Into the Lion's Den (95 page)

“You can't decide my life!”

“As long as you live under my roof and my protection, I decide over your life, child. Once you follow your,” Michel huffed before saying the abhorred word, “…Consort, you both together will decide what the best course of action is. Till that moment, you remain under my care.”

“I don't want to study in Zurich!”

“All right, go back to London. In case of need you can always ask for a cup of sugar to Repin. He lives only three hundred metres from… what was the name of your street, my Duke?”

“Melbury Road.”

“Ah, that must two hundred metres then,” Michel corrected himself.

“All right father, I see your point!”

“Good. I will establish a trustee fund for Guntram's education in your bank, Duke. All his expenses must come from there.”

“Mr. Lacroix, I assure you that it will be a pleasure to look after your son.”

“I prefer that he does not feel indebted to you any longer. It's bad for any kind of relationship if one of the partners is in clear disadvantage in front of the other. We cannot overcome the age difference but we can sooth other aspects.”

“Guntram is my consort! I swore to look after him!”

“Guntram is my son. His education and welfare are my sole concern.”

“As you wish, but I will take care of his medical expenses and support him in my house.”

“I must insist that he looks for a position as long as his health allows it. Guntram told me he had an offer to illustrate some books and I think he should accept it. Don't you think, son?”

“Yes, father,” If Michel was on his side, he could take the offer Coco van Breda had made last January, the same that Konrad had forbidden him to accept just because she was “a lower member from our entourage”. He could see how Konrad was fuming and glaring at his father.

“My son was educated to be an independent man, Sire,” he clarified, getting ready for a dialectic battle with Lintorff.

'When did we reopen the negotiation? This man is meddling more and more!' “I will respect your wishes.”

“Excellent. When does your plane leave?”

“Tomorrow night, at eleven,” Konrad said.

“You can visit my son tomorrow, if you want.”

“I was wondering if you could have lunch with me in Frankfurt, sir. At my house and allow Guntram to stay with me till my departure, if he wants so.”

“It would become too late for him and I must fly to Paris the day after.”

“I would be honoured if you accept to be my guests. My driver can take you in the morning to the airport. My Tutor has arrived to the city this afternoon, with Guntram's dog. He might see to him.”

“No, he stays here.”

“I insist as you will not be here to protect your son. My house in Frankfurt is perfectly safe for him. The minute Repin finds out that I was here, he will check what could be so interesting for me in Aschaffenburg.”

“Do I have your word that Guntram will not be disturbed?”

“Of course. He may remain in that house till you deem necessary and my Tutor will oversee his stay in Frankfurt,” Konrad was about to explode. This was much worse than he had envisioned ever. 'Twice per month? I should have say twice per year!'

“Very well, Griffin. It's getting late and you must return to Frankfurt. Guntram may see you to the door.”

“Good-bye, sir,” Konrad said, barely keeping his temper in check.

“In ten minutes back in the house, child,” Michel said to his son and Konrad was on the brink of an explosion, only stopped by the shy and encouraging smile he got from Guntram.

Walking toward the door helped him to loose part of his fury and calm down before he would shout or fight with the man. 'So much for hippie love! All of them are the same, free love till it's your son or daughter.

Hypocrites!'

“You must understand my father, Konrad. It's very difficult for him. Nothing is how he imagined for me.

He thought I was going to be normal and marry, you know?”

“You're married to me! Should we go to the darned Town Hall in Frankfurt and register our union? If you want we marry in Spain or Holland! This has been the most humiliating moment in my whole life! At forty-seven years old I was treated like a horny teenager and sent home before I start to drool over you!” he roared, but kept his voice low. Guntram looked at him speechless. “I'm sorry, kitten. Your father drives me mad. Do you see why we can't be together under the same roof? I'll do my best to comply with his conditions, but he's always pushing the limits one centimetre more each time he sees me!”

“I also don't like when he bosses me around, but you must understand that he had to give up on me for many years. He only wants the best for me.”

“I'm not sure if I could stand him.”

