Ruling Rue Royale
Chapter Eleven
Lestat entered his room and was disappointed to find his bed empty, but not surprised. he was tired anyway, and fell into a mortal sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
The next evening, Louis awoke to hear the mingling of voices downstairs. He couldn't make out actual words, but he listened to Lestat's rhythmic accent, sliding around David's British staccato, like a duet. To this accompaniment, Louis stripped his bed and remade it in fresh linens. He then stepped into his washroom, peeled off his clothing and showered.
Clipping his hair afterward, Louis caught a glimpse of himself in the full length mirror. His skin was still flesh colored due to his burn. He stared at it. He stared at his chest, his shoulders, his face. Louis rarely looked at himself, but tonight he was fascinated. He stared at the way his eyes looked set in the darker skin. He looked himself up and down, slowly. How long since he'd seen his own legs? He turned to the side and regarded himself with a critical eye. He had never thought of it much before, certainly not since he'd been born to darkness, he never allowed himself to, but now he wondered if he was as attractive as Lestat and David. Was he too thin? Were his legs too long? Was his head too narrow? What did they look for in a man? They were attracted to each other, but he looked nothing like either of them. Louis faced the mirror and inspected the most obvious feature of his male anatomy. Was it long enough? Thick enough? How did it compare to Lestat's? To David's? Suddenly his own thoughts embarrassed him. He pulled his gaze away and shook himself all over.
'This is ridiculous,' Louis told himself. 'Whatever my faults may be , I cannot change my appearance now.' He threw his clothes and towels down the laundry chute. He passed the mirror once more as he left the washroom. "Perhaps they are attracted to my mind," he sighed.
He went back into his bedroom and looked through all of his drawers and his closet. He was once again irritated that Lestat had thrown out all of his old things before they went to Rio. But he didn't wish to be in a foul mood tonight. 'Let it go. Louis,' he told himself, and then laughed, reminded of the beer commercial lizard who says the same on television.
He pulled a suit out of his closet and then put it back, too formal. He went instead to his drawer and found a pair of soft blue jeans, these would do. He also wore the running shoes that Lestat had bought him in Rio. He searched for a shirt. He first put on his favorite of his new purchases, a full cut linen with lace at the collar. He looked at himself in the mirror. No, he wanted to look modern tonight, for Lestat and David. He sighed. He took the shirt off and looked down at the tag he'd cut off of the jeans. The man in the picture was wearing a long sleeved collarless shirt with three buttons at the top. Louis searched his drawers for this shirt. He had purchased his clothing according to what was on the mannequins and what was on the tags, so he knew he must have that shirt somewhere. He could tell what colors went together, but he had a difficult time keeping up with what styles of clothing went together. Do silk jackets go with denim? Lace shirts with suit trousers? Velvet with corduroy? It was too confusing. Ah, here was that shirt, in white. He pulled it over his head and tucked it into his jeans. Louis compared himself with the model on the tag. It was a close match. He walked to the mirror.
'I look ridiculous,' was his first thought. And then, 'No, you don't, you look modern. Stop being so stupid. It is fine.' Louis looked away from the mirror. He checked to be sure that all of the buttons were buttoned, zippers were zipped and laces were tied. Then he walked down the stairs.
David was on the phone in the parlour, making some sort of travel plans. He waved to Louis as he passed. Louis could hear Lestat, also on the phone, in his office. Louis decided to go out and hunt.
"Hello Anne, it's Lestat. I know you aren't home right now, but I have left a copy of the manuscript in your office, and also a copy of the disk it is on. It is called THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF. I have already sent it to Knopf. Let Christine or me know when they set a publication date, and if there is a fight over the cover art. Leave me a voice mail if you need me. J'taime. Bonsoir." Lestat hit the hook button, and then hit another button and waited a few minutes. "Christine? Lestat. Hello chere, how are you? . . .Tres bien. I have just sent my book in to Knopf . . . Yes . . . Hardback. I want the usual plus ten percent more of the paperback . . . Random House? Fine, fine, whatever. You know what I want. . . . Yes, chere . . . Well, I never was too happy with my deal on my revised biography . . . Christine, I have fledglings to support, ma chere!" Lestat laughed. "Oh fine, he's fine . . . Yes, the phone lines were your idea, he told me that he talked to you about it. . . Wonderful, thank you . . . I was very surprised." Lestat laughed again. "Oh? How did he sound? . . . Yes, he is very sweet . . . I'll send you a picture of it . . . Merci, merci beaucoup. Bonsoir."
