Chapter Eight

Remembering the Lost

Pierre swallowed and then took a deep breath as he adjusted his tie in the mirror. He knew it was silly but he wanted to look good for this occasion. Clara had been brought back onboard, not in her white and shining casket but in a small beautiful ornamented urn. She had been placed in her quarters at the captain's request. That had been almost twenty-four hours ago. He had been meaning to go there earlier but every time he attempted it either his courage failed him or someone called him in order for him to sign something. Taking a deep breath, he brushed off his epaulettes and adjusted his hat before he turned on his heels to walk out the door. He was nervous, it felt like he was going on a first date. Pierre sighed wearily, 'If only,' he thought, 'If only it had been a first date, that would have been a moment to cherish.'

"Officer," the sailors greeted politely as he neared the cabin.

Pierre nodded. "You're dismissed," he said. "There is no need for you to stand guard here any longer."

"Thank you, sir," they chorused and turned to leave.

He watched them walk down the corridor, gathering his wits, before he twisted the doorknob and went inside.

There she was, on the desk, resting in a brilliant white, ornamented urn. He walked over to take her into his arms and managed a bittersweet smile. The woman of his dreams was no more and it was his fault. Had he not encouraged her to seek out Aníbal de Souza none of this would have happened. Pierre didn't know if he ever could manage to forgive himself, Aníbal or Natalia for ruining the kind and gentle person whose name had been Clara Romane.

OOOOOO

Eva adjusted her black hat and stared at herself in the mirror. Her face was displaying mixed emotions of grief and relief, her eyes were cold, her jaw set and her red lips a brilliant contrast to her pale skin and dark hair. She smirked unhappily as she put on her long black, silky gloves to complete her dark and gloomy attire.

"Have you seen Verónica?" Carolina asked anxiously as she appeared in the doorway dressed in a similar attire.

"No, not since yesterday," Eva replied. "Why?"

Carolina shook her head. "I don't know I suppose I hoped she would come with us," she said dejectedly.

"I don't blame her if she doesn't want to come," Eva returned darkly. "There was something she wanted to tell us last night, one of the new maids said she was eager to share something but it was so late when we finally came back home that she'd already gone to sleep."

"Francisca would have honored papá," Carolina mused sadly.

Eva sighed in frustration and turned to her sister. "Carol, I don't know what there is to honor anymore. While he might have been a loving father to us, he did horrible things to others, let's not ever forget that."

"I can't believe that he would do such a thing without being under influence or illness," she marveled and then her voice quivered and cracked. "I just can't, Eva."

"It'll be all right, Carol," she whispered kindly as she gave her sister's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We'll get through this and we'll have to look for Verónica when we get back."

"I am sorry, my emotions are all over the place."

There was a faint knock on the door and the chauffeur popped his head into the room. "The car is ready Miss Villanueva, Mrs. Fábregas," he said curtly.

OOOOOO

Santiago frowned as he walked around the corner to find a sailor standing outside the door to his cabin with his hand on the doorknob.

"Is there something I can do for you?" the captain asked kindly as he walked up to the man.

The sailor tensed at seeing the man in charge of the ship but then relaxed and broke into a faint smile. "Forgive me, sir. You surprised me," he replied.

Santiago frowned then offered him a half-amused smirk. "By the looks of things you were looking for me," he said. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you one of the new servicemen down in engineering?"

Jean nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. I apologize for walking around the deck but I have never been posted on such a luxury liner before and I was curious."

Santiago nodded. "It's quite all right, sailor," he returned kindly.

Jean nodded. "I better best be going then, sir. My shift starts within the hour," he said politely and turned to leave.

OOOOOO

"Uncle," Eva said in disbelief as she turned to stare at a lone figure a bit further away from the small congregation consisting of Eva and Carolina.

Without as much as word the older man somberly walked his way toward them, his cane clicking forebodingly against the pavement.

Carolina looked morosely at him as he came to stand beside them. Although Pedro wore his tinted glasses it was fairly easy to see the mixed emotions of sadness and bitterness that flickered across his face. "I know I've hidden the truth from you. I understand if you do not want to see me but I had to see for myself that this time death has claimed him, that there is a body in that casket, so I can rest easier."

"We've all been through this before, Uncle Pedro," Eva said coldly. "Except that the last time we thought he'd died in a tragic accident."

Pedro had the decency to look away at the accusation, knowing perfectly well what she meant. He suddenly chuckled as he turned to look directly at his niece. "You've never been subtle, Eva, always straight to the point."

"Uncle," Carolina reasoned with slight disdain and disappointment, not comfortable in the role as intermediator between them. "You know what Eva mean and she's right."

"People do stupid things sometimes, Carolina," he replied in a subdued voice as he glanced over Eva´s shoulder toward the gleaming white casket behind her.

"You're no better than him!" Eva argued feistily as she gestured towards her father's resting place to be. "You're both monsters."

