Donna sat on the sofa in hers and Richard’s castle apartment. She wasn’t prepared for the impact, Jared and Sarabeth’s picture would have on her. She thought her emotions were in check, but seeing even a digital image of the ones she loved the most felt as if a knife had been stabbed into her heart and twisted. “How am I ever going to get through this?” she mused.
The phone on the end table rang. Donna stared at it for a couple of seconds, before answering it. “Hello….”
“How long do you think I will allow this?” the robotic voice asked.
Donna tightened her jaw. “Who is this?”
“If you do not stand by the choice you’ve made - starting with Sam - everyone you love will die. The next time he won’t be behind bulletproof glass.”
“Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just leave me alone? What do you want from me? ”
“Stay away from Sam. I have plans for him, and they don’t include you.”
“Leave Sam alone! Who do you think you are? Sam and I are friends. I work with him. He’s a member of my genetics team, and he’s playing the piano at my wedding.”
“See that it stays that way. If you continue to fraternise with Sam, the little girl dies.”
“You fucking leave my daughter out of this, you bastard!” she forced through her teeth. “Sarabeth and Jared have nothing to do with this.”
“Anyone who comes between you and Richard are involved. Stay away from Sam, Donna!”
“Is this Mr. Forrest?”
“I am his enemy. Forrest is a kitten. He has no power but what I allow him. Call off this wedding for any reason and the ones you love are the ones who will pay.”
“I have no intention of calling off this wedding, you son of a bitch! I will marry Richard, tomorrow, but you will not dictate what I do when this baby is born!” Donna slammed the phone down. “So help me Richard, if I find out you’re behind this I will never forgive you!”
There was a knock on the door. Donna jerked it open. “What are you doing here?”
Sam’s eyes widened. “I came to return your cell phone,” he said with caution.
Donna was fuming. “Where is Richard?”
“When I left the chapel, he was standing in the parlour, talking on his cell phone, why?”
Donna clenched her teeth. “Get in here!” she snarled and stepped to the side.
Sam cautiously stepped inside. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
Donna slammed the door. “We need to talk!” she forced through her teeth. “Where is Gary? We need his help. I’m sick of this shit!” Donna unlocked her cell phone. “Gary… it’s me. I don’t care how you do it, but figure out how to get Richard out of our hair for a while.”
“That’s not going to be easy, D. What happened?”
“I don’t want to discuss this over the phone. I know you told me our lines are secure, but I’m not taking chances, especially, now.”
------------
Gary groaned. “I don’t know what I’ll do, but I’ll think of something.”
“Thanks, Gary.”
“Yeah,” Gary scoffed and locked his cell phone. He put his empty coffee cup on the serving trolley. He met Richard at the bottom of the stairs. “Where are you off to?”
“Looking for my fiancée. I tried ringing her, but she’s not answering her cell.”
“She said something about going up to the apartment to take a nap.”
Richard’s eyes widened. “Is something wrong? Is she all right?”
“She’s fine, Richard. Listen, there’s something that I needed to talk to you about – best man stuff. Have you gone over the list of things Donna is supposed to have, before the wedding?”
Richard frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You know the old wives tale. Something old, something new - that thing.”
“Oh, I’ve already taken care of that.”
“Are you sure?”
Richard pressed his lips together, concentrating. “Let’s see. Her dress and the locket I gave her last night takes care of something new. Her garter takes care of something blue. We could probably find one of Grandma’s hair combs for the something old and something borrowed.”
“Um, Richard. I don’t think D would like that. Don’t you have something that belonged to your mother that Donna could borrow?”
Richard smiled. “What about the string of pearls my Mum wore when she married my father?”
Gary heaved and inward sigh of relief. “That would be perfect. I’m sure D would be honoured to wear that. Are they here in the castle?”
“Unfortunately, they’re locked in my safe, back in my bedroom, at the complex.”
“Well, you’d better go get it now because you may not have time in the morning. You know after tonight, you’re not supposed to see Donna, until the wedding.”
“Sod that shit! Donna has nightmares if she sleeps alone. I’m not putting her through that for the sake of tradition. I’ll get John to fly me back to the complex. If Donna asks where I am, tell her.”
