Chapter 75: Last Preparations

Pavel advised me that he had a driver and a bodyguard waiting for us at the airport, and we had rooms reserved at the Dorchester.

I raised an eyebrow - the Dorchester again? It was a very comfortable hotel but also very expensive! He shrugged his shoulders.

“Count, at short notice, this is the safest hotel for you I could find.”

He hesitated. “I took the liberty to reserve a room for Andrei and myself - he has more news, and I assumed you would want to work with us to include this in the presentation.”

I nodded. “Well done, Pavel. At this moment, money is not important. We have to be careful, however, and if Balek has news we should use, we will sit down tonight and go through the whole shebang once more.”

A big Jaguar was waiting for us, and when I opened the door for Jenny, I was surprised by its weight. “Count, armored!” I accepted his decision, and we were taken to the Dorchester.

It was famous for (among other things) its spa, and Jenny asked for a stress release massage. There was an opening in thirty minutes, and she vanished. I had to whistle to remind her to come back and kiss me and wish her good luck - the last time she tried a massage, it ended up with her using her black belt skills to survive. She smiled.

“Darling, let him try it. This might be even more relaxing than a massage!”

I called Pavel and Andrei up to our room, and we went through the new facts he had discovered. There were no significant new facts, but he had found a treasure of supporting photos and documents - the wives of the party leaders buying and using very expensive goodies, the men utterly drunk in rather compromising positions, and one guy from the Catholic Party first publicly condemning the moral laxity of the other politicians, and then bring caught on camera with a high-priced call girl. I wondered whether to include this since it did not add anything to the legal facts but considering that at least part of the report included accusations legally not permissible, I needed something to sink them on the political side and kill them in the social networks. All we needed now was the confirmation from Broughton.

We were almost finished, and Pavel took Andrei to the big window overlooking the park. Jenny walked in - actually, she floated in, a big smile on her face. A white robe covered her but dangerously open in the front.

She jumped into my arms.

“James, the masseuse was wonderful! I’m totally relaxed! You should do it also! She’s gorgeous, and I’ll have to stay at your side to assure that you’re not led astray! Do you prefer to go out for dinner? I can order room service, and I’ll be the dessert! Please say...”

There was silence. “Oops...”

She finally saw the two standing beside the window and looking at her. Andrei went rigid and stared at a painting showing old London, but Pavel was interested in how this would develop. She blushed all over, closed her robe, and sat beside me.

“Pavel ... Andrei ... I didn’t see you when I came in.” She swallowed and started again.

“Gentlemen, I’m certain that you have important things to do.” She got up, closed her robe very tight, and walked over to the bedroom.

“James, please excuse me. I’ll change and join you in a minute.”

She closed the door very carefully, but there were some furious noises as soon as the door closed. Andrei continued to stare at the wall, and Pavel looked at me. He became formal.

“Count, we need just a few minutes to finish the report, and Andrei and I want to walk around a bit through the parks close by. Should we finish it, or do you have other priorities?”

There was a slight smile on his face, very respectful, of course, but very amused indeed. I told them we would finish it in the morning and meet again for breakfast. It was almost indecent how fast they picked up their things and vanished.

After a while, Jenny appeared, very correctly dressed - hair carefully put up, a little blush on her cheeks, white blouse, dark blue skirt, perhaps some stockings? She looked around.

“Where are those two?”

I couldn’t hide my smile. “They suggested that we might have other priorities than staring at the report once more and decided to go for a walk through the parks nearby. May I interest you also in a walk, perhaps High Tea, for which the Dorchester is famous for, or do you want to relax?”

“James, I didn’t see them when I walked in. Please forgive me. Let’s go and have tea to relax from this shock. Perhaps later we can think about other priorities?”

The only way to describe the High Tea was ‘grand’. The space was plush, with long gold/brown velvet curtains hiding the wall. The wallpaper complemented the design, small tables with long linen tablecloths and fine bone china loaded with traditional finger food. I ordered two glasses of the Dom Perignon 2000, and we spent a lovely hour talking sweet nothings, trying to forget the ordeals coming up.

