Chapter 14

Valerie looked at the clock on the dashboard for the hundredth time in the last hour. No matter how often she looked it never seemed to move fast enough.

The week in Nogardshire had been good; and frustrating. In a rare occurrence both Ian and Millie were there and she kept herself busy with plans for the festival now only a week away.

The days had been full, she learned more about Michael, as Ian had given her his entire file on him.

Reading through it gave Valerie a deeper perspective on this unique man who had captured her heart in such a short time. The week away had given her a much-needed pause, learning to understand her own feelings from a neutral space, instead of one in the middle of the whirlwind.

"We will be up on Friday afternoon, I have spoken to Michael several times and he is looking forward to the festival," Valerie said to Ian as she put her suitcase in the boot of her car getting ready to head back to Oxford.

"We are all looking forward to meeting him Valerie, be safe," he said as he pulled the young woman towards him giving her a warm hug before she slipped behind the wheel.

Valerie had been surprised at the level of detail in Ian's files, she had watched Michael graduate from high school, row in the single man scull at the NCAA finals, graduate from college, give a presentation on a proposed building, seen the love in his eyes as he and Sasha had wed.

It struck her as strange that Ian had quite this level of background on Michael, she could buy the whole "distant relative" bit, but that only went so far. When she had questioned Ian about it last night he was ... evasive.

"This seems like a great deal of trouble to stay current on a distant relative Uncle," Valerie said as they sat in the drawing room after supper.

Ian paused, giving a meaningful look to Millie before responding.

"His branch of the family tree is interesting, he is the last of a very strong branch of that tree, as the..." Ian's pause caused Valerie to focus on him even more, noting the tension in his usually calm features. " ... head of the family" he continued "I think it is my place to make sure that those in the line are watched so they can be helped if needed," Ian concluded taking a very large drink of his port.

One of the other things she was not sure of was this whole "terrorist" attack last weekend. She had read some of the reports from Ian's people, even watched the news to get some more information, she found it odd that it never showed up.

Ian and Millie both had seemed eager for her to stay, she didn't know if it was concern for her and Michael's budding relationship or simply the desire to visit after too long.

Either way it had been an enjoyable week, classes began tomorrow and she had a date with Michael this evening for dinner, it would be interesting to see if there was any difference between them with a little time past.

She knew on her side there was a difference; if she could make it through dinner without jumping his bones for an energetic shag she would be amazed.

Giggling to herself she thought back to the last bit of info on Michael Uncle Ian had given her. It was a video of Michael fencing at Oxford. She knew about Michael's love of fencing as it was well documented in the files, but watching him do it, seeing the grace and power as he would go from perfectly still to a flurry of motion and then back to still again in two blinks of an eye was mesmerizing. Looking at him on the street she would never have guessed what power lay beneath his thick turtlenecks and tight blue jeans.

She quivered a bit at the thought and checked the clock once again.

Ian watched as Valerie's car drove through the high stone gate of the castle, the gray clouds had begun moving in early, it would be a cool afternoon leading up to a cold night, fall was here, a time to reap what had been sown.

Walking back into the castle he caught a glimpse of Millie, she smiled and made for the stairs, he was more than happy to follow her.

"Millie, do you think Valerie is up to knowing the truth, of opening herself to Michael, of being there for him, understanding the sacrifices she will need to make?" Ian asked as his hand played slowly over the smooth skin of her shoulder.

"I think she is stronger than you know," she began, shifting her body to its side facing the man she had loved and called partner, friend, and lover for all these years. Her hand moved to his chest, her knuckles playing over his muscles as she continued.

"Living a life is difficult Ian, a normal everyday life, getting up, going to work, making sure you are a good person, it is a full time job. Throw in another person and some things get easier, some things harder, it is as with all things in life a balance." Her hand moved softly on him, caressing him in that slow sensuous manner of long time lovers, there is no hurry in these, just the acknowledgement and enjoyment of being and touching your other half.

"Valerie is a strong independent woman, she knows her own mind, has grown up around you, while not being included in everything, I think she will understand and embrace the truth of it once she knows." Millie said, moving her hand to her own hip as she regarded Ian's closed eyes and knitted brow.

"She is the child I never had, I am allowing her into a very dangerous world by accepting her affection for Michael," Ian said, lost in his own thoughts.

"Allowing?" Millie laughed, "There is nothing you could do or say that would alter the path she is on with Michael."

"Tera could change things for both of them." Ian sighed, wondering why Nigel had allowed her to stay with him.

Millie paused at this, thinking deeply about her own relationship with Ian. They had chosen to live together, chosen to give the other themselves totally and alone. But the times were different then, simpler ... probably not ... but more constrained by what was even thinkable let alone allowed. Things were different today, would she share, if he asked????

"What will happen is up to them, Michael seems quite taken with Valerie, I don't think an hour went by all week that they weren't on the phone about some small this or that. And as for Tera ... where she fits in is up to them and herself, why worry over that which you cannot control. Let it go, at least it will not be dull" Mille laughed, bringing Ian back to the moment.

