Chapter 5

Candy stood motionless for a few minutes in the middle of the staircase. Then she dried her wet and red cheeks, let out a deep sigh and returned to her room as stealthily as she had come out of it.

In her room, she pulled out a somewhat worn suitcase which she had kept in her closet and began packing some clothes, a couple of books and on top of all that she placed a large damascened jewelry box, decorated with small precious stones and pearls. Candy stood and observed it for a moment. She hadn't seen that jewelry box for such a long time...She still remembered the moment when Albert had given it to her..."Use it any way you like," he had told her as he handed it to her. And she had done exactly that. Inside she had kept her most precious treasures: The best memories of her life. She made a gesture as if she wanted to open it, but she stopped. She was sure that if she did, she wouldn't be able to control the sea of emotions she had been harboring inside her. Albert...she thought while brushing softly that precious object with her fingers. I thought I could bear it until my birthday but I was wrong...She shook her head with a sigh, continuing her arduous task, packing only what was indispensable. Then she put a black wrap on, covered her neck with a white wool scarf and grabbed the suitcase.

Before opening the door of her room, she stopped for a moment, thinking about the small possibility of leaving a note, but she immediately changed her mind. She'd better send them a letter from Pony's Home. Yes, that's what she would do...

Stealthily, she went out to the hall. She looked around her; fortunately nobody was there. She went downstairs slowly, while she heard some feminine laughter in the distance. Once she was on the ground floor, hiding behind the large leaves of an indoor plant located at the foot of the staircase, she could see Josephine and her mother talking merrily with Aunt Elroy in the living room. She didn't want to even try to listen to what they were talking about. Why should she torture herself? She knew perfectly well what they were talking about...

She walked on tiptoe until she reached the front door of the mansion. She placed her hands on the latch and when she was about to open it...

"Candy! Where are you going?" That voice...That gentle and charming voice..."Why are you still up? You should be resting."

"Hello, Albert!" Candy answered when she saw him, while hiding the suitcase behind her back.

"Is that a suitcase you're holding in your hands, Candy? Do you think of going on a trip somewhere?"

"Eh...No...Eh...Well, yes...Yes, I'm going to Pony's Home. Miss Pony

and Sister Lane sent me a message today asking me to go there for a few days." Candy was speaking helter-skelter. If having him close to her had already somehow upset her, the fact that he had caught her red-handed had completely unsettled her.

"Oh...And you thought of leaving without warning?" Albert was looking at her steadily. He knew Candy better than anyone, and knew perfectly well when she was lying.

"I was going to let you know just now, Albert. I only wanted to see what the weather was like and make sure I was warmly dressed."

"Oh...Fine...Would you care to come into my study for a moment? We need to talk..."

"Eh...Not now, Albert, I can't...The truth is I'm in a hurry; Miss Pony..."

"It will be just for a moment, Candy..." asked Albert with a strange brightness in his eyes. How could she refuse such a request? How could she say no to that man? Everything about him was so magical and seductive and on top of that he was so handsome in his black suit and with those blue eyes...

"All right, Albert..."

Albert extended his hand to grab the suitcase and with a gesture he asked Candy to follow him. Resigned, she did that without any resistance.

Once inside the study, Albert sat on the only sofa that was in that room and asked Candy to sit beside him.

"No, I prefer to remain standing if you don't mind..." she replied.

"As you like..." Albert was only looking at her. Candy was standing in front of him with her eyes lowered. Her suitcase lay on the floor next to the door which was closed that moment. Only the two of them were in that room but the tension between them was very strong. "Candy...I only wanted to apologize to you for not telling you about my engagement with Josephine. I'm sorry you found out in that way. I know I was wrong. I've betrayed your trust...I never intended to hurt you...Can you forgive me, Candy?"

Candy said nothing. She kept standing in front of him, completely motionless, looking at the floor. Albert, seeing that she didn't speak, got up from the sofa and walked towards her. But what he saw surprised him exceedingly. With each step he took, Candy was stepping back and moving away from him.

"What's the matter, Candy? Why are you running away from me?"

"I'm running away from you?" asked Candy quietly, without looking up.

"Yes...Why are you moving away from me?"

"I'm moving away from you?" Candy kept asking, still not looking up.

"Yes...I go out and I hear you are going to Pony's Home and now you

are running away from me as if I had the plague...Candy, please look at me...Forgive me, Candy..." Albert took another step towards Candy, but this time she went to the window and stood there turning her back on him.

"All right, Albert...I forgive you..." she said without looking away from the window.

