Roxton and Finn had a fire going by the time the other four arrived
at the campsite, and it wasn't long before raptor meat was roasting over
the embers. Veronica noticed that her friends rushed through dinner, and
seemed eager to turn in for the night. She had told Marguerite about her
plans to talk to Malone during night watch, and she suspected that the
heiress had slyly passed the word around to the others, so that she and
Malone could be alone sooner.
Veronica put a little more wood on the fire and walked over to where Malone had stationed himself. "Here goes nothing," she thought, taking a deep breath.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," Ned replied, with a small smile.
Veronica decided to try small talk first. "So did Challenger find a new experiment?"
"You mean that bug? Not really. He had me take a few notes, but that was it. I guess it just wasn't as exciting as Arthur the Beetle. Did you know that Arthur is on this journey with us? Challenger actually has that beetle in a little cage in his knapsack?"
"Are you kidding?" Veronica asked. Ned shook his head, and both of them laughed. "I guess he really is attached to that little guy."
"Yeah," Ned answered. Their laughter died down, and there was silence again. Ned decided to get to the point. "Veronica, did I do something wrong? You were kind of aloof when I came to see you the other night, and I didn't even get to talk to you yesterday until after dinner. I feel like you've been avoiding me, and I'd like to know why. I want to know what I can do to make things better."
"Ned, of course you didn't do anything wrong. To be honest, you said something the other night that reminded me of a bad experience I had with a man named Thomas Ducart while you were gone. It was the first time in awhile that I had thought about him, and it occurred to me that I should tell you about it. That worried me. I just wasn't sure how you would react. I guess I didn't need to waste all of that time figuring out how to bring it up after all. Finn confessed that she accidentally told you."
Ned nodded. "She gave me a brief run down. Marguerite didn't let her get very far with the details."
"Well, if you want to hear about it, I'd like to share it with you."
"I'd like that," Ned replied.
Veronica looked straight ahead into the jungle as she began. She was already a little shy and embarrassed to talk about this with him, and it would be harder for her if she had to look him in the eye. She took a deep breath and began. "It was hard for me when I found my way back to the tree house and found out that you had gone off on your own. That day that I got lost with the balloon, I felt like you and I had left things unfinished. . .I mean, we had a great conversation, and we had established that things were okay between us, but there was still so much left unsaid. I didn't even get to tell you about the things that I read in the journal of my parents' that you found.
I understood why you left after the others told me about what you went through when you were hit by that dart, and after I read your letter. But I still missed you every day. The whole time that I was trying to get back home, I kept thinking of things I wanted to tell you. When you weren't back, I wondered if I would ever get to say them.
I started to feel like an outsider at the tree house. Challenger was always so occupied with his experiments, and Marguerite and Roxton seemed so wrapped up in each other. I know they all missed you too. I guess they were just dealing with it better than I was. But one morning, I woke up so angry at all of them, and I lost all patience with them when they came home acting so happy, and having so much fun. I just wanted to be alone. So, I went out to take a swim to clear my head. While I was walking, I heard the most beautiful piano music coming from a fog-covered valley. I decided to follow the music, and I discovered a village in the middle of the fog. As soon as I stepped into the village, my clothes changed into a beautiful white dress and I had on jewelry and combs in my hair. I should have known something was wrong then. But my instincts didn't seem to be working. All I could concentrate on was that beautiful music. It didn't take me long to find out where it was coming from. I went into a building, and down a staircase. I opened a door and saw a handsome man sitting at a piano. He said that he had been waiting for my visit and that he wrote his music just for me."
"That's what I said," Ned interrupted quietly. "I said that I wrote some things in my journal especially for you. That's what made you think of him."
"Yes," Veronica answered. She paused, unsure of whether or not to continue.
"I'm sorry," Ned said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's okay. Anyway, he told me his name was Thomas Ducart, and that he had seen me in the village before. He thought we were in Germany one hundred years ago. I explained to him about the Plateau. He asked if he could come with me to the jungle. When we left the village, I looked like myself again. He was amazed by the jungle and everything in it."
"Including you," Ned added silently. Even though he could only see her profile, he could tell by her expressions that she was censuring her story, either out of modesty, concern for his feelings, or both. Finn had said that Ducart had seduced Veronica. Ned was sure the seduction began from the minute she opened that door. But he stayed silent. Whatever she was willing to share with him, he was willing to hear. And perhaps there were some parts that his heart would rather not hear anyway.
