11. ~ Moonlight ~

CHAPTER 11

Sister Callahan had Alex cornered near the door. "Fannie, what took you so long? This poor fellow must have thought you weren't here and we were trying to keep him around longer."

Alex looked amused, but his face was pale, and shadows encircled his eyes. He looked more ill than this morning.

Sisters Sullivan, Miller, Cox, and Granny hovered near the table, their eyes fixed on Alex. I wondered if he had refused the invitation to sit, opting to stay close to the exit for a quick getaway.

"Good evening, Mr. Sterling," I greeted.

"Miss Contini." He bowed slightly.

"Have you come to finish your portrait?" Sister Callahan asked him.

Realizing she recognized his face from my drawing, I felt as if I'd been punched in the stomach.

Looking intrigued, Alex answered, "I'm here to speak to Miss Contini. But what drawing are you referring to?"

"Well, yours, of course. Fannie is doing a good job. You do know about it, don't you?"

"Oh, that drawing." Alex feigned understanding. "No, I'm not here for that. I need to speak to Fannie about work."

Fannie? My skin burned with embarrassment.

"Work, eh?" Sister Callahan sounded skeptical.

Alex turned to me. "Can we speak outside?"

"Certainly."

"Make sure to come again soon!" Sister Callahan cried.

"Most definitely." Alex smiled.

Bright moonlight illuminated our path as we strolled to the evergreen garden where Granny found me as an infant, the unresolved emotions from our encounter at Oak's Place accompanying us. Alex's heart might be trapped in the past, but mine was willing to bridge the gap. I glanced at him sideways, hoping to discern his mood.

I sat on the base of the water fountain. Alex remained on his feet, hands in his pockets.

"Fannie? I didn't know you had another name."

I laughed, but Sister Callahan would get a payback. "I'm not sure where she got the nickname. And so you know, I dislike it very much."

"She's quite a character." Alex smiled, but I saw the tension in his eyes. "I'd like to see my drawing, though. There is one, right?"

A payback wouldn't do. I'd ship her back to England in a tiny, uncomfortable box. "Maybe, but you haven't told me why you came."

"I wanted to see you."

"You could've waited until Monday." I twisted my fingers nervously.

"No, I couldn't. I feared you wouldn't come back."

"And I feared you came to tell me to stay away."

"None of that."

I breathed a little easier.

"Since the day you set foot at Oak's Place, everything I believed and accepted as true has been uprooted." His countenance revealed a depth of feeling I hadn't seen in him. "There are things I don't understand, things that hurt so deeply I almost convinced myself I was insane." He extended a hand to bring me to my feet. "I wanted to stay away from you, but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did. Today, when you said you'd leave and never return, I realized I could never ask that of you. Even when it would be better for you, I'd die if I did.

"Florence, I'm not ready to tell you about my past, about the things that haunt me. Maybe with time I'll be able to accept them and put them behind me. But I assure you I've always done my best to be honorable. If you can't believe anything else, at least believe that much. And if you do, I'll ask if you can wait until I'm ready to tell the whole story."

In the glow of the moon, once again, I saw the shadow of the man he'd once been. A sense of déjà vu filled me, overturning reason—somehow, somewhere, I had known him. But that was impossible. "I can."

"Right, then." He reached into his pocket, looking as if he had not expected that answer. "If you can take me as I am and forgive me for the grief I have caused you . . ."

My heart pounded in my chest as I anticipated his next words.

He pulled his hand from his pocket and opened it to reveal the most astonishing ring. Sparkling diamonds glistened in the moonlight, surrounding a dark stone in the center. "Florence, will you marry me?"

Were his words or my emotions the cause of my paralysis? I couldn't tell, but my thoughts danced joyfully with my heart. Even though marriage hadn't crossed my mind, and truthfully, I hardly knew the man, it felt right. I stood in wordless bliss until I could no longer contain my answer.

"I will."

Alex placed the ring on my finger, relief washing over his face. He encircled me in his warmth, pressed a gentle kiss on my lips, then deepened it with a passion that swept me off my feet.

On Saturday, Alex returned early enough that we watched the sun rise over Geneva from the east tower. His visit, along with the ring on my finger, solidified last night's proposal even when the magnitude of the commitment hadn't set in. And the part that had, though I fought it, was overshadowed by my lingering doubts about the unnerving events of the past months. Still, I didn't regret the engagement.

"You didn't exaggerate when you described the view from here. It's awe-inspiring," he observed.

"It really is."

We watched the sun climb higher and higher in the sky, chasing away the vestiges of the night and casting sunbeams over the horizon. And I couldn't help but notice the sparkles of vitality in his eyes, the glow of his skin. He looked younger and healthier than I had ever seen him.

He reached for my hand. "How did Sister Dolores take the news?"

"She's happy for me. On the other hand, Sister Callahan said she'll keep a close watch on you." I smiled.

