“Are you okay?” she asked. “Did they treat you alright?”
“Yes, they were good to me, all things being considered.” He held out his wrist, on which Shelley could see the imprint of a pair of handcuffs. Clearly the goon had realised they could not walk through the town like that, for which Shelley was grateful. “They have fed and watered me, as they say. I gather you know where the rubies are.”
“In a minute,” said Shelley, estimating that it had been about half an hour since they left the islet. “I want to show you something.” Before Greenwood or Annette could protest, Shelley ducked inside the museum, taking Stefan with her.
She found the picture of Yaya and pointed to it. “That’s Helena. The girl from your father’s letters. She still lives on the islet, where everyone calls her Yaya.”
Stefan nodded. “She was very beautiful. And, from what I see here, with child.” He was clearly one step ahead of Shelley, judging by the sudden light in his eyes.
“I may be wrong about this, and forgive me if I am, but I believe the child she carried was your father’s. Your half-brother. Which means you have a nephew. Paris.”
He nodded again. “I believe you may be right.”
“There’s something else,” said Shelley. “Your father didn’t die at the hands of the allies. He died at the hands of the Germans. Because he was helping Helena to hide the rubies. He did the honourable thing, Stefan. That’s what I wanted you to know. He may have had selfish reasons for doing it, because he loved Helena and wanted to impress her. But he still did the right thing. He stood up to those who would oppress the people here, and that’s all that matters.”
Stefan’s old eyes were moist with unshed tears. “Yes, that is all that matters. Thank you, Fraulein. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Shelley squeezed his hand.
“Okay, now the mawkish bit is over, can we get to the rubies?” asked Annette. Shelley was not a violent person, but at that moment she felt like slapping the cold, hard bitch. Her blood ran cold when she felt the barrel of the Luger pressing into her spine. “Greenwood might be enamoured of you, but I’m not. Now take us to the rubies, assuming you know where they are, and then maybe we’ll let you go.”
Shelley led them out of the museum. “Come on,” she said, with more volume than was necessary. “We’re going to the church.” Once they were inside its cool confines, she said,
“You’re going to have a job getting them out.”
“What do you mean?” asked Greenwood, looking around as if the rubies might suddenly present themselves to him. “Are they in the chalice?” He walked up towards the altar. The sunlight from the stained glass window above shone onto his white shirt, and once again Shelley saw the refracted red glow.
“Yaya – Helena - was very smart,” said Shelley. “She and Stefan’s father had already hidden the rubies when they were caught. I gather restoration work was being done on this church at the time, and that Yaya was part of the team who worked on it, stained glass being her speciality. She hid the rubies in plain sight. The shot to her head gave her the excuse to pretend amnesia. After all, who would argue with someone who had received such an injury? I don’t know why she didn’t tell the truth once the Germans had gone, but according to Paris…” Her voice faltered slightly on his name, “There was some debate about who owned what, so perhaps she thought it best to keep them out of the government’s hands. So that’s what she did, ensuring that no one but her ever got close enough to them to realise.”
Stefan was looking up at the stained glass window. He smiled slowly, having seen what Shelley was talking about.
“The rose,” he said. “She made the rose out of the rubies.”
Annette spun round, looking up at the window. “Oh, there’s an easy way to get those,” she said, aiming the Luger at the window. Before she could do that, a figure rushed out of the shadows and knocked her to the ground.
“Oh no you don’t!”
It was Paris! Shelley’s heart flipped, and for a moment she forgot she was angry with him. Paris, who now held the Luger in one hand, held up a mobile phone with another. “Good idea, taking Len’s mobile. We’ve been following your progress all the way here.” He looked at Shelley for a long moment, and then looked away. Her heart sank, but she told herself it was for the best. It still hurt her that he had known about Stefan all along, yet had misled her, even asking all those prying questions about her life and her emotions.
Greenwood was about to make a run for it, when the doors of the church flung open and the local police came pouring in, led by Len. Greenwood and Annette were quickly put in handcuffs.
“Hey, pal, they chafe,” said Greenwood, in an unexpected American accent. He looked at Shelley and winked. Despite the fact he was a complete crook, she could see that some women would find him very appealing.
“I preferred the German accent,” she said.
“Did you? I kinda liked it too. I based it on Hannes Messemer, from…”
“The Great Escape!” said Shelley, grinning. “I knew it!” Her smile dropped when she saw Paris looking at her darkly.
Greenwood and Annette were led away. It was all over.
Chapter Twelve
“How did you get across so quickly?” Shelley asked Paris. Stefan had gone with the police to give his statement, and Len, sensing that three was a crowd, had also left. They were alone in the church.
“Jet ski. Me and Len.”
“Oh that’s amazing,” said Shelley, smiling. Then she remembered that she was angry with him, and he was clearly angry at her and her face dropped again.
“Yaya told us we’d find you here.”
“Well, thanks for coming to save me.”
“Don’t mention it. We wanted to be sure we got here before they took the rubies.”