Later we went out and walked through the neighboring park - it was a lovely afternoon - horses were cantering, children running around, a boy almost running us down with his skateboard and his mother screaming at him, and couples leisurely walking the paths. There was even a small lake where you could rent a boat - I looked at Jenny, but she shook her head.

“Perhaps another day, my love. I’m not dressed to step into a little boat.”

So we strolled back, I ordered room service, and Jenny was interested in a glass of English sparkling wine. She selected a Ridgeview Cuvée that had been a surprise at international wine shows, winning gold and silver medals. She sniffed and sipped and told me that it was a pleasantly balanced blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, and told me that there were honey flavors, citrus, and some remote melon. I didn’t care - I just liked it. We had smoked salmon sandwiches, and Jenny was satisfied with her choice.

Later we retired, and she looked at me.

“My love, can we just talk a bit and sleep? The afternoon shock took some of the desire out, and I just want to discuss the following days, stay in your arms, and feel safe and protected. If you have other plans...?”

I looked at her softly smiling face, agreed, and that was what we did. She did, however, not forget the obligatory three kisses!

The next morning we had breakfast with the two gentlemen, finished the report - now in Polish and English - paid the bills, and went to see the CEO of Broughton.

We were led into a plush meeting room, and Mr. Smiley appeared with some of his colleagues. The four were all heads of the departments that had analyzed the documents and videos. They were dressed in serious British apparel (black suit, white shirt, dark tie - one was adventurous and had a striped red-blue tie. Military?); he had brought his top guns to the forthcoming battle.

“Count de Winter, we thank you for trusting us with this problem. It’s an incredible story, and I’m sure there will be furious and eventually violent reactions to your action. Are you convinced that you want to do this? We can give you a confirmation of the facts, but you’ll have to present it and face the consequences.”

He looked at us, and I saw Jenny glancing at me, leaving the final decision to me.

“Mr. Smiley, if you can confirm the facts, we’ll run with them. I cannot accept blackmail and extortion - I simply cannot do this. All I need from you is confirmation that the facts, as I’ll show them, are authentic and without any change and deception. I know that most are not acceptable in a legal court, but I assume that social media will be a moral and ethical test that they will not be able to survive.”

I stopped for a moment, thinking about what he had said before.

“What will happen to Mary Ann and me? I don’t know - all I can do is have the best available security for her and me, present our case, distribute copies of this pen drive to the media and the public in general, and leave Poland to wait for what will happen. I’ll have the State Governor, the Mayor, the Bishop, and a Supreme Court Judge with us to prevent the worst, but still - there will be problems.”

Jenny added, “Mr. Smiley, this our decision, and whatever happens, we’ll live or die together - not that I believe that’ll come to this extreme but once more - but whatever happens, we’ll do it together.”

There was a moment of silence as they processed our determination, and then the fun started. His colleagues entered the discussion, and we (meaning Jenny, Pavel, Andrei, and I) had to defend ourselves against some quite crucial arguments. Still, in the end, they agreed - it was a tight case and ironclad.

Mr. Smiley had listened more than spoken, but finally, he called the meeting to a close. He asked us to stay for a moment.

“Count de Winter, I have thought about this for a time now, and I feel obliged to do something. If you agree, I’ll accompany you to your exposition and handle the work we have done; it would be easier for you to have the investigation presented by the person responsible for it. This meant that any malicious question would be answered by the specialist who had done the work. It would give you more gravitas and deflect some of the questions. Do you agree?”

This was an earnest offer, and Jenny decided to answer it. She walked over to him and hugged him.

“Mr. Smiley, obviously, we accept your gracious offer. It would help us very much, but please analyze what you will be doing. You told us that the consequences could be serious and potentially violent. We have good security...” she pointed to Pavel “ ... and we trust him with our lives.”

He told us that he was confident that he was doing the right thing and asked us to send him details of the event. Jenny hugged him once more (which he seemed to enjoy), and we left.

