Chapter 32: The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.
In nothing but his trousers, and With his hands somehow tied behind his back, Fabian was kneeling in front of the edge of his own bed, the end of a cane was pressed lightly against the top of his neck.
"Safa!" Fabian couldn't take his eyes off the woman sitting on a higher level then him, on the edge of the bed, wearing nothing but a loose nightgown that has fallen off one of her shoulders, she held her cane in her hand pushing it against the man's neck.
"Hush now, you keep inviting me to your dreams like an idiot because you know that in your dreams would be the only place where you and I would be doing such a thing.
I will never ever be this way for you when you wake up, Dear Fabian." Safa replied pressing the cane harder again his neck.
"Ugh!...Safa...why do you keep saying these things."
"Why? Do you expect me to be gentle just because this is your dream? How pathetic."
"I do not want you...you are not the real one." Fabian said.
"The real one you speak off would book it if she knew what sort of dreams you are having of her you degenerate man." The dream version of Safa replied with an evil smirk.
Suddenly, She lowered the cane and kept at it until it was between his legs.
"Do you wish to continue, or do you wish to wake up?" She asked.
...[End of dream]...
Fabian woke-up just like he has been doing for the past few days, breathless, sweaty with a red face and a morning wood.
He grunted at himself loudly, "UGH! Get out of my head!"
Outside, Gertrude began knocking on his door, telling him he is late for breakfast.
...Meanwhile...
"Joey!"
"Big brother Jimmy!"
Joey turned to face James who was walking towards him.
Joey wasn't alone actually, There was a petite pretty brunette girl with dark eyes standing by his side.
A smiling James greeted the younger man, "Good morning, I guess this must be your little lady, quite the beauty isn't she." He said.
In a whispery shy voice, "Hello! You must be Jimmy, Joey told me about you." The girl spoke-up.
"Jimmy, this is Mary, my sweet beautiful Angel!" Joey said with the biggest smile possible on his face, making the girl blush deeply, "Joey! Don't be saying these things in front of people!" She said embarrassed.
"Why not! I want everyone to know you're my angel!" Joey replied.
"You two are adorable! Haha!" James laughed, "Hey, Guess what news I'm bringing you today!"
"Huh, what news?" Joey asked.
"Milady, she wants to hire you! You'll be my right hand man from here on out! And here's something for you!" James said handing him a bag of coins.
Excited, "You're being honest! This is mine?!" Joey questioned earning a nod from James.
"Thank you so much Jimmy!" Joey jumped on his friend hugging him.
"I take it that you want the job?"
"Are you kidding?! Of course I do! I should thank your Lady too!"
"Good, because you need to come with me, I hope your girl doesn't mind me stealing you for the day." James said.
"No, don't worry! You can take him!" Mary replied, "Congratulations love." She added before she gave Joey a kiss on the cheek.
His face immediately flushed, "I'll...be back...as soon as I can!" Joey replied and followed James.
...Sometime later...
Inside the Teaton house, Joey couldn't believe his eyes, James brought him to this fancy home, had him sit in a lavish room he would have never imagined he would step into in his whole life.
And now, James has just told him the truth about himself, that he wasn't a commoner, but actually a Lord.
He even told Joey the truth about how the last business deal went, and that because it failed horrendously, he's almost completely reliant on Safa's help in keeping himself afloat, financially.
Astonished, "I don't...I really don't understand, why did you tolerate me...you even listened to me, while I was nothing but trouble to you?" Joey asked.
"It was my way of returning the favor you probably don't even know that you did me." James replied.
"That doesn't make any sense."
"It does, once I tell you."
"Then tell me."
"Joey, remember the story you told me months ago, about when you were a child, when you ended-up getting beat and thrown in jail for few days because you helped someone by stealing for them."
Joey nodded, "I remember...What about that story?" He asked.
...Meanwhile...
"Oh! It's starting to rain!" Clara said as she glanced from the window, "Poor Denver, he won't be able to play outside today."
"Think for yourself Clara, Denver is happier than you at the moment." Safa replied and pointed at the dog who just walked into the drawing room alongside his favorite human.
"Ladies." Wolfgang said, "Woof!" Denver barked, "I suppose that's his way of saying 'Ladies'." Wolfgang said smiling.
"The dog was meant to be mine, yet he has claimed you as his parent...I suppose when we get a kitten, I shall make sure it will like me better." Safa said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
Both Clara and Wolfgang chuckled at her.
She frowned at them and started rolling the wheels on her chair to move around, "Let me help you!" Clara said and hurried to push her chair, "Where do you want to go?" She asked.
"To my lab, I need to prepare the sample I shall be giving to the Queen tomorrow." Safa replied.
"You seriously still want to go?!" Wolfgang asked, "I have no other choice...this is the Queen we are talking about." Safa replied.
"Fine, I'll take you there...Clara, please can you keep an eye on Denver until I come back?" Wolfgang asked.
Nodding, "Yes! You can count on me!" Clara replied smiling.
