by Raye Morgan
“Well, hello,” she said. “I’ve just come to pick up the mail from the box.”
David rose as well, feeling like a man who had just avoided the pit of stark, raving madness. He was breathing hard, but he managed to smile and ask “Doesn’t Meneer Garvora live here anymore?”
“Oh, certainly, he still lives here just as he has for thirty years,” she responded in a kindly manner. “But he’s gone on a trip right now. First time I’ve known him to go anywhere for years and years. He said he might be gone for quite some time.” She waved an arm expansively. “I’m watering his pots for him while he’s gone.”
“I see. I’m sorry to have missed him.” Turning, he looked down into Ayme’s clear brown eyes. There was a question in them. And why not? What he’d almost done was insane and she was wondering whether he should be committed, no doubt. Internally he groaned. He was going to have to control himself better if he didn’t want to bring down the whole house of cards on his own head.
Man up! he told himself silently. Think of Ambria. Think of Monte.
“Yes,” the lady was saying. “Aren’t you one of the Dykstra clan? I seem to remember seeing you visiting here years ago. Am I right?”
“You’re right. Meneer Garvora gave me some important geography lessons in the old days. I just wanted to come by and thank him for that.”
“I’ll tell him you came by.”
They started to go and David turned back. “By the way, did he say where he was going?”
“Yes, of course. He went to Italy.”
David’s eyebrows rose at that news. Thanking the woman, he nodded to Ayme and they started back down the path to the farmhouse.
“Hmm,” Ayme said, noting his reaction to hearing his old mentor’s destination. “Are we going to Italy, too?” she asked, just a bit archly.
He growled but didn’t really answer.
“If I could just find this Darius person,” she murmured.
He looked at her and frowned. “Listen, we need to talk about that.” He hesitated, but there was no time like the present. “You do realize it is not very likely he was ever planning to marry your sister.”
“Oh, I know that.” She waved his statement away. “Knowing Sam, I doubt she was ever planning to marry him.” She smiled sadly, remembering her sister. “Sam wasn’t one to yearn for marriage. In fact, she wasn’t one to stick with one man for more than a weekend.”
He made a face. “Ouch.”
“Well might you say that.” She nodded, remembering the painful past. “I’m expecting him to be a sort of male version of Sam, if you know what I mean.” She gazed at him earnestly as they walked along. “I just think he has a right to know about Cici and she has a right to the chance that her Dad might want her.”
He winced. He was only just beginning to realize how hard this was all going to be. “I know. It’s been bothering me, too.”
“I don’t know how much you can blame him. I mean I’m sure he’s the sort of man who has women throwing themselves at him constantly. Being a handsome young and eligible prince and all.”
He had to give her that. He nodded with a half smile he couldn’t hold back. “Of course he does. But that doesn’t mean he has to accept them, does it? Not if he has any integrity.”
She gave him a bemused smile. “Celebrities with integrity? I’m sure there are a few, but…” She shrugged. “Hey, I’ve had men throw themselves at me all my life. Some seem to think I do have certain charms.”
His sideways glance was warm. “I’ll second that emotion.”
She felt a glow of pleasure but she didn’t want to lose her equilibrium. “But I would never let it go to my head. That way lies the pit, and once you fall over the edge, you’re done for.”
He grinned at her melodramatic tone. But then his grin faded as he remembered how he’d almost lost control just a half hour before. He hadn’t even known it was possible. He’d never felt anything like that before, so strong, so overwhelming, so irresistible. It was almost scary—his own private “pit.”
“So anyway, I think I should give him a chance to make a case for himself. Mostly for Cici’s sake.”
He had to admire her for that. If only he wasn’t pretty sure that this guy was a rat, and maybe even needed exterminating.
Something stopped him just before they got back within sight of his sister’s house. Some natural-born instinct for survival, perhaps. Whatever it was, it told him right away that danger lurked, and he had Ayme follow him as they stayed behind the bushes and traveled down along the hedge at the edge of the canal instead of walking in on the road. They kept out of sight and sneaked in through the back gate, surprising Marjan in the kitchen.
“Oh, I’m so glad you came in that way,” she said as soon as she saw them. “I’ve just heard from my friend Tilly Weil that there is a man watching the house. He hangs out in that little stand of trees over there, across the way, pretending to be a bird watcher.”
David went to the window, standing to the side. “How long has he been there?” he asked.
“Tilly thought he was there early this morning, then seemed to go have breakfast somewhere and is now back, binoculars in hand. So you see, you didn’t get away with your ride in the hay wagon.”
“Maybe,” David said. “And maybe he’s just watching my sister’s house in case I might show up there. You can’t tell.” He looked at Ayme. “But I’d better go.”
Ayme turned to look at him, her eyes huge. He felt an ache in his heart. It was going to be hard to leave her behind.
“First of all,” his sister said, “I know you’re going to be anxious to go, but from what we’ve seen, I think you’re right, that they don’t know for sure whether you are here or not. And I say you wait until morning. If you do that, you’ll have a place to stay tonight, and tomorrow I may have a way to get you out of here completely unseen by the outside world.”
