Immortal Beauty (10 page)

“Not at all Ms. D’Aumont!” It was all a dream come true but why didn’t she feel happy?

“Excellent! Don’t be surprised if I ring you or ask to meet with you fairly often in the next couple of weeks. After meeting you I am even more confident that I was correct in my instinct that told me you were a little more than just an American girl with dreams of living in Paris. I have a feeling it is a lot more, but this you will prove to me in the coming months. I am certain you are perfect for this position. “ She leaned in conspiratorially. “I have many questions about the American Psyche, especially the American woman. You can be their voice.” She placed her hand on Sasha’s shoulder as if they were old friends. She guided her back to the imposing glass door which was beginning to open. Celine’s assistant entered and saw the glass on the carpet. With a brief scowl she kneeled on the carpet to fetch it.

“Leave it!” It was the first time Celine had raised her voice and the second time she had dropped her guard. There was malice in that voice that lay hidden but detectable. She must have been hurt by someone or something and Sasha’s imagination began to work overtime. What could possibly get under the skin of someone so commanding and impenetrable as Celine D’Aumont? Still, she might not have always been this strong. Maybe long ago before the money and the notoriety she had allowed herself to be injured by love or tragedy. Sasha knew intimately how life can change it’s course without care or warning.

“Give Miss White the file on your desk please.” The soft, whispery voice was back in place. She smiled at her assistant. She turned to Sasha so suddenly that she was caught off guard and gasped audibly. “I’ve compiled a folder with some questions about beauty products and the idea of aging. I would love it if you could fill it out and have it retuned to my office by the end of the day. I will probably be running all the American research questionnaires by you before they hit the public. I would love your input. If anything seems inappropriate or ridiculous please let me know and if you ever have anything to add to these projects your input is now part of the job description. My God, you could be the face of our new product line!” She reached out with her aquiline fingers and touched the tip of Sasha’s nose and stared intently into her face. “You know, sometimes things don’t translate so well and I will really need your attention on those matters. It is imperative that we don’t come off as provincial. The theme is really global jet set. Hip. Chic. Privileged.” She smiled and let go of the young woman’s face.

“Privileged?” Sasha was now all business. This new line was such an international corporate secret and here she was with the owner of the company talking about things that people would die to know. All her instincts and nonsense from a few minutes ago vanished at the prospect of being so close to the inner circle.

“Yes my dear, the future of beauty is youth and we are going to create a culture of the privileged global community who want to stay young forever.” Celine began retreating back to her desk.

“Our product will make people young forever?” Sasha was half kidding.

“Cheri, you have no idea.” With that Celine dismissed Sasha as if she were suddenly bored with her company.

“Thank you so much for everything Ms. D’Aumont. I will not let you down.” The assistant handed the folder to her on her way out the door. Without looking up Celine called out.

“And please for heaven’s sake call me Celine.” She let out a laugh that was somehow musical as well as savage. The word that came to Kyra’s mind when she heard the laughter was “primitive.” She walked toward the elevator without looking back. She tried to be excited about the promotions and her sudden input in the company but she just could not feel it. Something was wrong with Celine D’Aumont. It was something she could not narrow down in the sharp corners of her mind. Maybe she was simply another rich eccentric millionaire who had big dreams of changing the world. Maybe she was jealous of the way that some women are when they meet another pretty woman. Sasha knew she was pretty. She had no illusions about that and she did not harp on it either. People found her attractive and that was that. There was nothing she could do about it and in the past there definitely were women who seemed hell bent on hurting her or destroying her because she was pretty and skinny and all the things that people find beautiful. She knew what some women were capable of and just how competitive they could be. Sasha imagined Celine in her mirrored office enquiring of the images who was the fairest one of all, and maybe for the first time the mirrored uttered another name. Sasha smiled at the image of Celine as Evil Queen. It was so silly but it made her feel so much better than she had all morning. She walked toward the elevator thinking about what she was going to do with some extra money.

