Colder Than Ice (39 page)

Working
in the office to the rear of the exhibit, Allison heard faint voices as they
echoed through the empty room.
More of Charlotte’s private guests no doubt,
otherwise the guard would have never allowed them to pass.
Tilting her
head, she listened in on the conversation, her heart almost stopping.

“Michela,”
she whispered.

She
quickly stood and went to a secret entrance in the side of the hut, placed
there for emergency evacuation. As softly as possible she slightly opened the
door.

Michela
nodded. “You’re right. Quite a lot of work has been put into this. Whoever
has gone to the trouble to recreate this deserves a lot of praise.”

Allison
smiled at the compliment, touched that Michela should feel that way about the
exhibit. She couldn’t see the person Michela was talking to without making her
presence known.

Christine
shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “The sound of that
wind. It makes me feel cold just to think about it. You were always a bit of a
hot water bottle, can you warm me up please?”

Michela
chuckled as she pulled Christine to her and rubbed her back.

Allison
stepped back and stifled the noise that rose in her throat. It was the same
woman that had met Michela on the dock in Hobart. It was obvious Michela had
moved on since their time on the continent. Holding back a sob, Allison quietly
closed the private door and softly walked back to her office.

Michela
released Christine and looked around the room. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear
what? I can’t hear anything over this wind.”

Michela
frowned. “I thought I heard something, and a moment ago I had the distinct
feeling I was being watched.”

Christine
punched Michela’s arm. “I think you’ve read one too many of those ghost
stories. There’s no one here, you ninny. Come on, we can look at this again
tomorrow. But now I want to get to this house you’ve told me so much
about.” She linked her arm around Michela and they walked out of the hall.

“YOU
SEE, YOU do scrub up well when you want to.” Christine made a show of
admiring Michela’s deep burgundy suit and midnight blue silk shirt.

Michela
whistled at Christine’s dove grey gown. “You don’t look too bad yourself.
Ready to mingle?”

Christine
grinned. “You bet.”

“You
were right, sis, this house is absolutely beautiful,” Christine said as
they descended the winding staircase to the party below.

“Yes,
I know,” Michela replied. “Walking around here, you almost can feel
the presence of Elizabeth and Charlotte.”

Christine
gently nudged Michela. “There you go again with your otherworldly
thoughts. Next you’ll be telling me they’ve both been invited to the cocktail
party.” They shared a laugh as they ambled into the crowd already filling
the ballroom.

Michela
spent the next hour patiently answering questions about her trip, with many of
the guests interested in visiting the cold continent. Michela chuckled to herself
every time someone mentioned it. They’d never survive an hour there. Wishing
she were in an isolated environment, she politely answered their questions,
while keeping an ear on the surrounding conversations.

“It’s
really much colder than Chicago in winter.” Michela tried not to sigh at
the uncomprehending expression on the elderly woman’s face.

“The
conditions were harsh,” a voice said.

Michela
looked around and was stunned to see Allison, dressed in elegant shirt and
black pants, several feet away.” Excuse me a moment,” she murmured to
the woman.

Michela
walked to where she could watch Allison.
She looks so tired.
She
mentally smacked herself in realization. Of course everything about the
exhibition was perfect. Allison had made sure of it.

Allison
patiently nodded at an elderly woman’s words.

Michela
was unsure of what to do next. She couldn’t retreat to her room. Besides, she’d
waited too long to see Allison again. She recalled the many discussions she had
had with Christine about her reluctance to contact Allison.
But where do I
start?

Allison
frowned as if she sensed something or someone. She slowly turned her head and
her eyes locked with Michela’s. She softly smiled as her heart pounded
uncontrollably.

Michela
approached Allison. She desperately wanted to touch Allison’s cheek but was
afraid Allison would shy away. “Hello, Alli,” she said quietly.

Allison
tilted her head and gave her a wan smile. “Hello, Michela, how are
you?”

Michela
shrugged, silently relieved that the initial awkwardness had passed. “I’m
fine. Busy, but fine all the same. How about you?”

“Not
too bad. I’ve finished with the Flinders Museum and am looking at a number of
job offers; some of which are very attractive.”

None
of which could be as attractive as you.
Michela
nodded. “Any catch your interest?”

“Yes
and no,” Allison said. “There’re some lecturing spots opening up in a
couple of universities that are tied in with six months worth of work in the
field. But I’m still looking and taking a bit of a holiday break at the same
time.”

The
laughter of the woman Michela had been with that afternoon echoed across the
gathering. Allison turned and saw her surrounded by several men. She turned
back and watched as Michela smiled at the woman across the room.

“She’s
lovely,” Allison said, although it pained her to admit it.

“Chrissie?
Yes, she certainly is. And she’s a handful as well. You never know what she’s
going to do next.”

Allison
watched as Christine lightly tapped the arm of the man beside her. Masking her
frustration, Allison took a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing
waiter. “She seems to be engrossed in whatever the discussion is over
there.”

Michela
took a fluted glass and sipped the champagne. “Yes, she’s looking for a
catch.”

Allison
was grateful she hadn’t yet taken a sip.
How can she be so casual? Is she
saying Christine’s bisexual? I thought…
Allison mentally shook her head,
not quite sure what she thought. “Doesn’t that bother you? Her actions I
mean?”

Michela
chuckled. “No, not at all. After so many years, I’m more than used to the
way Chrissie operates. Even when we were teenagers Mom and Dad had their hands
full with her. Chrissie’s beautiful and has always been the catch of every
available man, no matter what age she was.”

