Part Seven
 

Picking up a folded card with his name and table number, Nick was oblivious to
the crowds of people forming small groups near the open bar and at the various
small tables in the sectioned off area of the ballroom.  The ceremony had been
short, and very tastefully done.  Only the sounds from a lone piano player
accompanied the bride, groom, and all the attendants down the aisle.  The rest
was a blur.  He had only watched her as if she were the only one in the room
as each spoke their vows and the Justice of the Peace pronounced them husband
and wife.  Flashes from photographers had lit the couple over and over as
every second seemed to be captured for all of eternity.  However, that was all
history now, and Nat was a married woman.  He glanced around the room.  There
must have been over four hundred guests, yet he could feel the pangs of
loneliness making great efforts to overcome him.  His sad reminiscence
abruptly ended as a waiter approached him with a tray of champagne filled
goblets.  Sliding one from the tray, he then moved to locate his table on the
other side of the ballroom.  The room was dark except for the lit five taper
candelabras that rested in the center of each rounded table.

Sitting away from the noise and commotion of the other guests, he quietly
sipped at the sparkling contents of his glass.  When he had been alone with
Nat before the wedding, something had almost happened.  She felt something for
him.  There was nothing imagined in what almost happened.  They had come close
to kissing, very close.  If they had not been interrupted, then... then what?
He rebuked himself.  Why was he trying to interpret a small kiss of gratitude
into something more than what it was?  But then again, why should he dismiss
their actions as meaningless?  She may not remember him on one level, but not
all of her feelings for him were lost.  He would be a fool to believe anything
else.

Finishing his drink, he placed the empty glass on the table, and watched as
the guests began to enter and find their seats.  The room became alive with
the sounds of scores of conversations and the movements of chairs as all were
seated.  The band that had been softly playing background music suddenly
stopped as a beam from a spotlight illuminated the stage.  As the group's
leader picked up the microphone, it put out an electronic high pitch squeal
that rapidly diminished as the man began to speak and the room became silent.
Gesturing towards the back of the room, he loudly cleared his throat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen for the first time as husband and wife, I give you
Doctors Natalie and Mark Harmond!"

The band began to play and the spotlight shifted to Nat and Mark as they
walked in hand in hand through the midst of applause and cheers from family
and friends.  Then as the couple approached the middle of the floor, the
musician took the microphone again and made another announcement.

"The newlyweds are about to share their first dance as a married couple.
Please let them have a few moments by themselves, then you are all invited to
join them for this special time."

As the band began to play the Anniversary Waltz, Nick leaned an elbow on the
table and dreamingly watched her glide across the dance floor.  Her face was
blushed with the color of life as she smiled at Mark with every step.  Soon
other couples began to enter onto the floor with some prompting by the
announcer.  And it was not long until the entire center of the room swayed
with handsomely dressed couples, but he still could not take his eyes from
her.

The sounds of the waiters busily bringing the first course along with all the
people who talked or swayed to the music all faded into the background.  His
heart tugged with yearnings of the past.  She was just beginning her life;
there was so much for her to look forward to.  And maybe all the symptoms he
feared she might have from his bite, were just his overactive imagination.
The cross he had given to her did not seem to cause a problem.  It appeared as
if she would be capable of leading a normal life, but how he wished that he
could have been a part of it.

His stare penetrated through the crowds and only stayed fixed on her.  There
was as much love for her now as on that night a year ago when he had so
selfishly taken too much of her blood.  A voice near him broke his
concentration.

"Looks like you drained it, would you like more?"

Catching him by surprise, he turned to see who would make such a strange
comment.  Next to him sat a beautiful woman who was tapping his champagne
glass with her fingernail.

"The waiter has been waiting for some time for your answer.  Do you want him
to refill your empty glass?"

Rubbing the memory of almost draining Nat from his eyes, he smiled at his
table partner then noticed that the dance had ended and everyone was returning
to their seats.  Looking up at the waiting man who stood perched over him with
a bottle in his hand, he shook his head and waved him on.  Then as he
straightened himself in his seat, the woman who had roused him from his trace,
and whose gown was so tight that it left no mysteries, introduced herself.

"Sorry I startled you, but the music was so loud, and you seemed to be lost in
your thoughts."  She ended her apology when she saw his eyes follow Nat as she
moved with Mark to the head table.  "She is a beautiful bride.  I can see why
you are finding it hard to keep your eyes off her."

Annoyed by her observation and outspokenness, he again turned to her.  "Excuse
me?"

"You did seem to be taken by her, you never even noticed the rest of us at the
table."

