Raven's Curse

6 - Explanations

Shocked silence hung in the air after Paul's derisive remark. Deep beneath my burning rage, I felt sorry for the three women who had to work with this macho.

This wasn't my battle, though. I didn't know Paul, and I wasn't privy to the chemistry of this group—and I'd had enough. Cold as a rock, I turned to my friend, keeping my voice level. "Matt, I think we're wasting our time here. Sorry, Vic, but we have places to be, business to attend." I forced a smile and reached out to shake hands with the other women. "Chiara, Béa, it was a pleasure—thank you for the interesting explanations and good luck with your last days on the dig."

Then I turned and walked away, not waiting for an answer, haunted by Vic's downtrodden expression. Quiet footsteps behind me told me that Matt followed my lead. Right in time, I remembered the wonky plank and avoided tripping. Outside of the tent, I stormed another fifty metres until I stopped, my fingers clenched into fists and trembling from the sheer amount of suppressed anger burning through my system. "What a chauvinistic jerk."

Matt winced, his face pale and eyes haunted. "He wasn't always that bad."

"What? Are you defending that little piece of snot?" Angry heat rose to my face.

He shook his head and motioned for me to walk. "Shh, move on, and I'll explain later."

I nodded and stalked away, still shaking and trying to ignore the harsh voices now engaged in a heated discussion behind us in the tent. Vic and Béa seemed to give Paul their mind. I couldn't hear Chiara, but that was perhaps because the others were too loud. Glad we were finally out of earshot, I slammed my hard hat onto the table by the office container and slipped out of my vest. I withstood the temptation to ball it up and throw it to the floor. Instead, I hung it over a wooden chair's back. "And now?"

Matt did the same with far gentler movements before he shrugged. "We walk back to the van. I guess Vicky will be too angry and busy to remember she gave us a ride."

I glanced back at the tent, almost expecting to see smoke billowing over it from the shouting match. It looked as innocent as ever. So I checked the distance to the hill that marked the town's medieval centre. The towers of the castle were visible between two apartment buildings and perhaps half an hour on foot away. As the amphitheatre was situated right behind the castle, the walk seemed acceptable and would help me cool down. "Fine, let's go. Gives you ample time to tell me everything about this git, Paul."

Matt's smile was lopsided. "Should have known you wouldn't let me off the hook." We walked in silence alongside two modern apartment blocks before he offered an explanation. "As you probably gathered, Paul and I go back a while. He shared courses at uni with Vicky, and she introduced us at a birthday party."

Glad I wore decent walking boots, I lengthened my strides to keep up with my agitated friend. Despite his calm exterior, Matt seemed in need of burning excess energy. Not that I could blame him. "Paul was interesting, even exotic or mysterious, witty, and good company. And as life plays, over time, one thing led to another."

I stopped. "Wait, you and that prime example of a misogynist cave dweller were in a relationship?" I couldn't believe my Matt, the favourite of girls and women with his innocent, friendly and positive attitude, fell for such a tosser.

Matt turned back to me and spread his hands, the hint of a smile gleaming in his eyes. "Don't insult the cave dwellers. Vic insists that to judge by certain archaeological evidence, Palaeolithic humans might have been less egocentric than most people today."

I shook my head and began walking again, mulling over this random bit of information, until Matt continued his tale. "We'll, back to Paul. As I told you, he wasn't always that bad. Or perhaps I didn't see it, blinded by love. We had na nasty break-up last year, though, and if I'd known that he works in Vicky's project, I would have avoided turning up here, believe me."