PROLOGUE

“What do you mean she can’t come to the phone right now? I’ve been trying to get her for days at the apartment but all I get is the machine. She left 5 days ago to take Niki home because he’s teething and the tour was too hard on him and I haven’t heard a word since.”

Joan stammered and began to cry, not at all sure how to continue. The next voice Urs heard was Brian.

“Urs you better call Simon. We were told not to tell you, and the guys that took Maggie said that if we called the authorities or told you earlier than a week he would hurt her. Niki is here, he’s fine. Call Simon…and Urs don’t do anything rash…they said he had people watching you and he wanted a week to ask Maggie some questions before you knew…said it would make you feel guilty about carrying on your life while she was suffering.”

Seb came in the dressing room, mumbling something about not being able to find his tie. He stopped when Urs’ anger registered and the icy stare penetrated his search for a lost accessory.

Urs glanced at his watch…Simon should be through the taping of that damn American Idol show. He punched in 5 on his pre-set list and listened to the phone ringing on the other end, ignoring Seb’s concerned questions.

Seb retreated from the room and a few minutes later came back with David and Carlos, all three quiet as Urs finished his call with Simon and sank onto the nearest chair, his face ashen and hands white knuckled as the phone dropped to the carpet and he gripped the arms of the chair.

“He took Maggie…he went to the school and threatened the children, hurt a couple of the boys that tried to intercede… he said I was responsible for taking his woman away from him, so he was taking mine.”

**

All around him he could hear the bustle as the crew got ready for the performance. He was dressed to go on stage, hair, makeup, his suit impeccable though he had no memory of being attended too. His mind was across the huge expanse of the Atlantic, trying to imagine where Maggie was being held, not able to deal with what was happening to her, reliving every conversation he had ever had with Laurenz, searching for clues as to his hiding place.

He should have done this more thoroughly after the attack the first time, should have found him and killed him then. This was his fault…if he hadn’t been so weak, hadn’t let the madman blackmail him in the first place, none of this would ever have happened.

He shook him self out of the pit of self pity he was wallowing in, determined to do something, anything constructive.

Of course he hadn’t been at fault, hadn’t been able to control the situation. But he wished now that he hadn’t become so complacent, so sure that there was no more danger. Perhaps then…

He rose from the chair he had collapsed in and paced the room again, needing to move, to think clearly but his vow kept coming back to haunt him….”I’ll take care of you, you are my love, my life…..”

The door opened and a head appeared briefly, pulling back out of sight when his icy, tormented gaze met the startled messenger’s eyes.

“Uh…sorry Urs…5 minutes…”

“Thanks, Gene…I’ll be right there.”

He took one last look in the mirror to check his appearance, wanting desperately to strike out at something, someone…He turned away and concentrated on deep breathing, trying to calm himself, to reach that pre-concert stage where he felt the anticipation of another sold out concert, another audience that would fill his very soul with the pleasure he found in singing, in bringing his talent to the world.

His mind filled with Maggie’s smiling face, with the pride and love he saw there each time he joined his brothers in song. One last concert and then he could return to the UK. He would find her, no matter how long it took or what was necessary. He would find her and kill Laurenz so they could get on with their lives.

He took one more deep breath, opened the dressing room door and stepped out. He could see Carlos and David watching for him, Gerry, Petra and Geena off to one side with Seb saying something earnestly to them and turning to stare at him with an encouraging little smile. His steps felt leaden as he approached them and received their nods and a pat on the shoulder.

“Ready?” Carlos asked softly.

He could see that he wasn’t alone in this suffering nor in the determination to carry on, to do what Maggie would expect of them. They were professionals and the show must go on.

“Let’s do this,” he said and somehow, from his years of training, offered a good imitation of a smile as he led them onto the stage.

2004, September


CHAPTER ONE…THE MAESTRO

They arrived at the Royal Albert Hall very early for their sound check and found the stage already being used by another group, an orchestra rehearsing a selection of classical music…sort of…more a crossover of classical pieces with a slight swing to them. It was fascinating and all four of the men went to the front of the house to watch and listen, quietly finding seats and relaxing.

The Maestro appeared to be a small woman with long, night black hair pulled into a high ponytail, young, they thought, though it was at first hard to tell since she was dressed in jeans and a green tee shirt as were most of the very young orchestra, at a glance most of the members under 20. Part way through the number they were doing she rose from the chair as first violin and beckoned for the group to stop, softly explained what she wanted from them and gave them the beat and bow direction to continue, this time not sitting but standing in front of the seated musicians and playing along. As the track progressed she would turn to each section that played a major portion and nod as they did what she expected.

Another woman scurried onto the stage and approached the maestro who smiled and gave her back the violin. The new arrival took her seat and continued while the Maestro took up her usual duty of conducting. When the track finished she discussed it with the group, mentioned a few things she would like to see improved but said that all in all it was great. The small audience agreed.

“Maggie what about the change-over in Eine Kleine…?” One of the male cello players called out and she smiled.

“Anyone else having problems with it?” There were a few murmurs of assent. “Okay we have time, let’s do it from the top….watch closely and you should see what I want.”

She turned and took two steps to the podium and that’s when the guys realized she wore sunglasses, though of course the stage area wasn’t as bright as it would be for the performance. She gave them the beat and with the down beat they began. At the changeover she pointed to the strings and rolled the cellos into the harmony, did a little jig when they got it right the first time out and laughed along with the cello players.

“Wonderful,” she called out when they finished, raising both hands in the air in victory. “Andy, if you do that again tomorrow, just the same, I may break down and kiss you.”

Everyone laughed and the very young cello player blushed, then blushed even redder when one of the others mentioned it.

“Okay everyone….I would like to do one more run through of the Beethoven Pastorale Sinfonia….remember SWEET…. Feel the music and the audience will too…..think of a soft summer day beside a bubbling stream with your favourite guy or gal, a light breeze blowing, birds singing, pure, lovely, romantic…..but no erotic stuff…this is sweet not sexy.”

They got ready and she gave them the beat again and they played it flawlessly, very sweet and fluid, fading out at the end, like the end of a beautiful day.

“Carl, the time please?” she asked and when a young man in the brass section told her she nodded.

“We have time for one more, then the stage belongs to Il Divo for sound check. Everyone going to the Breast Cancer concert tonight?” she received a chorus of affirmatives and smiled. “Me too, front row, remember, I won the best seat. Jessie and I can hardly wait. Okay, did Chloe ever make it? Bugger….well we’ll just have to do it without her. Bear with me, guys, I know you’re used to better mezzos but I’m all we’ve got right now. Cara Nome, please, with my apologies to Verdi. Watch the volume in bars 32 to 41, please, just in case I get carried away….remember Chloe doesn’t have the volume that I do, you don’t want to drown her out… she just has just a better voice, that’s why she’s the headliner.”

“You’re selling yourself short again, Maggie. We’d rather play with you any day.”

“Cut it out, you don’t get extra marks for buttering up the teacher… and she’s the pro. Ready? Let’s do it.”

She moved off the podium and stood half facing the orchestra, waited for her cue and started singing in one of the purest mezzo soprano voices the 3 opera singers in the audience had ever heard, turned more towards the orchestra and guided them but kept singing.

Urs, Carlos and David looked at one another in amazement then each grinned as they sat back to enjoy one of Verdi’s more difficult arias for a soprano. Even Seb, untrained in opera, realized that this Maestro had an amazing voice and was performing in a truly professional manner.

When the track was done she told them how perfect they had been and the musicians laughed and smiled as they started putting everything away. Maggie, if that’s what her name was, spoke privately to a couple of the people who came up to her, one of whom handed her a waist length black leather jacket that she shrugged in to and then she called out in a language none of the watchers knew and waited while a beautiful golden retriever that no one had noticed came from the wings carrying some kind of leather contraption in her mouth.

“Jessie, I wondered where you were hiding,” the young cello player said and came over to pet the dog who completely ignored him. “Oops, too late…she’s in work mode. I’ll put her harness on, Maggie.”

“Thanks Andy. Great rehearsal today. You improve so much every week, it’s incredible. Never be nervous about questioning any of the instructions….it’s the only way to learn. Like Galileo said ‘you cannot TEACH a man anything…you can only help him to discover that which lies hidden within himself’….that’s how I see my role and I love it when the students question what I’ve said.”

The Techs for sound check had arrived and were playing with their console, some coming to the stage to place mikes on stands and nodding to the musicians as they left. The members of Il Divo had risen and were about to leave the house to go on stage when Urs noticed that the leather the dog had carried was actually a harness, the kind that seeing eye dogs used. Maggie took hold of it when the dog nudged her side and let herself be led off the stage, talking and laughing with the young musician while they left.

**

There was no opening act for the night’s performance. The guys were all ready early and milled about in the dark wings, peeking out to check the house, watching the well dressed patrons arrive. They had spent quite a bit of time discussing the Maestro after sound check, getting a bit of information from one of the sound guys who was a regular at RAH.

“Who, Maggie?” the man said with a grin, obviously used to people questioning him about the talented woman. “She does a bit of conducting for RAH, mostly special events. The kids are all from a school she sponsors and teaches at now and then. She’s been totally blind since she was a teen, so that’s about 10 years. Too bad, she’s really a beautiful woman with the most unusual eyes I’ve ever seen on a woman and a killer body. Accident, I think and the rumor is that there’s an operation that could fix her eyes but it’s really dangerous, could kill her and I guess she’s never found a reason to risk it.”

Urs was peeking through the curtain when he saw her coming down the stairs, an usher at her side and her dog, Jessie, leading. They turned into the front row and the usher said something. She stopped and Jessie sat immediately while Maggie turned and the usher took her elbow as she sat in the seat, so smoothly done that without the dog and glasses no one would have realized that she was blind. She gave the usher a radiant smile and he murmured something then left. Maggie spoke to her dog and the animal curled up next to her feet, looking around at the people and the orchestra, not in the least unnerved by the crowd and the noise of the orchestra tuning up.

She was indeed a beautiful woman. Tonight she wore her inky hair back in a soft pouf that cascaded over her neck and shoulders, her outfit a long brilliant red gown, probably silk, that flowed over her curves from the high jewel collar to her ankles, her arms bare except for a diamond and ruby tennis bracelet that matched the long earrings dangling along her neck. She wore her sun glasses as before and a soft happy smile as she listened to the orchestra preparing.

Urs nudged David. “The mystery lady is here, just like she said….front row, red gown.” The guys made a habit of picking out the prettiest women in the audience, not that they would ever follow through but they did like to look.

“Great rack,” David said and earned a scowl from Urs.

The house lights dimmed and the orchestra began the intro medley and the four singers split apart, 2 on each side of the stage for their entrance. After about 3 minutes the crowd was intensely quiet and the singers heard their cue and strolled slowly onto the stage, into the brightening lights, walked to the front and perched on the waiting stools with portable mikes in their hands. They went into their trademark song, Regresa a Mi and the house was silent while they performed. And from there it only got better, if that was possible.

All the members of the band felt drawn to the woman in red who followed the flow of the music, turning her head as if she could see, when the track went from one solo part to the other, seeming totally caught up in the music as she listened, clapping enthusiastically at the end of each track, listening intently to the banter between the guys, noticing everything. At half time they saw her speak to Jessie as they reached the dark wings and the house lights came up. The dog rose and walked about a bit, never far, just stretching her legs and returning to lay again at Maggie’s feet.

There would be no sitting on the edge to the stage to meet and greet the fans tonight, the way they had planned for the tour, this type of crowd, they thought, not calling for it but during Heroe, there was suddenly a mass influx of people coming to the edge to be shooed back by the security and ushers. Urs found himself concerned for their Lady in Red, hoping she wouldn’t be stepped on or injured but when the crowd backed off from around her he could see the dog standing between her charge and the crowd, not threatening, just looking very alert.

While they were backstage to change into the white dinner jackets before returning for the encore selections Urs asked the others if they would have any objections to inviting the Maestro backstage after to meet her. They all agreed since she was someone they really wanted to meet and so as they headed back to the wings he spoke to one of the security people and asked him to request a meeting with the Maestro.

Maggie was slightly startled when she heard someone stop in front of her while the band was performing Heroe. Jessie rose to stand between her and the man until Maggie spoke softly to her.

“Sorry, Ma’am. Didn’t mean to startle you,” he whispered, leaning closer when the dog had subsided. “The band has asked if you could please come backstage after the encores. They would like to meet you, and Jessie of course.”

Her face lit up in a brilliant smile and she laughed but quickly stifled it, and nodded to the crouched man.

“Stay in your seat after and I’ll come for you,” he murmured and left, crouching down a bit so as not to obstruct the view of the front row patrons.

Maggie could feel movement all around her as people gathered their belongings. Two more songs and it was over to the great disappointment of the audience and laughing and chatting about the night they slowly left the theatre. She calmly kept her seat, stroking Jessie on the silky head, as she would have done in any case. Mob scenes were not safe for either her or Jessie and she had learned the hard way to be patient and let the crowds clear a bit.

It was only about 5 minutes until Jerry, the security guard she knew well from his regular stint on Security for the RAH, came back and spoke to her. She took his arm with her left hand and grasped Jessie’s harness with the right, moving off to backstage, an area she knew well and could have navigated on her own but knew it was important to Jerry that he be allowed to help.

He chatted with her on the way, was obviously a fan of the band and remarked on how unaffected they were.

“None of this prima-donna stuff for them…it’s all first names and very polite gentlemen they are too. I’m just telling you so you won’t be nervous but I wouldn’t take you back unless you realized that you can trust them. Not like some stars…..real leches some of them are.”

Maggie laughed and thanked him and right on time according to her mental count they arrived at the door of the main dressing room. Jerry got a call on his headset of problems in the lobby and left her then, apologizing profusely. He tapped on the door and scurried off.

Within seconds the door opened and a deep voice spoke to her.

“Maestro, so good of you to come to meet us. We heard part of your rehearsal today and enjoyed it so much. Please come in.”

Carlos, she thought by the Spanish inflections and the boisterous voice. “Mi Esse,” she murmured to the dog and as they moved inside she thanked Carlos.

“Gracias a ti, Senor Marin.”

She moved into the room and tried to discern where the others were. Seb spoke to her and she turned to face him.

“You have a beautiful dog, M’mselle. Is she friendly?”

Maggie laughed and spoke to Jessie. “Alassea ar senda, Jessie…Nildo. There, she is now, Monsieur Izambard. I have told her you are friends and she is to be happy and rest. She is never friendly when she is working.” The dog was now totally different, wagging her tail and panting, trying to con Seb into petting her.

“I don’t recognize the language you use for Jessie,” a voice came to her from the right and she shivered as the vibrations entered her. This was Urs, she knew, his speaking voice making her tremble just as his singing did.

“Not many would, Herr Buhler. I speak Quenya to Jessie. It’s a strange enough language that no one can give her commands except myself, thus avoiding accidents.”

“Quenya…hey I know that…it’s from Tolkien…what a brilliant idea.” The voice came from the American, David Miller, she knew from the accent and the fact that it was well over the heads of everyone else. He stood slightly behind Urs and she raised her head to speak to him.

“Very good, Mr. Miller,” and she laughed. “I think you must be a Tolkien fan as well.”

She felt a touch on her arm and Urs spoke to her again. “Please call us David, Sebastien, Carlos and Urs….we don’t stand much on formality…and in fact don’t even know your full name. Please, come over here and sit on the sofa and talk to us.”

She laughed again, a happy sound that made them all smile, turned her hand to run it down his arm and over his, letting him lead her around the coffee table and seat her on the soft sofa.

Maggie was inwardly shaking, the feeling of Urs warm hand under hers almost more than she could bear without showing visible signs of emotion but years of being in control aided her and she just smiled politely and murmured her thanks for his help, keeping the feeling for a treasure to be savored later.

CHAPTER TWO….BACKSTAGE

Since the men weren’t speaking at the moment she didn’t know where any of them were so she turned her head slightly as if speaking to the room in general.

“My name is Maggie Ryan, but you must call me Maggie. Tonight was the first time I’ve ever heard you live and I was thrilled. Your harmonies are incredible and I find it amazing that 4 such talented men can share as well as you do. Possibly that’s why your sound is so unique…..you complement each other.”

Urs nodded his head then remembered that she couldn’t see and spoke to her. “That’s what we think too. Simon was right on the money when he choose us. We didn’t realize at first but now…”

She laughed again and once more they all smiled. “Simon is seldom wrong about music. He was the one who encouraged me to start the school up again and he sends us promising students from time to time.”

