The traffic in the city mid-day was bad enough that the fifteen-minute drive quickly turned into a one-hour drive, in which Alfred never said a word, leaving Alexander alone to his thoughts.
This caused him to grow restless, and by the time they made it to the rich part of town, Alex was already making up the worst scenarios in his mind.
Scenarios like having to fight Richard, and being forever banned from speaking to Violette. Or Violette being forbidden from playing New Eden.
As they pulled up into the long driveway to the small, rustic mansion, Alexander's nervousness peaked, and Alfred finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Calm down, boy. Mr. Bellemare isn't in any foul mood, and he is sober. Although he is angry at you for putting his precious daughter in danger, we also dug around and found out what happened. He also knows you were the one to pull her out of the water. That offsets his resentment, if only slightly."
Alexander breathed a sigh of relief. But it also peeved him that the butler hadn't said anything until now.
He let him stew in his angst for an entire hour, only smiling from his driver's seat.
"Couldn't you have told me this earlier?"
"I could have, yes. But it was much more enjoyable to hear your mind cogs spin like hell and watch you become a nervous wreck. Where's the fun of just telling you early and having a calm drive?"
"Fuckin' sadist," Alex muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing!" Alex blurted out.
Alfred chuckled, having heard the words very clearly, but wanting to torment the kid, anyway.
The car parked shortly after entering the large iron gates, and Alfred walked over to open Alex's door.
"Follow me, boy."
Alex nodded his head, gulping down his dry saliva one last time, as he tried to get a grasp on his nervousness.
As soon as Alfred opened the front door, a small projectile dressed in white zoomed out, flashing next to the butler, and slamming into Alex's form, almost launching him down the stairs.
"Alex! I missed you!"
Violette hugged Alex tightly, the butler looking on with a smile, as the maid followed behind the little madame, grabbing her by the collar.
"Miss Violette! Such actions are unbecoming of a young lady! Have some manners, please!"
Alex chortled a bit before pushing back the little lady.
"I missed you too, Violette. How are you? Have you recovered nicely from our brief trip to the pond?"
Alex saw Violette shiver ever so slightly at the thought of her view of the sky through ten feet of murky water. But it quickly passed, as she shook her head slightly.
"I'm okay. But my mom doesn't want me anywhere near any body of water until I learn how to swim. I can barely drink a glass of water without her towering over me."
Alex chuckled at the thought. But he understood the woman's thoughts, and it reassured him that she wasn't locking down too much on Violette.
"Wait. You said learn to swim? Did she get you into swimming lessons?"
Violette nodded her little head with a smile.
"She said she wasn't going to let this happen again, and that she refused to have her only remaining child die the same way as the first. So she went against my father's wishes and signed me up for swimming lessons at a nearby indoor pool. It's been fun after I passed over my fear of water."
Alex smiled warmly.
"I'm so proud of you, and happy, too. Seems like your life will finally start moving forward again. Good for you."
*Ahem*
Hearing Alfred clear his throat intently, Alex understood the unspoken message.
He patted Violette on the head, leaning in closer.
"We can talk later, little one. I first have to meet with your father. Wish me luck."
Violette tilted her head to one side, unsure why he needed luck for this.
But she closed into Alex's ear, whispering in it.
"He's been in a good mood lately. I'm not sure why. He's almost back to normal."
Then she pulled back and smiled mischievously.
"Anyway, good luck!"
Then she darted off, leaving the maid in the dust, looking at her fleeing back with a discouraged look.
"Please, young lady, stop running in the house. You're going to hurt yourself!"
But all the response she got as she walked after her was a wild little girl's giggle and stomping feet. Alexander almost burst into laughter, barely containing himself at the last second.
When he looked at Alfred, to signal he was ready to follow once more, the man was sporting a much softer smile than earlier.
Alex could guess the butler was glad the house was back in a more normal state by the smile alone.
But Alfred went back to being stoic almost instantly when he noticed Alex looking at him.
"Let us get on our way. Mr. Bellemare is waiting for us in his study. Follow me."
Alex nodded, following behind the man. The study was at the back of the house, on the right side, giving a view on the end of the garden Mrs. Bellemare had planted, and its rows upon rows of bookshelves, on almost all the walls, made for a very impressive sight.
The study looked like something pulled straight out of a movie; the bookshelves loaded with hardcover books, some in better shape than others.
On the back wall, an enormous set of windows gave a lovely view of the backyard, and on the end of the garden. On another wall, a gigantic stone fireplace was burning softly, the occasional crackling of wood giving an ambience to the room.
Richard Bellemare was sitting at his desk, a set of reading glasses sitting on his nose, as he read through a pile of documents, his eyes squinting. When he heard the door to the study close, he kept reading, only motioning for Alex to take a seat, not even opening his mouth.
Alex sat in one chair in front of the desk, only briefly enjoying the plush cushioning of it before the nervousness settled in again. He let the man finish reading, looking toward the windows behind him, trying to keep his mind focused on staying calm.
A ruffling of paper brought his attention back to Richard, and he knew the moment had come.
Richard stared at him for a while, his eyes stern and emotionless, before opening his mouth to talk.
"Let's get right to business, Mr. Leduc. I don't like you."
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