“Wait! Be sure you’re back for the rehearsal. If you’re late, Donna would be really pissed.”
Richard grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before we left the complex.”
“You probably had other things on your mind.”
Richard grinned again. “Yeah – Donna,” he said and went to look for John.
Gary waited until Richard was out of sight and stepped into the lift. He knocked on the apartment door. “OK, you’ve got about half an hour – forty-five minutes, at the most.”
Donna closed the door and followed Gary into the lounge. “What is he doing?”
“He’s getting John to fly him back to the complex, so he can get the string of pearls his mother wore when she married Sir Richard for you to have something old and something borrowed.”
Donna laughed. “So, that’s how you got him out of our hair?”
Gary frowned. “Hey – it worked.”
“You’re certain?” Donna asked.
“Yes. Now tell me what’s going on.”
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John waited for Richard, in the chopper. After collecting his mother’s pearls, Richard stopped by the infirmary. Joyce was sitting in a chair, in the corner of the room, reading. Richard softly cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, as he entered the room. He smiled. “Gripping novel?”
Joyce reflected his smile and sighed. “It helps to pass the time, but I wouldn’t describe it as gripping.”
Richard read the title; he recognised the grey tie on the front cover. He arched an eyebrow and softly chuckled. “Not exactly your style, is it?”
“I got bored,” Joyce softly smiled. “Sam ordered me not to move anything. Apart from babysitting your grandmother, he didn’t exactly leave me a lot to do.”
“Probably because Donna organised his office.” He turned toward the infirmary bed. “How’s Grandma?”
“Her vitals are stable, but she hasn’t fully regain consciousness.”
“Where’s Sheila?”
“You mean Dr. McGowan? In Sam’s office, I think. She and I don’t get along well.”
“She likes things her own way. You’ll get used to her. I’d stay and keep you company, but I’ve got a wedding rehearsal to go to.”
Joyce’s smile faded. “Yeah, I heard. Congratulations.”
“Looks like we both get what we wanted.”
“Not exactly….”
“Give Sam some time. When he realises he’s lost Donna, he’ll come round. He always has. Well, I have to dash. See you after the wedding.”
“You’re not taking Donna on honeymoon?”
“Bit too risky for that right now. We’ll take one later on. She hasn’t fully committed to our relationship, but that will change.”
“Richard, are you sure things are going to work out for you and Donna?”
Richard grinned. “They will, after the wedding,” he said and went to Sam’s office. He pushed the door panel and waited.
Sheila looked up from her work. “VICi, unlock door panel.” Richard stepped inside Sam’s office; the doors slid shut. Sheila studied his eyes. “This isn’t going to get awkward, like it did the last time, is it?”
One side of Richard’s mouth turned up. “I wouldn’t have described our last meeting as… awkward, Sheila.”
Sheila’s cheeks showed some colour. “Ok, Richard. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at your grandmother’s castle, getting ready for your wedding, in the morning?”
Richard sighed. “Oh – you know about that. I guess good news travels fast. I just stopped by to get this,” he said, holding up the black velvet box.
“I wouldn’t exactly call it good news, but something like this does travel fast, on the Triplet International grapevine.”
“Rita told you,” he made it a statement.
“Yeah,” Sheila chuckled. “What can I do for you?”
“I just came from Grandma’s room. According to Sam, the vepramil should have worn off, by now. Why hasn’t she come round?”
“Richard, she’s ninety-years-old, and she’s weak. It’s going to take her a while longer to bounce back. She’ll get stronger, once she’s fitted with her pacemaker. So who’s the lucky woman? Anyone I know?”
“Donna Rigden, my childhood sweetheart.”
“You mean the American doctor you pined over?”
Richard grinned. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
“I thought she was engaged to that country music heartthrob, from Raging Storm – Jared Thundercloud.”
“How did you…?”
“The interview she did at HMV in Newcastle. What did you do? Take her away from him?”
“You might say that. He presented me with a few obstacles, but I won in the end.”
“Don’t you always? You’re really going to do this? Tie yourself down to one woman? What about all those things you said about not letting your grandmother run your life?”
