God's Lions - House of Acerbi (29 page)

Turning away from the window, Leo noticed that, except for his bed and a red Persian carpet in front of a gigantic fireplace, the décor was rather sparse. After a year spent in the gilded atmosphere of the Vatican, he actually found the simplicity of the space refreshing. Grabbing his shaving kit, he headed for the shower and waited for the water temperature to rise to a level just below scalding, but it was not to be, for hot water in the castle had been temporarily turned off for repairs to the system.
Damn
. Leo hated cold showers.

Taking a deep breath, he immersed himself just long enough to lather up, then braced for a quick rinse before stepping out on the equally cold stone floor and reaching for a towel that wasn’t there. Shivering, he skipped the shave and ran into the bedroom where he dried off with a bed sheet before dressing in a black polo shirt and white shorts. All he could think about at that moment was hot coffee as he opened the door to his room and ran straight into Evita Vargas.

“Good morning, Cardinal.”

Leo took a step back. “Excuse me, Dr. Vargas. I didn’t see you. Are you on your way down to breakfast?”

“No, actually I was waiting for you.” She eyed his wet hair and bare feet. “Do you need a towel?”

“They forgot to put one in my bathroom. How long have you been waiting for me?”

“Only a few minutes ... and please, call me Evita.” She looked up and down the hall. “Can I have a word with you ... alone?”

Leo’s green eyes flashed instinctively for a fraction of a second. “Why, of course. Where would you like to talk?”

“Your room.”

“My room?”

“Come now, Cardinal,” Evita smiled as she studied his reaction. “My intentions are strictly honorable. Besides, you forgot your shoes.”

Leo tried to adopt a neutral expression, but his eyes had already given him away.

So, this man, this Prince of the Church, had normal desires like any other man.

Evita folded her arms across her chest. “Of course, we could walk outside if you prefer.”

“Uh, yes ... let me get my shoes.” Leo darted back inside his room and quickly returned wearing a worn pair of leather boat shoes he had stuffed into his bag before he left the yacht. “I could really use a cup of coffee right now.”

“I noticed that they were serving breakfast on the terrace when I was down there earlier,” Evita said. “We could grab some coffee and walk down to the river together ... if that’s ok with you?”

“Sounds good. Lead the way.”

Together they circled down the stone staircase and out onto the terrace, where Lev and the others were sitting at small umbrella-covered tables, drinking coffee and enjoying some freshly baked croissants.

Lev motioned them over to his table. “Good morning Leo ... Doctor Vargas ... beautiful day. I trust you are both well rested, because we have a lot to discuss.”

“We were thinking of grabbing some coffee and taking a walk down to the river first,” Leo said. “Why don’t we join you in a few minutes?”

“I’ll let the security people know you two are out on the property, but I need you both back here in thirty minutes.” Lev’s expression took on the look of a stern schoolmaster who had just caught two of his prized students playing hooky. “There’s a nice little grassy spot along the bank under the trees where you can sit and drink your coffee. It’s at the end of the path that leads through the vineyard. Don’t wander off the path or you’ll set off our motion detectors.”

Evita began laughing as she bounded down the steps of the terrace. “I’ll try not to set off any motion detectors with the cardinal.”

Lev almost choked on his coffee.

“You’re bad,” Leo said, trying to keep the others from seeing him grin while he grabbed a cup of coffee and followed her down the steps. He was beginning to enjoy this woman’s quick wit.

“Sorry, Cardinal. I just can’t help myself sometimes. Men are just too easy. Come on, I’ll try to behave myself the rest of the morning.”

The two wound their way along the path through the vineyard until they reached the river. With the temperature already approaching the high eighties, they sat on the bank under an overhanging willow tree and took off their shoes so they could dangle their feet in the water.

“So, Evita, what’s on your mind?”

“I apologize for teasing you, Cardinal, especially since we don’t know each other all that well. It’s just that I’ve noticed you seem to have a good sense of humor and you remind me of someone I once knew. I guess I feel comfortable around you.”

“Good, then you can stop calling me cardinal. My friends call me Leo.” He sipped the last of his coffee before leaning back on the grass and propping himself up on his elbows. “Actually, I wish more people would just be themselves around me. People naturally tend to be stiff and formal when they see the red skull cap.”

Evita smiled. “I can see that would be a problem for you. You’re definitely a social creature. It seems almost cruel for you to be so isolated from everyday people.”

“I still get out and about, but it’s not the same nowadays. I sometimes fantasize about getting away for a while to a place where no one knows who I am.”

“Maybe I can help you with that.” Evita smiled and tossed her hair back over her shoulders. “Oh great, I’ve done it again. Sorry. Anyway, I know we have a busy day ahead, so I’ll get right to the point of why I wanted to speak with you alone. I didn’t mean to appear so mysterious. Frankly, the explanation is so juvenile that it’s really kind of embarrassing for me to even bring it up.”

“I’ve probably heard just about everything in the confessional. What’s on your mind? Something personal?”

“No, nothing like that ... nothing personal. It’s just that I wanted to discuss some of my theories with you, and I don’t like talking about them in front of Dr. Diaz.”

“Dr. Diaz? Why not?”

“Well, even though I consider him a friend as well as a colleague, he’s still a chauvinistic stuffed-shirt. I know he can’t help himself ... it’s just his personality, but he mocks every theory I put out there. Scientists are supposed to feel free when throwing their ideas out there. It’s how we operate ... very much like free association. Evidently, he didn’t get the memo that there’s an unwritten law in the scientific community that you don’t marginalize someone else’s ideas, no matter how ridiculous they may sound. It only stifles debate and keeps ideas from flowing.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I noticed his attitude earlier on the yacht. From what I hear, he’s a very bright individual, but he’s also defensive, and some of his remarks have a caustic edge to them. I see this kind of attitude all the time in academia, because you’re dealing with some pretty big egos. Just remember, the desire to elevate one’s self at the expense of another is the mark of an insecure personality, so just consider the source and keep firing away with your theories. From what I’ve seen of you, you’re not kind of person who can be bullied easily.”

“You’re right, I don’t bully easily. I’m the oldest of seven children, so I’ve pretty much taken on the defender role in life. However, I find that opposition for opposition’s sake is exhausting and counterproductive, especially when we have so little time to get to the bottom of something this important. I mean, hello ... we’re trying to save lives here. I just wanted some time alone with you to run over some ideas later today.”

“I’m flattered by your vote of confidence, Evita, but I’m not a scientist. There are others here much more knowledgeable when it comes to talking about things like genetic markers and DNA.”

“I’ve been watching you, Leo.” Evita leaned back and gazed up at the cloudless sky through the canopy of leaves above their heads. “You have a scholar’s mind. You absorb information from every source available and knead it into a single hypothesis that makes the most sense to you. Then, and only then, you present your case. You remind me of one of those analysts who work in high-level academic or government think tanks. Yours is a very unique talent, Leo, and from now on, if you don’t mind, I’d like to run my ideas past you first before presenting them to the group in an open forum.”

“Of course ... I don’t see any harm in that. I just hope you’re not wasting your time.”

Evita pushed a strand of hair away from her face and fixed Leo with a steady gaze. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Cardinal, but any time I spend with you is definitely not a waste of time.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed. This woman was definitely coming on to him. She reminded him of an Olympic fencer. Parry and thrust, advance and retreat. Why her? Why now? In the secular world, she would have been a perfect match for him. Beautiful and smart, she was serious about her work, yet playful at times. If only—.

Leo listened to the sound of the river for a moment before slowly rising to his feet. “I think we should join the others. I have a feeling we’re in for a long day.”

Evita stood beside him. “I look forward to spending time together in the days ahead, Leo. Thank you for coming here with me.” She remained there motionless, staring up into his green eyes, waiting for a response.

Leo felt himself unconsciously tilting in her direction before he caught himself.
What was happening here?
He felt enchanted. Somehow, in this setting with this woman, he was a man like any other ... a man without a title, and the feelings he was experiencing were almost overpowering.

The corners of Evita’s mouth inched up into a sensuous smile overflowing with an animal-like pull. With nature in control, man was at a distinct evolutionary disadvantage in this dance between the sexes, for it was a well-known fact that it was the female of the species who chose her mate.

Reaching out, she brushed away some leaves that were still clinging to Leo’s shirt.

Leo looked back at her with an expression that was neither warm nor cold, but its message was crystal clear.

“What’s wrong, Cardinal?”

“I think you know, Evita.”

Evita’s shoulders dropped in resignation. “You’re right. I guess I wasn’t being very subtle. Leave it to me to be attracted to someone I can never be with.”

Leo smiled. “Now you know the struggle I go through on a daily basis.”

“Then why do it? What about your life ... your happiness? I understand sacrifice. Believe me, I’ve sacrificed plenty. I’ve given up some of the best years of my life working to earn my doctorate. I’ve spent endless days in the lab sitting in front of my computer, when I could have been floating down a river like the one we’re standing next to ... drinking wine with a group of young people my own age. All the people I started college with have faded away; or rather I faded away from them. They grew tired of my constant rejections to their invitations and finally gave up. Even the boys I was truly interested in quickly discovered that it was easier to be with girls they could actually spend time with. Until this epidemic started, I was beginning to look ahead toward the future again ... maybe even find someone to spend it with, but once more I find myself tied to the lab. Even so, I know that this too will pass, and that one day I will finally be free to have a life of my own. But you, Leo ... you will never be free. You are forever tied to a life of continual penance. You should look in the mirror and ask yourself why your Church would want one of their most devoted servants to spend his life in abject loneliness. I mean, God created men and women so that they could live together ... so that they could comfort one another and bring children into the world. Normal people require normal human bonding. It’s like eating and breathing.”

Leo was totally stunned. This woman understood. She understood it all. The carrot of waiting for your eternal reward ... the delayed gratification and daily sacrifice. How was he to answer her in a way that made any sense, because long ago he had decided that the Church’s outdated requirements for priests to remain celibate made no sense at all.

“I completely agree with you, Evita. Celibacy is an archaic requirement ... one that has no place in today’s modern world. I believe it actually detracts priests from the performance of their jobs. From the moment a new priest takes his vows, his life becomes riddled with guilt. From that day forward, idealistic young men are forced to expend vast amounts of energy denying their natural feelings for the opposite sex, not to mention their God-given right to marry and have children. They can never be socially ingrained within a society that values the sanctity of marriage, because they themselves are barred from that institution. Studies have shown that social isolation produces unstable individuals, and I believe that the requirement for celibacy is the single greatest reason we have so much deviant behavior within the priesthood today.”

“Why don’t they just have mistresses?”

“Many do, Evita, but then they are faced with the fear of discovery and the guilt of living a lie. Then there are those less enlightened ones who actually think they’ll be thrown into a burning lake of fire the day they die if they so much as think about having sex with a woman. This is something the Church is going to have to face head-on in the near future if they want to attract the right kind of candidates for the priesthood. We’re living in a new and different era. The sooner the Church wakes up to that fact the sooner it can move forward into the new millennium, and I plan on being at the forefront of that new awakening.”

Evita paused to look out across the river one more time before smiling up at Leo, the look of seduction replaced instead with one of understanding. Leo reached out and placed his arm around her shoulders as they began walking back toward the castle in silence. Both were aware that a bond had just been formed between them, but neither of them was aware of just what kind of bond it was. Like the early morning mist still clinging to the surface of the river, their feelings hung in the air, yet somehow, both felt strangely energized with the knowledge that an attachment had been made, and that, sooner or later, they would have to face the consequences ... whatever those consequences might be.

Mounting the top of the stairs to the terrace, Leo and Evita could hear shouts of excitement as Lev waved to them from his table.