Returning to the house after dinner,
Daniel and Abigail disappeared into the backyard - "to continue
an earlier conversation," he explained, smiling at Harry
and Laura.
Standing in the living room doorway, Laura frowned. "They're
making plans about who's going to keep an eye on me at college,"
she guessed. "Mother is never going to accept that
I can take care of myself," she said with a sigh, turning
back toward the living room.
Harry remained where he was, his expression thoughtful. "I
don't think they're discussing you at all."
Laura frowned, watching him join her, hands in his pockets. "Then
what do you think they're talking about?"
"The two of them."
"The two of - as in their being together? As in- No,"
she denied. "Daniel's a-" she pulled herself up short,
remembering at the last moment that the man before her was just
as much a con man as Daniel.
"A con man?" Harry finished. "Yes, he is. But he's-
not the same since he's been spending time here with you and Abigail.
At first, I put it down to his sense of responsibility towards
you. But there's more to it than that."
Laura shook her head. "I can't believe that he'd even consider
- I mean-"
Harry placed his hands on her shoulders. "Why not? Would
it be so terrible, having Daniel for a step father?"
"I guess I never really thought about it," she admitted,
then looked up into those eyes. "I guess it wouldn't be so
bad. It might bring you around a little more often."
He lifted a hand to her face, cupping her cheek and rubbing his
thumb over her soft, parted lips. "I don't think I'd need
Daniel's involvement with your mother for that," he told
her.
"Oh?"
He brought her hand to his lips. "Why don't we go for a walk?"
he suggested.
Laura glanced toward the doorway, then smiled. "Might as
well."
*********
Abigail sat on the bench, watching as Daniel paced once more.
"You're going to wear a trench in the grass, Daniel. What's
so important about your business that you have to tell me about?"
He stopped, turning to look at her before joining her on the bench
and taking her hand. "I know I've told you that I'm in 'investments
and acquisitions'-and I also know that you've no idea what that
means."
Abigail shrugged. "I suppose it means that you buy and sell
things-"
"That's correct- up to a point. The truth is that I help
people invest in fine art, jewels, and such- and they don't particularly
care how I acquire those things." He watched her reaction
carefully. "And I've also been known to -"
"Why are you telling me all this, Daniel?" Abigail asked,
interrupting his confession. "Why now?"
At least she hadn't bolted, running for the telephone to call
the authorities, Daniel thought. He took a deep breath before
answering her. "Because I thought you deserved to know the
truth- about what I've done in the past that might - someday -
adversely affect my - our future." Daniel continued,
"But's it's all behind me Abigail. I give you my word - if
you're willing to trust that- and me."
"Of course I am, Daniel." Abigail rose slowly from the
bench. It was her turn to pace now. "I should have known,
of course. Daniel, was Mitch-?"
"Not in the same way," he tried to explain. "What
he did was under the guise of work for your government. And he
stopped years ago - " He rose and went to her. "Abigail,
I wouldn't blame you for telling me to bug off- to keep away from
you and Laura-"
She looked up at the clear night sky with its scattering of stars.
"I couldn't do that, Daniel. Laura- " She looked at
him. "Does she know? Or course she does."
"Yes," he said, answering her question anyway. "Laura
knows all about this. Abigail, I know I've told you a lot to take
in - so I'll go now -" he turned away, got two steps before
she called him.
"Daniel -don't go."
He lifted his eyes upward, closing them in relief, before turning
to look at her. "Abigail?"
She smiled, and Daniel felt that the sun had finally risen again
on his dark world. "Tell me more. I mean, you don't go around
bilking little old ladies or widows, do you?"
**********
When Laura came downstairs the next morning, she paused on the
stairs, hearing sounds from the kitchen that she wasn't sure she
recognized. Her mother was singing! Abigail Holt hadn't sung like
that in years, Laura thought. Not since before all the trouble
had started between her and Daddy.
Cautiously approaching the door, Laura stood watching as her mother
danced around the room with an invisible partner before she looked
up to see Laura there. "Good morning, dear," she said,
a brilliant smile on her face. "Breakfast is almost ready-"
Laura slid into her chair, her eyes on the woman who still hummed
softly. "Is - everything okay, Mother?"
Abigail placed a plate before her. "Everything is just wonderful,
Laura. Absolutely wonderful," she repeated dreamily. "Daniel
and I are going out this morning- " she began as there was
a knock on the door. Untying her apron, she picked up a pan and
inspected her hair before going out to let Daniel in.