Glancing around the table at all the unfamiliar faces, he realized that she
was right.  "I am sorry.  It has been a rough day for me.  I'm Nick Kni..."

She interrupted him.  "I already know who you are.  I've asked around.  I was
very impressed by your gift to the couple.  That endowment to the University
in their name was extremely generous.  I'm Carrie Billingsly," she moved back
in her seat to reveal an elderly man.  "And this is my husband Kenneth
Billingsly III.  And before you ask, yes he is the founder of the Billingsly
Development Corporation."

"I was not going to ask, and the gift to the couple was not given by me.  I
merely suggested that the foundation consider this worthy institution for one
of their endowment funds."

"Yes the Nicholas de Brabant Foundation, a very philanthropic organization.
However, you are being much too modest.  You must wield a tremendous amount of
influence there.  What exactly is your position on the board?"

Bothered by her digging into his personal life, he tried to not show his
irritation as he spoke to her.

"Mrs. Billingsly?"

"Please, call me Carrie."

Biting his tongue, he forced out a smile.  "Carrie, I hold only a small
position.  What I am is a private investigator.  I work to solve crimes, and I
am sorry if you got the wrong impression."  Trying to distract the attention
from himself, he looked over to her husband.  "Actually, I find your business
much more interesting."

She moved up in her chair to block his view of her husband.  "It's my
husband's family business, which I am sure is nothing compared to the leverage
the de Brabant Foundation controls.  Nevertheless, life as a PI does conjure
up some interesting scenarios.  I would love to hear more about your dangerous
line of work.  So Mr. Nick Knight..."  She turned towards her husband.  "If
Kenneth does not object, it would please me if you would have the next dance
with me."

Not wanting for his response, she jumped up from the table, took hold of his
hands, and pulled Nick from his seat.  "Hurry, the song has already begun, and
I like to dance the slow ones."

With pleading eyes Nick looked back at Kenneth Billingsly who with an
understanding smile, waved that he was fine with his wife's advances.  Then he
was dragged against his will towards the middle of the dance floor.  As soon
as they began to dance, she moved up against him and he responded by moving
back from her.  Noticing her partner's concern as she tried to move in close
to him for their slow dance, she shook her head.  "Don't worry.  Kenneth
understands my ways.  He's not the jealous type, if that's what you're worried
about.  How about for me?  Should I be concerned about who might be looking
over at me?"

"No, I came alone, but I am still uncomfortable..."  As he spoke she reached
behind him and pulled his body into hers.  She smiled from his surprised
reaction.  "Don't be so nervous.  A big, strong, ex-homicide detective like
yourself should not be afraid of me."  Nick stopped dancing and stepped back
to look at her.  She knew that he had been a homicide detective.  Seeing his
reaction, she realized that she had gone too far with her knowledge of him and
she tried to recover.  "In my line, it's always good business to know all
about possible benefactors.  Therefore, I did my homework on you.  Didn't I
tell you that I knew who you were?"

Still not resuming the dance with her, he suspiciously glared at her.  "I
think you should be dancing with your husband."

"And I think you have to relax.  I'm really not all that bad once you get to
know me."  She moved towards him, and he reluctantly recommenced the dance
steps.  After a few seconds she looked into his eyes and smiled.  "I bet you
hear that you are a very handsome man all the time."  Stopping again, he
backed away and held her at arms length.  "Your husband is waiting for you."
As he turned to leave, she tightly grabbed onto his arm to stop him.  "There
is something I want to discuss with you.  When I was speaking to your
ex-Captain Joe Reese, I discovered how poorly you were treated by my husband's
cousin the commissioner.  I also heard about your difficulties in arranging a
hearing date.  I'm sure that with a few well chosen words from a 'friend of
yours' like myself, your hearing to be reinstated could be pushed ahead."

Despising her implications, bitterness crept into his voice.  "I do not need
your help."

"I have always found that everyone needs help with one thing or another.  With
your outstanding record, an appellate judge would not allow Commissioner
Vetter's ruling to stand."

His anger rolled in.  "Do not interfere!"

Ignoring his words, she continued.  "Yes, I would say that a word from me and
that hearing date could go either way.  I have heard that there are still some
cases pending after ten years.  I would never want that to happen to someone
in your situation.  Our communities need good detectives like yourself to
protect us.  I believe the 96th precinct is in our district.  I'll be having
lunch with the head of the appellate board and his wife next week, and I
thought that your name might just happen to come up in our conversation.
Don't be so stubborn Nick Knight.  Do you have eternity to wait for this
hearing?"

In a calm and steady tone, he repeated himself.  "I have asked you to not
interfere."

