Chapter 23:

When he was finally in his room, he sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace that had been lit during his absence. He pulled Julia's pocket watch from its inside pocket and looked at it for what seemed like the thirtieth time in less than two days. He never found the right time to return it. Moreover, as surprising as it could be, the young woman no longer spoke to him about her watch. As if she had accepted the idea that such a precious object was lost forever...

He sighed after fixing his gaze on the initials J.O. engraved on the jewel. He slumped on the couch and closed his eyes. He opened them again abruptly after a few seconds, a very clear vision having crossed his mind. He felt guilty. Very guilty. When he had gone to Miss Ogden's door for the dinner guest, she had opened the door for him in her bathrobe, her hair down, down over her shoulders and damp.

He mentally beat himself for not looking away. But he could not. He had found her really attractive; he could not deny it. She had insisted that he come in, despite her state of undress, and she had invited him to sit on the sofa in the bedroom while she changed. They had talked but he was not focused. Not when she changed right next to him. He fingered the hem of his jacket and finally he bent down. He had leaned forward until he could see the crack in the bathroom door where Julia was standing. And he was frozen, his mouth open. She had been back to him, and she had suddenly taken off her burgundy red bathrobe under which she appeared completely naked. She had quickly got dressed and William had leaned back on the sofa, in shock. He had seen her for a few seconds but that was more than enough to engrave her nudity in his memory. He could see the full length of her glowing white back to the seductive curve of her buttocks. He had seen her slender endless legs and he had been able to see a tiny part of her chest. He had been able to notice the marks of the corset which seemed to have embedded themselves in her back. He had wanted to kiss her kind of "scars" and massage her back to take away the suffering imposed by this too austere society.

William got up from the couch, suddenly feeling sweaty in his black suit. He took off his jacket and then his shirt, which he put on the back of a chair. Shirtless, he gazed out the window at the bright sun, the breathtaking forest and mountains, and Swan Lake. It was past midnight now. How would he fall asleep with such sunshine and such thoughts of Julia Ogden?

Finally, he decided to close the curtains and threw himself on his bed, his head still full of images of the young woman. He felt really guilty for having such thoughts. He was not used to it, and he believed that, in reality, it had never happened to him.

This woman was truly perfect. He felt like he was psychologically damaged. There were barely a few days, even hours, the young woman was constantly getting on his nerves. But he was beginning to believe that he had unconsciously tried to keep her away from him from the moment he met her because he had fallen in love with her… Why did everything always have to be so complicated?

When he awoke the next day at a rather late hour of the day, he was almost disoriented to find that the sun was still shining in the sky. Initially, he could not remember if he had taken a nap or an all-nighter. Then, he went straight out to have lunch since breakfast time was well past.

On leaving, he had passed Lazare Lamoureux, sitting on a bench smoking a cigar. Their eyes had met for a moment and William immediately felt suspicious. He did not know if it was because of what he had heard about the man that he had this bad feeling about him.

Moreover, after having lunch, he strolled through the town of Sitka, well wrapped up in a winter coat. He greeted Walid Champagne who was chatting with a local shopkeeper with his wife. Then, after a while, he stopped in place. He had seen Julia Ogden with Magnus Duval, the two of them sitting on a bench nearby, laughing. He watched them for a moment, his heart beating a little faster in his chest, before slipping away and going back to his hotel room. He was not jealous...no, he just did not want Magnus Duval to take advantage of the young woman, that's all. Well, he was trying to convince himself of that.

At the end of the afternoon, while William was quietly reading a book in front of one of the large bay windows in his bedroom, sitting on a chair, he heard a knock on his door. He got up to open the door and was surprised to find Julia Ogden on his doorstep.

"Hello…" he said.

"Hello… I… I came to see how you were. We haven't seen each other today." began the young woman who seemed embarrassed.

"Yes… I saw you with Mr. Duval. I would have thought you wanted privacy." said the young man in a slightly cold tone.

"I… No… I…" the young woman stammered, before looking down at her green skirt. "I was about to go out for some fresh air. Would you like to accompany me?"

William saw the hopeful look of the young woman shine.

"No." he replied almost so harshly that he did not recognize his voice for a moment.

"Oh…"

He watched Julia's face change from shock to offense and humiliation.

"Excuse me for disturbing you." she finally said, a hurt face showing easily. "Goodbye."

Detective Murdoch watched as the young woman slipped away, and abruptly closed his door before punching it in rage. Why was he acting like a jerk? Was he really stupid or what? He did it on purpose, it was not possible otherwise. He was doing everything to make her hate him and if he continued like this he was really going to succeed. And that was not what he wanted at all.

Note: William's jealousy takes over... He was very cold with Julia. How will he be forgiven? Will he make it?