by Michael Rigg
Landry scowled. "Boy, we have serious war to plan for! There is no time for you to go ridin' now."
Lydia, forever playing the Southern Belle, pouted her lip and released the most phony gasp I'd ever heard as she pressed her fists to her chest. "War?"
I swear the word came out in two syllables. “Wow-ar?”
"Indeed!"
Clayton nodded sharply and turned toward the house. "Father. Bryce."
Both men looked at Bryce who held firm. Bryce puffed out his chest and raised his chin. "I started this mess. I'll finish it. There's nothin' to discuss before an afternoon ride and a pleasant supper with pleasant company." His eyes floated to me several times, but locked on Lydia when he said 'pleasant company'.
"Bah! Colonel, come with me." Landry barked as he and Clayton went back to the house.
"I need to hear about this war business," Addy giggled, and followed them. She turned back toward me and said, "Comin', Alice?"
I glanced to Bryce and Lydia and started to turn and nod before Bryce called out, "You go on, Adel. I'm goin' to take Alice for a ride."
Lydia glanced toward her fiancee with wide eyes, her jaw grinding before she smiled at me like a cobra, and shot daggers with her fiery Irish eyes.
I looked back at Addy in time to see her wiggle her eyebrows and turn to run back inside. I managed to hide my weak smile.
"Bryce?" Lydia said.
"Darlin', do you mind if I take dear Alice for a ride down by the river? I have much I need to clear with her."
Lydia said, “I thought you and I would stroll the gardens before supper.” She laced her arm around his, again, I assume, for my benefit only. “Your little Alice will be safe here at the house. She seems quite taken with Adeline. Perhaps the two can go play with the animals.”
Before I could shoot eye daggers back at her, Bryce chimed in, “You and I have strolled the gardens innumerable times, my lady. Alice is our guest and I wish to show her the lands.”
She tilted her head and gave me a smirk. To Bryce it probably looked like she was play-acting considering putting up a fight.
“What about Doctor Richards?”
“I contacted him by wireless on the way back from Baton Rouge. He shant be coming. Surgery.” I could tell by the clipped way he responded that Bryce was determined to get me alone. I was relieved that I wouldn't have a doctor discover the mystery circle-spots on my back, and more relieved that I would have time alone with Bryce, maybe to explore the idea Addy had that we knew each other. Plus, I was already formulating the confession in my mind, ratting out his fiancee and brother. I was also erasing the idea from my mind. There was a lot at stake here and I'd already changed lives so much by just showing up. Addy's warning about bankruptcy and scandal rolled through my mind like a thick cloud bank threatening rain.
Lydia's smile was sweet enough to flatter honeybees. "Of course not, my love. You take Alice in Wonderland for your little ride. I'll stay down wind of your father's bluster and cigar smoke, and entertain myself in idle chat with your mother."
Bryce was oblivious to the glare she shot me just before she moved away—not before kissing him deeply one more time until she sensed I turned away.
Once she was gone, Bryce stepped up to me and rested his hands on my arms. I tensed. His smile was as sweet as the first time I'd seen it. I felt my heart race, but hated it for racing. How dare he smile at me after kissing his fiancee like that in front of me.
"Alice, will you do me the honor of riding with me?"
I swallowed. I considered blurting out that Lydia was having an affair with his brother, to wipe the smiling smirk off his noble captainy face. But, instead, I nodded.
He leaned down and lifted my chin with his fingers. "Alice? Are you all right? You seem winded or heated. Were you cared for in my absence?"
I shook my head. "I'm fine, Bryce."
He stepped back and drank me in. It occurred to me this was the first time he'd seen me cleaned up and in a dress. His eyes twinkled over his smile. "I say..."
I blushed and looked down at my dress. I smiled a little. "It's Addy's."
"It suits you better, I'd say. A far sight better."
My face felt sunburned. I turned away and stifled a sigh. "You said... You said something about a ride? On horses?"
