Louisa Clay has a glitch. A small town girl of mixed heritage from the wrong side of the tracks, she hates to lose. Often alienating people with her aloofness, her need to manipulate, control, or micromanage every situation. If you do not succumb to her will she can and does treat you as if you are of no consequence, as if you don't exist. You're only a player if you're on her team and she owns both sides of the field.

Rushton Cates, affectionately known as "Reds", was intelligent, charismatic, and incredibly handsome. Judging by the longing eyes of several women, he was also a fantastic lover.Reds was also from a small town. His grandfather owned most of it. Of course Louisa would never call him Reds. She would never allow him to realize how much she cared for him. Terrified he might use this knowledge to gain the upper hand in any given situation.

First time in Big City they met at a house party hosted by a girl niether of them was very well acquainted with. Louisa took note of him as everyone else did. Rushton took note of her as she seemed to be suffering a terminal case of ennui. They had a volatile chemistry. The reactive push and pull of a struggle for dominance. Reds, because he was to the manor born. Louisa, because she knew how to wrest power from whomever might be weilding it.

Having no pen or paper when Louisa deigned to give him her number, Rushton had to commit it to memory on the spot. He called to ask her out, she refused, several times, until she was satisfied she would be able to get a firm grip on his desire for her and use it to her advantage. Reds was smitten. They did marry. It was many years before he realized that Louisa toted an iron fist in her velvet glove.

She had to keep him interested, so after five years of occasionly allowing Reds to "express his prmitive urges", Louisa became pregnant. Abortion was not legal at the time but that didn't stop her from trying everything she knew to evict the parasite that had infected her womb. The side effects took thier toll. She was ill the entire nine months. Eventually giving birth to a small sickly little boy. A little boy that was Reds reincarnate.

They named the child Gabriel Barnabas Cates. Gabriel for the archangel, Barnabas the son of laughter. But Louisa wasn't laughing. In fact her misery was now doubled. She couldn't stand the sight of "Little Reds", a constant reminder of once again letting the situation get out of control. Besides, children have needs that are sometimes difficult to manage.

Louisa played the role of martyr well. Nobody knew why Gabriel was such a recalcitrant child. Nobody could figure out why Little Reds was given to tantrums. Nobody except Louisa, and of course she wasn't telling. She would tell no one how she deliberately withheld Gabriel's feedings, diaper changes, even affection in order to frustrate the child and make him totally reliant on her. No none knew about her creeping into his room where she would break glasses, rattle cultlery, bang pots and pans, startling him out of a sound nap. How she would just sit there in full view of him screaming, reaching out for mothercomfort which was not forthcoming. Louisa silently smiling, relishing this control over his fear.

Like most people with control issues, Louisa didn't know how or when to stop. Rushton finally divorced her in favor of a younger, more yielding, more capable woman. He even had more children. Louisa was infuriated. How dare he try to be happy without her! She used Gabriel as a shovel, digging a pit for all of them to fall into. Perverting Rushton's right to visitation, she would refuse to relinguish the child. Making much effort of preparing the child for an extended visit with his "family"she would encourage Gabriel with anticipation of the "fun" he was going to have. She then left Gabriel to sit and stare out the window waiting for a Daddy that would never arrive.

Gabriel is now fifty years old with a long list of failed marriages, ruined relationships, two estranged children, and no friends. Louisa has already lost one man to another woman. She'll be damned if she allows it to happen again. Gabriel will never ascend the throne as long as the Queen Mother is alive. Just ask Prince Charles.