Waking Elizabeth (9 page)

Ronan
looked down thoughtfully at the water lapping at the iron gates below,
“Yes.”
 
I thought I detected a certain
sadness in his voice?

“Was
it raining that night?” I asked, just now remembering that from my vision.

He
looked up at me, his eyes dark and shrouded in something akin to vague
apprehension, “Yes Ellie.
 
It was.”

I
opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off.

“Can
I come by the hotel tonight and take you to dinner?”

His
inquiry shocked me, albeit pleasantly, “Umm … sure.”

He
seemed all at once embarrassed by his forwardness and relieved by my answer,
“Am I overstepping too soon?
 
I didn’t
notice a ring …” he trailed off, his eyes glancing at my left hand.

I
laughed, “I’m not married.”

Ronan’s
eyes lifted to mine, and he smiled at me with mischief, “I could have guessed
that.”

“Oh
yeah, why is that?” I blushed at him, a smile on my face.

His
smile faded and his look turned serious, “Neither was she.”

The
smile slowly faded from my lips, his stare seemed to be looking straight into
my soul.

“I’ll
see you at 7pm?
 
I’ll ring you from the
lobby,” Ronan said, reaching out to tuck a stray hair behind my ear.
 
It was a very intimate gesture from someone
that I had only known a few hours and yet it seemed completely natural.
 

“Seven,”
I whispered, totally mesmerized by him.
 
The way he was looking at me it was almost like he knew a secret that I
didn’t.
 
It wasn’t mocking, it wasn’t
lustful, it was just simply something else.
 
Start walking away from him you
idiot!
 
He’s already told you goodbye!
 
I
started to back away.
 

“Do
you know where you’re going?” he asked me with a grin, and my heart fluttered
at the thought he was worried about me.

“I
think so,” I shrugged.

“Find
your way back here if you get lost.
 
Shouldn’t be too difficult to find a castle,” Ronan motioned with his
eyes to the formidable structure that stood behind him, “Just tell the guard to
page me.”

“I’ll
be fine,” I assured him, “See you at seven.”
 
I forced myself to turn around and yet even so I could feel his eyes on
me as I walked away.
 
I took a deep
steadying breath, unable to wipe the vision of him from my brain.
 
I immediately thought of Jess and hoped that
I hadn’t ruined any plans she had made for us.
 
Knowing her, she would be shocked and thrilled that I had met someone
and he was coming to dinner.
 
She would
instantly be suspicious of him, as she was everyone, but she would warm to him
given enough time.
 
As I walked towards
the Grange Hotel there was a smile spreading across my face.
 
I couldn’t wait to tell Jess about my
day.
 
I quickly looked down at my
watch.
 
4:45pm.
 
It was going to be a long two hours.
 

Ronan
Sutton walked briskly back towards his office nestled within the walls of Tower
and waived to the guard that stood watch at the entrance as he passed.
 
Back inside, Beatrice was still in full
conversation with yet another tourist and Ronan passed her quietly, ducking
into the confines of his office and shutting the door.
 
He immediately reached into his pocket for
his cell phone and quickly dialed a number.

“It’s
me.
 
Can I see you this afternoon?
 
Something has happened.
 
I know it sounds crazy, but I think
she’s
here.”

Chapter
10

I
was freshly
showered and lounging in the fluffy white robes that the hotel provided when my
cell phone rang.
 
“Hey!”

“Hey,”
Jess said, “How was your day?”

“Great
… actually.
 
Yours?”

“Tiring.
 
I really meant to be back at the hotel with
you by now but something came up.
 
I’m on
my way back now, I promise!”

“That’s
fine!
 
Don’t be worried about me.
 
I know you’re here for work.
 
Besides, I sorta have plans, I think, and of
course you are included in that …”

“Wait,
what?” Jess sounded shocked.

“I
know.
 
I met a guy today.
 
A historical preservation person at the
Tower.
 
He showed me around, even some
things I’m sure I wasn’t suppose to see.
 
Anyway, he wanted to come by the hotel for dinner at 7pm.
 
I said yes, hoping you wouldn’t mind.
 
Do you?” I pleaded with her.

“Of
course I don’t mind!
 
I mean, as long as
he’s not Jack the Ripper.
 
I can’t
believe I turn you lose in London for all of 8 hours and you already have a
date!”

“It’s
not a date,” I shook my head, “He’s like a scholar on all things
Elizabeth.
 
I started asking questions
and they sent me to him.”

“Wait,
you told him about her?”

“No!”
I yelled into the phone, “Are you kidding.
 
