26

For Now

The next day, Vera, Lombard, and Evelyn all arrived back to England to Evelyn's house where they were greeted by an exhausted Richard holding a sleeping Derek.

"Did Derek behave himself while mummy was away?" asked Evelyn as she came in with the luggage.

"Not much," confessed Richard.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby," cooed Evelyn as she stroked Derek's cheek. "You would've been bored at Fleta's wedding." She kissed him on the forehead. "Rest now."

Vera smiled, but blocked the prospect of that being herself and Philip a few years from now; her own past experience had taught her the dangers of looking into a distant future that only had half a chance of coming true.

"You look tired," commented Philip.

"I know," sighed Vera. "I'm just happy to be off that train and home at last."

"That reminds me," said Richard, closing the door behind the three as they walked in. "I got a call yesterday, Mr. Lombard. Your house is now in good condition and ready for you to move back into at any time you please!"

The happy looks on Lombard and Vera's faces melted as quickly as a snowman's smile in July. Lombard's house was in good condition. There was no longer any need for him to stay here and burden Vera's sister much longer.

"Oh," said Lombard. "Well...I suppose I should head out the door once more and head off to my place."

"No, no, stay for a few more days," said Vera quickly. "There's no reason why you can't."

"Well," said Lombard slowly before saying, "I guess I could stay one more day. We'll make this last day extra special."

Lombard and Vera spent their last day together (as two people living under the same roof at least) walking through the park in which they had been reunited and looking back on the past few months.

"Be honest, Vera," said Lombard. "What did you think of me after I told you about my crime?"

"If you really want me to be honest," said Vera, "I was scared of you. Especially when you looked into my eyes when you said, 'I left them to die'."

"So what made you no longer fear me?" asked Lombard.

"I honestly don't know," replied Vera. "I suppose it might have been...blind infatuation. I mean, I care about you now, but back then, I wasn't too sure what to think of you." She shook her head. "Now I want you to answer this question, Philip: What did you think of me after I told you about..."

She didn't go on; there were far too many people nearby. Any one of them could overhear them talking. Oh sure, she could always just flat out deny it if confronted by the police; they'd be on her side if they knew she had already been acquitted of everything. But it wouldn't prevent it from getting back to Mrs. Hamilton one way or another...

Lombard knew this, so he said, "Well, I was surprised. I had figured it out when you started talking of heavenly visitants and your denial was only a firm confirmation that you were guilty as sin. But it was still shocking to find out that a woman as sweet as you would be capable of...doing that."

"To be honest with you, I was shocked with myself, too," admitted Vera, looking down at the ground. She looked back up into Philip's eyes. "But what's done is done," she said. "I can't take it back now, so it's not much use to dwell on it. No matter how much I truly regret it."

She blinked and a single tear fell down her cheek. Lombard used one finger to wipe that tear away. "I'm going to miss being under the same roof as you," he said softly. "We'll still get to see each other whenever we go out, but it just won't be the same."

"Why can't I just move in with you?" asked Vera.

Lombard said, "I suppose we could do that, but I suspect dear old daddy would attempt to cut off my manhood before letting you move in with me."

Vera laughed. "Oh, he'll eventually get used to you in time. It took him a month to adjust to Richard and when he did, he greeted him as a son. It's just...taking him a while longer to adjust to you."

Vera suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?" asked Lombard.

"I just had an idea," said Vera slowly. She turned to Lombard. "What if...we held a dinner where both our parents could meet each other? Your mother seems perfectly nice, I'm sure she and my parents would get along just fine."

"Interesting," mused Lombard. "I've only known my mother for a few weeks, but I don't see anything in her that would upset your parents...all right, why not? What's the worst thing that could happen?"

"That sounds wonderful, dear!" said Mrs. Claythorne's voice on the other line as Vera told her about the dinner over the phone later that night. "I would love to meet Philip's mother!"

"And father?" asked Vera.

"Oh, you know him," said Mrs. Claythorne. "He's really a big teddy bear. I'm sure he'll warm up to Philip once he gets a chance to meet his mother. How about we hold the dinner over at my house, so that Philip and his mother can see where you grew up?"

"Sounds lovely," said Vera. "I myself would like to re-visit home."

"Well, I'd best get going, dear," said Mrs. Claythorne. "I'll see you...when do you want to hold this dinner?"

"November the tenth at the latest," was Vera's reply.

"I'll see you then," said Mrs. Claythorne. "Good-bye, dear."

"Good-bye, mother."

Vera awoke in the early morning to the sounds of someone moving in the hall. She tensed up, then quickly remembered she wasn't on Indian Island and relaxed. She sighed and closed her eyes.

About one minute later, she was aware of a soft brush on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Philip Lombard slowly pulling his face away from hers.

"Just saying goodbye," he said.

"For now, you mean," said Vera.

"Yes," said Lombard, smiling. He picked up his already packed suitcase and said, "For now."

A/N: I figured I might as well tell you now to avoid confusion: The next chapter will be narrated from Evelyn's POV as a change of pace; after that, I'll go back to narrating in third-person unless I get the strong urge to use this technique again. Stay tuned!