The Unknown Woman

by Laurie Paige

  When the man acted as if he was going to refuse, she took Matt’s arm and said, “Let’s go.”

  “Hold on,” the vendor told her. “You’re robbing my kid’s college fund, but I’ll take it.” However, after the deal was concluded, the man smiled broadly and shook Kerry’s hand. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”

  Her laughter brought smiles to everyone who heard it. “The pleasure was mine,” she told the vendor.

  Walking on down the street, Matt said, “How much would you charge to handle my business affairs from now on?”

  Her grin was deliberately calculating. “I’ll cut you a special deal.”

  “Ha. You’ll probably charge me double.”

  On that note, they left the area and headed away from the river. A couple of blocks before they reached Basin Street, he guided her into a right turn. “Just a quick detour.”

  He found the jewelry store recommended by the hotel’s concierge. Inside they were waited on at once. “Luc Carter at the Hotel Marchand said you had a good selection of spirit charms in your store.”

  “Yes,” the clerk assured them. “These three cases. Are you looking for sterling silver or something in gold?”

  Matt glanced at the charm bracelet Kerry wore. “Silver to match the lady’s bracelet,” he said.

  Kerry’s eyes opened wide. “Matt, you’re not buying a charm for me,” she protested.

  “Who else would I get one for? You need the Spirit of Wisdom, remember?”

  “Yes, but you don’t have to—”

  “Ah, that would be the snake,” the man said. He removed two trays from the display case.

  “You shouldn’t—”

  Matt laid a finger over her delectable lips. “Be a gracious receiver,” he said firmly. “I want you to have it to remember our time here.”

  “As if I could ever forget.” She smiled at the clerk. “I’ve had the most fascinating week in your lovely city.”

  The man was obviously pleased.

  Kerry, Matt realized, had the ability to make people feel good about themselves. That was certainly the way he felt around her. He gestured toward the jewelry trays. “Which do you like?”

  After studying the charms, she chose a very simple design, one that was probably the least expensive of all the items. Matt spotted another on the second tray that he liked.

  “How about this one?” he suggested. “It looks like the python—you know, the one you had your picture taken with.”

  It also had emeralds for the eyes, and the gems reminded him of hers. When they made love, the shade seemed to change from peridot to dark emerald.

  The heat that swept through him told him to keep his mind on the present moment, but it was damn hard to do.

  “That must have been Madame Jolie,” the salesman said, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Kerry.

  Matt refrained from flatly telling the guy she wasn’t available. That wasn’t his call, he reminded himself ruthlessly. Did he want it to be? Did he want a permanent bond between them?

  “Yes, it was.” Kerry beamed at the man, then leaned over the tray and studied the charm Matt had suggested. “Are those emeralds?” she asked.

  “They are,” the clerk assured her. “Small but genuine. And a very good quality.”

  The concierge had said the store was known for its integrity and care in selecting jewels, which was why Matt had brought Kerry here.

  He leaned close to her. “They remind me of your eyes,” he murmured. “We’ll take it,” he told the man behind the counter.

  “How much is it?” Kerry demanded, giving him a stern glance.

  To his amazement, she got a ten percent discount on the charm. She glanced at him with great satisfaction, and he couldn’t help but return her grin.

  “We also need a Spirit of Healing,” he said.

  “Oh, yes, we have thunder charms, too.” The clerk quickly pulled out a tray depicting a cloud with a zigzag of lightning running through it to symbolize thunder.

  Matt selected the one he wanted, then stood back while Kerry got him a better price. When all was finished, he asked the clerk to attach them to her bracelet rather than boxing them.

  When they left the store, Kerry was quiet. After she’d inspected the charms for the third time, he asked if she liked them.

  “Oh, yes. I can’t thank you enough for getting them for me.”

  “Then what’s the problem?” He had another thought. “I can afford them, Kerry,” he added quietly.

  “No, it isn’t that, but…I can’t think of anything to give you.”

  He burst into laughter.

  She studied him suspiciously while waiting for him to regain control.

  “Darling, the last two days have been the best gift I’ve ever had.” He cupped her face in his hands. “I mean that.” Then he kissed her. Deeply. And much too briefly.

  “Okay, I believe you. I think.”

  He had to laugh again as her lips pursed in doubt. It took all his control not to kiss her again.

  Holding hands, they strolled along the street made famous by the blues song written in its honor. The shadows were long by the time they returned to the hotel. After leaving her package in her suite, they returned to the courtyard and their favorite table for an afternoon drink.

  “Funny,” he said, “how quickly people establish a pattern. We always sit at this table. That older couple over there always sit under that tree near the pool.”

  She turned to look at the other pair, who were probably in their seventies. “I wonder if this is their first time here, or if they’ve returned every year for, say, fifty years, on their wedding anniversary.”

  “Now that’s a thought,” he murmured. “How many marriages last that long?”

  “Well, both sets of my grandparents and their parents, too. All except one of my great-grandfathers who died of a heart attack when he was sixty. My mom and dad will probably make it.”

