Bab 217: Chapter 217
The next morning, Pearl looked at her list and decided the best way to learn more about these people was to talk to Auggie. He had known his family the longest and could answer the right questions for Pearl. She had to get him alone.
"Auggie. How are you?" She asked, finding him in the dining with his mother, having tea. "And Frances, I cannot imagine what you are going through right now." Pearl said.
Frances put her head down and shook it in disbelief. "I'm trying. I truly am. But holding it together is difficult. I'm so afraid for him." She said. "And soon, this will leak out to the public and we will be in a race against time."
Pearl nodded. She knew Frances was right.
"Auggie, I think it would do us both well to take a walk. Get some fresh air. Come with me?" Pearl asked. He nodded and stood, taking her hand.
They walked outside, through the private garden of the king and queen. Guards were all around the perimeter.
"How are you really?" Pearl asked.
"I'm scared. I'm so scared. Nothing like this has happened to a Royal in decades. We are all overwrought, shook." Auggie said.
"I can't imagine. I am so afraid for him. What he must be going through." Pearl said. "And Charles. He had to be hurt and captured as well. You know he had to fight for him. I mean, he has known Erik all of his life, right?"
"Not all of his life. He was hired on after the... incident. So he's known him since he was very young." Auggie said.
"Ah, and what did Charles do before that? Work for your father?"
"No. He was a retired military officer. Young for that, in his forties. I'm not sure exactly how he was hired but I know he requested it, came to the family. He had great recommendations and father needed a personal guard for Erik. So it worked out." Auggie said. Pearl noted all of that.
"What is his last name?" Pearl asked.
"Thomas, I believe."
"And Alice? She seems to be a family favorite as well." Pearl asked.
"Yes. She had been my mother's best mate since they were children. They both grew up in an orphanage, you can't speak about this to anyone. Anyway, mum was adopted by a middle class family that showered her with love and Alice, well, she didn't have the same advantages. So as soon as my father proposed, my mum hired Alice on as her lady, her assistant." Pearl also noted that.
"And what about Sebastian and Louis? They seem to be close to you and Erik." Pearl asked.
"What is this? An interrogation? It seems that you are taking mental notes on everything I am saying. Why the questions?" Auggie asked.
"Oh, no reason. I am just trying to understand the family dynamics. A way to help me get through this. I feel like such a outsider." Pearl said, half lying.
"I'm sorry. I understand. This must be awful for you. Here, in a foreign country, with a foreign family to you, and having the man you love abducted. I apologize." Auggie said.
"Don't. We are all under a ton of stress." She said.
He smiled. "If my brother wouldn't have stolen your heart as he did, I would have certainly tried. You are a beacon of light in all of this. Thank you for loving my brother." He said. Pearl smiled and hugged him.
Back inside, she sat down at her list. Both Alice and Charles had pasts that needed to be accounted for. What did Charles do before he came to work for the king? And Alice. What of her early life? She needed to find out more before she could cross them off as non threats. And she needed to find out more about Erik's family and Edward, and his dealings. That would be the most difficult.
"Pearl. Good morning. How are you?" Sebastian said as he entered the study where Pearl was alone on her laptop.
"I am well, thank you. Good morning." She said.
He looked at her longer than what felt normal and it made her slightly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and walked over to the large desk in the room, opening his computer.
"How is the list going?" He asked.
"Alice and Charles. I need to find out more about them." She said.
"Well, it's a bit preposterous to look into them at all. They would have had to pass rigorous security checks to even come close to our family. I'm sure even you were ran through every possible test and system." Sebastian said.
"Not Alice. She was a childhood friend. And Charles could have been rushed. Your father was desperate for a body guard for Erik at the time he was hired." Pearl said.
"Why? He was a child when Charles came on." Sebastian said.
"You don't know, do you?" Pearl realized.
"Know what?" Sebastian asked.
Pearl took a deep breath and told him the story. She didn't like sharing Erik's secrets but she knew it might be important for Sebastian to realize this about Erik, if for no other reason than to maybe understand him better and to help put some of that animosity aside.
"My. God." Sebastian said. "I had no idea."
Pearl put her head down. Just telling the story put her near tears.
"I feel like such an arse. I feel terrible for the way I saw him. And my friend Mara, this is why he did that to her. To punish women, like Robbie's mother, for letting her son be hurt and killed." Sebastian said, a tear falling. "It doesn't make it right, but at least I can understand it more." He said.
Pearl nodded.
"Well, let's get to it. I will look into Alice. You take Charles. Let's see what we can find online first before we dig more with the family. The less they know right now about what we are doing, the better." Sebastian said.
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