Fateful

by Cheri Schmidt

  Brianna shuddered this time too. “How did you get away?”

  “When the karate didn’t work, I turned to run and crashed right into another man. For a moment I was even more scared, but for some reason I trusted him. He saved me from the first man. Honestly … if he hadn’t been there, I doubt I would have come home tonight.”

  “Oh my gosh, Danielle! You must have been terrified!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you on your own so early. Can you ever forgive me for being so selfish?”

  “Yes, Bri. It’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have gone the way I did. I just got really lucky someone was there to help me.”

  “I wonder who he was.” Danielle knew Brianna was talking about her mystery guardian angel, and she was equally intrigued, and disappointed she hadn’t been able to properly thank him for his help, or find out his name.

  “Are you ready to come down to dinner? Mum and Dad will be wondering.”

  “Please don’t tell them what happened tonight. They might send me home on the next plane out!”

  “I won’t. They wouldn’t react too well to this. It’s between you and me.”

  After a few slow, full breaths, Danielle was ready to go down to dinner. She had to fight to keep from melting down in front of her aunt and uncle, but somehow managed it. Brianna kept eyeing her cautiously, trying to see how she was coping. Danielle ignored her; eye contact with her cousin would have devastated her grasp on control.

  Troubling thoughts kept plaguing her mind while she mindlessly ate, not really tasting it. She had never in her life made a mistake this serious, or this dangerous before. But she also knew that being in a city she was unfamiliar with, combined with her knack for getting lost, didn’t exactly help with that.

  That night, as she’d expected, she did have a nightmare. She never should have read that book.

  In her dream, she sat up to find both angels standing at the foot of her bed—side by side.

  Danielle didn’t believe they were real angels. They didn’t have wings or halos, they were just handsome in a way she’d always thought angels should be. Even though they were both pleasing to look at, the contrast between them was more appalling when seeing them right next to each other. The beautiful, gothic demon glared at her with a hungry look in his fiendish eyes. Danielle’s heart jumped into her throat.

  She looked to the gorgeous, more Heavenly angel for help. An ancient sorrow rose to the surface of his blue eyes. She again felt like he knew her and that he’d missed her presence for longer than she could imagine. At him, she stared, taking in every delicious detail. Perhaps he was an angel from Heaven, she mused, because he seemed to shine with a white light that glowed from within; while the horrible angel seemed to be absorbing light, devouring it with his wicked darkness. Then, quite suddenly, the hideous angel lunged at her with sharp fangs exposed. Danielle jumped, jolting the bed while she slept, the jostle waking her up. She lay there in a cold sweat, shivering but feeling relieved that she’d woken up. She didn’t have to see the face of the wicked vampire anymore, although, she did now miss gazing upon the celestial angel.

  Chapter 3

  Dizzying Tea Party

  On Saturday, Brianna and Danielle dressed up for Uncle Nick’s party. He’d invited his fellow colleagues from the college and their families.

  The house and yard were open to the guests to explore freely. Uncle Nick had everything for tea set up in his elegant garden behind the house.

  Danielle was pleased to meet new people, although she had a tendency to stay close to Brianna’s side at a table on the far corner of the garden. After the near attack the other night, a stone of fear had sunk to the pit of her stomach and lingered there. Heavily.

  Karate had always been her secret comfort, her rock. She’d been trained to sweep men bigger than her, stronger than her. Gaining a sense of self confidence in defending herself was the whole point of so many years of study. And now when she’d faced a real situation, she’d failed.

  Her cousin whispered the name of each guest into her ear as they arrived. Brianna would then add other little tidbits of information she knew about each person. It was a nice distraction for Danielle. She felt safe here. She felt safe during the day. And listening to how Mr. Clare wrote books about zombies in the Victorian era made her momentarily forget that close call....

  Danielle had just taken a bite of a tender scone slathered with melting clotted cream when Uncle Nick’s overly animated movements caught her eye. Her attention was pulled away from Brianna and the food. He was normally more reserved, but was talking to a man whose back was to her. As Uncle Nick glanced in her direction, she realized that he was talking about her. When the man he was chatting with then turned to face her, she nearly fell out of her seat. It was him!

