Chapter 7 Betrayed

Dusk had settled once more on the Churchill estate, the cleancut lawns bathed in darkness. Corina kissed Redrix on the forehead, before leaving his tired self asleep on their bed. Closing the door softly behind herself, she found Victor standing in the hallway, watching her.

 

The hungry look in his eyes made her heart beat faster, as though she were running.

“Hello Corina, saying good-night to Redrix as I can see” he concurred brightly.

She nodded in reply. Victor approached Corina slowly, watching her confused features.

“You remind me of Marina, how independant and headstrong she was when I married her” he said, his eyes boring into hers.

“Well, I suppose that’s a compliment” Corina laughed, rather uncomfortably.

Victor stood right in front of her, only a breath away. She pulled at her sleeves nervously, her eyes darting to the closed door where Redrix slept.

 

“No need to feel alarmed, my dear. I will never harm you for as long as I live” Victor told her with a smile, reaching out to push her hair back from her face. Corina froze in her spot, a flicker of fear replacing the puzzlement from her eyes.

“I can tell you’ve wanted me, Corina” Victor mumbled, letting her name slide off his tongue with a loose grin. “I see the way you are around me, smiling, flirting even with Redrix in sight. I like that” he added. Victor closed off the space between them and stroked her blazing cheek with his fingers, waiting for a reaction. But Corina barely blinked. Mistaking her silence for a brewing passion, he pulled her to his chest and kissed her neck, closing his eyes with contentment.

 

It had been so long since he’d been with a woman. Ever since Marina had died he’d felt a strong sense of loneliness awash his days. But Corina stirred up something he’d long since hidden in his soul. She was perfect for him in every way, apart that she was married to Redrix. But that could be taken care of.

 

“Mmm, you taste good” he whispeared in her ear. His lips found her jaw and slinked up to her trembling mouth. Victor kissed her, but Corina didn’t return the favour. She just stood, stock still, a single tear creeping down her face.

“Why do you cry, dear? Happiness of finally owing it up to me or sadness about how Redrix will react?” he asked naively, whiping the tear away with his thumb.

Still Corina didn’t respond.

“Whichever, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve waited a long time for you, Corina and now you’ve got nothing to hide anymore. I’m sure your husband will understand everything once you explain it to him. Surely he won’t want to stay married to someone who doesn’t love him” Victor told her, trying to get a reaction.

 

Suddently the door to the bedroom opened and Redrix stood there, a menacing glint in his frowning eyes. Victor looked at him, but didn’t back away from Corina.

“Glad you could join us, Redrix, we were just talking about you. Corina has some news that would probably interest you greatly” he said with his old smirk.

 

At that, Corina seemed to defrost from her once frozen stature. She shoved Victor away with both hands and fixed his bewildered stare with a stone cold glare.

“I’ll never love you, Victor Churchull!” she spat, before bursting into tears and locking herself into the adjoining bedroom.

 

Redrix walked away from the closed door, towards Victor who had straightened himself up and was grinning awkwardly.

“I thought we’d had an understanding” Redrix whispeared in a deadly voice. “You were supposed to leave Corina alone, stop you foolish crush. But as I can see, none of that sunk into your fat, bloated ego”.

He swung at Victor with a closed fist, sending the other man stumbling.

“I trusted you, once again and you went and betrayed me like all the other times. And why does that not surprise me?!” Redrix yelled, punching Victor in the ribs, making him collapse to his knees on the floor.

“Wait! Redrix, please, this is all a misunderstanding! I swear!” Victor pleaded, clutching at his side and supporting a bloody nose.

“Too late for excuses, Victor. Your whole life you screwed me over, now I’ll show you what it’s like to be the underdog!” Redrix responded in anger, leering over the crumpled man.

 

At that moment, a small voice cut into their struggle.

“Don’t, Redrix, stop”. It was Corina. She stood at the entrance of the room, fresh tears coursing down her cheeks.

Redrix turned away from Victor and headed towards her, wrapping his arms around his wife protectively. She put her head to his chest and cried. They went into the bedroom, the door was closed and locked and Victor was left on the floor, completely and utterly alone.

 

*

 

Elansa peered out of her room and found the hallway completely deserted. Her father had dissapeared from his watch. She slowly crept down the carpeted corridor, peering behind her back as she went. Elansa wanted to make absolutely sure that Victor wasn’t hiding, ready to ambush her. But when she reached the phone in the librairy, she knew he wasn’t anywhere near the second landing. That, or else he was terribly good at hide and seek. She grabbed the portable phone and hid behind the loveseat, just in case he decided to show up.

