A Rocky Path (5 page)

She looked through a lot of things and was
about to quit. There wasn’t really anything of interest. Then she
found a little chest with a lock. She couldn’t open it and had no
idea where the key was. She was intrigued. She carried her find
upstairs to her room and got out a nail file. She finally was able
to pick the flimsy lock. When she opened the lid, she found
letters…lots of letters. She could tell they were really old
because of the paper they were on. They were all rolled up like a
scroll and tied with different colored ribbons. She was delighted.
She started to read….

My dearest,

I waited all night for you to come to me. I
am so sad this morning because I didn’t get to see you. You know it
drives me crazy when you ignore me this way. Please come to me
tonight and make me happy.

Your love.

They were love letters! How romantic and
exciting. She read another one.

My darling,

I can’t tell you how much last night meant to
me. To feel your hands and your lips on my body. You took me
somewhere I never thought I would go. We must be careful. If anyone
finds out about us, our lives would be ruined. It might even mean
our death. Until next time….

Your love.

Emily read several letters, her stomach
fluttering from the love and passion she could feel emanating from
each one. Who were these lovers from a time far into the past? She
read until she was exhausted, finally falling asleep with a letter
in her hand.

Chapter Seven

The next morning Emily was sleepy as she
trudged downstairs for her workout. Jamie was there, as usual, so
they worked out together. She was beginning to enjoy their routine
and his company. He was much deeper than Sam and much more
interesting. Maybe she just liked her men dark and brooding.
Sometimes Jamie was that way and sometimes he wasn’t. She kind of
liked that. It made him a little more intriguing.

After the workout Jamie asked, “Hey, how
would you like to go to dinner with me this evening? We can go
ahead and tell Mom not to expect us this evening.”

Her first impulse was to say no. She wanted
to go down and meet Patrick after dinner, but another part of her
warned her not to get too close to the mysterious man she had met
on the rocks. Maybe she would be better off cultivating an interest
in Jamie. There seemed to be something a little dangerous about
getting involved with Patrick.

“I think that would be a good idea,” she
said. “I really need to get out of this house for awhile.”

When they went to breakfast they told Sally
to put two less places at the table for dinner. Then Emily went up
to the third floor to work.

“Good morning,” said Rebecca. “You have dark
circles under your eyes. Didn’t you sleep well?”

“It’s the strangest and most exciting thing.
I found some old letters that came from the storage room
downstairs. They are love letters and are very passionate. I read
them until late last night. I still have some to go; I just
couldn’t stay awake any longer.”

“I would like to read them as well, when
you’re finished. I wonder who wrote them.”

“That’s the thing. None of them are signed.
It seems like whoever wrote them and who received them were both
living in the house. The letters speak of their lover coming to
them in the night.”

“I’m intrigued.” Rebecca said.

“Me, too. During some of my free time, I
think I’ll explore the room some more and see what else I can find.
I would love to research this whole thing. I love a good
mystery.”

“Let me know what you find out.”

Emily got to work on her regular duties as
well as finishing up the planning of the party. She was so tired at
the end of the day that she almost told Jamie she would have to beg
off their date tonight. But then she decided not to. She hated to
disappoint him, and she really did need some time away from the
house. She was determined not to think about Patrick tonight when
she was with Jamie.

She dressed with care that evening. At
breakfast, she and Jamie had discussed where they wanted to go and
they had decided on a really upscale restaurant in town. So she was
dressing up. It was kind of exciting because she hadn’t gotten to
wear many of the nice things Rebecca had bought for her. She chose
a maroon satin dress with broad straps and a low v-neck. It had a
lace tie around the waist and the hemline was about two inches
above the knee. She knew she looked great in it. She left her long,
dark hair down, which is the way she liked it best, and she knew it
was the most flattering.

When she came down the stairs to meet Jamie,
and he looked at her, there was a gleam in his eye that made her a
little uncomfortable. Maybe she shouldn’t have dressed this way.
She didn’t want to lead him on, and she had a feeling he might have
feelings for her. But maybe she could learn to care more for him,
too. She would make the most out of tonight and see how it
went.

“You look great!” he said. “Everyone in the
restaurant will be envious of me.”

She smiled at him. “Jamie, you’re
exaggerating.”

“No, I most certainly am not! Are you ready
to go?”

They rode in his bright red Camaro to the
Lakefront Restaurant. It was situated beside a large lake, and they
were able to get a table by a window looking out over the water.
Emily decided on Parmesan crusted tilapia and Jamie ordered a
steak.

“Would you like wine with dinner?” asked the
waiter.

Jamie hesitated, then said. “Emily, if you
want to order a glass of wine, that’s fine. I don’t drink.”

“I don’t drink either. I’ll have iced
tea.”

Jamie looked relieved as he said, “I’ll have
the same.”

When the waiter had left, Jamie asked her,
“Did anyone tell you why I don’t drink? No, don’t lie to me, I
won’t be angry with anyone.”

“Sam told me. I’m really sorry about what
happened. And I admire you for staying sober for so long. That
takes a lot of self control.”

“I had no choice. I feel guilty every day for
what happened. I don’t want anything like that to ever happen
again.”

They talked for a long time after they had
eaten their dinner. Emily really liked Jamie. He would be a great
guy to fall in love with, even though he was a few years younger
than she was. But, for some reason, it just wasn’t happening. Her
mind drifted back to Patrick and she had to put him back out of her
mind.

When they got back to the house, Jamie said.
“Why don’t we take a walk?”

They walked around the grounds and then sat
down on a bench by the pool in the garden. He put his arm around
her and they just sat for awhile. Then he bent his head toward her
to kiss her. On impulse, she pulled back a little.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I presumed too much.”

Emily sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean
to…”

“That’s ok.” He looked away from her.

