Under the Moon Gate (26 page)

He tentatively rubbed the watercolor off her cheeks with his thumb.

“It’s okay if you touch me,” Patience said. “I won’t break.”

“You were painting again.”

“Yes, I told you, it helps soothe my nerves.”

“Will it do any good if I beg your forgiveness?”

“You did nothing you have to be forgiven for. You acted on your emotions. I seem to have trouble acting on mine.”

“No, Patience, that’s not true. I just came on too strong.”

“Maybe that’s what I need,” she reasoned. “I feel like a complete fool. I wanted to be with you. I don’t understand it.”

“Don’t start second-guessing yourself. You’ll know when you’re ready. When the time is right.”

“I’m twenty-seven. You must think I’m a—”

“What I think is that you’re a beautiful, sensitive, caring person who acts on her instincts and trusts herself to know her own mind. I can be very patient. You’re worth waiting for.”

“Thank you, Nathaniel,” she said. “For making it so easy for me. What are you hiding behind your back?”

“Nothing,” he lied.

“You are. You’re hiding something, and I want to know what it is. You were out there a long time. Did you find something?”

When he didn’t answer, she tried to grab for the object he was shielding, but he transferred it to his other hand.

“What is it?” she insisted.

“I think we’ve struck gold, mate,” he announced proudly, unable to help himself. He brought the heavy bar out from behind his back and presented it to Patience.

“Oh,” she said, deflated. “Oh.” She held it in her hands. “It’s real, then.” He knew she was trying to accept what that meant—that everything else was real too. The journal. Her grandfather’s lies. Emilie. Her identity.

“Maybe it’s just one bar,” she ventured.

“Patience, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s going to take a hell of a long time to unearth it all. We’re going to need some heavier equipment.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I am. You don’t think I’m just going to leave it buried here?”

“It’s not ours. It doesn’t belong to us.”

“Yeah, it belongs to a nonexistent government, the Third Reich. They’re buried even deeper than this gold. And odds are they probably stole it from the treasuries of some of the countries they occupied. To the victor belong the spoils. Finders keepers. Those are the rules of the game in a salvage operation. Patience, this is what I came for. Half of this is yours, you know.”

“Is that what you think of this as? A salvage operation? I don’t want the money. You take it. Just get it out of here. I’m going to lie down.”

“Patience,” he called after her and placed the bar of gold on the coffee table, where it lay shining like a gulf between them.

“Don’t walk away from me,” he pleaded. Was she insane? Turning her back on a fortune? But he realized what finding the treasure meant to her. A confirmation of her worst nightmares. He seemed to be making a habit of being insensitive today.

He caught up to her before she reached the bedroom.

“You’re filthy and you’re sweaty,” Patience admonished. “Don’t come into my bedroom before you wash up.”

“You’re going to hear what I have to say,” he said, taking hold of her hand, more roughly than he had intended. But he had to make her see reason.

“Patience, I’m sorry. It was inconsiderate of me to be so…happy. Just because we found the gold, it doesn’t mean…I mean… He was still your grandfather. You loved him. I get that. But that’s no reason to turn your back on this. Be practical.”

“Oh, I’m nothing if not practical,” she said, turning away and trying to close her bedroom door. The lock was still broken from when he had kicked in the door.

He held the door open, but something about the way she looked at him, disappointed, devastated, held him back. He didn’t have the heart to burst her illusions.

“I’ll take a shower and then we’ll talk,” he conceded. “This conversation isn’t over.” He walked away.

****

When Nathaniel was clean again, he approached her bedroom. She was lying on the bed, arms folded stubbornly, face blank, but she wasn’t asleep.

“I was thinking,” Nathaniel began. “I’ll bet that when we finish digging we’ll find all the gold accounted for. Do you know what that means, Patience? It very well could mean that your grandfather didn’t use a cent of it for its intended purpose. He purposely kept it buried so he couldn’t use it.”

She brightened a little. “Yes, yes, it could mean that, couldn’t it?”

“Yes, I believe that’s exactly what this could mean.”

“But we can’t keep this money. It’s not ours.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to ring up Old Adolf and give it back.”

“Can’t we just leave it there, pretend we never found it?”

“Do you know how much this is worth in today’s market?”

“You take it,” she repeated dully. “Will you report what you found?”

“No, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Thank you. Will you be going, then, as soon as you’ve found some way to get the gold out?” She dared not breathe, waiting for his answer.

“Go, well, of course I’ll be going, eventually. It will take me some time to move this stuff.”

“Yes, well, then, I’m tired,” she said, trying to maintain control of her emotions. “I’m going to go to sleep now.” He was leaving. He was going to leave her. She had thought maybe something was starting to happen between them. Now there was nothing.

****

“Patience,” he coaxed. “It’s dinnertime, not bedtime. Come here.” He pulled her into his arms and sat on the bed, cradling her, when what he really wanted to do was shake her or kiss her out of her stupor.

“I think I’ve done enough damage for today, to you and to your yard. My body is so sore, even my aches have aches. I’m closing down. If you’re tired, you just rest here with me now and sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He kissed her forehead and settled himself on the bed, covering her with a blanket and rocking her until she was asleep.

She seemed so weak and limp in his arms. All the illusions that had shored her up were gone in a whoosh that left her deflated. All she did was sleep. It wasn’t right.

And if he were being perfectly honest with himself, most of the blame lay with him. He’d have to do something about it.