 

Elansa dialed the number on the torn scrap from her pocket and waited, biting her lower lip. The day before, while locked up for hours, she’d manadged to gather enough guts to call the operator and track down Carl’s new number. It rang four times before someone picked up.

 

“Hello?”. It was a woman’s voice, crisp and sharp. Elansa asked for Carl with the most polite voice she could muster.

“Just a sec” the woman told her.

Their was a long pause, or so it seemed. The minutes leaked on and on, while Elansa clutched the phone to her ear, her hands trembling slightly. It had been over two weeks since she’d last heard from him. She hoped he wasn’t still miffed at her for having been relocated.

 

Finally he came on.

“Yeah, hi?” he said, his voice distant. He probably had no clue she was calling.

Elansa cleared her throat, trying to find her voice.

“Hey Carl, it’s Elansa” she croaked, coughing afterwards. Her mouth felt completely parched.

Their was a short silence, peirced through by Carl’s slow breathing.

“Why are you calling me so late?” he demanding. He certainly sounded a slight bit angry.

Elansa stuttered to find a suitable response.

“Well, um, I-” she began, licking her dried lips nervously.

“Elansa” Carl cut in sharply, making her stop.

“Yeah?” she replied in a low voice.

“It was just a joke” he said, starting to laugh.

 

She sat there stunned for a moment, before she joined into his laughter.

“How are you holding up?” Elansa wondered.

Carl took a deep breath before answering.

“It’s alright, I guess. I’m paid the exact wage as when I worked at your place, but it’s just not the same anymore”.

“What do you mean?”.

He sighed loudly.

“Just that I was so used to working with you father’s hunters, I knew their habits by heart. And I could always catch a glimpse of you riding or sitting on the porch with some lemonade” Carl began, his voice wavering slightly. “Now everything is so strange and the people arn’t as social as at the Churchill Stables. They do their job and focus on nothing but themselves. Besides, the stable I’m at now doesn’t even train horses for the forhunt. Their specialty is dressage” he added sullenly.

 

Elansa sat down on the carpeted ground, savouring Carl’s voice. She looked over the edge of the couch, but the librairy was as empty as it had been when she’d got there.

“Look Carl, I just want to say I’m sorry” she told him, her tone serious. She really wanted him to forgive her.

“Sorry for what?” Carl responded, vexed.

“For everything. It’s because of me that you were relocated and I don’t want you to be mad at me forever”.

Carl started laughing again.

“Elansa, you’re hilarious. None of this is your fault. I made a conscious choice to love you and now I’m paying, that’s all. I knew your father was a tough guy, but I had to test the water to make sure. As long as we stay strong, your father won’t be able to keep us apart” he concluded.

“Okay, but just to be safe, I’ll only call you when he’s not around, because if my father ever finds out about us, he’ll most likely barracade me to my room for eternity and banish you to the end of the world”.

“It’s a deal”.

 

*

 

Corina layed on the bed, her hair loose from it’s usual bun, the tears drying around her eyes. Redrix was beside her, watching her face with a mixture of anger and compassion. He never liked seeing his wife cry, for whatever reason.

 

“Are you feeling better?” he asked softly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She nodded, keeping her mouth firmly shut.

“I’ll make sure Victor pays” Redrix said with affirmation, his hand forming into a fist. It still throbbed from where it had contacted with Victor’s nose. Corina fixed her swollen eyes onto those of her husband’s and took his hand, unfurling his fist.

“No, Redrix. I don’t want you to hurt him” she whispeared.

“Why not?! The b*****d did this to you, I need revenge, you need revenge!” he bursted furiously. “Come on Corina, don’t you want him to suffer for what he did?”.

 

She shook her head.

“Victor is a lonely man, Redrix. He thought things that didn’t exist between us. My acts of kindness and interests were seen as love instead. I don’t want him to be beaten to sense, I want him to suffer in his mind, to think about what he did. But I do want to leave, I don’t think staying will amount to anything anymore”.

Redrix nodded in agreement and smoothed back her tear-soaked hair with a grim smile.

“I’ll take care of everything” he assured her.