Veronica went on. "I took him to the tree house to meet the others. Marguerite and Roxton weren't there, but Challenger was and he was immediately skeptical of Ducart. I should have listened to him. Anyway, after our encounter with Challenger, Thomas and I went on a walk together. We came across a triceratops. I pulled Thomas out of the way. We fell to the ground and rolled a few times. He. . .landed on top of me. Then we. . .we went. . .to the river." Veronica paused.
Ned could see the tears rolling down her cheeks now. He took her hand, and she looked over at him. She didn't need to tell him what happened next. He could tell from the look of humiliation on her face. Ducart's seduction had obviously worked. Ned wasn't sure how far they had gone, but it was obvious that Ducart and Veronica had been physical, and she was now ashamed of it. He reached over and brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "It's okay," he reassured her. "You don't owe me an explanation about anything." Inside, his heart was breaking. He thought of Marguerite's comment about the other women he had pursued on the Plateau. He finally knew what it must have felt like for Veronica to watch him kiss other women. Worse yet, what she went through seeing him with Kaya. He hated the thought of her in another man's arms. But he kept all of this to himself, and patiently waited for her to regain her composure and continue.
"I walked him back to the hill above his village. I promised to wait there for him the next day. I went back to the tree house and had an awful fight with Challenger about him. I left and immediately went back to the hill. Ducart found his way back there too. He had a slightly wild look in his eyes, but I passed it off as excitement over our new romance. Yet another time when my instincts let me down. He wanted me to go live with him in his village. I told him repeatedly that I couldn't. He got upset, but recovered quickly and asked me to at least go listen to him play again. I went. He led me to the building where I first saw him. He gave me a glass of wine, and told me to sit on the bed and watch him play. As he played, he revealed the real reason why he wanted me. I looked like Julia Gesh, the woman he was in love with. I tried to leave, but he fought me. I started to feel strange and weak. I couldn't fight him off. He told me that he had laced my wine with hemlock, the same poison Julia drank to kill herself. That was his plan. Once the hemlock killed me, I would be with him forever. Challenger saved me. He killed Ducart - at least as much as you can kill someone who was already dead. Marguerite, Roxton, and Challenger were able to fill in the rest of the gaps - how he had taken advantage of Julia Gesh, an innocent girl who didn't know he was already married. And how he had shot his brother-in-law and wife." Veronica began to break down again. "How could I be so stupid? How could I believe that he was falling in love with me? How could I let him touch me?"
Ned pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. All he could think of was that Ducart was lucky he was dead because if he wasn't, Ned would have fixed that. Veronica didn't deserve to be treated like that! No one deserved that, but especially not Veronica. She had spent her life surviving on her own. She deserved someone wonderful to share her life with. And Ned hoped to be that person. But right now, he needed to get her through this.
Marguerite and Roxton, who had been quietly chatting a few feet away from Ned and Veronica, heard Veronica's sobs. Marguerite gave Roxton a knowing look, he nodded, and they picked up their guns and headed over to the other couple. "Why don't you let us take over," Roxton said. "Just make sure she gets a good night's sleep."
"Are you sure," Ned asked."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Neddy-boy," Marguerite quipped. The reporter smiled at her, and he helped Veronica to her feet.
"Come on," he whispered to the jungle beauty. "Let's go over to the blankets."
Veronica slowly made her way over to where her blanket and knapsack were sitting. Ned went to follow her, but Marguerite caught his arm. "Take care of her," she said gently. "I don't think she really dealt with this the first time around. What she needs now is a good cry, and a shoulder to do it on."
"Thanks," Ned answered. "I'll take care of her."
He went over to Veronica, who was curled up in a ball on her blanket. He lay down beside her and pulled her close to him. She buried her head in his chest. He could never remember Veronica letting herself be this vulnerable. She had always been so strong. Even when she was upset, she was always able to shake it off quickly. He figured that after all of those years of pushing her feelings aside, it was probably way past due for her to let them out. He stroked her hair and whispered reassurances to her.
When Roxton and Marguerite looked over at the younger couple fifteen minutes later, they were both asleep. Ned had his arms around Veronica, and her head was resting comfortably on his chest.
"Looks like they're making progress," Roxton commented.
"Yes, but they still have a long way to go," Marguerite replied. This journey will be a big test for them, especially if Veronica fails on this quest of hers."
