Past Betrayals, Past Loves

by Walters, Janet Lane;

  When Berwin pushed the door of the hut open, he put Esther on one of the chairs. Though the hut was cold, the absence of wind helped. He had to start a fire and find a way to warm her chilled skin.

  He stripped Esther’s soggy clothes and draped them on the table. As he carried her to the cot, he stroked her silky skin. He sucked in a breath when desire raged. Quickly, he covered her with several thin blankets. He pushed away from the cot. Once the fire burned in the fireplace, he searched the shelves for food and found nothing. He wished he could have carried her to his place higher in the hills. His hut was well-provisioned for the coming winter but there had been no time to carry her there.

  He returned to the cot. Her body shook so hard the cot moved. He brushed his fingers along her shoulder. So cold. Too cold. With shaking hands, he stripped and hung his clothes to dry. He would give her his heat.

  He slid beneath the covers and wrapped his arms around her. She whimpered. As he stroked her, his hand touched her breast. A surge of fire swept through him. His organ swelled and throbbed. When her buttocks pressed against him, he sucked in a breath. She turned and plastered her body against his. Her puckered nipples grazed his chest. Just one kiss. Just a single taste.

  When his lips touched hers, he felt as if he drowned. She opened her mouth to his probing tongue. She inched closer. His penis probed the junction of her thighs. She eased her leg over his him and sighed. Berwin tried to draw back but she clutched his shoulders. Her eyes fluttered open.

  “I knew you would save me.” Her breath flowed over his face. “He killed Papa, not the rebels. Stabbed him in the back. He says the priest will betroth us. He tried to…She shuddered.

  Berwin rolled to his back. She clung to him and lay atop his body. “Esther, be still. You fell in the stream. I had to find a way to warm you.”

  “You have. Kiss me again.” Her mouth brushed his.

  He was lost in the flames threatening to consume him. He had to stop, to move away before he did what he’d dreamed of every night since her return. He tried to slide from beneath her. “”We can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “If I don’t move away from you we’ll go beyond what’s proper.”

  She wiggled her hips. Her moisture laved his shaft. “It’s like fire spreading through the forest. This feels good and right.”

  He groaned and rolled so she lay beneath him. “You’re warm now.”

  She clung to him. “Just once, please. Let me know what it’s like to be with the one I live. When I return home I’ll be given in marriage to someone chosen for me.”

  He tried to move away. “I mustn’t.”

  She pulled his head to her breast. “They ache for your touch.”

  His lips brushed a nipple and he lost the desire to make further protests. He rolled his tongue over the tip and then sucked. She stroked his back and cried out. He slid a hand between her legs and felt her dew. As he suckled her breast, he stroked along her cleft. Her body writhed. Her hips pumped. When he thrust inside, she cried, not with pain but with welcome.

  He stroked. He thrust. He plunged. And he knew they were meant to be together. Her cries built to a crescendo. Her body tensed and her inner muscles tightened around his shaft. He spewed his seed until there was no more.

  He found her mouth and drank deep of her sweetness. He rolled to his side and gathered her close.

  When he woke, bands of light filtered through cracks in the shutters. Esther stirred and opened her eyes. He brushed her lips with his. “I’ll take you to town.”

  “I can’t go there. He’ll be waiting. He’ll drag me to the priest. Let me stay here with you.”

  “Not here. Others know of this place. If they see you, they will tell Gerald.”

  She sat up. Her eyes filled with tears. “If you take me to town I’ll flee again. I won’t let him touch me.”

  He took her hand in his. “I know a place where you’ll be safe until I can take you to the Count. We must dress and be on our way before anyone comes.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Adelle and Mathilde will worry about me. Don’t tell them I’m alive. I told them to go to your father. He’ll keep them safe.”

  “I’ll protect you.”

  * * *

  They stayed in Berwin’s hut until the leaves had fallen and a dusting of snow covered the ground. Love filled their nights and laughter their days.

  “I need to go to town,” Berwin said. “Will you be all right alone?”

  Esther nodded. “I’ll miss you.” She stood in the doorway and watched his departure. After she closed the door, she hugged herself. When he returned, she had to tell him she carried his child. For several mornings, she had been able to hide her nausea until he left to check his traps or cut wood to take to the village.

  Should she tell him about the odd dreams she’d had for the past few nights? She’d heard voices. They had argued and cursed each other. The woman was with child and the man had denied the babe. What if Berwin did the same?

  At dusk, he returned. He hung his cloak on a hook beside the door. “I have much to tell you.”

  Esther put a bowl of stew on the table and filled two mugs with tea. “Are Adelle and Mathilde all right?”

  “They accompanied your father’s body home. They grieve for you. Soldiers came for Gerald two days ago. He fled into the forest.”

  “Will he find us?”

  “I pray not.” He caught her hands. “Let me take you home before the passes are closed.

  She shook her head. “I love you. I want to stay with you. I’ve dreamed and in these dreams we were in strange places and cursed each other because of a betrayal. We have a chance to end what happened ages ago.”

  He settled her onto his lap. “I feel we’ve been together before but you should be with your family. You’re beyond my reach like one of the stars we see in the night sky.”