"Horse," he corrected and stepped up to offer the angle of his arm as he did when we strode to the SkyTrain platform in Philadelphia. "I only trust Sergeant, my stallion. He may be jealous of you, the old boy, but you'll be safe sittin' side-saddle in front of me."
"Oh?"
He chuckled. He must have seen my fading blush as I hooked my arm on his. "Not to worry, my dear Alice, we have English saddles. You'll not be perched upon a horn."
He burst into laughter when he saw my eyes widen, then narrow. I couldn't help but smile at that.
~~~~~~~
We rode for awhile, winding along a path away from the stables that lined the East Orchards. The warm breeze toyed with my hair but kept me relatively cool while we were moving. Most of the trail wound between long rows of shade trees, so it was rather nice. Birds sang and late-season cicadas sawed at the thick air. As we rode, he pointed out places of interest like the old felled tree from which he'd fallen and broken his leg at age nine, the foundation of an old barn that was built by his great-great grandfather, the stump of the first orchard tree planted at Seven Orchards. Then he told me about the Hall of Thinking Machines and ADAM and EVE.
I wanted to ask him about Lydia, to call him out on the arranged marriage thing, and maybe test the level of his own amnesia—presuming Adeline Landry was right, but his intensity was definitely focused on what he'd learned in Baton Rouge. He kept coming back to it. He filled me in on Atlantis, what all they'd lost since Bryce rescued me instead of signing the contracts.
"Oh, God, Bryce. I'm so sorry. That's my fault."
He stopped Sergeant under a tall broken willow and turned my face toward his. "Hey... I'll not hear that."
I couldn't stop the sadness in my eyes. It was true. It had washed over me before and it was doing it again. My presence here was ruining lives, breaking peace, starting wars. Before too long it would expose a scandalous affair. And who was I? Property. That's all I was in this world. The weight of it all pushed Addy's theory from my mind. It didn't make sense that Bryce knew me prior to this, not at all.
"I'll not hear it, ya hear?" He repeated. His smile was stern.
"But I—"
"No. I'll not hear it, Alice." He tightened his grip around my waist with his forearms and gave the horse's reign a slight shake. As we moved on, he said, "I would not have changed a thing. I can't simply stand by when I see someone in peril. You needed someone, that was obvious from first glance. As Lucien and I learned of your lost voice and lost memory, I knew I had to make you my personal quest."
I glanced at him, the arm I used to steady myself side-saddle tightening around his waist. “Don't you think it's odd? I mean... everything that's at stake and you just happened to find me?”
He frowned slightly. “I see it as a lucky coincidence.”
“But what if it isn't,” I persisted, changing tact and charging full bore on Addy's theory. “What if you'd lost some memories too. What if you and I were destined to meet in that tower.”
“I believe in destiny,” he smiled warmly as he steered Sergeant through a field of weeds and re-connected with a trail. “But I know full well my memories are intact.”
“Did you have any, I don't know, feeling before you found me? Something that attracted you to me?”
He laughed, “Besides the crowd screaming and pointing, ogling your lovely features unexpectedly left before them?”
I smirked at him. “Lovely features.”
“You are a beautiful woman, Alice, but that's not why I swept you up. There was something there, a danger unperceived, a depth below something greater. You became my quest, Alice.”
"Quest? You said that before. Is that really how you think of me, Bryce?"
He stopped the horse again. He leaned to the side. "Look at me."
I leaned back and looked into his eyes.
"I care about you, Alice."
"As a victim, you mean. Or a puzzle you need to solve."
He was silent for a bit. All I could hear were the clops of Sergeant's metal shoes on the hard gravel path as the horse shifted his weight from one leg to the other. Finally, Bryce said, "No. ...I care for you, Alice. You're brave of heart and strong of will. Your voice is a tender song and your beauty rivals all of Louisiana.
“And yes,” he nodded, “You are a puzzle I need to solve, but I do not take my puzzle-solvin' lightly.”