Laura put down her fork and rose, going to the doorway in time
to see her mother in Daniel's arms, returning a very passionate
kiss. She ducked behind the wall as her mother said, "I have
to go upstairs for a moment. I won't be long. Laura's in the kitchen,
having her breakfast."
Laura ran back to her chair, retrieving her fork just as Daniel
entered the room. "Good morning, Laura, my dear."
She watched him pour a cup of coffee, only just realizing how
much at home he had made himself. "What's going on between
you and Mother, Daniel?"
"Going on? I'm not sure-"
"Don't try to charm me, Daniel Chalmers. I'm not going to
stand by while you -"
"Marry your mother?" Daniel suggested, leaving Laura
speechless. "Oh, not right away - your mother mentioned something
about a Christmas wedding last night - "
"You and- Mother? Daniel-"
He brought a chair to sit beside hers, then took her hand. "I
know I'm probably not the best catch in the world, Laura, but
I truly do love your mother - and she says she loves me."
"What about -"
Daniel sighed. "I'm retiring. In fact, I'm already retired.
No more cons, no more-"
She looked doubtful. "I don't-"
Abigail's singing reached them again as she came down the stairs,
and Daniel smiled. "Could you take that happiness away from
her, Laura?"
He was right. Her mother did sound happy. For the first
time in years. "We need to talk, Daniel-"
"Later." He rose as Abigail entered the room. "There
you are. Ready?"
She nodded, taking his arm. "I'm not sure what time I'll
be home, dear. Don't forget your key."
"I won't. And have fun," Laura added absently, hearing
the door close behind them.
She sat there, stunned, trying to decide what she was feeling.
Harry. She needed to talk to Harry. Taking her plate to the sink,
she scraped the remains of her breakfast into the disposal, then
rinsed the plate and put it into the dishwasher without really
thinking about her movements. Then, grabbing the keys to her mother's
station wagon, she left the house. She had to find out what Harry
thought about this latest turn of events. It was one thing for
him to tell her it was good when the possibility of her mother
marrying Daniel had been simply a hazy thought. It was more than
that now.
**********
At the knock on his hotel room door, Harry looked up from what
he was doing and frowned. Daniel had left fifteen minutes ago
for his date with Abigail - the visitor knocked harder, calling,
"Harry!"
Laura. Harry hastily grabbed the papers on the desk as she heard
her trying to pick the lock on the door. Even if she got it -
the safety chain would keep her out. Long enough, anyway for him
to get this safely stowed, he hoped, stuffing the papers into
the desk drawer as the door opened. Laura's arm appeared, trying
to remove the chain from its slide.
Harry rushed over and spatted at her hand. "Just a minute."
The arm disappeared, and Harry unfastened the chain, opening the
door as Laura rushed in.
"What took you so long?" she wanted to know.
"I was in the other room," he explained. "What's
wrong?"
"Mother. Daniel. Do you know what's going on?"
He nodded. "I spoke to Daniel this morning. Had breakfast
with him. He told me that he'd asked Abigail to marry him and
that she'd accepted." Seeing her worried face, Harry pulled
her into his arms. "Don't frown like that. Things will be
fine. He really does love her, Laura."
"What if she finds out about -"
"She already knows."
Laura's eyes widened. "She knows?"
"You don't really think he would have asked her without telling
her the truth? But he's decided to retire, Laura. His investments
have paid off very well. Laura, things will be fine. What's the
matter? You don't want Daniel as your stepfather?"
"You know how much I love Daniel," Laura insisted. "I
suppose it's just surprise." She moved away, placing her
hand on the desk that he had been working at moments before. "Frances
is going to be furious."
Harry moved to her side, turning her from the desk. "Daniel
isn't the only one who could retire, you know."
"You expect me to believe that you - " Laura grinned.
"You won't."
"I see. Daniel can change, find the straight and narrow,
but I can't, is that it?"
"I didn't mean it that," Laura said, frowning as she
looked up at him. She brushed against the desk, hearing paper
rustle. Harry froze as Laura opened the drawer to put the papers
to rights. "Really, Harry. Mother accuses me of being messy.
I think you're a hundred times -" she noticed some writing
on the top sheet. "Worse."
Harry tried to get the paper, but Laura moved away to read it
better. "Laura-"
"What is this?"
"Nothing, really. Just a little exercise-"
She shook her head. "This is a time table of some kind -
" she put the other papers back onto the desk. "And
this is a drawing of the museum's floor plan-" She lifted
concerned brown eyes to him. Harry eyed her warily. "You're
planning to steal the Rajah's Star, aren't you?"
