9

Lou woke and sat bolt upright in the same moment. She stared across the pale grey morning lit room, her heart pounding. Sweat sheened her body, her damp nightgown sticking to her skin. The same dream once again, swallowing her whole each night.

What had woken her? It hadn’t been the alarm she relied on to wake her as that hadn’t gone off yet. She glanced around. Nothing seemed amiss, not that she’d really seen the room in the dark the night before. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and then shook her head. Of course, it was flashing. At least that meant the power had been restored. Dawn seemed to be coming later and later, and the clocks had yet to change.

A knock came from the door. Was that what had woken her?

“Just a minute,” she called. She twisted her leg out of bed and reached for the prosthesis.

“No rush,” Evan replied through the door. “It’s seven thirty. I’ll come back a few minutes before eight.”

“OK. Thank you.” She rubbed her hands over her face, the nightmare still on the edges of her mind.

Twenty-five minutes later, she was dressed and ready when Evan knocked on the door again. His intent gaze ran the full length of her body, and when he glanced up she saw appreciation in his eyes. She wasn’t sure why. It was only jeans, a shirt, and sweatshirt.

He wore black from head to foot, with the exception of a white shirt collar peeping over the top of a cable knit jumper. He smiled, smelling of toothpaste and cologne. His beard had been neatly trimmed and his short hair was either not brushed or gelled into place standing up. “I trust you are well rested.”

“I slept no worse than usual. Same nightmares, but then I expected that.”

“You get nightmares a lot?”

She closed the door and began to walk with him along the corridor to the stairs. “This time of year I do. Especially when my work involves swimming of any kind.”

“Ah. You are diving the lake this morning?”

Lou nodded, taking in the gilded paintings as she passed them. The stairs were far more ornate than she’d expected. A centre carpet protected oak boards edged by a wide bannister. “Yes, and every day until I’m done here.”

“I thought you enjoyed swimming. You do still hold the world record.”

She sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Perhaps you will tell me some time.”

“I’m sure you already know if you knew about the world record.”

Evan smiled as he reached the foot of the stairs. “That is a matter of public record. And as you said, the Internet can sometimes tell you the how without mentioning the why.” He showed her into the dining room. “Food is on the side. Help yourself. Tea and coffee are on the table.”

“Thank you.” She picked up a plate and stared in awe at the vast selection of food. Was this really only for the two of them? She could have fed four people for a week on this one meal alone. She took some of the eggs and sausage and a slice of toast.

She pivoted and tried not to gasp at the size of the table. It virtually filled the wooden panelled room. Only two places had been laid, and she took the seat to the side, assuming the one at the head of the table was for Evan. She set down her plate and then slid into the chair.

While she waited for Evan, she poured some tea. It was too early in the morning for coffee, despite the fact her American stepfather lived and breathed coffee. Besides, she had to be able to think straight today, and coffee wouldn’t help on that front. She found coffee only served to addle her brain if she drank it first thing—way too much caffeine for her.

Evan piled his plate high with food. How could he eat that much and stay in such good shape? It really wasn’t fair. He glanced over at her. “So, what are your plans for this morning?”

“I need to pick up my car and hope the dive gear is delivered to the dam by ten. Then I start work. Alone, as I don’t fancy a team of two blokes from the pub who may or may not have diving experience.”

Evan sat down. “Please, eat. Don’t let it get cold.”

Lou nodded and picked up her knife and fork. “Charlie is organizing a boat, so that’s one less thing to do. I take the boat out and dive.”

“You aren’t planning on diving alone, I hope.” He frowned.

She shook her head. “I told you my colleague is arriving this morning. I have other things I can do before he gets here. He’ll be partnering me on all the dives. It’s one of my unbreakable rules.”

“And a very sensible one, too.”

She watched in amazement as he smothered his food in tomato ketchup. “It’s much safer that way. I know how unforgiveable water can be. I found that out first hand.”

“Oh?”

“Few incidents whilst sailing several years ago,” she said evasively.

“Do tell.”

“Big storm, well, to be honest, it was a hurricane. An explosion in the docks where people died. Shipwreck.” She paused, rubbing her leg. Her toes itched again. The anniversary of the attack was fast approaching, and that made things worse.

“Is that how you lost your leg?”

She shivered. “How did you know? Oh, that’s probably public record, too. The disabled swimming world record holder turned archaeologist.”