  She turned to him. “I must stay. I’m with child.”

  He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Then we must go to town and see the priest to say our vows.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we’ll go in the morning.”

  At daybreak, snow swirled through the air. Berwin looked at the sky. “I fear the snow will be heavy by nightfall.” He put food in his pack for them to eat when they stopped to rest.

  Esther donned her cloak and fought to control her roiling stomach. She followed Berwin from the hut. Snow fell heavier and she couldn’t see far ahead. They reached the ridge above the town. How different the houses and the lakes looked from when she’d arrived.

  “We must take care,” Berwin said. “The path is steep and the snow will make the way slippery.” He caught her hand.

  “Esther!”

  She froze. The voice belonged to Gerald.

  Berwin tugged on her hand. “Come. If we reach town, we’ll be safe. He’s a hunted man.”

  Fear welled and spewed over. Esther pulled her hand from Berwin’s. Every time they men, happiness ended in betrayal and tragedy. She ran. She heard someone behind her. A figure loomed through the wind-driven snow. She changed direction. Someone grabbed her and she fell. Her body hurtled down the slope.

  “Esther!”

  This time she heard Berwin. “Here.” Arms enfolded her. She continued to slide. A rumble grew louder. She and her captor rolled.

  “Avalanche! Esther, no!”

  * * *

  Astrid opened her eyes. Duncan cradled her against his chest. Just like the man in the dream. “They’re dead. They found love and were destroyed by greed. When will it stop?”

  “Who?”

  She drew a deep breath. “The ones who have sought each other time and again.”

  He frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “During their first meeting they cursed each other. They had enemies, a man and a woman who wanted to destroy and possess.” She shuddered. “One of the pair was me. An avalanche killed her. She was pregnant and shouldn’t have been.” Astrid sat up and wrapped her arms aroun
d her knees.

  “Do you remember more?” Duncan asked.

  She met his gaze. “Clive…Lorna…”

  “What?”

  “I think they were there in different guises.” She yawned. “I need to sleep. Every time I go into these dreams I’m exhausted when I return.”

  “No more trips then.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think I should stop. I believe it’s important to see this to the end. Madeline fled when she could have ended the curse.”

  He pulled her against his chest. “What if you get lost in one of those dreams?”

  She didn’t think she would be but she was too tired to continue this discussion.

  When Astrid woke, she stretched and scurried to the bathroom. After splashing cold water on her face, she entered Duncan’s study. He’d spread the jewelry, including the gold bracelet on his desk. “What are you doing?” she asked.

  He looked up. “Putting them in order of age. The Egyptian pieces are the oldest.”

  “That’s where this began,” Astrid said. “Dad told me he found a reference to a leader of the armies named Mermeshu. He was the lover in the first dream. I also remember the double curse.”

  ‘Which was?”

  “He coveted power and wealth. She believed duty and honor were stronger. Her curse was he had to learn love was more powerful that power and wealth. He told her duty wan honor were more important.”

  “Heady stuff. Does he equate duty and honor to power and wealth?”

  “I’m not sure. I can’t remember more.”

  He gazed into her eyes. “I wish you would leave this alone.”

  She placed her hands on his shoulders. Did he care that much for her or was he trying to control her life? She wouldn’t ask. “I think I’ve gone too far to stop. I need to reach the end.”

  “Why?”

  The ring of the phone interrupted the conversation. He reached for the receiver. Astrid walked to the computer and logged on. There were two more items and she intended to find them.

  * * *

  “Garrett here.”

  “Rick, reporting on your request for information. Figured you would want a briefing, especially when you ruined my weekend.”

  “Sorry about that.” Duncan sat on the arm of the couch. “What did you learn?”

  “I’m faxing you a full report. Your Lorna Stinit isn’t a nice woman and she isn’t who she says she is. She’s a con artist and usually works with a partner. Though the Stinits were once residents of Rockleigh, she’s not related to them. They left after they lost their fortune. Had one daughter named Bonnie. She set out to marry your ancestor but her plans fell through. She went with her family. They settled out west. She married a rick miner and had one child, a son. There are no other members of that family.”

  Duncan frowned. “Then who is she and where did she come from?”

  “Hopefully I’ll have that for you tomorrow.”

  “What about Clive?”

  “Nada yet. Wasn’t he your college roommate? Can’t find any information on him before that.”

  “Odd.”

  “Sure is. I’ll start tracking him and see what I can discover.”

  “Good enough.” Duncan frowned. What was going on? Had Clive been planning some scheme since college or before?

  “Come here a minute,” Astrid said.

  Duncan joined her at the computer. He stared at the images on the screen. “What are they?”

  “Netsuki, carved from ivory. In Japan, they didn’t use jewelry. Some kind of law or custom. The netsuke was called a purse toggle. They hung things from their obis, some sort of boxes they kept coins and other things. The boxes had strings and were held together by these tucked beneath the sashes. They were small, seldom larger than two inches.”

  He frowned. “I recall seeing something like this when I was a child. I even played with the thing.”

  “Where?”

  “I can’t remember but it will come to me.” He rose. “Are you sure you want to continue this search?”

