Maeva woke up still enveloped in her dream; it brought back a memory she thought gone from her crystalline memory. There were at her Northern house. It was raining outside. Sky got up from his regular seat and extended his hand to her. She has put some music on, and he knew the one starting. It sounded celtic. He was so tall and overwhelmingly handsome that night. He wore a Shetland wool sweater in grayish blue with tightly worn jeans. His hair was in unruly curls from being wet. She took his hand and got up to join him. He took her hand and put it on his heart, took the other hand and, extending his arm, led her to dance slowly across the tiny space of her living room. She laid her head on his chest and let herself be led be the music and by this big handsome creature. She didn’t want to wake up. She just wanted to bathe in this feeling forever. She did so until her state of alertness reminded her that life was waiting for her.

 

She went to the kitchen to her daughter, greeting Yvonne, kissed and hugged Neve who giggled her way through the kisses. Her coffee was waiting for her. She talked to Yvonne about hiring a new hand for the domain.

 

“Mrs. Maeva, you need to speak to Victor about this. I know nothing about the domain.”, she said surprised by the conversation.

 

“Well, you are part of this team. You have an opinion, right?”, asked Maeva.

 

“My opinion would lay upon Victor’s advice.”, Yvonne insisted.

 

“OK. Would he fancy a cup of tea? Or Coffee, right now? Ask him,”, said Maeva.

 

Victor showed up after about fifteen minutes.

 

“So, you needed an old man, this morning, Mrs. Hawthorne.”, he sat down at the table after blowing a kiss to Neve who gave him a huge smile.

 

“Yvonne and I were talking, and she told me she would not be able to give me her opinion without talking to you. As I also wanted to talk to you, here you are. But it would be nice for you to join us any time for breakfast, OK?”, she told Victor.

 

“Yes Mrs. Hawthorne, I will do whenever I can.”, he said.

 

“I want to know if we should add some workers to the domain team? What do you think?”, Maeva asked.

 

“We have had a lot of extra work lately because of the weather. The team is tired. So, I would say we could use more workers but, I am worried that we will go back to our usual workload next month or, in the summer.”, he said.

 

“I met a driver in LA last month. He is young, was raised on a farm and worked on it, but his dad did not pay family. His dream was to go out into the world. Lee was looking for permanent and full-time job. When I heard of the erosion and landslides caused by the extra rain, I thought I could ask his to move here. I could give him the apartment over the barn or the one over the stables. We never used them.”, she said.

 

“Maybe because they smell…?”, said Yvonne.

 

“Couldn’t we fix that? I am sur we can isolate the unit better and give it an outside entrance, no? we could have the work started now. Do you have any better idea?”, Maeva asked.

 

“I would like to meet him before I offer this but, we do have an apartment over the garage at the guest house. It was appreciated when we thought we would have visitors, but we are getting older and most our family have become estranged by distance and lack od communication. Id the kid is good, he could live there.”, Victor offered.

 

“Sky always said it was yours to use. You know that.”, Maeva said.

 

“And we are saying that we have no use for it. It has never been used. Just an empty space.”, said Yvonne. Maeva looked at them.

 

“OK. Thank you. Let’s me him first, right?”, she said. I will get Gerald to do the paperwork.

 

“Anything else to report Victor?”, aske Maeva.

“Just the usual. Maybe a little bit more damage to the paths on the property. And some broken fencing. That’s pretty usual on the domain in the fall and spring. Each season have their challenges, right?

 

‘Have you needed to ask the security agent for help this season?”, she asked, just to make a point.

 

“Yes. We sporadically do this, Mrs. Hawthorne.”, Victor answered.

 

“Yes, I know, and this is fine. If ever you feel the need to ask for kelp a little too often, don’t hesitate to let me know. We doo have enough money to make the domain run well, OK?”, said Maeva. The money was blocked for the domain. It couldn’t be used for anything else. That was also the reason why she knew some renovations could be done to the buildings. Maeva called Gerald and saw to it that he would make arrangement with Lee for him to visit that domain, as soon as possible.

 

 

That afternoon, when Neve took her nap, Maeva went to Sky’s study. Everything was in the same state of disarray as she left it. She picked up the different pieces of the stick and laid them carefully on the floor near the ladder. She wants the desk clear to examine what she would find in the safe. She sat on the chair, opened up wide the already unlocked safe door. The first thing she saw was a manila envelop. It looked recent. She was wearing gloves, so she was not afraid of leaving her prints if aver she was searched again. She brought it to the desk and slid the papers out; She found Sky’s birth certificate ornate with gold and a Hawthorne armory seal. Then, she found their marriage certificate, also ornate with the Hawthorne seal. Following those were the Hawthorne Castle and Shire ownership papers, the Lake Sherwood Mansion papers, the London house and many other properties in different countries, which she didn’t know about, including a building in downtown LA. She didn’t look though the properties as she would do that with Gerald at a later time, but a street name on the last document held her attention. ‘No. This couldn’t be true! The Club building? Sky owned it?’, Maeva looked at the address again. It was in fact the club building. She looked at the document a little more. He had purchased it in a long while ago. They were not together then. Its function was announced as being a hostel at the time of the sale. He had no partner. He was sole proprietor. The last document in this folder was the domain ownership where both their names appeared as co-owners. There was another document attached at the back. The Lake house, in Northern Quebec, in her name only. She had never seen it. There were pictures of it and other details she would have been very interested in but for the revelation of his ownership of the club building. She closed the folder shut and laid back on the chair. She wants to call Gerald but knew that must be Joe taking care of that building.