“Ah, so you know the infamous Simon Cowell,” David said.

“Rather well actually…in fact he gave me the tickets for tonight, for myself and for a bunch of the kids. I was the lucky one and drew the front row out of the hat when we shared them out. Simon is my god father, I’ve known him all my life….he took me in when my parents where killed.”

They talked for a while longer, told her they were planning on attending the performance the next night, mentioned that whoever Chloe was she could never do a better version of Caro Nome than what they heard in the afternoon and were slightly surprised by her bitter reaction.

“I teach, rather than perform very often because I can’t stand the pity. I don’t want people to talk about the ‘Blind Girl that sings’, can just barely cope with it when they remark on my blindness instead of the music when the orchestra performs. They should be appreciating the skill of the performers not the fact that I can wave my hands at them. That’s why I’ve become quite good at hiding it. I’m not ashamed. I’ve learned to cope but I can’t stand pity.”

Urs reached over and touched her hand and she opened her clenched fingers so he could hold them.

“I don’t think there’s a man in this room that pities you, Maggie. Envy your talents maybe, but not pity. You pick up on the subtilties of music better than anyone I’ve ever known. Have you ever considered working in the studios, helping to refine the tracks? I think you could do a lot in that line. In fact I would love to have you come in and hear some of our tracks and see what you think.”

She smiled and nodded. “Simon sometimes asks me to come in and listen when they can’t figure out why a track isn’t working. Sometimes he doesn’t like what I have to say and we yell at each other but he’s really a softie and I almost always win.”

There was dead silence for a moment and then David laughed.

“Are we speaking about the same Simon Cowell? Somehow ‘softie’ doesn’t fit with the one we know.”

They all laughed remembering the many times they had quarreled with the man…and lost.

“Someone told me that you all wear Armani suits for the performances. I’m sorry I don’t think I remember what the difference is in suits. I was too young to pay much attention to what men wore…could you just tell me what colors they are so I have a mental image? I tend to see with my hands anymore and most people don’t want to be that friendly when they first meet.”

“Nonsense….if you want to feel my suit, I would be delighted to let you,” Carlos said and Maggie’s laughter rippled about the room again.

“Somehow I get the feeling you are much too eager, Carlito. Just the colors will do.”

David took on the role of color commentator, explaining how they changed during the interlude and ended wearing white dinner jackets with black shirts and trousers. “And we throw red roses out to the audience at the end of the performance, the same shade as that gorgeous gown you have on tonight.”

“Oh, am I wearing the red silk? I forgot to ask Heidi, I was so excited to actually be attending a live performance. I remember red: the sunset, strawberries, street lights, the double decker buses, skin color when you sit out in the sun too long, the lipstick my mother used to wear….it’s such a lovely color, the color of a deep note by a bass or the music of Wagner.”

“You see music as colors? That must be incredible,” Urs said fascinated by the concept.

She smiled in his direction, encouraged by the warmth in his voice.

“I always have. I think Simon has some of my early stuff when I painted, a million years ago. I did some based on his earlier finds.”

“And how would you paint our music, Cheri?” Seb asked, curious.

“Ah that would be a challenge…I hear Carlos voice as shades of warm brown, all the tones from copper to rust to gold, with the feeling of depth, not just surface color but something that goes through the depths to the soul. And yours Sebastien is all blues, the sea, the sky, early morning, the blue of a newborn baby’s eyes with splashes of peach and amber when you sing the most tender words. David is a bright summer day in a field of white flowers, the grass unbelievably green and the heat of the sun giving a golden glow, an aura that is so hard to paint, in the high range the shafts of light reflected off of snow on the tops of mountains. And Urs…I would have great difficulty painting Urs voice, the purity of warm yet icy silver would defeat me, I think. I see it, clear and crystalline, warming to the fire you see in diamonds when he sings the top, brilliant shafts of red and blue and green, sometimes a quick tinge of gold, deepening to the froth on hot chocolate when he drops down…it would be a challenge to reproduce.”

There was silence for a moment and she wondered if they thought she was bold or merely weird.

“Wow!” David commented. “I feel….I feel…”

“Awed,” Urs offered, laughing lightly at his friend who was never at a loss for words.

“I’ve never heard anyone describe how music feels before, but when you talked about what you see, I could see it too. And the fact that it struck David speechless is even more amazing. He is always ready with some comment, even on things he knows nothing about.”

Maggie laughed, as they all did, even David.

“What kind of music do you teach at your school, just the type we heard this afternoon?” Seb asked her and she turned to smile at him.

“No, that would hardly be fair. Talent lies in many directions and we study everything until the students find their own style or genre. Some like rock, some classical, some end up being purists and some only like to do covers. We even had one who is now trying out in Nashville, though many of our students don’t follow through except to careers as musicians in groups or back up singers. I know I don’t have to tell you that having a viable career in music takes a great deal of dedication and perseverance, and some aren’t willing to go that far. If what they end up doing makes them happy then we have achieved our goal.’

Jessie stood and whined and Maggie murmured to her. “Quilde, Jessie..I’m sorry I really can’t keep her any longer….she needs to go and must be really desperate to make a noise.”

“Will she go out with me? I’d be happy to take her,” Urs said and was gratified to feel her squeeze his hand and smile at him.

“Manwa, Jessie. She won’t go until I introduce you. Jessie, esse Urs, nildo. Now if you just say ‘tul’ and her name, that means ‘come’, she’ll follow you outside. ‘Hlasta’ followed by her name, means to pee and then when she’s done don’t let her wander just give her the ‘come’ word again. Thank you, Urs.”

Urs stood, walked to the door, opened it and said ‘Tul, Jessie’, grinned from ear to ear when she followed him and they heard him talking to the dog as he went down the hall.

“How big of a vocabulary does Jessie have, Maggie?” David asked and as always she turned to look at the direction his voice came from.

“I’ve taught her 63 words, mostly action commands, with an animal there’s no need for all the extras that we use. I got Jessie as a 1 year old, trained to help the blind but also ready to be taught. She’s very smart, so we kind of built up our data base over the years. She’s 9 now, almost ready to retire and it will absolutely break my heart when I have to let her go.”

“Can’t you just keep her?” Seb asked with his voice full of concern.

“You aren’t supposed to. They usually make you sign an agreement before they give you another young dog and after a year of having two so the new one learns off the old…..they put the older dog down. I can’t do that…not to Jessie.”

Urs and Jessie came back and the dog ran to Maggie happy and wagging her tail, her large pink tongue lolling out of her mouth. Maggie pet her for a minute then said ‘Limba’ and Jessie dropped at her feet to curl up and watch everyone happily.

“I really should let you go. I can hear in your voices that you’re tired. It’s one of the advantages of not being able to see…..not much audio gets past me.”

“How are you getting home, Maggie? Do you have a car waiting?”

She smiled. “No, I gave Peter the night off. It’s deadly boring sitting outside waiting for 4 hours or more and his wife is expecting, soon. He needs to be with her. I can catch a cab…there’s always a few out front of the RAH.”

“I have my car, let me take you home. I’m a very good driver.” Urs took her hand again and she heard David snort quietly.

“Why, Mr. Buhler…would you be after pulling me?” For the first time he realized that the slight purr he heard in her voice was an Irish lilt, trained out over the years but still there.

“Maybe….is it working?”

She laughed and so did the other 3 men. “But you have to let me see you first.”

“See me? How is that possible?”

She reached up and took off her sunglasses, dropped them in her lap and looked at him straight on when she heard him gasp. Her eyes were large and rimmed with long black lashes, tilted up slightly at the corners, a small, faint, white line of scar tissue at each temple and they were the green of emeralds, a bright Kelly green that glowed from deep within and held him transfixed.

“You have the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen,” he said softly and when she smiled the corners of her eyes squinched up in delight. She raised her hands to his chest then his neck, trailed them up lightly, touching his face, exploring his strong chin, his mouth, the line of his nose, his high cheekbones and his brow, trailed lightly over his eyes, memorizing the shape of them, touched his ears and got lost in his mass of hair. “They tell me your eyes are hazel and green, that they change with the weather or your mood and your hair is the color of old well loved and polished teak or mahogany.” He grinned as she ran her hands over his cheeks and eyes again and laughed when she felt the dimples. She withdrew her hands and the scent of jasmine and lemon that he had been enjoying went with them and he felt the loss.

She rose gracefully and smiled as Urs caught and handed her the sunglasses she had forgotten. “Thank you…I’m always doing that. Gentlemen, it has been a rare pleasure to meet you and I do hope that somehow we may find the time to become friends. I have so few friends that treat me with the grace you have shown me tonight. Thank you. And Urs, I would be pleased to have you escort me home. I also live in Chelsea so it will more or less be on your way.”

“How do you know we live in Chelsea?” Seb asked.

She laughed and held her hand out to Seb. “My spies are everywhere, mon ami. They tell me that your eyes are blue/grey, your hair a dark chocolate and that you have an adorable little gap between your front teeth, that you have an extensive collection of hats and often close your eyes when you sing the tender parts of love songs. And David is the big blue eyed teddy bear that all the women want to cuddle, gives the impression of gentleness though he is the tallest of you and wears small gold hoops in his ears when he isn’t on stage. And Carlos has these eyebrows that drive women insane and a kiss curl that falls over his brow and was the most amazing Beast they had ever seen…..and from all reports Geraldine was a wonderful Beauty.”

“and Urs….what do your spies tell you about him?” Seb asked, laughing.

“That he’s quiet, but deep, like the cool Alpine streams from his homeland and can turn a woman to jelly by just looking at them through his long lashes, something that I am fortunately immune to. He has the soul of a poet ….and he’s the only one of you that has a car in the UK.”

She laughed and admitted that she went on line with her fancy talking computer and listened to what the forum had to say, never posted but had a great time listening.

She turned slightly to Urs, put her glasses back on and smiled. “Now I really must ask you to take Jessie and I home so you can get some rest and so can I. I have a very busy day scheduled for tomorrow also.”

Urs took her arm and again she slid her hand along until she could touch his, grasping it firmly. He spoke the ‘come’ word to Jessie and they left.

It didn’t take long to get to Chelsea and it happened that when she gave him the address and mentioned where her place was he knew the building. It was only about 3 blocks the other side of the little park that he often cut through when on his morning jog.

He parked on the street and walked Maggie to the lobby of her building to be let in by a security guard. Compared to the block of flats he lived in it was fairly posh. His was nice, clean and modern but this was a step up on the luxury scale. Jessie scooted to the second elevator and Urs was surprised when Maggie handed him a key and said it was for the private elevator. Sure enough the doors opened and there was only one button to push, so he did and they rose smoothly up to the 8th floor, the penthouse level. The door opened on a foyer, the lights came on, she took her glasses off and placed them on a small table with her keys and she was home.

“I have the lights on automatic for when I have sighted guests,” she explained when he mentioned it.

He was unsure what to do now that he was in her apartment. Was she expecting more or was she just being friendly? He glanced around at the furnishings, not many things strewn about that could be tripped over but a warm comfortable décor that spoke of well loved and used furnishings. The suite was huge, taking up the entire top floor of the building. She had a state of the art stereo system and a neat bar tucked into one corner, acres of windows that overlooked the city and large overstuffed chairs and sofas that flanked a stone fireplace. Against the far wall was a music area, with grand piano and stringed instruments on stands that opened on to a spacious dining area and doors leading off the main room right and left, obviously to bedrooms and baths on one side and kitchen on the other.

Maggie was bent over Jessie taking her harness off and the moment the dog was free she scampered to the kitchen area to eat and drink. Maggie stood and listened but couldn’t tell where he was and smiled .

“You’re very quiet…..for a moment I thought you had gone without saying good night.”

Urs laughed and moved toward her. “I wouldn’t do that. I was just admiring your home. It’s really huge, Maggie…do you live here alone?”

“Most of the time…I do have Peter to drive me whenever needed and Heidi comes in during the day to help me with makeup and hair styles, does a bit of cooking now and then, and we have a lady who cleans 3 times a week. Of necessity I’m very neat.”

“And you have a huge balcony. Do you spend much time out there?”

“I’m told the view is amazing.” She held her hand out to him and when he took it she led him to the sliding glass doors and they stepped outside.

The sounds of the city wafted up to them. In the sky a plane was climbing, gaining altitude for a journey to unknown lands and here where the lights were dimmer the stars and moon shone down on them.

“Tell me what you see,” she asked and he stood behind her, describing the city, the sky, the lights winking on one of the bridges.

She leaned back and his arms came up around her, holding her against his chest, his arms gently touching her just under her full breasts, her hands softly lying on his sleeve.

It was a heady moment, one which deepened his voice, making it a caress that entered her body from his mouth next to her ear. He felt her quiver, inanely pleased with the effect that his closeness had on this vibrant, unusual woman.

“Your voice vibrates right through me, when you sing, even when you speak. Urs, I know you have someone in your life, I even know her name and I’m happy for you if that’s what you want. I don’t want to start anything between us that would make your relationship with Celeste difficult. But I need to have you kiss me…just once, one time for a memory to treasure. Could you, for a moment, pretend you care about me and kiss me, a good night kiss?”

Urs gripped her tighter and dropped his head to lay a soft kiss on her neck. “You don’t ask much, Maggie. I do care about you, though we don’t know each other well. Kissing you is a pleasure I only wished for, never thought would happen.”

She turned in his arms and lay her hands flat on his chest, tilting her face up to him with the moonlight glinting off those large emerald eyes. He brushed her hair back from her brow and lowered his head to gently kiss her face, trailing his mouth softly over her ivory cheeks, intending to be gentle and end it quickly but when he touched her mouth with his, he had to go further, nibbling on her lower lip and teasing with his tongue until she opened and allowed him in. Her hands clenched against his chest and she moaned as he plundered her mouth, stroking the sensitive inner lip with his tongue, sucking on her and exploding in a passion he couldn’t, didn’t want to control. His arms tightened around her and he grasped her bottom to pull her closer, heard her gasp as she felt his erection…. he drew his mouth away from her and tried to regain control.

“Maggie just kissing you makes me crazy,” he said against her neck. “We can’t do this again. Touching you makes me forget everything, everyone. Tell me to go.”

She slid her arms up around his neck and twined her fingers gently in his hair. “I can’t. Urs, I’ve never given myself to a man…I didn’t know kissing you would feel like this.”

He moaned and went back to her mouth and this time she met his passion, her body pressed against him as their mouths fused, his hands wandering restlessly over her, caressing her back, skimming the sides of her breasts that were squashed against his chest, the nipples engorged and pushing against him through the thin defence of her gown and his shirt, cupping her firm bottom and pulling her closer. He drew away again and took her shoulders to hold her away from him, felt her trembling and groaned. What was he thinking? He loved Celeste…didn’t he? And Maggie…she wasn’t some cheap one night stand he could forget about in the morning even if he was in the habit of doing such a thing……but just one kiss had ignited a fire in him, a desire that made him want to possess her, made his pulse race and his loins ache with need.

He cupped her face with his hands, kissed her swollen mouth tenderly and abruptly left, nearly running to the elevator, banging his head painfully against the wall as it dropped to the lobby, raced across the road to his car, trying not to look up at her balcony but failing. He could see her backlit from the apartment and against the night sky, standing where he had left her but with her face buried in her hands.

He cursed as he got in the car, kept on while he drove the few blocks to the flats and was finally silent when he parked and went up to his 6th floor flat. He got ready for bed, following his usual routine and turned the lights out, then lay staring at the ceiling for hours, unable to sleep until finally he gave in to the yearning that wouldn’t go away and thought about her as he gave himself relief.

CHAPTER THREE….REVELATION

How could she have been so bold?!!! Asking him to kiss her had been a big mistake even though it was definitely what she was craving at the time and certainly a revelation to her.

Now he would have a low opinion of her, think her cheap…she wept as she realized that he would now be apprehensive about being a friend, would likely shy away from her in fear of being tempted again. And of course Simon would be furious if all their plans to protect him went in the crapper just because she was unprofessional enough to let her hormones rage and take away her control.

After a few minutes she returned to the suite, moving confidently through the familiar space, hitting the master switch to turn off the lights and retreating to her bedroom to prepare to rest. She braided her long hair, washed her face and brushed her teeth, still agonizing over her actions, then shelved it.

What was done, was done. She would just have to live with the consequences and make the best of them. At least she had that one moment when he had kissed her with a passion she had never felt before, awakening a response in her that frightened her with its intensity. Still, it had been wonderful while it lasted.

