Kiss On The Bridge (19 page)

“Now I’m over the shock of the toys. The
tunnel and the cave are absolutely amazing. Its natural beauty
takes your breath away. How is all this possible? Surely whoever
built the house didn’t dig this cave?”

“The tunnel is actually the remains of a blow
hole. The former owner of the house paid to have the cave dug out.
I’m led to believe in my research of the area, where the lift well
is located it acted as an escape route for the sea water to the
surface. I discovered through research tens of decades ago the sea
pounded through the tunnel and was forced upwards to form a blow
hole. The former owner installed the outer door and the lift.”

Wade helped Anneli step onto the rocky
outcrop. He pointed to the ceiling at a clump of grey. Wade stood
watching incomprehension break out on Anneli’s face.

“What on earth is it?”

“The clump contains about fifty mouse bats. I
decided to leave them alone instead of eradicating them. We’ve
grown quite fond of each other.”

“They’re so cute!” exclaimed Anneli, looking
vertical at the bats.

“Come on, I’ll show you around our
house.”

Taking hold of her hand, Wade led Anneli
along the narrow boardwalk. When they scooted past the sea worthy
vessels she examined them more closely.

“Each one looks almost brand new.”

“They are. They were delivered six months
ago.”

“The salesman must have thought Christmas
came early.”

“I did make him a happy man,” chuckled Wade.
“I didn’t know which one you might prefer the most so I bought the
lot.”

“You bought them all for me?”

“Yes.”

“What if you didn’t find me?”

“I’d never give up on looking for you.”

“What if we didn’t fall in love?”

Wade fell silent, dropping his gaze to his
feet. “The thought never entered my mind.”

“Thank you for your dedication in finding
me.”

“The many hours I spent were worth every
second. Is there a hint on which vessel might be your
favorite?”

Anneli focused on the boats. Eventually she
replied. “I’d have to say, Charlotte. She already holds wonderful
memories.”

They abruptly stopped at a stainless steel
door. Wade pushed a button on the rock wall. The single door slid
open.

“There really is a lift!” exclaimed Anneli.
Excitement rose in the back of her throat causing her voice to lift
several decibels. “I thought you were having a joke at my
expense.”

“I’m not in the habit of making fun of you,”
stated Wade, seriously.

They stepped into the lift. Wade pushed a
green button on the wall. The doors closed. They felt a slight
vibration under their feet. The lift ascended slowly. Eventually
the door reopened onto an anti room. Wade immediately pushed a
series of buttons on the side wall. A gas fire instantly roared to
life. Down-lights lit over the entire house. The curtains blocking
out the magnificent view started to open. Sunlight shone on the
white glossy marble floor tiles.

Wade led Anneli over to a double glass door.
She slid it open, revealing a balcony. Stepping outside to admire
the view, she gulped to clear her throat just so she could
talk.

“The view is more magnificent than the view
from the radio tower.”

Wade moved to cuddle the young woman. “You
think this is amazing, wait for the five cent tour.”

“Are you trying to tell me this magnificent
view is trumped?”

“Yes; quite easily.”

Wade gave a ship closing in on the bay his
full attention. Anneli stood on tip toes, attempting to kiss his
cheek to regain his attention.

“It’s my stepfather’s ship. Do you think
he’ll find us?”

“Eventually he’ll probably guess where you
are. Don’t worry this house has a lot of inbuilt secrets.”

“Is there a chance you’ll show me?”

“Yes of course. I’m a man of my word. After
the quick tour we’ll return to the balcony in time to watch the
ship slide by. First, I need you to agree on something.”

Anneli wore a sudden doubtful expression.
‘This is it,’ she thought. ‘He’d been buttering me up for the
clincher which will put a permanent rift between Wade and her. How
could I be so gullible? I put it down to his luring blue eyes. I
could kick myself for being too naive over what Wade promised,
downing his knee to ask for my hand in marriage, raising my hopes
and dreams. What a joke. I swallowed the bait he’d been using, now
I’m about to pay for it.’

Wade squared himself to Anneli. “I need you
to promise me something.”

She stared back at him through glazed
eyes.

