A/N: Thanks so much for the comments, Caranath, max2013, Guest, catlover1033, zenfrodo, Stork Hardy, Lady Emily, Vinsmouse, ILoveMom, Guest, Jackie, and Future Animator! They are very appreciated! This chapter starts out fluffy and ends up bloody. Muahahaha! Thanks to those reading!
Chapter 18
Bess flopped down on one of the three twin beds in her new room in Kathy's suite.
"I am so tired, I could cry. And I'm still not sure Lars believed my story about you two suddenly coming down with food poisoning." She sighed then looked over at Nancy. "So if Joe's with Emily tonight, are you going to sleep in Frank's room?"
"You know it." Nancy grinned as she pulled what was left of the bobby pins out of her now straggly up-do.
Bess giggled. She had thought all along that Frank and Nancy would be perfect together, even when Nancy refused to admit she had feelings for him.
Frank had always been reserved, even to the point of what Bess would consider "stuffy." But she suspected a fiery passion burned underneath that calm, unruffled, exterior. She could tell from the mischievous twinkle she'd seen in Frank's eyes at times. She also knew her best friend could be the one to bring that out in him. And Bess was right. Nancy had turned Frank Hardy's world upside down and kept him on his toes.
"Yeah, but does Frank know it?"
"Probably not. He thinks I should rest." Nancy grabbed a comb from the collection of toiletries provided by the hotel, and tried to run it through her hair. "Ouch!"
Bess smirked as she stood and slipped out of her evening gown, then hung it up in the closet.
"Something tells me you won't be getting much rest tonight."
"I'm too wired to sleep anyhow," Nancy replied. "My mind is spinning over this case. The kidnapper had to be someone connected with the monastery, but who?"
Bess shook her head as she pulled back the sheets on her bed. "How can you possibly have just recovered from hypothermia and have so much energy?"
"I slept when I was freezing," Nancy said. "I'm taking a nice, hot shower now."
She strolled to the bathroom then stuck her head around the doorframe. "Oh, and uh, don't wait up for me."
"Never occurred to me." Bess yawned. "You'd better be back in our room before Princess Kathy wakes up though, or she'll tell her daddy on you."
OOOoooOOO
Emily sat patiently, dangling her legs off the side of the unusually high bed in the hotel room, while Joe banged around in the bathroom. She smiled as she heard him utter an expletive.
After a few minutes, he came out and walked over to her. He bent forward in a sweeping bow then extended his hand. "Your bath is ready, my lady."
"Mmmm, I can't wait." She was still feeling chilled, and soaking in some nice warm water sounded heavenly.
She took his hand as he helped her down. He removed the blanket and led her into the bathroom.
Emily stared at the round tub for two in the corner, billowing over with bubbles at least four feet high. She stifled a smile and turned to him.
"Oh, honey, thank you. You're so sweet."
Joe grinned at her. "I didn't know how much bubble bath to use, so I went ahead and poured in almost the entire bottle. It looks pretty good, huh?"
"Yes," Emily replied, knowing the bubbles would swallow her up whole the moment she attempted to sit in the water.
He stepped in front of her, and reaching behind her neck, unhooked the top of her dress and unzipped the bottom. It slid down, and pooled on the ground at her feet. Joe sucked in his breath.
"That little piece of lace is all you had on underneath this?"
"Joe, you undid my dress in the monastery."
"I knew you weren't wearing a bra, but..."
"The fabric is too filmy, panty lines show through it."
Joe groaned. "Oh, baby, if I'd known this earlier..."
Emily smiled while she watched Joe unsuccessfully try to school his features as his eyes raked over her body. His look of raw need was unmistakable.
"I don't think I want you wearing this ever again."
"Not even for you?" Because she had serious plans for this dress and a private dinner party for two.
He gave her a wicked grin. "Only for me."
OOOoooOOO
Nancy dried herself off after getting out of the shower and applied the floral scented body lotion the hotel had provided. She shook out her hair and finger-combed it, then grabbed the short, white, plush robe hanging on the back of the door. Tying it around her waist, she walked across the room. Bess was already asleep.
Nancy turned off all the lights and entered the living room area of the suite. It was dark. She crept toward Frank's room and tried the door. She smiled as it opened easily.
As she paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, she spotted Frank under the covers. She dropped her robe to the floor and slid under the sheets next to him.
He was lying on his side with his back to her, and she cuddled up to him, pressing her bare body fully against his. She felt him jump and suck in his breath. He reached his hand around her and ran it over her bottom.
"Nancy, what are you doing here?"
She giggled. "Very good, Frank. Who else did you think it might be?"
He turned over and hugged her tightly. "Nobody, you stinker."
"Not one of those little teenagers in the next room, I hope?"
Frank chuckled. "Not a chance."