Lestat heard a knock at his door. "Come in." He called as he hung up and dialed another number.
Louis cautiously poked his head through the door.
Lestat smiled. "Hello." He said into the phone as he waved Louis in. "I am calling for Ares, this is Narcisse."
Louis closed the door behind himself quietly and came to stand beside Lestat.
"Ares? Ciao." Lestat raised his eyebrows questioningly at Louis.
"Am I bothering you?" Louis mouthed silently.
Lestat frowned and shook his head. Louis held up a book he had brought and pointed to the office couch, looking to Lestat for permission. Lestat smiled and nodded. Louis smiled back and took a step toward the couch. Lestat caught one of his belt loops. Louis looked back at him.
"Yes, that is what I thought." Lestat said into the phone. He then puckered his lips at Louis.
Louis smiled shyly and leaned to kiss Lestat. Lestat grinned and tasted Louis's lips. Louis straightened and turned.
"I am about to make a very large transfer. I will be traveling and I must have these funds available." Lestat patted Louis as he walked away. Louis turned back surprised.
'I like you in jeans' Lestat wrote on his notepad, and then held it up for Louis. Louis blushed and laid down on Lestat's couch.
"Thirty to the liquid assets . . .Seventy to the Swiss accounts . . .Fifty to the funds available . . . Exactly."
Louis had left his shoes at the door when he returned from feeding, so he put his feet up on Lestat's couch and got comfortable with his book.
"I authorize anything which is necessary. It must be accessible from Brazil."
Louis liked to listen to Lestat's voice. It was a reassuring sound. He was pretending to be re-reading THE PICKWICK PAPERS, but actually he was listening to Lestat, and stealing glances here and there. God, it was good to be with Lestat again. Just to be in the same room with him was far more soothing than Louis had even imagined it would be. Lestat was salve on a wound he hadn't noticed until the pain was gone.
David had been on the phone for nearly two hours, making arrangements for their trip to the jungles. He was having tents, liners, backpacks, lanterns, flashlights, cell phones and appropriate clothing all sent to a postal station near to the Amazon. This time no one would be caught unawares. Of course, they would have to sleep in the earth most of the time, and so they could wrap themselves in the tent liners to keep their clothes from getting filthy. The lanterns and flashlights were to be certain that Louis could see as well as Lestat. The cell phones would keep them in contact, since they could not communicate telepathically, and there would be no humans about , whose minds could be scanned to locate each other. Heavy canvas clothing would withstand hard wear, quicksand, and traveling through thick vegetation.
He then called to order good hiking boots, in the appropriate sizes. He ordered various sizes of rope, machetes, Swiss Army knives and flares, just in case. As an afterthought, he ordered soft brushed cotton underclothing and union suits for the three of them, as canvas was not so comfortable against the skin.
Paging through a final catalog, he ordered three Portuguese-French-English dictionaries, a solar powered two-way radio with back-up batteries, a CD player and several good black ink pens and blank journals.
That accomplished, he went to Lestat's office. He could hear Lestat's voice, obviously on the telephone, and he could sense Louis inside. David knocked, and opened the door.
"May I join you?" he asked, quietly.
Lestat looked up from the phone call he was conducting in French and smiled.
"Of course," Louis whispered. He stood and greeted David with kisses on the cheek. They sat together on the couch and Lestat returned to his conversation.
"Well, everything should arrive-" David began, speaking to Lois in a quiet voice, but he was interrupted by a piteous whining and scratching at the door.
Louis got up and opened the door, admitting Mojo. Lestat frowned at Louis and pointed to the door, indicating that he should take the dog out. Louis walked out of the office and called Mojo softly. Mojo barked a loud greeting to Lestat before exiting. David, followed the dog out the door, laughing, and closed it behind them.
Ruling Rue Royale - Chapter Twelve
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