Excelsior

Chapter 34: The spy

Owning a house for generations was among the society norms in the city since it was a proof of long-lasting legacy with good fortune and a symbol of stability and traditionalism. That is why it wasn't unusual for each family to have its seat in a century-old house where the leader of the family lived.

While Mr. Bainbridge was not the patriarch of his family, he inherited a good house that had belonged to them for a considerable amount of time. It had respectable dimensions: not too big like Villa Magnífica and was located in the Masatin Hights. Its style reminded to a traditional French country house and its hostess enjoyed organizing events there.

Anna was proud of it, and the visits did not stop coming in. That's why when an interior magazine contacted her to show the house off on its pages, she didn't hesitate to accept the proposal and meet at a café. The arrived at

Anna estaba tan orgullosa de ella, que las visitas no paraban de llegar, y cuando la contactó una revista de interiores para mostrarla en sus páginas, no dudó ni un segundo en aceptar la propuesta y reunirse en un café. Eagerly the lady arrived on time, and impatiently looked at the time on her wrist.

As she was going through the menu, a cheeky woman took a seat in front of her, to which Anna quickly reacted:

"Excuse me?" she asked disgusted.

"I'm sorry," Selma replied, smiling, and held out her hand. "Hi Anna, I'm Selma Lowell."

Anna frowned.

"I know who you are," she said without giving her hand. "It is daring that you sit in front of me. I am waiting for someone."

"That someone is me, Anna. UK Imperial Magazine? It was all my idea. I come here to talk business."

"A woman like you has nothing to offer to do business with me."

"Please take seat." She put a folder on the table. "Trust me, this will matter to you."

Skeptically and curiously, Anna sat down and looked at the contents. Her mouth fell open, and no matter how many questions she wanted to ask, she was unable to utter a single word.

"You're paying the bill," Selma said, "aren't you?"

Both women decided that it would be inopportune to be seen together in public, so they agreed that Selma would go to the Bainbridge home that afternoon for tea. Selma entered the house as if it was her own to the point that the butler was surprised. She marveled at the walls and spaciousness of the two-story lobby as Gary descended the stairs. When he saw her, he blinked a few times and didn't know what to say.

"Hello pretty boy," Selma told him. "Do you know where your mother is?"

Garrett stared at her.

"I don't know," he hesitated in a low voice.

The butler interrupted them to indicate the door to the living room, where Anna was waiting with some cupcakes. They lasted longer eating than talking, and they reached a juicy agreement just as Selma expected. The rest of the visit they ate in awkward silence, and when Selma left, she called Pietro to give him the good news.

Anna, for her part, was not so satisfied, and did not say anything about the matter to Mr. Bainbridge until late at night in the bedroom, and how sorry she was.

"Victor? Our Victor?" Mr. Bainbridge repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, Richard," she answered in tears. "Photos of him using cocaine and making out with two girls. Do you know how much it would harm us? We would be the shame of society."

"I just have to see them to believe."

"Believe me. I had no choice but to agree to tell them everything I know about the Cornells' businesses."

"How can you do that?" He got up from the bed, "She is just a woman with a bad reputation. We can't let it control us like this. Are they blurry? Perhaps that is not him."

Anna shook her head.

"You must believe me. Our Victor having a threesome with drugs. I offered her money, and she did not accept. She's hell-bent on getting information from the Cornells."

Mr. Bainbridge prostrated himself at the window, pondering the matter. Anna shuffled her feet waiting for an answer or a solution to the problem.

"We have to disinherit Victor," he said in a lucid moment. "If we expel him from the family, what he does cannot harm us."

"How can you say that about our son? That would only raise suspicions."

"What if children of our acquaintances have already seen him? It could affect our last name. We all owe to society and we owe ourselves to it."

"Do you doubt they haven't seen it? Wake up, Richard. That's what all kids his age do in college today. We refused to believe that only our children are perfect, yet they do the same as the average citizen. It is very certain that everyone else's children do it; Roger's son, Thomas's; even the perfect Grants' son. They must help each other to cover their actions. If we expel him, society will assume that something abnormal has happened."

"What do you suggest? That we continue to pay his university expenses so that he buys drugs and prostitutes? What a disappointment!"

"We have no choice. Now we will tell him that we are short of money and that we will pay directly for the university, his books and his stay. He has to reduce your budget. It will be useless if your friends invite you to their addictions from time to time. We shouldn't even mention what we know to him, Richard, because young people like him are creative, and if we tell him the reasons why we will control his spending, he will find ingenious ways to divert money and will resent us."

With a blank look, Mr. Bainbridge nodded to what his wife was saying.

"There is no other solution," she lamented. "I have to be Selma's informant, I just find it strange that she prefers that to money. Ambitious women like her crave easy money. I'm afraid she has even bigger purposes, yet not even betraying my friend affects me in the same way as knowing that I have not been a good mother."

Anna sat hunched over on the bed, and her husband tried to comfort her.

"We have been the best parents we could have under our circumstances."

"No! We both have failed. We are bad parents, Richard. If not, our son would not seek joy in drugs, and we should already get the idea that even Garrett and Alan will develop similar interests, if they do not already have them.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. English is not my native language, so any feedback, suggestion or advice to change the grammar would be really appreciated.