I would probably be calling you from a psyche ward if I’d done that!”

“Ok
… got it.
 
So, this guy is coming to the
hotel to have dinner.
 
What time is he
coming?”

“Seven,”
I said, looking at the clock and noticing it was already 6:30pm, “Speaking of,
I’ve got to get a move on.”

“Ok,
I’ll meet you in the lobby, just have a drink with Mr. History and wait for
me.”

To
dress up or not to dress up?
 
I had
struggled with that question as I nervously chewed my lip and stared down at
the 6 outfits I had placed on the bed.
 
It clearly wasn’t a date, so it felt a tad ridiculous to get too dressed
up.
 
And yet, it did require something a
little more than blue jeans and a sweater.
 
I opted for my fall back, a pair of black plants and a silky cream
colored shirt.
 
Then came the shoe
issue.
 
Black flats were of course
sensible and could be dressy or casual, but as I pulled out my black studded
heels I knew that sensibility was going to die a horrible death that
night.
 
They were just too perfect not to
choose.
 
Now I was in the elevator,
looking at my reflection in the doors as I listened nervously as the floors counted
down to ground.
 
When the doors opened,
to my surprise, Ronan was already there, casually leaning against the wall in
the blue hued lit lobby.
 
My heart raced
as he walked towards me, his eyes never leaving mine.
 

“You
look stunning,” his voice sent shivers down my spine, “I’ve already arranged
for a table.
 
I assumed your friend would
be joining us so I asked for a table for three.”

It
was a thoughtful gesture and one that meant he didn’t just assume that I would
ditch my friend for a dinner with a stranger, “I just heard from her.
 
Her meetings ran late today so she should be
joining us any minute.”

Ronan
was about to respond when his cell phone rang.
 
He withdrew it and glanced at the number.
 
I could tell by the look on his face he
needed to take the call, “Go ahead.
 
It’s
fine.
 
I’ll wait for her,” I assured
him.
 

Ronan
smiled at me and nodded before answering the line.
 
I walked a respectful enough distance away
from him towards the door and at just the right moment because Jess came
barreling through like she owned the place, a cell phone firmly pressed against
her ear.

“Nine
am.
 
Make sure we have the right
documents this time.
 
I don’t want to be
embarrassed like that again,” she said angrily as she ended the call before
glancing at me with a smile, “Look at you!
 
I knew he must be hot for you to agree to dinner on the first night you
meet him but judging by the shoes he must be super damn hot.
 
I know you and you don’t get those out for
just anybody!”

“Shhh!
 
He’s right there on the phone!” I whispered
with a glare.

“Him?
 
In the tweed coat?
 
Very British,” she mumbled, “He’s turned the
other way so I can’t see his face but he looks good from here.”

“He’s
…handsome,” I answered with a grin, knowing it was an understatement.

“So,
quick, while he’s on the phone, fill me in,” Jess said, taking me by the arm
and leading me across the room.

“I
got to the Tower this morning and started asking some questions about her and
this guy is supposed to be the end all be all on everything Elizabeth.
 
He was gone when I first got there and when
he came back, he searched for me and found me.
 
We pretty much spent the day together after that,” I shrugged.

“But
you like him?” Jess stared at me pointedly.

“I
don’t know!” I answered, feeling cornered.

“I
know you Ellie Regan and if you didn’t like him you would not have agreed to
this dinner,” Jess said, her eyes focused on him in the distance, “Oh wow, he
just turned around.
 
Never mind, I
totally get it.”

I
grimaced, knowing he was walking towards us.
 
I prayed that Jess would be able to contain herself for the next hour or
two.
 

“Hello.”

I
heard his voice before I turned around.

“You
must be the friend on business,” Ronan extended his hand towards Jess, “Ronan
Sutton, one of the curators at the Tower.”

“Jess
Ashley, nice to meet you,” Jess shook his hand and smiled, “Thank you for
taking such good care of my girl today.”

“It
was my pleasure.
 
I usually bore people
with my useless knowledge on Elizabethan culture but Ellie seems to never get
tired of it.
 
Some of her questions are
quite … fascinating,” he gently placed a hand on my back, another familiar
gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Jess.

“She’s
thirsty for knowledge, for sure,” Jess smiled, still eyeing his lingering hand.

“I’m
sure you’re ready to be off your feet after such a long day.
 
I’ve arranged for a table for three at the
grill downstairs if that’s alright with you?”

“Sounds
great,” Jess looked at me, “If you don’t mind me tagging along.”

“I
would never dream of stealing her away from you on your first day in London, as
tempting as it may be,” he looked at me and winked playfully.