  He returned his attention to her uncle.

  Danielle’s hand flashed out to Brianna’s arm, causing her to nearly drop the pastry she was holding. “Bri! That’s him! That’s the guy who saved me!”

  “Where?”

  “There, by Uncle Nick, the guy with blond hair.” He glanced their way again, as if he knew it was his cue to do so.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, that’s him, I’m certain of it!”

  Brianna gasped. “That’s Ethan Deveroux!”

  Danielle sighed. He was even better looking than she’d remembered. That night she really hadn’t had a chance to look at his body, but just like Brianna’s boyfriend, he had the body of an athlete, broad muscular shoulders, a trim waist. No wonder that first creep left without a fight. She felt butterflies flutter around inside her stomach.

  He then turned back to his conversation with Danielle’s uncle, but with a handsome smile spread across his face. He’d twisted slightly so they could still see his profile. They both ogled over him like a couple of schoolgirls, well, at least she did. From the look on her cousin’s face, Danielle figured that Will was probably better-looking in Brianna’s eyes than Ethan.

  “Bri, tell me about him,” Danielle whispered.

  “I’ve never really talked to him in person. I just know who he is because my dad works with him at the university. He’s the man seated next to my dad with the dark hair. I’m not sure if I’m saying his name right, it’s spelled B-E-O-N, but it sounds like Beeyone when people say it. I’ve always thought it was odd, which is the only reason I remember it.” She took a breath, then added, “I don’t really know what his relationship is with Ethan either, I just know I’ve seen them together on more than one occasion. They could be related or just colleagues of some sort.”

  There was something about Beon that made him appear older than he looked physically. Like there was a mature wisdom in just the way he held himself, the way he nodded to the words spoken to him. Danielle couldn’t quite place it.

  “The woman next to him is his wife.”

  Shifting her gaze, Danielle studied her. She had auburn wavy hair, which had been twisted into a loose bun at the back of her head. Tendrils had tumbled down to grace the sides of her Audrey Hepburn face. The woman gazed into a steaming teacup with something that looked like sadness touching every aspect of her features. Again, there was something strange about her that seemed old. Weird.

  “So is Ethan just visiting to go to school like me? Could this Beon guy be his professor?”

  “I’m pretty sure Ethan is from here. I think, but he could be a student.”

  They both turned to statues as Ethan shifted his face in their direction again.

  “I need to thank him,” breathed Danielle. She secretly desired to see him up close another time.

  “Um, Dannie,” Brianna stood and stepped into her line of site. She was forced to meet her cousin’s eyes. Disappointed that she had to rip them from him, Danielle stood up as well.

  “Yes?” Great, what now? She could hear the admonishing tone in her cousin’s voice.

  “You just got here, take it slow, would you? Plus, Will has a few double dates planned for us with some of
his buddies.”

  Danielle knew Brianna meant well, and was just trying to protect her by giving her more options. However, she couldn’t believe that her cousin and her boyfriend had blind dates crafted into their scheme already! She rolled her eyes and exhaled with a huff. “Bri, I’d rather select my own dates.” She really hated the idea of being set up, no matter how good the intent.

  “I know but...”

  Danielle caught movement from the corner of her eye. Her stomach did flips at what she saw. “Bri,” she whispered. “He’s coming this way.”

  Ethan approached, smiling. Brianna gasped, but didn’t turn around.

  “Hello.” He reached out to take Danielle’s hand. “I’m terribly sorry I didn’t introduce myself the other night. I’m Ethan Deveroux.”

  “I know ... I-I mean Bri told me.” Danielle frowned at her own dorky response.

  He turned and nodded to acknowledge her cousin. “You’re Mr. Darcey’s daughter, correct?” He dropped her hand to shake Brianna’s, and then swiftly took Danielle’s back into his.