“I need you to promise me you will make
yourself right at home in our house. I want to make things
perfectly clear, nowhere is off limits to you. I want you to act
like you’ve been living here for years. You must never think you
can’t go into any room. No exceptions.”

A rogue tear slid down over Anneli’s cheek.
Wade lifted his hand to wipe it away.

“I thought you were going to say something
horrible.”

“I know what you were thinking.” He open
palmed his hand around the large room. “Anywhere at any time you
want to see something, just go. I tell you what; you lead me
through the house.”

Anneli looked up into his eyes. “Thank you.
It means so much to me I can’t start to say.”

A warm lazy smile creased Wade’s face. “Shall
we start the tour?”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE SHIP shadowing Charlotte slowed its
approach to Port Phillip Bay. The surface of the sea looked almost
glass flat. The Captain of the ship called for Darryl to come to
the bridge.

“Sir, we have arrived at the entrance to Port
Phillip Bay. My radar has shown the yacht we have been following
disappeared before she entered the bay.”

“Find it,’ yelled Darryl. “It can’t have gone
too far.”

“Our radar expert has reported the yacht
headed straight for the cliff face near Western Port Bay. It has
done exactly what we discussed earlier.” The Captain lifted the
binoculars he held in his hand, shoving them at Darryl. “If you
train your eyes on the cliff face you should be able to make out a
flight of stairs stretching from the small beach to the plateau.
The house on the point is where my brother lives. Anneli will be
there too, if we were actually following the correct ship.”

Darryl mumbled incoherent words, studying the
cliff. “If you’re right, and you very well might be, where’s the
yacht?”

“No idea,” reported the Captain, in a rough
annoyed voice.

“Change course. We’ll check out the beach.
Dirk, call for Meredith to meet us at the small boat. I want her in
the landing party.”

“She’s a bit of a handful at the moment.”

“She’s your wife. Get her under control.”

Dirk ran off to find his wife. By the time
he’d returned the group had been sitting in the boat for over five
minutes. The Captain signaled to lower them over the side after
Dirk and Meredith scrambled aboard.

The moment the small craft scraped the sand
Darryl jumped out. He didn’t wait for the others. He started
marching towards the stairs. Dirk walked at the rear of the landing
party half carrying, half dragging Meredith.

“What’s the rush,” slurred Meredith. “Dirk,
put me down I’m quite capable of walking.”

Dirk slowly shook his head, placing her feet
first on the sand.

“I don’t feel well. It must be the transition
from the sea to the land.”

“I reckon it’s the alcohol you’ve been
drowning in,” growled Dirk. “Which reminds me; have you looked in
the mirror today, or even brushed your hair at any time in the past
week. It resembles a bird’s nest.”

“You don’t have to be so insensitive.”
Meredith crumpled to the sand, vomiting the expensive red wine
she’d consumed.

Darryl pointed to Dirk. “You are not what I’d
call the perfect contracted person I have been led to believe.” He
swapped his stare to the Captain. “Our little chat is starting to
make a lot of sense.”

To remain in the good books Dirk quickly
replied. “Father, there’s nothing on this beach except sand. If
Anneli and the man landed here there should be a sign. If they set
the yacht adrift we’d have seen it. Maybe they anchored somewhere
else.”

“They might have,” Darryl replied. “We’ll
drop in on the house to see who is actually home. Let’s hope my
daughter answers the door.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

Darryl growled inaudible words on his way to
the stairs.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ANNELI ESCORTED Wade from room to room.
Behind her back his grin widened. He loved every minute of the five
cent tour.

At the threshold to yet another seemingly
endless number of rooms Anneli swiveled her head to look directly
at Wade. “How many rooms make up this mansion?”

Wade scratched his head. “Twenty I
think.”

Anneli felt stunned at hearing the number.
She turned the door knob they were standing in front of and pushed
on the heavy solid door.

The room looked relatively small, about half
the size of the others they walked into. The slate tiles appeared
to have an entrapping glow. The painted walls seemed to beckon her
inside.

“This is the sun room,” explained Wade. “The
former owners used to sit in here after dinner. The last time I
came in here someone set up a small table at the balcony
doors.”