“Yes, of course,” said Shelley. She suddenly felt very tired, so sat down in a pew. It had been a long day, and her emotions had been as turbulent of the storm from a few days ago. She was aware of him taking the seat behind her. “Paris, what I said. About you being unethical. I’m sorry. It wasn’t a nice thing for me to say.. But I don’t understand why you did that, when you knew how much I was distrusting my own instincts.”
“You thought I was a crook.”
“Yes, but even then only for good reasons. I thought perhaps you needed the money to keep the centre open all year. You … you hurt me.”
“I’m sorry. But I was only doing it to protect you. The thing is, Yaya told us at the beginning of the week that the rubies weren’t on the islet. She didn’t say where, just that Grunwald, Greenwood, whatever his name was, would never find them. So we just thought we’d let them get on with it. Only you insisted on investigating. I … we … were afraid you’d get hurt, so we thought the best way to keep you safe was for Annette and Greenwood to think that none of us believed you.”
Shelley jumped up again. “For God’s sake, Paris. I’m not made of chocolate! And what about Stefan? He was abducted.”
“Mum found out where they were keeping him. In a rather nice hotel actually. She managed to get a message to him through the chambermaid, about our plans, and he sent one back agreeing to go along with them. We had him under surveillance all the time, so no one would have hurt him.”
“If you can tell Stefan about the rubies, why not me?”
“Because Yaya had kept her secret for over sixty years, and she insisted we did. She’s spent sixty years not trusting anyone. She’s family, Shelley, and what’s more, she’s our matriarch. We had to respect her wishes. You’ve no idea what trouble we had stopping you from blundering into a situation from which you might not escape.”
“Blundering? I think I’ve handled today pretty well.”
He looked up at her. “Yes, you have. We shouldn’t have underestimated you, and I’m sorry for that. You’ve been incredible today. The way you wrapped Greenwood around your finger, saving Yaya from harm, then taking Len’s phone so we could follow your progress.
It was very brave, and might I say, extremely sexy.”
“Paris, we’re in church!” said Shelley. “But go on…”
“What’s the point?” he said. “You made it quite clear how you felt about me. Just a kiss and a dance. If I’d known all you were looking for was a holiday fling…”
“I thought that’s all you were interested in. That you might seduce one girl a week, and that I was just another notch on the bedpost.”
Paris stood up and began walking towards her.
“My darling, the majority of women who have come to the islet, until you, have been my mother’s age. And as much as I love her, Oedipal I am not.”
“Well then I’m sure that you’ve got lots of girlfriends in London.”
“And you are attracted all too often to men who tell lies,” he said. He drew nearer to her, and for the second time in a few minutes she reminded herself they were in church and that she would probably go to hell for what she was thinking.
“What can I say,” she grinned. “I can’t resist a charming liar. But I could only…” She stopped.
“You could only what?” Paris’s hands caught her by her bare upper arms, pulling her close.
“We’re in church,” she reminded him again.
“What better place to tell the truth?”
“After you. Did you really only come on the Jet Ski to save the rubies?”
“No, I couldn’t care less about the rubies. I came to save the most precious jewel of all, and if I’d had a thousand ships, I’d have made them all come here. I may not be the love of your life, but I know you’re the love of mine, and I hope one day you might love me, if you can ever forgive me for lying. I know it’s only been a few days, but I do love you, Shelley. You’re beautiful, you’re clever, you’re brave, and that whole combination, as I’ve already said, is incredibly sexy.”
“In that case,” she said, reached up to press her lips against his, murmuring as she kissed him, “I may well be attracted to charming liars, but I could only fall helplessly, hopelessly in love with the one who lied because he thought it would save my life.” She whispered against his ear, “That is very sexy too. Now I think we should leave the church before we both spend a million years in purgatory.”
Things got a bit hectic after that, leaving Shelley and Paris very little time to be alone. They both had to give statements to the police, and all too soon the week ended, with Shelley having to return home.
They kept in touch by telephone and email, but she feared that once the excitement of the situation abated, she might never see him again. It would not be easy, she pondered, to have a long distance relationship with him living half the year in Greece, and half the year in London, whilst she still worked in Derbyshire.
One Friday morning, he called her at work. “Can you get time off?”
“When?”
“Next week. We’re giving everyone who was on the islet that week another free holiday, to make up for everything. But, you can bring your mum too. She’d be very welcome.”
“I’m not sure, Paris. It’s costly and…” Shelley had just put a deposit down on a new flat. It was only rented, but it was her first step to being independent again.
“I’ll pay your fares.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Of course you can. Like I said, we owe everyone a holiday. So I’m not just doing it for you.”
“Oh.” She felt a little bit disappointed by that, but said nothing. It was still a nice gesture whether he had paid for just hers or for everyone else’s. “I’ll ask mum.”
A week later, she set off from Greece with her mum, Pat. As they travelled, it occurred to Shelley that Pat had never had a proper holiday, yet she had spent her money on making sure Shelley had one.
“Mum, I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain lately,” said Shelley when they were on the plane. “I really am grateful for all you’ve done.”
“You’ve nothing to apologise for, angel,” said Pat. “I’m only sorry I couldn’t have stopped Tony from deceiving you.”
“Paris said we have to make our own mistakes.”