David thought for a moment. She had a point. If they left now, they would just have to find another place to stay for the night and it was getting late for that.
“All right,” he said at last. “We’ll go in the morning. Early.”
“Ayme, I hope you’ll be staying here with me,” Marjan said, trying to help David do the right thing. She turned to him. “She’ll be a big help, and at the same time I could teach her some practical things about babies.”
He studied his sister’s pleasant face for a moment, feeling a warmth for her he didn’t feel for many other people. But he couldn’t look at Ayme. He knew she was holding her breath, waiting to see what he would say.
Various and sundry thoughts ranged through his head as he stood there, thoughts about his brother’s plan to match him up with the woman who was perfect princess material, about how his brother had warned him against getting entangled with Ayme, about how much easier it would be to sneak around on his own if she stayed behind. He had to keep his eye on the prize. He knew that. Ayme being with him tended to diffuse his focus at times.
His head knew all these things and agreed with them. But his heart and soul had other ideas. He couldn’t keep her with him forever, but he wanted her close right now. He needed her. Why? He wasn’t ready to verbalize that just yet.
But he also wanted to make sure she was protected. For now. Not for always—that was impossible. But for now. For now.
He’d made up his mind. He was taking her to Italy with him. Monte wasn’t going to like it, but he didn’t care. Monte wasn’t king yet.
“Thank you for your offer, Marjan. I appreciate it and love you for it. But I can’t take you up on it. Ayme has to come with me.”
Ayme’s heart leaped in her chest. Yes!
Marjan’s smile was understanding. “Well, then, how about the baby? You can leave her here. I’ll take care of her. You need to be able to slide through the world without the baggage a baby entails.”
Ayme’s heart was beating as fast as a bird’s, making her feel faint. She held her breath. Deep inside, she knew there was no wa
y she would ever leave this helpless little baby behind. But what would David say?
He turned slowly. He looked at her and then he looked at Cici.
“That’s up to Ayme,” he said, then glanced at her. “She would be safe here,” he suggested. “What do you say?”
She searched his gaze, looking for clues as to what he really thought. Did he want the freedom that being without the baby would bring? She could understand that he might. But she couldn’t accept it. She needed Cici to come with them.
She drew in a deep breath. She was going to insist, even if that meant David decided to have her stay instead of go. That was the way it had to be. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer.
Then she opened them and said, loud and clear, “Cici needs to go with us. That’s where she belongs.”
David smiled. “Good,” he said firmly. “Thank you, Marjan, but we’ll keep Cici with us.”
Ayme felt a glow of happiness in her chest. It seemed to be settling right where her heart should be. She raced off to pack for the trip.
They had a lovely dinner. Ayme helped Marjan cook it, stopping to tend to Cici in between her duties. They ate heartily and laughed a lot. That night, they slept well.
When they were ready to go, they found that Marjan had set up a special plan for them.
“Okay, Mari. Tell me. What’s your idea?” David asked her.
“Here’s the scenario. You said you wanted to throw them off by going back to where you left the car and taking it.”
“Yes.”
Marjan frowned. “Won’t they know?”
He shrugged. “I doubt it. They’ll already have checked it out for any information they could use. There would be no reason for them to keep watch on it when they think we’ve abandoned it.”
Marjan nodded, but suggested, “You could take my car.”
“Thanks, Mari, but they probably have it pegged too, just in case. I think my idea is the best.”
She nodded again, thinking. “All right then. Now, as for my plan, my friend Gretja takes her canal boat in to town every other morning. Today she is stopping by in half an hour to pick up my pies to take to the Cheese Fair. How would you like to ride back to town in a canal boat?”
David was all smiles. “That would be perfect.”
“Good.” She gave him a hug, then turned to Ayme and did the same. “I want you both to be safe and happy. So be careful!”
Forty minutes later they were on Gretja’s canal boat, tucked away inside the little open cabin in a place where no one could see them from the shore. Gretja enjoyed the whole event more than anyone. As they were skimming along the waterway, the older woman grinned at them from above, her eyes sparkling as though she were carrying smugglers out of Kashmir.
“Oh, isn’t this fun? I’m trying not to move my lips when I talk so they can’t see me. Just in case anyone should be watching from the side, you know. I think I’ll pretend to be singing. Yes, that should work just fine. Don’t you think so?”
They humored her. The trip didn’t take long, but it was fun while it lasted. They thanked her profusely when she dropped them off in town, choosing a crowded dock where they wouldn’t be noticed. A few minutes later they were back in David’s “incognito” car and driving toward France.
“I don’t know how much more of this craziness I can take,” Ayme said as she settled in and began to give Cici her bottle. “I’m just a stay-at-home girl from Dallas. I’m not used to all these shenanigans.”
“Don’t forget that semester in Japan,” he reminded her sardonically.
“Well, yes, there was that.” Her eyes narrowed as she thought that over. “But we had escorts and chaperones everywhere we went. It was very controlled. Here I feel like I keep getting aboard a crazy train that’s running wild. What if it goes off the tracks?”
He watched her, his eyes slightly hooded in a way she considered exceptionally sexy.