“I will not leave him behind. Not even for you, Konrad. To be honest, I don't know if this is a good idea at all. That I love you doesn't mean we can live together,” Guntram said seriously and Konrad felt his world collapse once more.

“We can live together if you forgive me. We did it before and it was the happiest time in my life. Please,
Maus
, come home. I'll fly to Australia just to be away when he visits you!”

“Nothing so extreme. Berlin, would be sufficient,” Guntram chuckled and Konrad also laughed, still unconvinced, but glad that his love was lowering his defences. When the laughter stopped, Guntram said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “do you know what the best part of a bossy father is?”

“When he goes away?”

“When children disobey the papa,” Guntram whispered and kissed Konrad on the lips very fast, without giving him time to react and catch his kitten once more. “See you tomorrow, go before he comes and shoots you down.”

“Probably he already has a good firing solution and is only waiting for you to move aside,” Konrad grunted while Guntram opened the gate, moving aside to let him pass.

“That's right. See you tomorrow.”

“At ten the car will be here. Go inside.”

Massaiev was surprised when he read the report late at night. What on Earth was Lintorff doing in a sorry place like Aschaffenburg a day ago? Certainly not playing the tourist or visiting relatives! Why was Pavicevic coming along too?

Time to speak with Repin and pray that this will finally be a true lead because the whole month spent in Buenos Aires in March had been fruitless and frustrating to no end. The men had even looked inside that horrible slum, having to teach several lessons in their quest for the boy. Repin had given up by April mostly because Lintorff had the same results: Nothing at all. None of his friends had been contacted or had any idea about Guntram's whereabouts. During the first two weeks, they obtained some leads through a credit card under his name from different places all over Argentina, but then, nothing else came up. Total silence, as if Guntram had died.

'Probably, this is what happened. The boy was very sick and the stress must have killed him. Poor child!

He didn't deserve such a miserable end. He had never hurt a soul, with the exception of boss' and it was more because of his stubbornness than Guntram's fault.'

He left his office and walked toward Constantin's studio to wait for him at its door, remembering that his employer might be with his children. 'Something good came out of this. Repin cares more about them; even about Vania, who was nothing but a stray dog till Guntram arrived. They got along almost immediately and he always asks about him, even if the others are forgetting him. Guntram was writing to him and his father read the letters even after they had broken up. The three books he made for the child are beautiful and Repin is right to keep them away from the child and only show them on special occasions. A true loss.'

“What is now, Massaiev?” Repin asked the man standing proudly in front of his door. The months of uncertainty had also taken his toll on him and he had pass from his murdering rage at the boy for rejecting him to a real concern for Guntram. Without money, medications, friends or support, he had not many chances to survive in Latin America. This and his character bound to depression, had led him to expect the worst outcome and now he only waited for the news about his death.

“I'm not sure about this Mr. Repin. It's puzzling to say the least.”

“Speak up.”

“Lintorff went yesterday to a small city in Bavaria, with Pavicevic. The place is called Aschaffenburg.”

“What was he doing there?”

“We don't know. The men tried to follow him, but several Serbs almost killed them. They had to retreat before they shot them dead. Lintorff's men were more aggressive than usual.

“It couldn't be so easy,” Constantin mumbled. “Find Lacroix immediately and bring him here.”

The woman was still buffing from running since the previous day. She had to pack everything for her employer, so useless as usual regarding the house chores, and his son, too nervous and happy to remember the most basic things. The lad had only piled up his papers in no order and stuffed them into a plastic bag and voilà! Moving done! Fairuza had yelled with him and his contribution had been… to place his shoes on top of the ironed shirts!

'All this is the antiquity's fault! Nothing good can come out of this! How can his own father let this man come near his son? Even if Maurice does not like girls, and that's a sin, he should get him someone of his age! He could be his father! Maurice should meet one of my nieces and he would change his mind.'

Still upset, she closed the boy's bag determined to stay with him as long as his father was in Paris. 'No way, I'm leaving Maurice-Guntram alone in that place in Frankfurt! That bloody Duke of his looked at me as if I were filth!'

