The Golden Desires (22 page)

He
saw her stand and come to him, before putting her arms around him tightly,
saying nothing for the moment, and he remained quiet until she finally spoke.

"I
did bathe earlier so will not go in the pool again, but I will walk with you
and watch you, if you have no objection," she said to him, smiling up at
him and kissing him lightly.

Trent
could tell that something was worrying her but he did not raise the subject,
hoping that she would tell him in time, when she was ready and needed to talk.

"I
would like that greatly. Come - let's go now and then it will still be early
enough to go to dinner when I am done."

As
they made their way through the paths and down to the pool, Isabella pulled him
into easy conversation about his learning in the garden, and listened as he
eagerly shared information about what he had been told during the day.

"The
food they grow here is incredible, Isabella! The colours, the flavours … I have
never seen produce like this ever."

"Do
you not have such foods where you come from?" she asked him, her own curiosity
piqued now.

"Yes,
but nothing is as it is here. And that is exciting for me."

She
watched him as he discarded his shoes and his shirt, and waded into the pool
and dived under. She laughed as he came up - always he was a joy to watch.

"Do
you think you shall want to stay in the garden then? At least for now?"
she asked him, enjoying the carefree nature of their present conversation.

"I
do," he said as he used his fingertips to massage his scalp in an effort
to get the dirt that he could feel, off it. "I think that I shall like to
keep learning and doing what I can in the garden. I never felt it before, in my
old life, but I think it is where I am meant to be - it is what I am meant to
do."

Isabella
continued to watch him, loving the sight of his face, his eyes, his chest and
arms …

Trent
saw her face change and grinned at her.

"I
can see your thoughts, Isabella," he teased her and she blushed and smiled
sheepishly at him.

He
came out of the water then and took her hand, leading her to the drying stones,
where he lay down close to her but not so much that she would get wet.

"Tell
me what has happened today. I feel like there is something you need to talk
about," he finally ventured to say, hoping to nudge her to speak, and
finally she did.

"Yes,
I have heard the voice again today, and I think I may know who it is but…"

"But
what?"

"But
I am not sure it is possible. I must be mistaken."

Trent
waited patiently and could see her mind working
hard, but he did not speak, once again hoping she would enlighten him to her
thoughts. Finally she looked at him deeply, her eyes looking directly into
hers.

"I
think … I think the voice is Kat's. But it sounds like an older voice, as
if…"

"As
if Kat … of the future?" he asked and immediately saw her face move to
disbelief.

"Yes,
that is what I thought, but it could not be. That is not possible."

"Isabella,
I think you and I both know that it certainly
is
possible for people
to communicate over different time periods. What did the voice say?"

"It
warned me to keep away from him, and I thought at first that she might be
warning me to stay away from you but…"

"
Adrian
!"
Trent
said and saw her nod at him. "She was not happy this
morning."

"Yes,
and I went to see
Adrian
earlier but Kat put herself beside him and said
that he couldn't speak to me.
Trent
, it was almost as if she had him in some kind of
… I don't know. Like he did not have full control of himself."

Trent
watched and listened, becoming more alarmed all
the time.

"But
Isabella, your people are peaceful. It seems to me, as an outsider, that you
have no malice or hatred here. Where would she have learned such feelings of
jealousy from?"

"Jealousy?"
she asked him, another word new to her.

"Yes.
Jealousy is when you do not like the thought of someone being with someone else
- well, no, sorry, not necessarily a person. Sometimes you might want something
- anything - that someone else has. And you get a feeling that can be very
strong. A desire to have that thing - or person - for yourself."

"Yes,
how you describe that is how I thought Kat was this morning. Not that she
wanted what I have, but that she did not want me to talk to
Adrian
.
Like she wants him and I to be apart from one another and not be friends
anymore."

"Yes,
that is what I thought when she spoke this morning also."