  “Yes.”

  The fax spewed paper. Duncan turned to collect the pages. “We’ll go somewhere for dinner and read what’s here.”

  “And that is?”

  “Information on Lorna. She’s a bit of a mystery woman.”

  Astrid logged off. “How so?”

  “Evidently the Stinit family died out when their only child married.” He gathered the papers and put them in a folder. “Ready?”

  “Let me get my bag. Tell me where you want to eat and I’ll meet you. I need to go to the apartment and change.”

  He arched a brow. “You staying there alone is another thing we’ll discuss.”

  Chapter Seven

  Japan

  Astrid put her overnight case in the car. So Duncan didn’t want her staying in the apartment alone. How nice but she wasn’t going to be bullied into remaining here. Not with the way she felt and the way he didn’t. If it weren’t for her reactions to the artifacts and the connection between them, she would walk away. Every moment spent with him marked her deeper. She feared he would be come essential to her existence. He wasn’t one for long term. Unfortunately, she was.

  Duncan caught her hand and pulled her into an embrace. “Emilio’s in fifteen minutes.”

  She couldn’t think when he held her. “Half an hour. I need to shower and change.”

  “And pack for an extended visit.”

  Her hands fisted. “You’re being ridiculous. With the new locks, the apartment is safe.” Myriad emotions flashed in his eyes and none was the one she wanted to see.

  “You’re safer with me.”

  She tapped her foot against the asphalt. Safer? Hardly. She was completely in danger of losing her heard and having to fuse the pieces when he walked away. “Forget dinner. I’ll eat at the apartment.”

  He threw up his hands. “Fine. If there’s trouble, I have I-told-you-so-rights.”

  “Granted.” She slid behind the wheel.

  He waved to the folder. “Come to dinner. I’m sure you want to know what Rick discovered.”

  She nodded. “Dinner. Then information with no badgering. Just because we had sex doesn’t mean you can run my life.” The stubborn set of his jaw irritated her.

  “We made love.” He shouted.

  “Same thing.” She closed the door and drove to the apartment where she showered and changed. Before leaving, she checked the answering machine for messages. Then she walked to Emilio’s.

  Duncan waited at the table where they’d eaten the first time. Salads and rolls were waiting. He shoved the papers he’d been reading in the folder. “Your things in the car?”

  “I walked and no things.” She opened the mend and moments later ordered. “The folder.” Duncan handed it to her and she quickly skimmed the pages. “Lorna’s quite a piece of work. Wonder how and when she and Clive met.”

  “Rick will find out.” He remained silent until after the waiter served their entrees. “What do you think she wants?”

  Astrid tapped the folder. “Not enough information here to form a theory.”

  “I know.” He touched her hand. “Let’s talk about other things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Where you’re sleeping tonight.”

  She put her fork down. “Already decided. I’ll be at the apartment and you’ll be at your house.”

  “Astrid.”

  She looked up. “We’ve discussed this before but let me repeat. It’s not your place to tell me where I’ll sleep.” She slid along the bench away from him. “I don’t need a man running my life.”

  “What if Clive comes to your door?”

  “I’ll tell him to get lost.”

  “But…”

  “Enough.” She rose. “Look, tomorrow I’ll be in the shop finishing the inventory. If he wants he can ambush me there. That doesn’t mean I won’t go.”

  “Will you be alone?”

  “Maybe but I can handle Clive.”
r />   He frowned. “Just be careful.”

  “Always. I’ll be working in the vault. Maybe I’ll find the netsuke and the Incan necklace.”

  He caught her hand. “If you do, call me. I don’t want you tripping in the past when you’re alone.”

  Astrid sucked in a breath. What was with him and these orders? Don’t stay at the apartment. Don’t touch the artifacts. One more order and she would smack him. He was her lover, not her keeper. “I’d better go before I say something I’ll regret.”

  “I’ll walk you home.”

  She pulled free and strode to the door. She wouldn’t scream, not in public. She pushed the door open and headed down the street. Her sandals slapped the pavement. Duncan caught up and matched her pace.

  At the foot of the steps leading to the deck, he put his arms around her. “Why are you so angry?”

  She clenched her teeth. “You’re dictatorial manner. You’re acting like a Victorian husband.”

  “Hold on. I’m concerned about you. When you slip into one of those fugue states, you’re vulnerable. What if someone attacked you? How could you protect yourself?”

  She shrugged. “I’m careful about where I am.”

  “What about the first time?”

  “Took me by surprise.” She glared. “I won’t take a trip without letting you or someone I trust to know. Is that enough?”

  “No. We’re a couple until the fire dies. Go and pack a bag.”

  Absolutely not.” She stormed up the steps.

  Sarah’s door opened. “Astrid, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. He’s not.” Astrid smiled. “Didn’t I promise to tell you about the new key? Now’s a great time.” She opened the apartment door. “Duncan was just leaving.”

  “I’m not finished.”

  “I am. Thank you for dinner and the interesting entertainment. If you find the netsuke, give me a call. Otherwise, don’t bother.” She steered Sarah inside and closed the door.

  “What was that about?” Sarah asked.