"Of course not. But you said yourself that I probably could
if I tried, and it set me to thinking. So I decided to plot
it out - with no intention whatsoever of pulling it off. As I
said, just an exercise. To keep my skills sharp -"
Laura looked at him for a long moment, trying to decide if he
were telling her the truth. "I don't have much choice except
to believe you."
Harry stuffed the papers back into the desk with one arm, closing
the drawer. "Why don't we go out for awhile?" he suggested,
hoping to get her attention away from the plans.
"Where to?" she asked.
"Why don't we just get into the car and head north? Take
a drive?"
"Sounds like fun," Laura agreed, her mind still wondering
about the plans that Harry had hidden again so quickly.
**********
They had a lovely day together, lunching on the beach, then they
had dinner at a small Italian restaurant. As they walked back
to the BMW, Laura smiled when Harry put an arm around her. "Thank
you, Harry."
"For what?"
"Today. I know you probably had more important things to
do than spending it with me."
He stopped, turning her into his arms. "Not a thing. There
was nothing I would rather have been doing," he said sincerely,
"than make you laugh."
Laura shivered in the cool night air, and he pulled off his jacket,
placing it over her shoulders. "Thank you." She laughed.
"I seem to be saying that a lot, don't I?"
"Hmm."
The were at the car, and Harry bent to unlock the passenger door
for her, then stopped and placed a hand on either of side of the
vehicle. She endured that gaze for what seemed an eternity. "What?"
He didn't say a word, just moved closer and closer, until she
could feel his warm breath on her lips. "This," he said
before his lips met hers. Laura's arms slid around his neck as
she continued the kiss. When he lifted his head, he said, "Stay
with me tonight?" he asked.
Laura nodded, her eyes shining. "If you want me to."
She pulled his head down again, then sighed as he opened the car
door.
"Let's find a more comfortable place to finish this, shall
we?" he suggested.
"Excellent idea, Harry."
**********
"You're going to do what, Mother?" Frances asked.
"You can't be serious-"
"Frances,-" Abigail began.
"She's going to marry me," Daniel repeated calmly. "And
I'm certain that you're going to wish your mother all the best,
Frances."
Donald sighed. "Does Laura know about this?" he asked.
"Daniel told her this morning," Abigail informed him.
"You might at least ask us to sit down, dear," she said
pointedly to Frances.
**********
Harry unlocked the door to his room, then stepped back for Laura
to enter, before closing the door. As an afterthought, he opened
it again, placing the "Do Not Disturb" sign into place.
Laura moved around the room, suddenly nervous about what she was
planning to do. But wasn't this what she'd wanted since London?
To be alone with Harry, really alone? With no chance of
anyone interrupting them? After all, she was of age now, there
was no reason why they shouldn't - She jumped as Harry's hands
fell on her shoulders.
He smiled, placing his lips against the back of her neck. "You're
not nervous, are you, Laura?"
"No," she responded quickly, trying to breathe, to keep
some semblance of sanity as his lips caressed her sensitive skin.
"Of course not. It's just-"
He turned her to face him, his blue eyes searching her face. "Just
what?"
Laura lowered her own gaze to the buttons of his expensive shirt.
"You're so much more experienced at this kind of thing- and
-"
Harry went still. "And?" he prompted, not really wanting
to hear what she was going to tell him next.
"And I - well, I "
He lifted her chin with a finger. "Laura," he asked
in a gentle voice, "Are you trying to tell me that you've
never -"
She shook her head. "I guess that means that you'll send
me home-"
"I should. I'm not given to seducing innocent young women
into losing their virginity, Laura."
"But I wanted to wait. For you. I knew you'd be back, Harry.
And I wanted-"
Harry pulled her against him, fighting an inner battle. He should
send her home this instant, one side insisted. Don't taint her
life, her future, with any part of himself. But the other side
was louder, more insistent. He wanted Laura, wanted to
be the first man to know her in so intimate a fashion. To awaken
her to all the joys of being a woman. He held her tightly, then
pulled back enough to see her face again. "Are you sure,
Laura? Once we do this, there's no going back -"
She nodded once. "I'm sure, Harry."
He traced her lips with his thumb, feeling his heart in his throat
as she captured it between even white teeth. Bending again, he
replaced his hand with his own lips as his jacket slid to the
floor behind Laura.
**********
Laura woke, wondering for a moment where she was until memory
returned. She was in Harry's bed. Reaching out an arm, she expected
to find warm flesh on the other side of the bed. But the sheets
were cold. Harry wasn't there. "Harry?" she called softly,
but there was no sound from anywhere in the small suite.
