Immortal Beauty (20 page)

Celine was in her office and on the phone with the police when a very alarmed and a very disheveled Ellen burst into the room. She stared at her assistant as if she were a ghost and slowly she returned the red lacquered phone to its cradle and walked towards the small woman with arms outstretched.

“Ellen where have you been? I’ve been worried sick…we have all been worried sick to death about you. Are you alright?” She hugged the frail woman so strongly that for a second Ellen thought she was going to squeeze her to death. She nodded mutely up and down to her boss before she could find her frozen tongue.

“Oh Miss D’Aumont! I’ve been such a fool! I believed him and all the horrible things he said about you and I was afraid to come back and then I found out he was drugging me and that’s when I realized he must be one of those spies you’re always warning me about and I just escaped and ran here from the metro and…” her dry whispery voice ran out thus ending her maniacal rant. She knew she sounded like a lunatic but at this moment she had no control over what her mouth was doing.

“Ellen!” Celine’s voice rang through the office. “What are you talking about? Who drugged you?” She held the woman back at arm’s length examining her up closely for signs of a nervous breakdown.

“Marcus D’Allessandro! He said you were going to abduct me right before the launch and he had proof with all these documents and he said they came right from your computer but now I know it must have all been forged and they were lying to me the whole time and they were drugging me to keep me from thinking clearly.” Tears formed in her large blue eyes.

“Ellen, listen to me very carefully. Did you tell him anything about our little project? This is very important.” She sounded like a parent scolding a child.

“No nothing…I promise. They never asked me anything at all. They just kept saying that I was in danger and that you weren’t who you said you were and all sorts of crazy lies. I’m so sorry Celine. Please tell me that you forgive me!” Ellen broke down into fresh sobs.

“Forgive you? My poor darling there is nothing to forgive! You’ve been through a horrible ordeal and managed to cleverly find your way out of it and back to safety; back to me.” She held Ellen now like a little girl and stroked her mousy hair. “And you managed to escape without giving away any information whatsoever. Forgive you my dear Ellen? I am so proud of you and so happy that you are alright I could just buy you a house!” She kissed the assistant on the forehead and wiped away her tears.

“I had to get away Miss D’Aumont. You should have heard the way they were talking about me as if I were some dim witted child.” Her tears now flowed with anger and resentment as much as pity for herself.

“Of course you did my poor dear.” She kept patting Ellen as if she were a favored pet but Ellen didn’t mind the comfort. “You did the right thing. If you had stayed any longer God knows what would have happened to you. You might have found yourself at the bottom of the Seine!” Celine laughed out loud at the idea of someone as innocuous as Ellen being perceived as a threat and the center of a kidnapping. Ellen ignored the outburst and began to pull herself together. Obviously her job was not in danger and she was safe now. Everything was going to be alright. The sensible girl was kicking in and Ellen began to calculate the work she had missed and the amount of time it would take to play catch up.

“Should we call the police now? I can give them the street where the house is though I don’t know the address I am sure I would recognize it. I can absolutely identify the guy named Marcus and they should probably check my blood to see what they have been giving me.” She tried to sound strong and brave. “I’m ready to do whatever necessary to get these guys.”

“Don’t you worry about any of that now. How on earth did they find you in the first place?” Celine was all curiosity.

“Well a real pretty woman with white blonde hair was in my apartment building and she said she needed to use my phone and we ended up having tea and going out to dinner and then to her friend’s house and that’s when I got so sleepy they invited me to sleep over. “Her mind finally connected the obvious dots. “That’s when they must have first drugged me! I’ve never fallen asleep at a stranger’s house before in my whole life!” The righteous indignation was clearly evident in her newly recovered voice.

“I’m sure you haven’t.” Celine muttered underneath her breath. Nothing interesting could ever happen to this woman. There were men and women like her in every age and every country. The quiet and forgotten people that history leaves behind. Celine called them “the Salt of the Earth” in the most condescending of tones. She roused herself out of her rapidly spinning thoughts. She had to keep her anger in check at the office. There would be no way to cover up an explosion of glass and steel in an office full of people. “You apartment? My God they’ll stop at nothing! You absolutely cannot go back there it’s just not safe.” Celine released Ellen and walked over to her desk to take a sip of water. “Would you like something to drink? You must be parched after your ordeal.” She offered Ellen a glass that was full of ice and water. “I remember how much you like ice.” Celine purred and smiled generously with her perfectly painted lips.

