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Chapter 83 — The Court
The last session of court ended for Mason more or less favorably, but the sentence should be announced in some hours. Mason decided that he will not wait in the court building and uses this time to stay with Mary and children. But when he come back home, he found out there only Christie's note that she's takes children on walking to the park.
The house was unusually silent and empty without Mary and kids. Memory obligingly thrown Mason to memoirs about time when he thought that Mary is dead. He called himself being a paranoiac and a nervous young lady and already wanted to return to the court when he heard the phone call.
He picks up the receiver: "Mason Capwell."
The other end has been kept silent, and then he heard: "It's Lawrence, Mason."
"What do you want?" Mason becomes angry. "To stalking Mary again?"
"I would like to talk to you."
Mason let out air through teeth with whistle.
"Well, OK. Meet you in half an hour at a hall of judicial sessions, I'll have a few time. I'm underline — "a few time"."
"I will be there," Lawrence Duvall shortly responded and hung up.
* * *
After returned to the court, Mason found out that the sentence can be announced within an hour. Not giving himself any possibility to begin to doubt in issue of the case, he began to passing around the hall, glancing on the watch. Taken with thoughts about the case, he missed Larry's appearance. When Mason finally saw him, it seems Larry already observes Mason for some time.
"Here," Mason gestured to the free room for visiting.
They enter in, but nobody wants to sit down. Not on places of accused person and its lawyer.
"Well," Mason said in semi-questioningly tone after a long pause. "Why you want to see me?"
"Mary does not want to contact me." Mason lifted his eyebrow. "She does not answer my calls on last week. I left a heap of messages on your answering machine."
"What for?" Mason rigidly asked. "What you want from her?"
"She's my niece. The daughter of my twin."
"I aware. But you strongly spoilt the image of the careful uncle when you tried to destroy us."
"I rescued Mary's life," Larry reminded.
"You had the talk with Theda and decided to use Mary's memoirs as a trump," Mason realized.
"But it's truth after all."
"As well as her kidnapping was your fault. Lawrence, its event became a terrible shock for her. And I will not want that she was forced to go through those events again because you."
"I just want to be the uncle to my niece. I want to meet her, to attend at the christening of her baby--"
"You need to think earlier about it. Already too late for your careful care."
"It's means that you are not going to help to me to easing my relations with Mary? Do you think that her hating me is the blessing for her?"
"You really badly know Mary if you think that she's able to hate. Mary is not able. But if she does not want to contact with you that it is her right, and I will support her. Beside I agree with her. I do not want your presence at our life. You never know what you don't like in our lives. And you might want to interfere again. Besides I do not doubt that I never get kindly feelings from you."
"Well, why?"
Mason has laughed: "Enough to look at your face now. Don't lie more, Mr. Duvall. You never will accept me as Mary's husband. I advise you to look for her former husband and become the uncle to poor woman who may be married with him for relations."
"How you dare!" Larry lost his temper after Mason's last remark. "It seems that you do not aware that I can destroy you at any moment if I will want."
Someone quietly gasped at the doors.
"Uncle Larry, how you dare?!" shocked Mary press her palm to her mouth. Then the fright on her face is replaced by gloomy determination. "Leave us alone. I do not want to see and hear you anymore."
"Mary, do you not aware what Mason told me!"
"No words are capable to justify threat of Mason's life. Leave out."
"You'll pay it," Larry angered and goes to the exit. "Nobody dare call me like this!"
"Wait," Mary suddenly said.
Larry stopped in doors and turned to her. Mason's heart missed a beat. If Larry's threats is working out?
"Mary, don't need," begin he, but Mary lifted up her hand. "Mason, I am fine. Allow to me to say," and she turned to her uncle. "I cannot give you a false hope. I do not think that Mason and I will ever accept you in our family. But I ask you to understand what you are doing now. You want to force me to love you as my uncle, twin of my father. But it's impossible to force to love for anyone. You cannot get it by threats and promises. It is impossible. You only will generate even more hatred to yourself. I hope that you will understand it sometime."
"I cannot accept it," Larry answered.
"You have no choice. A love never comes from threats. You always stay for me as the person who caused many pain to me and Mason. Also wanted to kill Mason."
"He did hurt so much you too!" Larry said.
Mason shuddered.
"I fall in love him from our first meeting," Mary felt and found Mason's hand. "We caused pain to each other mutually, both of us are guilty. But our love passed very severe testing and it's only became stronger. Your acting, uncle, only destroyed all of good that I felt to you since my children hood."
Sometime Larry gloomy looked at Mary. Then he heaved a deep sigh and silently left out.
"It seems that you convinced him," surprised Mason said.
"Hardly," Mary sighed. "In our family all of us are so obstinate--" she looked at her husband with anxiety. "Are you OK?"
"Alive as you can see," Mason smiled.
"Sentence already announced?"
"No, but they should in any minute. Wait. But what you doing here?"
"I come to support you."
"Do you do not trust me? Do you are afraid what I'll drunk if I'll fail it?" Mason grown dark.
"No. I want to be with you when they declare your victory and get my part of it. Do you have some against?"
"Who could be against--" Mason hemmed. "Let's go. We'll look if there have some good that you can like to share with me!"
"You're won," Mary surely said. "I just know it."
* * *
In half an hour when Mason was congratulated with the winning of judicial suit that was lasted for the whole two years, and Mary happily smiling at him, did not let out Mason's hand, Lawrence Duvall gloomy watched them from safe distance. He spent much money for Mason's fail in the case and almost guaranteed it, but now he has the failure for all of aspects.
"You, Lawrence, are loser," he told addressing to himself. "You always were a looser and you'll always. Not like your twin brother. Sacred Kenny. You laugh over me, are you, bro? You left to me the most impossible task. How I can take care of your daughter if it she does not want me? How I can?"
But the silence was only answer to him. However as it was as always.
* * *
"Mary, doesn't say that you bribed all of jury, please. How you, devil take it, could know that I won?"
"Do not judge by yourself," she playfully frowned. "I just have a faith in you."
"And if I would fail?"
"But you won."
"And if I would fail."
"But you won. My God, Mason, do you want to wind off back all of them? You won, and this'd main thing."
"No. The main thing that you were with me. I am sorry that I overreacted to your presence here. Probably, I'd afraid of my own reaction to the possible fail. I'd afraid that I'll break down."
"You'll not break down," Mary firmly declared. "I just know it."
"I guess that I need to believe you now," Mason agreed and supported his words with the deep kiss.
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