The Persuasion

by Iris Johansen

  Eve glanced at the castle with its bank of burnt-out windows. “Lady Kendrick?”

  “The fire didn’t spread past the first two rooms. She had to spend one night in the hospital, but she’s home now.” He shook his head. “She was pretty much in shock when she found out that her secretary had been the one who opened the gates for Luca’s men. She liked and trusted him.”

  “Another blow that will be difficult for her to bear.” She shook her head sadly. “She’s lost so much. Jane said she was working hard just to keep her head above water.”

  “She’s a survivor. She’ll just pick herself up and start over. She’ll have help. And she could have been—”

  “Mom!” Michael was running across the tent encampment toward her. Then he was launching himself into her arms.

  She caught him and gave him a giant hug. “Hi.” She had to clear her throat to keep back the tears as she brushed his hair back from his face. “I leave you guys for a few days and come back to this?”

  “Not our fault.” His arms were tightening around her neck. “But now that you’re here, you could stick around and keep us in line.”

  “I just might do that. I hear you’ve been getting all kinds of weird ideas in your head about you being to blame for what happened to Jane.” She shook her head. “Not true, Michael.”

  “If you say so.” He took a step back and his arms dropped from around her. “But now I have to go help Lisa. She’s making barbecue for everyone helping with the cleanup. I’ll see you later, Mom. Do you want me to bring you and Dad some food when I come up to go to bed?”

  She shook her head. “We grabbed a bite at the airport. Your dad needed to fill me in on what was going on anyway.”

  “I thought he would.” He gave her cheek a quick kiss. “See you later.” He was gone, running toward Lisa at the barbecue grill.

  Eve looked after him, frowning. “There’s something different…”

  Joe nodded. “And it’s more obvious the longer you’re with him. I guess we should have expected it. He’s getting older, and all that’s happened to him lately has jump-started the process. I suppose it’s a natural reaction.”

  “You’re saying that he’s just growing up?” She shook her head firmly. “I don’t want to hear it. He’s still a kid. Is it wrong for me to try to hold on to this special time for him? Sometimes I think he was born older than the rest of us. There should be a way for us to put that in reverse and give back a little of the joy other kids take for granted.”

  “If anyone could, I’d bet on you.” He chuckled. “I think we’ve done a great job of giving Michael a good life considering the circumstances. I know you have.” His smile faded. “But we can’t change those circumstances, and it might be time to adjust to it. You said last year when I was wounded that Michael was a great help to you in several, shall we say, unusual ways.” He paused. “Do you think he might have already moved on and left us behind? That wouldn’t be good, Eve.”

  “But he stepped right back into being the old Michael the minute he knew you were safe,” she said quickly.

  “Because he knew that’s what you wanted, and he loves you. But I’ve been thinking that perhaps it’s more dangerous to hold him back than to accept and offer help.” He linked his hand with hers and added quietly, “I realize this is difficult for you, and I’ll go along with whatever you decide. I just want you to think about it.”

  “You know I will,” she said unsteadily. “How could I not? But the idea scares me, Joe. It would be almost like letting my little boy go.”

  “Or bringing him closer to you by helping him break through that portal all kids have to navigate.”

  “But not all kids have to deal with what Michael does.” She added wryly, “I get your point, though. You’re a very smart man, Joe.”

  “Yep, but it’s still your decision. I’d just as soon you put it off until we get Jane back.” He paused. “But I’m not sure Michael will.” He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss on her palm. “I have to call Tovarth and check on that helicopter and make a few other calls. Why don’t you make yourself a cup of coffee and try to get some rest? I bet you didn’t get any sleep on that plane.”

  “Not a wink. All I could think about was Jane.” She made a shooing motion. “Go get to work. I’ll see you later.”