"Hopefully soon, they'll realize what we did. . .that life's just too short to ignore happiness when it's right in front of you." He slipped his arm around Marguerite's waist, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder.
Veronica put a little more wood on the fire and walked over to where Malone had stationed himself. "Here goes nothing," she thought, taking a deep breath.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," Ned replied, with a small smile.
Veronica decided to try small talk first. "So did Challenger find a new experiment?"
"You mean that bug? Not really. He had me take a few notes, but that was it. I guess it just wasn't as exciting as Arthur the Beetle. Did you know that Arthur is on this journey with us? Challenger actually has that beetle in a little cage in his knapsack?"
"Are you kidding?" Veronica asked. Ned shook his head, and both of them laughed. "I guess he really is attached to that little guy."
"Yeah," Ned answered. Their laughter died down, and there was silence again. Ned decided to get to the point. "Veronica, did I do something wrong? You were kind of aloof when I came to see you the other night, and I didn't even get to talk to you yesterday until after dinner. I feel like you've been avoiding me, and I'd like to know why. I want to know what I can do to make things better."
"Ned, of course you didn't do anything wrong. To be honest, you said something the other night that reminded me of a bad experience I had with a man named Thomas Ducart while you were gone. It was the first time in awhile that I had thought about him, and it occurred to me that I should tell you about it. That worried me. I just wasn't sure how you would react. I guess I didn't need to waste all of that time figuring out how to bring it up after all. Finn confessed that she accidentally told you."
Ned nodded. "She gave me a brief run down. Marguerite didn't let her get very far with the details."
"Well, if you want to hear about it, I'd like to share it with you."
"I'd like that," Ned replied.
Veronica looked straight ahead into the jungle as she began. She was already a little shy and embarrassed to talk about this with him, and it would be harder for her if she had to look him in the eye. She took a deep breath and began. "It was hard for me when I found my way back to the tree house and found out that you had gone off on your own. That day that I got lost with the balloon, I felt like you and I had left things unfinished. . .I mean, we had a great conversation, and we had established that things were okay between us, but there was still so much left unsaid. I didn't even get to tell you about the things that I read in the journal of my parents' that you found.
I understood why you left after the others told me about what you went through when you were hit by that dart, and after I read your letter. But I still missed you every day. The whole time that I was trying to get back home, I kept thinking of things I wanted to tell you. When you weren't back, I wondered if I would ever get to say them.
I started to feel like an outsider at the tree house. Challenger was always so occupied with his experiments, and Marguerite and Roxton seemed so wrapped up in each other. I know they all missed you too. I guess they were just dealing with it better than I was. But one morning, I woke up so angry at all of them, and I lost all patience with them when they came home acting so happy, and having so much fun. I just wanted to be alone. So, I went out to take a swim to clear my head. While I was walking, I heard the most beautiful piano music coming from a fog-covered valley. I decided to follow the music, and I discovered a village in the middle of the fog. As soon as I stepped into the village, my clothes changed into a beautiful white dress and I had on jewelry and combs in my hair. I should have known something was wrong then. But my instincts didn't seem to be working. All I could concentrate on was that beautiful music. It didn't take me long to find out where it was coming from. I went into a building, and down a staircase. I opened a door and saw a handsome man sitting at a piano. He said that he had been waiting for my visit and that he wrote his music just for me."
"That's what I said," Ned interrupted quietly. "I said that I wrote some things in my journal especially for you. That's what made you think of him."
"Yes," Veronica answered. She paused, unsure of whether or not to continue.
"I'm sorry," Ned said. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"It's okay. Anyway, he told me his name was Thomas Ducart, and that he had seen me in the village before. He thought we were in Germany one hundred years ago. I explained to him about the Plateau. He asked if he could come with me to the jungle. When we left the village, I looked like myself again. He was amazed by the jungle and everything in it."
"Including you," Ned added silently. Even though he could only see her profile, he could tell by her expressions that she was censuring her story, either out of modesty, concern for his feelings, or both. Finn had said that Ducart had seduced Veronica. Ned was sure the seduction began from the minute she opened that door. But he stayed silent. Whatever she was willing to share with him, he was willing to hear. And perhaps there were some parts that his heart would rather not hear anyway.