 

*

 

 

Victor sat in his leather armchair, smoking a long, white cigarette. His eyes were hazy and staring out of the black window of his Parlor.

“Such a waste” he muttered darkly, shaking his head slightly.

All those times he’d been sure Corina had had feelings for him, at least a growing spark. But he’d been wrong, terribly wrong. And now Redrix hated him once more and who knew how Corina felt, probably wanted him dead.

 

He blew out some smoke lazily and rubbed his left temple. He’d quit smoking when he got out of college, but the old urge had overpowered him. Marina’s Navy Lignites pack from years ago had been hiding behind a bottle of 1962 whiskey in the spirit’s cabinet of the Parlor. She had always been hiding the fact that she had been a long term nictoine addict.

 

Victor grinned sadly and dropped the half-smoked cigarette into the ivory ashtray and leaned back, closing his eyes. The clock from the hallway chimed eleven, the bongs vibrating off the walls. The house was asleep, or so silent it seemed so.

 

Victor thought back of the day he’d proposed to Marina. He’d asked the question atop her father’s boat, The Scared Rose. It had been a sunny morning, the ocean turquoise, like Marina’s glowing eyes. Victor hadn’t known her long, but he had known she was meant for him. Marina had been lounging on a white towel, her tanned skin soaking up the warm rays of Mexico. At 18, she’d simply been beautiful. Long, wavy auburn hair down her back, a radiant smile and such teasing eyes. He hadn’t been able to resist her tempting words or melting kisses.

 

“I think I saw a shark” Victor said, leaning on the railing of the boat as he looked down at the colorful reef.

“A large one?” Marina asked, no note of fear in her voice.

“No, a baby, I think. Still, I didn’t know there were some so close to shore. I thought your father said they stayed farther out”.

Marina sat up, reaching for her coconut cream lotion.

“Well, the adult ones do, bigger prey in the open ocean. But the babies stay close to shore to feed on the fish that live around the corals. I think I heard once that it was like a nursery, a place for the youngsters to stay safe from other predators” she told him, slathering lotion onto her legs and rubbing it into her golden skin.

“Is that so, makes perfect sense. You do have an extraordinairy memory, darling” Victor noted, smiling at her from across the deck.

“It’s to keep you informed, dear” she responded, showing him her gleaming, white teeth as she smiled back.

 

Victor went to the cooler by the cabin door and pulled out two, ice cold, Coca Cola bottles, enjoying their refreshing feel in his hands. He handed one to Marina, having opened it beforehand. She took a deep gulp and let out a sigh he could only translate as pure bliss.

“You sure know how to read my mind, Victor, I was just about to get one of these myself” she said, as he sat down beside her, chugging the contents of his own bottle.

“That’s why were so good together. Things feel perfect everytime I’m in your presence, which could only mean that you were meant for me” he stated.

“I’ve got to say you’re right about that, darling, completely correct” Marina agreed, bringing her sunkissed face close to his and pressing her mouth over his cool lips.

 

Victor put one hand in the pocket of his shorts, feeling the small, velvet box that waited patiently in the dark of the material.

“Then maybe it’s the time to ask a certain, important request” he told her, pulling out the box. Snapping open the lid, he let her see the large, precious diamond resting atop the shiny, silver ring. The jewel glowed in the warm sun, it’s twinkling reflection visible in Marina’s eyes.

“Marina Teslo, do you want to be my wife?” Victor asked, hoping to God that she would give him the answer he’d dreamnt of for weeks.

 

The ring had been hand-crafted by his father’s friend, a Swiss diamond cutter who lived at the base of the Alps. Finally Marina manadged to tear her eyes away from it and looked into his own, her cheeks flushed slightly.

“Yes, Victor Churchill, I will marry you”.

He pulled her close, letting her lips find his once more. Laughing themselves silly, they layed back down in the sun and simply enjoyed the feel of the ocean breeze on their skin and the thought that soon, they’d be together, forever.

 

That had been the begginning of the best few years of his life. Moving to Devon after the wedding to settle in the estate beside the Teslo Stables hadn’t been easy. All his friends and family, whom he’d known for years, had resided close to him since he had been young. Within a few weeks though, they’d been expelled from his mind. Running the stables, his father’s motor company and keeping Marina happy had completely occupied his time from that moment on.

 

Victor sat up in his armchair and reached for another cigarette. Smoking was an unhealthy habit, but since there was no one who cared, he didn’t either.