Madi saw him first, and pulled Lance aside. "Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you."
"I've been busy, trying to plan a surprise for Marci. What's going on?"
"Marci, that's what. She's sitting up in bed ... talking. She had the nurse call everybody."
Jacob joined the conversation. "Madi, I just heard that your parents were here earlier, only Marci asked them to wait. She wants to see everyone at the same time."
Madi scowled, "This is getting curiouser and curiouser."
"Another thing," Jacob added, "the door has been closed all day."
"Damn it," Lance swore, "I should have stayed last night, never should have left."
Jacob grabbed his shoulder, "There was no way for you to know what would happen."
"All the same," Lance grumbled, "I should have stayed."
Over Madi's shoulder, Jacob saw a volunteer approaching. The elderly woman was neat and crisp in a pink uniform; she had graying hair and kindly eyes. Everyone knew the volunteers. You could single them out in any hospital, no matter where you went, all across the country. Male and female alike they were kind and helpful. At times, they were the only port in a storm.
"I think we're about to get some news," he ventured.
"Are you with the Wentworth group?"
Madi was skittish, "Yes, is anything wrong?"
"Oh, no," she smiled. "They want you to go up now."
"Oh," it was almost a sigh. "Thank you."
The trio watched the volunteer walk away before moving toward the elevator. The others were behind them as they reached the doors. The family couldn't help sneaking glances at Margaret.
"I don't know anything," she quipped. "Sam and I came to visit a couple of hours ago and were told to wait."
"It's true," Sam defended. "We've been sitting in the cafeteria waiting for everyone to show up." His hand went to his chin, "You would think Marci could at least tell us what's going on."
"You would think," Madi huffed.
Audrey shook her head, "It's not Marci."
"What do you mean?" Jacob snapped.
"It's André," she answered, "he's up to something."
"André, but he's in France," Lance reminded.
"I don't think so," Audrey assured. "He's near. I can feel him."
Madi gave a little shudder, "This is creeping me out."
Just then the elevator door opened and Sam reached out to grab it. "There isn't room for all of us, you ladies go first."
The women hesitated only a second before Madi led them in. They were all eyes, as the door slowly closed between them and the men. Instantly, the men began to discuss Audrey's declaration.
"I'm real curious about what André is up to," Lance remarked.
"It can't be good that's for sure," Jacob followed.
D.A. was curious and stepped in closer to the group. "What does this guy have going for himself anyway? He's supposed to be this big-time attorney, yet I never hear about any of his cases. And why does he keep running back and forth to France?"
"You have to wonder how he can afford it," Matt glared.
"I've been to his office," Lance stated. "It's nothing special, a little needy actually."
Jons surprised the men when he advanced the conversation. "It's not my intention to scandalize," he made clear, "but I am concerned about Ms. Marci. I was on my way to the gallery recently when I saw this man. He was tucked just inside the alleyway between his law office and the building next door. There was a fierce argument with a young woman. She was beating her fist against his chest, angry to the point of tears."
"Jons, you never said a word," Lance dropped his tone.
"I was trying to save you from worry," Jons apologized. "Only in light of the situation, I must speak out now."
Lance paled a little, "What happened?"
"I don't know, sir, traffic forced me to move on."
The men were flabbergasted. Jons may have been employed at Tellurian Manor, but he was one of them, part of "the family." He rarely spoke up, but when he did everyone paid attention. He also had a reputation for having a sharp eye, not one to make a mistake.
They turned at the noise of the elevator door and stepped inside. It was quiet now. Each man lost in his own thoughts of the situation in the alley. What was the squabble about? Who was the woman? Why was she so angry? And Most of all, what happened after Jons drove away from the scene?
There was no time left to ponder the answers. The elevator had stopped; it was time to witness Marci's mystery. When they joined the women near her room there was a quiet tension.
Had they heard something? Had they seen André? Something was up, that was for certain. It was even edgy at the nurse's station. The girls sat staring at the patient's charts, as if they were holding their breath.
Jacob squeezed between bodies and gently tugged on Madi's sleeve. They tiptoed away from the others, down the hall where they couldn't be heard.
"What gives, Madi? Do you know anything?"
"About five minutes ago a nurse told us that we would be going in at any minute. There's something really weird going on," she whispered.
Jacob was frustrated, "Well, I'm ready to get on with it, whatever it is."
"You're about to get your wish," Madi pointed.
Jacob spun around as the group began to move. He and Madi were at the fringe when they heard a loud gasp from the group. The door had opened. Sam and Leticia were on either side of Margaret and Madi saw them grab her, as she staggered. Madi pushed through to stand behind her mother. "Oh, no," her head shook, "this is not happening."
Marci sat in bed wearing a white silk bodice and a full lace veil. Her make-up had been applied to perfection. André stood beside her wearing rich, white tails. A reverend stood alongside him in a white suit, holding a bible. Behind them rested a huge arbor covered in brilliant floral of full white roses. The room was decorated in traditional white wedding accents. Against the side wall a table held a three-tiered wedding cake with a bride and groom on top. The room was cast in a luminous glow of celestial white.
