Chapter 4

Marguerite looked up and saw Roxton standing in the doorway to her room. She pushed back away from William and began wiping the tears from her face. William turned to see the glare from Roxton before her turned and strode out of the room. "Umm..I think you better go talk to him," William suggested as he brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. "Yes, I'm sure he is thinking the worst," Marguerite said as she tried to force a little smile. "Thank you, William." And she walked out of the room. "Thank you, Marguerite," William said quietly.

She found Roxton out on the balcony, leaning against the railing, and looking out over the jungle. As she approached him, he turned his head so that she couldn't see his face. They stood there like this for sometime before she spoke. "It isn't what you think," she said without looking at him. Not moving he asked, "And just what am I thinking?" She thought a moment and then turned to him. "You think that William is the reason I want to go back." "It isn't about William!" he said spinning around to face her. "It is about how badly you want to get away from me!" She could have sworn there were tears in his eyes but he had looked away before she could be certain. "John, I..." But he stopped her before she could continue. "I was coming to your room to tell you my decision. I have decided to stay," he stated flatly. "There is nothing in London anymore for me. My family.... is here now." She stood there looking at him, not knowing what to say. Finally, she asked, "What if everyone leaves? What if I leave?" He stood with his back to her and quietly said, "Veronica will never leave without finding her parents. Malone will never leave without her. I don't think Challenger will go if he can never return." He stopped not sure how to answer her other question. He thought for a moment then gave a heavy sigh. "I can't hold you here against your will. The question is would you leave.....me here?" he asked as he turned to face her. She slowly looked up at him. He DID have tears in his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. "John, I can't stay," she said with tears welling up in her eyes as well. He took hold of her hands and asked, "Why not?" "Because.." She hesitated. "I would only hurt you or you would hurt me...." her voice trailed off as she began to cry freely. He pulled her into his arms as he said softly, "How could I ever hurt you? I.....I love you." Shocked she pulled back away from him. She didn't know what to say. Could she believe her own ears? Had she simply imagined what she had longed for all this time? Staring down at the confused look on her face, Roxton smiled. "I love you, Marguerite. And I want you....no, I need you to stay here with me, please," he begged. She reached up, touched his face and then gently kissed his lips. Still crying, she backed away from him slowly and walked away. He watched her retreat, then turned back to look out over the jungle.

As Marguerite turned the corner, she ran into Veronica. Noting the tears rolling down Marguerites cheeks, Veronica asked, "Are you alright?" Marguerite just shook her head , walked past Veronica and into her room. Veronica looked around the corner, out on the balcony. Seeing Roxton slumped over the railing, she instantly knew what was going on. "I hope it goes better with Ned and I," she said to herself. "Is Roxton alright?" Ned asked from behind her. Startled she spun around to find him standing in the kitchen. "He seemed to be doing as well as can be expected," she said as Ned nodded his head. She walked over and leaned on the counter next to him. "We need to talk," she stated. He looked up at her then back down again. Sighing he said, " I don't know my answer yet. Part of me wants desperately to go home, but then again I want desperately to stay." Looking up at her, he pleaded with his eyes for her to give him the answers. "Ned, I can't tell you to go or to stay. You must make that decision on your own," she said looking away from him. She hadn't realized just how hard it was going to be to have this talk. She hopelessly wanted to tell him to stay there with her but she knew that would be wrong. "You have to promise me what I am about to say will have no effect on your choice." She paused briefly and took a deep breath before going on. "I need for you to know how I feel about you," she said looking back at him. "Ned, I....love you. I have loved you from the moment we meet." She exhaled loudly as she looked down at the counter. Slightly exasperated he cried, "And you expect me not to let THAT effect my decision??" "How can I go now?" he asked, taking hold of her hand and pulling her to him. "Ned, please. I don't want you to stay just because of me. You will end up hating me for it later. I know you will," she said , reaching up to touch his lips with her fingertips. He looked deep into her eyes, smiled and said, "How could I ever hate the only woman I have ever really loved?" He kissed her softly. "Besides, no one ever said that was the ONLY way off the plateau. And once we have found your parents, we will find a way back to London....together." Smiling, with tears in her eyes, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. "We have to go tell Kayla," she said taking Malone's hand. "Tell Kayla what?" Roxton asked stepping into the room with a halfhearted grin on his face. "I'm staying on the plateau with Veronica," Malone stated proudly. "Oh well then congratulations," Roxton said extending his hand for Malone to shake. "I'll go with you because I'm going to stay too," he said solemnly. "But I thought..." Malone began but Veronica interrupted him by elbowing him in the side. "That's great, Roxton. It wouldn't be the same here without you," she said smiling. He smiled back at her and turned to lead the way to find Kayla. Behind him Veronica threw Malone a frantic look and mouthed the words "Don't mention Marguerite!" He mouthed back, "I didn't know!" as he shrugged his shoulders, took her hand and followed Roxton into the guestroom.