Australia's Maverick Millionaire
Page 16
Tears of rapture filled her eyes.
Josh moved back, held himself at arm’s length from her body. “I love you. I adore you. There’s no escape.”
“You know you have to marry me?” she whispered.
“I’d do anything to keep you with me,” he whispered back. He bent to kiss her, her mouth opening like a flower at the first entry of his tongue. “I’m not the easiest man in the world, Clio, but I swear I will protect you with my life.” For the first time in his troubled existence he was ready to consider miracles.
“I’m your woman. You’re my man,” Clio said with great simplicity. “My perfect mate.”
Josh was too overcome to speak. Slowly, he lowered his body over hers.
Two bodies fused. Became one. Two souls took flight as if they had wings.
EPILOGUE
WHEN Josh first showed his beautiful wife the only memento of his early childhood, the koala his mother had bought for him, Clio clutched the toy marsupial, light grey in colour with bright blue glass eyes, to her. Her eyes filled with tears. She took a gentle hold of the sparsely furred ears, then lowered her head to kiss the top of the toy koala’s head. She felt unbearably touched.
“He’s in a sorry state, isn’t he?” Josh, who had never imagined such happiness as now existed in his life, smiled at her. “The fur used to be thick.”
Clio was running her fingers lightly back and forth over the toy. She encountered a line of stitching under the chin. A repair? On closer examination she found the stitching, very fine and very tight, showed a slight gap. She put an exploratory finger into it, encountering a small hard object. “There’s something in here, Josh.”
“Are you serious?” His mouth quirked.
“I might tear the stitching a bit if I try to get it out. No, wait, I’ve got it.”
“What is it?”
She gave him the strangest look, opening her hand.
“For God’s sake!” Josh stared in shocked amazement at the man’s heavy gold dress ring, medieval in style, Clio held balanced on her palm. “That’s a ruby, isn’t it? Couldn’t be. It’s too big.”
“It’s a ruby all right.” Clio gave her informed opinion. “It would have to be at least 9 carats. Glorious colour. It’s described as pigeon-blood red, the brightest and most valuable of all rubies. You would have to pay a fortune for this today—the size, the colour, the clarity.”
“What’s it doing inside poor old KoKo?” Josh asked, shooting her a glance. “Frankly, I’m amazed.”
“It was a safe place when you think about it, stitched in very tight,” Clio passed the ring to her husband. “No one would suspect something like what you’ve got in your hand would be sewn into a toy koala. Try it on, Josh. It has to be yours. Somehow it came into your mother’s possession. She, most probably, was the one to stitch it in.”
Josh made no move to slide the ring on his finger. He continued to sit, staring at it as if mesmerized. “You don’t suppose KoKo has a criminal record?” He tried to joke when he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Try it on, Josh,” she urged.
“Okay. It’s not magic.” Josh slid the ring down the third finger of his left hand. It was a perfect fit, the gold glinting, the ruby glowing against his dark golden skin.
“I’d call that magic.” Clio pushed further into the cavity to see if there was anything else. “This has to be one of the best treasure hunts of all time.” Mounting excitement was accompanied by a frisson of awareness. “No more wondrous precious jewellery,” she announced. “A newspaper clipping folded small, a single colour photograph.” Clio found her heart beating hard. “Oh, Josh, my love, do you want to take a look at this before I do?”
Josh appeared to be in a state of anguish. He held up his hands as if to say, No, no! “You look, Clio.”
“All right, my darling. I’m sure there’s nothing here for us to fear. KoKo has held his secrets for over twenty years, but I fancy he’s wanted to give them up for some time.” She looked down at the photograph. It was of two young people smiling radiantly. They were sitting on a white sandy beach, seashells scattered around them. There was a stand of coconut palms behind them. The young man had the young woman locked within the cradle of his arms. She was very pretty with long dark hair and either green or brown eyes. There was no such doubt concerning the colour of the young man’s eyes. They were a blazing blue. His hair was a windblown curly tousle of blonder-than-blond hair.
He could have been Josh.
Very slowly she turned the photograph over to the back.
Carl and me.
That was it. No date. No place. Just Carl and me. But the photo said it all. We’re so in love with one another. Clio had a hunch it was a Top End beach, maybe Darwin.
Josh made no move to take the photograph from her. He just sat there watching her. Very carefully she opened out the old newspaper cutting. The article’s headline was:
Piracy off Papua New Guinea.
Clio read quickly, aware that piracy had become an ever-increasing threat to shipping around the world. There was a photo of a small sailing yacht, Sigmunda, and the text reported the disappearance in the Bismarck Sea off Papua New Guinea of a young German tourist, a yachtsman, who had been single-handedly sailing around the world. His name was Carl Von Ritter, 24. It was thought Von Ritter had fallen victim to a pirate attack. There had been previous attacks in the area from bandits in little more than canoes fitted with bamboo riggers and a motor. The attack had come in dead calm conditions that would have made it impossible for the yacht to outrun the outrigger. A huge search was being made for the young man’s body. Another search was under way to find and apprehend the villains, now suspected of murder. It was thought Von Ritter had put up a fight when the bandits had boarded, but had been overcome. His parents in Germany had been notified. They were expected to arrive in Australia within days.
Clio’s throat was so tight she could barely speak. “Darling, you need to read this.” She laid a gentle hand on her husband’s knee. “We were destined to find it. It will make life complete.”
Josh’s expression was very intense. “It’s already complete. I have you, Clio. You’ve brought all the love, joy, and fulfilment to my life.” His loving hand encircled her neck.
She smiled at him with shining eyes. “But what we have now, my love, is the all elusive key. The key to unlock your past. The only answer has to be fate.”
“So tell me!”
It almost sounded like he didn’t want to know. “There’s every possibility you can find your father’s family, Josh,” she began quietly. “That’s if you want to. It’s all here. I must warn you, my darling, it’s a sad story. But in a strange way it can set you free, change your whole idea of the young man who I’m sure is your father. Look at the photograph first. Read the clipping. I’ll go and tackle dinner.” She stood up quickly to leave her husband alone with this momentous discovery.
That was the start of a reconciliation that was destined to become so much more. Two young lives had been tragically cut short but Clio, after only a short time, made the move to help her beloved husband find his family in Germany. All wounds healed, even the deepest. Josh wore his wedding ring on his left hand, his father’s ring on his right.
Around the world the blood red of the precious stone, the ruby, is associated with feelings of love, of passion, of romance. Is it any wonder a young man would give into the keeping of the girl he loved a ring that was set with the glorious gemstone?
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1430-9
AUSTRALIA’S MAVERICK MILLIONAIRE
First North American Publication 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Margaret Way, Pty., Ltd.
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