  He gave her another kiss and turned away. “Try to stop worrying. That news wasn’t all bad. Caleb seems to be getting a handle on the situation, but the bastard isn’t sharing. I’ll not put up with it for long…”

  She watched him pull out his phone as he walked down to the campfire at the bottom of the hill. She envied him having something to do. Everyone here in this encampment was bustling, moving, trying to pull resurrection from the disaster. That’s what Eve wanted, too. Only she had no idea how to stop the disaster that had swept Jane away.

  It would come. She and Joe would find a way to make it happen.

  But first she had to do as she promised Joe and think about the puzzle that was Michael.

  * * *

  9:40 P.M.

  “Mom?” Michael whispered from the doorway of the tent. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I just wanted to tell you that I was back.”

  “You didn’t wake me.” She turned on the lantern beside the bedroll. “I was just lying here, thinking. I still have to shower and get ready for bed.” She tilted her head. “You look much cleaner than you did when I first got here. I take it the fire didn’t get the shower tent?”

  “It did, but that was the first thing we got working again. Lady Kendrick insisted.” He grinned. “She said she didn’t want to be rude, but we all stank from working at the tents and had to have a shower every night.”

  “Well, let me take a test sniff.” She held out her arms to him. “Come here.”

  He ran across the tent and plopped down beside her on the bedroll and cuddled close. “I smell real good. Lisa gave me some of the shower gel she invented when she was working at a flower farm in Nice. It’s just kind of fresh, not perfumy.”

  “You smell just right.” She inhaled not only Lisa’s soap but all the wonderful scents of childhood that clung to his hair and skin. “I’ll have to thank Lisa for her efforts. How did the barbecue go?”

  “Great. Lisa is always great.” He hesitated. “But she’s a little worried about you being mad at her.”

  Her brows rose as she looked down at him. “Mad? Why?”

  “Because I talked her into doing something she thought you wouldn’t want her to do.” He added quickly, “It wasn’t her fault, Mom. I had to know and I wasn’t sure I could you get you to tell me.”

  “Maybe because I’d think it’s something that would hurt you to know,” she said quietly. “And, yes, that would make me mad at her. It’s my job to keep you from any harm or pain.”

  He nodded gravely. “Just as it’s my job to keep you and Dad and Jane from harm. Because we’re a family and that’s what families do. You’ve always told me that, Mom. But you’re not letting me do my job now when Jane needs me. So I’ll have to do it on my own…unless you’ll help me.”

  He was looking up at her, and she was suddenly aware that his stare was more adult than any he’d ever given her. Adult and curiously sad.

  Do you think he might have already moved on and left us behind?

  The words Joe had spoken returned to frighten her. She had an idea that there would be no going back this time to please or comfort her.

  “It won’t be so different,” he said softly, as if reading her mind. “How could it be? It’s just you and Dad letting me help when I can.”

  Yes, how could it be different when they had love and family? But it already felt a little different and she was having to blink back tears. “With a little help from your friends. Just what did you talk Lisa into doing for you?”

  “Showing me the sketch Jane did of the boy on the crucifix.”

  She inhaled sharply and instinctively pulled him closer into her arms to shelter him. “Yes, I definitely
disapprove of her doing that. Your dad only told me about it, but I took a look at those sketches when I first got here. It was a terrible thing for anyone to see. It must have hurt you. Why, Michael?”

  “Because I can reach him, and it might help Jane.” He added simply, “And it didn’t matter if it hurt me. What they did to him hurt him much worse. I have to do this, Mom.”

  He had made up his mind. She could see it. And she could also see that from now on he might make other decisions that might frighten her. But she wasn’t going to let him move on and leave her behind. “Yes, you may have to do it.” She had to clear her throat. “But your dad and I will always be with you whatever you do. We just have to figure out how we’re going to adjust to this minor revolution. Still, there’s a pecking order in every family and we’re still at the top rung. That won’t be different, because we can’t bear not to keep you safe. Understand?”

  He grinned. “Top rung.”

  She nodded and gave him a hug. Then she forced herself to let him go. “Now I’m going to go out to the campfire to tell your dad we’ve had a discussion and there will probably be more to come.” She got to her feet. “Then I’m going to go down to the shower tent and take my own shower. You’ll probably be asleep by the time I get back.”

