Alex in Wonderland (The Wonderland Series Book 1) (20 page)

34

End
of Discussion

 

Camilla’s insecurity level was on
high alert. “What’s gotten into you, Alex?” she demanded as he hustled her out
of the W Hotel and into his car. “You’ve been acting peculiar all evening. If I
didn’t know better I’d think you were mad at me.”

“I just need to talk to you,” he
replied, slipping a big bill to the parking lot attendant. The awestruck guy
was still basking in the afterglow of driving a Lamborghini. “I couldn’t do it
until we were alone.”

Camilla frowned and fidgeted. As
usual, she was unhappy not being the center of attention and was especially
displeased if anyone had secrets. “You sound so serious.”

“I am, but don't worry. It’s a
‘good’ serious.”

Alex patted her knee before revving
the engine and gliding up

Poydras Street
.
It was the first time he had seen Camilla since her performance at Thirteen
Oaks, and he still hadn’t quite processed what he had witnessed. He suppressed
anxiety over a hypocrisy he knew was genuine and unapologetic and steeled
himself
against the coming confrontation. If he was to
succeed, he had to keep everything in perspective.

 
“It’s about our future,” he said as he turned
onto

Magazine Street
and
headed uptown.

“There are some important issues we
need to discuss.”

Camilla spun toward him, eyes
blazing. The softness she had cultivated for the evening’s well-wishers was
vanquished by a hard, biting tone. “Issues? What issues? You’d better not be
getting cold feet or thinking about calling off this wedding, Alex Sumner,
because if you do I guarantee you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

 
“Calm down, Camilla. I have no intention of
calling off the wedding. In fact, what I want to discuss should make us the
happiest married couple in New Orleans.”

Feathers smoothed, Camilla
retreated. “Alright. I’m listening.”

Alex had rehearsed a short,
carefully planned speech about being true to one oneself and honest with one
another and planned to hint, as discreetly as possible, at what he knew about
Camilla’s raunchy past. He began by praising her personal qualities, laying on
the flattery and soft-soaping her until she was almost pliable. By the time he
finished eulogizing her beauty, she was purring.

“You always know the right things
to say, darling.”

“I guess because they seem to come
so easily around you,” Alex insisted. “Anyway, while Mother and I were in Key
West, I did a lot of thinking about us, and—”

 
“So that’s what you two were up to!” Camilla
snapped, mood shifting again. “You and your mother were talking about me behind
my back!”

Camilla had blind-sided Alex before
and gone postal over the most trivial things, but this was something else. The
air inside the car crackled with tension as he witnessed an emotional
overreaction eclipsing anything he had seen. He tried desperately to
short-circuit it and smooth the path toward a new, mutual understanding.

“For heaven’s sake, calm down.
Mother has nothing to do with this. I'm just trying to tell you that—”

“Don’t you dare answer that!”
Camilla slapped Alex’s hand when he retrieved his vibrating cell phone. “The
only person you’re talking to in this car is me!”

“Sorry.” Alex despised his meek
retreat but knew he had to control his temper with his whole future at stake.

“I suspected something the moment
you two left town!” she continued. “Why, I asked myself, would my fiancé
abandon me just before the wedding and go tooting off to Florida
with his mother? What could possibly make dear, sweet Alexander embarrass me in
front of my friends by ignoring their parties and disappearing without warning?
I racked my brain trying to figure it out and the only thing that makes sense
is that you were having second thoughts and wanted your mommy!”

Alex decided she had set a record
for skewing far and fast from reality. He had no doubt those long years of
living a double life had bequeathed her a streak of paranoia as deep as the Mississippi
River.

“You’re being ridiculous, Camilla.
We were only—”

“So now I’m ridiculous, eh?!”

Easy, Alex thought. Take a deep
breath and count to ten. If she pisses you off you’ll drop the damned ball.

“I only meant that you’re
overreacting. I told you I needed some down time after the kidnapping, and I
thought surely you understood that.”

“I understand only that you’ve made
some kind of big decision without consulting me and how selfish is that?!” Her
eyes narrowed. “Just what did you and your mother talk about? I know she’s
never liked me!”