“No, it’s not ok.”

She took his face in her hands and kissed him
softly on the lips. Then he took her in his arms and pulled her
closer to him. His kiss became deeper and she could feel his tongue
exploring her mouth. Then thoughts of Patrick came to her, and she
wanted it to be him holding her like this. She pulled back from
Jamie.

“I’m sorry, Jamie. I don’t want to lead you
on, and I feel like that’s what I am doing.”

He looked into her eyes. “Emily, you must
know that I’m in love with you. Can’t you see it? We have been
spending time together working out and really talking and getting
to know each other. Surely you must have known how I feel.”

“I guess maybe I was beginning to see that.
Jamie, I really want to be your friend and spend time with you. But
I just don’t feel the same way you do. I wish I could, really I do.
But this isn’t something that I can control.”

He stood up and ran his hand through his
hair. He looked about as miserable as a man could be, and Emily’s
heart went out to him, but she couldn’t deny her feelings. She
stood up, too.

“Why did you even go out with me? If you saw
how I felt, why did you make it worse by making me think there
could be something between us?” He was angry now.

“Please, Jamie, I just wanted to spend time
with you….”

“Forget it! I don’t want to hear anymore.
Goodnight!”

He stalked off, leaving her standing there
feeling miserable. She was afraid that she had lost a good friend.
How could she have been so stupid? She went back into the house and
walked upstairs feeling worse than she had in a long time.

* * *

That night she finished reading the letters.
They were so sensual and loving, that it thrilled her to read them.
She could tell that these two people really cared for each other,
but that they were, for some reason forbidden to see each other.
Maybe one was from aristocracy and the other from the lower class.
It could be that one was a member of the McCulloch family and the
other was possibly a maid. The last letter was a little disturbing
and different from the rest.

Oh, my dearest, what have I done? Something
terrible has happened. I have to see you! I don’t know what I am
going to do. You have to help me. Meet me in the usual place. I
have done something I can’t undo!

Your most faithful love.

She was so intrigued that she planned to go
downstairs tomorrow and look for more clues.

Later, in the night, she dreamed that she was
the writer of the letters and that Patrick was the one she was
writing to. She dreamed that he came to her in the night. When she
awakened the next morning from her dream, her pillow was wet with
tears. Somehow she knew that a relationship with Patrick was never
to be.

Chapter Eight

Emily went downstairs to work out, but Jamie
was not there. He must have come down here earlier to avoid her
because there were some used towels lying on the floor. It was sad
that things had come to this. She certainly hadn’t wanted to cause
trouble by coming here, but it looked like that’s exactly what had
happened. She was almost afraid to go to breakfast for fear of
running into Jamie, but she decided that they couldn’t avoid each
other all the time.

“Good morning!” said Sam, heartily. “How was
your workout this morning?”

“It was ok, I guess. I’m used to working out
with Jamie, but he was gone before I went down this morning.”

“What was wrong with him this morning,
anyway? He was going out as I was coming in to breakfast and he was
really grumpy. He grabbed a banana and ran off.”

Emily sighed. “I’m afraid that was my fault.
I should have seen that he was getting too close to me, but I
ignored the signs. I went out with him last night, and then I guess
I rejected him. I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I couldn’t just let
him think I had feelings for him.”

“Too bad Jamie can’t learn to guard his heart
like I do. His feelings just run too deep. Some day he’ll learn. I
guess you have to take a lot of hard knocks to harden your
heart.”

“So, did you take a lot of hard knocks? Is
that why you’re so hard hearted?”

Sam grinned. “Nah. I was just born that
way.”

Emily rolled her eyes, ate her breakfast,
then went upstairs to work.

During her lunch break, she went downstairs
and got a sandwich. Then she brought it back upstairs, so she could
talk to Rebecca, who hadn’t stopped for lunch yet. She was just
wrapping up a chapter in her latest book, so Emily didn’t say
anything until she was finished.

“So, did you want to talk to me about
something?” Rebecca asked.

“Well, a couple of things.”

She told her what happened with Jamie.
Rebecca sympathized, but wasn’t overly concerned.

“Young love is like that. Everyone has to
deal with a broken heart from time to time. I had enough of those
myself.”

“I know; I just hate that this had to happen.
The other thing was, I wanted to update you on those love letters I
found. The last one was really strange. It talked about something
terrible that happened, but it didn’t even hint at what it was. Do
you know anything tragic that happened in this house?”

“Over a period of about 200 years? I would
say several tragedies could have happened. I don’t know what all is
recorded about this house. You could always go to the library to
find out some of the history. Actually, we have a pretty extensive
library here. You may be able to find some information without
going to the library in town.”

The rest of the day proceeded without
incident. At five o’clock, Emily and Rebecca quit for the day and
went to their respective rooms to get ready for dinner. When
dinnertime arrived, Emily was apprehensive as she went down the
stairs. She had no idea whether Jamie would be at the table or
not.

When she arrived in the dining room, Jamie
was already seated. She sat down, along with everyone else. She
looked over at Jamie, but he ignored her. This was going to be a
long meal!

Sam, as usual, was unperturbed. “Well, aren’t
we all just full of gloom and doom today? Oh, well, the food is
good, anyway.”

They managed to get through all the courses,
but Emily could hardly remember what she ate. All she could
remember was how Jamie ignored her the whole time. Even when she
asked him a direct question, he turned away as if he didn’t hear
her. Fine, if that’s how he wanted to play, she wasn’t going to beg
him to talk to her.

After dinner, she was anxious to get down the
path and talk to Patrick. She was so bogged down by the negative
feelings in the house right now that all she wanted was some fresh
air and some pleasant company. Here came those butterflies again!
How did this man make her feel this way just thinking about
him?