  By the way he was holding her hand, she thought he was going to kiss her fingers, but he just placed his other hand over the top of hers, embracing hers with both of his. It seemed sort of ... old-fashioned. His clothes didn’t reflect out-of-date tastes though. Of course he was dressed up appropriately for Uncle Nick’s tea, but the cut of his black suit was trendy. Beneath the jacket he wore a gray shirt offset with a dark gray and white patterned necktie. The fitted slacks hugged his muscle-roped thighs when he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Dropping her gaze momentarily, Danielle noticed the, also fashionable, square-toed loafers he wore.

  “That’s right. Nice to meet you, Ethan,” Brianna responded pleasantly.

  “Likewise.”

  Brianna’s eyes flashed with a spark of intuition when she added, “Ethan, a bunch of us will be at the Ministry of Sound on Wednesday night. You should come too.” Danielle knew what her cousin was doing; she was trying to make up for upsetting her earlier and it was working.

  His eyebrows lifted. “Sure, I’ll see if I can make it.”

  Interestingly, uncertainty showed through his choice of words as he put more emphasis on the I’ll see. Why did she sense hesitation?

  “Excuse me for a moment,” Brianna said, and then she left, leaving Danielle alone with Ethan. Danielle could see from the look on her cousin’s face that she left for that sole reason.

  He didn’t seem to mind and returned his attention to Danielle.

  Attempting to be subtle about it, Danielle made note of the fact that he was still holding her hand. The butterflies turned into pixies as they did a wild dance inside her stomach. “Uh, thanks for helping me out the other night. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

  “Not at all, it was my pleasure. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But you should never be out alone in the dark like that again. You’re new here, you must not wander. Promise me that you’ll be more careful.”

  Startled by his stern request, Danielle frowned at the fact that she suddenly felt scolded. “All right,” was muttered as she mused that she’d already promised herself this. Why did he have to rub it in?

  “Good. Now are you going to tell me your name? Or do I have to guess?”

  “Oh.” Danielle only then realized they hadn’t covered that yet. Her cheeks heated. “I’m sorry, I’m Danielle Darcey.”

  “It’s a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance, Miss Darcey.”

  Miss Darcey? Who was this guy, some hero from the pages of Pride and Prejudice? Oh, she thought, maybe he’s an actor. Or did all Brits talk like this? Her cousin didn’t.... Setting that topic aside, Danielle said, “Um, I have to ask. I hope you don’t mind. Did you know the other man? It seemed like he knew you.”

  Ethan’s whole expression darkened, like he was angry. “Yes, I’ve dealt with him a few times. His name is Lucas. He doesn’t like me much. The sentiment is mutual, I assure you.” He seemed oddly pleased with himself about that. “He’s not one to be trusted, especially in a dark alley at night.”

  Danielle felt the guilt slap her again for getting herself into that situation. She stared off into the garden, scowling as she scolded herself mentally.

  “I hear you recently moved here from America, and as I understand it, you’re attending Central St. Martin’s College of Art. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. How did you know?”

  Apparently he finally realized he was still holding her hand, and let go quickly. Both of his hands disappeared into the pockets of his pants. Danielle had to admit, she was a little disappointed. Looking down bashfully, she brushed crumbs off her skirt, even though there were none.

  “Your uncle mentioned it.”

  “But, didn’t he tell you my name?”

  “No, he just referred to you as his niece.”

  “Oh.”

  Danielle’s eyes wandered to his then. She’d been so distracted with Brianna, and guilt, that she hadn’t yet looked directly into them. What she experienced then snatched the breath right out of her lungs. She felt like he could see right through her eyes directly into her soul, like he could see everything about her. The feeling that she knew him returned from the night he’d rescued her, but still, his face didn’t look familiar. It baffled her. Danielle thought maybe she’d imagined it before, but here it was again—and he seemed to be experiencing the same I-know-you feeling, with his brows pinched together, and a look of confusion creating lines of deep thought around his eyes as they roved over her face, touching on everything. Unable to understand the reasons why, Danielle simply couldn’t look away, and for a few charged moments they just stared at each other....

