A Rocky Path (6 page)

He was sitting on the rocks, drawing in his
notebook. She hated to disturb him, so she just watched him for a
moment. His dark hair was disheveled, as usual, and he had a
scruffy growth of beard on his chin. The look was perfect for
him.

He turned to look at her. “I missed you
yesterday.”

“I went out to dinner. I was out pretty late,
so I knew you would be gone by the time I got back.”

He studied her intently. He seemed to be able
to look down into her very soul. She felt exposed under his gaze
and she felt her knees go weak.

“So, were you in the company of a
gentleman?”

“Yes. A friend of mine. The housekeeper’s
son. He’s really a nice guy. We work out together every morning….”
She realized she was babbling.

“So, did you enjoy yourself with this
man?”

“Well, we had a nice dinner and we talked for
awhile. It was pleasant enough.”

“Are you going to start seeing him
often?”

“Why are you asking me all of these
questions, Patrick? You act as if you are angry with me!”

“Forgive me,” he said. “I have no right to
inquire into your private life.”

“That’s ok,” she said. “I’m flattered that it
matters to you.”

“I didn’t say it mattered to me. I was just
curious.”

“Oh,” she said, blushing. “So, what are you
drawing?”

“Just the ocean. I spend a lot of time
drawing the ocean. I always seem to see it in a different way each
time.” He turned back toward the sea.

“Let me see,” she said, looking over his
shoulder. “Hey, that’s really good. You really are a good
artist.”

“Thank you. I am flattered. May I ask you a
favor?”

She said, “Sure, anything.”

He seemed to hesitate, then said, “Will you
permit me to draw a portrait of you?”

“You want to draw a picture of me? Really? I
don’t know what to say. Yes, I would be glad to let you draw
me.”

“Then you have to sit very still. Don’t say
anything until I am finished. The sun will set soon and then the
light will be gone. I want to draw you as the light is waning, so
we don’t have much time.”

She agreed, so she sat for a long time, a
little self conscious, but also excited about sitting for Patrick.
There was something sensual about knowing he was drawing every
curve and angle of her face. It was almost like he was touching
her. When he was finished, she was a little apprehensive about
seeing the finished product. She was afraid he didn’t see her in a
flattering light.

When he produced the picture, she gasped. His
interpretation of her face was so different than what she had
expected. He drew her as beautiful! She was part light and part
shadow, and one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

“Patrick…this is too flattering,” she
protested. “This woman is beautiful. She isn’t me! I don’t look
like this.”

“Emily, you do look this way. At least to me,
you do,” he said softly.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She didn’t know why
she was getting so emotional. Her legs felt like water and her
stomach was turning somersaults.

“I-I don’t know what to say. Patrick, that is
the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done for me.”

He reached out and touched her face, then
brushed back her hair. It was such a gentle touch, yet she felt it
with every fiber of her being.

“You are a beautiful woman. But now it’s time
for you to go back.”

She felt like she had been punched in the
stomach. It seemed he was always telling her to go home. Was he not
attracted to her? Was he just playing with her? She didn’t know how
much more of this she could handle.

“Why? Why do I have to go back now? I want to
stay.”

“I am leaving, too. I need to get back home.
I will see you again soon. Goodnight, Emily.”

He stood there waiting for her to leave. She
thought about refusing, making him leave first. She wanted to hold
her ground, but in the end she did as he wanted. She trudged up the
path, disheartened by his behavior. She had been so excited about
the picture, then it was like he just shot her down. This was
definitely a mysterious man, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to deal
with him anymore. She went to bed with tears on her pillow that
night.

Chapter Nine

Emily spent the next day in a melancholy
mood. She was snippy with everyone, and she moped most of the
day.

At one point Rebecca sighed in exasperation.
“What is with you today? You are behaving like a pouting child. Has
something happened? You aren’t still brooding about what happened
with Jamie, are you?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m sorry; I know I’m
behaving badly. It’s not fair to everyone else for me to act like
this when it’s no one’s fault but mine.”

“Well, we have this party to think about and
we can’t be moping around when we need to start feeling festive.
Now, are all the invitations out and are all the preparations made
for this party?”

“Yes, everything should be perfect. Sarah has
a great menu of finger foods planned. The doors to all the rooms
will be open for guests to mingle around everywhere. There will be
trays of food sitting around on various tables in all the rooms.
The bartender will be setting up in the formal dining room. This
guy knows how to make any drink you can think of. Everything should
be set. We are ready!”

“Good. This is going to be fun. I hope you
enjoy this party as much as I always do.”

Emily tried to improve her mood for the rest
of the day. On the outside, she was more cheerful, but on the
inside she was still sad about Patrick. She was getting way too
attached to him and it was going to cause her nothing but
heartache.

That night, after dinner, she went down to
the rocks a little apprehensively. She was a little embarrassed
about the night before. She had probably shown her feelings a
little too much. He must think she was daft. But she really wanted
to see him, so she walked on down to the rocks.

He wasn’t there! She looked around for him,
knowing that he was good at sneaking up behind her. No Patrick. She
sat there for a long time waiting and hoping he would show up.
After a couple of hours, she was convinced he wasn’t coming. She
guessed she had scared him off last night. She felt miserable.

She went back up to the house and wandered
around, not knowing what to do with herself. Seeing Patrick had
been something to look forward to lately. Now she didn’t know what
she would do to amuse herself.

She decided that she would go downstairs and
explore the storage room a little more. She started sorting through
all the trunks and chests. There sure was a lot of stuff down here.
Then she found something...a journal! She took it upstairs to her
room and started reading. She realized that this journal belonged
to the person that the letters had been written to.

