Shadows of the Past

by Frances Housden

  Chapter 10

  Oh, help. It’s daylight already.

  Maria jerked up in bed, the covers tucked tight over her bare breasts. Ever mindful of hiding her scars, she’d slept the last couple of hours the same way.

  Sighing, she looked down at the crumpled pillow beside her, unable to decide wher to be glad or sad about waking up alone.

  Now, where had Franc tossed her chemise after her last attempt to don it during the night? Her eyes searched the room. Spying a pool of lace floating with blatant femininity against the sea of earthy gray carpet, she slipped out of bed, picked it up and caught an endless glimpse of her reflection.

  The two large matching mirrors were a grand gesture, one she hadn’t expected. They hung opposite each other, one mirror over the bed and the other above a simple, narrow black-granite table.

  If it had been her room she’d have flowers on the hard shiny top, so their reflections would bounce back and forth between the two.

  She hadn’t paid much attention to the carpet previously. Of course, it had been dark, but the only furniture in the room that had any color was the deep rust–colored tub chair that coordinated with the bedspread. That’s where Franc had tossed his shirt and pants. It wasn’t until after she’d redecorated to her satisfaction in her mind’s eye that it occurred to Maria, if the lights had been turned up, it would have been multiple images of her and Franc’s skipping from mirror to mirror in a never-ending stream of lovemaking. After what she had done last night, she wouldn’t have thought she had a blush left in her, but she was wrong.

  The sound of a shower running explained Franc’s absence, but at least he had the goodness to leave the bag containing her toiletries on her side of the en suite door.

  Covered now, she walked back to the bed and gave the sheets a quick straighten. She smoothed the soft silver percale into place and realized that unlike virgins in the romances she’d read, she hadn’t lost a speck of blood. At the back of her mind she’d always carried a worry that more had occurred during her abduction than her parents cared to tell her.

  She had been tight though.

  But it hadn’t hurt too much.

  That had to be because Franc had initiated her to lovemaking so gently. The way he had promised. And though she was still tender it was a good feeling, almost as if he was still inside her. Maria straightened, the thought replaced by panic as she saw the time on the bedside clock, a quarter before eight.

  She was going to be late for work.

  Her clothes were hanging in the room next to Franc’s. After he’d rushed her away from the villa, insisting he wouldn’t sleep nights knowing she was alone, he’d shown her in there. A gesture to her conscience, as if they hadn’t known she’d be sharing his bed. Truth be told, he hadn’t slept much in any case, but at least she’d been lying beside him…on him, under him.

  Maria opened the closet, a smile curving her lips as she took out a summer-weight navy suit, grabbed clean underwear from a fitted shelf, surprising herself by wondering which set Franc would like best if she ever had enough courage to parade her body in them. As the mirrored door slid back into place, she noticed the flush to her skin.

  Not a glow of love, just hours of lovemaking, she had the aches to prove it. That brought on another smile. God, would people take one look at her and know what she’d been doing. Would her mother…

  No, she wouldn’t be seeing the family for a few w

  Pulling down the neck of her chemise she studied the scars on her breasts. With her skin pink from close encounters with the dark stubble on Franc’s face, she could almost tell herself they didn’t look so bad. She lifted the lace hem but dropped it just as smartly. The thought of missing the eight-thirty bus into the city was enough to change her mind.

  Anyway, no need to look if any other patches of skin had retained a glow, she could feel that they did as she made a mad dash down the hall to the main bathroom, knowing the hours between arriving at work and meeting up with Franc in the evening would be the longest in her life.

  Franc heard a shower running as he stepped out of his bedroom and solved the mystery of Maria’s disappearance from his bed.

  When he’d wakened earlier, she’d been lying so still, straight-armed, holding the covers clamped to her side as if she expected him to peek at virtues he’d only felt and imagined last night. Trailing a finger across the top edge of the sheet had only resulted in her pressing her arms closer to her sides. Though he’d laughed to himself at the time, he’d felt an unwelcome twist in his gut to think she didn’t trust him. Didn’t trust any man, and after what she’d been through in her short life, he couldn’t find it in him to blame her.

