Pirate; The Seavey Pendant

10. Derek Bequel

     "Lady Mary Rockefeller," Announced the herald when Cinnia stepped through the doors.  Multiple people turned to look and politely nodded in her direction with admiration.  Cinnia felt silly, and extremely self-conscious.  She turned her head to make sure Adorno was still behind her.  I'm trying to get solace from Adorno...Cinnia thought to herself sarcastically.

     She nervously glanced around at her surroundings and forced herself not to marvel.  Large, white pillars, adorned in engraved decorations were scattered throughout the area.  The floor was made up of decorated marble tiles that had been polished to an extent that they reflected.  The entire north wall was made up of long windows that stretched towards the high ceiling, where a very large and sparkling chandelier hung.  Numerous people, all dressed as if they were trying to out-dress royalty, either stood around and chatted as they drank from their crystal glasses, or danced merrily on the wide space of floor in the middle.  Men showed off their beautiful wives or discussed politics and business, while women followed their husbands loyally and politely chatted with each other.  There were a few single men, either young money or sons to fathers that stood around, while a few young women, such as Cinnia, had also come along with families.

      Adorno followed behind her without saying a word.  As Cinnia had stopped beside one of the pillars to look around for the reason she was there: Derek Bequel, a man in his early fifties approached her.  He carried himself with arrogance, but not an ignorant or careless one at that; his eyes were intelligent and sly.  His wife, a good twenty years younger than him and a pregnancy nearing a full bloom, trotted behind him.  The man smiled underneath his bushy, salt-and-pepper moustache.  "Lady Rockefeller, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," He said as he took her hand and planted a kiss on it.

     "The pleasure is mine, Sir--?" Cinnia almost stuttered.

     "Sir Carlisle Malachy," he smiled.

     "Sir Malachy," Cinnia said and gave him the most genuine smile she could muster up.

     "'Tis a shame your father could not be here tonight; I very much liked to have spoken to him.  How is the business going for him up north?"

     Cinnia racked her brain for knowledge.  Charbonneau had given her just enough information to fend off suspicion.  "It is going very well Sir.  He has recently managed to get his hands on more land; land in which he suspects contains a good deal of gold and silver."

     Sir Malachy's smile widened, "It is good to hear that.  Mining these days is a tricky business, but you seem to know all about it, don't you?  Always good to hear about women who make an effort to at least know about the business at hand."  He glanced annoyingly at his wife as he said his last sentence and the air grew tense.  Cinnia resisted the urge of fiddling with her hands and instead reached for a glass of what appeared to be white wine off of a servant carrying a silver platter.

     "Ah, anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you,"  Sir Malachy said once again, showing off his teeth with another wide smile.

     "Likewise," Cinnia said.

      "Send your father my regards."  The man finished and went to entertain someone else, his wife still at his heels.  Cinnia felt a pang of sympathy for the pregnant lady.

Cinnia quickly looked at Adorno, who looked back meaningfully before returning her gaze to searching the room.  She brought the glass up to her lips and desperately hoped the alcohol would settle her nerves.

     "Lady Rockefeller," A smooth voice said, a little too closely to her ear, causing her to jump a little in surprise.  She turned towards the sound, as did Adorno, and she came to look at a tall, handsome man in a fitting uniform.  His hair was blonde and swept back to reveal a pair of very blue-gray eyes.  His jaw was clean-shaven and his nose was slightly hooked.  His thin lips were curled up into a confident half-smile.