Chapter Twelve

Kara was still in a shock when was suddenly sent flying to the side by Lucas as he shot up off the couch. He took her hand and lifted her up before she fell to the floor. He gave her a bored expression.

"You need to eat more," he muttered. Before Kara could respond Celeste was in the room, her big grey eyes full of concern.

"Karen," she scolded. "Didn't you hear me calling? What's the matter, are you alright?" She approached and took Kara's hand. Kara stared at her, trying to remember how to form a smile and to not think that just a few seconds ago she was lying half on top of Lucas.

"I'm okay," she said softly to Celeste. "Your brother-in-law brought me the plate, thank you. I bet it's delicious." Kara glanced at Lucas, his attention was seemingly fixed on the soccer match on TV.

Celeste patted her cheek. "Mon Dieu, I hope he didn't terrorize you," she muttered.

"Why would I do that?" Lucas asked, throwing a small smile Kara's way. "We're on the best of terms, Karen and I, I promise you that."

Kara eyed him in irritation, nearly gagging. Celeste chuckled incredulously.

"Uh, okayy," she said.

Lucas nodded. "Oh, and Karen's decided to join us for dinner."

At that Celeste brightened and clapped her hands. "Wow, ce magnifique! Well, come on then, the food mustn't get cold."

Lucas gave Kara a smile as icy cold as it was sexy and she looked away from him as Celeste ushered her out of the cottage.

In a few minutes they'd reached the dinner setting and Kara felt her palms go clammy. She'd have to sit with these people and worse, she'd have to talk to them! What if they began asking her questions about herself? What would she say? She could keep lying, but eventually that was going to catch up with her and it wouldn't be pretty.

Besides, all the pieces of information about herself that she gave out could possibly get back to her father's ears and he wouldn't hesitate to send his dogs after her.

"Karen!" Isabelle said happily as she stood, drawing Kara out of her thoughts.

"Hiii!" she responded happily, returning Isabelle's warm hug.

"She's feeling better now," Celeste stated. Kara smiled as Lucas breezed past her and sat at the table.

Isabelle raised an eyebrow. "Yes, or Lucas the bully over there terrorized her into leaving the cottage in fear for her life," she stated.

Kara gasped at Isabelle's bold attack on Lucas, as Celeste lowered her into a chair, unfortunately besides Lucas.

Isabelle continued to give Lucas a suspicious eye and Kara swallowed, waiting for him to tell her off. He didn't. She was impressed, it seemed the whole world wasn't afraid of big bad Lucas.

Voices came through the open door and François appeared with another man, each carrying two bottles of wine. The other man looked vaguely familiar to Kara. She knew he had been with Lucas in the mall that day, but she'd seen him even before then.

Isabelle shook her head disapprovingly. "Raphaël, you and Luc are driving tonight, let's remember that."

Raphaël nodded in agreement, but popped open a bottle nonetheless.

"Oh, hello," Kara looked up from her hands to see François smiling down at her as he set the bottles on the table. "How are you?" he asked cheerfully.

Kara smiled. "I'm okay now, thanks, François."

Isabelle touched her hand across the table. "Karen, this Raphaël, he's the man I'm shackled to for the rest of time."

Raphaël gave her a look that made Kara want to coo and laugh at the same time. He nodded politely at her and Kara smiled back.

François got up and poured her a glass of wine. Kara shook her head quickly. "Oh, no, I don't drink."

They all looked at her.

Kara felt herself stiffen. Back where she'd been, the girls had called her names for refusing to get drunk with them. She'd never understood it. It was her damn decision, was it not?

"At all?" she heard Isabelle ask and she shook her head in response.

"Not at all."

"Welcome to the club, ma cherie," Celeste cheered and passed Kara her chilled bottle of non-alcoholic grape juice.

"Aw, great. Now, I'm the only lady here who drinks wine," Isabelle complained with a pout.

Lucas looked up from his plate with a scoff. "Lady."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes at him, but kept silent and Celeste applauded her for holding her tongue making everyone else laugh. Besides Lucas of course. He just ate silently.

Conversation flowed and Kara stared at Raphaël before tapping Isabelle's hand discreetly and drawing her forward.

Isabelle leaned over, a smile that could really be described as nothing but mischievous curving her mouth.

"Is your husband... famous?" Kara whispered.

Isabelle nodded with wide eyes. "He has paparazzi following him. I'm still not used to it."

Kara couldn't tell whether she was joking or not, but a laugh broke out of her despite.
"What's the secret?" François called from his seat.

Isabelle gave him a keep-wondering smile and shook her head. There was no secret, Kara realized that Isabelle was just very playful. She loved her.

"Speak, woman," Raphaël teased and Isabelle threw him a look over her shoulder.

"Kara wants to know if you're famous," Isabelle said with a grin.

Raphaël looked shocked for a second. "Well," he looked at Kara. "I wouldn't say famous, but-"

"He's in all the tabloids on the internet," Celeste cut him off.

"He appears in the newspaper!" Isabelle added like she'd never really understood just that one thing.