It was a Norman Rockwell scene—with one big problem—the look in Marci's eyes. Madi had seen it before, she was stoned. That s.o.b. had drugged her, Madi knew it. She could not look away. André would not get away with this. She had to stop him.
Everyone stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to act, what to say. André had a stupid smile pasted on his face. As if this was wonderful, and everyone should be glad it was happening. "Come in," he motioned. "As you can see, there is going to be a wedding. Marci has agreed to be my bride."
"I'll be damned," someone shouted. There was a scuffle at the back of the room; Jacob and D.A. were holding Lance back. Everyone was shocked at Lance's behavior.
Madi rushed to her sister's side of the bed. She stared at André with fury, "What do you think you're doing?"
Marci reached out and took her hand, "It's what I want." Her voice was so soft and flat it sounded like a stranger.
"My parents and I need a minute alone with my sister," Madi spewed.
André smiled and looked around the room. "I have nothing to hide, I will speak to everyone. I realize this is a little out of the ordinary, but Marci and I have decided that we don't want to wait. I want to be able to take care of her, to nurse her back to health. That will be hard to do unless we are together."
Sam looked him dead in the eye. "And where will you live?"
André didn't flinch, "Marci needs to live at Mayfield in order to receive her therapy. I hope there will be no problem if her husband stays at her side."
"What about love, André?" demanded Lance through clenched teeth, eyes burning.
No one had ever heard Lance speak with vehemence before, had never seen him lose his temper. Although they understood, it was sad and unsettling. The room filled with tension and became extremely uncomfortable. Lance's heavy, angry breathing was the only sound. This wondrous event had rapidly turned sour.
The tension scattered at the sound of a cell phone. Lance retreated toward the door as he reached into his pocket. A look of relief washed over André as he saw Lance leave. Only it wouldn't be that easy. He would find it much harder to deal with Madi. She was not about to let go of her twin.
"Look, André, you can't pull something like this and expect us to just go along."
The reverend was growing antsy, "Mr. Picard, I have another appointment. We must have the ceremony now."
"I'm sorry reverend, but I need a couple of minutes with my sister. Nothing is going to happen until I talk to her. Alone."
Taking Margaret by the arm, Sam led the family from the room. André complained, but knew he had no choice. Alone with her sister, Madi was overwhelmed. She had not seen Marci since before she disappeared.
Marci's eyes began to droop. Now that the room was empty and quiet the drugs began to bring her down. It was hard to contain the rage, but for now Marci had no choice. She had to work around the problem.
Madi rushed into the bathroom, wet a washcloth, and returned to her bedside. She plumped the pillows, "Come on, halfer, (their nickname for each other), you need to talk to me now." She patted Marci's face with the cloth until she opened her eyes.
"Madi," she smiled, "I missed you." Again the soft, small voice like the mewing of a kitten.
The tears came quick and warm, "I missed you too," Madi choked. There wasn't time for more. She dropped to the bed, holding her sister's hand. "Marci, can you look me in my eyes and tell me that you really want to marry André?"
Without looking up, Marci answered. "Well, André says that it's best. That he wants to marry me and take care of me."
"You don't love him. You love Lance, you always have."
"André says that no one loves me as much as he does."
"Marci, ever since college you have been madly in love with Lance. For years, you would hardly even date. You said you would wait, that one day he would wake up. Well, that day is here. Lance is in love with you. He really, truly loves you, realizes now that the two of you were meant to be together."
The mewing continued, "Andre says, I was meant to marry him."
"Do you hear yourself? Andre says this, Andre says that. He has you so drugged you can't think for yourself."
"Madi, you know I would never take drugs," a hint of the old self.
"Of course, I do. It's André, he's given you something. I don't trust him, Marc, he's up to something. Please, I'm begging you, call this off."
Marci jerked her hand away, "André said you would try to..."
Madi took her hand back, "Marci please, it's me, your other half, the one who knows what is truly in your heart."
Her sister remained silent. Her jaw was set and her eyes were fixed. Madi knew that look. Marci had made up her mind. She would marry André Picard.
"Give me a minute and I'll let the others back into the room."
She picked up the washcloth and went into the bathroom. Madi had to work quickly now. She snatched the mouthwash from the cabinet, emptied it, and wrapped it in the washcloth. Flushing the toilet to camouflage the noise, she broke the bottle against the sink. She opened the cloth, placing all but the biggest piece of glass in the trash. Reaching for the box of band-aids in the cabinet, she removed a small, round bandage and prayed it would work.
Back out in the room, she pulled a safety pin from her purse and sat back on the bed. Arranging the glass and the cloth just so, she took Marci's hand. Her sister struggled to open her eyes. The drugs were working full strength now. "I wish there was some way I could talk you out of this," Madi said, as she stuck the tip of Marci's finger. There was barely a reaction. Madi squeezed as much blood as she could onto the glass, wiped Marci's finger and covered it with the band-aid.