  “Maybe.”

  She looked back over her shoulder, and her eyes narrowed on his face. His expression was thoughtful, and she realized she had no idea what he had meant when he’d said he could “reach” Tomas. Well, she had no intention of asking that question or delving into any other things that were reputed to go bump in the night. That would wait until she accepted and came to terms with these new qualities her son was showing her. Right now she wanted to go to Joe and just have him hold her and rock her and tell her that they would find Jane.

  And not lose their son while they were doing it.

  Chapter

  13

  Tower House

  The sun was just coming up over the lake when Jane carefully let herself into Tomas’s sickroom. Luca might have said he wouldn’t punish Tomas, but he’d been too angry for her to trust him. Understatement, she thought bitterly: Luca could never be trusted.

  But the young boy appeared to be all right and sleeping peacefully. Rosa, his mother, was curled up on the floor beside the bed and sat up as she saw Jane. The woman had probably not been able to bring herself to leave her son since that horror, Jane thought. She motioned her to be silent and then nodded at the door.

  Rosa jumped to her feet but hesitated and then came toward Jane. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I wish I was brave like you, but I’m too afraid. If you can save my son…” She shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “No, that’s too much to ask. If you could just keep them from hurting him like that again…”

  Then she was scurrying out of the room.

  Even though Jane pitied her, she was glad to see her go. She didn’t want to be reminded how helpless the woman had been to keep her son’s torture from happening. Had Tomas called out for help when those beasts had taken him to that crucifix? Had he been bewildered when no one came?

  I don’t know why.

  The memory of his words was excruciatingly painful. She quickly moved a chair closer to his bed, sat down, and opened the sketchbook she’d brought with her. She’d meant to sketch the view of the lake from his window in case she had an opportunity to smuggle out a message in some way. But she found herself drawing Tomas lying there asleep instead. Her pencil flew over the page. Show the peace instead of the pain. Show the hope instead of the despair.

  “What…are you…doing?”

  Tomas had opened his eyes and was looking at her.

  She smiled at him. “I’m sketching a picture of you.” She held up the sketch to show him. “I wanted you to see how much better you are today than yesterday. It’s black and white so you can’t see how much your color has improved, but now that your eyes are open I can show how they seem to sparkle.” She started to sketch again. “You were sleeping very soundly. Did you sleep well all night?”

  “I…think so. But I had strange dreams.” He was looking around the room. “Where’s my mama?”

  “She needed to take a little break. Don’t worry. She’ll be back soon.”

  “I’m not worried,” he said dully. “I wish she’d never come back. I was hoping she’d run away.”

  She went still. “Why?”

  “She wants to help and she can’t. And when she tries, he hurts her, too.” His lips were quivering. “Could you tell her to run away? She won’t listen to me.”

  “I don’t believe she’d listen to me, either,” Jane said gently. “So we’ll just have to make it as easy for her as we can. Then maybe someday we can all run away together.”

  “He won’t let us.”

  She smiled. “The purpose of running away is to run away from whoever is hurting you. That means your father and Luca and anyone else who gets in our way. Whether they allow us or not.”

  He shook his head. “It cannot happen.”

  “It can happen. I’ll make it happen.” She reached out and carefully touched his hand. “We’ll make it happen. And your part will be to keep on getting stronger and better so that you’ll be ready when we get the chance. Then when I tell you it’s time, we’ll leave this tower behind us.”

  “And take Mama?”

  “Yes, but maybe not talk to her about it. Then your father won’t have any reason to be angry with her if she makes a mistake and tells him. Remember, we’re going to try to make it easier for her.”

  He nodded. “And she would be scared.” He frowned. “I think I would have been scared, too. But he said that I shouldn’t, that he’d take care of me.”