“Camilla, if you’d stop being
hysterical for one minute—”

“So now I’m hysterical as well as
ridiculous!” Camilla was seething. “What other nasty accusations are you going
to make? Did you tell your mother about my faults and little peculiarities?
Future mothers-in-law just love that sort of dirt!"

Alex took a deep breath, struggling
to stay calm and restore sanity to a situation spiraling farther and farther
out of control. If he lost his cool he’d blow everything he'd so carefully
planned. He diverted himself by spinning one of his biggest lies yet.

“Sweetheart, Mother loves you, and
so do I” He paused, testing the waters with his next carefully calculated
phrase. “And I've never thought of you having any faults or secret
peculiarities." Alex hoped she would react to the word 'secret,' but no
such luck.

“Of course not.” She sniffed and
wiped away an imaginary tear as her paranoid outburst passed. “My life’s an
open book, especially where your family is concerned. All I ever wanted was to
make you happy and give your parents a devoted daughter-in-law they can be
proud of.”
  

Alex knew her skills in playing
this scene were honed to perfection, and she didn’t disappoint him. Camilla
could never have imagined her silky smooth lies so sickened him that he almost
felt nauseous.

“I also want you to know that I’m
not the kind of girl who can handle secrets. If you want to go somewhere or do
something apart from me, then I expect you to tell me about it. Mama says
sharing is the secret to every happy marriage.” Camilla’s voice turned even
silkier as she reached across the gleaming console to pat Alex’s arm. “You know
I only want the best for us, sweetie pie, and the only way we’ll have that is
complete and utter honesty. Don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely.”

Alex groaned inside as she finished
disarming him and moved in for the kill. “Now then, you don’t really have any issues to discuss, do you, honey?”

“No, I guess not.”

“I didn’t think so, my
darling." She rested a hand on his knee and squeezed ever so gently.
"Oh, I love you so!"”

Alex didn’t need to see Camilla’s
face to know she was smiling with self-righteousness.

In fact, her saccharine
condescension was so ripe he could almost smell it. At that precise moment, he
knew he could never tell her the truth about himself or what he knew about her
secret life, much less expect any sort of honest compromise. Camilla’s
audacious hypocrisy, flaunted while she accused
him
of being the bad
guy, was more than he could stomach, and whatever protective feelings he had
for her evaporated. More clearly than ever, he saw Camilla as the
self-consumed, amoral bitch she really was, someone who would unhesitatingly
cuckold her husband and make fools of his family, all for the Sumner millions.

This, Alex decided, means war.

Their goodnight kiss was the most
difficult he had ever delivered. As Camilla pressed their lips together, the
bile triggered by her lies stirred again, but somehow Alex managed to get back
to the car without gagging. He’d barely cleared the driveway when his phone
vibrated again. This time he answered.

“Darling boy!”

“Jolie! I thought you didn’t get
back until tomorrow!”

“There were rumors of security
threats and cancelled flights at Charles De Gaulle, so I left a day early. I
phoned about half an hour ago, but got no answer.”

“Uh, Camilla and I were having
words,” Alex reported.

Jolie’s hope leapt. “Was it about
Cord? Did you see him? Did you patch things up? Is he moving to New
Orleans? Is the wedding off?”

Alex’s heart sank. “No, yes, no, no
and no.”

“Oh, dear,” Jolie sighed. “You want
to come over for a heart-to-heart?”

“I’m too tired,” Alex insisted. “In
fact, I feel like I’ve been hit by the St. Charles
streetcar and dragged fifteen blocks.”

“I’m whipped too, but mine’s only
jet lag.”

“Was Paris
fun?”

“More than I ever expected. I met
the most divine couple who…well, you’ll meet them soon enough. They’ll be here
in a couple of weeks.”

 
“I’m not sure where I’ll be in two weeks,”
Alex said.

“Uh-oh. Did you send Daddy the
photos? Has the shit hit the fan?”

“Not yet. I’ve got a better idea.”

There was a long pause. “You sound
pissed.”

“I am. Royally.”

“Pissed enough to so something
rash?”

“You’ve taught me better than
that.”

“What then?”

“Something even more spiteful.”

“Tell, tell! Jolie pressed. “I’m
dying over here!”

 
“Let’s put it this way,” Alex said. “By the
time I’m finished with the duplicitous Miss Camilla Spivey, the Garden District
will be rocked right to its swampy foundations!”

