Chapter 15 | Susan
FIFTEEN
Susan
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I SAT IN MY BED, LOOKING out into my darkened room. I felt oddly numb despite the heavy beating of my heart.
The day had started out as usual; breakfast with my mother, a pleasant stroll with her, then a few hours in my office to work.
Lunch had come and gone without incident. It was only an hour after dinner that Ayra came to ask me where Holly was.
“I don’t know. I assume she’s working.”
She shook her head. “No one has seen her today. We were supposed to meet to discuss her progress with the music. I figured she was working this morning and didn’t want to bother her.
It’s rare that I see her at lunch, so I didn’t think anything of it, but then.
.. well as the day wore on, I... I haven’t heard from her all day. ”
I pulled out my phone and tried to call her.
“I’ve tried three times,” Ayra said. “No answer.”
I let it ring and ring and ring, then set my phone down.
“Okay,” I said, unwilling to let myself become alarmed too prematurely. “Have you spoken to Keely?”
She nodded.
“To Abbie.”
She nodded.
Then I thought of our last conversation. “Have you tried Damen?”
“Damen?”
It was my turn to nod.
“Damen’s in London. He finished a movie with Roma Lane last year and the premier is tonight... in London.”
A shuddering breath shook me. London. Was it possible? Could she?
As night fell, I’d returned to my room. I’d yet to say anything to my mother for fear of alarming her, but if I didn’t get news of Holly soon, I would have to tell her.
Finally, just a little before midnight, a knock sounded at my bedroom door.
“Yes!” I shouted as I jumped out of bed and ran to open the door. “Yes. Have you found Holly?”
Jai and Ayra stood there.
“Please come downstairs,” Ayra said. “Major Cooper is here. He’s found your sister.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I’ll be right down.”
I returned inside to grab my robe, then hurried down the stairs. “Holly,” I called out. “Holly!”
“Here,” Major Cooper called out from the front drawing room.
I ran to him and saw Holly sitting back on the sofa, an unfamiliar coat wrapped around her. “Holly. What happened to you? Where have you been?”
I glanced back to look at Major Cooper. “Where did you find her?”
“Roaming the streets of London.”
“London?” I looked back at my sister. “Oh, dearest Holly. What in the world were you thinking?”
Her blank stare looked right through me.
“What were you doing in London, Holly?”
“There was a serious downpour a few hours ago. Clearly she got caught up in it.”
“I need to get her into a hot shower.” I took Holly by the arm and tried to get her to stand.
“Please,” Major Cooper said as he came to my aid. “Allow me.” He effortlessly scooped her up.
“Bring her to my room,” I said.
“Lead the way.”
He followed me up to my room and into my adjacent bathroom where he sat her down on the toilette.
“I’m very concerned about her,” he said. “Do you mind if I wait outside your door to see how she’s doing after a good shower?”
“Please do. I would love to talk to you as well.”
He left us.
“Holly, honey,” I said, pushing the damp hair off her forehead. “Please, talk to me.”
She muttered something unintelligible.
I got her out of her damp clothes and helped her to the shower. As I started the water, I realized I’d be drenched as well, but there was no time for me to undress as well.
“Come on, Holly,” I begged. “Hold yourself up.”
She stood there, her eyes dead.
I sprayed the warm water over her, over her head, over her entire body, then gradually turned up the heat until steam filled the bathroom.
Color returned to her face, her lips, but still, her eyes remained distant and unseeing.
I turned off the water, dried her off then guided her into my room where I put her in one of my warmer nightgowns. Then I quickly changed out of my wet pajamas to put on dry ones.
She sat on the edge of my bed, staring out into nothing. Since arriving, she hadn’t said a coherent word.
“Okay,” I said as I gently laid her down. “You sleep in my bed tonight, dear sister. You sleep. I’m going to go out to have a chat with Major Cooper, then I’ll come back to stay with you, okay?”
She closed her eyes, her lips silently moving.
I left her and met up with Major Cooper in the hallway.
“Please, tell me what happened. What do you know?”
Then I noticed another man standing in the distance near the stairway, but I brought my attention back to Major Cooper.
“I was in London on business. We were about to return to our car to leave when I literally bumped into Holly. You can imagine my surprise. Not only had I not expected to see her there, but... her disheveled appearance, her incoherent blabbering, her shivers. It was all so confounding.”