"He owns and heads the multi-million Franc company Sauvage Inc in partnership with this man," François said, pointing his fork at Lucas.

"In other words," Isabelle said with a grave sigh. "These two could buy the whole of France twice over."

Kara blinked before her head unconsciously turned to the side and she stared at the side of Luc's face as he continued to quietly eat.
He was a rich man.

Maybe she'd thought of this before, seeing his huge house and all the money in the little trunk, but... now she knew that he didn't just inherit or win the lottery, he was actually rich.

A businessman. With money. He had a clean life, an elite among the richest in France. Kara did't know why this brought sharp disappointment stabbing through her heart, neither did she have time to analyse it.

"Where did you see Raphaël?" Celeste asked. "A tabloid?"

Kara shook her head recollecting herself. "Uh,n-no. No, he was on the table. Saw him on tables, quite a few times, really," she said, oblivious to the questioning looks she was getting.

Isabelle raised her brow a little. Lucas kept eating until the penny dropped and he stopped, raising his gaze to meet Raphaël's. The same understanding was written in his friend's eyes.

"On... a table?" Celeste asked gently.

Kara nodded. Her eyes took in the expression on Celeste's face and she realized.

Her and her big mouth!

There was a bar in Rein. Which was the first place her father had put her to work. It was mostly a casino-like place and was always full of the lowest scum of the earth, looking for a few Franc to win at the tables or a girl to take home for the night. Willing or not.

Every gambling table in that hell hole was covered with a paper cover that had been made with the images of all the rich men in France. The most respected and most feared. The patrons said it was for good luck at the tables and for motivation to continue gambling. The logic was always illogical in Kara's eyes.

More than a few times, she'd seen the brown haired, dark eyed man besides Isabelle on those table covers. Well groomed and tuxedoed like his fellow millionaire friends. And Lucas was one of those millionaire friends. Wow.

"Kara?" called Celeste. Kara blinked.

"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry, did i say tables?" she chuckled. I must be getting ill again. "I meant tabloids. You were right, there was one he just kept reappearing on. They sure love talking about you, Mr Sauvage."

Isabelle scoffed. "They've got nothing better to do, the inquisitive, dirty pieces..."

"Ma belle," Raphaël chided and Isabelle ceased her string of curses.

Kara released a sigh of relief. She hardly ate after that, afraid to let things slip by accident. If it had gotten out that she had been working at that place in Rein, her father would be on her by the next day. Everybody knew that all the girl's in Rein were group workers and they belonged to Markov Vilmont. And none of her father's workers ever left to work elsewhere. At least not alive.

Soon dinner was over and Isabelle went to go and check on her sleeping twins and the boys before helping Celeste clear the table. Kara got up to help and they sat her down, saying she probably wasn't better and she'd just been shocked into leaving her home by Lucas's bad manners. Kara was stunned to find that she had to stop herself from defending Lucas.

Frederick, one of the four stable masters came around the house reaching where their dinner setting had been and held his hat in his hands.

"Patron." he called to François, who looked up, noticed him and immediately excused himself from the table. Kara noticed Fred look at Lucas warily before looking at François with question in his eyes. François glanced at Luc and shook his head as he led Fred away.

Kara sighed. Here she was, left alone with a suddenly sulky Lucas and his silent friend.

She looked at them, feeling timid but bored out of her mind. As usual her boredom overcame everything else.

"Sooo..." she began, tucking her hands beneath her thighs. "What do you do, Mr Sauvage?"

Raphaël looked mildly amused.

"I'm a businessman, mademoiselle. I engage in business in transportation worldwide," he responded.

Kara's eyes went wide. "Worldwide?" Raphaël nodded. "Even in America?" Kara asked.

Raphaël chuckled. "Anywhere. If we cannot settle things over telephone or internet, Myself or Lucas flies to wherever the business is."

Kara stared at them. "So you're probably used to being in airplanes, right?"

Raphaël nodded again. "It's faster and more convenient because we use the company jets or our own," he said.

Kara perked up. They had their own jets?? And... they'd been to the States before! Was it possible? Would they take her if she asked? But... no, Lucas would never let her go without her settling her debt.

She sent a side glare at him for that. "Oh, that must be awesome. I've never been in a plane before," she said casually.

"How did you get here?" Raphaël asked curiously.

Kara shrugged. "A ship. They put me on a ship when I was eighteen years old and sent me over. I'm twenty-three now, been here for five good years. Well...not good, but..." she shrugged again.

*Okay, Kara, ease up on the info.*

Raphaël looked intrigued. "And you're from the US, right?"

Kara nodded just as Isabelle returned to the table. "Yeah, from Virginia."

*Kara, that's enough!!*

"I was in the US for a few years long ago," Isabelle said with a smile. "I went to school in New York. I miss the place."

"Me too," Kara said quietly.

There were a few moments of comfortable silence, but truly deserving of a kick, Lucas shattered them.

"So, Karen," he began, then looked at her. "What were you doing in Rein? Because as far as we know, there's no other place where you get faces on tables."