“Excuse me!” A man’s voice called from behind her in the hall. She turned around knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. It possessed the same Midwestern twang that she found so familiar and suddenly so comforting in the light of all this new information. “I’m sorry to bother you again, but I seem to be lost.” The man from outside was walking toward her and he was more handsome than she remembered now that she had a chance to study him better. His smile was completely disarming and the chocolate brown eyes had a wisdom and a kindness to them that she found irresistible. It was the first time since moving to Paris that she had these kinds of thoughts toward a man. She had simply been too busy and now that her future had just become guaranteed, in walks Prince Charming. She was aware that if Celine were the Evil Queen and he were the prince then she must be the princess even though she did not need saving, but she was warming up to the idea of happy ever after.

“Where do you want to go?” She was standing right in front of him now and wanted to brush the wavy brown hair that had fallen in his face between his brows.

“I’m trying to find the labs. I have clearance…see?” He held up his pass like a truant school boy. God he was just naturally charming. She took a hold of the pass and pretended to scrutinize it for authenticity.

“Impressive. Almost nobody gets that kind of clearance here. Mind if I borrow that for a few hours?” She laughed heartily and felt as if she had run into someone from her home town after so many years. She was comfortable with him and she knew from the way he was talking to her that he found her just as intriguing. She still couldn’t believe this was the same man from her dream last night. She must have inherited a bit of that Irish ghost whisperer gene that fueled so many tales of premonitions and magic. All of the stories her mother told her growing up of angels and visitations and dreams. Sasha had always believed these tales to be cute stories that her mother had heard when she was a child, though some of them were far from suitable for little children.

“I’m sorry Miss, but before I hand over the magic ticket to the chocolate factory I at least have to know your name.”

“I’m Sasha White. Marketing division. And you are?” She extended her hand.

“Taylor Hamilton at your service Miss White. “ He surprised her by grabbing her hand and instead of shaking it, he raised it eloquently to his lips. She blushed like a sixteen year old girl and pulled her hand away. It had been far too long since Sasha had flirted this openly with anyone and she was at work. She had to get control of herself now before the giddy feeling lifted her up and out of the building. She wondered if she were destined to meet him and he kept staring at her trying to figure out why she was so damned familiar. “I’m a journalist doing an interview with the famous Celine D’Aumont and the launch of what she promises to be a revolution in the anti aging industry. Just what the world needs.” He laughed. “I’m here for a week from D.C. to do the article about the product launch.” People began pushing past them to get to the elevator.

“I think we’re in the way here. C’mon, I’ll take you to the labs myself. It’s kind of difficult to get to. It’s quite a maze we have here at Celgen. It took me weeks to find my office!” She took the lead and he followed closely behind her trying to figure out the best way to ask her out before the day was over. They passed a water cooler and he stopped.

“I just can’t seem to get enough to drink. I think I’m still dehydrated from the flight.” He explained between gulps. Though the water temporarily quenched his thirst it was nothing like the water in Celine’s office. He would have to find out where it was from and see if he could have it shipped back to the states. It was probably some curative mineral water from Vichy or some such place. After a moment they continued on their way to the lower floors of the building to find the laboratories of Celgen.

PASSY 1652

The Comte De Sevigne surveyed the land all around him. He still could not believe that all of this was his property. With the passing of his father he was now the Comte and all that had belonged to the old man was now his. He looked at the sloping hill running down toward the Seine and smiled. This was the perfect setting for his country house. It lay halfway between the gaiety of Paris and the solemnity of Versailles. It would prove a good resting spot on the numerous trips he would now be forced to make in his new found position. He fumbled with his wig making sure that it was as on straight before he prodded his horse to head toward the hill. It was a magnificent morning in early Spring and he rode through the trees and brush noticing the dewlapped flora all about him. He was hoping that the workers would have most of the new house built before the cold weather set in. He wanted to move his household in the next Spring when all of the interior work was finished. His wife never could abide the common people in her presence and visibly shuddered whenever a servant came near to her as if she would catch something awful from them. He always found Theophile a bit of a prude and with far too many airs for his taste but she was a good wife and an excellent mother to his children. Of course the match was arranged by their parents when they were very young and though there was little attraction between them , they were convivial enough to consummate the marriage enough times to carry on the family name with two sons and a daughter. His horse pulled up to the men working at the base of the hillside.