“You did right to bring her here. A warm shower was just what she needed and she’s resting now.”
The man in the distance moved, and I suddenly realized who it was. My knees went weak.
Bradley. What was he doing at Moon Manor?
Major Cooper caught the direction of my gaze.
“Yes,” he said. “I was with Bradley when we found Holly.
My heart leapt to my throat. No, it’d stopped pounding altogether. No. No. It pounded like never before.
Damn. I was already emotionally distraught with Holly’s condition. I didn’t have the emotional strength to deal with another difficult situation.
But he came to us all the same, and the closer he got, the shakier I became. His approach was guarded, tentative, unsure how I would accept his presence.
“Hello,” I said with surprising calm. “Major Cooper tells me that you and he brought Holly back home. Thank you.”
He nodded with some discomfort. “Is she doing all right?”
“She’s sleeping. But I need to know what happened. What was she doing in London?
I thought of Ayra’s words, of Damen’s premier... but it didn’t fit. It didn’t make sense. How could his movie premier leave Holly in such a state?
“Was she with you two? She seems to be in shock, and I don’t think it’s the cold.”
“No,” Major Cooper said. “She wasn’t with us.”
“We happened to be at the Grand Majesty Theatre Royal.” Brad pressed a wry grin. “It happens to be the project my brother sent me to London to work on.”
I averted my gaze, unwilling to talk about his sudden departure from Selma Sanctuary or his brother’s part in it.
He cleared his throat and proceeded. “We are nearly finished with the renovation of the old historical theater and...” His voice trailed off.
Major Cooper smiled. “You see, I am a Patron of the Arts of the Grand Majestic Theatre Royal. As it happens, there was a movie premier nearby. We believe that is where Holly had gone.”
I nodded. So, she had gone there with him. “She left here without telling anyone.”
“She muttered profusely about her love for a man,” Major Cooper said. “Though quite incoherent for the most part, she seemed angry with someone, this same man perhaps... She called him a cheat, a scoundrel, a thief. If I understood correctly, I do believe she was talking about Damen Dominic.”
Oh, my. I teetered back and reached out to grip something, anything to hold me steady. Brad offered his hand, holding me tight as I fought to breathe.
“I don’t really know what he could have done to her, but the results are clear,” the major added. “She’s devastated.”
“Poor Holly.” I took my hand away from Brad’s and found my balance. “My dearest Holly. Her heart must be in tatters. To have your heart trampled in such a way...”
Brad clamped his lips tightly and looked to the floor.
“Oh, and what will happen when Damen Dominic returns. How will she face him?” I looked at him. “I do hope you’re mistaken. I do hope there’s simply been a misunderstanding.”
He nodded.
“If not, we will surely have to leave here,” I said, with no idea where to go.
“Well,” Major Cooper said. “It’s late. I think we should be going.”
As he stepped away, Brad took a step closer. “I’ll be down in a minute,” he called back to the major.
“I have to go in and check on Holly,” I said, uncomfortable with the idea of being alone with him.
“I... I would just like to say...”
“There’s nothing to say, Brad.” I didn’t like the bite of my words, but I couldn’t hide how he had hurt me.
“I’m ashamed of the way I left Selma Sanctuary,” he went on. “I let my brother tell me what to do, tell me where to go, and I blindly obeyed. Such is the relationship I have with him; have always had with him. But I think it’s time I put an end to that.”
“You’re a mature man,” I said. “Do as you please.” I turned away.
“Susan,” he whispered, gently grasping my hand. “I was a coward. I admit it, and there hasn’t been a moment I haven’t regretted it. And I am still looking for a solution to the situation with Selma Sanctuary.”
“Well, good luck with that.”
“Jeremy is still determined to make a hotel of it.”
I looked straight at him, wanting to tell him how he’d hurt me, wanting him to tell me what was truly in his heart. Was his regret strictly with regards to Selma Sanctuary, or was there an ounce of regret for leaving me?
Before he could say anything more, Major Cooper returned.
“Miss Susan,” he said. “If I may, I would like to make a suggestion with regards to Holly. If I understand the situation as I believe I do, I think I can help Holly out of her heartache.