Finding a bottle of locally grown red, I uncorked it and poured two glasses. Thinking I heard Danny in the living room, I walked in that direction. He was seated on the sofa, cell phone in hand checking for calls and texts.
"Did things fall apart while we were off the grid?" I asked, handing him a glass. He eyed me seductively, his eyes dancing with want.
"No, but if you don't put something less revealing on, we may not make it to dinner, angel-mine." Smiling, his hand reached out and touched the skin of my inner thigh as he erotically moved upwards. "Why are your thighs so wet sweet?"
"Could be it's the fault of some long haired handsome devil I've been seduced by." I taunted. Sitting down next to him I playfully nipped at his neck. "I think you need to move your hand Daniel before we find ourselves on the floor."
His hand moved and he looked devastated. The corners of his mouth curled up as he took a sip off his wine. "Are we good, now?"
"We're always good Daniel. Now I believe we should begin to get ready for dinner. I promise you can have all the dessert you want when we return."
Dinner atop the Space Needle was spectacular. Daniel picked the perfect way to celebrate our engagement. We were both happy, content. He also did his best not to discuss the upcoming last days of his tour or his music. Instead, he brought up ideas for getting married. He was obviously ready for this.
"I was thinking that perhaps we could marry in London. We have to go back anyway to wrap things up before that brief respite. I think it might work. We get married, then disappear somewhere for those two weeks, just you and me."
"You're really ready to do this, aren't you?" I asked, touching his hand. He wrapped his hand around mine.
"Yes, yes I am. The next chance we'd have would be months away and the weather would be changing. I…"
I squeezed his hand. "So we fly to New York and close on the house, meet with the interior designer, then head on to London where you finish up. We get a license and marry, then go hide from the world for two weeks and enjoy our new life together. Did I leave anything out?"
"No, I think you covered it all. I thought that once we were wherever we land for our honeymoon, we'd send out an email, or text announcing our marriage."
"Sounds perfect, Daniel. Would you mind if I had my Aunt Lucy stand up with me? She has been a dear, always keeping my secrets and she foretold that we would marry. I would hate for her to feel snubbed, finding out we married in London."
"That's fine with me, sweet. Then if we're agreed on it, we'll start making plans. You won't feel deceitful when we visit your family knowing what we're about to do?"
"No, not at all, Danny. I explained all that earlier. This is our time. We'll invite our family together in celebration later."
The next three days were, once again, very much Daniel's. I accompanied him to the various interviews scheduled, camera in hand. He was gracious, as always, wherever he went, stopping to chat briefly with fans or, at one point, a class of enthusiastic violin students who had been invited to participate in an interview with him. He gave them tips and insights into what he endured to become the artist he was. But Daniel was more than just another artist or violinist. He had reached a pinnacle few musicians are ever allowed to stand. Daniel was very well aware of this, having never taken his talent for granted nor flaunting it. He had a vision to jump from classical to a fusion of all genres, and was eager to share it with the world.
Damien arrived at the condo the morning after Daniel's final concert. He wanted to visit with Daniel and we invited him to ride along with us to the get-together out at Amadeus and Zara's. When he arrived, Danny was ready but I was still in the midst of chaos.
I found the two sitting in the living room enjoying coffee, talking. I tried to hear what they found so amusing, deciding it was probably me.
"You about ready, sis? You remember we've still got a ways to go."
"Yeah, I remember, ferry boat, second island, not first. Right?"
"You remember well. I'm impressed." Damien took a sip off his coffee, watching me as though he remembered some long ago incident.
"Do you miss living out there?" I asked.
"I used to, but this is my life now. I needed to be closer to things like my doctors. Now I have my sailboat, so it all turned out okay."
He turned back. "Daniel, I'm curious about something."
"What's that?" Daniel asked, finishing off his coffee and handing me his mug.
"Remember that Archangel chick you got up on stage and performed with at Jake's club in London? The one you had to help get out of there? Whatever happened to her?"
I turned around to head towards the kitchen, not wanting to look at either of them. At the same time, I wanted to hear Daniel's answer.
"I can't say," Danny replied. "I dropped her off at what I assume was her apartment and haven't heard a thing out of her. Perhaps she understood just how dangerous it was for a woman to be alone in that environment."
"Pity really, that she couldn't have put together a security team or something. Whoever she was, she was good." Damien put his cup down and smiled. "Better keep an eye out next time you're performing in London, Daniel. She might just pay you back and join you on stage."
Daniel threw his head back and laughed. He was having a good time with this. His eye caught mine for a second.
"Did either of you think perhaps she finally got sick of being treated like a plaything and decided it wasn't worth her effort?"
"Ouch." Daniel snorted. "My little feminist has spoken."
"Not funny, Danny. Now if the two of you are through acting like a pair of rutting stags, I suggest we get on the road."
"Rutting stags?" Damien quipped. "How do you know…?"
"I know a lot of stuff, now come on you two. You're worse than five year olds."
The trip over was nice enough. Damien drove us to the Ferry and Danny sat up front with him, leaving me to fend for myself.
Once we arrived on the island, Damien asked if I would trade place and drive."Why not drive the rest of the way?" I asked.
"Because, if Mother is there, I'll have to listen to her scolding. She doesn't think I should be driving - ever."
"That's the most idiotic thing I think I've heard. Is she afraid you're going to have another stroke?" I know I rolled my eyes.
"Exactly. So, rather than listen to her go on and on and ruin everyone's otherwise good time, it is easier to let her think she's still in charge."
"Well, you've got more patience than I do. And I try, really I do, Damien, but she never listens to me. Never. It's all I can do to keep from ripping her head off. As many times as I've tried to explain to her the reason I left, she always turns the conversation around to suit her." I felt Daniel reach across and lay his hand on my thigh.
"I know, Mary, but she was always like that with you. The three of us have tried talking to her these past few months and sometimes I think we’ve made progress, but then she's right back at the same spot."
"Perhaps it's best to just go about your business and not let her get under your skin, sweet."
"That's what I've been trying to do, Danny. But she doesn't make it easy, does she Damien?"
I could see Damien shake his head in the back seat. "No. She's like an old dog, you can't retrain her. Just adapt, Mary, that's all I know to tell you. It's what I've been forced to do since I got sick—and even more since my divorce."
"Well, get me through today is all I ask."
"Oh, and heads up you two."
"What?" I asked, eyeing him from the rear view.
"If you two ever decide to get married, do us all a favor and elope. By the time it's over, we'll all either be drinking or on nerve medication, not to mention it won't actually be your wedding, sis. She'll turn it into the sort of thing she always dreamed and assumed you wanted."
Quickly I bit my lip knowing if I wasn't careful I might give myself away. I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye and noted Danny looking out the window trying to a
void eye contact.
"What?" Damien inquired. "Did I say a bad word or something? The M word? 'Cause the two of you are acting rather odd."
Hoping not to do further damage, I sprung into action. "It's just that we've probably been asked ‘When are you getting married’ about a zillion times on this leg of Danny's tour, that's all."
"Well, okay if you say so," he replied with a smug tone in his voice. I glanced up in the rear view mirror as I was slowing his SUV down. The tone in his voice matched the look on his face…the full-of-himself older brother I so remembered. No fooling Damien.
I maneuvered the vehicle down the private road leading into Amadeus' compound. That's what it was, too. Fenced, looking like you were certainly approaching something you might not want to be entering.
Pulling up in front of the house, I shut the engine off to sit and stare at the house. One second more to muster some courage and strength.
"You'll be fine, sis." I heard my oldest brother say as he opened his door. "No one bites, with the exception of, perhaps, Mother. And then she's more bark than bite. Remember the lioness and her cubs."
Daniel leaned across the console and kissed me on the cheek, squeezing my hand. "He's right, just relax and enjoy yourself. Then he leaned even closer and whispered. "Remember our plan, house closing, London, wedding."
"Of course, I'll be fine. The two of you need to stop reading things into situations." I winked at Danny, opened my door and began to get out. Looking up I noticed the front door wide open and what seemed to be a mob approaching us. It was Clan Tudor!
Initial greetings aside, everyone made their way through the house to the huge wooden deck that seemed to go on forever. In the near distance, at the water's edge, was a dock with a huge white sailboat tied at the side. Another smaller motor craft sat on the other side of the dock. The men were already making their way off the deck and toward the dock. Here we go - get Danny off and interrogate him. They weren't fooling anyone.
"Elizabeth, would you care for a cup of coffee?" Zara asked from behind me. I turned to follow her voice.
"Oh, sorry, I was captivated by that sailboat. It's huge. Coffee would be great." I walked back over to where the women were seated, a tray with a carafe and mugs sat on a table in front of them.
Zara chuckled. "Yeah, that's Amadeus' passion out there. He loves to sail."
"Hard not to if you live here," I replied pouring myself a mug of coffee. I looked around and noticed Mother not among us. "Where's Mother? I thought she was coming."
"She is. She called to say she was running late, but would be here by lunch time." Zara added pulling a toddler onto her lap.
"So, we better discuss anything you want to talk about, but don't want to discuss with her, before she arrives," Ashleigh cackled.
"Well, some things never change. I could have pursued my education from Julliard and gone on to do wonderful things. Or, I could have stayed and gone the route of the boys– only on my own; but it would have never measured up to them. Not in her eyes."
"Perhaps, Zara suggested, "it's because you remind her of herself when she was younger. She was on her way to becoming quite the concert pianist until she met William. They fell in love and she gave that up. It may be that she hoped you would succeed where she failed."
I shook my head. "No, I don't believe that at all, Zara. Why would she have gone out of her way to discourage me like she did? I tried to get them to send me to Julliard or another performing arts school, but she and daddy were always more focused on the three of them."
"Have you given up on performing then?" Ashleigh asked.
I sat back in my chair, looking out at the dock, where Danny was. "Yes, publically, at least. Danny is more than enough talent in one household; and to tell you the truth, I am perfectly content with that. I have my photography and that's my way of capturing him and all of his creativeness."
"He's certainly in a class by himself, that's for sure," Zara added. "He amazes me, and Amadeus, too. He would like to work with Daniel sometime."
