Part Three

by Nancybe

The curtain of falling snow seemed to form a solid wall of glistening white in front of her as she made her way into the airport. Suddenly, the curtain parted to reveal a caped figure standing by the door. The stance was undeniable, and Julia felt her pulse begin to race as he put an arm around her to lead her to the car.

"I told you not to come out here in this weather," she admonished him with a sternness she did not feel.

"You needed a ride home, and I told you I would be here," he answered in an even voice as he helped her into the car. "How is your aunt?"

"She is much better, thank you," Julia answered trying to shake the heavy, wet flakes off of her hair and coat. "It wasn’t as serious as I thought it might be – just a case of pneumonia. Of course, that is always dangerous in older people, but she’s a pretty tough lady, and she was already improving before I left."

"Are you warm enough, Julia?" Barnabas asked taking a moment to glance at her. "You’re shivering."

"Oh, I just got wet walking in from the plane. I’ll be fine as soon as the car warms up a little."

"And how was your visit with your family?" he asked as he turned the heater to its highest setting. "As pleasant as you anticipated?" he finished with a chuckle in his voice.

Her hesitation was not lost on Barnabas who glanced at her again with concern. "Oh, just like I said it would be," she answered slowly. "They told me I looked thin and tired. They wanted to know what I do here in Maine. They subtly chastised me for visiting so infrequently. You know, all the things that seem to be in the job description for little old lady aunts," she said giving him a wan smile.

"You must have had a hard time explaining how you have spent your time in recent years." His tone was light, but she recognized the underlying note of self-recrimination in his voice.

"I’ve become quite proficient in the past few years at coming up with plausible explanations for implausible things, Barnabas," she said grinning at him hoping to make him feel better.

"Yes, that you have, my dear, that you have. We both have," he finished quietly. "Did the place look the same? Or had your memories deceived you?"

"No, it looked exactly the same, Barnabas, and I have some wonderful memories, very special ones in fact. It was nice to relive those a little bit."

He took his hand from the steering wheel and placed it over hers for a long moment. "I’m glad, Julia. You deserve that, you really do."

Julia stirred drowsily as she felt the car turn onto the Collins’ estate. The lateness of the hour combined with the cozy warmth of the car had lulled her into a light sleep, and she was reluctant to let go of the slumber that had so deliciously claimed her. She came more fully awake as she realized that Barnabas had neglected to take the turn to the main house and was instead headed to the Old House.

"Barnabas, you missed the turn to Collinwood."

"Oh, I guess I did, Julia. I’m terribly sorry. I was concentrating on my driving and was anxious to get home, I’m afraid. Well, now that we’re here, would you mind coming in for a while?" he asked as he pulled into the drive of the Old House.

"No, I suppose not," she answered with a yawn. As happy as she was to see him, her weary body ached for the feel of her own bed, but as usual, she did not want to disappoint him.

As they stepped in to the foyer, Barnabas reached out to take her coat from her shoulders. "Have you warmed up?’ he asked as she stepped into the drawing room.

"I’m still a little chilled," Julia answered giving him a slight smile. As she moved into the room, she noticed with surprise that the fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace. She frowned slightly wondering how this could be so. He hadn’t been home in quite a while; the fire should have dwindled to embers by this time with no one to tend it.

Barnabas noted and understood her hesitation. They knew each other so well by now; it was almost as if they could read each other’s minds sometimes, almost like they were - "I asked Willie to build up the fire before he left tonight. The weather looked so nasty that I thought we might need a roaring fire when we returned. Why don’t you warm yourself while I pour you a sherry?"

Her mind spun dizzily as she took in his words: ‘I asked Willie…. I thought we might need…WE might need….’ As the fire’s warmth soaked into her skin, she contemplated what this might mean. He had had every intention of bringing her back here despite the hour, despite her trip. Why? What couldn’t wait until morning?

She was pulled from her thoughts as she felt him press the cool glass into her hand. Not turning from the fire, she absently downed the sherry and felt its velvet fire trickle down her throat.

His deep chuckle at her action awakened her again, as did the feel of his strong hands gripping her shoulders from behind. "It is customary to sip sherry, Julia, not down it like a shot. What else is troubling you? Was it something else that your aunts said?"