“She’s not running my life,” Richard frowned. “I guess I realised, for once, Grandma was right. Donna is the right woman for me.”
“Weren’t you even going to tell me?”
“I didn’t think it made any difference.” Richard looked at his watch. “Does your brother know you’ve accepted Dad’s offer?”
“Not yet, but he’ll figure that out, when we bump in to each other. I thought I would see him in the cafeteria.”
“He’s a little busy with security, when John’s not here. He’s second in command, now.”
“Yeah, I know. He sent me an email. Where’s Mildred? I haven’t seen her round, either.”
Richard swallowed the lump in his throat. “She’s dead, Sheila.”
Sheila’s eyes widened. “When? What happened?”
“A few days ago – heart attack.”
“Oh… I’m so sorry, Richard. She was kind of like an auntie to you, wasn’t she? I’m sorry to hear that. I liked her – unlike your grandmother.”
Richard pressed his lips together. “A lot of my ‘friends’ feel that way about Grandma. Anyway, I’ll see you around, Sheila.”
“Yeah,” she scoffed. “See you round. Can’t wait to meet your bride!” she called out.
“You will!” Richard ran to the lift.
------------
“That took a little longer than I’d expected.” John started warming up the engines. “VICi, open hangar doors and raise lift.”
Richard sat in the co-pilot’s seat and buckled up. “I dropped by the infirmary to check on Grandma.”
The chopper lifted into the air and headed for Langston Castle. “How is she?”
“Sheila said Grandma was stable, but she still hasn’t come round. Don’t say anything, but just between us, I sort of feel responsible for what happened.”
“Why is that?”
“Last night, before I left the castle, Grandma and I sort of got into a heated argument.”
“Good for you,” John softly chuckled and glanced at Richard out of the corner of his eye. “Over what?”
Richard sighed. “Donna.”
------------
Gary blew out a long sigh of exasperation; looking from Sam to Donna. “D, are you sure marrying Richard is the right thing to do?”
“As far as the baby is concerned, yes. Considering the threats I’m under, I don’t see that I have a lot of options. I’m not prepared to risk Jared’s daughter, or Sam, but I do want you to find out who’s behind this.”
“I think it’s pretty clear,” Sam spoke up.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. The fact that Richard was using his cell phone, about the same time that Donna got another threatening call, does not mean it was him.”
“Who then?” Sam scoffed.
“He’s right, Gary. It has to be Richard. It’s not his grandmother. She’s in the complex. It could have been Forrest, but the likelihood of Lady Triplet giving him her personal number is unbelievable.”
“No!” Gary agreed. “There’s no way Lady Triplet would give her personal number to anyone she considered an enemy. There’s something else that’s bothering me. What kind of plans would Richard have for Sam?”
“I’d like to know that myself.”
Donna glared at Sam. “Well I wouldn’t.” She paused and held up a hand. “Listen,” she whispered. “That’s the chopper. Richard’s back. Sam you have to go!”
“If Richard is responsible, it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to find you here, Sam.” Gary stood. “I’d better go, too. I told him you were upstairs, taking a nap.”
Donna grabbed his hand. “Please – stay. We’ll tell him you came upstairs to check on me and heard me screaming. I’ll tell him I had a nightmare.” She turned to Sam. “You have to go - now - before he gets out of the chopper. Go to the chapel. Tell Richard you’ve been practicing for the rehearsal.”
“Which is not far away, now,” Gary interjected, checking his watch.
“Don’t remind me!” Donna groaned.
“OK. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Sam kissed her.
Donna quickly ended the kiss. “Just go Sam!”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t we all go down to the chapel, and work on the rehearsal? While I play the piano, Gary can practice leading you down the aisle.”
“Fine – but please, just go. Take the lift. We’ll follow you down the stairs. Come on.”
“D… are you afraid of Richard?” Gary asked as they hurried down the stairs.
“No! I’m not afraid of him. I just don’t want to be alone with him,” she responded as they ran for the chapel.
“Donna… after tomorrow, you’ll be married to him. How are you going to pull this off?”
Donna sighed deeply. “One curtain call at a time.”