  Then a mild breeze drifted through the garden, twirling around them, ruffling his hair and hers, and that’s when some incredible fragrance slammed into her senses like a brick. Was it him? It was the most delicious, seductive ... this must be some amazing fragrance only available at Harrods, because she’d never smelled anything so perfect. Leaning forward, Danielle drew in another deep breath, and then began feeling dizzy and weak. She threw her hands back to grasp the edge of the table behind her—just barely stopping herself from falling.

  Concern, alarm and shame flooded across Ethan’s face. He took a step forward, hesitated and took two steps back. Danielle got the impression he wanted to reach out and help steady her, but resisted the impulse to do so.

  “Are you well?” he asked gently, but he seemed to know more than he was saying because he looked around as though he hoped no one had seen what just happened.

  “I think so.” She too took in the surrounding guests. No person was looking their way, and unable to fathom why he appeared so nervous, her gaze returned to his. Though he was further away than he’d been before, that familiarity remained so intense she was forced to ask, “But ... um ... have we met? I mean before the other night. Have you been to Colorado?”

  “No, I haven’t. I’m fairly certain we haven’t met.” His voice was calm and sweet, never reflecting the fear in his eyes. However, he now seemed eager to get away from her, which was confirmed when he said, “I should be getting back to Beon. Goodbye, Danielle.”

  Danielle was too stunned to say anything more, and stared after him as he returned to Beon. He leaned down and whispered something into the man’s ear. She stood there motionless. Her vise-grip on the table remained solid until her aunt interrupted her daze.

  “Danielle dear, would you mind getting another pot of hot water for tea?” Charlotte pushed an empty teapot toward her.

  “Yes, ma’am, I would be happy to.” The automatic response came out weak. With a considerable amount of mental effort she grasped the handle of the pot tightly as if it could help steady her. Then took a few steps toward the kitchen—staggered a little—then somehow managed to pull it together.

  It was a relief to be in the kitchen by herself to make sense of her thoughts. Danielle poured water into the teapot, realizing
her breathing was labored as she put the pot on the stove and turned on the flame. The sound of clicking right before the whoosh of the flame filled the room.

  What kept happening with Ethan? Why did she feel like she’d met him before when she looked into his eyes? Why did they mesmerize her? She nearly passed out from what—the way he smells? This was making no sense at all.

  And hadn’t he made eye contact with Brianna too? Why wasn’t her cousin affected like she was? Was the problem her?

  Soft voices from the adjacent room disturbed her thoughts. Thinking it was Ethan’s voice she heard, her ears perked up and she froze. It was him, and why was he whispering? And who was he talking to? Danielle wondered if they'd come inside for privacy and didn’t know she was in the kitchen.

  “Beon, how could this happen? I don’t understand it! The sun!” Ethan’s voice sounded aghast.

  “Tell me again what you felt,” a man answered. His voice was calm compared to Ethan’s.

  “I felt drawn in, like she could see all of my secrets. And somehow, incredibly, I almost knew she would be able to. Is this what happened with Sophia?”

  Danielle’s eyes grew wider. Were they talking about her?

  “It was a little different,” Beon responded.

  “Do you really think this could be her?” Ethan sounded like a youth trying to understand something complex, something above his own understanding.

  “It’s certainly possible. You’ll need to test it out further.”

  “But how can I be certain? What if she is the one and I can’t see it? Or what if she isn’t, but I think she is?”

  Danielle wasn’t ready for the high-pitched whistle of the teapot to suddenly rend the quiet. She jumped, her heart stuttered and they stopped talking.

  What if they realized she was listening? Deciding she would need to pretend she hadn’t heard them, Danielle took the handle carefully and exited the kitchen. She expected to see them standing there, but walked into an empty room. As Danielle took the water outside, she still didn’t see Ethan or the others associated with him. How strange, she thought, they all must have left the house entirely. Surprised at how disappointed she was that he’d disappeared on her again, Danielle’s gaze landed on her aunt, and she began moving in that direction.