She nodded silently. How much should she tell him? She was torn between embarrassing them both and finally resolving what lay between them.

‘Find a way, Julia. Find a way….’

Once again, he sensed her reluctance. He renewed his grip and drew closer to her. "Tell me, Julia," his resonant voice urged her in a slight whisper that tickled her ear.

His proximity and his earlier words encouraged her to tell him the truth. She unconsciously drew a deep breath and decided to tell him – all of it. "They wanted to know if there was a man in my life and what he was like." Oh, God, what had she said? What would he do now - release her, turn away, pretend he had never asked, pretend she had never answered? But his hands remained where they were, his soft breath continued to warm her neck.

"And what did you tell them?" was his response.

"I told them…there was someone. And I answered their questions – I told them that he wasn’t sick, that he wasn’t married. They wanted to know if he had money and whether he was good looking. I said yes to both questions," she whispered in a husky voice. Without being able to see his face, she could tell that he was smiling.

"But there is more, Julia, I can tell. This must have been some house call. What else did they want to know?"

All of their time together came down to this moment. Four years – four years of peril and friendship and trust – were reduced to this one moment in an ancient candlelit house in front of a fire that spoke in its own, unintelligible language. And at this moment, she wanted only to lose herself in its inferno, to say these words without having to witness his reaction. She could not bear his rejection now, and if she could only say the words into the fire, they would be consumed in its fury and would not be allowed to linger. But the woman who had faced down the most horrific of creatures, creatures that only haunted other people’s nightmares, found that she could not be that much of a coward.

He was waiting for her answer. She had to tell him while looking into his gentle face. He deserved – they both deserved – that much honesty. She turned to face him, the action seeming to take hours to complete for her body did not want to respond to her mind’s commands. At last, she gazed into his patient eyes, those sable eyes that so often seemed to penetrate into her soul.

Her face radiated a ruddy glow from the fire, and the candlelight skated across the sparkling tears that she would not allow to escape from her eyes. All of their lives in this moment, in these words….

"They guessed how I felt about him and asked why I wasn’t married to him." She paused as she tried to control her trembling voice. "I - I told them I wasn’t sure how- how he felt about me." It had taken a millenium, but the words had finally crossed from her mind to her lips to be spoken aloud. They had floated in the air between them for an eternity, and Julia felt her heart stop during that eternity.

Ever so slowly, a delighted smile lit Barnabas’ face, and Julia felt her heart begin to beat again as if infused with new life. His arms captured her waist in that instant, and incredibly, she found herself pulled tightly against his broad chest.

"You can tell them that he loves you and very much wants you to be his wife," he intoned in his deeply sensual voice.

His words were the sweetest she had ever heard spoken; his eyes and his beautiful face held only complete sincerity and naked hope, and she gasped, unable to answer, unable to comprehend, unable to think. Breathe, Julia, breathe, she finally reminded herself, but she was completely unable to speak at that moment.

His eyes searched hers with a burning intensity. "And what will you tell them that your answer was, Julia?" he murmured.

"Yes." The word came out as a whisper instead of the scream that was echoing in her head. She threw her arms around his neck and laughed. "I will tell them that my answer was yes!"

"Oh, Julia," he moaned as he bent his head down to hers. His lips closed on hers as he gathered her closer for a deep kiss, a kiss that the nearby fire had released from the ice that had encased their feelings for so long.

He drew back and gently smoothed the auburn hair that fell across her forehead. He traced her lips with a tender finger and then lightly stroked her cheek with one large hand. She covered his hand with her own and drew it to her lips to press a kiss against it.

He took her lips again, his hands moving up and down her back with undisguised passion. She leaned her body into his and ran her hands through his thick hair, matching his ardor and communicating her own desire.

"Stay with me tonight, Julia," he said in a fierce whisper.

"Tonight and every night that you want me, Barnabas."

"Then we shall be together every night throughout eternity," he said in a low voice. His anxious lips sought hers once more and then he lifted her into his arms.

The dying fire sputtered more in its foreign tongue as it fought to prolong its dwindling existence, but this time, there was no one left in the drawing room to hear its dying pleas.

THE END

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