  “He?” Jane repeated, frowning, puzzled. “Your father? What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t know. Not my father. I’m all confused.” He moistened his lips. “I told you I had kind of strange dreams. It was all bleary. I just remember my arms kept hurting and that I felt as if someone was there with me, but I couldn’t see him. But it didn’t matter because he was there and I wasn’t alone anymore. And then my arms stopped hurting and that was good, wasn’t it? It wasn’t like the other nightmares I’ve had since they…” He looked down at his bandaged wrists. “Different. And I still felt okay even after he went away. The last thing he said was that all I had to do was get well, just like you told me.”

  “I’m glad you had encouragement from someone besides me.” Jane smiled gently. “Even if it was from the realm of dreamland.”

  “I’d rather have you,” Tomas said. “Dreams aren’t real, and I think he was just a kid, like me. That means that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help me anyway, would he? Even if it wasn’t just a dream.”

  A kid? Jane stiffened as a thought leaped immediately to her mind. “Did this dream kid have a name?” she asked lightly.

  He shook his head. “I told you, it was as if he wasn’t really there. Why?”

  “No reason. I was just curious. You’re right, it was kind of a strange dream,” Jane said. “I’m glad that your pain went away, but I don’t believe we should rely on a dream having the same good effect next time. I’d rather depend on you doing something to help us get out of here while you’re very wide-awake.” Her gaze went to the window. “Have you lived here on this lake for a long time?”

  He nodded. “Maybe for two…three…years,” he said vaguely. “Before that we lived in our village that’s a long way from here. We had to leave there one night and come here because Master Luca told us to do it. He told my father it was the time of the gathering and they should come together in a new place.”

  “Do you think you could find that village again if you tried?”

  He frowned. “Maybe. I don’t know. I work in the fields with my mama and that’s near the road my father uses when Master Luca sends him for supplies.”

  “Good. Do you think you could draw me a map or maybe take me for a walk around the lake after you get back
on your feet?”

  He nodded. “I don’t think I could draw anything, but I could tell you and you could draw it.”

  His poor mangled wrists. She’d spoken without thinking. “Of course you couldn’t draw.” She added fiercely, “But you will be able to use your hands, Tomas. I promise you.”

  “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep,” Luca said from the doorway. “I thought I taught you last night that I’m the only one in control.”

  She stiffened warily as she turned to look at him. “You taught me what a bully you can be. It’s not the same thing.”

  “It was a lesson learned. Only the first of many.” He strolled toward her. “And you’re lucky that it didn’t go worse for both you and the boy. I was very angry with you.” He reached out and touched her bruised cheek. “That’s a reminder that you should always be very careful to do exactly what I want.”

  “Bullshit.”

  He laughed and turned to Tomas, whose eyes had widened apprehensively. “You must tell your new friend that you don’t want her hurt as you were hurt, and she must be polite. If I was in the same mood as I was last night, both you and she would already have paid for that discourtesy.” He turned back to Jane. “But I’m feeling much more positive this morning, so I’ll forgive you. What are you doing here so early? Had a few aches and pains to keep you awake? Not that I mind you spending time with the boy. The closer you get, the more power I’ll have over you.” He took her sketchbook from her and looked at the Tomas drawing critically. “Very good. At least you’re doing something to fulfill one of the purposes for which I brought you here. But he’s not really a worthy subject now. You should have been here to sketch him on the cross. It had much more drama.”

  “I’m sure it did.” She smothered the angry reply that was on her tongue. It wasn’t safe for Tomas, and she would learn nothing from pouncing on Luca at every remark. He held all the cards—and the principal one was this pitiful child with those bandaged wrists. “But I’ll pass, that kind of drama would give me nightmares.” His remarks in front of the child were the stuff of nightmares. Totally callous, and every word must remind Tomas of what he’d gone through. She had to get Luca away from the boy. She took her sketchbook back from Luca and walked over to the window. “Would you rather I sketched the lake? It’s pretty enough, I suppose. Though I’ve painted a few more beautiful when I was here in the lake country before. Lake Como is fantastic.”