Jessie came in the room and got her pets before settling in her plush doggie bed, circling as dogs do, then laying down with a grunt, her work day finished. Her head stayed up until she saw Maggie pull back the soft rust velvet duvet and slip into bed, snuggling down on the butter yellow satin sheets. Then both dog and mistress closed their eyes and one off to sleep, while the other replayed in her mind the sensations that had flooded her again and again as she had listened to the concert, to the sound of his voice, the amazing touch of his lips, the taste of his tongue as it explored her mouth, the visual kaleidoscope flashing past her inner eye in a mélange of color…. Sleep, when it finally came, was a welcome relief from her sensory over load.

**

He was awake with the dawn, checked his e.mail as he had been ordered and sat staring at the screen in horror. Many times he had been ‘asked’ to do things for his brother-in-law, or more correctly for the people that Laurenz was working for and at first he had done them innocently enough…what harm was there in delivering messages or packages, he had rationalized. Then nearly a year ago the demands had become more involved, more insistent, the veiled threat of harm coming to his sister, Yvette, held over his head to make him comply. Once he had defied the orders he was given…that night Yvette’s car was run off the road by a hit and run driver and though she wasn’t seriously injured, the threat of what could have happened was clear.

This was the worst and he wasn’t sure he could do it, didn’t want to, tried desperately to think of a way, any way, out, but his mind always came back to the same conclusion. He must or Yvette would suffer.

Early in the morning he went for his run, detouring this time to pass the building he had delivered Maggie to last night, not thinking, just feeling the need to be closer. He began his circuit around the large park just beyond the market area and drew his breath in sharply when he spotted Maggie and Jessie.

She was jogging as well, with Jessie on a longer lead and in front of her, her hair up again in a curly ponytail and as she ran she shrugged out of her jacket, holding the lead in her teeth as she tied it around her waist, looking like a bright butterfly in a unitard of muted shades of mauve.

He slowed his pace and stayed behind her, watching, analyzing in his logical Swiss way. He groaned silently when she took off the jacket…even with a sports bra on her breasts still bounced as she jogged, making him uncomfortably aroused. He had always been easily aroused by a nice bosom and this woman certainly had a generous pair, firm and soft at the same time, he knew from the feeling of them against his chest and the little touch he had managed with his exploring fingers last night.

He could see by how she anticipated the curves in the route that this was not a one time thing designed to impress him or perhaps to orchestrate a ‘chance’ meeting. She called out instructions to Jessie and they swerved to go to a water fountain by the side of the path….only traveling this way often would have told her it was there.

“Tyelka, Jessie,” she called out and the dog increased her pace, surging ahead and carrying Maggie along quicker. They sprinted for a half mile then slowed again to a more sedate pace, slowed again and Maggie reeled in the dog, stooped and reached into a pocket of the small saddle bag hanging over Jessie’s back to retrieve her mobile. She stood doing stretches to avoid cramping while she answered the caller. Urs stopped as well to listen and watch, feeling guilty for spying and eavesdropping, but doing it anyway.

“Good morning, Simon…and who threw you out of bed this early on such a fine day?”

She laughed at his answer. “Sure and it’s a grouch you are this morning, perhaps you should call me back when you’ve had a few coffees and can handle the world better.” She disconnected and stood grinning, counting down on her fingers, reached 9 and the mobile rang again.

“Oh, such language, and to a lady…..yes, I love you too, in spite of the way you treat me…….yes, it was wonderful. They actually invited me backstage to meet after the encores and we chatted for a while…… don’t be silly, I know they all have girlfriends…….Simon, Simon …you’re getting to sound like an old woman lately…….can we please discuss this another time….I need to get back and get started on my day. I have sound check this afternoon, then Heidi is coming to do my hair at 6 and the performance at 8. In between I have that other little job to do for Ian, and I still disagree…you should tell him, Simon, relieve the stress he’s under…..Okay we won’t go there, not now….I also have two private tutoring sessions at the school, need to touch base with Brazil about the job there and need to study the new specs Ian sent me last night, actually I’m looking forward to it…a very challenging locking mechanism……..Yes, if there’s time I might even grab something to eat. So I don’t have time for useless discussions with you about my love life or lack of one. Besides, I have a new goal in life: I want to be the only old virgin in the cemetery when I pass on……. Simon……Simon….are you coming tonight?.....Well try to be in a better mood….I don’t want you upsetting my kids……I really have to go, my legs are starting to cramp. Namarrie.”

She replaced the mobile, patted Jessie and went on her way. Urs stopped following her, feeling a bit like a voyeur or stalker, not pleased with himself, not pleased with the conversation he had overheard.

So it was true, her comment the night before about never being with a man. He had resigned himself during the night that it was a lie, a ploy to seem innocent when the passion she had shown in her kiss said otherwise. He cursed as he turned and headed in another direction. Knowing only made his decision to avoid being alone with her all the more imperative. Maybe he had to squeeze in a quick visit to France to see Celeste and relieve the sexual tension that was fast building in him. He laughed at himself as he jogged. Now he could feel guilty about using Celeste in that way. Life was not always smooth, he thought, and headed back to the flat, his mood dark and troubled, thinking of the message he had received and how he had to somehow prepare himself to comply.

**

Maggie tethered Jessie in a black harness and put on her gloves. She listened intently to instructions transmitted to her on a small ear-bud that was hidden by her mass of black curls and started walking along the sidewalk away from the car park. She knew that there were cameras on her but didn’t care. No-one ever paid any mind to a blind woman and her dog.

“He’s right ahead of you, 10 feet from the gate … 6 … 4 … slowing … stopped... take one more step then attend to Jessie.”

Maggie bent to the dog, adjusting the harness, could actually feel the heat from the man she had been following and listened to the numbers he punched into a keypad, memorizing them. She heard the slight snick as the gate opened and he entered, she finished playing with the harness and went on, touching the mike at her neck and relaying the numbers. “2-3-2..5-9-0-8-7…Enter…2-6-8…Enter. Playback…”

She heard the numbers repeated perfectly and smiled then went on her way to the rendezvous with Peter and the car.

**

The house for the evening performance was not packed but respectable, maybe three quarters of the seats filled. The four singers had procured a box slightly left of the stage and elevated enough to give a great view of the proceedings.

Urs waited restlessly for the evening to start, not at all sure that he should have come, since he hadn’t resolved what had occurred between Maggie and himself the night before but was also not willing to explain anything to the others who were eager to hear the whole performance. At last he decided that it would be a good diversion so he didn’t have to spend hours thinking about the job he had to do later.


The orchestra had finished tuning up, the house lights dimmed and Maggie came walking from the wings. She must have memorized the steps to the podium since she didn’t hesitate and Jessie was nowhere to be seen. Tonight the tomboy look had been replaced by elegance. Her glasses were gone, her lovely face carefully made up and her hair swept back into a thick knot. She wore the traditional black and white, a tuxedo tailored for her small body, short waist length jacket over a silky pleated white shirt, an ankle length skirt that swished when she walked on her stiletto heels. She bowed to the audience, took up a small baton and raised her hands to the formally dressed orchestra, gave them the down beat and they began.

From the angle they were at Urs could see her smiling in encouragement to the young players as she coaxed the sound from them, using the baton lightly, more of the use of body language than most conductors used. It was stimulating to watch them, the musicians doing their utmost to please this woman they clearly admired and smiling even though they knew she couldn’t see it. Perhaps they knew that she could feel their pleasure in their performance.

Though the crowd wasn’t huge they were very appreciative and the applause was outstanding. With a small bow of appreciation for the reaction, Maggie lead them in the next track and so it went until the intermission, one triumph after the other. The men all went to the private VIP lounge for drinks and returned just as the house lights dimmed again, settled to enjoy the second half, pleased with the arrangements they had made for flowers to be delivered to the stage after the curtain.

Once again the performance was brilliant, though it was the consensus of the four singers that the performance in the rehearsal far outshone that of Chloe, the professional who had at last showed up. During the last number an usher quietly entered the box and passed on a hand written message.

David opened it and read the few words then passed it on to the others.

‘Come back stage after the encore…Simon’

Urs sighed when he read it, tried to think of a way to get out of going back but couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t seem rude, so resigned himself.

It was bedlam in the dressing room, all the orchestra was trying to find space behind the screens to change into street wear, everyone laughing and talking at once. Maggie seemed to be the only island of calm in the room, smiling and laughing with everyone who came up to her, backing into a corner and calmly pulling her jeans on under her long skirt then removing the jacket and skirt to fold them and place them carefully on the arm of the sofa beside her. She left her silk shirt on but unbuttoned it a few inches and rolled the cuffs up.

Carlos, Seb and David approached Maggie for a hug and to offer congratulations and she thanked them for the flowers, mentioned that she loved roses and would take their bouquet home with her. Urs came up to her right after and he hesitated but she sensed he was there and smiled.

“So what did you think, my Swiss friend….did you enjoy yourself?”

He laughed and leaned in to take her shoulder in his hand and kiss her cheek.

“How do you do that? I’m sure I didn’t make a sound.” She laughed and leaned closer.

“You wear Bulgari and I love the elusive scent of it.”

He laughed and answered her question. “It was wonderful…you opened up a whole new favourite genre for me. And you looked so elegant, I found it hard to believe you were the same person. Here let me fix your hair…you’ve been hugged so much it’s coming loose.” He reached behind her head to loosen the pins that had held her hair, removed them all and fluffed her hair out with his long fingers.

“That’s better, free and slightly wild suits you.”

He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and when he turned it was to see Simon beaming with pride at his god-daughter’s accomplishment.

“Has she told you yet? No? Maggie it isn’t like you had anything else to do. We’re having a small get together at Maggie’s apartment, to celebrate a job well done. You four are coming and as many of the orchestra as can stay out late.”

Urs bristled at the command and shook his head. “I can’t Simon…there’s something I have to take care of.”

He felt Maggie slip her hand onto his arm and trail down to grasp his hand gently. She leaned closer and beckoned him to bend over to her and when he did she whispered to him… ‘It’s already been taken care of, Urs. Simon will explain.’ He stared at her in surprise but couldn’t read anything in her face or her eyes that she had covered again with shades.

Simon smiled at Urs then spoke to Maggie. “You’ve wanted to tell him for months, Brat…you do it.” He nodded and left to shmooze with someone else.

“Urs, would you walk outside with me, Jessie needs to go out and perhaps I can ease your mind a bit.”

He put his arm around her waist to guide her through the crowd, called out ‘Tul’ for Jessie and they went down the hall and out the stage door.

They leaned against the railing above the steps while Jessie smelled the pavement, the wall, the puddles and eventually squatted.

“What’s going on Maggie?”

She sighed before answering and he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

“Urs, I know about your problems with Laurenz, we call him Judas, about the little jobs you have been forced to do for the past few years, for far too long. You’re important to Simon, not just financially and for quite some time now whenever he could he has been running interference for you. Laurenz doesn’t completely trust you anymore and has been willing for some time for you to be caught, to be the scape-goat, preferably to be killed in the attempt to perform what you perceive to be your duty. He’s worried that you might be caught doing what you perceive to be your duty and implicate him.

“While you were at the concert tonight, the target was taken out by someone who looked very similar to you, he was caught on camera, but of course you were out in the public eye at the RAH so no one could suspect you. He was a very evil man so I feel no loss at his death, just relief that this is one target that will not haunt your dreams. With a little luck, it won’t be long until we have your sister safely placed and your brother-in-law in custody so that you will no longer have to live this double life.”

Urs was stunned for a moment then finally got his thoughts together enough to speak. “How did Simon know about tonight’s job?”

Again she sighed. “I told him. I broke Laurenz pass-code months ago, it’s childishly simple….and I hacked into your ‘puter. Whenever you get a message from any of the key user names or aliases I get a flag and Millie, my computer, reads it to me.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you months ago, but was voted down. The next best thing was to make sure that your privacy was kept as intact as possible…it’s only mail concerning Laurenz that I read, never anything else and no one else has the code.”

“And that business at your apartment last night…was that a lie too?”

She spun around to face him and he could see tears trailing down her cheeks from behind her dark glasses.

“NO!! I am sorry if I upset you. I let my emotions carry me away and it wasn’t very professional of me. It won’t happen again.”

She turned and called Jessie to her and with a bit of fumbling found the stage door and went back inside.

CHAPTER FOUR….THE SCHOOL

It wasn’t until much later and after many shots of vodka had been downed that Simon pulled him aside in Maggie’s suite and steered him in to Maggie’s small office for a talk.

Urs had avoided everyone all night, spending time on the balcony with his thoughts and a bottle of Stoli he was working his way through.

What little Maggie had confided in him rattled around in his brain, creating more questions and no answers. Meeting Maggie…had that been arranged too, was his whole life just one big play with him being the unsuspecting main character, the fool? He huddled in a chair in the dark corner, unseen and unnoticed when Maggie came out to get a breath of air and some peace from the boisterous crowd.

She leaned on the railing, looking incredibly sad and alone and he almost broke his silence to go to her. Someone called for her in the lounge and she sighed, turned and put on her party face before going back in.

A few minutes later Simon came out on the balcony, looking for Urs and asked him to come in to the office for a private chat. Urs took his nearly empty bottle of Stoli with him and when they had shut themselves off from the others slouched in a chair waiting for Simon to talk.

“I assume from your sullen attitude that Maggie explained a little to you but not enough to satisfy your curiosity.”

“You might say that,” Urs replied, his tone leaving no confusion as to how he felt.

“I’ve known about Laurenz since I first had you vetted when you auditioned for Il Divo. I learned that you were forced into minor work for him and hoped that we could protect you long enough for you to no longer be of use to him once your face became so well known. That was a mistake on my part and so I hoped that we could intercede in his plans until our own long range efforts came about but again, it didn’t work. Laurenz is a relatively minor player but we both know he and his partners are evil, dangerous. They no longer trust you…..they seem to feel that you aren’t suited for this type of work, that you agonize too much over the times when you have been told to eliminate someone and will eventually confess to the authorities, maybe even testify against Laurenz and his friends…. so you and anyone around you are in grave danger. You will have to be totally honest with me if I am to be able to help you….if you are, I can protect you and your sister as well. Like tonight. If it hadn’t been for Maggie’s skills with locks and computers, her ability to bypass even the most sophisticated we could not have done the job….you would have walked blindly into a trap, having to go over a monitored wall into a very secure area…you would have been killed by the guards. She gave us the code to disable the keypad and the security, then the job was easy.”

Urs glared at him. “Who do you work for? A rival?””

Simon laughed, a bitter sound but he answered without anger. “You might say that. I work for a group called CASPAR, which is an acronym that someone jokingly or maybe drunkenly thought up because of that cartoon character…. Community and Society for Prevention and Rescue…an organization that tries to eliminate the threat to innocent people from groups like the Marchazzis, the Gutierez, the Radzecheks and the wannabees like Laurenz and his friends…they really are minor players but the threat to Yvette is no less real. We are independent of any government authority, though we often work with various governments and are known by most of them in the free world. We are self supporting, of necessity very secretive and regulated by our members, each of whom has an equal vote in major decision making.

“It was a hard decision for me to invite you into Il Divo but because of your unique talent you are perfect for the position. I still believe that my choice for the band was the right one, even though because of your closeness, the others are now possibly also at risk from Laurenz. But there is a light at the end of this very dark tunnel and I ask that you have patience and co-operate just a little longer. Just be careful and be honest with me so I can help you.”

Urs picked up his vodka, drained the bottle and left the office without any further discussion. He watched the others for a few minutes when he re-entered the lounge but his mood was foul and he quietly found the elevator and walked for hours in the dark streets, trying in vain to make sense of what he had learned.

He remembered when Yvette and Laurenz had been married, how he hadn’t really liked the man but his sister seemed so happy that he had entered into the festivities, hoping that he was just being over protective of his youngest sister.

It wasn’t until they had been married about 3 months that the first signs of trouble became evident…. the many times Yvette had hurt herself accidentally, the bruises that showed up when she forgot to wear concealing clothing, the broken arm one time from ‘falling down the stairs’. He began to watch a little more closely, whenever possible, since he was far away in Amsterdam most of the time, but his friends in Switzerland kept him informed…and he didn’t like what he heard.