"I have noticed that, and I think that it is very noble.  Nevertheless, your
name will be brought up in our discussions.  However, I'll tell you what, I
will keep it in mind that you did not ask for any favors.  And as your
concerns for my husband also impress me, let me assure you that he doesn't
mind waiting for me.  Waiting for me gives him something to do.  I really do
care about him, such a dear man, but his age does tend to slow him down."

"You do not love him, then why do you stay with him?"

"No, Nick Knight, you are quite wrong.  I adore him; he is so good to me.  He
says I remind him of his great-grandniece.  So you must think the worst of me.
Which is it, poor girl who is looking for love in all the wrong places or
gold-digger?"

"I see a beautiful woman who only sees her own needs."

"Wow!"  Taking in an anxious breath, she released it.  "Well now, that was
brutally honest.  You surprise me Nick Knight.  You know most people are
afraid to say what is on their mind."

"Then I must not be most people."

"No, you most definitely are not."  Stopping to reassess him, she continued
"It's time to go back to the table, the music has stopped."

Sliding her arm through his, they strolled back to the table.  Without looking
over to him, she again commented to him.  "The evening is young Nick Knight,
and there is so much more to learn about one another."

Deciding to keep quiet, he helped her with her chair at the table.  Then as he
seated himself his eyes frantically searched the ballroom for Natalie.
Wondering if she may be in an area that was at the far end of the room, he
began to stand up, but Carrie reached to stop him.

"She just stepped out for some family shots with the photographer."

"I was not looking for anyone."

"Then you might try being more discrete in how you do not look.  But do not
worry, no one but myself has noticed and your secret is safe with me."

"There is no secret."

"That remains to be seen, people tend to bury their secrets deep.  Anyway it's
your secrets that make you so interesting, don't you think?"

"I think that you would find my life boring, and that you should look
elsewhere."

She laughed.  "Boring?  I would hardly say that detective.  You may be many
things, but boring is not one of them."

He looked over at the sexy and very dangerous woman; it was going to be a long
night.

                                   --------

Nick tipped the valet parking attendant that handed him his keys after Nat's
wedding.  It felt good to be back in the sanctuary of his Caddy, and he drank
in the silence that surrounded him.  Before moving the car, he permitted
himself the luxury of allowing his head to drift back against the headrest
with his eyes closed.  The evening had been, to put it nicely, a unique
experience.  Opening his eyes, he searched out the time on the dashboard.  It
was slightly after midnight, and there was a clear star filled sky as he
looked up.  Even though he could be out during the day, years of ingrained
habits had made the security of night to be a permanent place even in his
mortality.  He was always awake to greet each new sunrise, but little else
interested him during the lighted hours.  The nights were still magical, its
sweet peace invigorating.  Putting the Caddy into gear, he pulled out onto the
city streets.  As he drove, headlights dazzled in the darkness.  The darkness
was soothing to his soul, and nothing was better than driving at night.  His
large car glided easily along the Downtown streets, and his thoughts returned
to Nat. Seeing her tonight so alive and happy with Mark was a miraculous
sight.  She had been so close to never knowing a life because of him, but
luckily, she remembered nothing of that night.  Tonight he could not believe
how close he had come to kissing her, to never letting her go.  After being
alone with her tonight, it was clear that he would never be able to let his
love for her go.  When love is true, and the other person is your soul mate,
then it cannot end.  He needed only to look back on LaCroix's love for his
sister Fleur to know how long a love can burn within.  Would he too hunger for
Nat throughout the centuries?  They had almost kissed.  He could still feel
the soft brush of her lips against his during that brief instant before they
were disrupted.  The warmth of her breath so close to his face, them slowly
leaning towards one another, and this was tearing him apart.  He had to stop
thinking about her.  She had married another never realizing what they once
had.  It was over, and he had to get used to that fact.  Still, he would
always treasure tonight's moment in time when they shared that closeness.
Staring straight ahead as he drove, his serious concern over Carrie's words
and observations returned.  Talking to her was very unsettling, hopefully he
would never hear from her again.

                                   --------

The sun shown warm on the sparkling glass table that adorned her indoor
atrium, but she was too filled with anticipation to enjoy the luxury that
surrounded her.  Carrie Billingsly released a breath that she was not even
aware that she was holding in when she heard the doorbell's chimes ring out in
her Victorian style mansion.  Finally the detective she had hired had arrived,
and hopefully he brought to her the documentation that she had waited weeks
for.  Her silk nightgown and matching long robe danced around her feet as she
moved to the entrance of the courtyard to view the female servant as she
answered the door.  It was him.  Not wanting to be caught looking too
overanxious, she scurried to the table and sat to casually sip at her tea.
The maid arrived only seconds after her act, and announced the presence of her
cousin John.  Nonchalantly, she told the maid to see him in.  Now she knew for
certain that this was the information that she sought.  He had been instructed
to say cousin John only if he had discovered the necessary information.  She
licked her lips, as would an animal that was just about to devour its kill.
Then looked up just as a balding middle-aged man walked in and waited to speak
until after the maid had closed the glass doors behind her as she left.

