Chapter 6

Matt turned away from the sun streaming through the window. It was far too bright for this time of the morning. And his throbbing head would be in no state to battle the light.

He turned onto his back and stretched out, and a lazy smile crept onto his face.

No throbbing head, no aches or pains or weariness. Just a tremendous feeling of wellbeing?

He climbed out of bed and walked through to his bathroom, and less than half an hour later he was dressed and ready to face the world.

He was whistling as he fastened the laces of his trainers, and the smile still hovered around his mouth.

People were already gathered around the dining table eating breakfast and talking quietly, when he entered.

“Good morning!” he beamed at the occupants.

They all looked at him in surprise, everyone that was except for that Rowena woman, who kept her eyes fixed on her coffee cup.

“You look cheerful this morning, uncle?” Michael observed.

“It’s a beautiful morning, a day full of possibilities perhaps?”

“How’s the head this morning?” Greg asked hospitably. “Did you sleep okay?”

Matt’s grin widened. “I think I had probably the best night’s sleep in years.”

He tucked into a substantial breakfast feeling half starved, and the conversations around the table resumed.

As people finished their own breakfast, they drifted away until only Greg, his brother Jonathon, and that Rowena woman, were left at the table.

Matt polished off the food and then sat back with a sigh of satisfaction and reached for his coffee cup.

As he sipped at the hot beverage, he glanced up and his eyes fell on the woman sitting across from him.

As he sat watching her down bent head, the sun streamed through the window and caught the soft buttery glow of her hair.

His cup stopped mid sip, and slowly lowered away, as he gazed in wonder at her glowing halo, and his memory began to shuffle through the millions of frozen images.

Greg and Jonathon exchanged a quick glance and almost as if someone had nudged her, she looked up and their eyes locked.

Greg and Jonathon held their breaths as they watched the battle that raged in Matt.

But then suddenly he sighed, and his head dipped down as he rubbed at the scar under his white streak of hair.

Trudy stood up and fled the table, and by the time that Matt looked up again the room was quiet, and ordinary again, as the other two finished their own coffee, and chatted together quietly about nothing in particular.

Matt stood up, and the euphoria that he’d felt earlier, suddenly abandoned him, leaving the usual angst of something missing deep inside him.

“I think I shall walk off breakfast and then go out for a run.” he said abruptly.

The silence in the room, after his departure, ended with Jonathon’s sigh of regret.

“I had hoped that something about her would jog his memory.”

Greg looked at him in concern. “I realise that they knew each other before, and I appreciate that you are doing what you think is best for your brother ... but Trudy is my sister, and I hate to see the distress caused to her by Matt’s inability to remember, and his erratic behaviour towards her.”

“I know, my friend,” Jonathon sighed again. “I only meant to do what I thought was best for the two of them, but obviously their feelings ran deep and strong.”

“Yes, and so perhaps the damage was just as deep and strong?”

“Do you know nothing of what happened between them then?”

It was Greg’s turn to sigh. “Whatever it was, it was whilst we were away on that diplomatic relations tour; Belle never said anything, and then she became ill ... by the time that Trudy returned, she was a different person. I was too deep into my own grief to ask what had caused the change, and the time passed by, and Trudy went her way.”

“Changed - how?” Jonathon asked curiously.

“Oh, well her hair for one thing, it used to be her pride and glory, flowing down her back. She was admired everywhere she went – because of how she looked, but also because of her bright and happy go lucky personality.”

“I can see why Matt would have been drawn to her then ... but what happened? What went wrong – why did he leave her and go to London, the attack that followed was about timing ... had he remained with your sister he may not have been kidnapped in the first place?”

“I do not know. But the next time that I her saw her, her hair was hacked off as you see it now, and the light had been snuffed out of her ... she seemed desolate – driven ... almost unreachable, except for with the girls.”

“Your daughters?”

Greg smiled sadly. “Only with Iris and Laurie did the light in her glimmer again.”

Matt strode across the grassy field, heading as always towards that forest that called out to him.