Mike & Karen Ch. 24

She opened the case and went silent as she looked inside. Slowly, very slowly, she turned the opened case over, emptying the contents onto the floor.

Nearly a dozen pieces of beige satin lingerie lay in a heap for everyone to see. A pair of satin panties landed on the bishop's shoe. The elderly man slowly looked up at her, one of his eyebrows raised.

Karen sunk slowly to her knees on the carpet, gazing blankly at the pile of underthings before looking up at everyone else in the room, wondering if they thought of what was happening. How was this possible?

Alexa hid harder in Alex's lap.

"Miss Prospero, go and fetch Tatyana, please," Karen said quietly.

"Can't I stay, Mistress?" the maid almost pleaded. "Every time I leave, I fall behind."

Karen sighed. "Fine. But don't... say... anything. Not a word. Freja, please go find Tatyana and bring her here right away."

Freja gratefully hurried out of the room. Alex moved his wife off his lap and knelt, quickly stuffing his mother's lingerie off the floor and back into the case while Karen stood, seeming rather dull. He wasn't about to make her scoop up her own lingerie in front of the bishop.

"Wow," Alexa said, staring at the intimates as Alex put them away. "That stuff's not nearly as sexy as the stuff you normally wear, sis. An' why is some of it sticky?"

"I just don't understand," Karen murmured, shaking her head slowly. "Miss Prospero, didn't this case come from Nancy's chauffeur?"

"Yes, Mistress," Valentina said, nodding primly, aware that the bishop was watching. Thankfully, she'd changed into more appropriate clothing earlier in the day, one of her old outfits that matched Trilby's and not at all scandalous. "Dave took possession of it before it came to me, and I brought it to you."

"And you came directly to me with it once it was handed to you, no stops," Karen asked as she stood up, looking at her for assurance.

Val didn't respond quickly enough.

Karen absentmindedly passed the case to Valentina, but then snatched it back suddenly, scowling at her maid. "What am I thinking?" she hissed, clutching it possessively, making Val blush and look at the floor.

"Is that your underwear, Karen?" the bishop asked, looking at her, confusion writ large on his features.

"Old, underwear, your Excellency," she answered somewhat helplessly as she flopped back into her chair. She couldn't exactly lie to him now, could she? "I was seeing it disposed of, since I have no further use of it."

"Not very often I see my congregation members, even the more affluent ones, dispose of their unmentionables in luxury attaché cases," the older man mused, still not convinced. "And what has this got to do with some jewelry for the Royal Ontario Museum?"

"To be honest, I don't even remember anymore," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Your Excellency, would you excuse me for a few moments? I need to clear my head."

The bishop simply nodded and Karen got up and exited the room, dropping the attaché case full of underwear in her son's lap. Apparently she was beyond caring what happened at this point. Valentina didn't know whether to follow her mistress or not, but finally opted to simply stand still, ready to assist with the bishop.

"So, uh..." Jeanie said finally, breaking the silence. "Anyone else lookin' forward to that final season of Game of Thrones?"

Alex just shut his eyes and shook his head.

***

One of the arboretums...

Karen stood at the window, her arms folded under her bust as she looked out despairingly at the world beyond. Today had been one unmitigated disaster after another, and she held very little hope that the bishop was persuaded about the need to back Alex and Alli's union. He'd seemed decidedly unimpressed and very often confused, not that she could blame him.

She pinched her eyes as she felt them sting. She was being a dreadful host and she knew it. She'd left the bishop sitting in the Hooper study with a very stoned and intermittently undressed Alli, although hopefully Alex was keeping her in line. But Karen had desperately needed a few moments to collect herself and try to get back on track.

It felt like it wasn't working. She sighed as she tried to figure out what she needed to do to pull them out of the pit and-

"It seems you're having a bad day," came a somber but not unkindly voice from beside her. She didn't look over at the person who had joined her, she just stared out the window. "I'm not used to seeing that."

"I'm not used to going through it," she answered, shaking her head slightly while the bishop stood beside her looking out the window. "I never would have guessed the day would pan out this way, even if it did start with an exploding rocket that smelled like a Corsican cheese."