Jolie cackled so hard Alex moved
the phone away.

35

Audience
Participation

 

It was approaching zero hour the
day of the wedding. Alex paced his room, alternately nervous and exhilarated.
If everything unfolded as planned, he would be a free man by
noon
, and Camilla would be deservedly disgraced. More
than once he had asked himself if he was doing the right thing, if what he
planned was too harsh. He had only to look at the photos of Camilla
in
flagrante delicto
and all guilt evaporated.

“Quid pro quo, Clarice,” he
muttered.

His father was, as Alex expected,
on cloud nine. At
eleven o’clock
at
St. Patrick’s Church, the unofficial merger of Sumner Petroleum and Gulf South
Oil would be cemented and the last piece of his master plan would fall into
place. Alex’s scheme to unravel that plan was the deepest secret of his life,
one shared by only two other people. Even Jolie was in the dark. He tried hard
to dislodge the facts, but Alex wouldn’t budge.

“You act like I’m a security risk,”
Jolie had pouted on the phone.

“Nothing of the sort,” Alex
insisted. “It’s just that I know you love surprises and this one’s gonna be a
humdinger.”

“And you’re sure there’s absolutely
nothing I can do to help?”

“Actually, it would help if Tatiana
came to the wedding. I don’t really know why, but she would give me moral
support.”

           
“Oh, my!
This is just like that time Maria Callas was nervous about her latest comeback
and asked her pal Elizabeth Taylor to come to the opera late and distract
everyone. It’s so, so exciting!”

Alex struggled to be patient as
Jolie babbled on. “Is that a yes?”

“Tatiana will be there with bells
on!” Jolie crowed. “I happen to know she just bought something devastating in Paris
and this will be the perfect occasion to debut it.”

“Thanks, Jolie.”

“Any time, kiddo. See you in
church!”

Remembering that conversation made
Alex smile as he went downstairs to join his mother in Sumner Petroleum’s
vintage Rolls Royce. As soon as he slid in beside her, Karen sent Jedediah
inside to hurry up her husband and seized the opportunity for a private word
with her gleeful son.

“You’re in awfully high spirits
this morning,” she ventured.

“Why not?” Alex grinned and gave
her a hug, careful not to muss her hair or corsage. “It’s my wedding day.”

“I know. That’s why I’m surprised
you’re smiling.”

Alex feigned shock. “Why, Mother
dear! What a dreadful thing to say to a bridegroom.”

“To any ordinary bridegroom, yes,”
Karen conceded. “But you hardly fit that category.”

Alex’s paranoia went into overload.
Had his mother overheard something? Had Jedediah found the photos of Camilla
stashed at the bottom of his sock drawer? Or did he just look like he was up to
something?

“What does that mean?”

“Well, for one thing you’re cool as
a cucumber even though your father’s still on the phone with that Nigerian oil
deal. We’ll barely get to the church on time as it is.” Karen toyed with the
ribbons on her corsage. “I was also thinking about how determined you were to
avoid marriage to Camilla and how you’re now hell-bent on going through with
it. This sudden about-face has me very intrigued.” Before Alex could reply, she
said, “This wouldn’t have anything to do with our trip to Key
West, would it?”

“Sort of,” Alex confessed. He took
her hand. “Remember when we were on the plane, and I promised I’d tell you everything sooner or later?”

“Of course I do. Is it sooner or
later yet?”

“Somewhere in between I think.”

“My dear Alexander,” she said,
squeezing his hand. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are to have a mother
who lets you keep so many secrets?”

“You sound like Jolie,” he laughed.
“He’s always singing your praises, and, yes, I do know how lucky I am. You have
the patience of a saint.”

“Well, Saint Karen’s patience was
wearing pretty thin in Key West,
but this morning I got a feeling that something’s about to happen.
Something big.
Something life-altering.”

Alex was more curious than ever,
especially about his mother’s uncharacteristic choice of words, but he said
nothing. “And why is that?”

“Because mothers know things, my
darling.” She squeezed his hand again and smoothed her long skirts as Sumner
and Jedediah appeared at last. “We can only be fooled for so long.”