Veronica went on. "I took him to the tree house to meet the others. Marguerite and Roxton weren't there, but Challenger was and he was immediately skeptical of Ducart. I should have listened to him. Anyway, after our encounter with Challenger, Thomas and I went on a walk together. We came across a triceratops. I pulled Thomas out of the way. We fell to the ground and rolled a few times. He. . .landed on top of me. Then we. . .we went. . .to the river." Veronica paused.
Ned could see the tears rolling down her cheeks now. He took her hand, and she looked over at him. She didn't need to tell him what happened next. He could tell from the look of humiliation on her face. Ducart's seduction had obviously worked. Ned wasn't sure how far they had gone, but it was obvious that Ducart and Veronica had been physical, and she was now ashamed of it. He reached over and brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "It's okay," he reassured her. "You don't owe me an explanation about anything." Inside, his heart was breaking. He thought of Marguerite's comment about the other women he had pursued on the Plateau. He finally knew what it must have felt like for Veronica to watch him kiss other women. Worse yet, what she went through seeing him with Kaya. He hated the thought of her in another man's arms. But he kept all of this to himself, and patiently waited for her to regain her composure and continue.
"I walked him back to the hill above his village. I promised to wait there for him the next day. I went back to the tree house and had an awful fight with Challenger about him. I left and immediately went back to the hill. Ducart found his way back there too. He had a slightly wild look in his eyes, but I passed it off as excitement over our new romance. Yet another time when my instincts let me down. He wanted me to go live with him in his village. I told him repeatedly that I couldn't. He got upset, but recovered quickly and asked me to at least go listen to him play again. I went. He led me to the building where I first saw him. He gave me a glass of wine, and told me to sit on the bed and watch him play. As he played, he revealed the real reason why he wanted me. I looked like Julia Gesh, the woman he was in love with. I tried to leave, but he fought me. I started to feel strange and weak. I couldn't fight him off. He told me that he had laced my wine with hemlock, the same poison Julia drank to kill herself. That was his plan. Once the hemlock killed me, I would be with him forever. Challenger saved me. He killed Ducart - at least as much as you can kill someone who was already dead. Marguerite, Roxton, and Challenger were able to fill in the rest of the gaps - how he had taken advantage of Julia Gesh, an innocent girl who didn't know he was already married. And how he had shot his brother-in-law and wife." Veronica began to break down again. "How could I be so stupid? How could I believe that he was falling in love with me? How could I let him touch me?"
Ned pulled her into his arms and held her against his chest. All he could think of was that Ducart was lucky he was dead because if he wasn't, Ned would have fixed that. Veronica didn't deserve to be treated like that! No one deserved that, but especially not Veronica. She had spent her life surviving on her own. She deserved someone wonderful to share her life with. And Ned hoped to be that person. But right now, he needed to get her through this.
Marguerite and Roxton, who had been quietly chatting a few feet away from Ned and Veronica, heard Veronica's sobs. Marguerite gave Roxton a knowing look, he nodded, and they picked up their guns and headed over to the other couple. "Why don't you let us take over," Roxton said. "Just make sure she gets a good night's sleep."
"Are you sure," Ned asked."
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Neddy-boy," Marguerite quipped. The reporter smiled at her, and he helped Veronica to her feet.
"Come on," he whispered to the jungle beauty. "Let's go over to the blankets."
Veronica slowly made her way over to where her blanket and knapsack were sitting. Ned went to follow her, but Marguerite caught his arm. "Take care of her," she said gently. "I don't think she really dealt with this the first time around. What she needs now is a good cry, and a shoulder to do it on."
"Thanks," Ned answered. "I'll take care of her."
He went over to Veronica, who was curled up in a ball on her blanket. He lay down beside her and pulled her close to him. She buried her head in his chest. He could never remember Veronica letting herself be this vulnerable. She had always been so strong. Even when she was upset, she was always able to shake it off quickly. He figured that after all of those years of pushing her feelings aside, it was probably way past due for her to let them out. He stroked her hair and whispered reassurances to her.
When Roxton and Marguerite looked over at the younger couple fifteen minutes later, they were both asleep. Ned had his arms around Veronica, and her head was resting comfortably on his chest.
"Looks like they're making progress," Roxton commented.
"Yes, but they still have a long way to go," Marguerite replied. This journey will be a big test for them, especially if Veronica fails on this quest of hers."
"Hopefully soon, they'll realize what we did. . .that life's just too short to ignore happiness when it's right in front of you." He slipped his arm around Marguerite's waist, and she dropped her head onto his shoulder.