“Don’t worry. You’ve got me to catch you if you fall off.”
“Do I?”
He was kidding but she smiled at him anyway. At the same time, she wished she could ask him: “But who are you?”
She didn’t ask it aloud, but it was always there in the back of her mind. She knew there was more to him than he was giving her. She just didn’t know what it was.
She had caught a word or two between David and his sister, but she was in the dark. Bottom line, she didn’t really care. She just wanted to be with David. She’d had to throw caution to the wind to go with him in the first place, and that was what she was doing again.
Was she falling in love with the man? How could she tell when she didn’t really know who he was. She certainly had a pretty strong crush, stronger than any attachment she’d ever felt for any man—or boy—before. Was that love? She needed more information. Finally, she screwed up her courage and asked him the question.
“David, when are you going to tell me who you really are?” she asked, watching closely for his reaction.
His gaze flickered her way and she had the distinct impression he was looking to see just how much she thought she knew. What did that mean?
“I mean, I know most of the world thinks you’re a Dutchman named David Dykstra, but you’re really not him at all. So who are you?”
“No, Ayme, you’ve got that wrong,” he said with exagerated patience. “I really am David Dykstra. It’s just that I’m someone else, as well.”
“Someone Ambrian.”
“Right.”
“And what is that someone’s name?”
He shook his head and didn’t look her way. “Later.”
“Oh!” She growled. “I hate that answer.”
“It’s the only answer I can give right now.”
“It’s not acceptable.” She waited and when he didn’t elaborate, she added, “When is later, anyway?”
He glared at her, not smiling. “I’ll let you know when I feel I can.”
“Why can’t you do it right now?”
“Ayme…”
She held up a hand. “I know, I know, it’s too dangerous.”
“Well, it is. I don’t want you to get hurt because you know too much.”
“Sure.” Her mouth twisted cynically. “They could come and kidnap me. Where would I be then? They might put me on the rack and pull me apart until my bones snap.” She punched a fist into the upholstery. “But I’ll never talk. I’ll say, ‘No, you blackguards, you won’t get anything out of me!’”
She sighed, dropping the phony accent. “Or I could tell them everything I know, which is more likely. So I understand why you won’t tell me. You think I’ll fold under pressure.” She turned to give him a knowing look. “But what happens when I figure it out for myself? Then what? Huh?”
“You’re making jokes, Ayme,” he said calmly. “But your being tortured for information is no laughing matter. It could happen.” He frowned. “Which makes me wonder why I let you come along.”
“Okay,” she said quickly. “Let’s stop speculating. I won’t beg for information anymore. I swear.”
He looked at her earnest face and laughed. “Liar,” he said softly.
“Okay, then how about this old chestnut? Where are we really going?”
“To Piasa, Italy. My uncle died. I need to attend his memorial service.”
“Oh.”
Wow. That was a lot more than she’d expected and it took her a moment of two to digest it.
“Your Ambrian uncle?” she asked.
He nodded.
She opened her mouth to ask more about that but he silenced her with a quick oath.
“No more, Ayme,” he said. “That’s enough for now.”
“Okay.” Suddenly, she remembered something.
“I forgot to tell you. I saw the white-haired man again.”
His head turned quickly. “What? Where?”
“When we were transferring from the canal boat to the car. I couldn’t warn you because we were sort of occupied at the time, the wa
y we were sneaking around to find the car. But I saw him, or somebody who looked just like him, going into a store across the square. I don’t think he saw us.”
“Damn.” He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Okay, hang on.”
Soon they were flying down the road at breakneck speed and Ayme was hanging on for dear life. She took a few minutes of this, then called out, “Hey, slow down. They can drive fast, too. You’re not going to avoid them this way.”
He let up a bit on the speed, but they were still going too fast. “You’re right,” he said. “I just wanted to feel like I was doing something, making some progress.”
“With a little bit of luck, they don’t know where we are and won’t be coming up behind us,” she said. “You never know.” She sighed. “I never realized before how much of what happens to you in life is just based on dumb, blind luck.”
He nodded, slowing even more. “Sure, to some extent. But there’s also grit and determination and how much you’re willing to put into life.”
“One would hope. I’ve always used that as my template. Work hard and ye shall reap the rewards thereof, or something like that. But…” She threw up her hands. “Look at how much luck smoothed the way for me in life. I was adopted by a wonderful set of parents who adored me and did so well for me. What if I’d ended up with some other people? I was so lucky to get the Sommerses.”
“So lucky, it almost balanced out the bad luck of losing your birth parents to begin with,” he noted dryly.
“You’re right.” She frowned. “There’s as much bad luck as there is good, isn’t there?”
“At least as much.”
She thought for a long moment, then ventured a look his way. “That last day in Dallas, I was alone with Cici. She slept all day. I was terrified she would wake up and I would have to hold her. I had no clue what to do with babies. My parents had raced off to find Sam and bring her home without telling me anything except, ‘take care of Cici.’” She sighed.
“If only Sam hadn’t run away. If only my parents hadn’t found out so quickly where she’d gone. If only…If only…” She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
