Mardi Gras Masquerade (17 page)

When she was certain that the housekeeper was in the house, Maria sneaked back inside through a side door.
 
Nobody had been working in this area.
 
With extreme caution and silent steps, she made her way back to her room.

Once she was inside, she closed the door.
 
Now Maria had the saddest task she had to perform.
 
After taking one final look at the ring on her finger, she slowly removed it and left it in plain sight on the vanity table.
 
She believed this gesture would permanently sever her ties to the DuPont family.
 
She had to stifle a sob before she could get on with her mission.

Her bags were packed and waiting in the closet.
 
Maria had taken the precaution of hiding them in case a maid came into her room.
 
It was a bulky job for her to carry them all at once, but she did not want to take the risk of having to make two trips.

As quietly as possible, she stole down the stairs.
 
At one point, she found herself in danger of dropping the small case in which she kept her toilet articles and cosmetics.
 
A quick adjustment of her elbow kept her from making a clumsy clatter.
 
Maria let out the breath that she had caught.

Without further incident, she managed to tiptoe out of the house.
 
The door that she had selected for her escape led into the garden that faced the river.
 
It was on the opposite side of the house from the garage, but this was the only exit where no one was working.

As Maria put down some bags to free her right arm in order to close the door behind her, she was startled by a voice that called out, “Wait a minute.”

She looked up in guilty fear.
 
The gardener stepped out from behind a hedge beside the patio with a pair of clippers in his hand.
 
Maria had not noticed him there before.
 
All of the color fled from her face.

“You shouldn’t be carrying those bags, Miss,” the man said in a firm voice.

“I have to,” Maria quickly improvised.
 
“I have to meet Mr. DuPont in town immediately.”

She waited in hushed expectation for what the gardener would say in reply.
 
Would he believe her or would he force her to return to the house?”

He pushed his hat up higher on his brow and said, “The garage is on the other side of the house, Miss.”

“It’s so large, I must have gotten confused.”

“That’s all right,” he replied as he stepped forward.
 
“Let me carry your bags for you.
 
There’s no need for you to do that.”

Maria could hardly believe her ears.
 
Her plan had not been spoiled after all.
 
After he put his clippers in his pocket, the man stepped forward to take on her burden.
 
When he started to move off around the front the house, Maria said.
 
“I’d rather go the back way.
 
I’ve wanted to take a look at the grounds there.”

She knew that there would be less likelihood of being seen if they went that way.

“The path along the front is shorter.”

“You don’t have to help me,” Maria readily assured him. “I can do this by myself.”

“I couldn’t let you do that, Miss.
 
What would Mr. DuPont think?
 
We can take the back way.”

Maria forced herself to smile and then gingerly followed the man.
 
His steps seemed to be far slower than was necessary.
 
She could not keep herself from casting furtive glances at the house to see if anyone was watching.

By the time they reached the garage, she was covered with a fine film of nervous perspiration.
 
The gardener loaded the bags into the trunk of the car with the same unhurried ease.
 
Maria tapped her foot in exasperation.

When he was done, she hastily thanked him and got into the car.
 
The controls of the foreign vehicle were unfamiliar to her.
 
She wasted more valuable time as she attempted to figure out what was what.
 
It was lucky that her father had taught her how to drive a stick shift.

At last, she was ready to go.
 
Maria cringed as the engine roared into life.
 
The garage door was open.
 
 
She drove out slowly to keep down any unnecessary noise that might attract attention in the house.
 
As far as Mrs. Grey knew, she had left awhile ago.
 
It would not be wise to arouse her suspicions.

Maria felt joyously free until she reached the main gate.
 
The tall iron bars were closed and locked.
 
Why hadn’t she thought of this before?
 
She looked quickly around the interior of the car, but there was no sign of a remote control.
 
With trembling fingers, she opened the glove compartment.
 
There, on top of a small pile of papers, was a small, black device.
 
Maria took it out and pressed a button.
 
The gates slowly swung open.

Before she put the car into forward gear, she took one last look back down the drive.
 
Her eyes became misty as she whispered a final farewell to all she was leaving behind her.
 
She might never see Steve again, but he would live forever in her heart.

Maria wiped away the tears and drove out between the gates.
 
After she closed them, she replaced the control in the glove compartment.
 
She took another brief look at the map to refresh in her mind the route she planned to follow.

Soon, she would be on a plane back to the snowy north, but it could not possibly be as cold as the chill she felt within her.
 