She ran her hand down the length of his chest, resting it on the taut muscles of his stomach. Her body temperature instantly increased by several degrees. Frank Hardy's rock hard abs…instant cure for women with hypothermia everywhere.
"Good." Nancy slid her hand a little lower as she tilted her face back for a kiss.
Frank groaned as he brought his lips down over hers. He kissed her thoroughly then pulled away, breathless.
"Baby, you shouldn't be in here, you should be resting."
"I rested while I was unconscious. I feel fine." She leaned in to kiss his neck. "And I've missed you."
"Nan." His voice was strangled. "I think maybe we should wait."
"Why?" Nancy lowered her lips to his chest. "I want you."
And they had been apart far too long, as far as she was concerned. Frank's honor was not going to stand in her way tonight.
He moaned and closed his eyes. "Nan, honey, I'm afraid it's been so long, I...I'm not going to be able to be very gentle with you, and after the night you've had…"
Nancy knew he was trying to be noble. She was having none of it.
"I don't want you to be gentle." She brought her open mouth up to his. "I'm not going to be."
Frank grabbed her to him, pulling her down and kissing her with an intensity that took her breath away.
"Are you sure?" he whispered raggedly into her mouth.
"Very sure," she murmured, closing the distance between them again.
OOOoooOOO
Joe held out his hand to Emily, who took it and stepped into the bathtub.
"This hot water feels amazing," she said as she lowered herself to a sitting position and promptly disappeared under a mountain of bubbles.
"Emily?"
She lifted a hand and cleared away some of the suds surrounding her head. "Right here."
"Think maybe I overdid the bubble bath?" Joe asked grinning. Bubble baths were not his thing as a general rule, and the one capful of liquid the bottle suggested putting in the tub didn't seem like it would make nearly enough suds to him. Lesson learned.
Emily giggled. "No, I like it." She moved another pile of bubbles away from her face and held out her hand. "Come join me."
"Really?"
"Of course." She flung some lather at him. "I don't want to be in this big tub all alone."
That was all the invitation Joe needed. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and climbed in, sliding completely underneath the water.
"Where are you?" Emily squealed.
He popped up inches from her, covered with soap suds. Emily laughed as she brushed the foam from his hair. The sound made Joe's heart sing after having held her cold and motionless body only hours ago.
He leaned in and kissed her, spreading more bubbles across her face. She giggled as she scraped off some suds and daubed them on the tip of his nose.
Joe shook his head, scattering the suds everywhere, and loving the happy smile on his girlfriend's face. Then he settled himself against the side of the tub and drew her back between his legs. She leaned against his chest and sighed contentedly.
"Mmm, this feels so nice."
He kissed her temple. "Yes, it does. Much nicer than pulling you out of a dungeon cell half frozen to death."
"I thought we weren't going to talk about that tonight."
He nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry."
Joe wanted to get to the bottom of the kidnapping more than anything, but he also wanted to give Emily a chance to recover. Having been a victim of hypothermia himself a time or two, he knew it left its victims exhausted. He didn't think an interrogation at this point would help matters much. He leaned down to nuzzle her neck.
"What would you like to talk about?"
Emily turned her head to look at him. "How much I love you?"
"Sounds good." He smiled against her neck. "How much do you love me?"
"More than anything, Joe," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "You saved my life...again."
"That's because I love you more than anything," he replied, before turning her around in his arms and kissing her deeply.
OOOoooOOO
Nancy snuck back into her room just after dawn. She slipped into her own bed, hoping to catch another hour or two of sleep. Something she'd gotten precious little of in Frank's bed.
As she slowly drifted off, the telephone next to her bed jangled, jarring her awake. She put her hand over her chest as she lifted up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Is this Mademoiselle Drew?" an anxious male voice with a heavy French accent asked.
"Yes, this is Nancy. Who is this?"
"Père Xavier. Oh, Mademoiselle, something awful has happened. Can you please come to the cathedral?"
"Yes, yes of course. I'll be there as soon as I get dressed."
Nancy hung up the phone and looked toward Bess. She was sleeping like the dead. She sighed as she began changing her clothes, and whispered, "I guess I'll just go myself, then."
OOOoooOOO
Ten minutes later, Nancy rang the doorbell to the monastery. Father Xavier admitted her quickly. His brow was furrowed and his hands were trembling as he reached for hers.
"Father, what's wrong?"
"Please, come with me."
He led her through the door to the cathedral. Nancy noticed that there were no tourists or townspeople inside at this early hour. Father Xavier had Nancy by the hand as he hurried her along to the main altar. She looked down and gasped out loud. What looked like a river of blood was coursing down the marble steps, and lying, face down, in the middle of it, was Father Bertrand.
"Is he...is he dead?" she whispered.
"No. Doctor Delacroix has gone to meet the ambulance crew. He has instructed us not to move him," Father Xavier explained.