“What do you mean the last time?”

“Before buying the house the owner showed me
this room. He informed me he and his wife used to enjoy watching
the ocean on winter mornings and in the cool of the evenings in the
summer.”

Anneli marched across the room to the large
double glass doors. She opened the curtains on another splendid
view of the ocean. She stood watching the large cargo ship entering
Port Phillip Bay. “I’m flabbergasted,” she whispered. “It seems
every room has a view of the ocean.”

“Almost every room does,” announced Wade. He
opened the doors to let the sea air waft into the room. He stepped
up to Anneli, slipping his arm around her waist.

Both enjoyed the intimate embrace as they
stared out across the sea, soaking up the sunshine.

“What about your bedroom?” Her voice sounded
cheeky, full of mischievous school girl innocence.

“Our room is at the far end of the house. I
call it the ‘masterpiece of the house.’”

“You’ll have to show me. Seeing how we’ll be
spending a great deal of time there after we’re married.”

Wade led the way back along the hall, past
the large kitchen. They walked past ten doorways before coming to a
spiral staircase. Off to the right Anneli saw a study room. The
deep patterned dull red carpet looked new. An open fire, stocked
full of logs looked ready to light, while one wall boasted a floor
to ceiling book case full of books. Two black leather recliner
rockers were neatly placed in front of the fire. Again the double
glass doors opened out to the view of the ocean.

“It’s up to you whether we climb the stairs
or take the lift,” commented Wade.

“There’s a lift into our bedroom?” Anneli
looked totally surprised at the comment.

“Yes. The previous owners completed the
renovations before they placed the mansion on the market.”

“What an awesome inspiring find. How long
were you looking before you discovered this place?”

“To cut a short story shorter, I happened to
be driving past the front fence about two years ago when I saw the
for sale sign. I knocked on the door. The gentleman offered me a
guided tour. He also told me his wife had fallen ill. They made the
decision to move to Perth for a warmer climate. I asked him how
high my offer will have to be to secure the sale. The owner
insisted he couldn’t ask for anything less than one million eight
hundred thousand dollars. I offered him two million. He signed the
dotted line right where we stood.”

“You offered above what he asked for?”

“I loved the mansion before the tour
finished. The only thing missing was someone to help me enjoy her.
You’re the special someone.”

Anneli looked slightly perplexed. “How could
I have been, we hadn’t met.”

“I knew one day I’d meet someone special and
I did, in you.”

“This place is truly magnificent,” chirped
Anneli squeezing Wade’s hand.

“Wait till you feast your beautiful eyes on
the main bedroom,” boasted Wade, leaning forward to press the lift
button.

When the single door opened, Anneli stepped
into the lift car, followed by Wade. Floor to ceiling mirrors lined
the walls.

The ride to the third level felt effortless.
The lift door opened to an area larger than four bedrooms combined.
Off to one side Anneli saw a mahogany coloured doorway. Wade
escorted her across the room to show off the inner room. The walk
in robe looked relatively narrow. On both sides suits of varying
colours were hanging neatly from the horizontal metal pole. Beyond
the walk in wardrobe was the bathroom. The floor tiles were cream
coloured while the wall tiles were of a dull plum colour. A free
standing bath and shower boasted gold fittings.

Anneli whistled at the splendor.

Wade slipped his hand over Anneli’s so he
could escort her back towards the lift. A king sized four post bed
sat directly under the chandelier in the middle of the room. Glass
windows surrounded the entire area.

“This room is round,” Anneli managed to
whisper.

“The hired architect had been given explicit
instructions the design must be built to scale.”

“Extraordinary. I don’t know of any house
which has a round room in the floor plan.”

Wade patted her on the shoulder. His eyes
glistened at the next surprise. “Now I want you to hold onto the
bed post.”

Anneli watched Wade step back to the lift
door. He pushed a button on the wall. One by one the shutters over
the windows were automatically wound up. In slow motion she
followed the opening shutters. Eventually Anneli completed a full
lap of the room. Sunlight streamed through the windows. The ocean
sparkled.