September 10, 1850

Today I went to her. I have tried and tried
to stop. I know it’s forbidden, but her body drives me to insanity.
She begs me to come to her and I can’t resist. If we are ever
discovered, it could be devastating to so many people. She doesn’t
belong to me. For so many reasons, our love is wrong. I’m not even
sure I love her. I know I can’t stay away from her, but is it love
or obsession? Should I go on a long journey and only return after
she is gone? How would I explain it to my family?

There were many entries and Emily read until
the wee hours of the morning so she could finish the journal. There
was a lot of unhappiness in this journal. It was clear that the
author was feeling a great deal of guilt. The last entry was
intriguing because it corresponded with the last love letter she
had read.

October 29, 1850

What has she done?! I dare not speak of it
even in this journal. I am at my wit’s end. This is the worst thing
that could have happened. I am devastated by what she has done. I
mourn for both of them! What is going to become of us all?

She had to find out what this was about!
Something had happened over 150 years ago and she had no idea what
it was. Tomorrow evening, she was going to the library and research
this house. Surely there was a record of what had happened if it
was something of this import!

Exhausted, she fell asleep.

* * *

She awoke with a start. She had heard
something. She glanced at the clock…it was only three, which meant
she had only been asleep for about 15 minutes. She glanced toward
her door. Someone had slipped something underneath. That was
strange. Who would have been up at this hour and why would they
slip something under the door? Maybe it was Jamie trying to make
up.

She walked over to the door and saw that
whatever was on the floor was between two pieces of cardboard taped
together. She slit the tape holding the cardboard together with her
fingernail. Inside was the picture Patrick had sketched of her. She
was once again struck by the beauty of the woman portrayed in the
picture. Emily knew she wasn’t that beautiful, but it still looked
like her.

How had Patrick gotten into the house? It was
three o’clock in the morning and he was wondering around someone
else’s property. And what game was he trying to play? First he
wants to draw her, then he does something tender like touching her
face, and finally he tells her, basically, to get lost. Now this.
He had to be the strangest man she had ever met. What mysterious
skeletons might be in his closet to make him act so strangely?

She propped the picture up on her dresser.
Patrick was a very talented artist. She wondered why he didn’t show
his work, not for money but for the recognition he deserved. And
why did he always steer away from any conversation that asked
questions about his life? Had his heart been broken? Had he lost
someone he loved? She could relate to that. She had loved her
husband deeply, although he wasn’t necessarily an exciting person.
But he had been a stable, steady person. And he had loved her. If
Patrick had lost someone, why couldn’t he talk to her about it,
since she was sure to understand how he felt? Or if he had some
deep, dark secret, she wanted him to talk to her about it. Maybe it
was just because they hadn’t known each other long enough. She was
bad about trusting and confiding long before she knew people well
enough. She was just too trusting. And too easily involved with
people.

She went to the window which overlooked the
garden. Looking toward the path down to the cliff, she wondered if
Patrick was there now. If she knew he was, she would go to him. But
the likelihood of that was small. He must have just sneaked in
somehow and put the picture under the door, then went back out and
back home.

‘I wonder how he knew which room I was in?’
she thought.

She finally went back to bed after pacing for
about 20 minutes. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep because
she was exhausted. She dreamed again. This time she saw a hand
writing in a journal, but no matter how hard she tried, she
couldn’t see the person’s face.

Chapter Ten

Once again, Emily woke up feeling as if she
hadn’t rested at all.

‘This is getting to be a habit,’ she thought.
‘I need to take a sleeping pill or something tonight and zonk out
for about eight hours!’

She still wasn’t going to abandon her
workout. That would just make her feel more lethargic for the rest
of the day. She went downstairs and, once again, missed Jamie. He
was doing a good job of ignoring her. Well, if that’s the way he
wanted to act, then so be it. She wasn’t going to worry about it
anymore.

Emily did her cardio workout on the
treadmill, then she worked out with weights. She had worked up a
good sweat. Things were a little harder today since she was so
tired, but afterwards she felt a whole lot better.

She ate breakfast with Sam and then went
upstairs to start her day. Casper and Jake followed her up the
stairs and lay down at her feet when she sat down at her desk to
work. She took off her shoes and rubbed their furry backs with her
feet. Somehow that had a calming effect and she started feeling
even better. There was nothing like a couple of furry friends to
make life seem a little less stressful.

Rebecca raised her eyebrows at her. “My dogs
certainly have taken a liking to you. I think I’m a little
jealous.”

Emily grinned. “They just know I need some
affection sometimes. That’s the only way I’ll get any.”

“Well, from what I remember from a previous
conversation, Jamie was willing to give you all the affection you
need,” Rebecca teased.

“Don’t remind me. It’s not that I don’t like
Jamie. He’s really a great guy. It’s just that…it’s not there, you
know? That spark that needs to be there to really have a great
relationship. Do you think I’m expecting too much out of a
relationship?”

“No, I don’t. If the spark is not there, then
the relationship will get boring. I understand exactly how you
feel. You know, Emily, I can’t help but feel that there is someone
that you do have that spark with. It seems that you go from being
happy to being sad, and that’s usually the sign of infatuation with
someone that may not feel the same way about you. It’s not Sam, is
it?”

Emily laughed. “Not a chance! Don’t get me
wrong, I think Sam is great and a wonderful guy to be a friend
with. But he’s just not deep enough for me. He’s happy go lucky all
the time and that just doesn’t appeal to me.”

“But you haven’t had a chance to meet anyone
else have you? The only times you’ve been away from this house were
with Jamie or me. And yet, the signs are all there. Have you been
sneaking around, seeing someone?”

Emily blushed. “Why would you ask that? Why
would I sneak around? You’re just imagining things. I’m just moody
sometimes and I’m still adjusting to my new life. Just give me
time. I’ll be alright.”