  He studied her for a moment.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Why hasn’t some smart guy grabbed you up long before this?” He took her left hand in his and rubbed up and down her ring finger. “You haven’t mentioned divorce, so I assume you haven’t been married.”

  “No, but I was engaged.” She gave a funny little laugh. “For four years.”

  “That’s a long time. When did you break it off?”

  “Six months ago. He’s the one who wanted out. He met an old flame and it was love at second sight, I guess you might say. It was at our class reunion.”

  Matt didn’t like the idea of her being hurt. “Did you live together during that time?”

  She shook her head. “We each kept our own place. He had a condo. I have a very small house, inherited from that great-uncle I told you about.”

  “The one with the drinking problem?”

  “Yes. I’ve loved renovating the cottage. It sits on five acres of land and has a tiny lake teeming with fish. I think he gave it to me because I loved fishing with him and my dad when we visited.”

  “I see. About your fiancé. I’m sorry you were hurt.”

  She took his hand between both of hers and pressed it to her cheek. Her eyes sparkled in the last rays of the sun as she told him, “If he felt a tenth of what I feel when we…that is, when…”

  “When we make love?” Matt supplied.

  “Yes. If it’s like that for him with his new fiancée, then he did the right thing. I’ve never felt anything so intense and exciting. I didn’t know it was possible to experience that much sensation.”

  A part of him that had tensed up when she’d mentioned the ex-fiancé relaxed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

  She released his hand and used the straw to stir her drink, one of those rum-and-fruit concoctions that were fun to try while on vacation. “Being with you has made me realize what I was missing. The old relationship was comfortable. There was mutual respect and common interests, but I don’t think…I don’t think it was l
ove.”

  “I see.”

  “I’ve confessed all,” she said in a low, amused tone. “Now it’s your turn. Have you ever been seriously involved with anyone?”

  “I was engaged briefly, mmm, about six years ago. I discovered she wanted to be part of my family and their social circle more than she wanted to establish one of our own. Now she’s married to someone who keeps up the social pace she wanted.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  “At first,” he admitted. “Now when we occasionally run into each other—we have mutual friends—we speak, discuss the weather and go our separate ways.”

  “Good,” she said as if affirming he’d made a wise decision.

  He smiled and ordered another drink for each of them.

  They sat there in a comfortable silence while evening descended and the courtyard gradually filled with returning guests, weary after a busy day of sightseeing. He saw her touch the charms on her bracelet and the way she smiled as she fingered the snake and the thundercloud.

  He was glad he’d bought them. The charms would be a token of their time together and a reminder that once she and a fellow traveler had shared an adventure.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “IT SEEMS ODD to be on this road again,” Kerry said as Matt slowed the rental car to the speed limit when they arrived in St. Martinville.

  Her eyes were drawn to the statue of Evangeline, then to the inn where she and Matt had spent the night on their own private journey to becoming lovers.

  Every nerve in her body tingled at the thought. She couldn’t keep from snatching little glances at him while he concentrated on driving. He was so handsome and so good—and not just in bed. He was a good person, a phrase her parents used to bestow their highest praise on someone.

  “It’s déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra reputedly said,” Matt commented, his smile warm.

  “This time we’ve got to finish what we came for.”

  “You’re still going home tomorrow?”

  “I think so.” Unless you can give me a very good reason for staying. But she didn’t say that.

  He nodded, his smile never faltering. That was another thing she liked about him—he respected her decisions. He didn’t want her to go, he’d stated his case, but the final move was up to her.

  So why not stay an extra three days? Or reschedule her appointments and take another week?

  Because it would hurt that much more when she did have to leave. Because she might cry and cling to him, and she just wouldn’t let herself do that. It seemed better to stick with the original plan.

  Sighing, she forced the pesky questions at bay and considered the task ahead. She would stop and speak to Atta about their plan for the ashes, but something inside her said it was the right one.

  “Why the sigh?” Matt asked with a quick glance at her.

  “I feel certain this is the right thing to do, but then there’s this little unsure voice inside me that questions everything.”

  “That’s natural. Who can be one hundred percent sure when it comes to someone elses’s wishes?” He paused. “Except in our case,” he added softly, a challenge in his deep voice.

  “You think we should stay the extra days.”

  “Absolutely.”

  She laughed when he gave her a scolding frown. He was too attractive to really look menacing.

  “Laugh, woman, but you’re breaking my heart.”

  “Part of me wants to stay…the part that wants to be with you, but another part is ready to leave.”

  Matt nodded. “It’s been a difficult week. Meeting Patti, then becoming involved in her life, which was tragic in so many ways. It’s been emotionally draining on you.”

  Kerry was silent for a moment. “Thank you for understanding that, Matt. It’s one of the things that makes it so hard to think about leaving New Orleans. And you.”

  “It doesn’t have to mean goodbye for us.”

  “Sharon thought we might visit. She thinks going to New York for a long weekend for the theater and wine tasting sounds great. Of course she’s been stuck at home in a snowstorm with three sick kids for most of the week.”

