Chapter 10

THE RING ON Margaret's hand trembled with her whole body. It's official now than it had ever been that she's an engaged woman. The real proposal of Charles was a month ago, but they had to make it public a little later because of conflicting schedules with all four of their feet dipped in ice. And now that she has taken the ironic finger hoop from the box it’d been kept it for the last month, it quaked her soul.

With everything falling perfectly into place, their engagement party crept from her window up her weakened legs to choke the living circulations out of them. She wondered like a Stevie about how she should've been feeling this moment. Should her abdomen understandably shiver like a cicada? Should she have felt a shower of a thousand arrows from a heart-strung cherub? Or should she have seen clarity at the moment unlike how her head welled up confusion? Margaret was so sure that she was doing what her heart desired, but at that moment, not so much.

Margaret was so much in strides that Peanutbutter got restless. 

Meow!

Margaret reassured the stressed kitty with pets but she admitted to him that what he's feeling was empathized. 

And it appeared that everybody that minute got restless about that engagement. For as the meeting of the empire broke up for recess, Albert and Pierre did not. After the third question he threw at the Baron, the other people were ordered to temporarily leave. So as the creeps crept towards the lobby to grab their butlers and their teas and their crumpets, the two remaining gentlemen metaphorically stood off apart from each other wearing but the little air they had around their presences. 

"Where did you find that out?" Pierre started when the last butt had scampered away from the door. "Did Margaret tell you?"

"Charles told me when we met yesterday." Albert reciprocated the composure thrown at him.

"And you're okay with that?”

"Don't change the subject, Pierre. I know what you’re trying to do. Did you or did you not order him to go through with the engagement?" Albert inquired. The last thing he knew before going off to his magical island was that Charles never planned to go with the betrothal because he was scared of putting Margaret through the roller.

So, when he got back a whole month ago, the first thing Albert did was convince Charles to take the leap. Apparently, Margaret was so taken aback by this that they hid the engagement the entirety of June so that she can process everything. But what she, and everyone else didn't know, was that Albert was the one who pushed Charles to go through it. Although, they never talked again until the previous day.

Thus, when Albert asked this question, he wanted to know how much of his encounter with Charles does Pierre know.

"Charles has always been my least favorite between the three of you because of how disobedient he is. He'll go out of his way to disobey me like what he did when he ran for mayor. If I did ask him to marry Margaret, I'm pretty sure he would've denied it with every ounce of his body."

Albert was satisfied with that answer. "At least you know your son well enough."

Pierre slowly left his wheelchair and walked towards his favorite son with all the strength he can spare. He used the table as an anchor and to prevent his falls. Albert was stuck between helping his father figure or figuring out what he was up to. He walked that line too long that Pierre reached him before deciding.

When the Baron stood in his midst, he just hugged Albert like a son and told him it's going to be alright. The weakened man that was wrapped around him tore his defenses. He didn't cry, but Albert did shed a bashful tear, or three. When their moment was over, Albert helped him back to his wheelchair as not one word escaped from his mouth. Even as Pierre kept reassuring him that everything will be okay, he didn't respond even once.

“See you back here in 10 minutes,” Pierre ordered.

When the butlers finally escorted the Baron out towards the tea room, Albert got left there bombarded by what happened. He got so carried away that his walls came tumbling down like Jericho, while his father—his enemy danced around him to assert his dominance. If he wanted to, he could've just killed him then and there and Albert would’ve embraced that with open arms. Shivers came rushing down his spine with the thought of how, even with all his experience, he's still leagues beneath Pierre. 

GD was waiting for him down the stairs when Albert noticed his different-than-usual suit. "You got promoted," he greeted. GD was still shellshocked when he received the compliment so he just nervously laughed it off.

"Why me?" It was obvious that the both of them did not like the idea of the sweet innocent GD being tangled with these cords of discord. But Albert needed him close to him for several reasons so he recommended his promotion. First, he needed another person he can trust inside the circle of fools; another is that he needed someone to talk to in a normal sense when the meetings take hours to finish. 

"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Albert placed his arm on GD's shoulder and they started walking towards opposite the tea party. "So, where was Caine this morning?" 

The last reason was that his tech expertise is second to none, a special skill midst the elders who were born before Nikola Tesla's insightful walk in 1882. 

GD looked at him in confusion. "How did you know?"

"This isn’t my first rodeo, kid. I know how these geezers handle their orders," Albert said. "So, where was he this morning?"

"He kept dodging the cameras around the city. He is very aware that he is being watched." GD took the liberty of showing Albert some screenshots he has of the man they're pursuing. 

"That's just how he normally moves. He's always been the most cautious one."

GD nodded. "So, do you think he has something to do with the deaths? Should I report that?"

Albert stopped them both from their tracks just as they've just reached his car. He looked around and opened the passenger seat door for GD. After going in at the driver's seat himself, he started the engine and turned the radio on. He also turned on the tint of the glasses to a maximum.

"From now on, whatever you're required to report to the Baron, has to come by me first,"—he paused to clear a bit of air for the conversation—"You're not new to the backside of the company and I'm sure after that meeting, you can see that there's more to it."

When Albert saw that GD's still a bit dazed and dizzy, he continued, "And you don't have to worry about your safety. You know what I can do and I won't let anything horrible happen to you for doing the right thing."

The newly-promoted felt safer with the reassurance and is more ready to face this new development with his end of the deal. As a person who doesn't have any more family, like most butlers, he's happy to be an important part of something worthwhile. "Okay, sir. As long as we are doing the right thing."

"As for Caine, he definitely was the one responsible for Leopold's death; maybe even with the help or orders from Charles," Albert dropped the bomb as if he was just dropping a penny in a well. "Now I'm not sure what Caine's motive is but what I'm sure about is that Charles wants to take his father's company down."

GD got flustered with the mention of the name of the mayor, but he focused towards the most important. "What does Mr. Mayor have to do with Mr. Leopold, then?" GD asks.

Albert took one small picture out from a hidden compartment out his wallet. He showed GD the picture of eight people mostly uninterested for smiles. Of those eight, seven are recognizable to GD's eyes: the Meyer twins, Leopold, three other kind of important people who run shady businesses at the city, and Charles.

GD looked at Albert with awe and confusion, "Even Mr. Mayor?"

"With that knowledge, we can easily pinpoint Caine and Charles' next targets."

"But will not the elders know of this information as well. They can sway anything that will happen with their network."

"Don’t worry, when we go back there, I’ll sway the meeting someplace else.” Albert reached out his hand towards GD to shake it. GD, with no hesitation, took it and shook on it. 

Their two hands, different in size they may be, molded into one—an understanding and agreement between them. They knew that what’s set is a heavy task, but they will try to accomplish it supplementarily.