"You told us about moral. Taught us about right and wrong," Carolina spoke up dejectedly. "You told us it was important to be a good person yet you planned to kill your own brother," she finished incredulously.

"He sent many more innocent people to their graves, Carolina," Pedro protested.

"No, Uncle," Eva protested, disappointment clearly written all over her face. "It doesn't matter if you kill one person or many. It is wrong to play God."

"For goodness sake, child!" he exploded and stomped the end of the cane into the ground. "He tried to frame me and Rojas for something we didn't do. He would have sent us to our deaths if he'd succeeded with his plans."

"Leave," Carolina said coldly, her voice quivering as she pointed at the gate to the small churchyard. "Leave us the way you came."

OOOOOO

Nicolás grimaced as he collapsed to the floor but Jean didn't care, he was fuming. "You're lucky she cares for you," he growled angrily as he nodded at Chantal who rushed over to the first officer's side to make sure he was all right.

At this point his mind was so fuzzy and everything so out of context that he didn't really care about anything, his world was spinning and his focus uncoordinated no matter how hard he tried. He saw a woman leaning over him and smiled faintly. "Eva," he whispered.

"Nicolás," Chantal called worriedly.

"Idiot," Jean admonished coldly. "He exposed us to the others. I heard them call his name. There will only be a matter of time before they find us."

Chantal glanced up at the man who'd once saved her with disdain and disappointment. "I don't recognize you, Jean," she said in a subdued voice. "I thought you loved me, that you cared for people. Instead you're on some wild ghost chase for gold that obviously doesn't exist."

He took a step toward her and she backed up against the wall. "It exists," he drawled. "I just don't know where its hidden."

"Carlos Villanueva's gold," Nicolás mumbled. "Lieutenant Cardoso has it."

Jean whirled around at the mention of the Brazilian officer and knelt down next to the first officer; his hand balled into fists. "No," he said coldly.

"Rojas shot him,-" he mumbled in delirium. "-Sofía drowned."

Jean frowned and then shook his head in disbelief at hearing she'd been onboard the ship. "I didn't spend that much time with Sofía, only enough to realize the woman was fixated with money and greed. I refuse to believe she's dead," he glanced around the room. "She's here somewhere, I have no doubt about it."

"Who is she?" Chantal asked carefully.

"She's the one responsible for the whole mess," he muttered.

OOOOOO

It felt like a stone had dropped from her shoulders as she walked out of her mother's hospital room. Francisca was still weak and struggled with her memory. She couldn't grip the glass, or any other thing for that matter with her right hand, but nevertheless it had been wonderful to see her awake and to be able to talk to her again after that horrible fall she'd taken.

The doctors had warned her that her mother had a long way ahead of her and that the recovery would take time but she didn't care, she was willing and ready to give Francisca all the time she needed. It was with a pang of guilt she remembered that she hadn't told Eva and Carolina about the call or where she'd got to. They'd grown up with her mother as well and would be delighted to hear the news. She'd better hurry back to the mansion.

Before she could even think of getting into the car Sebastian de la Cuesta appeared before her impeccably dressed with a charming smile and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Sebastian?" she said in surprise.

"I was coming to see you but they told me you'd left in a hurry," he explained. "I figured you must be here and by the look on your face there's wonderful news to tell."

She broke into a genuine and warm dazzling smile that almost melted his heart.

"Mother has awakened," she replied jovially.

"I am relieved," he said kindly as he handed her the flowers.

"I haven't changed my mind," she said curtly.

"I didn't expect you too," he replied quickly as if to assure her he didn't want to push her in any way. "It's just that you're a hard woman to forget."

"Charming as ever," she noted with a tease.

He put on his hat, tipped it lightly and blinked at her as he turned to leave.

Verónica caught the troubled glare Dimas cast in the direction of the retreating de la Cuesta. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded as she directed a glare of her own at him. "He was only trying to be nice."

"He was trying to win you over," Dimas muttered.

Verónica shook her head in disbelief. "I had higher thoughts about you," she said unamused. "I am not prize in some ridiculous contest between the two of you. I thought I'd made that clear by now."

He broke out of his stupor and realized how it must have come out. "No, Verónica, please, that's not what I meant."

"Don't you try and deny it," she replied heftily. "You're no better than Sebastian."

He broke into a sheepish smile, not sure how to rectify the situation he'd put himself in. "Listen, like I told you when we departed the ship. I would have waited for as long as it took."

"Well, maybe you'll have to wait forever?" she returned and began to walk away from him with the bouquet of flowers from Sebastian in hand. "Still interested?"

He ran up to catch up with her brisk pace as she was about to leave the hospital. "I am clumsy with words sometimes," he offered. "What can I say?"

"I might forgive you," she said with a cunning smile. "If you help me with the household while mother is recuperating. You know what to do and how to do it. Why don't you show me the exact reason Sebastian liked you so much?"

"You're on," he replied smartly.

OOOOOO

To be continued