LucienHe followed his wife to the lakeside. She stood with Claude on the side, watching as the twins splashed around in joy, screaming and shouting. Claude began to flail his arms wildly, screeching, willing to join.‘Let him down,’ growled Lucien and was rewarded with a cross look from his wife.“Will you go in with him?’ snapped Proserpina, trying hard to restrain the youngster, who was now screaming.‘Yes,’ he grunted.He went inside and returned in a few minutes, his hard muscular physique draped in only a pair of swimming trunks.Proserpina coloured as she dragged her eyes from his crotch.He met her eyes with amusement and said,‘Give him to me.’The startled-looking Claude was handed over to his father, and before he knew it, he was being carried to the lake with his brawny parent.He let out a wail and then began to splash in glee as Lucien held him in his strong arms and began to make him paddle.The twins came over, excited and eager to join in the fun.Lucien glanced at Pro
ProserpinaI would have leapt out of the car and cuddled little Paddy. The little fellow was jumping up and down in his rather awkward way to greet us.But Lucien gripped my hand painfully and when I turned to look at him, he shook his head, grey eyes cold and warning.I slumped slightly but I did not demur. Lucien knew what he was up to; I had found that out the hard way on many occasions and I was not going to put us all in danger.He barked an order to Beston who was riding with us.‘Let her and the boy enter the grounds.’ He glanced at me, an eyebrow going up quizzically and I dimpled at him. The twins yelled from the back seat but quietened down immediately when they felt their father’s cold gaze on them.*The drive from the main gate through the wooded land to the house was also a couple of miles. Lucien had zealously bought up the surrounding land so we lived in a mini forest in what was almost a fortress, guarded day and night.*I hid a smile. Lucien shot me a look and I
Proserpina I was soon bustling around in the kitchen and talking to my staff at eh Centre in Japan. We had planned to set up a new center in one of the smaller towns and there were logistical problems. My friend and erstwhile assistant, Alex Wu was beside himself, trying to do things on his own. I knew he would manage but he was a person who sometimes needed to have his hand held.Chicken taquitos served on a bed of lettuce topped with sauce, salsa and cheese; that was our dinner for tonight. I knew that my twins and Paddy relished it and I went about, preparing it with of course, Beatrice grumpily hovering; the old woman would have liked me to be in bed and resting. But with anxious Alex and my own obsession to see that dinner was done just so, it was not possible.I smiled and kissed the old woman, giving her a gentle hug as I spoke to Alex consolingly. Sophie wandered into the kitchen and I smiled at her but my conversation was too intense. Fleetingly, I wondered why she had come.
Proserpina That night, Lucien came up to bed late. I had already dozed off, waiting for him. When he slipped into the bed and pulled my body to his, I murmured sleepily and pressed my body into his. Like spoons, I giggled sleepily. He grunted, his hand moving to cup my breasts possessively.After a while, he rasped,“I do not want that woman, Sophie in my house again.’ I stiffened.“What’s wrong, Lucien?’ I asked. Suddenly awake. ‘What? Has something happened?'He did not say anything more, just stroked my stomach tenderly and I fell asleep after a while, lulled by the motion. But the next morning, as I was checking my mail and replying to Alex Wu, the memory of what he had said came back to me. Lucien had left already. He had to attend a meeting, he said. A powerful Mafia Don from the Cosa Nostra faction was celebrating his daughter’s wedding.I had been puzzled; Lucien Delano avoided such functions like the plague. What had compelled him to go this time?But as he watched me pack h
ProserpinaLucien was away for a day. He kept calling to check on us and I was aware of Beston hovering around in the house, more than he usually did. I knew that something was happening but with my work, my children and the general running of the house, I had too much on my hands to really bother. My pregnancy was also not too smooth. On the day after he left, I woke up feeling queasy and had to stay in bed for longer than I usually did.* Ria had brought young Philippe to the kitchen for a glass of lemonade. He was a lanky young fellow and a few years older than her. Easily seven years older, I thought, as I watched the tanned young boy.That he adored Ria was obvious. He did not take his eyes off her and followed her commands like an obedient slave. Piers had also trailed in after them to the kitchen and was fooling around with the puppy. I shooed them out soon enough but before that, I heard Ria excitedly tell Philippe,‘We are having our birthday party next week.’The young boy w
ProserpinaI sat with baby Claude in my arms, crooning to him as he stirred restlessly. He was burning up with a fever and I had been holding him and carrying him around for an hour now. My back ached as I slowly rocked the antique rocking chair Lucien had got me as a gift.It was midnight and I knew Lucien would be flying back in a few hours’ time. He had called me a while ago, assuming that the children would be heading to bed. It had become a practice with him and the twins; wherever he was, he would call to check on them, bid them goodnight and speak to them for a while. This evening, he had called a little earlier. He had been on his way to a party, a celebration for the wedding reception of some gangster daughter. It was in one of the southern states, he had said vaguely. I knew that he wanted me to know as little as possible about his work and whereabouts. Somewhere along the way, I had come to respect his need to keep things under wraps. It was, I had understood, safer for us.
Lucien He thought of how he had announced the news of his wedding on a similar stage, years ago. Proserpina had been taken by surprise when he had dragged her onto the dais and made his declaration before his guests. He had just received the report confirming that the twins were his children through a DNA test. Not that he had ever really had a doubt. Proserpina had run away from him after discovering that she was pregnant. He had wanted to hurt her, to break her, to humiliate her. Sweeping the startled young Proserpina into his arms that evening before his guests, he had crushed her soft lips to his after publicly announcing his intention at the do at the Club. Later that night, in a fit of jealousy, he had taken her brutally and they had created Claude that same night.He scowled, rubbing his hand over his craggy face. He had treated his wife abominably. And she had continued to love him…*Returning his attention to Zeta Ricci Lord he studied her as she sipped his drink slowly. H
SophieHis tone grew harsh, frightening as he whispered,“Little Robin Red Breast. Forget what you heard just now, alight? Forget it, do not say a word to anyone. Or sister Sondra will not be coming back ever again and your little halfwit monster will be taken away too.’The line abruptly went dead.*Sophie sat up in bed now, holding her coppery curls in her hands, breathing hard. The morning sunlight was entering the room and the sounds of traffic and people in the apartments around were becoming distinct.What had she done, she thought, agonizingly. What had she done?*ProserpinaWhen I came awake in the early hours of the morning with Claude beside me, I felt his forehead and sighed in relief. He was not burning up with fever any longer. The medicines I had given him had worked.Smiling, I turned over and went through my itinerary for the day. I had two meetings scheduled for my team in Japan; the kids need to be taught for an hour; the lunch needed to be prepared; last-minute tou