"I don't believe you...Candy, look at me...Please..." Albert approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. She felt an electric current going through her body and tears began to fill her green eyes.

"Why did you do it, Albert? Why did you hide it from me?"

"Candy...I don't know..."

"Yes, you do..." said Candy, turning around and facing him. She wanted to hold back her tears, but it was impossible.

Albert remained motionless and silent in front of her. It was like living his worst nightmare: He, William Albert Ardlay, had seriously hurt Candice White Ardlay, "his Candy".

Candy attempted to leave him, but as she passed near him, a hand caught her arm and stopped her. Her green eyes met his blue ones, and for several moments they were silent.

"I don't know, Candy..." Albert began, as he let her go and started walking to and fro in the study. "I met Josephine at a party in Washington during the second year of my traveling. Later we met coincidentally at more social events and ended up being very good friends. Then I met her father who interestingly did the same work as I did. We started to plan meetings, and we continued to meet at all the social gatherings we attended. And then...well...One thing led to another and...Here we are...I think I didn't tell you because I didn't have the chance..."

"You didn't have the chance?" asked Candy frowning. "You didn't have the chance? How can you say that to me? After you returned from those two infinite years of your traveling, you came to see me, and as far as I know you didn't tell me anything. Didn't you have the chance, Albert? And on top of that, then you asked me...Sorry, you begged me to come from Pony's Home and live in the mansion in Chicago. Are you going to tell me that you didn't have the chance then either, Albert?"

"No, I didn't, Candy. And yes, I remember that when I returned I was going to visit you often and also that I asked you to come back to the mansion in Chicago, but we always ended up talking about my life as the head of the family, about how your day was at Pony's Home, about the children, about the hospital, about the patients, about Dr. Martin, about Archie and Annie, and even about Aunt Elroy, but we never talked about anything other than those topics. Am I mistaken? And that, my friend, in my opinion, is not having a chance."

Candy remained speechless when she heard him. It was true. Whenever they met, they ended up talking about trivial things of the daily life of both of them and never about more important matters. But even so, she wasn't going to keep silent. Now more than ever she wanted to tell him everything she had on her mind. "Even so, you should have told me. Something so important doesn't pass up like that. But don't worry...I'm used to that..."

"What does that mean?"

Candy looked at him for a moment. She wasn't so sure about saying what she was going to say, but...The conversation was already out of control. "It means that it's not the first time you hide something from me. Am I wrong, dear Great Uncle William?"

Bingo! Candy had hit the target. Albert turned pale hearing that accusation. He didn't expect it. He had completely forgotten that little incident in their relationship. Something inside him told him that he should take all the blame and apologize to Candy a hundred times in a row so that everything would be over as soon as possible, but he didn't intend to keep silent either. He was already out of his wits and he had also a few things to tell Candy. "I think I've already explained to you why I concealed my identity, Candy. As for the other subject, it would have been easier to tell you if we had spent more time together."

"Excuse me? What do you mean?"

"Just what you heard. There would be no secrets between us if you had accepted the thousands of invitations to accompany me to the parties and meetings I was obliged to attend."

"You know perfectly well that I don't like this kind of gatherings. Besides, you accepted immediately my refusal, so I thought you were just being polite to invite me."

"I just respected your freedom!"

"Well, so did I!"

They were extremely close, facing each other. They were breathing agitatedly, their faces were flushed and their eyes were blazing. Neither moved. Time became infinite and silence eternal. They had never in their lives spoken to each other in that way, and that had made them act completely out of character.

A knock on the door forced them to break their eye contact.

"Excuse me, sir, but Madam Elroy, Mrs. Peterson and Miss Josephine require your presence in the living room. They say you have to talk about the engagement party," said the maid who opened the door of the study.

"Eh...All right...Tell them I'm coming in a moment, please," answered Albert, trying to recover.

"Very well, sir." The servant closed the door again, leaving them alone in the study.

"Candy, I..."

"That's enough, Albert. It's getting late; I have to go to Pony's Home and you have to be with your fiancée. Goodbye." And saying that, Candy grabbed her suitcase and went out of the study, leaving Albert completely confused.

As she was leaving the mansion, Candy almost didn't feel her legs. She walked very slowly on the path that crossed the immense garden. A cold drizzle was gently wetting her face. Without being able to explain it, she felt lighter than before but at the same time she felt some pain deep in her heart. She had never imagined that day would be unique in her life. It was the first time that speaking her mind turned out to be so unbearably contradictory. Relief and pain, two feelings so different, but at the same time joined together, were accompanying her slow walking.