Madi laid her sister's hand back on the bed, and took an envelope from one of her get well cards. She inserted the glass inside at a crossway angle and carefully placed it inside her purse, along with the washcloth. Reaching into a small pocket of her purse, Madi found her eyedrops. She removed them and her brush, and rushed to the bed.
"Come on, honey, open your eyes. I need to fix you up a little."
"Mmm."
Squeezing behind the bed in front of the arbor, Madi grabbed Marci under the arms, pulling her up. She began to sweat, "I need a little cooperation, halfer. That's it, open your ... damn." Blood was oozing through the band-aid.
Marci raced to the bathroom, ripped some paper off the roll, pulled another bandage out of the box, and rushed back to her sister. Carefully, she removed the bandage so as not to start the bleeding again, cleaned the finger and applied the new band-aid. All the commotion caused Marci to take notice.
"What are you doing?" she mumbled.
Curling the bloody band aid under her finger, Madi picked up the brush, "Getting you ready to marry that sorry, pitiful, André that's what."
"André says that no one understands him."
"Oh jeez, I understand him, that's the whole problem."
Marci reached for her arm, "Stay ... promise."
"I promise," Madi smiled.
Stepping back, she ran the brush through her own hair and eased it back into her purse. She also put the bloody band-aid into the envelope and closed the zipper. Then, with a heavy heart, she crossed the room and opened the door. Instantly, Margaret turned away in despair. The answer was written all over Madi's face; she had failed to convince her sister not to go through with this charade.
André flew to Marci's bedside, the reverend close behind. The family filed in like wooden soldiers, stiff and expressionless. Lance didn't make it through the doorway. Without prompting, the reverend started the ceremony. When he reached the part about anyone having an objection, everyone turned toward the door. Lance was gone. A few minutes later, Marci and André were husband and wife.
Madi closed her eyes when André bent down and kissed Marci to make it authentic. It made her sick at heart and sick to her stomach. Meek and mild and married to a fraud was not her sister. Marci was confident, independent and not easily swayed. Nothing seemed natural to Madi. From the moment Marci disappeared, she had been groping her way through a murky cloud of uncertainty. Well, the darkness wouldn't last, Madi aimed for everyone to know the truth.
She pulled out her phone, where r u, Madi texted Lance.
Courtyard, he wrote back.Meet me in cafeteria, she told him.
As everyone filed from the room, Madi pulled Sam to one side. "Dad, he drugged her. Could you tell?"
"Without a doubt," he sighed.
"Walk with me to the nurse's station." She opened her purse, "I have some of her blood. I only hope it's enough."
"What did you do?"
"I pricked her finger. There's blood on the glass inside this envelope, a small band-aid is soaked in blood, and there's blood on the washcloth." Madi reached over the counter for a bag, carefully placing the items inside.
Sam took the bag with one hand and hugged his daughter with the other. "You always leave me shaking my head, Madi. These will be tested immediately."
"He tricked Marci into that marriage, Dad, and we're going to prove it." She kissed his cheek and ran off to find Jacob.
He was huddled at the end of the hall with Audrey and Harm. "Be careful," Audrey warned, as she approached. "André can be dangerous if he feels threatened."
Madi was shaken. "Does he know what I did?"
"Oh no," Audrey assured her. "I just felt the need to give the warning."
Harm and Jacob could only stare, as Madi explained.
Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth, "I almost forgot. Lance is waiting for me in the cafeteria. I have to go."
Jacob decided to go with her. Along the way, he applauded Madi for her sharp thinking and nerveless tactics. He couldn't believe that Bits was married to that con artist, prayed it would be overturned with the tests.
In the cafeteria, Jacob went for coffee while Madi looked around for Lance. He sat alone, appearing sad and dejected. She had never seen Lance in pain before. He had such a light and easy nature, always smiling and happy. It hurt her terribly to see him this way.
When she reached the table, Lance looked up with a burning pain in his eyes.
"Is it over?" he whispered.
Madi nodded, unable to speak.
Jacob returned with the coffee, looking as if he was ready to cry. He slumped onto a chair and handed out the cups. The gloom at the table was thicker than that of a morgue. They looked at their hands instead of one another, afraid the dam might break. The shock of what took place in that room was greater than anything they had ever known. It didn't happen, couldn't be real—thing is—they knew it was true.
"Feels like..." Jacob's voice cracked, he cleared his throat. "This cafeteria feels like my second home," he moaned.
"Not for long," Madi declared. "Marci goes home tomorrow."
Lance looked up in surprise, "Tomorrow?"
"Yes," Madi confirmed, "I'm tempted to run away."
"Can I go?" Jacob begged.
"Can we come live with you Lance?"
That brought a smile. "You're always welcome at Tellurian, Madi."
"I can't believe that monster is going to live at the Mansion," she wailed.
"Mayfield will be tarnished forever."