I turned, shot him a glare that cooled my blush. "Bryce, you're engaged."
He didn't respond. I couldn't tell if he was wincing against the late afternoon sun or worrying over what I'd said. Either way, he made a clicking sound with his mouth and spurred on the horse.
We turned a couple of bends before we came to a wide but shallow river. The water was so clear I could see the rocks on the bottom. "This comes to a rather undramatic end in a marsh farther south," he said. “We won't be goin' there. I wouldn't want the mosquitoes ruining your skin. Or the alligators for that matter.”
I wasn't thinking about rivers and marshes. I was thinking about his failure to answer my pointed words. Maybe he'd have something to say if I told him about Lydia and Clayton.
I opened my mouth to speak, not about the affair, but stopped when he spoke again as he climbed down from the saddle.
"I need to go back to Philly, Alice." He held his arms up to help me down. I looked around. The gables of the enormous house were in the distance past several fields and part of one of the orchards. It looked miles away. I eased into his arms and let him set me gingerly to the path.
"Back to Philadelphia? Why?"
"I need to see Pandora and Wilco about something."
I brightened slightly. I needed to see the young witch again myself. I had a million questions to ask her. But, I frowned, squinting past the afternoon sun to find Bryce's eyes as we stepped to the front of the horse and walked, Bryce holding Sergeant's reigns and encouraging him to follow. "What about?" I asked.
"Atlantis." He nodded, more to himself as if setting his mind to something. "That place is filled with mystery, wonder and secrets the world needs to know."
"A puzzle? Like me?"
“Not like you,” he said softly, then quickly glanced away over the field. Then he nodded and smiled down at me. "I dare not say them out loud for fear of jinxing it, but that one treasure is worth more than all of Daddy's lot put together."
"Treasure," I smirked.
He nodded with an understanding smile. "It's not about money and wealth, Alice. The treasure I'm talkin' about is knowledge... Ancient knowledge. A key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe."
Stories of a "Lost Civilization of Atlantis," danced through my half-recovered memory. I knew it to represent a wild goose chase, an unsolved ancient mystery no more real than Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. From my perspective I found his claim and interest to border on ridiculous. "Bryce," I said, "The lost city of Atlantis is a myth, at least the way I remember it. And if it exists, what would it be other than ancient ruins destroyed by erosion and currents?"
He smiled. "That's what they said about Noah's Ark, the sword Excalibur, the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant, but daddy's company has recovered them all, and all have been validated. Atlantis represents something more, and could be just what we need."
I remembered what Addy said about showing me the Ark. "Wait a minute." I stopped and the horse stopped behind me with a slight nudge from his muzzle. Bryce turned and smiled at me. I said, "These things are fantastic. They couldn't exist or they'd be lost in time, destroyed by time or man or—"
"That's what everyone thought until four years ago."
"Four years ago?"
He nodded and shrugged. "It was Daddy who found Excalibur in the U.K. in 2011. It was plain as day, right there in front of him in the halls of a ruined church he was explorin'." Bryce nodded cordially to me. "Of course, like you, he didn't believe it. Pert near destroyed it to keep the Clockworkers out of his nightmares."
At the mention of nightmares my blood chilled. "Clockworkers?"
Bryce waved that off and started walking again. Sergeant and I followed. "You have nightmares of your own, dear Alice. I'll not trouble you with my father's. Suffice to say these dreams have lead to a major discovery—at least two each year—since 2011."
I frowned and looked down at the path dust collecting on my canvas shoes, the hem of Addy's blue dress. "These things came up exactly four years ago?"
He nodded again. "About this time of year, I believe. September, 2011. But, you see, Alice, that's what makes the Atlantis acquisition all the more important to the world. EVE imparted to me that it could very well hold the secrets to all the other mysteries and be the validation of all validations." He stopped again and turned to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in close enough that I could see the glint of gold within his deep brown eyes. "I want you to come with me, Alice."