His Excellency didn't quite track what she was referring to, but it probably had something to do with the blast crater in the front lawn. His father had stormed Juno Beach at Normandy and fought his way through the Netherlands into Germany, so he had some scope of what had happened, perhaps.

"And I somehow doubt any of today's insanity has swayed you toward this cause," she murmured, still gazing out listlessly at the back of the estate, which seemed a muddy brown and green to her at the moment.

"I would be lying if I said that anything I've seen today was terribly compelling," he admitted. "I can see you had a well laid-out plan for approaching this issue, and that you were not taking the matter lightly. For the church to accept or even consider this, my dear, is a very heavy trial. The question is not only moral, but the legalities at all levels of government would cause many to balk. Per the teachings of Daniel and our Saviour, we obey the laws of the land, unless they are contrary to God's Law."

She nodded again.

"Do you genuinely believe that these two young people, your son and your sister, are acting in a manner that is not contrary to the will of the Almighty?"

Karen said nothing.

"Is their love that pure?" he asked.

How? she wondered. How could she prove to him that this was so very right? Alli was a right royal mess, unable to help, and Alex was only one half of the equation. And he'd already made the bishop angry earlier today.

How could she show him how desperately in love they were?

Her eyes snapped open and she nodded to herself. She absolutely could prove it!

"Your Excellency, please follow me," she announced, turning and walking out of the arboretum. She paused at the exit and looked back at him almost impatiently. "There's something I need to show you."

She had what nearly the entire congregation referred to as 'that look' in her eyes, a look of infinite confidence and unstoppable determination. He knew it well, and he also knew that he was going to comply with her expectations of following to wherever she was going. This hadn't been a request.

Out of the solarium now, they walked together at a slow but steady and meaningful pace through the wing until they came to the grand staircase. She looked at him now, as if assessing him. "We are heading to the third floor, Your Excellency. Shall we use the stairs, or should we take the service elevator?"

His neck stiffened slightly at her implied challenge and he lifted his chin proudly. "I was in the master bedroom when you were born, Karen Gordon, when my predecessor blessed your mother as she gave birth to you, and then I blessed your sister almost thirty years later. I know the way to the third floor, and we will take the stairs."

He almost marched up the flights of stairs beside her, even declining to use one of the ornately-carved hand rails to steady himself. Tunde was heading down the stairs from the third floor and stepped aside hastily as the pair came up. Whatever was happening, he wanted to make sure he was not a complication for it. And the best way to assure that outcome was to steer clear.

"This way, Your Excellency," she said as they reached the landing of the third floor. He fell into line beside her as she headed toward the western wing. They passed the many sumptuous guest rooms Blackwell Manor was famous for. He'd been offered a chance to stay in them before, given his position as head of the Anglican church in Canada, but he had dutifully declined, staying in one of the less opulent rooms on the second floor with the staff who lived on the estate.

They turned down the wing and were clearly heading toward the master suite at the end of the hall. It was the mirror of the suite in the east wing, traditionally the one used by the head of the Blackwell family. The one they approached now had been Karen's rooms when she'd been growing up here, and before she had married Michael DeBourne. He assumed that the suite was now inhabited by her son and her sister, who were at the center of this moral debate.

The big doors were already open, and she gestured for him to head inside. He walked into the suite and looked around, never ceasing to be impressed by the scale of the rooms. The main room, the bedroom, was big enough, but there were two small studies off to one side, a boudoir, and a large shower and bathing room, not to mention two walk-in closets.

The splendour of the Blackwells never offended him directly, but he also understood that Karen DeBourne was not a pretentious or effete woman who clung to the trappings of luxury and power. This place was her obligation, a legacy to her ancient family, who were said to be mentioned in the Domesday Book, nearly a thousand years earlier. It stunned him to think about it.

Karen now joined him and put a gentle hand on his arm. He glanced at her and then saw her point up at something.

His gaze followed her graceful gesture and what he saw stopped him dead.