“Alright then!” Sumner boomed,
sliding in beside them as Jedediah took the wheel. “Let’s get this show on the
road!?”

Despite the supposed joyousness of
the day, the Sumner family raced down

Prytania Street
in complete silence. Alex knew it was because each was consumed by deep
personal concerns. While his mother fretted over an enormous unknown and his
father dreamed of empires merged, Alex went over his secret scheme for the
umpteenth time. He closed his eyes and silently thanked Camilla for insisting
the ceremony be videotaped. If all went as planned, he’d have something to
cherish for the rest of his life, and it sure as hell wouldn’t be a new wife!

“Here we are,” Jedediah announced
proudly, drawing the Rolls up before St. Patrick’s Church. He beamed as he
hopped out to open the door. “All delivered safe and sound for Mr. Alex’s big
day.”

Karen wasn’t kidding about running
late. The wedding consultant, Samara Sarpy, maintained a frantic vigil on the
church’s front steps. She rushed to the car before they even climbed out and
began barking orders.

“Mother of the groom down the
aisle!” Miss Sarpy snapped. She glared at Alex and his father as though they
were on the FBI Most Wanted list. “Groom and best man, to the altar now! Father
Gregory is waiting! Everyone’s waiting! Hurry, people!”

 
As his mother was hustled into the church,
Alex glimpsed something lacy and white and realized he had seen Camilla.
“Uh-oh,” he muttered.

“What’s wrong, son?” Sumner asked
as they hurried to the church’s rear entrance.

“Isn’t it bad luck to see the bride
before the ceremony?”

“Bullshit,” his father grunted. “It’s
going to be nothing but smooth sailing for you and Camilla.” He clapped Alex on
the back in a show of affection that was light years too late. “I guarantee
it.”

“Right, Daddy.”

The moment Alex and his father
followed the priest to the altar, he scanned the sea of faces and smiled when
he spotted Tatiana Yussupov seated right behind Karen. She was a symphony in
teal satins and feathers, face largely concealed by a blue veil draped from a
picture hat. Jolie winked and gave a discreet gloved wave before Alex looked
elsewhere, immeasurably relieved when he found the party he sought toward the
rear of the sanctuary.

“Thank God!” he murmured, praying
he wouldn’t be struck dead for blaspheming on the altar.

Alex tensed then relaxed as Phaedra
Swanson commenced the dreaded “Oh, Promise Me.”
Phaedra was the size of the Superdome, but he agreed she had the voice of an
angel. After that, the ceremony was a frothy blur as Camilla’s dozen attendants
floated down the long aisle, followed by the bride and her father. Then
everyone except Camilla seemed to recede until he and she were alone with
Father Gregory. Alex went through the ceremony by rote, occasionally nudged by
Camilla and prompted by the priest when his mind wandered. He didn’t start
paying real attention until the priest approached that moment in the liturgy
when he asked approval of the congregation.

“If there is anyone among you with
reason why this man and this woman should not be joined in holy matrimony, let
them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Because Alex and Camilla faced away
from the congregation, they could not see what happened next. Their eyes were
riveted on Father Gregory’s beaming face as he gave the crowd the requisite
cursory glance, never dreaming anyone would respond. Satisfied, he looked back
at Camilla, then at Alex, smiled nervously and paused.

 
The next moment was longest in Alex’s life.

Father Gregory suddenly looked away
from the bridal couple and fixed an unbelieving gaze somewhere between them. A
dull rustling broke the stillness, a sound Alex knew could be only one thing.
Then the priest spoke in a badly shaken voice.

“Young…young man? Have you…have you
something to say?” There was another interminable pause and more rustling.
Someone coughed and cleared his throat. “There are…
two of you?!”

For Alex, time lapsed and
everything unfolded in slow motion as Camilla faced the congregation. He turned
too and saw, at precisely the same moment as Camilla, two men in ill-fitting
suits who were decidedly not on the guest list. They stood a good fifty feet
away, but Camilla had no trouble recognizing them. She made an unintelligible
noise and then pierced the vast sanctuary with a screech of raw hysteria. Alex
caught her as she fell into a dead faint. Then, prompted by a burst of chivalry,
he swept her into his arms and off the altar.

He looked up just in time to see
Cletis and Dooley making a mad scramble for the front door.