"I'm sure she will." Alex chuckled. "Speaking of Sister Callahan, may I see my portrait?"

"Your portrait?"

"The one you drew of me."

"Oh." My face grew hot. "It's not very good."

"May I be the one to determine that?"

"Promise you won't laugh at it."

"I promise."

"Come with me." We descended the spiral staircase to my bedroom. From my desk, I pulled out a few drawings. He reached around me, taking the papers.

"These are very good." He flipped through the first drawings enthusiastically, studying the last ones carefully. "You said you've never been to England." He sounded doubtful.

"I haven't."

"But these drawings are of the New Forest," he stated in disbelief.

"Perhaps you've seen it in a book?"

"Maybe." I dug deeper into the drawer and found his portrait.

"Here." I handed it to him.

He contemplated it for a moment. "This is a shadow of what I used to be."

I smiled at the word shadow and wondered if he knew of the nickname he'd been given in town. If he didn't, someday I might tell him.

Alex dropped the papers onto the bed. "Let's go downstairs."

"Would you like to see the chapel?"

"Sure. I haven't visited a chapel in ages. It might do me some good."

We entered the arched wooden door into the chapel only to be ambushed by Sister Callahan.

"There's the happy couple!" she exclaimed. "When is the date?"

"What date?" Alex asked.

"For the wedding, of course."

"Sister Callahan, it's too soon for that," I objected.

"Nonsense. You should tie the knot before you get in trouble," she responded with a knowing look.

"I hope to marry Florence in the next couple of months," Alex said.

My eyes darted to him. Surely, he joked.

"What's the meeting about?" Granny stepped in through the side door.

"We were talking about their wedding, but I'm afraid they don't know what they want." Sister Callahan briefed Granny.

"That's understandable." Granny placed a box of cleaning supplies on a pew and adjusted her spectacles on the bridge of her nose. "They barely got engaged."

"I better speak to the sisters. We might be able to extend our trip." Sister Callahan moved through the exit, her habit slapping against her legs. "I can't miss the wedding."

"If you're serious about this, you better decide on a date, and the sooner, the better. It will save us a lot of grief," Granny suggested. "Oh my, I forgot the feather duster." She crossed herself in front of the Virgin's statue and withdrew.

Alex pulled me into his embrace. "I wouldn't mind it if we married in a week."

"Don't ask me again or I'll do it," I teased.

"Marry me next week," he whispered, dead serious.

His closeness almost convinced me to say yes, but practicality and my lingering uncertainty about his past stopped me. "No, Mr. Sterling. It's too soon."

"Two weeks, then."

"Still too soon."

"It's better than one."

"I'll think about it." A more troublesome thought than timing occurred to me. "I worry about her reaction. She doesn't necessarily adore me."

"Who?"

"Mrs. White. Does she know?" She was an integral part of his life, and I couldn't help but feel I would be overstepping her boundaries, and the retribution might be swift.

"She does, but don't worry about her. She wants the best for me, and you are the best for me."

I hoped she felt the same way.

Sunday was almost over, and Alex hadn't come. I paced my room, wondering why he hadn't even called. Did he regret his hasty proposal? Maybe he didn't have the heart to break the engagement. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to know. I headed to the kitchen to ring Oak's Place.

"Good evening," Mrs. White answered.

"Good evening, this is Florence. May I speak with Mr. Sterling?"

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Sterling has relapsed and cannot answer calls." Mrs. White tried too hard to sound casual.

A relapse? How could that be possible when just yesterday he had radiated with health?

"I'll let him know you called." She was ready to hang up.

"Wait, I must insist on speaking to him. Please, just for a moment." Begging wasn't my preferred method of negotiating, but I couldn't give up so easily.

"I don't think waking him to answer a call is wise when it took him hours to finally find rest. Do you?"

She was right. Still, not talking to Alex bothered me tremendously.

"Please call me if anything changes," I said in wishful thinking.

"Good night, Miss Contini." The line went dead, leaving me sick to my stomach.

I checked my watch, debating between logic and emotion. Logic dictated I waited. It was past 10 o'clock, and he might not wake up until morning. Rest, at the moment, might be his best friend, so I shouldn't disrupt him or the household. After all, I had no pressing matter to do so, and this wasn't the first time he had been this ill. I just missed him.

Conversely, emotion compelled me to drive to Oak's Place right away. There was something about his sudden relapse that didn't sit well with me—something I couldn't explain, but the more I thought about it, the more bewildered I felt.

I wrestled with the decision, considering different scenarios and their possible outcomes. Finally, I grabbed my handbag, fetched the Buick key, and pulled on my coat. No. I shouldn't show up at Oak's Place this late at night. After all, Mrs. White would let me know if he took a turn for the worse. There was no reason to think otherwise. True, she wasn't fond of me, but she did Alex's bidding, and he would want me to know.

Logic won. I peeled my coat and headed to my room, praying I wouldn't regret my decision.