A surprise visit to see Yvette and Laurenz was an awakening for him but not in the way he had hoped. He confronted Laurenz about his suspicions and was laughed at.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about just this thing, Big Brother. Seems I have the need of some packages going regularly to Amsterdam and I would like you to deliver them for me.”

“What does that have to do with you mistreating my sister, you jerk? I wouldn’t deliver a package across the street for you…and if you hurt Yvette again…”

“You’ll what?”

Urs was aware of movement behind him but too late. Hard hands grabbed him around the neck and pinned his arms to his sides as two of Laurenz friends held him immobile. Yvette moaned as if she knew what was coming but remained seated beside Laurenz, her eyes wide and frightened.

“You see, we are trained for this kind of work and you are hopelessly unaccustomed to thinking fast, acting before others can. And I do so enjoy surprising my little bride with the occasional reminder of just who is the master of this household.”

With that his arm flew to the side and his hand connected with Yvette’s cheek, hard enough to make her cry out and fall sideways, only to be pulled back upright by her hair. Her face was wet with tears now and a tiny trickle of blood oozed from her cut lip. She winced as Laurenz leaned over and licked the few drops away.

Laurenz looked back at Urs as he struggled futilely against his captors and he smiled. While Urs took a breath, trying to calm himself and think of a way out of this situation, Laurenz explained exactly what he wanted from Urs and how Yvette would pay if he was disobedient. And so it started.

At first it was simple, merely courier duties and not that often. He would be told to pick up a small package at a certain address and take it to another. Sometimes letters would exchange hands, sometimes things as innocuous as a bottle, labeled as containing shampoo, things that he didn’t examine too closely, always the message coming from Yvette or Laurenz via his computer.

His friends kept him informed on her health. She showed no more visible signs of abuse but was never, ever alone, either Laurenz or one of his buddies was always at her side, no matter where she went. Then his jobs took on a more sinister tone.

He was told to arrange an accident for a well known figure, a man who had been suspected of criminal activities but who up to now had never been successfully prosecuted. He refused, adamantly and the next day received word from Switzerland that his pregnant sister had suffered a fall….. she was recovering but might suffer a relapse.

Still he couldn’t bring himself to take a life, spent the night agonizing over the problem until early in the morning he heard a sound at the door to his small suite and found a folder had been slid underneath.

Along with photos of Yvette, nearly nude and covered with bruises, where pictures of the man he was supposed to kill…pictures of him with young boys, indulging in sexual acts too horrific to imagine.
He found a coldness come over him and put the pictures aside, reading the accompanying papers, timetables and locations of the target’s activities. A plan formed and he stayed cold and deliberate as he carried out his assignment, leaving the broken body of the target at the bottom of a flight of stairs, neck broken.

It didn’t get any easier after that but he did have the relief that Yvette carried her son to term and suffered no more injuries.

Now there was a glimmer of hope that he would no longer have to lead this life that tormented him so much. If the threat of harm to Yvette was eliminated then perhaps he could get on with his life, never forgetting or even absolving himself from what he had done but at least never having to kill again.

He thought about the attraction he had for the pretty blind woman…for just the briefest of moments letting his mind call up the feeling of her in his arms…the memory made him burn with desire, something that he had difficulty controlling in his drunken state.

The garish sign for a bar pulsed at him and he went in, took a seat at the bar and began drinking again, craving oblivion, praying that he would fall down, unconscious and sleep off this unwelcome lust for someone he could never, should never have.

He left the bar and stomped off, swaying slightly, had only gone a few steps when a voice cut through the red haze of his anger and a soft hand clutched at his arm.

The whore was not bad looking in his drunken stupor and he pulled her into an alley, thrust money down the front of her low cut top, exposing his engorged shaft and motioning her to her knees. The relief came quickly, not much better than if he had done it himself but completed, if unsatisfying. He tidied himself and left her, staggering down the street, sickened by what he had done, disgusted that he had thought he could replace the innocence of the woman he wanted with the weary, practiced skills of a professional. His self hatred couldn’t be contained and he beat his hands against the bricks of a wall part way down the street until his knuckles were scraped and raw and the pain gave him something to concentrate on as he made his slow, weaving way home.

He finally made it back to the empty flat and threw himself on his bed, not even bothering to remove his shoes or clothing, sinking into an alcohol induced sleep that was thankfully dreamless.

**

For the next few days the guys trod very carefully around Urs. They had asked about his bruised and scabbed over hands and received a glare and snarl for their concern…privately he worried about what he had done, unable to clearly remember anything except the early part of the party and some jumbled images of an alley. He had checked his wallet and found it missing 50 pounds, but no matter how hard he tried, the events that would include the missing money was gone from his memory. The only thing that comforted him somewhat was that if he had been foolish, at least he hadn’t needed a condom….at least he hoped that one hadn’t been needed since he wasn’t missing any.

A couple of days later they were in the studio in the early morning and were surprised at the number of young musicians in the cafeteria loading up on sodas and juice. David thought he recognized Andy from the orchestra the few days before and approached him to ask what was going on.

“Hi, Mr. Miller. I’m surprised you recognized me. Maggie is doing a tutorial today so some of the rock players get used to working in a studio and some of us came along to watch and listen. They’re in 16 if you want to listen in.”

The young man raced to catch up with his friends and David rejoined the group.

“Rock?” Urs scoffed. “She’s a classical musician, what does she know about rock?”

They wandered along to 16 and slipped inside quietly, Urs going along since he couldn’t think of a logical reason for refusing. They were leaning against the back wall of the control room listening as Maggie laughed and told the young guys on the guitars that they had to put their bodies into it.

“This is rock, darlin’, not your Great Aunt Annie’s waltz.”

She played the intro on the electric guitar they now saw and hit it, belting out a wild version of Billy Idol’s White Wedding complete with all the foot work as if she were on stage. The next verse she let the young man take over the singing while she accompanied him playing a wild moaning guitar. When it was over she screamed “Alright….…. Thunderstruck…. Hit it!!!” And they swung into the next track, playing their version of the ACDC track. Maggie played guitar and did a bit of back up along with the group while a young man sang and strutted to the music. It was loud and energetic, the drum beat heavy and the electric guitar riffs constant and accompanied by gyrating body movements.

“Well what do you think? You all comfortable with that now?”

There was a chorus of laughter and talking and then Maggie quieted them again.

“Okay…we only have the studio for another half hour and I’d like you to run through the Raining Men number. You know the orchestration, and I would like some suggestions as to who would be best suited for the lead. Chickie, how much room do I have on the floor?”

One of the girls came over and walked Maggie around the edge of the floor while she counted out paces then straight down the middle and she then went back to stand in front of the group.

Seb mentioned that all the players had dressed the part today, even Maggie with her tight black sequined tee and VERY tight spandex pants, high heels on her feet and her hair loose and with wild waves.

“Every one ready? We’re talking raw sex here kiddies and don’t tell your folks what evil things I’m teaching you.”

They all laughed and Maggie took her place, standing with her back to what would be the audience, her legs spread, one arm up and the other in front with a battery mike. In the control room the small group of kids began keeping time to the music as Maggie did, but with one bent leg. She started singing, or to be more accurate, belting out the track, swung around and pranced, oozing sex appeal, shaking her body to the beat, doing twirls and almost balletic movements in the interlude. The group got into the music completely, their guitars wailing and the track ended with Maggie on her knees on the floor, bent backward with her hair puddling behind her and hitting impossibly high notes with the mike raised above her….then the music gradually faded and she flipped herself to her feet and raised her hands in victory, dancing around and hugging the back up singers who swarmed her.

“YES!!! That’s what I mean….oh I do love you guys, I’m so proud of you. Awesome, just awesome!!!”

They were all laughing and talking at once then Maggie raised her hands again and they quieted.

“Alright you lot…lets get packed up and out of here before Simon gets nasty. Carol if you could ask the techies for the tape and thank them so much and all of you…..I want some suggestions tomorrow for the lead singer. Darlene, how about giving it a try?”

“I don’t think I could do that, Maggie… you should do it with us.”

She laughed and shook her head as she gathered her equipment.

“Don’t be silly….we want someone young, some undiscovered nubile beauty….I’m nearly 30, much to old for this. I think you would be perfect for it and I’ll be happy to work with you.”

They kept teasing her as they all packed up and left, Carol slipped into the control room and grinned at the audience of other students and Il Divo, got the tape from the tech and kissed him on the cheek to thank him. She glanced at Il Divo and blushed but nodded when she noticed Urs put his finger against his lips to not tell they had listened, then scooted out, followed by the rest of her class mates.

The four singers were still grinning when they reached their own studio to begin work.

“That was….”Seb began and couldn’t think of the English words he needed.

“Definitely!” Urs answered and laughed. “I didn’t expect that….the woman is like a musical chameleon.”

“And that routine….another minute and I wouldn’t have been able to walk,” Carlos admitted and got a chorus of agreement.

**

The next day was an off day and David decided on a whim to visit this school they had heard so much about. Urs was hesitant to go, not yet comfortable about being alone with Maggie but he wanted to see the school too and decided it should be safe with David along. They got the address from Simon’s secretary, found that it was within walking distance in Chelsea and leisurely walked over.

It was a nice day for strolling and they talked about the traveling coming up and the video shoot, wondering where it would be done and soon could hear music on the air. Ahead of them was a small park and beyond the tall trees they could just see a large building, at least 3 stories tall, made of old brick and with tall windows fronting on the street. It seemed to have been a residence at one time, probably for some very wealthy Banker or such and had been converted into a business as had many of the smaller buildings abutting it. There was a lane to the side leading to a large garage that seemed to have an apartment over the top and they could just see that behind the building was a large yard extending all the way to the next street with a high yew hedge to keep it private.

Many of the windows on the first and second floors were open and they heard the sound of singers running scales and someone practicing on a violin as well as the pounding of drums. They approached the front door, jumping back when it flew open and a group of 4 young boys barreled out, grinning and apologizing but not slowing down at all as they ran down the street, kicking a soccer ball back and forth between them as they went.

Inside the foyer it was cool and relatively quiet. A curved staircase wound to the upper floors in front of them and a long hallway to the rear ended in what they could see was a sun room with soft lounges and chairs mixed with plants and small tables. There seemed to be no one to direct any visitors until they noticed a discreet sign that said ‘Office’ and walked down the hall to reach it.

The door was open and Maggie was behind the desk typing something into a computer keyboard, her fingers flying over the keys as she bit her lower lip and concentrated. She raised her head and looked in their direction, drew in a deep breath and smiled as she turned her head away again.

“Urs and …David? I’ll be right with you. I just have to get this e/mail off.”

“How do you do that?” David said with a laugh.

“Bulgari and Homme….Seb wears Eau d Chanson by Chanel for men, and Carlos switches back and forth between Drakaar and Davidoff.” She laughed and kept on typing.

They sat on the sofa on the side wall, looking at her office, the racks of books and files of music, a few instruments on stands, 3 large filing cabinets, comfortable furniture and tables for guests and in front of her a computer like most they had seen but different. The keyboard was blank, only the raised dots indicating that it was especially made for the blind. She wore a headset with a mike tapped to her cheek, like a football referee.

She finished typing. “Spell check and correct please, Millie.”

A soft, pleasant voice answered her. “Checked and corrected. Well done today, Maggie.”

Maggie laughed. “Why thank you. Please send copies to 23, 41, 87 and 109 as well as our files and back up. And I need the financials for the School and the projection of cost over-run for next month. Put them in my ‘To Do’ file and I’ll go over it later.”

“No sweat, babe…go enjoy your company.”

She laughed again and turned to the men, removing her headset and placing it on the desk. “I had the techs give Millie a personality and sometimes the things they programmed in are a little too much. So, to what do I attribute the pleasure of this visit?”

She certainly didn’t look like a business woman today though she had for a few minutes sounded like one: no glasses, hair in a curly ponytail, her usual tight tee shirt and jeans and a blindingly white pair of new sneakers on her feet….. she looked about 17.

“We’ve heard so much about the school and curiosity got the better of us,” David said as she came across the room and sat in one of the large soft chairs. Jessie appeared from somewhere, no harness, tail wagging as she begged for pets and then lay at Maggie’s feet.

“Don’t drool on my new shoes, Jess. You get the old ones tonight when we get home.” She laughed and pet the dog on her silky head.

“I hope we aren’t interrupting anything important,” Urs said and she swung her head towards him as if she could actually see him, for the briefest moment he thought he detected a slight nervousness about her that she quickly masked.

“Nothing is more important than friends,” she said with a smile.

“Would you like a tour or some coffee or both? We could start here and end in the kitchen. I overheard one of the kids talking about ‘killer brownies’ a while ago…there may be some left.”

They opted for her plan and she led them out into the hall, closing the office door and switching on a small yellow light that shone above it.

“That’s just to let the kids know I’m in the building but not in the office. They should all be either getting some exercise on the pitch right now or out in the yard enjoying free time.” She lead them down the hall, Jessie following slowly and settling by the door as she motioned to various class rooms and a huge room that had once been a ballroom and now was the Dining Hall.

“This used to be a private residence but Da converted it to a school when I was about 8 and after I got old enough I opened it up again. We have bedrooms and lavs on the 3rd floor, girls on the east side, boys on the west, an apartment for Joan and Brian, our house mother and her husband, on the top floor. First and second floors are offices and class rooms, just for music and dance with myself or other teachers that we have come in regularly. The kids all attend the local schools for general learning…I think it’s good for them to mix with kids who have other interests.”

She opened the door to one of the classrooms and they saw several pianos, lots of other instruments on stands and shelves of music everywhere. “This room needs some work done on it but we lost our handyman last month and haven’t been able to replace him yet.”

She motioned to a very wobbly bookcase that seemed to be braced with a chair and a window that had a sheet of plywood instead of glass in one of the large panes. “It’s not the money…it’s finding someone who has the patience to work around kids. The school is self sufficient, has a sizable income from several properties that are owned by the foundation.”

Urs walked over to inspect the damage and mentally figured out what needed to be done.

“I could fix it for you. I worked with my father at carpentry for a while. I’m sure I still remember how if you have the tools.”

Maggie stood and smiled at him and shook her head. “That’s very kind of you but Simon would have my head…..and you’re a singer and I know how busy you are.”

“Nonsense…I’m off today and since it’s my time, Simon has nothing to say about it. It wouldn’t take long, Maggie, and by the waving David is doing to get my attention I think he would be willing to help.”

David agreed and Maggie sighed. “It would mean a great deal to me. We really need the space and I’m afraid to let the kids work in here and maybe get hurt. Come have coffee first and tell me what you need.”

She lead them down a flight of stairs to the kitchen, the entire basement area one of stores and laundry and a spacious kitchen as well as the usual boilers that were needed for a large house.

They were half way through their coffee and a platter of brownies when Cookie interrupted the laughter and spoke urgently to Maggie.

“Flashing red, Miss Maggie.” Maggie stood and held her hand out to the men.

“Take me back to the office.” Urs grasped her arm and started out of the kitchen. She ran her hand down onto his and hissed “Hurry!!”

CHAPTER FIVE….MAGGIE’S LIFE

They ran. When they reached the door she lay her hand on a lit panel at the entrance, the door swooshed open and she raced to the computer, scooping up the head set and donning it with practiced speed.

“Millie, close and secure the door…Report.”

“Incoming from MI 6…mercury bomb in Underground…type 361AL… timer count down, from 9, 8:59…”

“On site?”

“Balin”

“Thank God…Connect and hold…” She swung out of the chair and reached over to the file drawers, running her fingers over the tab on the front until she read the one she wanted, opened the drawer and skimmed the folders until she had the one she needed, then returned to the computer. She spread the folder open and from where they stood behind her, Urs and David could see that they were diagrams of inner mechanisms of some kind and there were raised lines and diagrams with Braille writing instead of written words.

“Balin, this is Ceol”

“Read you 5 by 5.”

“Tell me what you see.”

He described what was in front of him in detail and she followed his description with her sensitive fingers, skimming them over the surface and nodding.

“Balin are you alone?”

“Yes”

“You will need to have ready your smallest drivers, needle nose, the smallest wire cutters, 4 plastic loops, and 4 caps, and a tub of gel….advise when ready…”

She leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath, trying for calm. Urs gently lay his hands on her shoulders and she reached up with her left to grasp his lightly in thanks.

“Ready.” She leaned forward again and lay her hands lightly on the diagrams.