  The coffee was ready before Maria put in an appearance in the kitchen. She flushed the moment they made eye contact, which brought out the devil in him. “How do you like it in the morning?”

  Her eyebrows arched, two dark winged questions above her pansy-colored eyes.

  “Coffee, how do you like it in the morning, black or white?”

  “White. If I have time to swallow it, I just remembered you live on a different bus route and I’ve no idea what time the bus arrives or where the bus stop is.”

  He pushed a mug across the counter in her direction. With her glasses perched on the tip of her nose she looked more of a librarian than he’d first given her credit for. A very sexy librarian. “I’ve put in lots of cream to cool it down, but don’t rush, I’ll drive you to work and pick you up again tonight.”

  She took a quick slurp of coffee and sighed. “Thanks, you’ve just saved my life twice, first with the coffee and then with the offer of a ride.”

  “Don’t sweat the thanks, hon. I’ve nothing better to do except shop for basic groceries.” And check on Randy’s whereabouts.

  “I’m afraid I can’t offer you breakfast. I usually grab something on my way to work. But I can promise you something special tonight. The restaurant where we met is pretty good about sending up meals when I ask.”

  She flashed him a wicked grin, assuring him she already knew the answer to her question. “And do you do a lot of entertaining?”

  He came round the counter and took her empty mug from her hands and replaced it with a cell phone. “You’re the first woman apart from my sister. I eat a lot of meals on the run and while I get through work I’ve brought home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m capable of cooking for myself, but this less hassle and cuts down on burnt offerings and indigestion.”

  “In that case, I accept with pleasure…and anticipation.”

  “Yeah, that’s all right then. Take this cell phone wherever you go, as much for my peace of mind as yours. Just access the directory, like this.” He showed her. “My number’s top of the list. It’ll only take seconds to reach me. Here’s the ring I’ve set it to play.” The tinkling notes of “Greensleeves” filled the small silence. “Too loud?”

  “No, it’s swell.” She studied his face as he passed her the cell phone. “I never had a guardian angel before.”

  “Are you lookin’ at me?” He pointed a finger at his tough-looking unshaven chin. “Don’t get me wrong, but does this look like the face of an angel?”

  Her smile said it all: she wasn’t taking any excuses.

  “Okay, well, maybe on a bad day.”

  “Thanks for seeing it my way.” She slipped the phone inside the purse that matched her suit and lightweight sensible shoes.

  He compared how she looked to their first meeting. Okay, still goddess, but a very big businesslike one.

  “I’ll feel safer knowing you’re only a call away,” she said and lifted her face to his. He dotted a kiss on the tiny black beauty spot by the corner of her mouth. Maria was learning fast. The only part of their relationship to worry him was that he could see it becoming too darn necessary for his comfort. Good sex will do it every time and he couldn’t remember ever having as good sex as he’d had last night.

  Suddenly he felt as if life had just taken a gun and shot all his plans in the f
oot. The thought made him turn his back on her. He wouldn’t let it happen, wouldn’t let her get under his skin.

  He shoved the mugs into the dishwasher and snagged his keys from his pocket. “We’d better get a move on. Wouldn’t want you to be late your first day back at work.”

  “That’s no problem. Since I’m in charge while the others are on holiday, I’ll just write myself a note.”

  Marie was glad to lock the glass doors of Tech-Re-Search behind her. When had a day ever dragged out so long? Never. But then, this was her first day back at work since she’d met Franc.

  She looked up and down the street for his car. It was busier than usual, petrol and diesel fumes clogged the air with not even a whisper of a breeze to blow them away. There would be crowds of people in town exchanging gifts that were no use to them, or didn’t fit, or were just plain ugly, she realized, remembering the ornament that Luke, her eldest nephew, had bought with his pocket money for Mamma.

