Chapter One

 

Augustin always had the most elegant parties. Whenever he gave one, even the weather cooperated. Today was no different. The sky was a perfect blue, marred only by a few high, white clouds, and there was a gentle breeze blowing in off of the sea that brought an invigorating tang of salt air and moderated the warmth of the sun. There were dozens and dozens of people there, and I barely knew any of them. I knew Augustin, of course. For some reason he had taken an interest in me and befriended me, but today he was kept busy circulating among his guests, seeing to their comfort and ease. A tall redheaded woman was his constant companion as he strolled about. I suspected that she had some hopes of becoming his latest mistress from the way she kept close by his side. From Augustin's actions towards her, I also suspected that her hopes were well-founded. He almost always had his arm around her waist or his hand on her shoulder, even when he greeted some old friend or business associate. I couldn't fault his taste in women. She was a striking creature, with porcelain skin and lovely, expressive green eyes. She had a nice smile as well, and she was smiling a lot today. The thin white dress she wore covered her almost completely, from the high collar to the long sleeves to the ornate lacy hem that almost brushed the close-cropped lawn as she walked along beside him. While it covered her, though, it also clung to her body in a way that men couldn't help but turn their heads to watch. She wore a large, round white hat that matched the dress, probably to keep the sun off of her face. It was the one thing that kept her from looking like a new bride. Augustin wore a finely tailored dark suit, a pale yellow shirt, and no tie. He looked every bit the prosperous, middle-aged businessman at his ease.

I myself neither stood out nor quite blended in here. As I meandered about the shaded pavilions and the long tables covered with fine foods and wines, I kept catching bits and pieces of conversations in languages other than English. I knew a few words and phrases in French, German, Italian and even Greek, but not enough to engage in any conversation with anyone who didn't speak English. I suspected that most of the guests here did speak it, if only as a second language, but I didn't feel comfortable enough among all these strangers to try to find out for sure. As Augustin's houseguest, I belonged here as much as any of the others did, but I still felt out of place.

I wandered down to the pool area. It sat on a low elevation overlooking the sea. Off in the distance I could see ships, fishing boats, and the low, dark outlines of the nearer islands. Closer by, at the pool, there was a small flock of gorgeous young women in tiny, tiny bikinis frolicking in the water. I could hear their excited laughter as they strove to gain the attentions of the handful of middle-aged men sitting or standing around the pool. None of them were in the water themselves, even if they wore swim trunks. Every one of them wore dark sunglasses so that it was impossible to tell where they were looking. I was pretty sure that they were carefully surveying the young women. I knew I would be, were I one of them.

There was really nothing to see by the pool except for all that active, young, suntanned girl-flesh, and after a little while I concluded that they were all interchangeable, as appealing as they were. I turned away and made my way back to the refreshment tables. I wasn't especially hungry, but I thought that a glass of wine would be nice, and at least it gave me something to do. I was never really comfortable at parties, even smaller ones where I knew at least a few of the attendees. There were dozens and dozens of people at this one, and the only person I knew was Augustin. Oh, I had met his stunning redhead, and I even knew her name: Dorcas. She was supposedly from northern England. But I didn't really know her.

I thought that after I got my wine and maybe a bit to eat I'd go down near the sea and sit quietly. It wasn't that I felt antisocial, just out of place. Some people can fit in easily, but I'm not one of them. I'd been a geek in school...or was nerd the word? Either way, I'd been pretty much a loner then, and I still was now, even with my own consulting business doing well. Electronics I knew: People I didn't.