"Good day Mrs. Billingsly I have some news that I think will make you very
happy today."

Acting indifferent to his assurances, she peered around him to see if anyone
lurked near the doors.  Then she motioned for him to join her at the table.
Crudely, he moved to the table and slammed his worn- out briefcase onto the
glass surface causing her china teacup and saucer to vibrate.  Then as he
dropped his fleshy potbellied body into a chair, he unlocked the rubbed off
gold latches to open the case and remove several sheets of paper.  Carrie
gritted her teeth together as she put up with the uncouth ways of the
investigator as he took his time gathering the pages between his hands and
tapping them into an even pile.  Then finally the incessant tapping ceased,
and he turned the papers over to his client.  With the pages now in her hands,
she eagerly viewed their contents, scanning one after the other.  Page after
page of numbers and figures, and then the number she had been looking for
glaring back at her on the last page.  She looked up in disbelief at the
smirking investigator.

"Are you absolutely certain of these figures and that it is him?"

"It wasn't easy getting this information, but every word and number is true.
The Nicholas de Brabant Foundation has a value of over 500,000,000.00 as of
today.  And the sole benefactor is a Nicholas de Brabant who according to my
sources is now going as Nicholas B. Knight and as you know Mrs. Billingsly my
sources are never wrong.  Funny thing, the thing that gave him away was all
his contributions.  Gave away too much at one time, hard to hide that.  If
this guy would stop all his endowments and invest right, he could be another
Bill Gates."

Looking back at the papers, she again glanced down on the total worth of the
foundation.  She could feel her heart flutter and the blood rush to her face
as so many emotions stirred restlessly inside her.  Rising, she hugged the
papers tightly against her chest, then moved over to the planted area, and
pulled out a large manila envelope from between two ferns.  As she returned,
the detective eagerly grabbed his prize from her hands, and impatiently forced
open the seal.  A huge smile separated his lips revealing his yellowed teeth
as he counted the cash that now overflowed in his hands.  Satisfied with his
pay, he collected all the money together and filled the pockets of his
briefcase before securely closing it again.

"Always nice doing business with you Mrs. Billingsly.  You'll call me if you
need anything else?"

Ignoring him, she rang the bell for her maid to enter the room, and said
nothing until the servant arrived.

"My cousin wishes to leave now.  Please show him to the door."

As he began to get up to leave, she looked over at him.  "Thank you so much
for your visit John.  Do come back the next time you are in town."

Nodding at her, he was soon out of sight.  Carrie walked close to the beds of
flowers that lined the glass walls, and watched as the detective drove down
the long winding driveway that led to the main road.  Nick Knight had denied
having any part to the extravagant gift that he had given to Doctor Harmond's
University, but he could not hide from her.  So, it looked as if he did have
some interesting secrets.  She smiled coyly then sighed.  There was so much to
accomplish.  First, she must get Mr. Nicholas B. Knight his unnecessary job
back as a cop.  For whatever reason he felt as if he needed to work even with
all his wealth, talk about eccentric.  But if this insignificant job meant
that much to him, then this small obstacle would be easily surmountable.  The
much larger problem would be to rid herself of the boring, ancient, leech that
had married her.  She laughed to herself when she thought about that absurd
pre-nuptial agreement he had her sign then plucked one of the roses from the
trellis that stood nearby.  Why was it that old men always insisted on
pre-nuptial agreements?  They were so easy to circumvent.  She would never
have put herself in a situation from which she could not have all his money
and be free of him as well.  She had thought that Kenneth Billingsly had
money.  He was only a pauper compared to Nicholas B. Knight.  Kenneth was a
dear, but he was after all nearly seventy.  How much longer did he expect to
live?  And surely he wouldn't want all his money going to some old charity
when his loving still full of life widow could be enjoying it.  It was such a
shame that her first husband had taken too much of his medicine.  They can be
so forgetful at their age.  That did work out well, but it would not due to
have Kenneth go the same way, even though it would be more humane.  Holding
the rose out before her, she plucked out its petals and allowed them to drop
to the paving stones around her feet.  Using her slipper, she ground the
velvety petals under the weight of her foot.  It would be a rapid death for
him, and in all sincerity, she did hope it would not be too painful.
 

End Part Seven

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