  Not that Mamma would part with it for love or money. Maria knew her mother of old. Some of her own disastrous purchases still held pride of place at Falcon’s Rise.

  She stepped closer to the edge of the pavement in case Franc’s was part of the large crush of cars cruising the block.

  That’ when she felt the cold trickle of fear, the icy fingers caressing her spine that stole her breath away. She turned on her heel, wildly looking around, her eyes darting here then there as she groped inside her purse for the cell phone. Darn contraption was so small it must have slid down to the bottom.

  In her haste, her shoulder hit something fleshy and human. She could tell from the gasp. Not Randy, thank the Lord!

  Then as her gaze lifted past a dark jacket, shiny with wear, past the buttonless black shirt, her eyes latched onto the white dog collar, and she prayed she hadn’t uttered her thanks out loud. “Oh, please forgive me, Father.”

  The unexpected lurch into the priest had thrown her off her stride, but when she received a smile instead of a frown for her almost knocking him over, she calmed down.

  An Australian twang shaped his vowels as he pondered the advisability of her remark with an “I’ll forgive you, but I’m doubtful if the street is the right place to take confession.”

  There was a familiar tilt to his head and she’d wondered where they’d met. Maybe he’d been a visiting choirmaster or a priest who’d taken Mass while she was at school, or maybe she glimpsed him in passing and not paid much notice. “Have we met?”

  “I shouldn’t think so. I’ve not long arrived in New Zealand from Melbourne to take up the position of chaplain at the hospital. And besides that, I’m not a Catholic priest, so you don’t have to call me Father. Reverend or Chaplain will do.”

  “Oh? You look like someone I knew a long time ago, but I can’t remember his name. It will probably come to me when I’m thinking of something else.”

  “Maybe you’ve passed me in the street when I’ve been visiting Saint Andrew’s. It’s not more than a block away and it’s the parish church of some of the poor I have to deal with in my work at the hospital. So many have no money or home to call their own.”

  “How awful. Bad enough anytime of the year but at Christmas…to be without family. Here, let me give you something to help.” She reached into her purse, and as she felt for her wallet, Franc’s cell phone slipped into her hand.

  “I should think a pretty girl like you would have more urgent things to spend her money on,” he said, but as she slid twenty dollars from her wallet, his hand came out to take it.

  “Maybe I should be asking how I could help you. You looked distressed before. That’s why I came over, to ask if I could help. Then as you turned, you bumped into me.”

  Maria denied her fears as if they had never been, had never sent panic into overdrive. Why did it seem worse now, as if somehow she had more to lose? Before she came to a conclusion, she heard Franc calling her name.

  “Maria.”

  She spun round, the chaplain forgotten as the moment she’d been waiting all day for began to play out.

  “Over here.” Franc’s voice came closer.

  She caught sight of him crossing the last few feet of roadway. “This is who I was waiting for.” She threw the chaplain a over her shoulder. “I thought he’d gotten lost.”

  Then he was there, pulling her into his arms, and the scent of him washed over her like a balm, soothing all her worries.

  Franc pulled away, as if the chaplain standing next to her had only just pierced his consciousness. “The city is like a madhouse. You wouldn’t believe how far away I had to park. I hope you’re wearing your walking shoes, hon.”

  His thick eyebrows rose in a question mark as if waiting for an introduction, a name, but she’d forgotten to ask for one, and before she could correct her mistake, the chaplain tipped his white summer straw hat with its black band, saying, “Thank you for the donation, I can see you’re in safe hands now. Goodbye.”

  “What was that all about? What donation?”

  She tried to instill lightness to her tone, but the memory of those anxious moments ran like a dark thread through her words. “I accidentally banged into him. Oh dear, I hit him with my shoulder, it must have hurt. So I gave him a donation for the poor street people he helps to salve my conscience.”