Chapter 24

When Patience walked into the kitchen the next morning, Nathaniel’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe the dramatic change in her. Dressed to conquer in a banker’s blue pinstriped business suit, with a tasteful but sexy button-down cream-colored silk blouse, her executive ensemble was complete with sheer stockings and heels that showed off her long legs to great advantage. Her lips were painted a glistening red. Full and sensuous, they seemed to scream out, “Taste me.” The combination of power and sin knocked him back with a sucker punch to the gut.

“Patience, you’re dressed,” he managed.

“Of course I’m dressed. I’m going to a meeting.”

He’d never seen her in much more than a robe or the lounging clothes she wore around the house. She’d never worn makeup; she didn’t need it. Apart from the funeral and their brief sailing trip, she hadn’t even been out of the house since he’d come to Bermuda. He wasn’t sure he was entirely comfortable with this new Patience emerging before his very eyes. Had she been there the whole time?

“I didn’t know anything about a meeting,” he said, eyeing her with suspicion.

“You heard me talk about it with Cecilia,” she reminded him. “It’s our weekly meeting of the Rediscover Bermuda committee on St. George’s. I had to miss last week because of the funeral. This week’s too important to skip. We’re selecting the ad agency for the campaign. That’s my specific area of responsibility.”

“Well, you are
my
specific area of responsibility. I’m driving you. And I’m going to stay with you the entire time.”

“You’ll just be bored.”

“That’s
my
business.”

“No, that’s the point. What I do or don’t do is none of your business. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I’m making it my business,” he countered. “You don’t know what you need.”

“If I could just point out a few things you might have overlooked. A, I’m not your responsibility. B, you don’t have a license to drive in Bermuda. And C, you don’t have a car. And that’s just for starters. I can’t ride on the back of your scooter, because I have presentation boards, tapes, and notebooks to bring.”

“The hell with that. You’re not going anywhere without me.”

“For your information, Cecilia is picking me up.”

“Oh, that’s just great. If you think I’m letting you out of the house with that man-eater, think again. Your friend is a shark. If I leave you alone with her, I’d have to drag you back from some pick-up bar. You’d never make it to your meeting.”

“You’re losing it, Nathaniel.”

“This argument is over!” Nathaniel retorted, raising his voice. “If you fight me on this,
you’ll
lose. And, besides, you’re too weak to go out.”

“Do I look weak to you?”

Before conceding her point, he protested, “What I meant to say was, you’re too delicate.”

“My grandmother was delicate. I can take care of myself. Don’t look at me as though I were about to have an attack of the vapors.”

He bristled. “The first time you saw me, you fainted, and you slept through most of the first week of my visit. What am I supposed to think?”

“You drugged me, for God’s sake. I buried both my grandparents in the space of a month. They left extensive holdings that still have to be sorted out. I’m exhausted, and I’m entitled to fall apart once in a while. I lost my grandparents, not my ability to function. And, for your information, my grandmother was also a very capable woman. She only let my grandfather take care of her because she knew it gave him pleasure to fuss over her. It was easier than resisting him.”

“Your grandfather was a control freak, Patience.”

“Oh, really? I don’t see anyone else around here who fits that description, do you?”

Nathaniel chose to ignore that remark. “I’m sure your grandmother didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“My grandmother had my grandfather wrapped around her little finger. It was quite endearing.”

“I simply won’t allow you to leave this house without me.”

“You won’t
allow
me?” she accused, leveling her gaze at him as she repeated herself. “Are you listening to yourself?” Her simmering temper had reached the boiling point. “You don’t even know me. You must think I’m some kind of simpering idiot.”

“Then use the brain you claim to have. Your grandfather’s murderer is out there somewhere and it’s not safe. What if he follows you? Corners you? You’ll be helpless without me.”

“I don’t recall asking for your help. And I certainly don’t need it. I can defend myself.”

“We’re in this together. And I’m genuinely concerned about your safety.”

Patience looked like she was about to relent. “Look, I can’t afford to be late. If you insist on going with me, you’ll have to put on something more presentable,” she said, tilting her head and eyeing his shorts and his hairy legs. “Do you by any chance own a suit?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then go put it on. I’ll cancel with Cecilia.”

“Don’t dismiss me!” he ordered.

She snickered. “If you want to go to my meeting, you’ll have to follow my rules and behave yourself.”

Nathaniel walked off in a huff. When he returned, he had calmed down considerably.

He caught Patience’s eyes assessing him and registering approval of his flatteringly cut Italian suit.

He crossed the room and closed the distance between them. He reached for her hands.

“I apologize. I’m not usually like this.”

“Stubborn and pig-headed?”

“I’m just worried…about you.”

“I know.”

“You look good,” he said, “really good.”

“So do you.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her several times lightly on the lips. As she sank into him, he wanted to dive into her, to keep her here, safe, with him, forever. Now he knew how her overprotective grandfather must have felt. Instead, he reluctantly broke the embrace and shifted away to lift her briefcase and the stack of presentation boards.

“Let me help you with some of these things,” he offered.

“I knew you’d come in handy for something.” She laughed as they headed for the car. “You make a pretty good pack horse.”

She was a good driver, Nathaniel observed, steady and competent as she maneuvered her late model BMW through a series of bridges and winding roads linking the parishes that eventually led to the historic Town of St. George. Patience pointed out landmarks and places of interest on the way. He tried to concentrate in case she agreed to let him drive back. He imagined what it might be like to live here.

Restaurants, shops, and pubs lined the streets as they entered King’s Square and parked at the Visitor’s Service Bureau.