“Oh thank you.” She reached for the glass and gulped unawares of the sounds she was making. She paused drinking long enough to ask. “But where shall I stay? I have no real friends here in Paris. I should go to a hotel.”

“Nonsense. You will stay with me. I won’t be able to sleep unless I know where you are at all times. I think I’ll have my driver take you home now. You look like you could use a nice hot bath and some rest.” Celine punched a button on her phone and gave orders for the car to pull around. ”I’ll leave work early and we can have a nice long chat and you can tell me about the nightmare you’ve just experienced. I still can’t believe it!” Now it was she who sounded angry.

“But what about the police? Shouldn’t we call them first? We have to find this guy and arrest him. Who knows what he is capable of?” Ellen found herself matching Celine’s dramatic tone and once again was thrilled that something was finally happening in her dull life.

“Oh don’t worry about any of that. We don’t need the police to find Marcus D’allessandro. I know quite well who he is and where he lives.” This statement stopped Ellen in her tracks. It was the last thing in the world she would have expected Celine to say.

“You do? Who is he? Is he in the beauty business as well? Is he really a corporate spy?” The façade on Celine’s face was beginning to crumble. She couldn’t take another moment of this woman’s chattering. She had far too many things to think about now. She was far too busy to sit around and coddle this inane woman she called her assistant.

“Oh my dear. We’ll talk more about it when I get home. I’m only going to stay for a few more hours to make sure everything is running smoothly. Your disappearance threw our whole company into an uproar. We can’t allow anyone or anything to get in the way of the launch of L’eau Jeunesse.” A woman’s voice interrupted her. It came from the glossy red phone alerting Celine that her car was ready. Thank God! She thought to herself while smiling blandly at Ellen.

“You see? Your car is already here Ellen and I’ve given Claude instructions to make sure your stay is of the utmost comfort. There are servants at your disposal and I’ve ordered a wonderful meal for you. It’ll be ready when you get there. Oh and Sophie will wait on you hand and foot, she can’t help herself so there’s no use putting up a struggle.” She practically pushed the poor woman into the elevator and kissed her affectionately on the cheek and patted her tiny hand. “I am so happy that you are returned to me safe and sound. You’ll see..everything is going to be perfect.” The mirrored doors shut on the bewildered assistant and Celine stood there staring at her reflection with a look of triumph on her face. If Marcus wanted a fight then he was going to get one.

Once Ellen got to the lobby Claude was there to greet her. He smiled politely and ushered her to the slim black limo. She relaxed into the black leather seats and took in the aroma of the car. It smelled like money. These last few days had been so strange and full of so much luxury that Ellen felt she had been pulled into another dimension. A dimension where money means nothing because everyone in this new place had more than they could count. Now she was being whisked away to Celine’s penthouse to be treated like royalty. It would be like she and Celine were roommates at least for a little while and for once Ellen would know what it was like to move in her world. The car sped off through the crowded streets of Paris moving through the traffic stealthily like a race car on a track and Ellen began to think again how strange a turn her life had taken. She must have dozed off for a while when she sat up with a start and looked at her watch. They had been driving for nearly an hour. She looked outside to see the car speeding along the highway in the country. Where on earth were they going?

“Claude! Claude! She rapped on the window in front of her but there was no response. “Claude where are we going?” Panic began to rise inside of her and an awful thought arose in her mind that maybe Marcus was telling the truth after all. She couldn’t jump out of the car as it was going about eighty miles an hour. Maybe Celine meant she was taking her to her country home. Yes that must be it and Ellen was just confused. She relaxed a little and looked out the window again to see if she could recognize anything. She saw a sign for the town of Orleans and realized the car was getting off the highway. Of course, it was her gorgeous estate in Orleans. The fabled 14
^th
century home complete with towers and a moat! It had been featured recently in one of the swankier home décor magazines from the states. Ellen had been there a handful of times but never saw beyond the foyer into Celine’s office. She sat back in the warm seats and wondered if her bit of bad luck wasn’t now turning around into something she could never have imagined. She felt a little like Cinderella at the moment and after everything she had been through she let herself play little princess for the rest of the night.

In her office Celine sat at her polished desk and was speaking on her phone. She brushed her untamed mane away from her forehead as she spoke in quiet tones.