For now, she must be strong and remain alert in order to carry out her plan.
 
There would be plenty of time for her to wallow in regrets later.

Maria found the airport without any difficulties.
 
As she pulled into a parking lot, she took a time card from an automatic dispenser, and placed it on the dashboard.
 
Steve would surely find it there.

There was no porter to help her with her luggage until she walked up to the front of the terminal.
 
From there, her bags were placed on a wheeled cart.
 
Following the porter, she entered the terminal.
 
The large room was unbelievably crowded and noisy.

Maria was so busy looking around at the long lines at the ticket counters that she did not notice when the cart stopped.
 
She carelessly bumped into a man’s back.
 
With a startled exclamation, she looked up.

“What an unexpected surprise,” said Steve DuPont as he turned to face her.

“Steve,” Maria exhaled on a breath of futility.

“
Imagine
meetin
’ you here, darlin’,” the man continued, as if he had just flown in from out of town.

He walked forward to place his arm around Maria’s shoulders.
 
A casual observer might think this was a meeting of old friends if they did not look closely at Maria’s face.
 
The steel in the man’s grip informed his captive that it would be unwise to resist.
 
Maria was too stunned to speak.

“As you see,” Steve casually explained to the porter, “my wife wasn’t
expectin
’ me home so soon.
 
We’ll need you to bring her bags back to the car.”

He smiled and his words sounded friendly, but there was deadly menace in his eyes when he looked at Maria.
 
As she opened her mouth to speak, she felt his fingers dig into the soft flesh of her upper arm.

“No emotional welcomes before strangers,” Steve cautioned as an explanation to one listener and a warning to the other.

Maria gulped and allowed him to lead her out the front doors.
 
Her heart hammered in her chest.

“Where’s the car, darlin’?” the man asked in a deceptively mild voice.

Unable to speak, Maria could only point as they walked out to the parking lot.
 
After the porter put her bags back into the trunk, Steve gave him a generous tip, and he left.
 
Then, he extended his hand for the keys.

“I left them in the glove compartment so you could find them there,” Maria meekly stated.

“How clever of you,” Steve replied in a cold voice.
 
“I suppose you locked the doors?”

Maria nodded.

“It’s a good thing I brought my own set along or we’d have to wait here until my chauffeur returned with them.”

Without wasting another moment, Steve unlocked the doors and gestured for Maria to get inside.
 
She quickly responded.
 
After the man got in and started up the car, he paid the parking fee and drove out of the airport.
 
Maria sat stonily beside him, waiting fearfully for the inevitable confrontation.

Halfway back to the house, Steve pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked it beside an extensive patch of woods that abutted the river.
 
He stepped out and walked over to the bank without saying a word.

Maria would have been content to sit there and wait, but she knew that he expected her to join him.
 
While she dreaded what he would have to say to her, she wanted to get this encounter over with so she knew where she stood.
 
With a sense of humiliation, she got out and moved slowly to join the man.

They stood on the embankment for a while, each rapt in personal thoughts, looking out over the river.

Steve finally broke the silence by saying, “No apologies?
 
No goodbyes?
 
I turn my back for an instant and you disappear without a word.”

“How did you find me?”

“When I called the house to tell you I was coming home early, Mrs. Grey told me you went out for a ride.
 
Knowin
’ you as I do, I knew you’d head straight for the airport.”

 
Steve waited a moment, giving Maria a chance to speak.
 
When she didn’t, he went on, “Why did you do it?
 
After I warned you, how could you do that?”

His eyes were still focused on the water.

“I had to, Steve,” Maria softly replied.

The man’s face grew stern when he said, “You didn’t have to do anything but to stay put and be happy.
 
Was this your way of
gettin
’ back at me for what happened last night?”

“No.
 
It wasn’t that at all.”

“Then, what was it, Maria?
 
Why did you try to run out on me when I told you not to?”

Maria’s voice choked in her throat.
 
She looked up at the man with pleading eyes.

“Answer me!” he shouted, finally turning to her.
 
“I want to know what goes on in that
calculatin
’, little mind of yours.”

Maria put her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut as she shook her head.

“I couldn’t stand it any more!” she cried out.
 
“It was just too much for me!
 
I had to get away.”

Steve ripped down her arms and pinned them behind her back as he pressed his body against hers.
 
Maria’s eyes opened to stare up at his face in fear and hopelessness.
 
The man returned her look with unrelenting anger.