Bold and Simful

Elizabeth had gone out to a party at High Lawn, leaving Francis alone in the house or so he thought until he rounded the corner into his study and stopped short.

“Didn’t expect to see me?” Catherine inquired, secretly pleased at the look of shock on her husband’s face.    “When you recover, take a look at the pictures on your desk. And you can unball your fists too.”

“As you can see, and the judge will so plainly see, the failure of our marriage isn’t solely my fault as your lawyers contend,” Catherine said smugly from her chair.

“But how did you get those?” Francis felt control slipping away and for the first time was unsure how to get it back.

“It doesn’t matter, what does matter is that we will not be going through with the divorce unless you would like to answer to adultery charges and have your tart dragged into court.  Which will only embarrass you, our children, the company, the foundation, your parent’s memories… I could go on, but it doesn’t matter, the end result would be the same. As the wronged and emotionally abandoned wife, I would get half,” Catherine wanted to slap the confusion off Francis’ face, but her ability to maintain a calm demeanor was a testament to the progress she had made while at Horizons.

Seeing the look of retreat in his stance, her confidence grew and she seized the opportunity. “Follow me, dear. We are going to make some changes.”

Catherine spoke as she sailed up the stairs, “Since the judge would probably order the house sold and the proceeds of the sale split in half, we can do that on our own without losing your family’s home.”

In the second floor hall, she paused and continued, “This hole in the floor is going to be converted into a second master suite, for me,” Catherine began, ” You may keep the old master.  I will be reinstalled as the lady of Mendenhall Place with all rights thereof, including rights of inheritance.  Should you die first, and I hope you do, I will be the primary beneficiary. Understood?”

Visions of pushing his wife through the hole in the floor danced in Francis’ head, but he remained stock still.

Catherine continued, “You may keep your tart, though you will never be seen with her in public. That would undermine my place in society. Done gaping? Follow me.”

Francis followed meekly behind, his mind whirling.

“I see this as a florist shop. I’ve already had a bench delivered and am waiting on the display shelves to arrive,” Catherine waved her arm around the room. “It will be a business of my own and all profits will be solely mine, naturally,” she paused, waiting for a response.

When none was forth coming, she continued “Speaking of business, I have an associate coming over.  We will be making an investment in another start-up,” Catherine excused herself to the main house, leaving Francis to contemplate how she had managed to transform his father’s dusty old workshop so quickly.

“It’ll be the best dress shop in Rigel Heights. You won’t regret it for a second,” Andie was so excited that Catherine had come through on her promise to set her up in business.  She thought for sure that she had seen the last of Mrs. Mendenhall when the taxi had arrived to whisk her back to Orion Bay, but then Catherine had called.

“It will be waiting for you when Dr. Holden says you are ready to leave Horizons,” Catherine said, “When that day comes, we’ll go see it together.”

Footsteps sounded on the parquet floor and Catherine gently ushered her friend toward the door.  She didn’t want Francis to contaminate all aspects of her life.

“So was that one of your rehab buddies?” Francis smirked.  His wife had caught him off guard, by her presence then by the photos of him and Shelly, but he had recovered nicely,  “A lot of men have affairs these days, Catherine.  Your pictures aren’t as damaging as you think.”

“They’ll do,” Catherine answered, silently thanking Francis for coming into the room when he did.  A few more minutes and her will may have broken.  Staying in Mendenhall Place was going to be harder than she thought, but she wasn’t ready to give up her children, her money, her position or, if she admitted it to herself, her husband.

Francis’ eyes followed his wife’s gaze, “Ah, still recovering are we?” he grinned just as the doorbell chimed, “Busy night around here,” he commented as Catherine went to answer.

Seeing that it was Maxine Bettencourt, Francis retreated upstairs. He had never liked the Bettencourt woman, too nosy in his opinion.

The social niceties of welcoming Catherine home and commenting on her healthy appearance complete, Maxine listened to Catherine detail her post-rehab plans. Maxine had considered telling Elizabeth the whereabouts of Lydia, but after seeing her behavior at the party had had second thoughts on the matter.

“So you are planning to remain here?” Maxine asked with surprise, “But with the pictures Robert took…”

“They’ve been my greatest asset. I’ll have to thank Robert next time I see him,” while Catherine went on, Maxine evaluated the situation.

Now she was having second thoughts about telling Catherine too, fearing that the Mendenhalls would seek custody of Lydia.  She had thought that Catherine would go through with the divorce (she would have if she caught Robert cheating) and she had never expected Elizabeth to move back under Francis’ roof.  With these factors in mind, she decided to hold her tongue.

Francis cleared the board when he saw his daughter return and invited her to sit for a game.

“Not now, Father,” Elizabeth had been wandering around since leaving the party, she didn’t want to tell her him about Xavier and Kitty but knew that it had to be done.  She wrung her hand, breathed deeply and the story rushed out.

“Your first manipulation hasn’t worked out so well,” Francis observed thoughtfully, “No matter, he’ll see it my way. Time will tell that I am right.” He smiled at his protege, “don’t be so nervous. What? Did you think I would be angry?”

Elizabeth relaxed…a little.  It was unlike Francis to be so understanding, even with her.

“Who would have expected them to return to Francis? It’s like a sickness over there, I can’t subject Lydia to that,” Maxine explained when she, Robert and Veronica sat down for a post-party snack. “Especially Catherine, I thought she would finally break away from him.”

“Hon, you’re not her.  You don’t know how it is for her.  What was her other option? A house in the Heights? Catherine would rather shrivel up and die,” Robert chuckled at the thought. “As for Lydia, why tell them about her anyway?  The Gibsons are doing just fine these days with a little help from their friends. Just let it be.”

——–

Notes: I’ve tried to give her a new life with new hobbies but if Catherine isn’t kept busy, she heads straight for the bar and despite her tough talk, her major want is “woohoo with Francis”.   Most of his wants revolve around Shelly, though he did roll “talk to Catherine” once.  It’s so depressing.

Posted on July 30th, 2008 under Mendenhall, Orion Bay. Tags: andie, catherine, elizabeth, francis, maxine, Mendenhall. RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback.