Dream Lover

by Cassie Walder

  He smiled. “I believe that she has completed that task.”

  “Then you’ll excuse us?”

  “Go have fun. Someone needs to. You should be warned, your Grandmother has gathered the senior members of the clan at her table, along with both of you.”

  Edwina rolled her eyes. “I see.”

  Uncle James smiled. “For what it’s worth, Edwina, I know that you can give back as good as you get.” Then he walked away.

  She sighed.

  “What was that about?” Klaus asked.

  She looked at Klaus. “I didn’t plan this,” she told him quietly in German.

  “I take it that this will be tantamount to the Inquisition?”

  “They’ll probably be nicer than Torquemada,” Edwina said lowly. “The torture will be purely verbal.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’ll handle it.”

  “I warned you. Grandmother is a Tartar.”

  “I’ve managed Tartars before.”

  “My grandmother is unique.”

  “Of course she is. You are her granddaughter.”

  Edwina introduced Klaus to everyone at the table.

  “Just how long have you been interested in my granddaughter, Herr von Bruner?” Grandmother asked without prelude.

  Klaus smiled. “I’ve been following her work since her genetics dissertation was brought to my attention seven years ago. The work she did there was nothing short of amazing.”

  Grandmother nodded. “There were people who chose to use different words to describe it. Sometimes in far less complimentary terms.”

  Klaus nodded. “Then again there are always people who will fear anything truly new and revolutionary or who will fail to see the potential for any far reaching study.”

  Grandmother smiled at him. “Oh, they saw the potential and it scared them to death,” she acknowledged. “I know that once I thought about it her work frightened me in some of its implications. My granddaughter has the Walker backbone. She is like me, Herr von Bruner, in that she is a velvet glove over an iron fist.”

  “From what I’ve seen of your family, M’am, most of your relatives share that trait. Whether it is genetic or merely a trait adopted as a matter of self-defense remains to be seen. I do suspect however, that both factors may be active.”

  Grandmother looked at him for a long moment in the utter silence that had fallen over the table. Then she laughed, boldly. Everyone else laughed, mostly in relief.

  Edwina kissed Klaus on the cheek.

  “I like you, Klaus von Bruner,” Grandmother stated, giving her ultimate seal of approval. “Edwina, when do you plan to marry this man?”

  “I have not yet accepted his offer of marriage, Grandmother.”

  The old woman looked at Edwina with those piercing blue eyes. “Why not?”

  “That, my dear, is none of your concern,” Edwina told her grandmother gently. “It is something Klaus and I need to work out by ourselves.”

  “Falderal,” the old woman dismissed. “You have never been a fool, my dear. Don’t launch a career as a ninny-hammer at this late date. Marriage is always a family affair. It unites two families. I don’t see any need for delay. Neither of you is still wet behind the ears. In fact, both of you are of what my generation would consider rather ripe in years for a first marriage.”

  Then the old woman looked thoughtfully at the pair. “Or are you both enjoying the sex so much that you don’t want to spoil the romance with marriage? I understand that this is how things are generally done these days among the younger set.”

  Edwina was sipping her white wine as her grandmother made that comment. It was all she could do not to splutter. She swallowed and glared at her grandmother. Through gritted teeth, she told the old woman in no uncertain terms, “My love life is none of your business, Grandmother.”

  Klaus took her hand. “You are definitely her grandchild, Edwina. She is as amazingly perceptive as you are. And both of you have a tongue that slices like a razor,” he said quietly in rapid German.

  Edwina felt her face grow hot and knew that she was blushing brightly. “My grandmother speaks German as do all the rest of my family,” she said quietly in rapid German.

  “They are all adults. They know that sexual attraction is a big part of a couple’s falling in love. And they have eyes to see how dearly I love you, Edwina,” he replied in his native language. “I wish that you would give me the answer I want to hear in connection with my offer of marriage.”

  “I’ve told you. I won’t be rushed, Klaus. Marriage is too serious of a decision to make in a hurry. We haven’t really known each other that long. Marriage is something that we will have to live with for the rest of our lives.”

  “I can think of nothing I would like better than to spend the rest of my life with you,” Klaus said quietly.

  “You are entirely impossible!” she replied on a sigh.

  Klaus smiled. “Then my dearest, we are a matched pair.”

  “Things come entirely too easy for you, Klaus.”

  “Which means that you intend to lead me a merry chase,” he said, clearly amused.

  “I sincerely doubt that anyone could lead you anywhere that you did not want to go.”

  “Another way that we are remarkably matched.”

  “It would appear so, Herr Baron,” her grandmother answered in German. “But my granddaughter is stubborn.”

  “Gracious lady,” he answered in his native language, “We shall have to see who is the more stubborn. I shall not take ‘no’ for an answer. I think perhaps, it is a matter that Edwina does not trust her own dreams,” Klaus offered.

  The table fell silent. Edwina’s dreaming was an open secret that no one talked about because it made certain members of the family completely uncomfortable. That this stranger should know of it was astonishing to them.

  “Dreams?” her grandmother demanded. “You have been dreaming again, Edwina?”

  “‘Again’ is not the proper term. I’ve never stopped,” Edwina answered in rapid German.

  “And how long have you been dreaming of Herr Baron von Bruner?” her grandmother demanded.

  Edwina was visibly embarrassed. “A very long time, Grandmother.”

  “A long time? How long?” her grandmother insisted in a strained voice.

  Edwina blushed. She didn’t want to give this answer. It was more information than she wanted Klaus to have. But she wasn’t going to lie or hedge. “Twenty-five years, Grandmother.”

  Klaus looked at her in surprise. “Twenty-five years? You didn’t tell me the dreams were of that duration.”

  “This is something for us to discuss at a later time, when we can be alone,” Edwina said.

  Everyone at the table was quiet for a very long time. Then Edwina’s grandmother nodded and spoke in a gentle tone, “I see. Then he is hardly a stranger to you, is he?”

  “I do believe that he is a stranger to most people. A polite, affable stranger in social situations. A formidable stranger in business situations. But a stranger none-the-less in most situations to most people. There are precious few to whom he grants the privilege of getting past his incredibly well defended walls.”

  Klaus chuckled. “You know me too well, my dear.”

  “I know you hardly at all, Klaus,” Edwina replied.

  “You will.”

  She looked at him for a long moment before replying, “I can’t decide if that is a threat or a promise.”

  “I never make threats,” Klaus replied smoothly. “They are an utter waste of time.”

  Edwina picked up her glass and drank some of the very expensive wine. “No. You would not make threats. You are more akin to a steamroller than anything else. Heaven help anyone who gets in your way.”

  Klaus only smiled. “Is it not like looking in a mirror, Edwina Elizabeth?”

  Her grandmother demanded, “When is the wedding?”

  “Right before Lent,” Klaus said quietly. “My cousin, Father Wilhelm, is coming in from his pos
t at the Vatican on the Monday before Ash Wednesday. His boss had a heart to heart with the Nuncio, who talked to the Cardinal. All the paperwork has been taken care of and smoothed away to allow Willie to officiate at the marriage. The pre-Cana instruction is being handled by Fr. Sabastien who is chaplain to my corporation. And Willie is bringing with him a certificate of Papal Blessing on this marriage.”

  “You are certainly pulling out all the stops, aren’t you?” Edwina demanded.

  “I’m usually not hesitant to go after what I want. But you know that.”

  Edwina sighed. “And what would you do if I said I wouldn’t marry you?”

  Klaus smiled. “We have your parish for the evening of Mardi Gras. The florist has already been contacted and the flowers ordered. The reception will be at my house. Your uncle Richard will certify the blood work for the marriage license.”

  Edwina shook her head with a sigh. “You still haven’t answered my question. What would you do if I said I wouldn’t marry you?”

  “Are you saying that, Edwina?”

  “No. I think I would rather cut out my tongue with a butter knife than to say that.” Edwina was shocked at herself for her bluntness.

  Klaus smiled. “I see I’m rubbing off on you. You are becoming more willing to speak your mind.”

  She couldn’t help it. She laughed. “You are impossible, Klaus Matthias.”

  “So I’ve been told many times.”

  “I suppose that you’ve already called your sisters and they’ll be here?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, then I guess that I had better take that engagement ring.”

  “The wedding is less than two weeks away,” her grandmother stated as Klaus produced the ring box from his pocket and slid the emerald onto her finger. “How in the world do you expect her family to be ready in that short of a time?”

  “The only thing you have to do is to be there. Everything else is taken care of,” Klaus told her grandmother.

  “It is the bride’s family’s responsibility to see to the details of the wedding and reception,” her grandmother said firmly. “How in the world is she to have time to acquire a bridal gown, let alone bridesmaids dresses? Florists and caterers are not easy to come by at short notice.”

  “I have my mother’s bridal gown in storage in your attic, Grandmother. As for bridesmaids dresses, flowers, caterers, etc. I really don’t care one way or another. All we need is one witness each to sign the register and the license. Ockham’s Razor applies.”

  “Ockham’s Razor?” her aunt Roberta asked.

  Edwina sipped her wine while Klaus explained the reference. “One statement of that principle is ‘It is vain to do with more, what can be done with less.’ William of Ockham was a Franciscan in the fourteenth century, if memory serves, taught at Cambridge.”

  Uncle Lawrence smiled broadly. “Well, Edwina, looks like you have found a man who can keep up with you.”

  Edwina chuckled. “I have to run to keep up with him.”

  “That should be a change for you,” Uncle Lawrence replied with a smile.

  Her grandmother smiled and stood. She motioned for silence. When the room was quiet, she said, “Thank you all for coming to my birthday party. This has been simply a lovely evening. Yet, it has been made lovelier by a gift of joy. My granddaughter Edwina has just announced her impending marriage to Klaus von Bruner. Stand and join me in drinking to the health and happiness of Edwina and Klaus… Edwina, Klaus, may God bless both of you with patience, courage, and peace to accompany the love we already see in your eyes.”

  Everyone raised their glasses. Edwina felt her face grow warm.

  Klaus squeezed her hand after the toast was completed. “I am glad that you are being so sensible about this.”

  “I usually am sensible,” Edwina replied sharply.

  He smiled at her. “I am aware of this.”

  Edwina’s cell phone rang.

  “You know how I feel about those instruments,” her grandmother said quietly in a quite displeased tone.

  “Excuse me, Grandmother,” Edwina said as she rose to her feet and walked away from the table in order to take the call.

  “Ed,” a frantic female voice said over the phone.

  “Jennifer?”

  “You aren’t in the shop are you?”

  “No. I’m at Grandmother’s birthday party. Why?”

  “I just turned on the news. The building is in flames. It’s terrible. The fire department is saying that the blaze is out totally of control.”

  “Thank you for calling, Jennifer. This will not affect anything with the nursery.”

  “I’m just glad you weren’t in the building.”

  “Brenda was in charge of closing up tonight. It’s not yet closing time. She may have been in the building,” Edwina said quietly.

  “I’ll check.”

  “Call me back. I’ll call my insurance agent.”

  She removed her personal directory from her evening bag and dialed the number for the home of the insurance agent.

  “Luke, Edwina Johnson. I’ve just heard a report that my building is ablaze.”

  “I’ll verify that and get back with you. You’re calling on the cell?”

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  Edwina returned to her seat. She placed the cell phone on the table.

  “What was so important?” Grandmother asked.

  “My building is on fire, apparently out of control,” Edwina said in a deceptively calm voice. But no one at the table missed how her hand was shaking as she tried to take a sip of her wine.

  The phone rang again. “Johnson,” she answered the phone on the first ring.

  “Brenda’s unaccounted for,” Jennifer said quietly.

  “God’s mercy. We can only hope that she got out,” Edwina said, her voice strained. “Thank you for calling.”

  “Edwina,” Klaus said gently. “What is it?”

  “My clerk is unaccounted for. She may be inside the building yet. I have to go there. Grandmother, I am sorry that this intruded on your celebration. But I need to be there. I have to know.”

  “Pah, child, life is full of events that none of us can plan. You will take up residence with me as your apartment will be uninhabitable or destroyed in this fire.” Her grandmother handed her a key to her house. “Go and be safe.”

  “Thank you, Grandmother,” Edwina said quietly. “I appreciate the shelter.”

  “We will replace your wardrobe tomorrow, child.”

  Edwina sighed. “I must go.”

  Her grandmother nodded. “Of course, you must. Klaus, you will take care of her?”

  “Of course, madam.”

  Klaus rose from the table. “I will see you safely to your Grandmother’s, after you survey the damage.”

  Uncle Lawrence rose as well. “You’ll need your lawyer, especially in light of the threat from your tenant.”

  “Threat?” Grandmother demanded.

  Edwina sighed. “I have to go. I’ll explain later.”

  “Indeed you shall, Edwina,” Grandmother replied firmly. “Indeed you shall.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The area was cordoned off seven blocks in each direction of the fire. Even from that distance the fire looked terrible. Clouds of black smoke and bright flames danced together. It seemed as though every fire truck in the metropolitan area was out, but they weren’t fighting the fire in her building. They were merely trying to keep the flames from spreading.

  Edwina didn’t want to think about the damage to the buildings surrounding this. She had incorporated the shop on the advice of Uncle Lawrence. The assets of each of the segments of her estate were minimal. She had incorporated the holding company in which the title to the building was held. The assets there were also minimal. Everything she owned was well insured and her uncle had done his best to protect her by isolating the various items of her holdings so that they would be untouchable by lien or lawsuit against any other part of her personal holdings.<
br />
  She supposed that property owners on every side—or their insurance companies—could always petition the courts to do what lawyers called “piercing the veil of the corporation”, or holding her personally responsible for the damage to their property, or worse yet, for the loss of life she feared was likely. Yet there was the police report about the threat from Jim to burn down the building. She had done all she could reasonably be expected to do to prevent this from happening. Hadn’t she?

  As she stood watching the horror of it all, Klaus held her tightly at his side.

  A television reporter from one of the local stations came over to her along with the cameraman. The lights shone in her face. “They tell me that you own the building that is burning?”

  Edwina focused in on the reporter’s face. She sighed raggedly as she fought hard for her self-control. Dealing with watching her dreams literally go up in smoke was the hardest thing that she had ever done. Knowing that people might be dead in the process was breaking her heart. All she wanted to do was cry, curl up in a little ball, and let someone else take care of everything for a little while. But she couldn’t do that. To make a public display of her emotions ran counter to all of her training. That kind of indoctrination in self-control ran deep. “Yes. It’s my building,” she said, her voice breaking under the strain.

  “What do you suppose caused the fire?” the reporter asked.

  Edwina shook her head negatively. “I don’t know. At the moment, I really don’t care,” Edwina dismissed as tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked them back, then bit her quivering bottom lip. “My only real concern is for the people in the building. Things are only things. They can be replaced. But lives are unique. A part-time employee, Brenda Carstairs, was in my shop. Brenda, if you got out, call me on my cell phone. Any of my tenants who got out, call me, please.”

  “No one has been able to get close enough to the building after the initial explosion to get anyone out,” the reporter said compassionately. “I’m sorry.”

  Edwina fought, and lost, the battle with tears. She crossed herself. “It’s a terrible thing!” She dashed the tears from her cheeks and forced herself to regain some measure of composure. “There were several shops in the building that stayed open late. There could have easily been people in all of them.”