"I love you," he whispered as he moved his lips to her neck, his body slipping next to her's.

Nicolas stood at the window of the Grosvenor House suite looking down over St. Jame's, the dull gray sky made him yearn for the pristine clear air of the mountains.

"Ah well, soon enough" he said to himself as he turned from the frenetic city view and back to the laptop on the antique desk.

While he had assured that fool Ian that no harm would come to his precious Michael for a while, it did not mean he would'nt continue to keep tabs on him.

He watched the video of Michael fencing for the fifth time, impressed by his speed and skill, though he would never admit it to anyone, especially himself.

Nickolas had turned his attention to other things, having to be in this god forsaken country, he might as well find something to entertain himself with as Mr. Dane was, for the next few days atleast, out of reach.

"Dimitri, what is your status," Nickolas said into the headset of the encrypted satellite phone.

"We picked up the target about 20 minutes ago, we are keeping a loose pursuit until we get beyond the area you specified, we will call in after to receive the go ahead," Dimitri answered and then hung up.

Nicholas smiled and picked up his glass of whiskey, taking a long deep pull of the amber liquid, he thought this little diversion would be quite pleasant and serve many purposes ... it was good when it was so.

Michael sat at the table surrounded by books and drawings. The week had passed quickly, he was looking forward to seeing Valerie tonight, but he was also concerned about his growing feelings for Tera.

What started off as something to be tolerated had quickly moved onto something more, at least for him.

After getting settled back into his new flat, orienting himself with the role of 'teacher' and finding that his love and proficiency level at fencing had stayed almost as they were two decades ago, he felt he was starting to relax into this new phase of his life.

The energetic variables in the equation were Valerie and Tera.

He had been immediately attracted to Valerie, her softness, her easy laugh, the light that danced behind her eyes when he touched her, it was a parallel to what he had seen and loved so much about Sasha.

And that concerned him, was he in falling in love with a supposed manifestation of Sasha or with the very real and corporeal Valerie.

This question plagued him as he moved through the week, he wrestled with it often but in the end came to the conclusion that yes, he was seeing her, yes there were similarities of feeling, but not of thought and action, she was Valerie, not a mannequin on which Sasha's memory was being laid.

Tera on the other hand was something totally ... unexpected.

Living with her held surprises, he was amazed how she could be masculine and feminine in a balance that he had never encountered before.

This morning had been a prime example. As had become their routine they ran the canal, starting well before dawn.

The runs always were done mostly in silence, this morning Tera had surprised him by asking a question not long after they left the flat.

"Would you like to be alone this evening with Valerie," Tera asked as they made their way through the light cool fog of the pre dawn, the only sound that of their feet hitting the pavement.

The question caught Michael completely off guard.

"Well ... yes, I suppose that would be best" he answered, not sure where this was going.

"That's what I thought, ' she said, speeding up her pace a bit, "I will go and do a debriefing with Nigel," she paused before continuing, "if Nigel believes there is still a continuing threat I will have him post some watchers around your place so I won't have to ... disturb ... your evening," she finished, picking up the pace a bit more forcing Michael to catch up with her once again.

"I hadn't thought of you leaving," he said honestly.

They ran quietly for awhile, making the turn that would bring them back along the opposite side of the canal, their backs to the now rising sun as they ran to complete their circuitous route.

"I didn't say I was leaving, I just thought you may want a little privacy tonight is all, you didn't see my duffle packed by the door this morning did you?" she huffed, the pace they were setting was stronger than the other mornings, both were sweating heavily.

They had started the run about ½ a meter apart, now as they closed in on the flat, they were almost shoulder to shoulder. The proximity was not lost on either of them.

Standing in the kitchen, a half full bottle of orange juice upturned at his lips he watched as Tera stretched after the run. She had taken off the running suit she had been wearing, underneath was what she always wore, a sports bra and small skintight shorts.

Her arms extended over her head, causing her body to lengthen, her muscles pulled taught, the mocha colored skin of her low back glistened from their morning exertions.

He almost choked on the OJ as she turned quickly finding him watching her, she gave him a perplexed look for a moment, something akin to a tiger in the zoo who becomes aware of the humans watching and wonders why his food is daring to stand so close.

The look passed from her face and it softened quickly, a sly smile crossed her lips as she walked past him, pulling the bra over her head just before she vanished down the hall towards her room.

And the day moved on as the others had, Tera was interesting company and they talked on and off through out the day, he learned of her less than idyllic childhood, she of the loss of his wife and unborn child, they grew closer but there was always an edge to her, some part of her that was untouchable. Michael wrote it off as her being a professional on a job, a job that entailed great risk and the need for action ... possibly violent action at a moments notice.

Tera was sitting on the couch watching Michael prepare for his first lecture tomorrow. She was surprised at the commitment he had put into making sure the class would be both educational and entertaining.