Page 44 of Glitterati Omega

Even Winston had dismissed him. Nobody had really asked him what he thought or felt about any of it. Hell, Thomas had even done that with the miscarriages—Thomas had said Rupert needed to be more considerate ofhisfeelings, how difficult it was forhim, and couldn’t he leave off crying like that, because Thomas didn’t need or want to be reminded about the incredible losshe’dsuffered—Rupert’s child, but Thomas’s heir.

Rupert had done his damnedest to stiff upper lip it, but now that he thought about it, he felt more and more that Thomas was a self-centered knob.

But then—Rupert’s feelings never seemed to matter much, so maybe he was just making too much of himself. His feelings weren’t important to anyone but Rupert himself, and he’d be better off if he learned to cast them away and attend to everyone else around him. They were, after all, more important.

He laid in bed until Charli forced him out of it around three, grumbling about what a lazybones he was.

She made him go sit on the divan in what had once been the cigar room—no one had smoked inside for decades—and he curled up there, peering out at the dull gray sky, the roiling ocean beneath it, also miserable in shades of pewter and steel. The tears started without warning, and he tried to stop them, he really did, but the more he tried, the more they poured out of him, broken sobs lashing at his throat until he shook with them. He wailed, and Charli finally came in to tell him to keep the racket down, just like when he’d been a child, and he started to hyperventilate.

He woke up in bed again. Charli shook her head at him, then set up the tea things, because apparently it was suppertime but tea and toast was all she thought he could manage.

She was very wrong about that. He’d no sooner choked it down than it clawed its way back up his throat, accompanied by a good deal of crying.

He suspected Charli gave him something—he didn’t know what, maybe a fentanyl patch when he wasn’t looking, just slapped it on his arm or his lower back while he’d been hunched over the toilet—because whatever devilish emotion had overtaken him left him shortly after that, leaving him a good deal more sedate.

“You’re just tired,” Charli huffed. “It’s jetlag; you’ll be fine with a good night’s sleep, pet.”

He wanted to tell her she was wrong—he knew what jetlag felt like and this wasn’t it at all—but he agreed that hewasvery tired and mixed up after the flight. His meeting with Dr. Arendse had been upsetting, but he’d also just had a heat, so of course he was all out of sorts.

He dozed for a bit, then woke up when his mobile screen lit up, projecting a bright beam onto the ceiling by the bed. He peered at it for a moment, then sat up when it did it again.

He plucked the phone off the nightstand, and his heart leapt into his throat when he saw Winston’s name on the screen. He swiped into the conversation, both desperately hoping for good news and fearing that Winston was writing to tell him never to talk to him again.

I am making a trip home soon. How long do you think you’ll be in Cape Town

A smile soared across Rupert’s face, and he held the phone close to his chest for a second or two before hurriedly tapping out a reply.

Not entirely sure atm — procedure booked for the 24th at the very least

He flung himself down on his bed, kicking his feet in the air.

I see

I need to be on the eastern coast around the third

Perhaps i could come see you before

He giggled madly, then clapped a hand over his mouth. No one was around to hear him, he reminded himself. But then, Charli had supersonic hearing, he was certain.

That’s out of your way

Not terribly so — Durban is east of Cape Town, isn’t it

Rupert’s strong suit had never been geography, but he knew that airlines usually skipped over Cape Town on their way to Durban.

I rather think it’s a bit out of your way

Perhaps i could stop on the way back then

I’m not sure I’ll be here — recovery time is unclear.

He didn’t have anywhere to go, but he didn’t want to sit around thinking about how his hopes and dreams had been wrung out of him.

Then it’s best to visit before

Can you get the time? That’s almost two weeks. I’ve heard amiercans are stingy about holidays

I think i can manage