Over the huge bed was an enormous image, framed in gold. In the frame was a portrait... no, it was a photograph. The image displayed Alexa flinging herself through the air into Alex's arms, their faces almost touching and their eyes locked. Her incredibly long golden hair was flowing, and he could see a crystalline tear of what could only be joy was caught in the air behind her. There seemed to be a stage and an audience blurred out far behind them.

He looked at the picture with a growing sense of wonder. His thoughts drifted away from questions such as 'was the image doctored', or 'was the picture staged', because the more he looked, the more he came to realize this moment had been spontaneous and the image captured was one in a million. A perfect moment captured for all time by one very skilled and lucky photographer.

And it was so very obvious that these two were so very, very in love.

A perfect and divinely sanctioned love that was meant to be.

It moved him, and it shook him. It didn't shake his faith, not in a traditional sense that one would mean it, but it shook him in that his faith needed to be stronger than ever in order to do what was clearly the right thing now.

"This was taken at that Christmas concert you told me about," he said to his companion while he still looked on in wonder.

Karen nodded. "Alex caught us all off-guard that night with his announcement. Alli hadn't expected it, I hadn't... even Michael hadn't guessed he might do that."

The bishop raised an eyebrow at the last part, glancing at her. "Not even your husband? I have generally lived my life for many years now believing that it wasn't even possible to catch him off-guard, my dear."

Karen smiled as she stared at the picture, almost sighing dreamily. "None of us could have guessed, Your Excellency. I'm not sure even Alex knew he was going to do it until he did it. But my husband and I trusted to his intuition, and Alli fell more in love with him than ever that night. His bravery inspired us all. And convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt that their love was so very pure, and meant to be. Look at how very in love they are at that moment."

"I daresay I've only seen love like that once before," he mused, smiling at her. "I remember it well, because I consecrated that love almost thirty years ago, a union between two people who would become my most treasured and valued church elders."

Karen blushed and looked at the floor. "Give it some time and I believe this could become an even more remarkable love story, Your Excellency."

He smiled at her gently and patted her hand. "We've known one another for almost fifty years now, Karen, and we're not at the cathedral. Call me Fred."

Karen smiled back at him. "Well, not in front of the help, but okay. I think I can do that."

She turned to face him, since he'd seen what she saw every day, and now understood. She could see it in him. What had been revealed to him in the portrait had moved him deeply. "Fred, I understand that the church has had many big asks of it recently, and this is no small thing. And yes, Alex and Alli have a perfect love that other such relationships wouldn't. Like more standard marriages, a number of suddenly legal avunculate marriages would fail."

He could see the honesty and earnestness in her bewitching golden eyes. "But the failure of others, I don't want it to mar or prohibit what Alex and Alli have, and are so very entitled to."

She turned and looked up at the giant portrait again, sighing. "Oh, I know that they're already getting married in Versailles and avunculate marriage is legal in France, that they could absolutely live over there... but it would break my heart, and theirs, if they were forced to leave their home, and to need to live elsewhere, because their marriage here wasn't considered legitimate. And so soon after we just got Alli back."

She folded her arms and kept staring at the picture, her lyrical voice quiet but full of conviction. "Do you have any idea how absurd it sounds to me after the day I've had to be asking the bishop of the Canadian diocese to instruct the church to step up?"

He laughed, a sound Karen heard from him maybe once a decade. He looked into the eyes of this most remarkable woman, and saw not only her conviction in her cause, but also the yearning she felt, the need to see the love of her son and her little sister sanctified. It was already sacred in her eyes.

And when he looked up at that picture, he was hard-pressed to argue that it wasn't.

"You do understand that Alex is still not off the hook for his heresy," he said to her, a hint of a smirk on his normally dour face.

She returned the smirk, her golden eyes glinting. "He has already been given his penance, as dictated to him by my husband."

"Goodness, I'm not sure his transgression for was that dire," the bishop quipped. "Do you need me to intervene and perhaps pardon him? Condemning your son to Perdition might be a less severe punishment."

Karen shook her head. "This will be good for the little troll. Said penance will be many months long, and will give him perspective. I trust to Michael's judgment."

"As do I," the bishop said, nodding. "And if you are Mike are convinced this is the right move on the church's part for Alex and Alli, then I would be a fool not to agree. This image demonstrates exactly how right you are."

