The Devil You Know: Chapter 16

When they got back to La Boulaie, Todd, taking the steps one at a time, went upstairs for an nap.  Blair could see that whatever happened at Llanfair, it had drained him.  The kids had gone off in different directions and Blair decided to fix herself a drink in the sitting room.  When she opened the doors, she found Dorian there with Cassie and Adrianna.  While she was happy to see Cassie, she still had little tolerance for Dorian’s younger daughter.  “Hello Cassie.  Nice to see you again,” she said sweetly.  Then she turned to the younger woman.  “Adrianna.”

“Blair, lovely to see you too,” Cassie replied.  “Where’s Todd?”

“He had a rough day.  First he and Starr went to the cemetery then he had to meet with Victor about the paper, then Viki had him and Kevin come to some détente for this weekend,”  Blair explained.  “He needed a rest when we got back.”

“How has his back been?” Dorian asked.

“Well, he is moving around pretty well, but he gets tired out a lot faster.  And I know that kills him cause he was to throw a ball around with Jack and Sam or have more energy to scream at Victor,” she told them. 

“Well, from what you said at lunch that day, he and Sam seem to get along like gangbusters,” Cassie said. 

“They clicked from the day they met according to then both.  I wish I had been there to see it,” Blair wished aloud.  “But then again, that’s Todd.  He’s always been such a natural with children.  It belays anything in his reputation.”

“And what a reputation it is,” Adrianna commented.

That drew a glare from Blair.  “Excuse me?”

“Look, I may not have been around for the first round of you and him, but I saw the destruction he brought on Marcy and Rex,” she reasoned. 

A warning bell went off in Dorian’s head.  “Adrianna!” she cautioned, but it was too late. 

“You don’t know the first thing about Todd Manning.  Who you are talking about is his brother Victor,” she yelled, rising to her feet.  She was full of righteous indignation and it was directed entirely at her cousin.  “Don’t you dare even think of placing Victor’s crimes on Todd!”

“Really, he wouldn’t?” Adrianna asked snidely.  “He wouldn’t try to take a child away from it’s mother or force himself--”

Cassie and Dorian couldn’t move fast enough for Blair’s slap.  Adrianna was on the carpet, holding her face, staring up at her.  “If you say one more word, I’ll knock you senseless, you hear me?”

“Blair,” Todd’s voice said behind her.  The Cramer women looked at him.  “She’s right.”

Blair looked back at Adrianna and then walked over to Todd.  In the midst of her anger at Dorian’s younger daughter, no one had heard him come into the sitting room.  She looked closer at his face and noticed the eyes, seeing a look in them she hadn’t seen in a while.  “Come outside with me,” she ordered, taking his hand and leading him to the French doors.  Adrianna scurried out of their way as they passed, still rubbing her cheek.

Once outside, she pulled him into a hug and kissed him passionately.  After they parted, she said to him, “Don’t you dare talk like that.  I don’t what to ever hear that from you again.”

He took a few steps back.  “It’s the truth, Blair.  Come on, I’m never going to get away from my past, haven’t been able to in twenty years.  Something I was reminded of earlier today,” he said as he sat on bench.

“Your talk with Kevin?”

“It brought up a lot of …stuff.  But we agreed to put it aside, at least for this weekend,” Todd informed her. 

Blair shook her head.  “You know, I thought you’d put aside that self-loathing side about you.”

“What can I say?  It’s one of my more charming features,” he replied, offering a sheepish smile.  “Look, Adrianna pointed out some of my worse qualities.  I did try to take both Starr and Jack and I did…”

“She was thinking about Victor.  She never knew you and she was wrong to confuse the two of you,” Blair accused.

“But we’re identical twins, Blair.  We‘re easy to confuse,” he told her failing to inject any levity into the conversation.   

Blair sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.  “Todd, you have to stop this.  All that is over, in the past.”  Then she stood up and held out her hand,  “Come on, I think it’s time Adrianna met the real Todd Manning.  I am going to warn you though we’ve had our conflicts and she is a bitch.”

