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decreaseThe Lows
“What were you doing in SM mall?” said Carl sternly. He had decided to begin with a sort of Spanish inquisition to impress upon Esther the gravity of the situation, but he was not as angry as he pretended, because after the initial panic, he had thought of a way to turn the situation to Lucian’s advantage.
“Shopping,” replied Esther faintly.
“I thought I told you to stick to the local shops near the university. If you wanted anything special, Eugenie would have brought it for you.”
The mishap had been a chance in a thousand, and was not really Esther’s fault, but it served Carl’s purposes to imply that it was. Seeing the tears begin to well up in her eyes, Carl relented a little, and decided to press on to his point.
“The damage is done now. Do you know the man who saw you?”
“His name is Fred. He’s German.”
“Yes Frederic Nucingen – a banker, one of the richest ex-pats in Manila. He’s been asking after you everywhere – our plan is ruined!”
“Does that mean I can’t marry Lucian?”
“Yes,” said Carl, “I’m afraid it does. He’s well known in the business community – and he knows your history.”
She let out a long sigh, like that of a criminal condemned to death row.
Carl explained to her how bad it would be for Lucian if he married a woman who was later revealed to be an ex-bargirl, and worse, that one of his business associates had been her customer. He went on to explain the brilliance of Lucian’s prospects, and finally, how necessary it was that Esther should sacrifice herself to secure him this triumphant future.
“What must I do?” cried she, eager to clutch at any straw.
“Obey me blindly,” said Carl. “And don’t complain! You can still be his mistress in secret. When this business is settled, he'll be rich enough to make you happy.”
“I’ll do as you say,” said she, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “I’d do anything for Lucian.”
“Very well,” said Carl. “Here’s what you must do – you must play the puta again. Be ruthless with the banker. Listen to me! That man is a crook; he's grown fat by exploiting widows and orphans; you'll be their avenging angel! I want you to milk that man for every peso he has, and to spur you on, remember, every peso is for Lucian. With it he'll buy his partnership. He’ll be rich, he’ll marry an upper class girl – he’ll be happy!”
“What about me?” asked Esther in a trembling voice.
“You’ll be his mistress, his number two wife.”
Have you ever seen a beautiful kite, the giant butterfly of childhood, twinkling with gilding, and soaring to the sky? A passer-by cuts it, the gaudy toy turns head over heels and falls like a stone. Such was Esther as she listened to Carl.
© Rob 2007
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