Jess
shot me a look that said,
I like
him.
 
I really really like him
.
 

Ronan
pointed the way and we preceded him down to the restaurant where we were
promptly seated at a table in the corner.
 
To our surprise there were already two bottles of wine on the table, one
red and one white.
 
He had thought of
everything.
 
As he poured our wine I took
a minute to stare unabashed at him and noticed for the first time that he had
changed clothes.
 
Without thinking I blurted
out, “How on earth did you have time to change?
 
When I left you earlier you were going to the photo shoot of the ring?”

Ronan
smiled, “I live close by.”

“Oh
yea?
 
That’s convenient, especially if
you work at the Tower,” Jess sipped her wine.

“It’s
quite convenient,” he smirked.

“So,
within walking distance, obviously?” I pressed.

“You
could say that,” he grinned again, “I have an apartment at the Tower.”

“You
live at the Tower of London?” Jess couldn’t suppress her shock.
 
“That’s creepy.
 
Don’t they execute people there?”

“They
did
,” Ronan answered, “But there
hasn’t been an execution at the tower in 73 years, so I think I’m pretty safe.”

“So
how did you score that?
 
That’s pretty
impressive,” I gazed at him over the rim of my glass.

“The
Yeoman, or Beefeaters as you call them, live there as well.
 
I find I spend most of my time at the tower
anyway, so it made more sense.
 
When
there was space available and they offered it to me, it was never a
question.
 
Not many people can say they
lived at the Tower of London.”

“So,
that’s not very conducive to a family, is it?” Jess asked, wide eyed.

I
blushed, I knew it was her way of asking about his personal life.
 

Ronan
smiled, “The families of the Yeoman live at the tower, although most of them
are ten to twenty years older than us.
 
As for myself, I have a nice small apartment, big enough for just me,
which is all there is, if that answers your question.”

I
stared into my lap, unwilling to look up.

“So,”
Jess quickly changed the subject, “Tell me about your day?
 
Did you learn anything new about her?”

I
nervously looked from Jess to Ronan, “Well, yes.
 
Some.
 
The Tower was fantastic.
 
The
Crown Jewels were there, and there was a museum of nothing but armor and these
huge ravens live there, actually, they were pretty creepy.”

Jess
looked down at her menu and seemingly forgot that there was an extra person
there when she asked, “Did you see any of her jewels, or any of her
things?
 
I knew that was what you were
hoping for.”

Ronan
didn’t miss this exchange and looked at me pointedly, resting his chin on his
hands as he waited for my answer.

“Ah,
not really.
 
There was so much there, but
there isn’t an entire section devoted to her, if that’s what you mean.”

“Oh!”
Jess frowned, “I’m sorry.
 
I knew you
were hoping there would be.
 
Maybe Ronan
has some tips on where you could go to see some things.
 
There has to be something somewhere.
 
It just may take some digging.”
 
Jess made the statement and then immediately
began to point at something on the menu to the waiter who was standing at our
table.
 

I
nervously looked away, unable to handle the weighted stare from Ronan.

“She
did see something rather extraordinary today,” Ronan said after ordering, “I
happened to have a priceless artifact from Elizabeth that was in my office
waiting to be photographed for our new exhibit guide.”

“Really?”
Jess looked at me, “You didn’t tell me that!
 
How exciting!
 
What was it?”

“It
was a ring,” I mumbled, “Her ring.”

“I
had just returned with it when I was told Ellie was there and asking about
Elizabeth,” Ronan’s shrewd eyes were solely focused on me even as he answered
Jess’ question.

“Wow!
 
How fortuitous,” Jess said with some sarcasm,
“Tell me about it.”

“It’s
a gold ring, with rubies,” I desperately wanted to change the subject since I
was still uncomfortable with the vision I’d seen when Ronan slipped the ring on
my finger.

“It’s
only recently been discovered and determined to have belonged to her.
 
It’s part of a private collection by the
former Prime Minster.
 
I only have it on
loan for 24 hours.
 
Surprisingly enough,
Ellie was able to ascertain at first glance that it was a locket ring that held
two portraits and she knew the subjects of the portraits without me having to
tell her.
 
Quite shocking for someone
that doesn’t know much about Elizabeth or her court.”

Jess
set her glass on the table and eyed me, “You did?”

I
felt trapped with both of them staring at me and wanting answers.
 
It was answers that I didn’t have and even if
I did, they would make no sense to anyone, “I must have read something on
it.
 
As a matter of fact, now that I
think about it, I think it was in Newsweek.”