Deceit. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter 28

"An unexpected turn of events."

We flew over a landscape slumbering to the backdrop of a setting sun and by the time we landed it was almost dark. Another black limousine greeted us at the heliport and by nine we were sat in one of the finest restaurants in Paris.

It felt good. It felt wonderful in fact and at that exact moment I was suddenly reminded of the famous black and white movie where James Cagney had uttered his famous words ... "Look at me ma. I'm on top of the world!"

A waiter came. Max ordered our wine and while she was talking to him I took a moment to gaze up at the stars. It had been a favourite pastime of mine while I was at sea, stargazing and I was in the process of trying to remember a particular constellation when I was brought out of my reverie.

'Ha hmm.'

Max was waiting patiently. She tilted her head a little to one side.

'So where are you?'

I passed her a smile.

'Oh nowhere,' I said pensively, 'in the middle of the ocean maybe, at night. I'm on the bridge wing of my ship. It's quiet and I have the whole universe above me.'

She carved out her own version of a smile, it was soft and warm. She asked whether I had room for anyone else in my thoughts. I nodded and said yes, especially someone sat opposite.

The wine came. It was a red Merlot. The waiter filled our glasses. I lifted mine up after he left and spun it slowly watching the wine ebb and flow to the top of the glass.

The restaurant was half full. People talked, their hushed voices competing with the noise of music playing softly in the background. I kept my gaze down at the table as I continued with the conversation.

'The trouble is,' I said hesitantly, 'I do love being at sea but I also miss being at home.'

I looked up.

'I guess it's nights like this with the soft music, candles on the table, good company and a beautifully clear sky that I find myself being torn in two.'

Her features glowed in the flickering half light of the restaurant and her beauty was as captivating as ever. She raised her glass.

'To the best of both worlds. Let's hope we can learn to live with them both as equals.'

I so wanted to get to know Max. I had been given glimpses of her persona but of late I found myself becoming more and more hungry for her every word, her touch and even her delicate scent of perfume. I asked to know more, to get to know the real Jennifer Stamford but what came next quite literally blew me away.

'When I was young I used to dream of being on the stage.' Max played with the rim of her glass with her forefinger. 'I used to dress up and dance all day in my room. We had a nanny then, Rebecca she was called, and she used to come into my room and be the wolf as I played little miss red riding hood or she would be the wicked witch while I tried to be Snow White. We would put plays on for anyone who wished to watch but daddy didn't approve, he said it was a total waste of my time and so I was sent to boarding school when I was ten years old. That changed everything. The next time I came home Rebecca had gone and the whole atmosphere in the house was different. Mummy tried to be a replacement but her heart wasn't in it and I had lost all interest by the time I was twelve.'

She stopped to take a drink. She stole a moment to look out at the rooftops of Paris full no doubt with its own secrets to tell. There was a pause. There was a soulful expression on her face. It was kind of sad. It was there and then gone. She continued.