“Yes. She is on her way to you. You are to proceed as planned.” She listened while the other party said something. “No I don’t care! You knew about this from the beginning. Don’t tell me you’re having doubts now. You can’t afford to have doubts with the money I’m paying you. Just go ahead with the procedure it’s no big deal. We are back on schedule.” She hung up abruptly and took a moment to stare at the limitless reflections on her walls. Her green silk dress clung to her body the way she liked it. She was glad to have Ellen back but her thoughts bristled with anger and revenge. How could Marcus move against her when he knew what it meant? He knew what the consequences would be and still he had the gall to openly engage her in hostilities. He would have to pay. He would pay little by little as she would begin to destroy his life. First she would begin with the ones he loved so very much and then when he was wracked with grief and guilt she would attack. She knew that in a few hours she would have that damned interview with Taylor. Maybe it was time to let him know what was going on in the lab. Maybe it was time to get him on her side before Marcus could persuade him otherwise. She could make him see that she was no villain. They had always gotten it wrong. She was the one trying to set things right and they were the ones who were corrupted. They had no idea what they were dealing with. They never did. Marcus with all of his talk of morals and philosophy and as for Sasha she had to get her out of the way before Marcus could intervene. She was the biggest risk by far and had to be eliminated. She picked up her phone again and dialed.

“Yes? It’s me. It’s time to capture the sparrow and put her in her cage.” She hung up delighted with herself. She had wasted no time in her counter attack. Marcus wouldn’t know what hit him. She went back to staring at herself in the mirrors looking for any imperfections and as usual she couldn’t find any.

BETRAYAL

Sasha dreamed. Once again she was in the great house built into the hill. Once again she was mistress of the manor and she was sitting in a beautiful bedroom at the gold painted vanity. She always loved little birds and they could be seen everywhere in the house; carved into the very vanity she sat at and painted on all the teacups. There were even times when she threw parties that she would have her hairdresser place a few stuffed birds in her hair. It was always such a success with the other ladies from her circle. They adored Helene and were always present at her salons and gatherings. She was a member of the powerful court and it would have been foolish and even dangerous at times to ignore her, but they all came to her house on their own accord and waited endlessly for the post to bring them news of some fete she had planned. She was graceful and kind and so beautiful and much to the envy of those in her closest circles she never aged. Her friends were always pestering her for her beauty secrets and she always put them off with talk of exercise. Ladies did not take in physical activity and were delicate creatures that couldn’t be seen doing something so masculine as walking in the woods for hours as Helene did. Even this did nothing to tarnish her reputation. The wealthy were expected to be eccentric and she delivered everything that was expected a lady of her position. She sat in her room and stared off into space ignoring the reflection in front of her. Besides she knew what she would see; flawless skin and no signs of aging. It had begun to lose the initial magic it had once promised. She could not control the fire that was burning in her chest tonight. Things had gotten wildly out of hand with the general population and Paris was no longer safe for any of them. Horror stories of attacks on the wealthy became a daily occurrence. Helen was afraid to leave the confines of her estate these days and dreaded the necessary trips to Versailles for fear that someone might ambush her carriage. Her nerves were on edge and the only thing that kept her form losing her mind was that Etienne had a plan. They were going to escape before the violence became too intense. They were going to flee to the south where he had a small home in Perpignan on the sea and they would stay there until the madness was over. She was planning her escape in secret and only her closest servant Honorine knew about the plan and had insisted on going with her. Nothing could keep the faithful woman from caring for her mistress’ needs. There was no point in arguing the matter and for the first time in months Helene began to feel a sense of hope. She powdered her face once again to give it that unblemished look and placed a beauty mark on her left cheek. Her wig was in place and she was satisfied with her efforts. She just needed the right jewelry to go with her ivory colored dress that flowed outward like a fountain from her waist. She decided on diamonds, for any colored jewel might detract from the simple color of the smock and the diamonds would sparkle giving off the ambience of gaiety. That was what she wanted most of all tonight, to appear as if nothing at all in the world were the matter. She had to keep everyone fooled just for a few more days before she made her escape. She was to meet Etienne outside of Paris on the road to Versailles. They would keep up the charade of visiting the royal enclave in the country and at the last possible moment veer off the main road and make their way south. She couldn’t believe the her entire world were on the brink of collapsing and she really could not have been less bothered. All that mattered were that she and Etienne get away from the madness that had infected all of Europe. There was so much talk of revolution and upheaval that she couldn’t take it any longer. All she wanted was to be left in peace and spend her days and nights with the man she loved. A knock at the door released her from her thoughts.