“Balin, I need you to take 2 deep cleansing breaths and wipe your forehead before you start, no sweat dripping on the bomb, please …please remove the outer housing on the mechanism starting with the bottom screw on the right and moving to each in this sequence, top right, top middle, top left and stopping before you touch the bottom left to return to the bottom and remove the bottom middle…DO NOT remove the bottom left, merely loosen it one complete turn and carefully let the plate swing free from the final screw…there is fail safe on that one screw……..Now, as you look inside the cavity take the first plastic loop and capture the yellow wire you see coming from the large brass nut on the left side…..secure it against the bolt sticking out of the housing……” they heard his voice saying ‘Mark’ then she continued….. “use the second plastic loop to move the oscillating bar straight up, moving with the motion until it reaches the apex and you can slip the loop over the same bolt…..” she waited again until she heard him take another breath…..’you will see a small silver screw exposed now…choose the proper driver and unscrew it all the way and remove completely from the area…….now remove the small plate that was held down by the screw by sliding the edge of the third plastic loop completely under and gently pulling up, taking great care not to touch the plate to any other components…….” Again she waited and when she heard him breathing again continued. “You may discard that now and tell me what the timer says….”

“Three minutes 14 seconds….”

“Good, Balin, lots of time….in the cavity you have exposed now there are four wires, you must cut them in sequence and cap each before going on to the next…Ready?”

“Wait….Ready”

“You can do this Balin….steady and calm, I’m with you…….reach in with the needlenose and pull the blue wire towards you slightly……put a cap in your teeth and use your left to cut the wire, leaving at least a quarter inch for the cap to go on……now secure the cap on the end you are still holding….the other side will be dead…..Now the white wire…..secure the cap and tell me the time…..”

“Two minutes”

“Now the green wire and secure the cap,….slow and steady, Balin…you have time…….And the red wire and secure the cap….. Now look at the timer…”

“It’s stopped….Ceol, the timer has stopped.”

“Of course it has, you do excellent work…..pour that gel into the cavity and get the hell out of there, Balin…..leave the disposal to the bomb squad. Ceol out.”

She leaned back in the chair and ripped the headset off, stood and with her hand over her mouth brushed past Urs and raced out of the room to the small bathroom adjoining. They could hear her retching into the commode and after several minutes gargling and brushing her teeth and then she returned, pale and trembling but with a small smile.

“Sorry…that always happens when I’ve been playing with someone’s life.” She returned to the sofa and smiled at them.

“Welcome to my life, gentlemen.” And put her head in her hands and wept.

It felt so familiar…Urs knew how she felt, knew the emotions that were jumbling up her mind and knew what she needed. He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair and letting her cry it out against his chest, her tears wetting his shirt and finally after a few minutes she stopped and softly thanked him.

“Sorry….there’s usually no one around after …I’m afraid I took advantage of having someone to lean on.”

“I feel privileged to have been a silent witness to that Maggie,” David said and came over to sit beside her as she still sat on Urs lap. “I hope it doesn’t happen too often.”

She laughed and reached over to pat his face lightly. “More often than I like to think, Davie. Most bomb or lock experts have to be able to see the mechanisms and I fortunately can see them through my fingers. I’ve taught a few other people to do the same thing and one of us is usually available….it was my turn on the duty roster. We were lucky tonight…Balin is one of the best at long distance instructions…I’ve worked with him before.”

“But we never hear anything about it on the news or in the papers….”

“And hopefully you won’t,” she said as she stood and returned to the computer desk. “The whole point of being a secret organization is to remain secret so no one can stop the work we do. We’re self supporting, just like the school, but do what we can, when we can, quietly. The bomb squad will take the credit for today but we know and MI6 knows and we were successful and that’s what matters.”

She put her hands on the keyboard and keyed in a report, talking to them as she did.

“I need to file a quick report while it’s fresh in my memory and tidy up then we can go see if there’s any coffee left and talk about the offer of carpentry work you made earlier.”

As she typed a sheet in the printer began printing and another beside it keyed in a Braille transcript. Her fingers flew over the keys and quickly she had done the report, placed the printed one in a tray marked ‘Base Copy’ and the other in the folder she had used to give instructions. She rose and placed it in the file cabinet and returned.

“Thank you, Millie…lock down please.” Behind her the cabinets clicked locked and Millie played a little jingle, composed of the Halleluiah chorus and an old Harry Belafonte song called ‘Amen’.

Maggie laughed and held her hands out to the two men. “She gets more out of control every day. I don’t know why I ever decided to give her a personality.”

They went to the kitchen again and Maggie was pleasantly surprised to hear Urs talking intelligently about what would be needed. She had Cookie show the men where the tools and lumber etc. were kept and after a quick browse they came back and arranged to go change to work clothes and come back to spend the afternoon working on the room….if they could cadge a meal out of it.

Maggie smiled at the request for home cooking and pointed out that it would be like having 2 more teenage boys to feed. The voracious appetites of teenagers was one of the reasons that everywhere they had been in the school they saw bowls of fresh fruit and glass containers with domed lids of something that looked like Granola and dried or candied fruit and nuts.

Seb and Carlos came back with them and after the work was completed, a question of only about 2 hours actual work, they all joined the resident students, a few of their friends from the regular school and the staff for dinner in the large dining hall/games room which had been built on the back of the house, the sliding doors all open because of the unseasonably warm weather.

It was a pleasant meal and evening, nothing too wild and exciting but was very pleasant for the singers to relax and enjoy the almost constant music or talk of music all around them. Some of the students brought instruments out onto the terrace and even a piano was wheeled out by Brian, judging by the large wheels on the bottom a common occurrence and they all spent the night singing, some dancing, a good old fashioned jam session. They were joined off and on by shop keepers as the various shops closed up, some staying for brief moments, some for several hours, the school and it’s inhabitants obviously well thought of.

Gradually the kids drifted off, some for homework, the younger ones at the insistence of Joan. The little ones bade everyone good night and departed and slowly quiet reigned over the comfortable yard and terrace.

Maggie was sitting on a pillow on the floor with Jessie laying on Seb’s feet close by, Urs behind her with his knees touching her shoulder while David and Carlos played a passive game of football on the large lawn with the dim light from a street lamp in the alley making it nearly impossible to see the ball.

“So, Herr Buhler…was the school what you expected?”

“You know it wasn’t. I had the usual preconceived ideas about a boarding school but this is more like…like a huge family. These kids all seem so happy and there’s so many different ages. Now I understand why you smile so much.”

She smiled up at him. “I always wanted to have a large family, actually almost moved in here instead of the apartment but I don’t want them to get too dependant on me since I can’t always be here. This is my little bit of sanity in a cruel world and I love being here with them, helping them achieve whatever they can. But when I need to withdraw and have some time for just me, I go home and lock myself in my glass tower, just me and Jessie.”

“And how does this place ever make enough to keep things going…it must cost a fortune…do the students pay a hefty yearly fee?”

“All of our students apply and audition and if they get accepted there is no fee. They live here as long as it’s to their advantage, at no cost, get pocket money and allowances for chores, like taking their turns at policing the common areas and the bathrooms. Kitchen or yard duty…of course everyone is responsible for their own areas and we have a cleaning service come in 3 times a week for the heavy stuff and laundry. We also generate funds for expenses through the concerts we give and the rest is covered by the rental properties and businesses the school owns. And of course I get paid…exactly One Pound per year.” She laughed at his gasp, his logical Swiss side unable to conceive of such an arrangement.

The other men came back now as their playmates left to finish homework and get ready for bed or their nightly telly. Cookie came out and kissed Maggie on the cheek as she bid her Good Night, reminded her to set the security when she left the property and put a box full of brownies and cookies on the small side table for the ‘gentlemen’ to take home.

Maggie laughed. “I think helping Cookie to fill the dishwashers has made a fan out of her. She loves to have help with the less attractive parts of her job.”

She stood and started to tidy up the few items on the terrace that had been moved and called Jessie to her.

“I’m going to walk home, anyone going my way?”

They all decided to walk with her. “I just have to secure the property and lock up….Jessie… Tir…Varna….”

The dog bounded away and began to patrol the edges of the property. “If she barks then there is someone here that shouldn’t be or a gate is open…” Jessie circled the entire property in minutes and came back, happy. Maggie touched a button on her watch and spoke quietly.. “Perimeter secure Millie, lock down please, exiting through main.”

“If someone could take my hand I can let Jessie have her freedom on the way home.”

Urs was closest and glared at the others, would have knocked down anyone in his way as he held his hand out and touched her arm. She clasped his hand firmly and they went in to the house, down the hall and when all of them had left through the front door she quietly raised her wrist and said…. “Good night, Millie, “ and they heard the quiet snicks of locks being engaged behind them.

Maggie turned slightly to Urs and repositioned his hand, moving it so he clasped her hand against his body.

“It’s easier for me to judge where you are going like this or with your arm about my waist.”

“Are you always so careful to lock the place down at night?”

She looked up at him as they walked along, slightly surprised.

“Of course….the house is full of precious children with only Joan and Brian when he isn’t working. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing they were unprotected.”

“And what about if you get another….flashing red light?”

She held her wrist out and laughed. “Then I would get a very sudden shock in my wrist and if I touched it right here” and she demonstrated, “I would feel the vibration, kind of like a silent pager.”

“You sure you aren’t Swiss somewhere in your family tree?….you’re very efficient.” She laughed and squeezed his hand.

They reached Maggie’s building first and of course there were hugs and kisses all around and she teased, telling them they had better go straight home since she knew their schedule for the next day. Urs was last to leave, accompanying her to the elevator and holding the doors open while his friends waited outside.

“You all right now?” he asked and she knew he meant from the bomb episode, smiled and nodded.

She stepped to where his voice told her he was and raised her hand to him. He took it and kissed her fingers lightly.

“Such clever fingers. What are they telling you now…?” he lay her hand on his face and waited for her reaction, absurdly pleased when he felt her tremble.

“They’re saying you want to kiss me good night, but feel guilty because of Celeste.”

He took her hand and kissed the palm, closed her fingers over the kiss and leaned in to kiss her cheek, his silky hair brushing her cheek almost like a kiss in itself.

“…and they would be right….Good night Maggie.”

He leaned back releasing her hand and the door shut. In a couple of seconds he heard the motor start to carry her to the penthouse and walked out to join the others.

It was hard not to look up at the balcony even though he knew she wouldn’t be able to see him and finally half a block away he looked back.

She was standing on the terrace, just standing and looking out sightlessly over the city and on impulse he called out “Good Night, Juliet” and thought he heard her laughter carried to him on the light breeze.

CHAPTER SIX….CLOSER


All four of the men made it a habit to drop by the big brick school whenever they were in London for the next few months. Sometimes they went as a group, sometimes singly only to meet up with one or all of the others when they arrived, visiting or giving impromptu lessons, playing ball with the kids or involved in jam sessions. It became a home away from home for them, a place where they could relax and just be themselves.

For Urs it was an awakening of sorts.

He was more than just a little attracted to the pretty Maestro and feeling guilty about it. The feelings he had for Celeste were pale in comparison to what he now experienced for this woman. When they were not together he thought about her nearly constantly. One word in a conversation would trigger a memory of some moment spent in Maggie’s company and he would be lost to the real world, wallowing in memories until roughly awakened to present surroundings. Every song they worked on had a special meaning when sung, reminding him of her, of her absence at the moment, her laughter, the longing he had to see her smiling face. Even the brief phone calls from Celeste did nothing to assuage this feeling of loss he had, in fact they added to his loneliness when he found that it was not Maggie who had called.

Of course it wasn’t. Why would she? He had done nothing to encourage a closeness between them, other than to be under foot most of his free time and quietly in her company while she interacted with the others or the students.

Urs had heard nothing from Laurenz and the reports he received infrequently from his friends said that Yvette seemed to be faring well. Perhaps Laurenz had abandoned his criminal activities and decided on a regular way of making a living…at least that was his fervent hope as time went by and there were no e.mails asking for assistance. He was concerned for her though since she had not managed to make it to his parent’s Anniversary celebrations at the family home in Switzerland. He had gone, only for a brief 2 days but it was a respite from the tension of working so hard on the album and waiting for any ominous news from Laurenz.

Their time was booked solid after the release of the first album in November, interviews, the lighting of Christmas lights in Oxford Street then off to China to sing at the same venue as Lionel Richie for the Miss World pageant before each went off to their respective homes for a quick Christmas holiday. January saw the release of the album in Norway and South Africa, then they had a few days before going back to Ireland to do some tweaking on the next batch of tracks.


They went to work in the studio, honing the tracks for the next album, working 12 hour days until their voices protested, living more or less like hermits in a roomy house that Steve had found for them, unable to even visit with their girlfriends since they had so little time off.

Late January, Steve, the manager assigned to them by Simon’s office, surprised them with a weekend off and the arrival of Geraldine and Celeste, poor David and Sebastien in between girlfriends at the moment so they didn’t get visitors…though Seb seemed quite happy with the Irish receptionist that cheerfully accompanied him to the neighborhood pub most free nights. David was still smarting from the break up with his long time girlfriend and preferred to while his hours away in the company of his Play-Station characters.

At first Urs was over-joyed to see Celeste and wrapped her up in his arms, indulging in a kiss that should have shook them both to their core…but it didn’t and he knew that she could feel the lack of real passion as she drew back and wouldn’t meet his eyes. Somehow they limped through the weekend, dinner out, dancing that he actually forced himself to participate in, a tenderness when they were alone that should have, would have in the past, led to love making…neither had the heart for it and the first night she claimed tiredness and rolled away from him in the comfy bed, feigning sleep since she wasn’t prepared to yet talk about the distance between them.

When they arrived back at Urs’ room the second night, leaving the others still at the restaurant, it was as if they were strangers, involved in an awkward dance, each unwilling to be the first to speak of the problem but both knowing that their relationship was over.

Urs was leaning back on the sofa in the lounge, his long legs stretched out in front of his tense body, his head on the back rest when Celeste came out of the bedroom, still dressed, in fact she had changed into a smart pant suit and held her carry-on bag in one hand.

He sat up and stared at her and noticed that she had been crying, stood to go to her but she held her hand out to stop him, smiling sadly.

“I think I knew when we talked the last few times but I had to come and see you to be sure. You’ve changed, Urs, and I wasn’t able to keep up with you. I’m still the same girl from a small in-house orchestra, out of place in the world you are rapidly climbing into. It isn’t your fault, or mine… it just happened and I will always treasure the time we spent together. You are a very special man…. I wish you nothing but success and more importantly, happiness. I’m leaving now…I called for a taxi from the bedroom.”

She hugged her carry-on and met his eyes, almost undone by the sadness she saw there.

“If sometime in the future, you find that you are able to be my friend, I would love to hear from you, perhaps have a drink when you pass through Paris.”

“Celeste…I never meant for this to happen…”

“I know, Urs, but our lives have evolved in two different directions, not through planning, just life. All I ask is that you let me go quietly so we can both find happiness again.”

He walked behind her to the door of the suite, placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned over to kiss her cheek lightly just before she exited the suite. She turned in the doorway and caressed her hand down his cheek, tucked his usual errant strand of hair behind his ear and smiled.

“Be happy, my friend,” she said and was gone.

It was a difficult night for Urs after Celeste left. He knew she was upset but right ….. they had no spark left ….had he changed so much, was she right about that too? Was it because of the music he was involved with now or something more sinister? Had the secret life he occasionally had to live spilled over into his psyche in such a manner that he had changed to someone who couldn’t feel, couldn’t return love?

Three times, that he knew of, he had been involved in ending the life of someone, vile people who deserved to die, perhaps not at his hands but deserved it none-the-less. Each time had sickened him, literally… he hadn’t slept without nightmares after, couldn’t eat and keep the food down, punished his body with work-outs beyond his limits and gradually learned to live with the knowledge of what he had done, choosing to think instead of the hurt that he had saved his sister and nephew, perhaps even other unsuspecting innocents.

He thought about what Simon had disclosed to him, of the request Simon had made for him to be open, to let him and his organization help. He thought about Maggie, about her involvement and acceptance of the work she did, other than what she loved at the school. It didn’t seem real that someone like her could be involved in anything underhanded or evil.

Finally he gave up trying to sleep and went out into the darkness, walking until he couldn’t drag one foot after the other, returned to the house and his room long after the others had returned and gone to bed, and he slept, dreamless, for the few hours until his morning wakeup call.

