Preparation for War

CHAPTER 5

  Chris needs to get out.  Agnes floored him, and no coherent thoughts came to his mind. Has he gone mad? Only one day, that woman had created havoc and made him feel like he was on a roller coaster. That woman has crafted disorder to his system--- the system that he erects for so many years. He cannot fail again.

     Lea was a sweet and exquisite woman. He felt madly and deeply in love with her because she was the ideal woman any man could dream of marrying. But now, why is he so attracted to this woman? Just the thought of that image at the garden sends him spinning. She was getting into his nerves.

    He drove his mustang out of the castle grounds. He doesn't want to tell anyone that he left very early. Escape. If he stayed another second. He doesn't know what he's going to do with that temptress. He pushed all his frustration to the car. Pumping it so hard that it roared, breaking the silence of the early morning, scattering the birds from their slumber and flying out from the comfort of the forest. He must distance himself from the castle. He needs to re-think his plan.

   At last, he can see the sleepy town. He stops at the nearest bar and jumps out from behind the car. The bar owner, who was about to close the door turned around, irritated at the passenger who alighted like he didn't have a care if he rammed on his store. The bar owner gasped. He knows this tall man, walking purposely towards him.  

   "Chris, is it you? You still remember me?" He laughed and hugged the man. 

  "Hi Pete, do you still offer drinks at this hour? I mean, if it's okay," he said, shaking his hand at the same time. How could he forget Pete? He was the one who consoled him during his most trying time when Lea had just walked out from their wedding day. He was drunk for a week, not leaving Pete's Bar. After the bar owner talks some sense into him every day, Chris stands up and goes away. He left town with only the shirt on his back.

  "Come in, man." he seated his old friend on the barstool and poured him a beer. "How you've been?" The older guy studied Chris Duvier. He looked more handsome than the last time he saw him. Well, he was drunk then and in deep shit. Now, you can feel the power and confidence in how he moves. But the eyes did not betray the soul. In there, he still saw the glint of dark anger and bitterness in his heart and mind. Well, this one is new. Chris, as he remembered, was never confused, even if facing a significant problem. 

   "I'm fine. Do you have anything else better than beer? I need it strong today." Pete frowned. Duvier is not himself today. He poured him the special wine he usually keeps for an unpredictable occasion like this one. The man gulped it in one go and poured another.

   "Are you sure about this, Chris?" the younger man just smiled and asked for another shot. The bartender sighed; this would be one of those days.

    Suddenly Chris's phone rang, breaking the silence between them.  He irritably pulled out his phone from his side pocket and read the name that registered on the screen. It was David Bern. His trusted friend and the head of his legal division. They've known each other since Chris started in the big city. He is the one helping him get the deals that propelled him to his new status. He was a working student in one of those snobby prestigious schools when he met David Bern.  Unlike Chris, he was already wealthy when they met. But the two become best friends, even with the disparity of their social class.

   "Hi David..." his voice slurred a little.

   David frowned. He can hear the slurring of his friend's voice from the telephone. The contract must have messed him up a bit. But he has good news that he is sure Chris would appreciate. He said happily, "Hey buddy; I've got splendid news. The contract you sent me yesterday has loopholes. You can get out of it."

   "I don't want to get out---I want the marriage."   

Silence.

    "What?! But yesterday you're so furious...." David stammered.

    Chris suddenly laughed. His friend is not himself today. "Are you drunk at seven in the morning?"

    "Nope... Just do my instruction." Chris paused and said, "Make sure it's a real marriage. Send me the draft today."

     He added, "And give me all the information you can get out of Agnes Walden. I want to know what she eats; she reads. She wore…" Agnes wore nothing.

     The image of her naked body flooded his mind. Enjoying the torture he is going through. "Everything about her. What made her itched? what made her good or bad?"

   "What good or bad?" David was more confused now.

   "And wickedly bad too... find out for me. I want it tomorrow, David. Make sure you send it to me ASAP." He ended the call right away. He knows David would always reason with him like the lawyer he is. His is beyond reason now. Nobody can change it. 

   The bartender watched the man. He was smiling as he had already won. "Come, Pete, it's time to celebrate. This one for you." Chris poured him a glass. "Congratulate me. I'm getting married soon. Cheers!"

   The three of them were facing each other on the oak table. Today, Aunt Liz looks stern with her aristocratic, wearing her favorite brooch with carefully coiffed hair. The dress she chose was a classic Chanel black dress. She breathes and looks regal.

    Agnes, for her part, wore a very conservative black garb that did not show her figure. She wore her hair in a tight bun and her face bare from any cosmetics. She also wore her reading glasses. Today, she wants to look smart. She needs to make sure that she will say about this agreement that her aunt and Chris Duvier agreed.

    "What are you doing?" Ann clucked like a mother. She tried to take off her clothes. "You cannot see that man looking like you're about to be sentenced."

    "Well, that's how I feel, Ann!" she said irritably. "Marriage to a stranger without a say, if the man loves you or not. It is a prison."

   "But you love him..." Ann looked at her in confusion.

    "That was before — I talked to him. I did not realize that his arrogant, opinionated, and infuriating all these years. Mind you; this is not the man I imagine. I hate him!"

    Ann smiled, "So you talked? When did it happen?"

   She blushed. "You wouldn't want to know." She looked at Ann guiltily. The maid just watched her with those knowing eyes and whistled a cheerful tone. 

   Three days after her parade, she remembered shamefully; they met again. He was bringing his lawyer, David Bern. She was standing near the library door when Chris Duvier arrived. He did not even open the door for her. He was all business and never once looked at her.  She stole a glance at him—sharks must have looked like him when there are about to eat their prey.  Agnes felt like a wallflower. The way he treated her as if she didn't exist anymore. She must have found her lacking. The confidence she was building for three days dwindled just like that. She tried to console herself. Men like Chris Duvier have a parade of naked women. He must have forgotten her because she was not significant enough to capture his attention. "Oh God, please stop this torture now..." she prayed silently.

    Aunt Liz was also bringing her counsel, her dear old Mattie, as she fondly calls him. Matt Twinkle, an old friend who had been handling Walden's affair for so many years. His father, too, has been Walden's keeper of essential papers. It seems he also inherited his purpose in life to serve them.  Agnes was always the companion of Aunt Liz when she visited the Twinkles office. Old Mattie always has something for her every time she goes with her aunt. He teaches her about Walden's essential documents that she has to read one by one and commit by heart. 

   She brought Ann to be with her. Agnes wants the assurance of the maid's presence. Her aunt raised her brows when Agnes brought the maid with her. Agnes averted her eyes, trying to ignore her Aunt Liz's silent reprimand. Somebody must witness her side. Nobody knows that she's been researching books for any legal remedy to her predicament. She was frustrated that she could not find a solution to her problem. The only solution was to deny the marriage arrangement. When she remembers the conversation that she heard in the library, her conscience cannot allow it. Lea and Chris must have their second chance of love. She has to sacrifice her feelings for the man. Just for a year, she will suffer it gladly. This arranged marriage is her gift to Lea.