That was when I first saw her. She was standing with her back to one of the serving tables, enduring the attentions of one of the male guests. I saw her in profile, and the first thing I noticed about her was her hair. It was short: Not really short, but definitely not shoulder length, and it had been brushed up and back. There was a vaguely spiky effect to it, so she must have used styling mousse. It was a pale blonde on the crown of her head, darkening gradually to a light brown at the nape of her neck. In profile, her face seemed unremarkable. Her nose seemed a bit substantial, but not prominent. It tilted up a little. She was wearing a flowing black dress that covered her from her neck to just above her ankles, leaving her right arm bare. White piping ran down along the seam at her side, from just under her arm to the hem of her dress. I noticed that she wore some kind of high-heeled sandals, probably expensive ones. She looked to be about average height and build. Aside from the hair, there was nothing that seemed to make her stand out or warrant the earnest efforts of the man speaking to her. The wines were at the end of the long table that she seemed to be leaning against, so I kept going that way, slowly. The two of them made an interesting little tableau, so I kept watching, too. I may be uncomfortable around people, but I still like studying them. As I drew closer, I guessed that the woman was in her mid-twenties. She finally smiled and said something to her would-be suitor. I didn't hear what it was, but he seemed to deflate like a punctured beach ball as he turned and scurried away. She watched him go, and then she must have felt my eyes on her, because she turned her head in my direction and looked at me. Suddenly I understood the jilted suitor's efforts. She had wide blue-gray eyes, set well apart, a high forehead, and a wide mouth. She looked more striking than conventionally pretty, but she was certainly an attractive woman. I noticed that the fine arches of her brows were the same shade as the hair at the nape of her neck. Her face was carefully expressionless, but those eyes spoke volumes. They were worldly, wary and self-possessed. They had a physical impact on me, almost like I'd been punched. She stared at me for a long moment and then turned back to the table to pick out a glass of wine, dismissing my presence, and I felt as if I'd been punched again, this time by a world-class heavyweight.

While the black dress covered her right side demurely, the left side was barely there at all. It was slit up to her hip, showing all of her lovely long leg. Then there was a part maybe three or four inches wide, high on her hip that gathered the dress together. Above that, the gap opened again. From there it ran all the way up to her slender neck, where it looked like the dress hung on by a thread. Her left arm and shoulder were bare, as was the side of her firm, round breast. It was clear that she wasn't wearing a bra. If she was wearing any panties, they had to be riding high up on her hips. For the first time, I noticed that she wasn't wearing any jewelry at all, not even stud earrings. In a way, that made sense. Her skin was flawless, a soft, honey-golden tan everywhere I could see. Any jewelry might have distracted from all that gorgeous bare flesh. At closer range, I saw that she looked more athletic than she had from further away.

I might have been staring. No, I know I was staring. I was suddenly aware that she was looking at me again, standing hipshot and showing off all of her leg, leaning back a little, letting her left arm dangle to show a little more breast. Her face was still expressionless, but her blue-gray eyes said that she knew I was hooked even as they dared me to do anything about it.

He who hesitates is lost. I went a bit closer to her, smiling. At least I hope it was a smile. I was pretty sure that I wasn't drooling, at least.

"Hello," I said. I might as well try English at first. "I'm Jason Greer." I almost held out my hand, but I thought better of it.

"Are you, indeed?" she said. Her expression never changed, but her head tilted a little to one side. Her voice had an interesting hint of a crack in it, and a slight but unmistakable accent.

"You're an American," I said. "From somewhere in the South. I'd guess Virginia or the Carolinas."

"And you're an American as well," she observed. She kept her poker face, and there was no softening of her gaze. I found that it was much easier to keep my eyes on hers than I thought it would be: Her eyes were riveting. I thought that I'd like to see her smile sometime. "Is that why you decided to come over and talk to me?"

"Of course not," I shook my head. She didn't smile. She barely moved as she waited for me to say something more. I had the distinct feeling that I was being judged and found wanting. It was a lot like being back in high school.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

"Why do you want to know?" she countered. She picked up a glass of white wine from the table and sipped it, looking at me over the rim. Now I felt as if I was some strange-looking species of bug. Yep, high school all over again.

"I'm just trying to start a conversation," I answered. "I don't really know anyone here, apart from Augustin."

"And out of all those people, you chose me to talk to," she said, tilting her head slightly to the other side. She still wasn't smiling. Now I was just irritated.