He took her hands and squeezed them as he looked into her shining eyes. "I will support you and endorse their union, Karen. This will take time, but I am officially in your corner now. This is without question the right thing to do. If I may be so bold, Deus volt."

"Oh, don't try your erudition on me," Karen chided, laughing gaily. "Your Latin has always been shoddy, Fred. Michael and I have each forgotten more Latin than you will ever know."

"I won't deny it," he said cheerfully as she took his arm and walked him out of the suite and back down the hall toward the grand staircase. "But it's good enough to impress upon the synods the need to examine the issue and get in line. I will compel them to do what they seem to hate most and make a decision."

"I'm grateful, Fred," she sighed in relief. "After the day I've had, that's some welcome news, I assure you. I half-expected my lord husband to return home and find the estate reduced to a smoking, doughy ruin with my underwear spread everywhere."

"Yes, about that..." he said, pausing in their walk and turning to look at her. "What is that all about? Why are your intimates being transported all over the city as if they're some commodity that belongs in a museum or art gallery?"

"Your Excellency," Karen said, letting out a deep breath and shaking her head. "It's just one of those things you're going to have to take on faith..."

***

Not long after...

"Now, this one is yours," Karen said to the young man named Les, who was standing in front of her, receiving the attaché case. Jeanie was allowed to stand at the edge of the grand foyer and look on, but she was to be nowhere near the proceedings. He nodded as he took the case from her. "The one meant for Langstaff is on its way, and the Sargon is safely headed to Antiquities. Okay, off with you, give that directly to Nancy. No dawdling or other stops. Into her hands immediately."

"Yes'm," he said, nodding and then turning to trot out the door. Karen watched him leave, making sure the door stayed open long enough to see him heading down the driveway. She sighed in satisfaction and turned to face Valentina.

"Miss Prospero, please check on Theresa and see if we're somehow still on schedule," Karen instructed.

"At once, Mistress," Valentina said, curtsying and then hurrying off toward the kitchen.

"Odd that she insists on calling you 'mistress', isn't it?" the bishop mused as he watched the servant girl leave. The DeBournes certainly ran an esoteric household.

"According to Miss Prospero, she comes from an old-world Italian family, and manners are manners," Karen said tactfully. "She calls me 'Mistress', and she calls Michael 'Master'." There were things his Excellency didn't need to know, after all. She hadn't lied, she just hadn't answered in any meaningful way. "You're sure I couldn't convince you to stay for dinner, Fred? My chef says we're having oobleck."

"Whatever that is, and delightful as it sounds, I must decline," the bishop said as he walked beside Karen, with her holding his arm. "Mrs. Peer will be displeased if she makes dinner and I am not there for it without several years' notice. Alas, her culinary skills are no doubt very poor compared to your chef's."

"Perhaps, but connubial duty waits for no man," she sighed, simply relieved that this part of the day was over with. "Still, despite all the insanity today, I am pleased that you are in Alex and Alli's corner now."

"A wise man knows not to contest your will, my dear, or that of your husband. Together, you are quite the unstoppable force. It would hardly be befitting for the church to refuse you, since you might very likely go off and form your own in response."

"Nothing that extreme, Your Excellency," she giggled, patting the back of his hand as they approached the front door. His car was still waiting in front of the manor where he'd left it. She walked him down the steps, hugged him, and bade him farewell, waiting while he got into his vehicle. Once the engine was running, he smiled at her and gave her a small wave. She bowed her head respectfully and watched as he headed down the long driveway, finally disappearing from view.

Karen sighed and turned to head back into her home, feeling a great weight lifting off her shoulders. She almost skipped down the hallway, glad things had finally worked out. Alli was in bed, safe from making trouble, the bishop was seen to, and the deliveries were finally all en route to their proper destinations.

She stopped and gently fluffed one of Marie's displays that was sitting in an alcove, taking a deep inhale of the subtle but lovely scent from the delicate blossoms. Spring was upon them, and things were moving forward. The manor was truly coming alive, and the neighbourhood was as well.