Chapter 2 A stroll down memory lane

The following morning, Redrix and Corina sat at the breakfast table with their four children, waiting for the man of the house and his daugther to join them.

“You don’t think he forgot?” Corina asked her husband worridly, boucing their youngest son onto her knee.

“Probably slept in, which I wouldn’t have minded doing, to tell you the truth” Redrix replied, rubbing his eyes with a yawn.

“Oh do cover your mouth when you do that” his wife snapped, just as Elansa appeared.

 

She had grown quite a bit since the last time they’d seen her, a foot or so perhaps. Her cinnamon brown hair was tied up in a ponytail with red striped ribbon, like peppermint. Elansa was dressed in her riding clothes; cream jodhpurs, shining leather boots, a black jacket over a white blouse and her helmet under one arm.

 

“Good-morning Redrix and Corina. Hi Kassandra, Mikell, Pandora and Clive, it’s nice to see you all” she said, smiling to each of them graciously.

“Won’t you join us dear, the eggs are getting cold” Corina asked her warmly, pointing to the nearest empty chair.

“I’m afraid I can’t mam, the pasture calls me. My mare needs her morning jog or else she gets cranky” Elansa replied.

“We understand, but do please come see us as soon as you can, we miss a young lady’s stories of the foxhunt” Redrix admitted with a grin.

 

Elansa laughed and was gone a second later.

 

Victor arrived a moment after, smoothing his dark hair back, a riding crop in one hand.

“I suppose you’ll be riding then, too” Redrix told him, satisfaction readable on his calm face.

“Not quite Redrix. I, unlike my daugther, am polite enough to spend time with such rare company. I shall be dining with you this morning, like all the mornings before this” he replied cooly, seating himself in front of Corina.

 

“And we appreciate that, don’t we dear?” Corina said, glancing at her husband.

“Oh yes, we do” Redrix nodded, obviously thinking the exact opposite.

“You’re much too kind, but please, you may start eating, enough with your compliments” Victor told them, his face as emotionless as always.

 

Redrix fought the urge to scoff, ending up coughing instead, taking a big gulp of orange juice.

His wife nudged him from under the table, before giving Victor a radiant smile.

 

“We recently heard of the construction of the new estate, how is that coming along? I mean with all your other projects you must be frightfully busy” Corina asked, her expression amazed.

“Quite well, thank-you. I bought the Lakeside Manor because of it’s grandeur. As you might already know, it’s entire expanse measures over 5 hectares of privetly owned land. This old place” he sighed, waving one hand around himself “is starting to get a little run-down and with Elansa growing up and needing space of her own, the Manor seemed the perfect solution”.

“But it isn’t too much an addition to your already filled schedule, then?” Corina pressed, balancing little Clive on both knees expertly.

“I don’t mind that it is, really, I enjoy the busyness of my everyday life” he responded with a shrug, cutting into his bacon. “Building a new house is exactly what I need to keep in tip top shape” he added, glancing over at Redrix’s thining hair and larger mid-section.

 

“Well, their are people who truly work for a living, who gain the things they deserve in a rightful way” Redrix said matter-of-factly, glaring at Victor with hatred.

“Some yes, you are right Redrix, but then their are some who simply laze around all day, gaining weight, eating and only provide their tired wives with children they can’t even take care of themselves” Victor told him, cocking one eyebrow with a smirk.

 

Redrix slammed his glass of orange juice down from where he’d taken it and stood up abrubtly, seething, fire burning from his eyes.

“Redrix, for heaven’s sake, whatever is the matter?!” his wife exclaimed, unaware of the growing tension.

“Yes Redrix, do tell?” Victor asked, a knowing smile on his satisfied face.

 

Redrix seemed ready to explode with anger. But, taking a deep breath, he calmed himself and pushed in his chair, his eyes fixed on those of Victor’s.

“I just remembered that I didn’t make the bed after we got up dear” he replied, his voice oddly at a reasonable level. “I’ll just take Clive with me and let you finish your breakfast”.

Redrix plucked their youngest off of Corina’s lap, pecked her on the cheek and departed up the nearest staircase.

 

“My, he sure can be odd sometimes” Corina said in vain, trying to cover up the awkward pause.

Victor, deep in thought, didn’t reply.

 

*

 

The sun sat golden in the cloudless sky, hills filled with fresh grass and wild buttercups, the only scenery in sight.

Elansa layed sprawled across the dewy ground, her hands folded comfortably behind her head, eyes closed in complete harmony.

Her mare, a leggy warmblood with a hide of burnt chestnut, stood a few yards away, quietly chewing on a batch of newly picked clover.

 

“Is this heaven, or what?” Elansa mumbled, opening her bright eyes and observing the spotless sky with a smile.