  “New York doesn’t sound interesting to you?”

  “Yes, of course it does.”

  “But?”

  Each moment they were together now made the thought of a future parting that much more difficult for her. She didn’t want to drag out their relationship until one day they realized they were strangers, still clinging to a shared week of mystery and magic. It was better to end things on a happy note.

  “This has been one of the best vacations of my life. It’s also been one of the worst.” She glanced in the backseat at the wooden urn inscribed with voodoo symbols.

  “I can identify with that.”

  “Our lives crossed in a rather dramatic manner, and we became entangled in events not of our making.”

  “True,” he agreed.

  “But this isn’t our real lives. Mine is in a small town in the Midwest. Yours is in the busy city of New York. After this week, we’ll return to those worlds.”

  “And our paths will never cross again,” he concluded.

  That sent such a shaft of emotion through her, she couldn’t breathe for a second. “Yes.”

  “But Kerry,” he murmured with an oblique glance in her direction as he continued along the bayou road toward Atta’s house, “we were obviously fated to meet. Maybe our paths were meant to merge.”

  She blinked in astonishment at this idea. Touching the charm bracelet, she found the three bones. Three lives, three worlds, three divergent paths…or one shining path leading into the future?

  “DO YOU WANT to stop?” Matt asked when they reached the small, neat house set amid well-tended flower beds.

  “Yes. I think we should tell Atta what we’re doing.”

  He pulled into the drive.

  “I’ll go to the door,” Kerry volunteered.

  She dashed up the brick walk and knocked on the door. No one answered. The place had an air of emptiness, Matt observed. She knocked again. Still no answer. She returned to the car.

  “She doesn’t appear to be at home,” she said.

  “Maybe she’s shopping or visiting with family.”

  “I guess. I didn’t get the impression she had much family left, did you?”

  “Well, I suppose if you last long enough, you might outlive most of them.”

  Kerry nodded, climbing into the car. They continued along the weed-choked lane, the twin tracks barely visible among the grass and thistles.

  “This was once a carriage road,” he said. “Can’t you just see the fancy rigs arriving for a ball, the matched sets of horses prancing as they entered the drive, the ladies and gentlemen in their best party clothes.”

  “The lane would be lined with lanterns,” Kerry added, continuing the tale. “A hundred or more candles would brighten the house.”

  “You would be the belle of the ball,” he told her, and he could almost see her in a beautiful gown. Who would be her escort? he wondered.

  Not him, came the answer from deep within.

  “There,” Kerry said. “There, among the trees. I can see a house. The remains of a house,” she corrected.

  “This may be Cordon Rouge.”

  He followed the broad curve of the road until they came upon a circular driveway. It led to the ruins of what had obviously been an impressive plantation house.

  Chimneys and a crumbling brick foundation were visible amid a mad tangle of vines. Three corners of the house still stood and most of a porch. In places, remains of balconies supported by columns still covered the porch below. Although the roof was long gone, the foundation defined the perimeter of a mansion. It was more than twice as big as the farmhouse where Patti had lived.

  “There were porches with balconies on the front and two sides,” Matt pointed out. “Probably in the back as well.”

  Oaks, draped in Spanish moss, curved around the circular carriageway an
d along a wide path that disappeared behind the building. In fact, brick paths were visible all around the grounds.

  Beyond the house ruins, he could see a bayou, its banks lush with reeds and wild rice. Bayou Rouge. He wondered how it had gotten its name. It wasn’t red, as rouge implied, but brown, thanks to the release of tannin from decaying plants.

  “Even though it’s been untended for seventy years, it’s easy to imagine what the place once looked like,” he said to Kerry. “It must have been impressive.”

  She nodded. “Let’s go around to the back. I don’t see a flower garden from here.” She pointed to one side. “That appears to have been a shrub garden. Some of the bushes are still there, but everything’s way overgrown.”

  Matt retrieved the urn and gave it to her. Bringing it to her chest, she held it with both hands and started through the weeds.

  “Let’s use the porch,” he suggested.

  They went up brick steps that were at least eight feet wide—“to have room for those hoop skirts,” Kerry suggested, giving him a smile for the first time since they’d arrived—and went to the back of the mansion.

  He held her arm as they carefully picked out the firm planks and avoided those that were broken. The porch wrapped around all sides, he saw.

  “There’s the garden,” Kerry said.

  The area was perhaps a quarter of an acre, surrounded by a low rock wall and located halfway between the house and bayou. Tall, graceful pine trees marked each corner. A sidewalk led from the back steps down through the middle of the enclosure. A jardiniere on a pedestal in the middle of a large basin formed the center of the garden and was the focal point from the house.

  “That was once a fountain,” Kerry said. “Don’t you think so?”

  “Yes.” Holding Kerry’s arm, he led the way along the walk and stopped before the dry basin.

  The sunlight caught her eyes as she glanced up at him, then around the enclosure. “This was once a parterre or patterned formal garden. You can still see the layout from the brick paths although the flowers and shrubs are gone now. Look, a wild rose has invaded that corner.”