“Hmm, I think it definitely applies to you then.” He tucked her close under his arm and deposited a kiss on the top of her hair.
“You are cool too, Dale.” She slid her arms around his torso and hugged him tight. “I think you are the coolest man I’ve ever known.”
CHAPTER 50 - From London to Nice
WITH HIS USUAL EFFICIENCY, Dale procured a private train coach that would take them to the port of Dover the very next day. From there, they took a ferry to Calais. By evening they were already in Paris, where they spent the night in a hotel before boarding another private train car to Nice. That was the easiest and fastest part of the trip. The village Monsieur Dubois had indicated was quite remote, and only accessible by a horse carriage. They spent another night in Nice before Dale could make arrangements for a coach to take them there.
Olivia didn’t mind the delays. She was regarding this trip as something of a honeymoon, and the slower pace allowed for better sightseeing and enjoying time alone with her new husband. Away from the servants and anyone who knew them. He occupied the space as well as her mind, and it was impossible to feel bored in his presence. She relished these moments with him.
For she felt time running out. Deep down in her bones, she knew this time out of time could not last forever. Somehow, she would return to her normal life. She didn’t know how she knew this, but she just couldn’t see herself staying. Couldn’t imagine her future here. That’s why she had settled to enjoy the moment and had stopped trying to figure out what had happened and looking for a way to go back.
Only this certainty no longer offered any comfort. Oh, she wanted to return to her life. She missed her parents, her niece, her house, even her work. But with each passing moment, she was painfully aware that returning to all that meant leaving Dale. And the thought so devastated her. How would she ever go on without him? She could not win. There were heartbreaking losses on both sides, so she did not wish to rush toward any resolution.
Dale must have sensed her dark mood, for he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. She reclined against his chest, put her head on his shoulder, and held on to this moment of perfection. He made her feel so good. Yet ‘good’ seemed like such a bland word to describe him. He was strong, competent, and yet sensitive. Passionate and tender. She was sure that if she had a lifetime with him, she could find a few flaws. Nobody was perfect after all. But she didn’t have a lifetime, so for her, he would always be perfect.
“We should arrive within the hour,” Dale informed her.
“Hmm, okay. What do you expect to find now that we are almost there?”
“I don’t know. Answers. Enlightenment. Everything I thought I knew has been rearranged. I’m questioning things I took as facts. I want to understand.”
“And do you think Ninette can provide these answers you seek?”
“I believe she knows a lot. She was very close to Eloise. More like a companion than a lady’s maid, although she performed those duties too. But their relationship was more than just employer and employee. They were friends. Confidants. If someone knows anything about Eloise, it is Ninette.”
“I see. And do you think she will talk to you? You told me she slandered you and was very hostile.”
“To say that she hates me would be putting it mildly.”
“All the more reason to doubt her cooperation. Do you think you can make her talk to you and tell you all she knows?”
Dale shrugged. “I’ll find a way to make her tell me what I want.”
Olivia smiled. “I see you plan to be very persuasive.”
“Persistent, more like. Persuasion through persistence,” he said, smiling too.
