Chapter 11

 

Clare received word from the detective agency that Sean Mahoney had visited them this afternoon and that he was staying at the Lark hotel on the waterfront. Clare thanked him and hurried out the door to find a taxi. She found a tax and told him where she wanted to go and he said to her, ‘Lady are you sure you want to there? That’s a bad part of town and I fear for your safety.’ She told him to never mind and drive.

Walking into the hotel Clare was the center of attention of out of work guys hanging around outside, and the inside was not a lot better. The floor was dirty and the man behind the desk matched the floor. She inquired about Sean’s room number and he quickly gave it to her. He said Sean was in his room now.

Clare walked up three flights of stairs to his room and knocked on the door slightly out of breath. What seemed a long time, the door opened a few inches and a pair of eyes peered out at her. To Clare the eyes were cold and piercing. He opened the door and a smile crossed his face as she walked in. She looked around the worst hotel room she ever saw. He stood by the door and didn’t say a word.

She turned to him and asked him if she could sit down, looking around for a chair or something to sit on. The bed was the only place to sit as no chairs were visible. She sat on the bed and looked at him and saw what she had missed: a strong man with the aura of power that had been enhanced by his recent farm work. His hair had grown out and he had a beard. His eyes turned friendly as she stumbled for some words that wouldn’t come out of her mouth.

He said with a friendly voice, ‘Nice to see you Clare. You’re looking well. Are you happy to be back in civilization?’

Clare responded with a kind of desperate look on her face, ‘Yes, very much so. Sean, I was a fool treating you so terrible back in Africa. I want to apologize and please forgive me?’

He said nothing and walked over to the bed and sat next to her. He turned to face her and she did the same. He looked at her lovely face and if he had been standing up, his knees would have turned to jelly. ‘My god how I love this woman,’ he said to himself and reached out with one hand and took her hand in his rough calluses laden farm hand.

‘How about you and I have some dinner up town,’ he said with a warm smile and a squeeze of the hand. Clare melted into his arms and cried big tears of happiness. Sean with typical male naivety about women thought something he said made her cry. But now he knew to keep his big mouth shut and just held her tightly to his chest.

A few minutes later she pulled back and said, ‘Let’s go to my house and I will make dinner for us.’ His answer was to stand up and walk to the door holding it open for her.

He grabbed his hat and coat and when she looked at the room and his bag next to the bed, he got the message and quickly packed his things and they both walked down the stairs and out the door of the Lark Hotel for the last time.

They both talked a mile a minute in the cab on the way to her house. By the time they arrived, they were laughing and all seemed to be forgotten about the bad time in Africa. She showed him where his room was and then she told him to come to her room that she had something she wanted to show him. He was a little apprehensive but followed her down the hall to her room. Shawn had never been in a bedroom quite like this one before. He looked around like a school boy on his first day at a new school.

It was so feminine and smelled like her. She walked to her closet a pulled out the bag Jasmine gave her when she left Africa. She said to him, ‘You had better sit down on my bed because you are not going to believe this.’

He sat down on the bed and she walked over and sat down next to him with the bag between them. She turned it upside down and his curiosity piqued. She said while untying the leather laces on the bottom, ‘When I unpacked after I got home, it felt like there was something else in the bottom of the bag. I reached in and it was empty, so I turned it upside down and unlaced the leather cords. After I unlaced it big enough to get my hand in I found another leather sack like this one,’ as she pulled it out of the bottom of the bag. It looked like a coin leather pouch many people carried around with them in Africa.

Clare handed the pouch to Sean and he looked inside. Then he shook some of the contents out into his other hand and white rocks spilled out of the sack. He sucked in his breath and exclaimed, ‘My god Clare, where did these diamonds come from! Clare smiled and told him the full story of the bag and Jasmines covert way of giving them some Massai diamonds.

‘There is a note saying it is for our future and children, she said quietly with some blush appearing on her cheeks. Sean lay back on the bed and laughed at his and Slims stupid attempt at finding some treasure from an old map. He continued to hold some of the diamonds in his hand as Clare leaned over and lay on top of him staring him in the eyes. They held their gaze and she slowly lowered her lips to his mouth. The beard tickled her and she giggled but he ignored the giggle and wrapped his big arms around her and kissed her deeply.

Later, diamonds back in the bag, sitting at the dining room table where they ate a big dinner of Lamb and all the trimmings. The cook had done a fine job and Sean was very complimentary to her. After dinner they went to the library and sat and talked about the future. She asked him what he wanted to do with his life and he shook his head and said, ‘I have no idea as this day is so overwhelming I can’t think straight.'

Clare told him her plan for the book she would write about the Massai and that all of it might take up to two years to finish. Sean mulled that over in his mind and for the life of him had absolutely no idea what he might do in the future. Clare knew what he was thinking so she made a subtle suggestion to him. ‘Sean, maybe I could suggest something to think about, she said to him softly.

He looked up and smiled at her and said, ‘I'm all ears,’ and, ‘I'd love to listen to what you have to say.’

She had his undivided attention and went on to tell him what might be a good plan for them. She said, ‘Maybe we could buy a country home outside of London and after a year or so, after I do my boards with the committee, let’s go back to Kenya and buy a ranch where I could do follow up work with the Massai.’

Sean liked that idea the more he thought of it and had a big smile on his face when the professor walked in. He saw Sean right off and held out his hand. They talked for a few minutes and then said he was a little hungry and would they excuse him. He left with a big smile on his face thinking he would soon have a son-in-law and grandchildren running around the place.

Long after talking in the library, they went to their respective rooms for the night. The professor went to bed early and when the house was quiet; Sean slipped out of his room and went to Clare’s room where he found her wide awake expecting him. The night was cold as winter was upon them and even a small coal fire burning didn’t take much of the chill off the room. Sean climbed into bed and they snuggled up and talked late in the night about their future.