Chapter Sixteen

The next day at breakfast, Robert asks whether I’ve ever walked a labyrinth—an ancient and intricate walkway stamped on concrete on the ground, but without walls.

I know that Georgiana walked the labyrinth in the castle grounds on practically a daily basis. The thought of literally following in her footsteps is unthinkable to me.

“A labyrinth is almost older than time, darling. I first walked one in Chartres Cathedral when I was very young and unhappy, and somehow, the act of putting one foot in front of the other, focusing hard so that I didn’t cross the lines, miraculously put me into a meditative state,” he says.

Robert, the ultimate man of action, meditating?

I find it difficult to believe.

But then he’s so many things, so much the Renaissance man, that I shouldn’t be at all surprised that he’s spiritual as well.

“I found that state eminently healing. And problem solving, as well. Which is why I’ve walked the labyrinth’s path every day since I first bought the castle and had one installed here,” he finishes.

So it isn’t there because of Georgiana at all . . .

“I think it might be good for you to walk it, after . . .” he says, then jumps up, “Let’s take a walk there together, and I’ll show you.”

I follow him, and while we stroll down to the labyrinth, he gives me a brief lesson on its significance.

“The labyrinth dates back to prehistoric times, when it was believed that the strange pattern was designed in order to trap evil spirits,” he says, and two images swim before my eyes, one dead, one very much alive. I am overcome with the wish that I could trap both of them in the labyrinth to rot in hell.

“One of the best and most famous examples is in Crete, in the palace of Knossos. It was designed for King Minos to contain the minotaur,” he adds, just as we arrive at the edge of the labyrinth, where he points out the intricate pattern, and the heart of it, at the center.

“It’s like the petals of a flower, isn’t it? Start at the entrance, and then tell the universe what you need, what you want, ask the question to which you need an answer, take a deep breath, and start walking. And when you reach the center, and the mood takes you, spend a few minutes standing on one of the petals and enjoy the moment. Then walk back to the entrance again. By the time I get there, I often find that the answer to my question has come to me,” he says.

“I’d love to do it, then.”

“Take your time, darling, and I’ll see you back at the house when you’re done.” He kisses me on the cheek and leaves me there alone to ask my question: how can I dispel this nightmare I’m in?

Half an hour later, when I’ve arrived back at the labyrinth entrance again, I know what I must do. I must confess everything to Robert right away. I must tell him that Georgiana is still alive, that she was the architect of my kidnapping, how she executed that kidnapping and all the twisted intentions that motivated her to unleash such evil upon me

I still struggle with whether to include in my confession her supposed justifications for what she did: sudden poverty, rape, an evil genius manipulating her, and finally, the ultimate blackmail, into which she claims she was coerced on pain of death.

All I know is that the time has come for me to tell Robert the truth and let the chips fall wherever they may . . .

But when I burst into the library, primed to confess everything to Robert, he greets me eagerly. “I so hope you enjoyed walking the labyrinth like I always do, darling. If you did, we can fly to Crete tomorrow and walk the one there together,” he says, and apart from the fact that I’m filled with warmth on hearing the word “we,” I am also reminded of his vast fortune, his jet-set money-is-no-object lifestyle, which means that he can command any one of his pilots to fly him anywhere on earth at a moment’s notice.

“That would be lovely,” I say, although I’m not sure that after he listens to my dire confession he’ll even want to go to Huntington Mall with me, never mind Crete.

He looks so delighted that I loved the labyrinth that it seems downright cruel for me to immediately launch into the confessional speech I planned.

At dinner, then.

“By the way, I’ve invited Mary Ellen and Rory to join us for dinner tonight—they can’t wait to hear all about Hawaii,” he says.

Okay, after dinner. I’ll tell him everything after dinner, when they’ve gone.

But after dinner, we all watch Gladiator, Robert’s favorite movie, in the castle theatre, and I am so enthralled by every second of it that it’s only when the movie ends that the image of Georgiana in this very same movie theater on that terrible fateful night on which she summoned Robert there and issued her blackmail threats to him suddenly comes to the fore in my mind.

The lights go up, he turns to me and, his eyes shining, declares, “Honor . . . one of the most important things in life.”

If I don’t tell him the truth soon, I know that I will lose mine now and for always.

In the morning. I’ll tell him the truth in the morning.

But when I wake up, he’s gone.

His handwritten note says, “Apologies, darling, but I’m afraid there’s been a crisis in our Montreal office, and I’ve had to fly up there for the day. Should be back early this evening. And I’ll have a very special surprise for you . . . Till then, be good . . .”

I spend the day in the library, learning about Napoléon so as to keep up with Robert, and my stepfather as well.

I’m deep in Emil Ludwig’s classic Napoléon biography, which Robert highly recommended I read, when a messenger materializes with a large envelope for me.

When I open it, a second envelope falls out, and when I open that, I can hardly believe my eyes. Inside, in a small folder, a key card marked “The Empire Suite” on one side, and “Carlyle” on the other.

And in the large envelope a note from Robert, in his distinctive handwriting:

Miranda, the time has come for me to eradicate from your mind your past sexual experience at the Carlyle, and to replace it with one that I promise will prove far, far more potent and satisfying for you. Don your burgundy boots, your mink with the fox collar, and nothing else. Present yourself at the castle portal at 7:25 and not a second later.

And prepare to embark on the adventure of your life.

R