I nodded and smiled, almost laughing. "To Philadelphia, yes. Of course. I'd like to see Pandora and Wilco again. I—"
"No." His face grew more serious than I'd ever seen it. "I want you to come with me to Atlantis."
My mouth dropped open and it was a moment before I realized I should close it. "Atlantis?"
He nodded. His eyes darted between mine, pleading. "Please. I want you with me. Doc Richards doesn't have surgery this afternoon. I called and told him not to come to dinner because I'd had an epiphany."
I formed a question with my eyes.
“Since Atlantis is the key to mystery, it may very well solve the question of who you really are, and I really want to know. After all, your appearance coincided with this. To me you are as much a part of the mysteries of the universe as Excalibur, Atlantis or the Ark.”
My heart fell into my shoes. “I'm a puzzle,” I muttered.
He cupped my cheeks with his hands. “Oh, no, Alice. You are much more. So much more,” and I could see the sincerity in his eyes, the strength of his determination though I could also tell that he had no direction and wasn't sure what to do next or exactly how I fit into it.
“I'm not Property, Bryce,” I blurted.
He laughed, but it was a sad, remorseful sound. “Oh, lord, Alice, I know you're not—and I apologize for the crudeness of my ruse up north. And no,” she shook his head, “I don't see you as just a puzzle. You mean something to me, Alice. Something I've not yet put my finger on.”
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head after a long pause. "Uh... Ok, Bryce. Sure."
"So you will accompany me?" He smiled expectantly.
I nodded. "Yes, I'll go with you to the Lost City of Atlantis," I said with a stupid grin, wondering if he thought what I'd just said was as silly sounding as it actually was.
I didn't have much time to think about that reaction though, because he suddenly had his arms around my waist and was lifting me in the air, twirling me around and laughing like a crazy man.
"Bryce!" I laughed with him. "Bryce, put me down!"
"Oh, Alice, you are a wonder and a joy!"
A wonder and a joy and a puzzle. So are you, Bryce Landry. So are you.
~~~~~~~
We continued to walk until the cicadas gave way to crickets. The sky had turned purple, the breeze had turned cool, and the pa
th took on a blue tint that was black under the shade of the trees. We talked about the orchards and the house, about Adeline and the trouble she got into in school, and about Savannah and her impetuous curiosity. We were still a few hundred feet from the house when the chill finally got to me. Bryce leaned in close and wrapped his arm around me, undoubtedly feeling the chill of my skin under Addy's dress, then he removed his suit jacket and draped it around my shoulders before putting his arm around me again.
"I know what you're thinkin', Alice."
It had been awhile in silence. It was only a matter of time before he puzzled out I was brooding on something. I doubted he'd figure me out, though. Every time he made an exclamation, it was about Pandora or Atlantis or the Thinking Machines.
"What am I thinking, Captain?"
I felt his arm tighten across my back as he hugged me closer. "Well, it's more a hope than a guess."
"A hope?"
"I'm hopin' that you're wonderin' about me and Lady McFerran."
I looked up at him. His blond hair looked silver-blue in the combination setting sun and rising moon.
"Lady McFerran? Why would you hope I was wondering about her?" I tried to sound innocent, but had to hope he didn't see my sour wince in the waning light.
"Because I neglected to tell you that the Lady and I are engaged. I shyly hoped you'd be wondering about how that had come about and what it meant to me."
I frowned. Why? So you can brag about your wealthy arranged marriage? I'm trying not to care, Bryce.
I shrugged. My heart began to thud. My wonder flourished with the light he cast on it. "I admit I was curious, at first." I held off that I knew all about it from Adeline.
"It was rude of me not to tell you, and ... I am sorry, Alice."
I offered him a thin grin. It was the best I could manage. "It's all right."
Bryce shook his head. "No. No, it's not. Not at all."
My brow furrowed as I tried to study his features, watched as I waited for him to continue. He didn't.
"Bryce?"
"Big brother! Alice in Wanderland!"
