Schism

The minute I heard his car in the drive, a quiver of angst fluttered in my heart, for all my bravado I was playing a very dangerous game with my cousin. The purr of his Jag was unmistakable, he probably kept it well oiled from the ooze of his slimy personality and the authoritative bang on my door was also unmistakable, Gervais was here to claim his own.

Simon scowled at the sound of the banging and rose from the sofa, no doubt to enjoy his moment of triumph over Gervais however I was not about to allow him to invite any more destruction into his life, my cousin would retaliate in a fashion as deadly as his vicious little soul could imagine. Guilt washed over me in floods when I suddenly realised the position I had put Simon into for as much as he liked to believe he could handle this situation he was no match for any Dubois, myself included. Since deception was the mainstay of my family I put on a face so cheerful it bordered on demented and flung open the door to the seething bundle of hatred that had come to visit.

I quailed inside while my face was fixed in a frozen grin of lunacy and for a second I was trapped between keeping Simon there as a body guard, a foolish idea as it would no doubt result in his murder, or ushering him out the door which no doubt would have resulted in mine. Luckily the issue was resolved for me with the arrival of Maritka who looked at this dark comedy with something approaching horror.

Before Simon could get a word in to gloat I steered him out the door unable to meet the puzzled hurt in his eyes, I hated myself at that moment for I had used him as surely as Gervais used those he seduced and threw away. Simon was not safe around me and whatever emotions I had for him were now buried in a vault of shame deep in my heart. There could not be any relationship in my life, not until the Reign of Gervais was ended and this was going to be one bloody coup with fallout I could not begin to imagine. All I was certain of was that I did not want Simon to be one of the victims of this particular Dubois

Gervais glared at Simon as he left, glared at Maritka as she brought in tea and gave me a lethal stare that would have melted me on the spot had not his unfortunate blood burned in my veins. I saw him for the first time struggle to keep composed and I knew that I had managed to completely, utterly, piss him off and for a few seconds I feared he was going to lean across the chair and strangle me regardless of the witness of Maritka. I did the only thing I could, I smiled and leaned back, doing my best Liselle impersonation. Gervais once confronted with what he knew calmed down enough to snarl a barrage of threats that would have anyone else packing up to leave town.

Seeing the fracture in his composure, his perfect insolence compromised by anger, I knew that we had entered a new level of association. As he condemned my actions as wanton and disgusting I found myself staring at the lips I had kissed only a few days ago. The taste of him flooded through me and as my eyes met his there was for a brief second a spark that ignited the void between us. A fearful thought flitted through my mind and I could feel my heart crack in denial, I could not, would not, even entertain for a moment that my sudden consuming lust for Simon had been created by my distraction of Gervais. It took all my resolve not to shudder but his eyes missed nothing and I knew my dreadful cousin would have caught the scent of the thought no matter how little I revealed.

I did what I could to distract him from the moment and at that second a sunny smile appeared to be the fuel for his rage, he leapt back into threats and had laid out a plan of behaviour I was to adhere to. This involved obeying all his strictures, no intimate relations he disapproved of and moving into compound immediately. If the tension had not been bordering upon dangerous I would have laughed aloud at this ludicrous posturing, instead I raised my brows, leaving my pleasant smile frozen upon my lips. Gervais was reaching the limits of self control and I watched his hand clench open and closed, just the once but for him this was a most revealing moment. My cousin could control every aspect of his universe except me and no matter how studied his appearance was the signs of frustration broke through.

My dear cousin then resorted to what he did best, he threatened those about me but since he had managed to destroy every conceivable relationship of my friends there really was not much more he could do, but then I was an innocent playing with the devil. Of course there was more damage he could do for he had no boundaries, Gervais had no restrictions since he left university, he had owned his father’s business, then his uncle’s and finally the entire town and I was playing with a megalomaniac who would stop at very little to obtain his desires. Gervais resorted to threatening Simon’s wellbeing and I knew he was not speaking of a broken limb or lost job, he made it abundantly clear that if he was pushed any further Simon would be removed from my life on a permanent basis.

I know I should have been afraid, Gervais was capable of anything and if I had delved into the past of my family, I would not have been surprised to find several suddenly removed persons. It was as if we had been two stones slowly sinking to the bottom of a pond and finally we had arrived at the bottom. He revealed his depths and to my horror and surprise I revealed my own. I did not shrink in panic or a healthy fear of self perseveration, no I had to allow the insidious fire in my blood to have voice, I had to be just as Dubois as my dear cousin was and allow him to see my true self.

Keeping my best ‘admiring the roses’ voice I leaned forward and explained to him that whatever he did to any of my friends I would return to him, many times over, he was not to interfere in my life in any manner, no matter how convinced it was for my well being. I saw his icy green eyes flicker and had Maritka not been shuffling outside the drawing room door I knew he would have thrown me to the floor then and there, either to kill, ravish or both. Gervais left me with a parting threat which was lunch at Djini’s and even though I knew I was going my only reply was to smile as I showed him the door. My cousin had taken our relationship to an entirely new level and now there was only one way out for me and that was to ensure my plans to remove him came to fruition before he had a chance to test the electric bond between us.

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