She looked at the time; it was good enough for her to go riding, which she did.

 

Even though she knew the paths were muddy, she made her horse run and used inside trails that were on more solid grounds. No one lived on either side of them, so she went riding in the west forest quite a lot. She wondered if the police had extended their search here. They used to ride here together often. Knowing no one was around, they used to bring blankets and food and even made love in chosen areas.  She got off the horse and visited one the spots they often went to. Nature had reclaimed it. Full off tall grass and wildflowers, she still strolled through it. Her horse had followed her, nudged her. She caressed his nose, bent down and picked tall grass and gave it to him. He took it and started munching. She went to his flank, still caressing his coat. She laid her forehead on him. She could remember hm like it was yesterday sometimes and those times where the hardest. And now, she felt betrayed. He was part of that club. But why? It had been a long time she hadn’t cried, but she needed to let out all the pain from her wounded heart.

 

She was back home in time for a good meal with everyone she loved around the table. She hoped it was the last cry as, apart from the release, they were tears for a past life lost forever. And she needed to live in the present.

 

 

 

Lee arrived on a Saturday evening. He was all tired up from a long flight. She showed him the guest room at the farmhouse, told him to make himself comfortable as he would have this room for awhile. The next day, he was up early and already at the farm receiving instructions and being given a tour by Victor. He was told to go to the farmhouse for lunch and supper. And he was invited at the guesthouse for early breakfast every morning. Even though he was quite new to the ways of the British, he was open to a new way of life, and he loved working at the farm. Lee was just a kind soul, without any malice. Neve just loved him. His boyish looks and funny ways also had the little girl laughing every time he was around. He was like a big brother, her now three and him, nineteen. Maeva felt the domain family growing and was proud of it.

 

She continued looking through the safe once she felt she could deal with whatever else she might find. The second batch of documents were kept in a holder folder, a carboard type of folder like they used in the old time. It was held d with a clip. It seemed to be a few loose-leaf manuscripts of some time ago. She closed that folder without looking further into it. Took the next thing in the safe; an old notebook. When she opened it, she easily recognized Sky’s writing. Then she saw notes comprised of different titles, prices and owner. It didn’t seem to be of only books and manuscripts, but also of art pieces, realties, horses, cars and motorcycles. She knew some of the art pieces and knew they were in the Hawthorne collection at the castle. They were marked as such. Some other art pieces, she had never seen although they were marked as his private collection. About ten horses were in the book as being purchased. Many had been sold and the new owner’s name appeared. The prices he bought them at and sold them were astronomical. The last horse, Neve’s stallion was at nine million. Why did he lie to her? That horse could have been what he disappeared for. The cars and motorcycles listed; she recognized them all. Most were in LA. Some were here. Then he listed more books and manuscripts; some she hadn’t found. First publications in which some superheroes appeared, worth some 2 to 5 million each. Original manuscripts of symphonies; operas. All this was worth a fortune. She now fully understood the need for this secret study. At the end of the notebook, there were notes of negotiations for collectables he was looking to sell or others, he was looking to acquire. That is when she noticed that most of the collectibles were exchanges, purchased or loaned through Club Members. He had dates, names and values of manuscripts.

 

 

That night. She opened her windows to let the night air in and lay on her huge bed like a starfish, limbs spread out. She didn’t know how she felt. On one hand, it was to be expected. He was a Lors and was used to wealth and maybe was collecting for the castle. On the other hand, why wasn’t he forthcoming with the information about the club or of him being in the world of collectables. She wondered if Joe knew. He never asked about it. Never inquired if she had found manuscript or things of the sort. Was Joe also part of the club? She felt totally exhausted. She had been riding everyday and, even though memories of Sky abounded, the exercise and the fresh air made a world of difference on her mood. Reconnecting with Sugar was also the best thing she had done. The horse had missed her and he showed it so well. She couldn’t wait to have Neve ride. She wanted her to start but she needed to find a small Shetland horse for her.  She often took care of Sky’s horse. She knew the caretaker would ride him everyday, but the horse seemed like a ghost of himself. Shadow used to be a mischievous horse, a very intelligent one who needed everyday challenges to be happy. It obviously wasn’t clicking between the horse and the caretaker, even though he was always king and patient with shadow. She thought about asking Lee if her would like to ride him a little and see how that would be. She would do that tomorrow. She turned on her side and looked at the full moon in the sky. The moon rays illuminated her room, but she didn’t mind. She closed her eyes trying to think about what tomorrow would bring.