CultOfTheBlackVirgin by Serena Janes Read Free Book Online

big fuss about the dog. She loved dogs. And birds of all kinds.
    At one point, Thomas and Ellen Arnold caught up to her and began a pleasant conversation. Professor Thomas was retired from thirty years of lecturing in medieval history at Christchurch College at Oxford, and Ellen was retired from her office job at the same college. Although white-haired and at least a decade older than the fifty-somethings in the group, they in no way, despite Ellen’s dirndl skirts, would ever slow the group down. They’d probably been born while their respective mothers were out walking the moors, Jo thought.
    But right now she was grateful for their kindness as they encouraged her to talk about herself.
    Eventually, though, it was her turn to walk alongside Luc. She hadn’t said a word to him since lunchtime and felt discomforted when he fell into step beside her. He turned his playfully inquisitive eyes to hers and in a cool, professional voice asked, “So you have spent a week in Paris? What did you see?”
    Given what had already passed between them, Jo didn’t want to engage in meaningless chat. She knew he was just doing his job, but she resented it. Hiding behind her sunglasses, she gave terse, almost rude, answers, a minimum of information.
    “Oh, you know. The usual.”
    “The usual?” His smile showed that he was not put off.
    “Yes. I’ve been to Paris before. This time I was with my boyfriend.”
    Boyfriend? That sounds so dumb. She felt herself blushing. What else could I say? My lover? My partner? My fiance-to-be?
    “So then I won’t ask you what you did,” he said quietly and changed the subject.
    She was glad she could say she hadn’t been in Paris alone. She wanted Luc to know she had a lover. It might cause him to back off. Then she’d have a chance to behave normally again.
    While she walked beside him she was careful to avoid those mesmerizing eyes, but instead she found she couldn’t stop looking at his body. At his still-damp pants, his crotch, as if she had absolutely no control over where her eyes rested. This was embarrassing and infuriating to her.
    Oh Christ! Not only am I almost incapable of polite conversation, I can’t even control my eyes! Can he see where I’m looking? Are these glasses dark enough? He must be able to see that I can’t keep my eyes off him. Can anyone else see?
    * * * *
    Someone else did notice Jo’s nervousness. Glenda Evans, walking behind them, commented to her husband Edward in a low voice that Luc seemed to be having some difficulty with Jo.
    Glenda said, “It’s the oddest thing. Everyone else warmed to Luc instantly, but Joanna seems twitchy around him. I wonder why.”
    She liked Jo, and was concerned that she might be on the wrong vacation.
    “Give her some time, dear,” her husband replied. “I think she’s running away from something, and probably hasn’t settled in with us yet.”
    Glenda knew her psychologist husband was usually right about this sort of thing, and nodded silently.
    * * * *
    After a while Luc, too, began to sense Jo’s agitation, so he tried to pull her out by asking about her home. Once he learned she lived in Seattle, he grew animated.
    “I know Seattle! I visited that beautiful city three years ago. I delivered a paper at an archaeological symposium at the University of Washington. It’s a most impressive city. I particularly enjoyed taking the ferry across to the Olympic Peninsula. Yes, it’s a beautiful city,” he repeated.
    Some of Jo’s discomfort dissolved as she thought about Luc speaking at the university she’d attended as an undergraduate.
    “Yes, I’m very fortunate to live in such a wonderful city. Did you see any other part of the state while you were there? Did you go into the interior?” she asked, gaze focused firmly on the path ahead of her.
    “No, I didn’t make it inland, but I took a ferry north to Vancouver Island in Canada and spent a week on the West Coast Trail. I’d wanted to hike that trail for many