“Forgive me. I didn’t mean to pry.” Contrition furrowed his brow.

She shook her head. “It’s OK. No, it was a swimming accident, but not anything I mentioned just now.”

The door opened. “I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Close,” Mrs Jefferson began. “But you have a phone call from the United States. A Mr. Taylor and he says it’s urgent.”

He sighed and glanced at his watch. “It must be for him to be ringing at this hour. I’ll take it in the study. Could you have the car brought around for Dr. Fitzgerald, please? She’ll need a lift back to the village to collect her vehicle.”

Mrs Jefferson straightened the keys on her belt. “Of course.”

Evan stood and picked up his plate. “I apologize, Lou, but this could take some time. Phil could talk the hind leg off a donkey and then convince it to run a marathon immediately afterwards.” He paused. “I’m sorry. That’s the wrong expression to use.”

“It’s fine. I’m tired of people hopping on egg shells before leapfrogging over the elephant in the room.” She winked. “See, I can make bad one legged jokes as well.”

His face lit up slightly. “If you’ll excuse me, I will see you later.”

Lou nodded and dropped her gaze to her plate. She finished her food and headed into the hall to find a man in a chauffer’s uniform waiting.

“I’ve been asked to drive you into the village, miss.”

“Thank you. I’ll grab my bag and I’ll be there.”

~*~

Three hours later, Lou was finally ready for the first dive. Her stomach writhed and churned in a tormented mixture of fear and exhilaration. She was anxious to see what was down there, to find out how much, if any, of the village was left intact after so many years below the waves. But the rest of her was afraid. What if something went wrong? What if she had a full-blown panic attack and couldn’t make her way back to the surface?

The longer she procrastinated, the more reasons she came up with to accept a desk job, or one that didn’t involve diving and swimming at all.

The lake was murky, cold, grey, and uninviting. It lived up to its name perfectly. Aberfinay dam towered over it, casting a shadow despite the lack of real sunlight. A cold wind blew, rippling the water and making white horses on some of the waves by the shore. Lou shivered. What was she doing? Was she mad? She should call Varian and resign this minute. Let AJ take over and have him insist on Clara joining them.

Then her gaze fell on the church spire, and a longing to explore kicked in. She’d be the first person to ‘walk’ those streets, to be in that church in decades. There was only one fly in the ointment. AJ hadn’t shown up, and it was almost twelve. She was wearing her wet suit under her tracksuit, her prosthesis strapped over it for now and the dive gear was in the boat, and it would be a waste of effort if she didn’t get in the water at least for a few minutes.

“How much longer will you wait for him?” Charlie asked. “It’s not too late to get those blokes from the pub for you.”

Lou shook her head. If she didn’t go now, her nerve would fail her. She at least needed to get out on the water and touch the steeple. “No. I want you to stay here in case he does turn up. I’ll take the boat myself. I’ll find some way of fixing it to the steeple. I’m not diving just yet. I want to get a feel for the place from the lake.” She leaned against the wall, unzipping her jacket.

A car door slammed and she spun, hoping to see AJ and ready to give him five minutes to get in the boat. But it wasn’t. “Evan…I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Evan smiled, sliding his hands into his overcoat pockets. “I was passing.” He watched as she removed her tracksuit, his eyes widening as he took in the prosthesis. “How do you swim with that on?”

“Easy,” she teased. “The same way anyone else does. Seriously, the leg comes off—see the straps? The wet suit is specially made to go around the stump. Care to join me?”

“Not today. I left my wet suit at home. But I thought you had an unbreakable rule about diving alone.”

She grinned, unable to resist teasing some more. “I’m taking my invisible friend.”

“Lou…”

She held up a hand. “I’m going out on the lake for a start. Take photos of the church spire. Pluck up the courage to stick my foot in the water.” She paused. “Foot, not feet.” She waited for the reaction that never came. “If all else fails and AJ doesn’t show in the next hour or so, then I guess I have to consider my unbreakable rule broken. I won’t have a choice. Not if AJ isn’t here and you don’t want to come.” She paused. “Besides, the local landowner only gave me ten days, and I can’t afford to waste a whole day.”

“By all means, blame me.” His tone was light, and he raised his hands and winked to indicate teasing. “And that joke was awful.”

She laughed as she climbed into the boat. “I’ll see you later.” She started the engine and untied the rope before deftly guiding the boat out towards the middle of the lake.