She growled and glared at the tall man waiting at the door frame for the bags. “To the car with this and go to the kitchen for mine too. If something is missing you will not like what's going to happen to you!”

Mirko Bregovic just looked at her with infinite contempt, 'Those animals are good for nothing. It's disgusting to touch one of them' before he picked the item and went to the car.

The large Mercedes parked in front of an old house, similar to Guntram's father but of a much larger size in a narrow street forming a cul de sac near Kennedystrasse. Friederich Elsässer waited at the main entrance when the chauffeur hurried to open the car's door.

From it, descended Jerôme de Lisle, much older, but still looking the same, with the dismissive, aristocratic and proud air that had always characterised him. Although Friederich was aware of his coming since several weeks, he was not prepared to see the man returning from his grave, lordly and energetic as always. Only the broad smile from Guntram and that the boy hugged him with real affection, breaking all protocol rules, took him out of his lethargic state.

“Hello, Guntram,” the old man greeted the boy and patted his cheek. “I was very concerned about you.”

“Hello, Friederich. I was in Aschaffenburg at Mr. Lacroix's house,” Guntram answered softly the lesson he had learned from his father.

“I'm glad he looked after you while you were meditating. You always had a great ability to forgive, my child,” Friederich said and noticed how Michel stiffened at hearing the way he was addressing Guntram. “Come inside, the Duke will arrive soon from his meetings.”

The howl and mad race Mopsi made from the kitchen the moment she smelled or heard Guntram, almost marked the spotless floor and moved some of the small carpets. Guntram went to the ground level and caressed his dog, ruffling her ears as she loved so much. She was almost jumping on top of him to lick his face when Friederich noticed the woman dressed in dark clothes, standing next to Lacroix an wearing a scarf over her head.

His heart almost stopped at the view.

“This is Fairuza ben Ali. She's here to look after Guntram when I'm not here” Michel announced simply.

“I'm afraid I was not informed, sir.” Friederich said very stiffly.

“Now you're. Show me his room and mine. I have to check everything is fine. Maurice, don't let that filthy animal touch your face! It's dirty and impure! How can you have such a thing??” she said and ran over the Austrian, still unable to believe that one of “those people” had set a foot inside the house. “Where is his lunch? I have to control it. His doctor left very strict recommendations!”

“Fairuza, this is Mopsi and she's very clean!” 'There goes my
Schweinbraten,
' Guntram resigned himself to his fate. She was going to stay with him and make him eat boiled chicken or fish.

“The hygiene is not the problem; the animal is. She has no purpose; doesn't protect the house or hunts!”

“The dog has a purpose, Fairuza,” Michel intervened before Friederich would kick her out of the house.

“She helps Guntram to release the stress, exactly as his doctor told him to do. Animals are good for it. You're right that he shouldn't let the animal jump on him.”

“In that case,” she conceded and looked at the old butler, but he choose to ignore her and lead Guntram and Michel to the living room as it was his duty, with Mopsy shaking her tail to the lawyer just because he smelled very similarly to her master and also knew well how to pet her properly.

One of the maids asked kindly Fairuza to follow her to the kitchen and service area. Mr. Elsässer will have to solve that problem later because in the moment he was busy with the Duke's boyfriend. 'He's so young!

Almost like a child! Must be younger than Master Armin.'

Guntram sat in the sofa with his father at his side and the dog jumped to his lap as it was her habit, still sniffing the stranger. Friederich remained standing and looking to Michel, still in shock to see him. 'After all, he saved Konrad,' he repeated for the tenth time.

“Have you seen the babies already, Friederich?” Guntram asked.

“I have only seen pictures. I stayed all the time in Zurich, in case you would return. His Excellency was very worried about you. We all were.”

“I stayed with my father, Friederich.”

“Guntram!”

“I can't lie to Friederich, papa.”

“Thank you, my child. Here is your mobile. Antonov brought it this morning. I believe there are new pictures made by the nurses,” Friederich took out of his pocket a small phone and a visit cards box and extended both to Guntram who muttered a “thank you,”