**

During the bands absence from London Maggie had received sporadic e.mails from Seb and David, once even from Carlos, chatty little notes about their work, the weather, the sights they had barely had time to see, questions about the school and what work had been accomplished. She was surprised to never receive any word from Urs, thought they had developed a tentative friendship and was disappointed, though she kept reminding herself that he seemed to be phobic about computers.

So it was with some surprise that a few days before they were due back Millie announced that she had mail from Urs.

She asked Millie to read it to her and chuckled at the friendly tone of the note.

‘Hi Maggie: I will bet you are surprised to hear from me. Seb assures me this is very easy…. I’m usually lucky to be able to read my mail, never mind sending it.

I do hope you have lots of little carpentry jobs lined up since we have been promised two full weeks off and you know how I detest being idle for long. Of course that two weeks comes with strings, namely a couple of interviews and one charity event that we have been asked to attend. Before I go any further I need to clear the air.

Celeste and I have mutually agreed that our relationship is over. We have both known it for some time and she had the wisdom to end it, gently, without any scenes from either of us, though I did agree.

So I find myself in need of pleasant company for the charity event, the Princes Ball and hope that you will take pity on me and do me the honor of being my date for the evening. I will even promise to dance with you {the slow ones}, though you may live to regret that decision.

We both know there is something unfinished between us, something that I hope you are willing to explore. You haunt my mind during the day and my dreams at night. Take a chance on me, Maggie… let’s find out how deep this attraction we have goes, if it is a reality we can build on or merely a unique fantasy with little future.

Urs”

There was silence in the office when Millie finished reading, for once the cheeky computer having no comment to make.

Maggie reached for her mobile and keyed in the first number on her automatic dialer, almost immediately answered on the other end by Simon’s brusque voice.

“Simon, about the Prince’s Ball…. You’ll have to find another date. I’ve got a better offer.”

“You sound giddy, girl…are you alright? And what better offer?”

“I’m going with Urs.”

On the other end of the line she heard him groan.

“I knew it. I knew if you met him that sparks would fly. It isn’t a good idea, Maggie. He’s still in danger, still could be asked to do something that would be out of our control. I don’t suppose it would do any good for me to forbid you to get involved with him?”

“Not a bit…and don’t you take it on yourself to warn him off. You might try to remember what a nasty temper I have when I don’t get what I want.”

He sighed and she knew she had won this round.

After they disconnected she sent a quick reply back to Urs, hoping that he would know how to open it.

“Hi Urs: Surprise is right. More like stunned to actually hear from you.

Yes there are a number of little jobs you can do around the school, the most important of which is lending your expertise to a young vocalist that has recently come to us. She has an incredible mezzo voice, a four octave range even without formal training. I would like your advice on how to proceed with her training.

As for the Prince’s Ball …I would be more than happy to attend with you. I too would enjoy your company and the prospect of developing our friendship. While you have been away I have thought of you often, curbing myself to limit my thoughts since you were at that time involved. I do not know what Fate has in store for us, but I am eager to find out. The brief time we spent together before your Dublin trip was not enough…I long for the elusive scent of you near me, the gentle feeling of your hands on my shoulders, the fire you create in me when your lips touch mine.

Hurry back

Maggie”

She had Millie read it back and nearly had the last line deleted as being too bold, but decided that honesty was best. He needed to know exactly what he was getting in to….she sent the e.mail.

**

Urs couldn’t remember ever being so anxious to receive a reply to a message he had sent but he didn’t have long to wait. He read her short note, smiling at the acceptance of his offer to attend to any jobs around the place and grinning when she said that she would be his date. He shifted himself in the computer chair, trying for a more comfortable position when he read the last few lines, his active imagination having conjured up all sorts of erotic thoughts related to her message.

So she did feel the same way as he did. The mere thought of it infused his body with longing and he grinned, punching his fist in the air, overcome with an unreasonable joy.

He was still smiling when they left for the studio but in control now, refusing to share his news with his brothers…not yet. He wanted to cherish the possibilities privately for a while, then perhaps….

**

It was a dismal day when they landed back in London, tired, a little scruffy since they didn’t expect to be recognized by anyone and had all chosen to catch a few extra minutes of sleep rather than shaving.

The people carrier was waiting when they finally got through customs and exited the terminal and they all sat in silence, planning their days off around the few interviews and the charity event.

This was the lull before the intense storm, they had been warned, knew more or less what to expect, and were anticipating it with equal amounts of dread and anticipation. This was the telling moment that could make or break what they were trying to do. The first album had been a resounding success…had it been a one shot wonder, a fluke? If the second album was not received well it would be even harder to make the third one successful, if they made it at all. The mood in the vehicle was somber, self doubts heavy in the atmosphere until David began telling corny jokes and relieved the tension.

“We must think positive,” Urs reminded them all and was agreed with.

“It is not so easy, mon ami,” Seb commented but smiled.

“The GMTV show next week should give us an idea of how what we’ve done will be received…. If it’s anything like last time we should know within hours.” David said to no one in particular.

“Then let us wait until after the show to worry. Geraldine is coming tomorrow for the two weeks and I will not have the dumb and glum while she is here.” Carlos said and raised his brows at the laughter from Urs and David.

“It’s doom and gloom, Carlito… there’s nothing you can do about being dumb.” David ducked as he corrected the often faulty English and Carlos realized what he had said.

“Well I intend to keep busy. I got an e.mail from Maggie and she has some work at the school for me…. And she’s going to the Ball with me,” Urs said smugly and looked around happily at the stunned silence from the others.

“You e.mailed her? And didn’t mess it up? And asked her out? So that’s why Celeste left early…. You’ve broken up with her and didn’t tell us.” David was as usual not stunned speechless for long.

Urs was famous among them for being private but this was news they felt he should have mentioned.

He looked at them with a grin.

“Yes to all three questions… and guys…I got to her first so Hands
Off!!!.”

David laughed at him.

“Like we had a chance… it was obvious right from that night back stage which one of us she preferred.”

Urs leaned back in the seat, smiling smugly and ignoring the comments made by the others.

There was an envelope under each flat door when they arrived at the building and each singer read it and laughed, then went searching for the others, all ending at Seb’s.

“Welcome Back!! There won’t be any food in your flats so rather than have you all perish from starvation, you are invited to the School for dinner. It’s burger night. Come anytime.

Maggie and tribe.”

It was early but they decided to go anyway, putting off unpacking until later.

The invite was welcome, a nice change from the take out they had endured over the past weeks, pizza having lost it’s appeal after the third time in a week.

It was quiet at the house, the older kids not yet home from school, the few really little ones napping. They wandered through looking for Maggie…the light was on over the door to the office indicating she was on the premises but they couldn’t hear her anywhere. Urs saw Joan on the upper landing and waved when she smiled at him and indicated that Maggie was outside. He went out to the back yard, thinking it was too cold now for her to be out there but just as he was turning to go back in, he heard screams and laughter coming from the garage under the small apartment.

He raced to the door, threw it open and leaned against the jamb, laughing.

Maggie and Jessie were both in an old round laundry tub, both covered with soap suds, the dog making matters worse by wagging her tail and dancing around on top of Maggie’s drenched body as she leaned back on her bottom in the tub, roaring with laughter and trying to fend off the happy licks from her friend, the only part of her not under the dog or in the tub, the lower half of one leg and from her neck upwards.

He walked closer, not too close and she must have heard him for she stopped and grabbed Jessie by the head, looking towards him and blowing a large cloud of bubbles away from her mouth as she spoke.

“Don’t just stand there laughing…rescue me!!!”

“No way am I getting near that tub, lady….. what kind of strange game are you two playing?”

She struggled to get up, got both legs and arms over the edge and tried to lever herself up as Jessie leapt from the tub, stood still and then shook vigorously sending blobs of foam and water everywhere, including all over Urs.

“I was…trying to give her a bath. She rolled in…. something smelly in the park. Urs, my shoes are too slippery, give me a hand.” She held her hand up and he relented, grasping it firmly and tugging.

She was soaked, her jeans and thin blue tee shirt molded to her body, the fact that she hadn’t worn a bra for this messy job, evident. He swept the foam from her face, pulling her into his arms, unconscious of the transfer of bubbles and water to his own clothing, just aware of the warm, soft feeling of her in his arms, against his body.

“Welcome home,” she said and tilted her face up to him.

The invitation was too much and he bent to touch his lips to her wet face, teasing the corner of her lips, sweeping across the soft, plump texture as she opened her mouth to greet him, plunging inside to taste her, their lips locked but moving in a kiss that sent shafts of fire burning throughout their fused bodies.

It was a few minutes before they parted, then only because Jessie tried to work her way between them.

“I’ve missed you,” he said when he held her back from his throbbing body and brushed some of the tangled hair back over her shoulders.

“It seemed such a long time… I’m glad you’re back. And now I’ve got you all wet…. Nice welcome.”

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her again.

“The best welcome home I’ve ever had. It feels incredible to have you in my arms…” he looked down at her huge eyes…. “ and you taste like peaches…and soap.”

He kissed her lightly, not daring to indulge in another passionate kiss until his body calmed a bit.

“We better rinse the soap off our four footed friend here and get you into something dry. I think I still have some work clothes here that I can put on.”

She told him where the hose was and he hooked it to the tap, adjusting the water temperature to warm and proceeded to rinse Jessie off, getting his hands, arms and face thoroughly licked each time he bent over the happy dog.

Maggie dumped what was left in the tub into the floor drain and brought over old towels to rub Jessie partly dry then turned her loose in the yard to run around before going inside. A few minutes out in the cold was all they could stand and Urs called Jessie to them so they could all go in.

They chatted about the work in Dublin and about the progress some of the children had made while he was away while they made their way through the house to the office.

Urs’ work clothing was on a shelf in the office and he slipped off his boots while Maggie went into the bathroom for a quick shower to rinse off the foamy soap. He had just finished changing to his other clothing when he noticed that Jessie had pushed the bathroom door open a bit and he could see Maggie in the shower, partly obscured by the pattern of fish on the clear curtain.

He wanted to look away, but couldn’t, her naked form so perfect, so sensuous that he was riveted to the spot. She turned to let the spray rinse her hair, tilting her head back, exposing the column of her neck, making him ache to touch it with his mouth, to bite gently and suck her flesh until he left his mark, a Do Not Trespass sign that would claim her as his alone. She turned the water off and pulled the curtain back, stepping from the tub and reaching for a towel to pat her skin dry, wrapping another around her hair.

Urs took a few quiet steps away, wrenching his gaze from the sight of her, adjusting himself a bit now that his jeans had suddenly become far too constricting. He turned his back to the bathroom door and studied the books in the bookcase, the vision of her still clearly imprinted on his mind as he looked blindly at the titles of the books.

She was an innocent….he had to go slowly with her…. He knew this but his traitorous body didn’t care. He wanted desperately to make love with her, but wouldn’t, not now, not when he wouldn’t be able to keep in control.

She came back out of the bathroom, dressed, including a bra he saw, her hair still damp and beginning to curl wildly as it dried.

“Did the others not come?”

He moved closer to her and brushed her hair back from her face.

“They’re around somewhere…probably the Kitchen getting samples of cookies.”

“And you aren’t down there getting double your share? I’m impressed.”

He hugged her and rested his stubbled face against her neck.

“I was looking for something sweeter…you. You taste better than cookies any day.”

She giggled and shivered.

“Is this a new look or were you just too lazy to shave?”

She ran her hand over his jawline, feeling the two day growth of beard.

“This is just to give you a whisker burn,” he teased and pulled her tee shirt up, lowering his face to her exposed tummy and gently rubbing his chin and cheek across her skin while she struggled and laughed.

He let her go and placed her hand to his mouth, kissing the palm before tugging her toward the door.

“Come on, before we get caught….. and while I can still stop.”

He glanced down at her as they went out of the office and the door locked behind them, saw that she was blushing and smiled. How young and innocent it made her look, all rosy cheeked and blushing furiously as she flipped on the light above the door. She might be fully aware of the evil in the world but when it came to romance she was definitely a novice.

Urs took her hand again, the way she preferred when being guided somewhere and they went down the stairs to the Kitchen.

CHAPTER SEVEN…..TEASING

Dinner was very casual with mounds of burgers made on the indoor grill built into the wall beside the Aga and twice baked potatoes, split and fairly oozing with cheese, on platters beside the fresh salads and condiments for the burgers. Of course there were also desserts, cut up fresh fruit salad drizzled lightly with balsamic vinegar for the health conscious, pies and an assortment of cookies to assuage the ravenous sweets cravings of most of those present.

Everyone wandered off after a leisurely meal, some for their allotted TV time with Joan and Brian, some for homework, a few to become involved in board game competitions, leaving the other adults to chat.

Cookie shooed them out of the Kitchen while she finished cleaning up so the Divos and Maggie adjourned to the spacious conservatory one floor up and sprawled in the deep lounge chairs, too sated from dinner to do anything requiring movement.

The air was heady with the scent of damp earth and the oxygen supplied by the luxuriantly growing plant life, the soft scent of a few flowering orchid plants lending an exotic atmosphere to the pleasant space.

“When I have my own house I want a room just like this,” David murmured as he leaned back in one of the thickly padded rattan chairs and breathed deeply.

Maggie laughed and moved carefully through the space, not wanting to trip over extended legs but eager to reach her favorite seat, a large hanging hammock chair that seemed to be floating, unfettered, though in reality the heavy chain was hidden in the curving branches of the very large, scented, drooping fronds of Angelica Arcangelica. She reached it without colliding with anyone only to feel hands grasp her waist and turn her, pulling backwards until she was parked on a very comfortable, warm lap…Urs had beat her to the chair.

She smiled and swung her legs up over his thigh, leaning back against the side netting of the hammock while he began to gently rock them back and forth with easy movements of his feet on the tile floor.

“So, my handy-man friend, tell me about your schedule so I know when to expect to get some of the jobs done around here.”

He chuckled.

“Already with the bill for that excellent dinner… you can’t know how nice it is to have real home cooking for a change. Okay…we have 3 days including today, then the Ball, then nothing for a whole week then we have an interview, the GMTV show and an interview the day after. Sometime on the off days I want to go for a bike ride…it seems like forever since I was out on my Harley.”

“I’ve never been on a motor bike…will you give me a ride sometime?”

“Be careful what you ask for, Maggie,” David said from the depths of his rattan chair where he had parked with his head on the back rest, eyes closed, doing his imitation of a sleeping giant. “His bike only has one speed…FAST!!”

“I see no point in crawling as slowly as some people can run,” Urs shot back and David snorted a laugh but didn’t rise to the bait.

“So what ‘jobs’ do you have lined up for me?” he asked resting his head against the netting, very content with his life at the moment, one hand on Maggie’s wrist, her pulse beating a counterpoint to his, the warmth of her bottom and thighs seeping into his skin.

“Well, Cookie says one of the shelves in the pantry is ‘wonky’, there are some loose tiles in the floor of the boys bathroom…Colin tripped over one and hit his head on the sink a few days past… the stair railing to the apartment over the garage is loose and Mrs. Fergus, the lady who runs the Flower Shoppe three doors down tells me that the door to her lav keeps sticking…she’s afraid of getting locked in one day and not being strong enough to get back out without being rescued by a customer.”

He chuckled again. “Well I don’t mind rescuing Mrs. Fergus from her lav but why did you offer my services? I don’t even know the lady.”

He could hear the smile in her voice without opening his eyes to look at her.

“May Fergus is a tenant…the School owns all the buildings in this block, all really good tenants who have been here for ages. They’ve become friends over the years and we try to keep them happy…. Which includes making sure they don’t get locked in the lavs.”

“You are just full of surprises aren’t you? Alright… tomorrow I will see to the sticking door and the…. what did you call it…’wonky’ shelf…what does that mean exactly?”

She laughed outright this time and he felt the vibrations of it through his chest where her side rested against him.

“Off kilter, loose, ready to fall down….wonky,” she said.

“…and the tiles in the boys’ lav. Then the next morning I’ll take you for a ride, if it isn’t raining. How about if we go south to the coast, make a day of it?”

“OH yes, Please!! I can leave Jessie here at the School.”

Loud snores came from the chair where Carlos had reclined and they giggled as Seb reached one leg over and kicked him, causing Carlos to snort and half wake then go immediately back to sleep…this time with only gentle sounds coming from him.

They each drifted off to a dream like state for a while, content with the closeness and the touch of hands on bare arms and hands caressing fingers and palms gently. Maggie snuggled closer, turning a bit so her head rested on Urs shoulder, her breath feather light on his neck and the curvy swell of her upper body pressing against his toned chest.