They
lay quietly until he felt he was dry, and then made their way to their evening
meal, both wondering what would happen if they saw Adrian and Kat there.

~~~~~

When
they arrived, Kat and Adrian were already seated and seemed to be enjoying
conversation together, but as Isabella and Trent approached, both saw the look
that came from Kat, and Trent had no doubt it was intended to intimidate and
make Isabella not want to sit beside Adrian.

He
was proud when Isabella ignored the look and sat beside her friend regardless.

"How
has the rest of your day been,
Adrian
?" she asked him and he turned to her and
smiled.

"It
has been busy at the mill, but you know I enjoy it like that more than when it
is too quiet," he replied and
Trent
watched the interaction, but more so, he watched
the face beside
Adrian
, which declared emotions that he wondered if
anyone in the village would rightly understand. Seeing the seat beside Kat was
empty, he stood up and moved to the other side of her and sat down in an
attempt to draw her attention away from Adrian and Isabella.

"How
has your work been, Kat?" he asked her, and he could see from her facial
expression now that he had stunned her for the moment. She looked torn between
the need to keep watching Adrian and Isabella, listening to every word they
said, but also wanting to talk to
Trent
.

"My
… my work has been very good, thank you
Trent
. It is busy but I enjoy working in the
mill," he heard her say, her eyes flicking back to the other two as she
said every few words.

He
engaged her as best he could, an action that was noticed by Isabella and he saw
her give him a discrete look of appreciation as she leaned in closer to
Adrian
.

"Will
you come to our home for a visit,
Adrian
? I would like … I
require
your
assistance in something personal," she asked him and saw him look almost
relieved.

"Yes,
of course, Isabella. I can come with you after we finish our meal, if you
like."

"I
shall come too, of course," Kat's voice said out loud from the other side
of
Adrian
, and Isabella saw his face change again, although
he did not turn and face Kat, instead maintaining focus on Isabella.

"No,
not this evening, Kat. I have something personal that I wish to discuss with
Adrian
and it does not concern you," Isabella said as plainly as she could, not
wanting to deceive anyone in her intentions.

"Then
he will not wish to go with you," the young woman continued, and Isabella
suddenly felt sorry for
Adrian
.

But
all of a sudden he seemed to find some strength - the first Isabella had seen
in him for this period of time where the young woman had been speaking over
him.

Adrian
turned to Kat and spoke quietly but with
incredible power and strength.

"Kat,
I shall go with Isabella and Trent after we eat. Isabella is a friend - as you
well know - and she needs me so I will be there for her. This does not concern
you and you do not need to be so concerned about me and her spending time
together without you nearby. We have always done it, and we shall continue to
do it."

Kat
looked at him, first with a look of surprise and then an expression completely
new to Isabella and Adrian. But
Trent
knew it and could easily see it - the feeling of
utter contempt.

She
stood up and left, leaving the remaining three to look at each other, all of a
sudden not sure of what to say.

"I
will come with you, Isabella,"
Adrian
said quietly, his eyes intently focusing on hers,
and Isabella nodded in return.

~~~~~

As
they entered their home,
Trent
turned to the two of them.

"Shall
I stay? I am happy to leave you alone," he asked but Isabella and
Adrian
both replied at the same time, telling him to stay.

"But
thank you, Trent. I do not know why Kat cannot be as gracious as you are about
my friendship with Isabella,"
Adrian
said as the three of them sat at the small table.
"Sometimes I feel like she has some kind of power over me - like she can
bend me to her will, removing all of mine."

"You
and Isabella do have a close friendship,"
Trent
said, trying to at
least try and provide some justification about why Kat acted as she did.
"It would not be an easy thing to watch when paired with one of you."

"But
you are alright with it, are you not?"
Adrian
asked
Trent
,
who nodded in return. "You have not seemed to have any objection to us
talking still."

"Yes,
but not everyone is the same, Adrian."

"Have
you … asked her about pairing,
Adrian
?" Isabella asked, feeling extreme
protectiveness over him all of a sudden, and when she saw him nod she felt
another depth of concern for him.

"I
did. And she said she wanted that. But since we talked about that she has
seemed … different. Like she was … nice … but now, something is different about
her," he said and was quiet for some time before continuing, now looking
directly at Isabella. "I don't know what to do."

"What
do you mean?" Isabella asked him, alarmed.

"Should
I still go through with the pairing?"

Trent
saw the look of shock on Isabella's face so
quickly stepped in to take over the conversation.

"Do
you have doubts?" he asked the young man before him. In his world it was
nothing to get engaged and then not get married, for whatever reason, but he
already understood that such actions did not happen in this place and time.

Adrian
looked at
Trent
, for the first time appreciating him being in
their lives. Having grown up so closely entwined with Isabella as his closest
friend, he now missed having other men to talk to about things.

"I
should not say so, I know, but yes, I do have doubts. When the two of you
paired I thought I could just pair with anybody since I could not with
Isabella," he said in all honesty, looking at Trent and then Isabella.
"But I see now that this is not enough. And I did like Kat but she is not
as nice as she seemed to be. It is like she made me see one version of her, but
now I am seeing another. I need to pair. I know it is expected of me. But I
want at least to like the person I pair with. I am not sure Kat and I have even
that."

Trent
found himself surprised at the candour of
Adrian
as he spoke. He had no hesitation saying how he had felt about Trent and
Isabella pairing even though he himself had wanted to pair with her, and yet
Trent
could see that in telling them that,
Adrian
had absolutely no level of malice or anger inside
of him about it. He was saying it in a completely matter-of-fact manner.

"You
did not ask me here to talk about something personal with you, did you?"
Adrian
asked Isabella and she shook her head. "You knew that I needed to talk
about Kat, and that the only way that I might be able to talk to you without
her nearby, would be by asking me here, under such a guise."

Isabella
nodded at him.

"Yes."

"Thank
you. It feels like a difficult place for me to be in, when I want to talk to
you but she does not want me to talk to you. It confuses me, not knowing where
my loyalty should lie, even though
I
feel like my loyalty lies with
you."

Isabella
watched the face of her friend. He had always been a happy person, excited
about life and possibilities. Now all she saw was someone unhappy. To think
that he could change so much in such a short period of time knowing one person
made her intensely worried about how much of an effect Kat would have on him
over the long period ahead that would be the rest of their lives.