When they went back inside, Dorian told them, “Adrianna has something she’d like to say to the both of you.  Adrianna?”

“I am sorry for what you overheard, Todd.  I just remember everything Victor put a number of my friends through.”  With that, she extended her hand. 

Todd shook it.  “Apology accepted.”  Then he looked at Dorian and Cassie.  “Where’s the rest of the coven?  I haven’t seen Kelly or, what’s Starr’s friend’s name, Langston?”

“Kelly couldn’t make it.  Zane wasn’t feeling well.  Langston was to busy with work in LA to come for Thanksgiving,” Dorian answered him, ignoring his snide nickname.  Just then, Jack and Molly ambled into the room.  “Just to let all of you know, dinner will be served in an hour.”

“Well, actually, Mother, I was going to visit some friends of mine I haven’t seen for a while,” Cassie said. 

“And I was going to visit with Carlotta,” Adrianna said.

“And I had to put up with you for dinner last night and I will not subject myself to that two nights in a row,” Todd said, paging through a home décor magazine. 

“Stop right there!” Dorian shouted, causing everyone to jump.  Then, in a calmer tone, she continued, “I am accepting the fact that I will not have Blair and her…family tomorrow for dinner.  That means I will have all of you at my dining room table tonight.”  Looking at Blair, she asked, “Where is Starr?”

“Ah, I think she was showing Michael around town today,” her niece answered her.

“Call her and tell her to be here for dinner, please,” Dorian commanded as sweetly as she could.  “Now, does everyone understand me?”

The nodding of heads commenced as Dorian scared most of them. 

One hour later, all the Cramer women, as well as Jack, Sam, Todd, David, Michael and Molly were seated in Dorian’s ornate dining room.  They were civil to each other, for the most part.  Todd and Jack threw in a few bards here and there and David made a few inappropriate comments, but there were no food fights and not more slaps across the face. 

As the family began to turn in for the night, Todd lay under the covers watching Blair get ready for bed.  “So I survived another dinner with your family.  Now comes the real rest…dinner at Llanfair.”

“Who is all going to be there?”  Blair asked.

“Just about the whole town, sans the Cramers, of course.  So, we’ll be eating with Bo and Nora, who can’t stand me; Natalie and John, who still have issues with me, not that I really know what they are; Kevin, well, there’s that history.  Remind me again why I agreed to Thanksgiving at Llanfair?”

“Because you love your sister and this is what she wanted, so you’re being generous and gracious to her,” Blair replied as she climbed into bed.

“That’s so not me,” he retorted with disgust.  Then he kissed her shoulder, working his way to her collarbone and neck.  Her head lolled back and she turned to face him.  Their lips met and Todd laid her back on the bed and Blair tugged off his boxers.

“Well, maybe you are changing,” she said between kisses.  Her hands traveled up his back as his fingers hooked onto the sides of her panties to slide them down.

“Oh, please don’t say that.  You’d hate it if I changed.  I mean, who do you want me to be like? Cordero Roberts?” Todd asked, a smirk on his face.

“That’s a low blow, even for you,”  Blair replied, rolling him on his back and kissing his chest.

“Well, I never have been known to play fair,” he said as he felt himself becoming aroused.  “And you’ve always liked---”

“Blair, I needed to ask you--” Dorian said as she walked into the bedroom.  Then she looked at the bed.  “OH MY GOD!” she shouted, running out of the room.

Time stopped for Todd and Blair.  Then he looked at her before closing his eyes and letting out a long breath.  “Talk about a cockblocker.”  He rolled Blair onto her back and informed her, “I am booking a room at the Palace for right after the wedding.  I do not want to be interrupted by…that…any more.”   

Blair looked at the serious expression on his face and had to laugh, for reason she didn’t know why.  Then he joined her in the laughter, and after that was finished, they continued what they had been interrupted from again.


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