They were still nested together gently when the others started to rouse and talk, drew apart a bit and joined in the conversation. Almost as one they decided on an early night to unpack and catch up on the sleep that their grueling recording schedule had robbed them of.

Maggie still had some office work to do so she saw them to the door and waved as they left, a little disappointed that there had been no good bye kiss from Urs, until the door opened and he came back.

“Forgot my jacket…” he said and she could hear the grin in his voice as he pulled his jacket from the hall rack.

“Accidentally?” she asked.

“On purpose,” he admitted as his arms went around her and she placed her hands on his chest.

He bent his head to claim her mouth, gently probing her lips with his tongue, asking for entry to her sweetness, eagerly delving into the depths when she moaned and opened to him. Her hands slid up, into his hair, tangling in the curls, brushing against his facial stubble, tracing his jawline, cupping his face to hold his mouth against hers, her body molding itself against his from toes to mouth, creating a shared yearning that they knew could not now be satisfied, but must be…and soon.

Urs drew away from her, his breathing ragged and heart racing, his jeans uncomfortably tight again.

Her eyes were still closed when he looked down at her sweet face and she whispered huskily… “More…I want more!”

He groaned and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

“Not yet, my little Liebeling. Sweet dreams.”

He kissed the side of her neck and was gone, the door closing softly behind him.

**

Maggie was surprised to hear her mobile ringing early the next morning as she was tying her trainers to go for her morning jog. She answered quickly, fearing that it was work though it would be unusual to be contacted this way. Instead it was Urs.

“Good morning…are you jogging this morning?”

She laughed thinking he must be psychic.

“Was just about to leave….. How did you know?”

He laughed and his laughter made her smile.

“Well actually, I’m downstairs, out front. I saw the lights on so I knew there must be movement in the suite. Do you want company other than Jessie?”

“Wait for me…I’ll be right down.”

The day was grey and overcast, damp but suddenly seemed brighter. He waited on the sidewalk, dressed in a black track suit and grey tank top, doing gentle stretches against a low cement block wall until she came out of the large glass doors with Jessie on a long lead.

“You look like an exotic green orchid,” he remarked as he approached her, taking her hand and leaning in to grab a quick kiss.

“Is it the green track suit? I just grabbed the first one in the pile, didn’t check the label.”

“Leaf green with white and silver piping… do you have them marked somehow?”

She was stretching her muscles lightly and smiled at him when she stood straight again.

“Braille symbols for colors inside the labels… Heidi does them for anything new I get. She’s very good at organizing my things for me… each dress has a plastic bag with the appropriate lingerie attached to the hanger and we have this little machine that affixes Braille dots to the labels. Otherwise I might end up wearing some very strange combinations. You ready?”

“Yes…you lead and I’ll follow…How far do you usually go?”

“Today is Tuesday so I usually do 10 miles, that’s twice around the route….Okay?”

“Perfect,”

They started off easily, their pace fluid and graceful, quickly building up body heat until both removed their jackets and tied them around their waists. Urs had adjusted his stride a bit to match her shorter one, both chatting easily, somehow the conversation centering on food for the first few miles as they discussed likes and dislikes.

Today Maggie had her mobile clipped to her waistband and a head set around her neck, the mike taped to her cheek, much as referees did. Once during the first lap of the route she answered a call, limiting herself at first to terse answers.

“Ceol.”

“Yes.”

“Check with Grumpy.”

“Fine…keep me informed.”

She disconnected, not offering an explanation and seemed to be thinking for a moment, then clearly put all thoughts of the conversation to one side as they continued on their run.

“I can’t get used to you working with….I don’t even know what to call them…Agents? Assassins? Spies?”

She smiled at his discomfort.

“Agents will do. Not everyone who works for CASPAR does wet work, though most will when necessary. Part of our goal is to prevent things from getting to the point where such things are unavoidable. My parents worked for the organization for years and never had to resort to a termination. Unfortunately it was exactly that unwise hesitation that killed them.”

Urs couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t sound trite so was very happy when she changed the subject….for a brief moment.

“Why won’t you make love with me?”

The question hit him so out of left field that he stumbled over his own feet and would have fallen but for his innate athleticism. He did however, stop in his tracks while she jogged on, either oblivious or intentionally, he didn’t know, but at least it gave him a moment to think of a reply while he sprinted to catch up.

“I…uh…I don’t want to rush you. It definitely isn’t because I don’t want to… kissing you makes me crazy with need…. But …Maggie shouldn’t you be talking about this with someone else?”

She turned her head to smile at him.

“Who would you suggest? I don’t have any close female friends except Petra and Geena and both are away on assignments…just staff that I have a rather superficial relationship with and I can’t see myself asking advice of the other guys …. And I think Simon would be inclined to shoot you if I asked him.”

“It’s just… Maggie, I’m not even sure how much you know.”

She laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound.

“Books…books my friend Geena and I snuck out of the school library from the nurses office, a million years ago….. and some stuff that Millie looked up on line for me last week…..and some things I overheard in the Ladies one day at Sony… So I guess my education is rather limited.”

They rounded a corner on the pathway and overtook a couple of laboring but determined joggers, put off their conversation until they were out of voice range.

“Maggie…Liebe… I care about you. There can only be one first time and it should be very special. You have to be sure.”

She reeled Jessie in a bit and smiled at him again, looking away before she answered, again being blunt, a trait he found endearing though a bit of a surprise at the moment.

“I am sure, Urs. I’m sure that I want the first time to be with you… and if it doesn’t happen soon I’m going to die from wanting you.”

She gave Jessie the command to sprint and took off, racing swiftly up the next gentle hill, knowing that her confession was going to make her cry and not wanting him to see her tears.

His longer legs made short work of the distance between them and as he drew abreast of her again he noticed the quick swipe she made across her cheeks and groaned silently. He had never meant to hurt her. His reserve had been based on caring, not lack of desire.

Urs reached across the space between them and grasped her arm, set his feet and pulled her back against him, calling out to Jessie to stop. With quick steps he dragged Maggie off the trail, easily though she struggled to get free, dropping the leash and swinging Maggie in behind some dense shrubbery to hold her body tight against his, his mouth devouring hers in a kiss that left her breathless, all the struggle tamed by emotion.

“I know what you feel,” he murmured against her neck when he ended the kiss and she clung to him, weak from the passion he had aroused, his body against hers betraying him and telling her how eager he was.

“I feel it too and if I could let my self I could take you, here, now, quickly, without a care for what you felt or what memories you would have later, without considering the fear I feel in you, see in your eyes, But it isn’t enough for me to find release and to just ‘be the first’. I want the first time and every time to be wonderful for both of us. I want to make love with you, mein Liebe, long, tender love that means something to both of us, not a quick coupling just to find relief for myself. The night of the Ball, let me stay with you, let me love you as you should be loved, slowly, through the night, again and again until the dawn.”

She was trembling as he held her but looked up and reached her hand to touch his face, ‘seeing’ through her fingers his soft, sweet smile as he brushed tears from her face.

“I love you, Maggie, more than I’ve ever loved another being in my life. Every day what I feel for you grows until it nearly consumes me.”

He turned his head and kissed her fingers gently as a smile flashed over her face.

“Thank God!! It could have been awkward if I was the only one in love. Two days…alright, I can wait two days but it will mean more cold showers.”

He laughed and hugged her.

Jessie came back to find out why the run had been interrupted and they went back to the trail, the air cleared, a sense of anticipation making both of them smile.

CHAPTER EIGHT….CAMILLE


They separated to go for showers and change, had decided to go to the school for breakfast and Urs waited out front of her building for her to join him for the walk to the school.

He smiled as he thought of their jog, of the blunt way she had asked why he wouldn’t make love with her. It had been then that he admitted to himself that he was really, deeply in love with this unusual woman, that the feelings he had for her were immensely stronger than any he had ever felt before during a relationship or the frequent liaisons he had had….. there had been more than his share. He had always been a considerate lover, enjoying the foreplay and the skill of bringing his partner pleasure almost as much as the release that he ultimately gained.

Then he moved to Amsterdam and was awakened as he had never dreamed could happen. Sex was almost an art form among some of the more dedicated workers in the trade and he became an eager and attentive student. Perhaps because of this, he was not willing to let Maggie settle for a quick and impersonal romp. He would see to it that their night together after the Ball was one neither would soon forget.

She came out of the building with Jessie loose in front of her, smiling as she neared him and caught a scent of his Bulgari. His heart leapt at the sight of her, her lustrous hair damp and curling, trying to escape the scarf she had loosely tied it back with, her pale skin glowing from the recent scrubbing, the body that he longed to caress, dressed simply in jeans, a bright red tee shirt and a denim jacket that showed years of loving use and care.

“We’re a matched set,” he laughed and told her that he had chosen a red tee as well, his emblazoned with the Harley crest.

She laughed and he put his arm around her shoulders to hug her, thinking how much he wanted to make her happy so he could listen to her laughter for the rest of his life.

“I’ve let Jessie run free…I hope you don’t mind being my guide?”

“My pleasure, Liebe. I’ll take care of you.”

He almost didn’t hear her soft response but when he realized what she had said, it thrilled him.

“I’m counting on it.”

He doubted she meant the short walk to the school.

They strolled along amiably, quiet some of the time, just enjoying being together, talking about the upcoming show at other times and about the track they would be performing for the show.

“I heard it in Simon’s office last week. It’s brilliant!! Your voices blend so beautifully and I love the way each of you takes a part of the melody in turn and then the big operatic finale. This is a fantastic career move for all of you. I can just feel it.”

“From your mouth to God’s ear! I certainly hope it will be a success. We’ve put so much of our selves into it.”

They stopped at the Flower Shoppe on the way so Urs could meet Mrs. Fergus and get an idea of what was the matter with the door. She was a sweet, but talkative middle aged woman, tall and slender, her graying hair done in a short bob, very little makeup on her porcelain skin.

She blushed prettily when Maggie introduced them and showed him the offending door then left him to attend to a customer. He tried it and understood immediately. The building was old and had settled a bit causing the door to be misaligned. He would take it off, reposition the hinges slightly, perhaps sand the door a bit to make it fit properly and re-hang it…half an hour of work, at the most.

He came back out into the shop to find Maggie and her friend talking quietly while an elderly woman browsed through the table of tiny starter plants.

He promised to be back in an hour if that was convenient and they went on to the School.

The children were in the process of leaving for school, nearly running them down as they approached the door.

Maggie laughed as Urs pulled her to one side and held her protectively while the hordes raced by laughing and calling out various greetings.

“Why is it when young people go somewhere it has to be at full speed? They never seem to just walk anywhere.”

“Right…and you’re such an old lady that you can’t remember how it was when you were that age.”

“Hmmm…I guess you’re right….we spent a great deal of our time on Simon’s estate or at our own farm in Ireland and I ran free, lived in jeans, barefoot for the summers, riding bareback and climbing trees. I had the most amazing tree house with rope bridges that went from one tree to the other. Mama used to despair of ever turning me into a real girl.”

“She would be proud of the way you’ve turned out.”

“Thank you, Urs…that’s a lovely thing to say.”

They went inside, shut the door and before she could escape he pinned her to the door and lowered his mouth to hers, almost touching her lips.

“Trust me…you’ve turned into a real girl…guys don’t do a thing for me.”

She nearly melted into the door with the passion of his kiss, clutching his shirt with white knuckled fingers as he nipped her lower lip then caressed the stinging spot with his tongue, tasted the velvety walls and left her wanting more, brushing his hand lightly across the front of her tee shirt as he released her.

“Now what was that you said about breakfast?”

“About….?? OH food…yes…uh..”

He laughed and took her hand to lead her down the hall and stairs. By the time they reached the kitchen she had recovered her composure and Cookie was none the wiser about what had happened just above her head.

**

After breakfast Urs collected the tools he would need, donned his tool belt and went back to the Flower Shoppe. He tried to concentrate on the rather uninspiring task of re-aligning the door…it was a simple matter and he had other more important matters on his mind.

This would be a first for him as well, though he had often enough heard others, both men and women, speak of the ‘First Time’, some with scarcely hidden distaste, some with pleasant memories.

He felt like he had known Maggie forever yet in reality they had spent very little time together. There had been no long, lazy courtship, no opportunity for romance, no chance for her to become accustomed to the feeling of his hands on her body or the breathtaking feeling of skin against skin. He had two days to allay her fears, to stoke the desire he knew already flared whenever they kissed…. Two days for romance.

He smiled as he planed the door to make it fit better and re-hung it. It worked perfectly. He asked Mrs. Fergus to try it just to be sure and gathered up his tools while she gushed her thanks, was preparing to leave when he spotted a vase of long stemmed red roses in the cooler.

A small argument ensued when he tried to buy one perfect stem, Mrs. Fergus insisting that she wouldn’t accept payment but he persevered, saying it was a gift for someone and he would feel bad if he didn’t pay for it. She relented after one of his sweetest smiles, totally smitten by the charm that he wasn’t aware captivated every woman who saw it.

Back at the School he crept into the office behind Maggie and bent to kiss her neck, laying the softly scented rose across her hand and whispering ‘I love you!’ against her ear then quickly leaving to look at the ‘wonky’ shelf in the Kitchen.

Their paths crossed again and again throughout the day as he puttered, fixing everything she had mentioned plus some other things that would soon have needed attention. Each time, in the hall, again in the office, out in the yard, there would be a tender caress, a few words spoken, building a longing for more until Maggie thought she would explode.

By mid-afternoon he had finished and came to the office to request the use of her shower before changing to his street clothes.

Just the thought of him, naked, in her shower made Maggie blush furiously and she turned back to her paperwork as he chuckled and went into the adjoining room. She could hear him clearly, adjusting the temperature, pulling the curtain aside, then stepping under the spray and pulling the curtain closed again. He began singing, softly at first, then with more vigor, an aria she recognized from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde.

She sat quietly listening to his pure lyric tenor, all thoughts of working on the papers in front of her forgotten, caught in a thrall listening to this very private performance, the visuals in her mind pulsing with colors and patterns that left her dizzy as she forgot to breathe. All too soon it was over and the water shut off, the aria ebbing away to mere humming and a vision of speckled silvers and lavenders that slowly faded as he dried himself off.

She closed the file, knowing she would never be able to concentrate now and leaned back in the chair. Minutes later he came out of the Lav, padding across the room barefoot, she could tell by his footsteps and she turned to face where she knew he must be, keeping her hands glued to the arms of the chair…. was he dressed or just wearing a towel around his hips? She didn’t trust herself to find out.

A few drops of water fell on her clenched hands as Urs bent over her and his wet hair tickled her cheek.

“You finished for the day too?” he whispered against her ear, making her shiver.

Without any conscious thought of her own she couldn’t resist reaching her hand up timidly to touch him. Her hand felt the wet curly hair of his bare chest and she moaned, tried to withdraw but he captured her fingers and held them firmly against his sculpted chest, nibbling on her ear lobe, trailing his lips over the curve of her jaw to the corner of her mouth.

“What time is your new student home from school?”

The question was so unexpected she was at a complete loss for words for a moment.

He stood up straight and she thought she could hear a smile as he asked her again.

“The new girl with this amazing four octave range… when can I hear her?”

“OH…Camille…soon, around 4… Urs… please…”

“Good, then I better finish dressing.”

She heard his voice moving away from her, then muffled a bit as he drew his tee shirt on over his drying hair.

“Are you alright, Liebe? You look a little flushed…”

She laughed as she stood and took the few steps that separated them, sighing when his arms clasped around her waist and she touched his chest again, this time feeling the soft cotton of his tee shirt.

Her arms crept up around his neck and her fingers played in his damp, curling hair.

“Why are you teasing me?”

She felt his chuckle through her chest as he pulled her closer.

“I don’t want you to change your mind.” He raised his hand up to slide under her tee shirt, warm against her midriff, the tips of his fingers skimming lightly over the filled cup of her bra.

“And because I love to see your eyes glaze over with passion, like they are now.”

His other hand cupped her bottom and she moaned as he ground his hips against her, leaving no doubt as to his state. He found her mouth waiting for his and they kissed, tenderness forgotten as they devoured each other, tasting, stroking, dueling for space, lips swollen when they finally parted, trying to regain their senses and breathe.

It was a gentle knocking at the office door that brought them crashing back to reality. Maggie walked over to answer it after pulling her shirt back into place, while Urs went in the Lav, hoping to wait out the minutes he needed to get his body calm again.