"What was he doing in here? How did this happen?" Nancy's mind was spinning with questions.
"It is evil, Mademoiselle." Father Xavier's voice was solemn. "Evil has come to our cathedral."
OOOoooOOO
Bess stumbled out of bed, assuming that Nancy still hadn't returned from Frank's room. She was on her way to give a warning knock on his door, when she noticed the piece of paper taped to the vanity mirror. She snatched it down, read it, and her eyes widened.
"Is she insane?"
She threw open the door to her bedroom, dashed across the living area, to the astonishment of Simone, and banged on Frank's door. Without waiting for a response, she flung it open. Frank was still lying under the covers. Bess dashed over and bounced down on the bed.
"What the..." Frank turned and opened his eyes. "Bess? What are you doing here?"
She held out the note. "Nancy's left. She's gone to the monastery alone. She said there was an emergency and she didn't want to wake you."
"What?" Frank bellowed. He sat up quickly and started to fling back his sheet when Bess stopped him.
"Wait until I've left, please."
OOOoooOOO
Nancy knelt down next to the priest, who looked ashen and lifeless to her. "We have to put something on this wound. He could be bleeding to death."
"Mademoiselle, I don't think..." Father Xavier started to protest as Nancy gently brushed back the hair that had fallen over the priest's forehead.
"Please," Nancy said urgently, "I need a cloth of some sort."
Father Xavier ran up the steps and snatched a cloth from the altar and handed it to her. Nancy folded it and placed it against the gash on Father Bertrand's temple, hoping to stop the blood flow. She was very concerned that the injury seemed to stem from the priest's head hitting the marble steps. Hard.
"Are you instructed in the ways of healing, Mademoiselle?"
"I'm certified in first aid," Nancy said. "I just hope he hasn't lost too much blood."
The side door flew open and an ambulance crew with a gurney quickly moved over to the front of the cathedral. Nancy stood back while Father Bertrand was loaded onto the gurney. She touched Dr. Delacroix on the arm. "Is he going to make it?"
"I won't know until we can get him to the hospital," he said grimly.
Nancy took a deep breath and nodded as the doctor followed after the EMTs and the gurney. Who on earth could have done this? Did Father Bertrand interrupt a crime? Was this an assault for personal reasons? Had there been a struggle? She needed to find some evidence…and fast.
"Father Xavier, do you mind if I look around for some clues ?"
The priest was still staring at the blood on the altar steps. "No, of course not, but Mademoiselle, an assault has taken place. I need to contact the police."
"Yes, you do," Nancy agreed. "I'm just going to look. I won't disturb anything."
Father Xavier nodded and turned to head back to the monastery. Suddenly, he clutched his throat and gasped. "Oh, no. No, no, no."
"Father, are you all right?" Nancy rushed over to him as he hurried toward the chapel in an alcove of the cathedral.
Father Xavier ignored her as he dashed through the open gate of the chapel. His eyes were wild as he looked back at Nancy. "Elle est absente! Notre Dame est allée!"
OOOoooOOO
Frank flew out of the door of the hotel and ran across the street to the monastery. The early morning light cast a soft glow on the town square, and the snow appeared pink in spots. But Frank saw none of it. His mind was on Nancy. He was going to throttle her. What the hell was she thinking? Someone had tried to kill her last night, and first thing she does this morning is go traipsing back to the scene of the crime? Alone and unprotected? She was going to be the death of him.
The air was bracing, and Frank pulled up the collar of his coat as he reached the steps of the building. He rang the bell and was soon admitted by a young brother.
"Is Father Bertrand here?"
The monk's eyes widened and he gave a nervous glance over his shoulder.
Maybe he doesn't speak English, Frank thought. "I'm with the American detective, Nancy Drew. I understand she's here as well."
"Mademoiselle Drew?"
"Yes," Frank said. "I need to see her."
The monk gestured to him and escorted him into the building. He approached the door to the cathedral and opened it, pointing his finger. "Elle est la dedans."
Frank smiled his thanks and hurried into the cathedral. Relief washed over him when he spotted Nancy, apparently unharmed, standing near the chapel. A frown crossed his face when he noticed how distraught Father Xavier seemed. The priest was wringing his hands and pacing back and forth in front of what looked like a small marble building.
"Nancy?" he called out as he approached her.
"Frank, what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? I was about to ask you the same question. After what happened to you last night, I can't believe–"
Nancy waved her hand in front of him. "Not now. We have an urgent matter here." She touched Father Xavier on the arm. "What were you trying to tell me? In English, please."
"Nancy," Frank tried to keep his voice even, although his patience was wearing thin.
Nancy held up her hand as Father Xavier started through the iron gate of the small chapel.
"She is gone, Mademoiselle. Our lady is missing."