They’re
sisters? They’re sisters you idiot! You let yourself again see something that
wasn’t there and now it’s too late. If you’d believed for a moment that it was
only you she wanted then things would be a hell of a lot different now. I can’t
believe I was so stupid.
She gazed up
at Michela. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Allison,
my dear, come and meet the CEO of Lindstrom Holdings,” Charlotte waved
from across the room. “He has a building I’m interested in.”

Allison
regretfully shrugged. “Excuse me.” She walked to Charlotte.

Michela
took a step to get close to the conversation just as a middle-aged man stopped
her.

“Is
it true you rappelled into a crevasse?” he asked.

Michela
finally managed to get away from the man. She scanned the room and found
Charlotte but not Allison. She went to Charlotte, stopped and sipped her drink
while she waited for a suitable break in Charlotte’s conversation.

“You
never mentioned Allison would be here tonight,” Michela said.

“You
never asked,” Charlotte replied. “Besides, you can’t tell me after
seeing the exhibit today that anyone else could have recreated it?”

“I
thought it had been done from the photos she provided.” Michela again
searched the room for Allison.

Charlotte
nudged Michela. “By the looks of it, she seems happy to see you. Are you
happy to see her?”

Michela
returned her gaze to Charlotte, realizing that she’d planned their meeting all
along. “I’m very happy to see her. But where’s she gone?”

Charlotte
motioned toward the patio. “She’s at the cemetery. She hadn’t yet seen the
graves and the twilight’s such a lovely time to view them. With the creation of
the exhibit over the past week, she’s had little time to see any of the
estate.” Charlotte, her eyes twinkling, nudged Michela’s arm. “You
might want to go and find her. It’s a big estate and I’d hate for her to get
lost.”

“Thank
you,” Michela said and hurried out the door.

Michela
approached the knoll where the cemetery lay and her breath caught at the sight
of Allison, silhouetted by the aura of the setting sun.

Allison
turned at the sound of the creaking gate. “Thank you for sending the
photos, they were beautiful. But seeing it now, they don’t really do it
justice, do they?”

Michela
shook her head. “No, they don’t.” They quietly stood, softly buffeted
by the gusting wind.

Allison
wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. “You know, their love was still
strong, even at the end. The last entry in Elizabeth’s diary was her love for
Charlotte.”

“You’re
right. Their love lasted against the odds of distance and hardship,”
Michela said softly. “No matter what was placed in their way, their love
was constant.” She moved closer to Allison’s side. “So, you mentioned
you’d had some offers for employment. Did any catch your eye?”

Allison
nodded. “There are a couple. Especially the ones where I can work for half
the year and then dig for the second half, while still being sponsored. I was
surprised when I was actually headhunted by a couple of the institutions. What
was even more surprising was that they contacted me within days of my tendering
notice.” She secured an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m
flattered and excited at the same time.”

Michela
couldn’t help but have mixed emotions. She was pleased at Allison’s prospects
and yet frustrated that she may never see her again. “It does seem as if
you’ve landed on your feet. You can have everything you wanted.”

Allison
felt her body buffeted by both her own emotions and the wind that gusted over
the open knoll. She took a breath and turned to Michela. “No, I haven’t
got everything, not at all. In fact, it wasn’t until later I realized that the
one thing I really wanted, I let slip through my fingers.”

Michela
tilted her head. “What did you let slip through your fingers?”

Allison
crossed her arms, not so much against the slight night chill but as a defense
for her words. Meeting Michela’s eyes, she sadly smiled. “It was you, only
you. If I hadn’t been so focused on seeing things that weren’t there, I’d have
realized how deep your feelings were for me. Instead I let my jealousy,
unfounded fears, and foolish pride get in the way.” She lowered her head,
released a deep breath, and then gazed back at Michela. “Is it too
late?”

Michela
engulfed Allison in her arms. “It’s never too late, my love, not where
you’re concerned.” She captured Allison’s lips with her own and then gazed
into her eyes. “God, I’ve missed you so much. There were so many times I
wanted to call you. I’m so glad you’re here tonight. I feel as if I’m truly at
peace for the first time in months.”

Allison
lightly brushed Michela’s cheek and rested her hand on Michela’s chest.
“I’ve missed you too. Those final days when we were together on the
continent—it seemed so perfect and then when we returned to civilization it was
so painful. I was around people everyday and yet I felt more alone than I’ve ever
felt before. It didn’t take me long to realize what it was I felt for you and I
was an idiot to let you slip through my fingers. I’m not going to let that
happen again. I love you, Michela, more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in my
life.”

Michela’s
eyes, glistening with tears, mirrored Allison’s. “I think I’ve loved you
since that first meeting in Mount Cook and I don’t think I’ve stopped loving
you.” She pulled Allison to her, protecting her against the wind.
Lightning lit up the horizon. “It looks like rain, honey. We should get
back to the house.”

Allison
shook her head against Michela’s jacket. “Can we stay here for a while? If
we return to the party we’ll have to answer questions about the dig and right
now I don’t want to share you with anyone else. Surely, the storm’s a way off
yet.” She captured Michela’s lips with her own.

For
the next couple of hours they all but forgot about the party and held each
other, reminiscing on everything that had happened to them since they left
Antarctica.

Allison
chuckled as she snuggled into Michela. “I can’t believe I mistook
Christine for your girlfriend.”

Before
Michela could answer, lightning flashed, shortly followed by thunder. Michela
brushed the hair from Allison’s face. “We’d better get back to the party.
I think the storm’s going to be here any minute.”

“It’s
a shame. I could have stayed here all night,” Allison replied.