“Maggie, Cookie said that the singer you wanted me to meet is here and I should come see you.”

She was a pretty little thing, about 14, slightly taller than Maggie but thinner, not yet fully developed. Her brown hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, her face devoid of makeup and clear of the acne that plagued so many teens or adults who indulged in too many sweets. She seemed a bit nervous and Maggie smiled at her, taking her hand and exiting the office.

“He’s just in the Lav cleaning up. He fixed some of the little problems we had, like the tiles in the boys’ bathroom. Urs…we’ll wait in the first classroom for you.”

She heard his muffled ‘Okay’ and smiled as she accompanied the young girl down the hall.

Camille was nervous, Maggie could see that at a glance and tried to put the girl at ease, telling her about the soaking she got from Jessie yesterday. They were both laughing heartily when Urs came in the classroom and crossed over to the piano where Maggie sat on the bench and Camille was leaning on the closed top laughing so hard tears were on her cheeks. He grinned as he neared them.

“That’s what I like to see…women so happy they’re speechless.”

“I was just telling Camille about washing Jessie yesterday.”

“By the time I fished her out of the tub, I was covered in foam as well…and of course Jessie had to shake and covered us even further…we both had to change when she was done.”

Camille looked at this laughing stranger…he didn’t look anything like she had expected. No suit, no gray hair or portly body as she envisioned opera singers, Pavarotti being her only yardstick… and he was fairly young, maybe just a bit older than Maggie. But it was the wildly curling long hair that really eased her fears. He looked more like …like a rocker, than some one who performed classical pieces for a living.

“Hi,” he said when he stopped laughing but kept a friendly smile on his chiseled face, a face she noticed that hadn’t seen a razor for a few days.

“I’m Urs, you must be Camille.”

She nodded and smiled, much more comfortable than she had been a few minutes before.

Maggie moved over on the piano bench and Urs sat beside her, noodling a bit on the keys and talking to Camille.

“Maggie tells me that you haven’t had any formal training except for choir in school. What do you like to sing?”

She named a bunch of different songs, some of them from movie musicals and Urs settled on one from Phantom of the Opera, thinking if he started a duet she might feel more comfortable.

The music for ‘That’s all I Ask of You’ filled the room as he sang the first verse and nodded at Camille when it was time for her entry, all while he accompanied them on the piano.

She came in right on cue, note perfect and he watched and listened intently, smiling at her when she turned to nervously meet his eyes. The second half was better as she grew accustomed to singing with him, enjoying herself now.

He went immediately into a solo track, Memories from Cats and she knew it, started without any encouraging and performed brilliantly.

They went from tracks to scales as he tried out her range, advised her how to change her breath control a little, gently coaching her, both unaware when Maggie moved to one of the easy chairs in the room, Jessie tucked up under her legs.

Urs stopped playing and leaned his long arms on the music rest, looking at Camille and smiling lightly.

“You have a truly remarkable instrument….. in your wildest dreams, what would you like to accomplish with it?”

She smiled shyly at him but answered immediately.

“I would like to bring music to the world that would make people happy when they are sad, calm them when they are angry, help them to see the good in others and bring love into dismal lives.”

He stared at her for a moment.

“That’s a pretty big job for such a little girl…. But you have the ability to do just that. It will not be easy. You must study hard and practice, practice, practice. If you will let me I would love to help you whenever I can…and Maggie will find you other teachers who will show you how to use this talent God has given you. Are you ready for the challenge?”

Camille nodded that yes she was ready and willing and burst into happy tears. They spent the next hour until dinner time talking about what they would do over the next few weeks and getting to know each other better.

Unlike Urs, Camille had come from a family that wasn’t supportive of her goals and considered music merely a pastime, not a serious career. The decision to allow her to come to the School had only been because there was no cost and it would ease the strain on the budget of their large family. One of the first things that she would have to adjust to was that her new family among the students considered Music in all it’s forms the ultimate goal in their lives and that she fit in beautifully.

Dinner time crept up on them unawares as they chatted and it seemed only a few minutes before they were swarmed by ‘starving’ children, all freshly scrubbed and jockeying for places at the large dining room tables.

Urs automatically stayed for dinner, shooing Camille off to join her new friends at another table where she spoke animatedly to the others about her session with the pro.

Maggie leaned over to place her hand on Urs’ arm.

“Thank you. You were very patient and kind to her. I could just throttle her parents for putting her skill down all her life. Building her confidence will be of utmost importance for a while.”

“I really would like to help while I can…we go away again the first part of January, probably off and on for a really busy 6 months or so but when I’m here I would really like to work with her. She has an amazing talent.”

Maggie smiled at him and nodded as the boys on Dining Hall duties this night took their plates away.

“Camille is from a small town outside of Cornwall and her music teacher sent me a tape of her singing. I was so intrigued that I had Peter drive me down there and listened in on one of their classes. I had an invitation sent through the teacher for Camille to come to London and audition but I knew that she would be offered a place, it was just a question of having it go through channels to allay the fears of the parents. She has 4 brothers and 5 sisters, all a year or less from each other and her Pa works in the local mill. Because she’s a girl she would never be of much use to stretch the family budget so they were happy to have her go…. And we were overjoyed to get her.”

He took her hand in both of his and squeezed.

“You get this fierce, protective look about you when you talk about the kids here in the School, like they were your own. I would hate to see what you would do to anyone who threatened them in any way.”

“Please God you will never have to see me lose my temper. I’m told it is not a pretty sight.” She laughed as he commented that he would be very careful.

CHAPTER NINE….THE RIDE

Maggie got a page from Millie just as they were about to have dessert and they both went to the office to see what the problem was. A child had been inadvertently locked inside a Panic Room and the maid who had locked the little boy in was in pure panic mode, the parents away and unreachable…could Ceol walk the local police expert through what was needed to release the locking mechanism and free the child before the maid had a stroke?

It didn’t take long, though working with the so called expert turned out to be much more difficult than working with Balin. Twenty minutes after answering the call the door was open and the little boy walked smiling out of the room, wearing a lot of the chocolate he had found in one of the boxes of provisions.

They wandered back to the kitchen just in time for Urs to rescue some of the chocolate cake that was being put in a container to go in the walk in cooler.

Cookie smiled indulgently at him as he took a child sized piece and added another two to his plate. He laughed and kissed her cheek, making her blush and joined Maggie at the counter where she was nursing a glass of milk.

Cookie put a glass of milk beside his plate and when he whined and said he really didn’t like 2% milk, she picked up his plateful of cake.

“Alright, alright…I’ll drink it.”

“You might as well….once you’re adopted by Cookie she has control of anything that goes in your stomach. I think she was a Drill Sergeant in a former life.”

Cookie laughed at Maggie and kept on with her clean up, assisted by the two boys on Kitchen Duty. In only minutes they were done, everything put away, counters and sinks clean, dishwashers loaded…they would be unloaded by the morning Duty before breakfast.

“Maggie, Luv, I’m going now…Joan and Brian are both home, with the kids. Are you still dropping Jessie off in the morning?”

“Yes, about 8. I’ve notified Millie and Simon that I will be out all day unless there is a Class One emergency and I’ll have my mobile with me.”

“Have a lovely day, then dear…. And you, young man…bring her back in one piece!”

“Yes Ma’am,” Urs replied with a grin and the smiling woman left them alone…alone for the first time in hours.

Urs lifted Maggie off the stool and onto his lap easily…. She looked so tiny but in reality was solid and sturdy…he was pleasantly surprised at how strong she was. She nestled against him with her head on his shoulder.

“I meant to ask you about leathers. It can be cold riding without proper protection. I have an extra helmet but you need thick pants, a leather jacket, boots and gloves.”

“How about cords with tights under them?…the rest I already have.”

“Perfect…for now. If you like riding we’ll get you proper leathers before we go out again. Are you ready to go home now?”

“Yes, I just have to let Jessie do the patrol and lock down.”

They grabbed coats and waited while Jessie circled the property, informed Millie that they were leaving and headed down the street towards Maggie’s building.

Once again Urs only went as far as the elevator doors, standing so that his body blocked the sensors and kept the doors open.

“Urs…”

“Not tonight, mein Liebe. Patience, Love…..”

She reached her arms around him nestling close, resting her face against his jacket.

“But….”

She felt his lips on the top of her head as he hushed her.

“Kiss me good night, Liebeling.”

She turned her face up to him and received a gentle, loving kiss, more tenderness than passion but so endearing that her toes curled inside her sneakers.

“You are so precious to me, my little Luv. Sleep well.”

“You too, my Swiss.”

He stepped back and the doors closed whisking her away.

He walked slowly back to the flats, happy with the day, looking forward to their day together tomorrow, trying not to think of the Ball and after but failing miserably.

In the hall outside his flat he saw David just leaving, going to the stairwell at the far end.

“Yank”

David spun around with a huge grin.

“Hey I just knocked and didn’t get an answer. Did you have dinner at Maggie’s?”

“Come in for a few minutes…” he said as he nodded and unlocked his door.

They flopped down on the sofa and one chair with fresh beers from the kitchen, Urs putting his feet up on the coffee table as he leaned back in the chair. He looked over at David and couldn’t stop grinning.

“I can tell by the look on your scruffy face that this is serious. If she didn’t throw you out once she felt that whiskered face then it must be love.”

“No woman has ever had this effect on me, not ever. When she leaves the room the air goes with her, when she comes back I hear music and I can breathe again. And when I touch her…even my hair tingles. I hardly know the woman and yet I feel as if I’ve known her all my life, as if she is the one thing that I’ve been searching for, forever. I love her, Davey, so much it hurts.”

David looked up at his friend and grinned.

“I would say that you have found your mate, my friend. I’m a firm believer that there is that one perfect mate for each of us and that we have to keep looking until we find her. Seems to me like you have. Just take it easy…I get the feeling that Maggie isn’t very… experienced.”

Urs looked at him with amazement.

“How did you know?”

David looked embarrassed for a moment and then confessed.

“Simon… he asked me if you were serious about a relationship with Maggie…I told him to ask you but he muttered something about asking that cherry picking s.o.b. and I put two and two together.”

Urs was angry for a moment then found it humorous and laughed.

“I’m not the one he has to worry about…. If Maggie had her way it would already have been done…I want it to be perfect. I’m going to stay over tomorrow night, after the Ball, then we’ll have all the time in the world to go slow, special, perfect for both of us.”

They talked for a while longer then David left, swearing that he would say nothing to anyone and Urs believed him….David tended to be like a tomb when it came to getting information…had it been Seb everyone in London would know by morning since he was incredibly easy to trick secrets out of….. not that he was consciously a blabber mouth but things did seem to leak with him.

Urs went about his usual routine and fell into bed, tired and happy, laying on his back thinking about Maggie, picturing her sweet face as she worked, as she listened to Camille singing, as she talked with the children, the last image as he fell to sleep, her eyes glazed with passion as she felt his hands on her body.

**

Urs was up early on the morning of their bike ride and the Ball, eager to get the day underway, looking forward to a whole day of Maggie’s company, a day when his plan of romancing her could continue, uninterrupted.

After his shower he carefully packed a small leather bag with a change of casual clothing, a magnum of very special Veuve Cliquot champagne he had been saving for a special occasion and a few other essentials, placing it by the entry door to be taken to Maggie’s. He sat at the table and wrote out a note to Heidi, Maggie’s assistant, who he knew would be coming to do some cooking for the freezer and to help her dress for the Ball, and another for Mrs. Fergus who would not yet be at work when he passed the Flower Shoppe.

By quarter to 8 he was ready and could put off the phone call he needed to make no longer.

To his surprise Chris was up and not at all miffed to receive such an early call. They chatted for a few minutes then Urs got to the point of his call.

“So do I get to meet this woman that you want to impress? She must be something special for you to go to all this trouble.”

Urs laughed at the eagerness in his old friend’s voice.

“She’s very special to me….yes you get to meet her…BRIEFLY…and keep your hands off!!! Thanks Chris. I appreciate it.”

He laughed as he disconnected, thinking of the many good times they had over the years…playing in Conspiracy, both getting bit by the biking bug but drifting apart when Chris married an English girl and moved to England to open a restaurant, getting together now and then for short bike trips when he could come to England or Chris and Mary came to Europe.

He hurried now, leaving the flat and dropping off his bag and the note for Heidi with security at Maggie’s building and climbing back on the Harley for the few blocks to the School. He stopped for a moment to slide the note under the Flower Shoppe door and arrived at the school right on time at 8:29.

Maggie was waiting in the hall, talking to Joan with a very excited Jessie doing circles around the two women, wagging her tail and lolling her tongue in a canine imitation of a grin.

“Good morning, Ladies…Great day for a ride,” he said as he entered and looked at Maggie with approval.

She had braided her hair in a long plait that hung down the back of her waist length leather jacket, wore snug black cords and Cuban heeled black leather boots, a pair of leather gloves in her hand and a smallish leather shoulder bag at her feet. Her smile was large and genuine, showing her pleasure at his arrival and the upcoming first ride on a motorbike and he couldn’t resist putting his arm around her shoulder and kissing her lightly.

“Good morning…. I meant to ask you if there is anything I need to bring with us…food or other gear?”

“No…I’ve got everything we need…except what if you get a call for work?…I never take my labtop with me.”

Maggie chuckled and unzipped one of the pockets of her small bag and pulled out a flat black unit just slightly larger than a passport. She flipped the cover open to reveal a mini laptop computer with a 4 inch screen and a tiny keyboard.

“Simon got this for me…it’s experimental, from Sony, won’t be on the market for a couple of years but of course he doesn’t like to wait for new gadgets. I’ve had it about 6 months and it works really well.”

With no more chatting they said good bye to Joan and Jessie and went out to the bike. Urs lifted her onto the seat, placed and adjusted her helmet and feet and slid on in front of her.

“Just snuggle up behind me and keep your feet on the bars where I put them, don’t go waving them around. And keep your hands on my waist. The trick is to let me do the piloting and don’t anticipate the leans, let your body go with mine. If you get scared or want to stop just pat my stomach…it will be too noisy to hear you.”

They headed out slowly, Urs purposely keeping the speed down until she got used to the feeling and too, the traffic in the inner city was heavy at this time of the morning. It wasn’t long, though, before they reached some of the less congested urban areas and he sped up, noticing with pleasure that she was a natural, molded tightly to his back, swaying with his body when they took the corners, holding his waist lightly. He came to a smooth stop at a red light and turned to look at her, her broad grin just visible behind the full face visor of her helmet.

“You Okay?”

Her hand loosened for a moment and she gave him a thumbs up. He laughed and turned back, roaring off as the light changed and soon they left the city behind.

She loved riding on the bike, loved the feeling of freedom of defying gravity and flying down the road. This was turning out to be one of the very best days of her life, snuggled up tight against the man she loved, experiencing life for a change instead of living vicariously through the adventures of people she knew. And tonight she would truly become a woman in every sense of the word, his woman.

She was apprehensive, thinking about the conversation she had heard in the Ladies, confused when she thought of the feelings that Urs’ hands on her created, the burning desire that she felt when they kissed. Would it be as terrible, as painful as they had said? Would the whole thing last only a few unsatisfying minutes, or had they merely had partners who only wanted to be first or …..she put the jumbled thoughts out of her mind and decided to go with her instincts, to trust Urs. He had said he would take care of her…she had to trust that he would.

Before she left home this morning she had called Heidi and asked her to make sure the sheets on her big bed were the new set from the linen cupboard and asked her to be sure there were clean and fluffy towels in the shower area, casually mentioning that she would be having an over night guest. There had been a slight pause on Heidi’s end of the conversation, then a cheerful comment… “It’s about bloody time girl!!”

She blushed now as she thought of it and rested her helmet against Urs’ back,

They were heading South, at first using one of the many motorways, but after half an hour Urs turned off onto a secondary road, this one narrowing quickly to two lanes.

Maggie could smell the difference …no more fumes from the densely packed and speeding vehicles, none of the city pollution. She caught the occasional whiff of gardens, of fresh turned earth and several times of sawn lumber, the odd scent of peat or wood fires. The air was cool where it seeped in under her helmet but not uncomfortable, just clean and fresh and the sense of speed increased as he opened the powerful machine up.

This was what Urs had been craving…the sense of freedom, the feeling of almost being able to fly, to defy the laws of physics as he hurtled down the highway, the scent of the outdoors, of Nature, interspersed infrequently by small hamlets, little pockets of so called civilization.