Laura got out of the bed, pulling on her clothes, then went out
into the sitting room - "Harry?" she called again.
On the desk was a slip of paper. "Had to go out for awhile.
Be right back. Love, Harry."
She sat down in the desk chair, then noticed that the papers that
had been hanging out of the door weren't visible now. Curious,
she opened the drawer. The papers were neatly placed - and as
she went through them again, she realized that the plan to the
museum wasn't there- and neither was the time table. "That
liar," Laura muttered. "That dirty liar. He's gone to
steal that diamond!" She found her purse and keys and ran
to where she had left the station wagon, squealing the tires on
the pavement as she sped from the parking lot to the museum. She
had to stop him. Somehow.
**********
Harry had parked the BMW three blocks away, and was approaching
the building via the alleyway. There was a spot at the rear of
the building that would give him a place to attach the grappling
hook - Laura's face swam before him, and he shook his head, trying
to clear it. "Focus, Harry old boy," he muttered. "Focus."
If he was lucky, she would still be asleep when he got back.
He swung the hook expertly, then released it, listening as it
fell with a soft "clink!" on the roof. Pulling the attached
rope, the set the hook, then scaled the side of the building.
He left the rope as a means of escape, knowing that it would be
difficult to see in the dark alley.
Laura had easily located Harry's car, and her frown deepened as
she realized she had been right. Parking her car, she moved quickly
toward the museum,'s alley, then to the rear of the building,
looking up at the roof just in time to see Harry disappear over
the edge. Grasping the rope, she climbed upward.
He was kneeling beside the skylight, taking something from a small
black bag when she reached the roof, "Harry!" she called
in a stage whisper.
Harry went totally still, his hand still on the glass cutter.
He looked up to find Laura approaching him. "Laura? What
the bloody hell are you doing here?" he asked, also in a
whisper.
"Trying to stop you from going to prison," she told
him.
"The only way I'll go to prison, love, is if you attract
too much attention. Now go back to the hotel-"
"No. Not without you."
"Laura, please-"
"Harry, you can't do this -"
"Nonsense. You said yourself that it's a piece of cake -"
"Harry, the guard didn't tell me everything about the building
security," she hissed. "I talked to another guard the
other day. He told me that there's a series of light beams all
around that case. Break one- just one - and the police will be
here inside of three minutes."
Harry looked through the skylight to the case with its diamond
directly below. "You're bluffing. You would have mentioned
that earlier -"
"You want to take that chance?" she asked.
Harry rose and took her arm to escort her back to the edge. "Go
on, Laura. I'll see you later -"
She jerked her arm from his. "No, you won't. Because if you
do this, you'll be in prison. And I don't want that to happen,
Harry," she told him.
Harry pulled her into his arms. "Laura, I have to do this.
This one, last, job, and then I'll quit. I promise -"
Laura jerked away from him. "You're not listening, Harry.
You won't have any choice but to quit-"
"Laura -" he said again, reaching out to her, only to
see her back away- and realize belatedly how close she was to
the edge. "Laura!" he cried out, trying to grab her,
but finding only air.
Harry watched as she fell hard to lay on a pile of rubbish, not
moving. Running back to pick up his tools and bag, Harry repelled
down the side of the building, then rushed to Laura's side. "Laura?"
she didn't respond. He checked for a pulse, and was relieved beyond
words when he found one. At least she was still alive. There didn't
appear to be any broken bones, but she had a nasty gash on her
forehead. Harry knew that he couldn't let the police find her
here, there would be too many questions. And moving her if she
had internal injuries was a huge risk. "I'm sorry, Laura,"
he muttered over and over. "I'm sorry. Just don't die, okay?
Stay alive."
He picked her up with great care, pausing as she moaned softly,
but her eyes didn't open. He found her mother's car only a block
away, and placed Laura on the back seat, praying that he wasn't
making her injuries any worse, then he started the car and took
her to the nearest emergency room. Once she was in an examining
room, he went to the telephones and picked one up. "Hello,
Abigail?"
"Harry. Do you know where Laura is? She didn't leave a note
- of course, that's not unusual for her. I never know where that
child is-"
"Abigail- is Daniel about?"
"As a matter of fact, yes -" Something in his tone must
have gotten through to her. "Is something wrong, Harry?"
"Let me speak to Daniel, please."
He heard her tell Daniel who it was, that she had a feeling that
something was wrong. "Harry, my boy. What-"
"Daniel, could you and Abigail come to Mercy Hospital right
away? Laura's had an accident."
To Be Continued . . .