and fired. "Ah, way off mark." Julius said softly. "Here, try again, and keep your eyes open. You can't hit what you can't see."

  Julius put his hand over hers again, holding the gun steady while she fired. The hole though the head of the paper target grew wider. Then he let her try on her own again. Her shot was wildly off mark again. He sighed in disappointment. "I guess it really is too much for you." He said.

  "No, I can do it." She reassured him earnestly. Her right hand was growing sweaty from gripping the gun's handle. She switched it to her left and tried again. She found that she could hold the gun much steadier now. She wanted so much to please him. She said a silent prayer as she fired. The gun pinged again and a hole appeared on the outer edge of the paper target. She tried again and hit closer in. It was more than a foot below Julius' mark, but she was pleased with herself.

  Julius was impressed. He had never really expected her to hit anything at all. "Very well done." he praised. "I am glad that you have made me an honest man. Also, you didn't mention you were left-handed."

  “I didn't know I was.” Claire admitted.

  “Do you normally write with your left hand?” He asked her.

  Claire had done little writing in her lifetime, she shifted uneasily. "I normally do better with my left hand in lots of things." She said awkwardly.

  Julius nodded. He was about to ask more questions when there was a sudden chirping sound. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small phone. He put it to his ear. "Yes?"

  Bates, his aged butler, was on the other line. "It is just past six O'clock now, Sir." Bates was saying. "And I promised Mrs. Kennie that I would have young Miss Claire back at The Sword and the Rose by seven O'clock."

  Julius frowned. Six O'clock already? "Fine then, we'll meet you in the Main Hall." He pocketed his phone. "Time to go." He said to Claire. He saw disappointment in her eyes. "You may come back another day, if you wish."

  "Yes!" Claire nodded happily. She set down the gun.

  Julius smiled broadly, showing off his white teeth. "Wonderful!" He led her out of the room and up the stairs, back through the display room and out the double doors. When they reached the hall, he began searching around. "Where is the damned thing?" He said to himself.

  Then he spotted a pair of silver doors down the hall. "Ah! This way." He led her to the doors, pressing a button on the wall next to them. The doors slid open, revealing a tiny, mirrored room no bigger than a closet. A brass bar ran over it's three walls. "I don't normally use the elevators." He explained to Claire, walking into the cubicle. Claire joined him. "I prefer the stairs, more exercise. But, you are tired, right?" He asked.

  Claire nodded gratefully. She didn't think she could go back up all those stairs. The elevator's silver doors slid closed, and she felt a sudden pressure. Julius leaned against the brass bar, his gloved hands gripping it. Claire watched him from the corner of her eye. He truly was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was like one of the models in Mrs. Kennie's fashion magazines. Only, he was real.

  His dark eyes turned to her and she blushed. "Would it be impertinent of me to ask you your age, Claire? I know many ladies that take the secret to their graves."

  Claire only understood half of what he said. "I'm nine." She answered. Why was everyone so interested in her age today?

  "My birthday was yesterday. I was born on the darkest day of the year." She added shyly.

  Julius smiled, his eyes sparkled with interest. "Now this is a pleasant surprise. My birthday was yesterday as well. We of the Winter Solstice are a special breed." He said loftily. "We count our years differently than most, because our birthdays may not fall on the same day every year. You could say time moves differently for us."

  Claire hesitated, looking at the floor. Finally, she asked tentatively. "How old are you?" She peered up at him, through red locks of her hair.

  "Yesterday, I turned twenty-one years old." He replied.

  "Oh." She said in disappointment. She counted it out in her head. Julius was twelve years older than she was. She looked at their reflections in the mirrored walls. He was so much taller too. Not as tall as Beast, but still a lot taller than she was. She bit back a heavy sigh. They didn't match at all.

  Julius raised his thin black eyebrows, he spied her out of the corner of his eye. "You think I am an old man?"

  Claire shook her head quickly. "No, you're much too handsome!" She said feelingly, her blue eyes shining. She realized what she said and shut up quickly, looking back at the floor. Her cheeks burned fiercely.

  Julius turned back to the number display that ticked higher as they rose in floors. He had gotten more than his share of compliments in his life. For his wealth and power as well as his looks. But he couldn't recall one so enthusiastic. He smiled, pleased.

  He caught a look of his expression in the mirrored wall. Hmm, when was the last time he had smiled like that? Not any time he could remember. His smiles were generally just something he wore, like his gloves, or his rose. An accessory. He glanced back at Claire. She was still looking at the floor. Her shiny black shoe fidgeted slightly. Interesting.

  The elevator came to a stop and dinged. The silver doors slid open. They were in the Front Hall, behind the huge double staircase.

  "This is where we part." He said to her as they stepped up to the front door.

  Claire turned to him. “When can I come back?” She asked.

  He thought for a moment. “How does next week sound?”

  “Like an incredibly long time.” She answered promptly.

  He laughed. “It's the best I can do.” He told her. “I do have to work.”

  “Then I guess I will have to take it.” She said haughtily.

  He kn
elt before her, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it lightly. “Until then.” He said. She blushed brightly. He smiled. “You're so cute.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized what they were. Cute? He never thought anything was cute.

  She smiled shyly at him. She pulled her hand from his and turned. Bates opened the front door and escorted her out. Julius stood up, frowning. It's true that she was cute. But he had never appreciated that quality before. If it was women, he liked them sultry and seductive. If it was cars, he liked them fast and strong. If it was clothes, he liked them expensive and imposing.

  Claire didn't fit into any of his preferences. But he found himself liking her anyway.

  He walked up to his study, deep in thought. Her physical qualities weren't limited to her hair at least. Next week, he would test her wits.

  Chapter VI – Second Date Claire sat across from Julius. A small table was placed between them. They were in his study, in front of the middle of the three huge windows. Claire wasn't looking at the table though. Her attention was on the sofa across the room.

  A young woman with long blond hair was sleeping on the white sofa. She wore a brown business skirt and jacket and a rumpled white dress shirt. Her hair was mussed and her wireframed glass lay askew on her face. She clutched a transparent, neon-orange clipboard to her chest protectively.

  "Who's that?" Claire asked Julius. Julius didn't look up. He opened a drawer on his side of the table. "That's Jacqueline Carver, my secretary.”

  "Is she all right? Sleeping on the sofa like that?" Claire asked worriedly.

  Julius glanced over at the sofa. "She's fine, she remembered to take her shoes off this time." Claire noticed then the pair of black pumps lying next to a large purse under the sofa. She thought that sleeping on the sofa was very strange. But Julius seemed unconcerned, so she turned her attention to him.

  He wore his usual attire. A black suit and tie, complete with vest, black rose and white gloves. His hair wasn't slicked back like it had been at the party though. It fell over his forehead, the soft, dark strands brushing his thin eyebrows. The style went so well with his straight nose and pleasantly shaped mouth. She felt like she could stare at his face for hours.