The horse acknowledged her mistress’s voice with a shake of her dark mane, before once again digging into the greens with relish.

“I knew you’d agree Willow” Elansa said, propping herself onto one elbow to better see her steed. “You’re the only one who understands me and you’re a horse, no offense”.

 

She smiled at her hungry mare before laying back down onto the springy grass, shutting her eyes with glee. Elansa was just about to doze off, when a shadow fell upon her face, startling her peaceful thoughts. Wrenching her eyes open and sitting up at the same time, she came face to face with a pair of wild, yellow eyes and lots of dark fur.

 

“Oh!” she cried, surprised.

The dog sat on it’s haunches and panted in the heat, it’s long tongue lolling out of the side of it’s mouth.

“It’s only you. You scared me, you know” Elansa told the mutt, shaking her head in disaproval. “It’s not right to follow people and do that to them, it’ll get you in trouble”.

 

The dog simply watched her in silence, it’s ears pricked, listening to her voice.

“Alright, alright, I forgive you, you silly dog” Elansa laughed, tossing her arms around the mutt and hugging it tightly. The mutt replied by giving her a wet, sloppy dog kiss in return.

“Ugh, that’s gross!” Elansa exclaimed, pushing the dog’s face away and laughing at the same time.

 

She got to her feet and dusted her riding pants, before calling Willow to her side. The mutt stayed at her heels obediently.

“We need to get back before Dad wonders where I am” Elansa told them, hitching herself onto her mare’s back with ease. “You’ll need to hide when we arrive, you know how dad disaproves of mutts” she added, directing her comment to the dog.

Clicking her horse to a canter, the rider and her mutt dissapeared down the nearest hill, a slight cloud of dust raising where they’d passed.

 

*

 

Redrix stood at the bay window of the guest bedroom, his eyes watching the pack of yearlings grazing in a nearby pasture. His son was sitting on the quilted comforter of the large bed, playing with some wooden cubes and stuffed animals.

 

“I always knew he was a no good traitor of a man” Redrix mumbled under his breath. “Ever since highschool, I knew there was no such thing as any good blood in his body”.

At that moment Corina barged into the bedroom, looking confused.

“Honey, what’s the matter?” she asked as soon as she saw her husbands face. “You look so angry and sad”.

 

Redrix sat beside Clive, letting out a deep breath.

“I hate Victor Churchill” he told her sincerely.

Corina watched his hard features and went to sit beside him.

“Why?” she demanded, taking his hand with care. “I don’t understand why you’d ever hate a man like him”.

“I know he seems like a gentleman, letting us board at his home, inviting us to parties, splurging us with his generosity. But Victor is not who he seems. I know the real him, the one who bullied kids all throughout Elementary and Highschool, who was so stuck-up he never gave anything to anyone else, who passed with the highest grades because his parents gave the teachers bribes. I know the man behind those arrogant blue eyes and decieving good looks” her husband told her.

“What do you mean, dear, what did he do that made you hate him so?” his wife asked, intruiged.

 

“It was years and years ago, I was probably eight or nine when he moved to my town. As soon as he stepped foot in the school, everyone bowed at his feet. His parents had more money then all the other kids parents put together. They got him everything he asked for and he was snobby and brutal because of it. After only a week, Victor had built himself an army of the toughest bullies in the whole town. With them, he kicked the crap out of the unfortunate weaker kids, stealing their money and valuables, teasing them to their hearts content, beating them up until they were good and satisfied. That way he gained a reputation that allowed him access to anything he wanted. No one could stand in his way, not even adults with a power to stop him. They fell at his feet as soon as his parents offered them a price to leave their beloved, harmless boy alone. I saw it all happen before my very eyes, because I was part of his senseless group of bullies. He’d seized me up in the parking lot after school on the third day of his arrival and ordered me to do as he told me or else I’d regret it. I wasn’t dumb, I went with the flow” Redrix explained.

 

 “All the girls loved him and begged him to take them to dances and to the theatre after school. He used them all, not caring who’s heart he broke, how many he hurt with his lies. He’d make me and Craig follow him on his pathetic dates, making sure he always had bodyguards with him wherever he went, just in case someone needed a good tap on the skull. He never cared for any of us, just ordered us around, forcing us to do as we were told, never answer back. The saddest part of it all was that we actually listened to him. We were so scared of screwing up that we never went against anything he said. Victor’s word was our law, we never broke the law, only did as it said”.

 

Redrix took another deep breath, before continuing.

