Why Lorie? Part I

Chapter 32: New Faces

That night, Josette found it impossible to fall asleep. She kept replaying the scene with Lawrence in her head. Did Drogo do it on purpose? Could he be that irresponsible? Or was it really a coincidence? She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but needed to hear the truth from his own lips. Josette listened closely for his return... to no avail. Nicolae was right. Drogo was afraid of facing his father, and kept his distance from Bartholy Manor. Josette wondered where he spent the night... she assumed he probably stayed with one of his many lovers.

Josette then thought about Viktor's tiff with Lawrence. She wondered how much money it took to convince Lawrence to leave them in peace. Lord Danville was quite wealthy... so Viktor must've offered him a fortune. She still couldn't understand how the den looked so tidy after she clearly heard the men shout and toss things around.  Josette wished she could have been a fly on the wall during their argument. While she felt uneasy about Nicolae's oversimplified explanation of the event, she was relieved that Lawrence was permanently out of her life... and of her daughter's.

Josette's thoughts inevitably turned to Lorie who finally knew the truth about her biological father. But Lorie was good at hiding her feelings. Josette was worried that Lorie would resent her for lying to her. On previous occasions, when her daughter had asked about her dad, Josette had simply told her he had died, and didn't elaborate. At least, she now knew for a fact that Lorie loved Viktor and wouldn't miss Lawrence at all. As long as she didn't see him ever again, they would all be able to move on. With that glimmer of hope in mind, Josette finally drifted off to sleep close to dawn.

The next morning, she rang the bell and asked Ana to bring her breakfast in bed. Josette was too exhausted to get all dressed up and go downstairs. Lorie must've heard her stir because she soon popped into her bedroom:

"Maman! Can I have breakfast with you?" Lorie asked. She looked fully awake: bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and full of her usual pep.

"Of course, my darling. Go catch Ana and tell her what you'd like to eat," Josette answered with a yawn, still feeling half-asleep.

Lorie quickly ran after the maid, giving Josette a chance to go to the bathroom and freshen up a bit. The Venetian mirror had finally arrived a few days before, and Viktor had the men who delivered it install it in Josette's bathroom. She could finally closely inspect her reflection— something she usually enjoyed doing. This morning, Josette wished the mirror wasn't there. She looked exhausted: her skin was ashen, and she had large, dark circles under her eyes. She splashed some cold water on her face and pinched her cheeks to bring some color back into them. She barely had time to run a brush through her matted hair before Lorie returned.

"Maman, guess what?" Lorie asked, while standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

"What?" Josette replied, applying a bit of lipstick to her drab lips.

"Papa decided to take the morning off from work!" Lorie happily exclaimed.

Josette raised her eyebrows. "Really? Whatever for?"

"To take me to the park! Yesterday, he said he knew a spot where a lot of children play. And he thought I'd be more likely to meet some in the morning than later in the day," Lorie explained.

"That makes sense," Josette murmured. "Well... you best wear something extra pretty."

"You can help me pick out an outfit after we eat," Lorie told her, pressing down on her loudly gurgling stomach.

Meanwhile, Ana had already returned with a breakfast tray containing a mountain of scrambled eggs, several warm croissants, strawberry and apricot jam, coffee, hot cocoa and milk. Lorie instructed her to set it all up in the little sitting area by the window.