“Yes, and he’s right. But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do anything in the world to prevent you from being hurt. Doesn’t matter how old you get, you’ll always be my baby girl.”
Shelley reached over and kissed Pat’s cheek. “You’ll love it on the islet. If anyone deserves this holiday it’s you.”
When they arrived at the jetty, Shelley looked for Paris, but he was not there. His mother was waiting to welcome them. Shelley still had trouble thinking of her as anything other than Mrs Caldicott and even called her that when she stepped forward to give her a welcoming hug.
“Oh, sorry, I mean Mrs Georgiadis,” she said.
“I think you can call me Rachel now, dear,” said Rachel, kissing her on the cheek.
Shelley introduced her mum, and pretty soon the two women were chatting way like old friends, as they all walked up to the farmhouse, trailing suitcases behind them.
“Everyone’s here,” said Rachel. “Minnie, Len, June, Stefan, and all the others.”
“Is Paris here?” asked Shelley, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“No, he had to take Yaya to the mainland yesterday to finish off some business. They’ll be back tomorrow.” Seeing Shelley’s disappointed face, Rachel said, “He wouldn’t have gone had it not been important. I know how much he wanted to see you. But all will become clear soon. Come on, let’s go and get you two settled in. I hope you don’t mind sharing a room, but with Stefan and a full compliment of all the other guests from that week here, there was nowhere else but the huts, and Paris insisted he didn’t want either of you sleeping in those.”
“No, that’s fine, thanks,” said Shelley. She longed to see him, to hold him in her arms. The last few weeks of only being able to talk by phone had taken their toll, and she feared they might not get back the passion that they felt when they were last together. A part of her wished that she were sharing his room, not that she said so to her mum and Rachel. Because there had been so much going on, and despite them both longing to be alone, the chance had not arisen the last time they were together.
As she unpacked, she began to worry that his enthusiasm for her had waned over the weeks. Yes, he had invited her to visit for a free holiday, but as he said, that was an offer made to everyone, not just her. It would have been odd had she not been invited.
She looked around the bedroom that was all as familiar as her own. They had moved a small bed into the room, so that she and her mother did not have to share the large double bed. Shelley opted to take that, so her mum could stretch out a bit.
Pat had gone downstairs for a cup of tea. Shelley sat on her bed, which had been placed near the window and looked out. She saw Len and June, the hairdresser, walking amongst the huts, hand in hand, clearly delighted to be together again. Rachel had told her that they visited each other during the hiatus, and were talking of moving in together. She smiled sadly. She was glad they found love, but her heart ached for Paris.
She was only able to get through the evening ahead because when she went downstairs everyone made such a fuss of her. She felt like part of an extended, loving family. Over dinner on the terrace, they all discussed what had happened. Pat was both enthralled and horrified by the story, especially when she heard how Shelley had dealt with it.
“Oh, it was very exciting,” said Minnie Charters. Shelley had since found out that was her real surname, and that Rachel had taken the name of Caldicott in honour of the two cricket loving men in the film The Lady Vanishes. “I haven’t had so much fun since Rachel and I used to help Simon Wiesenthal hunt Nazis.” For once, no one doubted her story.
“I would like to hear about that one day,” said Stefan. He and Minnie also seemed to have hit it off. Shelley was glad. These were good people and they deserved to find happiness.
“It was nice of Paris to offer us this free break,” said Len, “but actually
there was no need. That’s the most excitement I’ve had for years. I reckon you’d make a fortune here if you set up adventure holidays like that, Rachel.”
“What,” laughed Shelley. “Invite people to be abducted and then fight treasure hunters?”
“It was brilliant though, wasn’t it?” Len smiled, looking ten years younger.
“You were brilliant,” said June. “The way you and Paris took off on the jet skis. It was very sexy, Shelley. Wish you could have seen it.”
“Me too,” said Shelley, again trying to quell the ache in her heart for Paris.
“He’ll be here soon, lass,” said Len, with a kindness that surprised her. She always thought of him as a gruff sort of man. “Important doings afoot,” he said, tapping the side of his nose.
For a moment, Shelley felt annoyed that once again she seemed to be kept out of the loop.
“I haven’t had chance to explain to Shelley yet but,” Rachel started to say. Then her eyes alighted on something in the distance. “Is that Dmitri’s helicopter? I wonder what brings him here this late at night?”
Ten minutes later, there was a commotion on the path at the side of the farmhouse, and Paris appeared at the corner.
“Shelley, you’re here,” he said. “Oh, mum, can you go and help Yaya, please? I know we were supposed to stay another night, but…” His eyes told Shelley and the smiling diners all they needed to know.
He took Shelley’s hand and pulled her out of her seat. They ran down to the beach together, where he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her passionately.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here, darling,” he said. “I had to take Yaya on some urgent business. We were going to sleep on the mainland tonight and travel back on the ferry tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait another day to see you. God, you look gorgeous.”
“So do you!” she said, kissing him back. “I was so afraid that you’d gone off me and that’s why…”
“Never!” He stood back for a moment. “Have you gone off me?”
“Never!”
“Then it’s agreed. We’re still helplessly in love with each other.”
The Secret of Helena's Bay Page 9