"Look," I said heatedly. "You're a stunningly attractive woman. Maybe you've gotten so used to male attention that it just bores you now. But if that's the case, you shouldn't dress that way." I pointed at her revealing outfit. "It just invites more of that attention you find so dreadfully boring. Make up your mind." With that, I turned on my heel and walked away.

I wound up sitting on the beach as I'd half planned to do all along, watching the ships and boats come and go. It was peaceful down there, and after a while I wasn't feeling quite so upset. It occurred to me that the striking young woman in the even more striking black dress must get her kicks out of leading men on only to shoot them down in flames. I tried to put her out of my mind, but images of her kept intruding on my mind. If I closed my eyes, they intruded even more vividly. It was starting to get dark when I finally got up, brushed the sand off, and started back towards Augustin's villa.

The party seemed to have broken up a little while ago. The only people I could see were the villa staff and the caterers, packing up the leftover food and wine, taking down the colorful pavilions and cleaning up the grounds.

"Jason! There you are!" I turned to see Augustin striding towards me, smiling ruefully.

"I have been searching for you," he continued. "I am afraid that I have been a terrible host, leaving you alone in a sea of strangers." He was still wearing the same outfit, but now his tailored jacket was unbuttoned and he'd changed his glossy black loafers for what looked like comfortable moccasins.

"No need to apologize," I shook my head. "You had much else to attend to. I didn't want to intrude. Where is Dorcas?"

"Ah, I will meet with her later," Augustin said with a wave of his hand. "But here, let me make up my unforgivable neglect of my houseguest. Come with me," he beckoned with a finger. "I would like to show you my stables."

I didn't especially want to go and look at his horses, but breeding and racing them was his one true passion, though he always said that it was merely his 'hobby'. It would have been rude of me to turn down the invitation, so I walked along with him towards the stables.

"I am afraid that you did not enjoy the party," he said.

"That is not your fault, Augustin," I answered. "I never feel comfortable at parties."

"Ah, but then I must apologize for inflicting one upon you," he said with a smile. "I am sorry, but it had been planned months ago. But tell me, are you enjoying your stay with me otherwise?"

"Very much so," I nodded. "You are a most considerate host. I especially enjoyed the deep-sea fishing."

"You are most kind," he said, draping his arm across my shoulders. "But I think I should have at least introduced you to a few of my party guests. I could have provided you with some good business contacts."

"I am sure that you will anyway, my friend," I laughed. "I think I know you that well already."

"Indeed," he laughed. I was expecting for us to head straight for the large, white barn, but instead he effortlessly steered me towards one of the smaller outlying buildings. It was 'smaller' only in comparison with the barn. Now I could hear horses neighing, but the sounds weren't coming from the building we were approaching. I wondered what Augustin was up to, but I knew better than to ask. He liked to surprise people.

He opened the smaller door next to the large barn doors and ushered me inside. I had to stop a little ways in because it was so dark inside I couldn't see anything. Then he shut the door behind us and flicked a switch. Dim lights came on. Now I could see the massive timbers that supported the building and the thick, heavy planks that were the walls and floor. I looked up, but the light was too dim for me to see the roof. I could smell fresh hay and old wood. Somewhere overhead I heard the whirring of wings and the cooing of disturbed pigeons. There was a wide walkway in front of us. I could see that it ran all the way to the far end of the building to a second set of barn doors. To either side of the walkway there were rows of stalls that looked a bit snug for horses. They all seemed to be empty.

"Well," I said to Augustin. "You did say that you wanted to show me your stables. You did not say anything about your horses."

He laughed and clapped me on the back. "That is true, my friend," he said happily. "But few know that I have two kinds of stables. Come, let me show you one of my prizes."

I went with him to one of the nearer stalls. The sides were solid wood, and chest-high. I still didn't see anything. Then Augustin opened the stall door wide. As he did so, a much brighter light came on just above the stall. A figure in the far corner of it stood up.