“Good morning Comte!” One of the men left the ranks and stood by the horse. He was short and stocky and all muscle. His face was weathered with time and hard work. Here was a man who obviously enjoyed his labor. “We’ve discovered something very interesting and I thought you might like to take a look at it before we go any further.”” The Comte dismounted effortlessly and followed the worker to the site. The other men stopped working immediately and some of them bowed before their master.

“Good morning men.” His voice was warm and pleasant. He was raised to treat all people with kindness, especially servants as that would guarantee better quality of work than any cruelty or whipping ever could.

“What have we discovered?” His question remained unanswered and in a moment it needed none. Peering into the hole the men had dug for the foundation of the grand mansion was the entrance to a cavern. “What have we here?” He jumped into the depression and sauntered over to the entrance. “Has anyone gone in?”

“No sir, the men are very superstitious. They believe it is some ancient place full of taboo. They won’t go in.” The burly man winked as if he believed such behavior childish.

“Well then, I guess it’s the Lord of the land who will have the first look. Fetch me a torch.” He removed his gloves and took a torch from one of the men, the flame almost singed his fine dark lapel. A few of the workers began to grumble and back away from the site. “I’ll have a look around and if I’m not out in fifteen minutes come and fetch me.” He tapped the muscular man on the shoulder. More likely than not it was just another ruin from the times the Romans ruled France. He walked through the portal and into the darkness.

There was a long dark hallway carved crudely into the earth. The place smelled like clay and the walls were wet. Perhaps there was a spring running under this hill into the Seine. This could prove very well for him to have a source of water so close to the main house though he was puzzled as the divining rods gave no clue to the existence of any water. He continued in and the hall began to slope downward. It was going right into the heart of the hill. Suddenly it dead ended into a small round cave. One feature stood out and that was a large round stone propped up against one of the walls. As his eyes became adjusted to the dim glow from the torch he could make out faint paintings done in the crudest of manners with animals and it looked like primitive drawings of the moon’s cycles. It was some ancient place of worship from the barbarians that once lived here but it was nothing like any of the ruins he had ever seen. This was far more primitive. He wondered if it was before the Romans conquered and renamed the place Lutetia. He peered closely at the paintings but could not make any sense of them. His attention returned to the stone. It was round and perceivably could be easy to move. Did it lead to some inner sanctum of these lost people? Maybe it led to the catacombs that the Romans had built underneath Paris, but this was too far from the city. His imagination caught flame and he simply had to see what lay behind the stone. With one big heave he pushed all of his force into the effort but nothing happened. He would need help. Simone, the man with the muscles would be perfect for the job and he seemed unafraid like his men. The Comte quickly picked up the torch and headed back to the surface. He could see the curious and fearful faces of the men who stood at the entrance to greet him.

“It is nothing much. Just a little cave with some paintings. But I do need some help. Simone, could you give me a hand?” a shadow of fear ran over Simone’s face only to be replaced quickly with an impassive and indifferent visage.

“Certainly sir.” The bulky man grabbed another torch and the two of them went back into the cave. “This is incredible! We had no idea there was a cave in the hillside. Of course we knew that the Romans once lived in this area and before them, the primitive people of Parisiji but I had no idea something like this was on the land when I bought it. We may be the first people in a thousand years to walk through this cave!” The Comte could not conceal his excitement and just assumed Simone would be as thrilled as he. Simone just grunted with disapproval and thought only of how this exciting discovery was going to put him behind schedule. He had no intention of working after the weather changed.. Immediately Simone spotted the large round stone and stopped where he was. “