I'm terribly sorry for the delays I've been having, but it's becoming increasingly harder to manage to write and edit during each quarter of school!
Chapter 15 has been started and I'm hoping within the next week to have it finished and ready to go.
~ Shadow~
*
Gypsy closed her eyes, rubbing her temples to relieve some of the throbbing that had been building for what seemed like months in her mind. Hearing Mrs. Cavanaugh's voice, she wondered why, she hadn't noticed how grating the sound was when they'd met.
She fought the urge to stick her fingers in her ears in an attempt to block out all the sounds echoing through the house. The banging and thumping of furniture being rearranged, and the constant chatter of the crew as they worked like busy worker ants, transforming the large library on the second floor for the photo shoot Mrs. Cavanaugh was orchestrating.
Taking a deep breath she sighed. It seemed like months since the party they'd attended at Dominic's home, and the mayhem that had followed. Thanksgiving a few days later, also seemed like a distant memory, not something that'd passed a week before.
Opening her eyes, she saw Sophie smiling as she carried a large tray of sandwiches for the photo crew. She loved having people to cater for, after so many years of she and Vince living in the house alone. As much as she wished all of this would go away, she knew Sophie deserved some happiness.
She leaned her head against the wall, trying again to one by one tune out the massive flow of thoughts and emotions bombarding her. Victor had given her some exercises before he'd left, flying home for a few weeks, those along with the help she was getting from Claire had allowed her not lose her mind, to this point.
Claire stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a pitcher of herbal tea and cups to go with the sandwiches Sophie had made. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs she looked around the rail to the tiny alcove area it created. Seeing Gypsy sitting on the floor as if hiding, she handed the pitcher and cups to one of the crew men on his way up stairs.
"Mind if I join you for a minute?" she asked quietly, stopping beside Gypsy.
Gypsy smiled without opening her eyes, knowing the minute Claire had spotted her. "I know it's not considered correct to hide from your own party," she chuckled, "but I needed a break."
Claire slid down the wall to sit beside the obviously stressed young woman, reaching over she patted her hand.
"If you weren't hiding, I'd think there was something wrong," she laughed. "I don't think in all my years I've ever met a woman who was as overbearing or as non-listening, as Grace Cavanaugh. It makes me wonder where Dominic ever met the woman, let alone tolerated her," she laughed quietly.
"Apparently she's on the board of one of the many committees Dominic sits on," Gypsy explained, opening her eyes, glancing toward the window of the study where she could see the sun now brushing the tree line.
"He also seems to find her equally amusing and annoying. The first I think is his form of entertainment, feeling far superior to mere humans. The second is his reaction to the woman's voice that never seems to stop. Or at least that's what he was thinking when I told him earlier that since he'd sent her to me, he could deal with her," she laughed, remembering the expression on his face.
"Are the blocking methods not helping?" Claire said looking at her closely; she could feel a subtle vibration of overwhelming emotion radiating from Gypsy.
Shaking her head, Gypsy closed her eyes. "Someone up stairs is silently whining over Sophie's using Swiss cheese on the sandwiches, they don't like Swiss. The photographer thinks his work will one day launch him into Life magazine, and Mrs. Cavanaugh still thinks I'm being unreasonable about the photo session she wants taken of me. Dominic also had to relieve one of his men earlier when he wanted to bite the decorator Mrs. Cavanaugh brought in," she laughed quietly.
Opening her eyes, she looked around. She saw the men Dominic had called and placed throughout the house, preventing members of the crew from wandering where they had no business.
She regretted Caydn had chosen to sleep down in Lucien's dungeon. The others also taking some of the private chambers far below them, so as to not be disturbed during this impromptu photo shoot, set up to help promote her designs and work.
"Oh this isn't going to end well," she muttered with a frown. Glancing at Claire, seeing her questioning look, she laughed. "Dominic's decided to walk past his own men and slip down to Lucinda's room so he can wake her," she explained.
Claire forced a laugh, not sure how else at the moment to react. She wasn't sure if it was the thought of her daughter being woken by the man she 'claimed' to hate, or at all of the information surging through Gypsy's mind uninvited.
"Luc can take care of herself, even when it comes to Dominic," she said patting Gypsy's arm. "What I'm concerned with is how sensitive you're becoming. It seems to be increasing when it should be decreasing with the additional blocks Victor and I've shown you," she said, the concern obvious in her voice.
Gypsy nodded her head, "Caydn's been telling me all day to relax and calm down, it will all be fine," she said, hearing his voice brushing through her mind right then, repeating his earlier comments. "I've done nothing but disrupt his life since I got here," she said softly.
Both women jerked, hearing a loud crash coming from the large library upstairs, where all the redecorating was happening. Claire patted her arm with a smile when someone yelled, saying nothing was broken.
Sitting there in silence, Gypsy leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. Closing her eyes, she tried to force her mind to concentrate on the gentle methodical motions Claire was making along her back to help relax her.
Taking a deep breath, she forced her mind to cement her blocks in place, sighing at the silence filling her mind, if even for only a few minutes.
