DISCLAIMER: Some of the characters in this original work of fiction have been created by and belong to the author Keiko Nagita.
IT IS PROHIBITED TO PUBLISH THIS STORY IN OTHER WEBPAGES - GROUPS -or to USE IN YOUTUBE, WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT AUTHORISATI...
The concierge came forward; opened the passenger door at the back. Terence Graham and his companion came out.
The young woman looked gaunt, despite her tanned complexion showing even more intense against the embroidered white cotton floral peasant dress she was wearing.
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The light make-up she clearly had applied, had not managed to completely conceal away the shadows under her green eyes, the bruises on her face. Certainly, her appearance startled the man who stood in silence, while the couple passed him by.
They were walking close to each other, with Terence Graham having his hand hovering close over the curve of the woman's lower back. It felt quite a protective gesture to the eyes of the concierge... well, they certainly looked of being on quite intimate terms.
A bell boy hurried up right behind them, carrying their modest luggage.
The theatre actor was not looking any better, it had to be said. He may had pulled the brim of his Panama hat down to stop as much as he could of the wandering glances from passersby and he was clean shaven and supremely stylish inside his cream-coloured linen suit. His cologne left its discreet trail when they entered Claridge's.
But from a quick glance the concierge managed to have, it was enough to confess the rough state of him also. Enough to make Terence Graham look as if he had been thrown under a bus.
As the heavy glass doors of the Claridge's entrance closed behind the couple, the police officer who had arrived early in the morning, just when the concierge was about to start his shift, came into his mind. He had left a message for the theatre actor at the reception.
Now, one could blame too many sleepless nights for the haggard appearance of the couple, but if he was to put two and two together, then some of those marks on both their faces could have been the evidence of something more serious, the man thought before another car with more guests of the Claridge's Hotel stopped in front of him.
The day had started with a bang...
*****
Even if no one said anything, the swift turn of people's glances away from their faces, made it obvious to them that their looks must had been a spectacle of which the residents and staff of the Claridge's Hotel weren't used to.
"Are you ok?" Terry leaned towards her and whispered close to her ear.
For him, the stares were part of his everyday life, even if in this occasion they were caused for the wrong reasons, but he never much cared either way. But for Candy, he worried. They didn't need this unwanted attention. He already knew she was going against her tendencies to run away, leave him and Christian be without causing them additional strife by being the "woman-in-between". And the worse was that they both had to find his brother first.
