Hide & Seek - James Patterson [45]
The recluse of Greenbriar Road strikes again! I thought. It was too much too fast. I shouldn’t have come. Damn it, damn it!
Soon I excused myself, and went to be alone in the gardens that branched off the Lake Club’s riding ring. I felt like such a fool; a loser, outcast, freak. I remembered being that way all the time when I was younger; too tall for most boys, and a stutterer as well.
The gardens were empty, and I inhaled the fragrant air, relaxing into a kind of hazy satisfaction. This was better.
“ ‘The loss of grace is the saddest trip … but grace can be rewon, Maggie.’ ”
My words, whispered close behind me. I wheeled to face the man who spoke them.
Will Shepherd was standing next to me.
I actually jumped.
CHAPTER 49
I TOOK A step back, but not too far. Somehow, he didn’t seem quite as threatening in the colorful gardens and in broad daylight.
“I came to find out why you were so cold to me when I brought your daughter home.”
My eyes rolled involuntarily. He couldn’t be that thick, I thought. “You really don’t remember, do you?”
He shook his head. Sunlight bounced off his blond curls.
“What are you talking about? Please tell me,” he said.
“The costume ball at the Trevelyans. You asked me to go home with you—be with you. You were very crude. Worse than crude, actually.”
“I don’t remem—” He stopped, and slapped his forehead. He actually blushed. “Oh my God,” he said. “Oh shit. You have to forgive me. I was drunk, maybe drugged, and completely crazy.”
“And disgusting,” I added. “Don’t forget that. Well, nice seeing you again. Good-bye.”
I turned and began to walk back toward the party.
He ran to catch up with me.
“I’m not drunk now, not drugged, and I’m just a little crazy. Please talk to me for a moment. It’s important. To me it is. Please? I think I can explain my behavior.”
“But do I want to hear it?” I said to him.
“Fair enough. I’m sure I deserve that, though I still don’t remember much of what I did.”
I studied him for a few seconds. He was dressed in a rumpled white linen suit, and the color of his hair seemed gold. He was tan, and definitely handsome—I had to give him that.
“I only want to tell you one thing,” he said, affecting a sincerity I couldn’t believe was genuine. “You’re an inspiration to me, to a lot of people. I heard you sing at the concert for the Queen, and I thought you were singing to me. I know you weren’t, but that’s what I felt. You touched me, so thank you. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Despite myself, I turned toward him. I saw pain in his eyes. “ ’Loss of Grace’?” I asked.
“That song more than any other, though I loved them all, well, most of them. I was going through a bad patch at the time. You reminded me that grace could be rewon.”
“Yes. Well. Have you rewon it?” I asked.
His expression grew sadder. He suddenly seemed very genuine, almost human. “No, I’m afraid not. Not in this lifetime. Not after … my performance in Rio.”
I shook my head. I was lost.
“In Rio? I’m sorry.”
For the first time, he smiled. I hadn’t seen him smile before, and it was something to see. “You mean you don’t know?”
“I’m afraid not. I seem to remember that when we first met I told you I knew nothing about sports. Sorry, but I don’t keep a little scrapbook of your clippings. We have one Michael Jordan mug from McDonald’s at the house. That’s about it for our sports collection.”
“Well thank God about that,” he said. The smile remained. Turned down, but still present.
We were silent for a moment. He’s shy with me, I thought. He doesn’t know what to say next.
Oh boy, Maggie, don’t start this. You won’t, of course, but don’t even think about it.
“I ought to go back,” I said. “My date—”
“He can wait a few more minutes, can’t he? Take a walk with an old retired gent first.”
I hesitated. “I was about to leave.”
“Don’t leave yet. Please. We were talking about you last night at dinner. Winnie Lawrence, June, and I.”
“Oh?”
“They told me about Patrick O’Malley. I’m very sorry.”
“Yes. It was terrible.” There was nothing I wanted to add.
We walked through a tunnel