  “Soooo, how come? It’s a wide sidewalk,” he said, stating the obvious. Nudging her for an explanation she’d been trying to avoid, knowing it might put a hex on the dinner she’d been looking forward to all day—just her, Franc and candlelight. She’d bought a couple of candles for the table.

  “All right, you win. I had that feeling I was being watched again, and as I rummaged through my purse for the cell phone and tried to see where Randy was, I shoulder charged the priest. At least I thought he was a priest. But he’s only a reverend. Now, have I left anything out? No, I don’t think so.”

  She left the word satisfied unsaid. Keeping the childish taunt for another day when Franc was giving off those over-protective vibes. He took the purse from her and looked inside. “Maybe you should throw away some of this stuff, then next time the phone will be easier to find.”

  After he handed it back, he took her arm, tucking it through his. “The car’s this way.”

  For about ten seconds, she thought of explaining why everything she carried in her purse was not only necessary but also absolutely essential. What was the point? He wouldn’t get it, her brothers didn’t and they’d been married for years.

  “Why can’t you take the rest of the break off? I don’t like you being alone in that office all day.” Franc had been hammering at this argument for all of the ten minutes they’d sat waiting at traffic lights, queuing to get onto the Harbour Bridge.

  “Someone has to be at the office in case of an emergency. I can’t let my boss down.”

  He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. What if something happened when he wasn’t on hand to prevent it? His inquiries into Randy’s whereabouts had gone nowhere fast. He was out of town, or that was the story he’d been given by the few people Franc thought would know.

  The biggest stumbling block came up when he’d asked, “Out of town, where?” No one knew.

  He tried a new argument on Maria. “Maybe if you explained to your boss, he’d find someone to take your place.”

  “Nooo,” she gasped, lacing the word with indignation. “Apart from myself, and presumably Randy, you’re the only one who knows what’s going on.” She crossed her arms and went on the defensive. “Instead of rattling on about what might happen, you should be pleased that I’ve had time to check out that polymer you’ve had designed to use as a conductive thread. Not a sniff of it anywhere on the Internet.”

  Though the last bit of information was news he’d been waiting to hear, that was the future. He wanted to fix her life now.

  He’d made great plans for this evening and he could be shooting them down in flames, but it was as if he couldn’t help showing that he was anxious about her. They’d
gone all over the stuff about her parents practically hiding her away from anyone but family, as if they suspected everyone who saw her would want to abduct her. An exaggeration? Maybe, but viewed from this distance a slight one to be expected.

  At the same time, taking her parents’ lead and locking her up in his apartment for the next eight days was starting to sound like the only solution to the problem.

  Hell, if Brent could read his thoughts, he’d be telling him his attitude was set on overkill. But, he’d be hard pressed to tell his friend why it felt so necessary to him. Hell, he couldn’t explain it to himself, never mind a second party.

  They’d barely scraped through the traffic lights, when Maria loosened the knot in her arms and deigned to talk to him again.

  “Don’t think I haven’t thought about broadcasting the trouble I’m having among my friends. But do you know how quickly gossip spreads in this town? With my background, it would only take some journalist to get wind of it, and the whole shebang, including my past abduction, would be front-page news.”

  She huffed loudly before continuing, a sign that he still wasn’t off the hook. “During the holiday season they’ll jump on anything more exciting than the latest seaside town to bring in a liquor ban for New Year’s.”

  He got her point only too well. Now that the Santas and the little kids with giant teddies had passed their use-by date, there was a dearth of anything enthralling happening locally.

  “I’d forgotten about that.”

  “Well, that’s the difference between us. I can’t forget…I mean, I can’t remember the abduction, but I can’t forget it took place.”

  The silence between them stretched out as if the past had built a brick wall through the middle of the vehicle. He took his eyes off the traffic ahead of them for less than a second to dart a glance her way. It was long enough to see her fingers twisting in her lap. He realized she was building up to something. The best he could do for the moment was give her time to come out with whatever she had on her mind. He just hadn’t expected it to slice through his gut like a ragged-edged blade.