Back at the hotel, we discussed the presentation and potential problems and eventual flaws again and then closed our laptops. There was nothing more we do. Jenny chartered a business jet for the following morning to fly to Elk, and once she advised Mr. Smiley about the details of the flight, we were free to spend the rest of the day. Andrei wanted to do the city tour, Pavel wanted to spend some time on the phone talking to Catarina, and we decided to have lunch at the Caviar House and Prunier at Piccadilly. It was recommended by the concierge; he told us that they produced their own caviar and smoked salmon and had a full selection of the best champagnes.

We took a cab, and while the first impact of the outside façade was not very impressive, the inside was completely different. There was a certain kind of old traditional decadence about the place, with small tables covered by white linen, leather seats, and one wall decorated with champagne bottles. There was a long bar in the middle of the saloon, but we preferred a more intimate setting, and a hostess seated us in a corner and offered a colorful menu. It showed the top selections, and we decided to start with a dozen rock oysters, then a portion of smoked salmon, and finally the piece de résistance - Beluga caviar. Jenny selected Dom Perignon, and she smiled at me.

“Remember my time in Cleveland caring for Ellen when she recovered from her illness? I started to like it, and even though we normally drink our Australian sparkling wine, champagne will always be on the list of my priorities!”

It was an excellent meal, worthy of the recommendation of our concierge. I swallowed when I saw the bill but so what - we had a scary week ahead, and a splurge of luxury was the prize for all the work we had put into it. We strolled back to the hotel and had a nap (no fooling around!). At night we called our two friends; Andrei was with friends and Pavel was going to a concert. He checked whether we would stay at the Dorchester, and we assured him that he was free for the night.

Jenny smiled and suggested room service.

“My love, we can get something light, and then you’re all mine. That’s the last night I have you for my own, and I’ll use every minute of it!”

This promised to be exciting, and I readily accepted. After considering the options on the menu and our past extravagances, we discussed what we should get, compromised on traditional English treat - fish and chips, and a bottle of Chablis. The food came, was eaten and removed, and Jenny looked at me.

“James, go and do your things and wait for me.”

I did as ordered, and when she appeared, it was as the sun had come out.

Jenny was one of the two most beautiful women I had ever seen, and this moment confirmed it. Here was my beautiful woman in a floor-length transparent black nightgown that sheathed her curves and bared her shoulders and arms with a simple bodice that showed her rather impressive décolleté. Slowly she came forward, extending one graceful leg before the other; the skirt of the gown parted at the side of her shapely leg just above her knee, and there was a hint of the soft smooth skin of her thigh. She stopped in front of me, turned slowly around, and asked, “You like?”

I just stared, unable to talk for a moment. She touched my face, and I recovered. “Like? My love, that is not the right word. Bedazzled, bewitched, dazed, stunned, bewildered, speechless would still be weak words to describe you and my feelings for you. Since I cannot find the right words, let me show you.”

I took her into my arms, and she melted into my embrace. Then stepping back, she pulled herself up, and with her arms encircling my neck, she placed a light kiss on my lips. I looked at her sweet smile and into her incredible blue caring eyes. She gave a little tilt of her head, looking deep into my eyes, and her soft lips brushed mine.

The mischievous look in her eyes returned, and she whispered, “My love, I’m all yours - do to me whatever you want.”

That was an invitation I could not deny.I kissed her with all the love and passion I felt for her, and she pushed herself once more into me. Opening the buttons that held her proud breasts, she let me nuzzle the deep valley between them; she responded by moaning softly. I held her tight and then pushed my hands down, holding her breasts and kissing the stiff tips, and felt her hips start to move sensuously against me. Continuing my labors, I moved her top down, admiring her perk mounds, and then let my hands glide down her body, sliding down her gown. She tightened her arms around my neck, and her lips came forward, locking herself to me in a much firmer kiss and with her tongue asking to come in. I accepted the request, and we closed our eyes, enjoying the moment of love.

Then she pulled away. “My love, foreplay is nice, but action is nicer...”

She firmly pushed my hands down, and her gown slipped to the floor. There she was, gloriously nude, smiling, waiting for my response. I kissed her once more and picked her up, carrying her to our bed. Her smile turned into a happy grin.