Page 12 of Broken Butterfly
Knowing I won’t be falling back to sleep anytime soon, I decide to get up and go to the fitness room to burn off some excess energy. I change into some leggings and a T-shirt I find in Tatiána’s drawers. Her shoes are too small for me, so I’ll have to go barefoot or wear socks. I opt for socks. I slip out of my room as not to disturb Fallon since his room is next to mine and make my way up the stairs. As I enter the main area, a man’s voice startles me.
“Can I get you anything, Miss Fairchild?”
“Holy crap, Robert. You scared the bejeezus out of me.”
“May I ask what a bejeezus is?”
“Sorry. It’s a figure of speech where I come from. It means you scared the mess out of me.” I walk over to where he’s sitting. “I noticed your accent.”
“Born in Surrey, about thirty minutes outside of London. However, I have lived most of my life in the States.”
Robert is still dressed in his crisp attire from earlier and it makes me wonder if he ever gets to rest like a normal person or if he has to be on call all the time while we’re on the boat.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was going to go work out for a while in the fitness room,” I tell him.
“If you need anything, just pick up the red phone mounted on the wall next to the door in the fitness room and press number seven.”
“I remember. Thanks, Robert. Hey, Robert? May I ask you a question?”
He lays down the newspaper he was reading. I hadn’t noticed him reading it when I walked in because he scared me half to death. He loses a bit of his stiff rigidness and relaxes slightly. He looks like a dad would, sitting at a table with a newspaper in hand. My dad would have had a guitar pick instead of a newspaper, but it doesn’t stop the pang of longing that stabs through me at the thought. I would give anything to see my father again, have him hug me in that certain way only dads do that make their daughters feel cherished, loved, and special. Robert must see something on my face because he motions for me to take a seat with him at the table.
“What questions may I assist you with, Miss Fairchild?”
“Please, call me Elizabeth.”
“As you wish,” he replies, and I giggle.
“Princess Bridereference,” I explain when he gives me an inquisitive look. Then he nods in understanding, a small curve tipping his lips. “How long have you worked for Fallon?” I ask him.
“I have worked for the Montgomery family in one capacity or another for about twenty years.”
“So you know Fallon well?”
“As much as an employee knows an employer when they’ve worked for them for an extended period of time,” he replies.
“You must be used to him bringing strange women on board then.”
“Actually, Miss Elizabeth, from the gossip of the staff that is circulating around, it appears you are the first woman, other than his sister, that he has ever brought on board. You are causing quite a stir.”
That shocks me and my mouth falling open tells Robert so.
I lean forward on the table. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Robert. I had amnesia. I had no recollection of the first eighteen years of my life. My memories returned recently. It’s really hard for me to connect what once was with what is now. I remember Fallon from high school, but my old memories of him are nothing like what I know of him now. It’s very confusing.”
I have no clue why I told a total stranger that. Maybe it’s because Robert reminds me of my dad.
“I cannot imagine what you must be going through,” he says kindly. “May I ask you a question, Miss Elizabeth?”
I sit back. “Please do,” I tell him.
“Why are you here with Mr. Fallon?”
“Let’s just say that right now, he’s my life preserver. Without him, I would have already drowned. Bad analogy, I know, since we’re on a boat in the Atlantic.”
“Very true.” He chuckles. “I hope Mr. Fallon is able to give you what you need.”
I consider that and say, “I think he’s the only one right now who can.”
“Very well, then.” He reaches over to grab a pack of cards at the end of the table. “Have you ever played cribbage before?” he asks.