"I'm sure they will, Zara. Daniel is full of ideas. I swear it never shuts off."
"So, not changing the subject entirely," Ashleigh chuckled, "but it seems you and Daniel are quite in love. Any talk of getting married? And I only ask because I'm sure Grace is going to approach the subject, today."
"Yes, we are in love. We've discussed marriage, of course, but we agreed to postpone all discussion until after his tour. Danny is so consumed by his music and his performances that he shuts everything else out."
"I can see that with him. But the two of you are purchasing a place in New York. So, that's a step in the right direction. When the time’s right, it will happen." Zara concluded. She bent down to put a fussy, but inquisitive baby girl down. My namesake, Elizabeth, and how she looked like her daddy. She was a miniature Amadeus only in female form. Elizabeth began walking my way, eyeing me warily.
I nodded my head in agreement, putting my free hand out towards Elizabeth. "There's one thing about Danny that's different from those three. Danny's always focused ninety nine percent of himself towards his music and only one percent to his personal life. Our relationship is a huge change to all that. He's never had a serious relationship before, ever. He's never had the time. His music has always been his mistress."
"It's obvious when you listen to him play," Zara replied. "He's brilliant, and I'm certain he will go down in the history books as one of the greatest violinists of this era. I, myself, thought I was going to cry a couple of times hearing him play the other night."
Ashleigh and I both nodded our heads in agreement. Little Elizabeth stood in front of me, babbling as though she understood and was also agreeing with us.
"Do you agree, Elizabeth?" I asked her, trying to coax her. "She looks so much like Amadeus." I added to no one in particular.
"Yes, she does, and has his temper to match."
"I can see that. I noticed it the last time."
"You and Daniel want to have children?" Ashleigh asked a slight smile on her face as she sipped her coffee.
"We've discussed it; but just like marriage, when the time is right. In Danny's life, everything seems to just fall into place as it should, when it should. But yes, eventually we'd like to have a couple of kids."
"Well," Zara exclaimed, leaning forward to pour herself another cup of coffee. "Anything you want to know before the boys come back or your mother arrives? Any family stuff you're dying to know?"
Ashleigh cackled at the suggestion. "Yes, you better."
"Well, two things, no actually three. Where are the older kids? And Damien, what happened to him? And what happened between him and Julia? I thought they'd be together, forever."
Before either Ashleigh or Zara could reply, a voice spoke from the doorway. "Damien suffered a stroke, Elizabeth, and Julia is a subject we no longer discuss– especially when Damien is near." Mother announced.
I turned in the direction of her voice, her outline vaguely visible. "I know he suffered a stroke, Mother. I meant no harm, I was merely curious, that's all. He's close to the old Damien, but there is something missing. Like part of him was taken when she left."
Mother walked out into the daylight. She was dressed in a pair of khaki slacks with a black and white stripped top. "It was an unforgivable thing she did to him and their girls. He still hasn't gotten over it. Now, if we could change the subject to something happier, like how Miss Elizabeth is learning her letters." She bent down to the child’s level and stroked her cheek.
The toddler was already in Mother's embrace. She gathered her into her lap as she sat down on the remaining chair. "I brought lunch, Zara. It's in the kitchen-- what I could bring in—the rest is in the back of my car."
"You didn't have to do that, Grace. Amadeus had thought he'd grill out."
"I know, but I thought since Mary Elizabeth and Daniel can only stay a few hours that it would be nice to do something easy." The entire time she spoke, mother was staring at me. Was she deliberat
ely attempting to make me uncomfortable?
And she had definitely made the distinction. Amadeus's daughter was now the Elizabeth and I was Mary Elizabeth. No matter, I preferred that, as did Daniel. But I'd never let her know that, though.
"When are you two heading back to New York?" Ashleigh inquired as she rose from her seat.
"Tomorrow morning. We have the closing on the condo the following day." I replied.
"Well, we better be getting lunch ready," Grace announced. "The men are heading back this way. Mary Elizabeth, why don't you help Ashleigh bring in the rest of the food from my car?"
Typical mother, turn the conversation back to my brothers. I said nothing. I got up and looked out at the dock. The four were talking on the ground now, but definitely headed back.
Daniel sat down beside me on the perimeter of the deck, plate in hand. He was windblown from being out on the dock, some of his hair had broken lose and was flying waywardly.
"How are you holding up, sweet?"
"So far, so good," I replied. "And you?"
"I'm fine. Your brothers and I do share some common interests."
"Well, in my case, my mother has determined what is and is not suitable conversation matter for us girls to discuss."
"Just hang on for a few more hours and it'll all be over."
"I am. I'm glad to see you and my brothers getting along."
Just then Amadeus stood before everyone. "We were going to take Daniel out on the boat, but I checked and it seems that storm is heading in." He looked over at us. "We need to keep an eye on it because they'll cut ferry service if it gets too bad, and the last ferry is at ten."
Daniel and I nodded. "Do you want to head back now?" I whispered.
"No, let's wait a while and enjoy our time. If it starts looking bad, we'll leave."
"Okay, just remember there is no ferry service until morning, so we'll be stuck here and might miss our flight."
Encore! (Tudor Saga Book 1) Page 19