 

“It was in grade 9 that Victor turned against me. I’d been his faithful servant for a good 6 years of my life. From grade 3 to then, I’d never complained or criticised his work or anything he did for that matter. But Victor had plans of his own. Highschool was a much different cycle then Grade school. Popularity was a must in his agenda and according to him, I was nowhere near the top, unlike himself. So, one night while we were out at some diner, he told me to drop out of his gang and do my own thing. I had been used to his company and all those other bullies as friends, that I didn’t know what to do. The next day at school, his stupid gang came after me at lunch and beat me blue, took all my money and splattered my food all over the cafeteria. Victor, with his damn arrogant smirk, just shook his head and told me to stay away from him from now on. From that day on I feared them like the devil, fleeing from their sight as soon as they turned a corner, hiding in the bathroom when they hung around my locker. For some reason, Victor especially enjoyed picking on me for the rest of our Highschool years. He’d make sure I felt fear every single day because of him”.

 

“I never completely understood why he went against me, what I’d done to trigger his violent behaviour onto me. I only knew I didn’t deserve to be treated like a peice of vermin, like I was simply mud under Victor’s expensive heels. Anyways, once Highschool ended, I went off to college in hopes of a new future, one without the crowds that had once circled me before. But I was without luck. On the very first day, in my Business class, I found Victor sitting in the back of the room alone. He was dressed smartly, his charming smile in place, a wad of money visible in his breast pocket. I nearly pelted right out again just at the sight of his face. But he spotted me and called me over, oblivious of my fear for him. He asked me to forgive him and become friends again, that he’d never meant anything he’d done before, that Highschool was all in the past. I actually believed those false lies in a second and shook his hand in a hurry. I never wanted to be Victor’s target ever again”.

 

Redrix paused, thinking for a second, scratching his chin absent-mindedly.

 

“For those three years of college, we became companions. He’d invite me to his parents million dollar house in the country and let me ride his precious Porshe on the weekend. We’d do our homework in the school librairy during lunchtime and go out on Friday nights till the sun roze the next day. I nearly forgot all about his treatment to me for the last 3 years and focused on our friendship which I thought could never be broken or harmed. But once again, I was wrong.”

 

“After college, Victor started working at his father’s company, Churchill Motors, in the city and offered me a good paying job within the same month. I accepted gratefully and we started working side-by-side designing new cars and motors. When Christmas came and Victor was well integreted and seen by his father’s colleagues, they threw a large New years eve bash that we were invited to. I arrived late, not on purpose and with the best suit I could find. Once there, it occured to me that there were more then just the Churchill motor company there to celebrate. Many rich and famous couples had shown up, most likely guests of the Churchill’s. I started searching for Victor, as I didn’t really know anyone else. I found him an hour later, sitting on a couch in some V.I.P room, surrounded by his father’s known friends, drinking scotch with his arm around a breathtaking brunette I’d never seen before. Trying to get his attention, Victor glanced over at me arrogantly and said a nasty joke, wich made everyone laugh and turn towards me pointing and jeering. Not understanding what he was doing, I asked him where I could get a drink, maybe some scotch like him. He simply laughed in my face and told everyone that I was some stupid little kid that followed him around in college, that he’d given a job to out of pity. The crowds fell for his charm and storytelling and I was kicked out of the party and into the streets for the rest of the night”.

 

Redrix hung his head, making Corina wrap her arms around his stiff body and kiss his cheek.

“I’m sorry dear, I never knew” she mumbled in his ear.

 

“I know, but as horrible and sad this all sounds, the story is not over yet. No, Victor enjoyed tormenting me so much, that when I came to work after the holidays, he acted as if he’d done and said absolutely nothing wrong at the bash. When I confronted him, he admitted he’d been somewhat drunk and didn’t remember much of the night. But he did share with me that he’d met a girl, not any girl though, the most beautiful and amazing girl on the planet. He told me he was planning to propose to her as soon as possible, and had already bought a 52-carat diamond ring. It turned out to be the brunette from the bash, a 19 year old with an equally rich heritage and bored out of her mind with life. He wanted to make her happy and so asked her to marry him a month later”.

 

“I was the most shocked out of everyone who heard. His parents encouraged the wedding and even granted him access to their private Yatch for his summer bachelor party. I never got an invitation, neither to the party or to Victor’s wedding. When I called to ask why, he told me he’d sent one, that he was sorry if it had gotten lost in the mail. His wife was none other then Marina Teslo, heir to her father’s pure-bred foxhunting horses and British stables in Devon. They moved to England shortly after their honeymoon in the Canary Islands and I didn’t hear from him again for several years. The last time I spoke to him was on a short phonecall at the end of August, two weeks after his wedding. He claimed he’d invite me over sometime and introduce his wife to me. But he never did, in fact, the only time I ever saw her again was dead in her casket the week after her accident”.

 

Corina whiped away a tear that had been sliding down her cheek and brought her husband to her side, letting him lay his head on her shoulder and close his eyes.

“Sleep Redrix, God knows you of all people need it”.