"Good." Wolfgang's began pushing Safa's wheelchair out of the the room, while Clara picked Denver in her embrace and started nuzzling her face again his fur, "Awwe you're so fluffy! I want to bite you!"
Meanwhile and as he pushed her chair, "I hired an assistant for James...sorry I did not tell you last night, you were in such good mood I was afraid such news would upset you." Safa spoke-up.
"You hired him an assistant?" Wolfgang questioned, "Remember that business deal that James did with someone else and it nearly bankrupted him months ago?"
"Yes, he seems to regret not listening to you."
"Regret my arse! He went back to The same peasant boy who gave him the information about that deal, he also helped him yesterday get me those Tin boxes James brought.."
"Huh? The same guy? He got into that deal because of some peasant?"
"Yes, you do not know of him because you are not involved in my business with James, but anyhow there is this boy Joey, he is around Clara's age I think, He is good mates with James and James asked me yesterday to hire the boy.
The boy is a good hearted fella but he is useless to me, However for some reason he means something to James, so I agreed to hire him to be James's assistant." Safa explained, "I thought you should know." She added.
"I see...thank you for telling me." Wolfgang replied.
Sniggering, "Are you jealous? Worry not, Joey has a girl he is so enamored with and wants to marry, he will not be stealing your lover." Safa said.
Embarrassed, "SAFa!" Wolfgang shouted startling few servants that were passing by.
"What?!"
"Please refrain from talking about my relationship with James!"
"What, why?...oh, James has yet to realize his feelings for you!"
"SAFA!"
"So you two did not label each other as lovers?"
"SAFA!"
"Haha! Look at your face! You are redder than a garden rose!" Safa said laughing.
"I swear someday, I will get you back for all this teasing!" Wolfgang replied.
"Haha! When pigs fly! This single lady can never be swooned by a man the way you are!" Safa said sticking her tongue out.
"SAFA VASUNDHARA CATALINA VEGA!"
...Meanwhile...
Colin made his way into the Struat manor, "Mister Bridgerton, back already? Does your wife not miss you?" An annoyed Gertrude asked as soon as she saw him.
Chuckling, "Good day to you too Miss Gertrude." Colin replied.
Scoffing, "Humph...some people never quit, do they?" She mumbled and walked off before Colin could even ask her where he can find Fabian.
He decided to guess on his own, so he tried the study room but found it empty, no one was in Fabian's bedroom as well and no sign of him in the dinning or drawing room.
Colin was puzzled, where could Fabian be?
And then it hit him, the only room left with enough significance in this huge place that could be possibly occupied by his albino travel enthusiastic friend.
Although the workshop room's door was shut, it wasn't locked.
Colin let himself in without knocking, hoping to surprise Fabian only to get surprised by Fabian instead.
There he was standing, his hair tied with the red ribbon, a red apron on and his hands gloved, Fabian was so focused on his work, he didn't even realize someone has entered the same room as him.
Colin slowly crept up inside, watching Fabian work with an unusual passion in his eyes as he carved onto a small piece of wood in his hands with a little knife.
"You should probably sit while you work on something of such small size." Colin spoke-up.
Fabian was so startled by hearing Colin's voice all of the sudden that he threw the knife at him, luckily for Colin he dodged and the knife eventually hit the door behind him.
"You almost killed me!?!" Colin asked.
"You were the one who startled me! At least knock on the door next time!" Fabian replied.
Sighing, "Fine, this one is on me!...what are you working on anyways?" Colin asked approaching him more confidently now that Fabian wasn't carrying a knife anymore.
"Just practicing my knife strokes, yesterday I managed to make a small boat, i left it right here." Fabian said showing the boat that rested in the table.
"Nice one Fai...You expect me to believe this is your work?"
"You think that I did not make this?"
"So you are being honest?!"
"Yes, Col! I made it all by myself yesterday."
Surprised, Colin picked-up the boat and examined it up close, he kept glancing between the boat and Fabian as if still in disbelief that his rather scatterbrained friend has actually made something worth looking at from the first try.
"I have no clue how you managed this, but...this is rather brilliant.
I remember Miss Gertrude saying that it took your aunt's husband few months to even make something." Colin said.
Feeling proud, "No one can blame him, if He was a slow learner, I just happened to be on the much faster side of learning.
I learned how to speak fluent English and even write properly in less than a year when I first came to live with my aunt here." Fabian replied.
"Yes! You told me, honestly your ability to learn this fast even on your own, is outstanding, You are seriously intelligent." Colin said.
"Says the man who wrote a book!" Fabian replied making Colin chuckle.
"Anyhow...it is a good thing you came.
I want to speak to you about something." Fabian said.
"What do you wish to talk about?" Colin asked.
"Safa...she was in my dreams again." Fabian replied blushing.
"Oh! Another garden planting dream?" Colin said.
"Even worse, this one was more like torture." Fabian replied.
Worried, "Suddenly I am not sure I want to hear this one." Colin replied.
"How do you think I feel Col." Fabian replied sighing.