Stone, Katherine by Pearl Moon

Author:Pearl Moon [Moon, Pearl]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-12-28T02:42:46+00:00

Sixteen

Pearl Moon

The Landmark

Thursday, July 15, 1993

"Please be careful, Eve."

"Thanks to you, Juliana, no one will recognize me."

It was the perfect disguise—pure tourist. Its vividness, typical of summertime visitors to Hong Kong, would blend into the crowd. The peacock-blue T-shirt Juliana had purchased from a street vendor featured a junk, its sails unfurled, with Hong Kong emblazoned in fuchsia in both English and Chinese. Juliana had made walking shorts in matching fuchsia, and to hide her friend's familiar face she'd bought a broad-brimmed hat and large sunglasses.

Eve would carry a striped beach bag. Her Lady Lloyd-Ashton attire was inside, as was a Pearl Moon shopping tote. Before returning to Peak Castle, the brightly clad tourist would walk into the lobby ladies' room at the Hilton on Garden Road and moments later the well-known image of subdued elegance would emerge.

"No one will recognize me, Juliana," Eve repeated. "No one will even notice me."

"I wasn't worrying about that."

Eve's expression became thoughtful. "You don't need to worry about Tyler. When I'm with him, I'm—"

"Safe?" Juliana offered.

"Yes," Eve replied with quiet amazement. "Safe."

Juliana smiled as she remembered a time when safe was what she'd felt, amid other wondrous feelings, with Garrett. As Vivian had said to her that long-ago day, she said to Eve, "I won't worry about you, then."

***

Tyler's Seven Seas was moored in Causeway Bay, in a slip in the typhoon shelter allotted to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The varnished mahogany sloop bobbed in welcome as Eve arrived.

"Eve," Tyler greeted her. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"So am I," Eve said, still a little disbelieving.

She'd phoned him Monday afternoon, from Juliana's private line at Pearl Moon, to make plans for today. But until this morning, she hadn't known if Geoffrey would have his own agenda for her on this Thursday away from the castle.

He hadn't, and she'd been floating ever since. She'd hardly breathed until now—and now, as his eyes searched for hers behind the enormous sunglasses, she was breathless again.

"Let's get out of here," Tyler said, wanting to see her and knowing she couldn't shed even the tiniest part of her disguise until they were away from port.

They sailed east out of Victoria Harbour, beyond North Point and Junk Island and Cape Collision and Joss House Bay, finally reaching the South China Sea.

Eve's hat came off first, and she smiled as the breeze ran gentle fingers through her hair. Then, although the sun shone brightly, she took off her sunglasses, because he wore none and they wanted to see each other's eyes.

"Tell me everything about yourself, Eve, from the moment you were born."

She did. Everything—including the day the never-loved girl would have jumped from the limestone cliffs of Weymouth were it not for Gweneth St. John. Eve felt safe, ever safer, as Tyler embraced her every confession with concern. A wistful smile touched her lips as she spoke of her friendship with Gweneth, her own bold move to London, the solitary peace she'd found there.

The smile faded, and she stopped speaking, as if the story of Eve ended in London seven years ago.

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