IN ANOTHER LIFE
(From the Journals of Grace Quinlan
and
Lord William Hayden)
by
Paula Freda
PREVIEWS
Part One:
From the corner of her eye Elizabeth noticed Lord Hayden entering the library and head for the section on ancient relics. She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her short, but inquisitive nose. They had a habit of slipping, that she encouraged. She had gathered quite a dossier on Lord William Hayden. He was a brilliant teacher and ingenious at discovering and acquiring relics that brought the past into the present. Her oxfords clonked across the tiled floor as she approached Lord Hayden. "Good afternoon, Professor Hayden. Could you spare a moment?" He had pulled a volume off the shelf and opened it. She did not wait for him to glance at her, but placed her opened book on top of his. "The meaning of this particular phrase eludes me." She pointed to a series of Egyptian symbols. "Would you be so kind?" Lord William eyed her irritably. Lately she sought his advice daily, and he suspected she had developed a crush on him. Professor Eldridge was well known and respected in archaeological circles, even if she did her research and developed her theories from behind her desk. He might have welcomed her attentions if she was younger and attractive. If slim gold glasses did not constantly hang on her short nose. If her hair was not such an intense, somber shade of dark brown, pulled painfully and tightly up into a bun to sit ridiculously on top of her head, reminding him of a day-old toasted bagel. Perhaps if her legs were not so spindly, or her hips and breasts nonexistent, or her wool suits so grey and her man-tailored shirts so high-collared. Or if she was not almost as tall as he was. Perhaps then, he might have considered a casual relationship, if only for the reason that her archaeological expertise was nothing to sneer at. Her eyes under the grey tinted glasses held an eager expression whenever discussions centered on the sciences dear to his heart. Enthusiasm laced her lectures in class. Knowing that she would substitute for him during his exploratory trips, he never worried that his students might fall behind in their studies. Professor Eldridge's love of the ancient equaled and sometimes surpassed his own. He did not mind her company during lunch and breaks in the faculty lounge. She listened to him with unabashed interest, occasionally inserting comments -- expert ones. And on the rare occasions she attended a social function at the college, and allowed herself a bit of unrestrained laughter, her face would light and color, and the drabness momentarily vanish. On those rare occasions, he would think that she must have been quasi-attractive as a girl. A loveless past may have kept her from blossoming into all that a woman could. She did not attempt to cover her plainness with layers of makeup, unashamedly simple both in her non-use of cosmetics and in her unconcealed quest for knowledge. She was indeed an unusual woman for the late 1940s. "Professor Hayden?" Elizabeth cocked her head. William realized he had been staring at her."Yes, Professor Eldridge, what can I do for you?
PREVIEWS
Part Two:
Lord Hayden seized a magnifying glass from his desk drawer and studied the photo closely. "That's it!" he repeated. He quickly read the article beneath it. The Totem was presently housed in a private collection in Los Cantos, a small town in New Mexico.... A few weeks ago, it had turned up at an auction attended by a certain Mr. Harry Stanton, a collector of antiquities. He had paid a fortune for the piece and another fortune to add a room tall enough to accommodate the relic. By the time Lord Hayden had finished reading the article, he'd already decided to visit Mr. Harry Stanton.... He shed his lounge jacket, a wine red velvet collared affair, for his navy blue pinstripe, and left his house, crossing the one-lane road to Professor's Eldridge's house. Besides wanting Elizabeth's views on this matter, he wanted to hear if Grace had contacted her. Grace might be interested in a follow-up article on Psyche's Tomb and the Totem.... Elizabeth had received a couple of phone calls from Grace, the last one during the Easter Holidays.... He had missed Grace. This year had been the longest in his life, despite the two other expeditions in which he had participated. During one, he had met another girl. They had shared a few precarious moments. He had saved her life once or twice, brought back other valuable artifacts for the museum and his own private collection. Nothing lasting had resulted of his relationship with the girl. They had drifted apart, each eventually returning to their own lives. He had forgotten the exact color of her hair. All he recalled was that it did not shine red-gold like Grace's hair, nor did the girl's lips purse in just that certain way that Grace's did. Her mind did not challenge like Grace's or her heart love the past like his. It had been a very long year, Lord Hayden sighed.... He did not see Professor Eldridge until Monday afternoon, during lunch, in the faculty lounge, when she approached him.... "Excuse me, Lord Hayden. I have a letter here for you. If I'm interrupting your lunch, I can give it to you later.".... "No, it's all right," Lord Hayden said, putting down his ham and cheese sandwich on the coffee table.... He took the envelope from Elizabeth's hand. It was pink and fragrant, with no return address, and posted in a town he had never heard of, somewhere in China. Grace!.... Lord Hayden quickly read the note. My dear Lord Hayden,I hear from my cousin that you have discovered the whereabouts of a certain totem. I would like very much to do an article on said totem. Might we cooperate as before? In any event, I intend visiting Mr. Stanton on the fifth. I hope to see you there. With fond memories, Grace Quinlan.... Lord Hayden folded the letter and the envelope and slipped it into his pocket. Succinct, businesslike, dry. My most gracious thanks, he thought scowling..... "You don't seemed pleased to hear from my cousin?" Elizabeth remarked.... "On the contrary …" He let the statement hang as he lifted a hand and ran a finger across her pale cheek. "Thank you, Professor Eldridge." His dark eyes glinted wickedly.... The prim archaeologist appeared shocked at the familiarity..... Lord Hayden said, "If your cousin should contact you in the next few days, tell her I'll be happy to cooperate, as before.".... "I'll do that, Lord Hayden." Elizabeth replied markedly..... Hayden brought his finger to the tip of her drab chin. Making a fist, he gently brushed his knuckles under it. "Good girl," he praised.... Professor Eldridge excused herself through gritted teeth. Lord Hayden chuckled as she left the room. What was about the spinsterish professor that brought out the scoundrel in him? The chuckle died on his lips as for a split second he entertained a preposterous idea. He shook his head. "Ridiculous," he muttered, and resumed his simple lunch...
PREVIEWS
Part Three:
Despite the lack of light, the guards knew exactly where they were going, and for over two hours, they rudely urged Lord Hayden and Grace along in the darkness.... At last, a light shone in the distance. The light grew, strong and unobstructed as the group finally neared the exit.... A pile of rocks prevented immediate visual contact with the ground below, but as soon as the party circumvented the rocks, a panoramic view of a forested valley spread magnificently below them. Held in its palm, a stone citadel nested cozily.... Lord Hayden and Grace needed questions answered, but their host had disappeared. The soldiers led them down a narrow path carved into the mountainside, straight into the heart of the city.... The streets, grey slabbed pavements, were clean and neatly lined with granite dwellings. Further in, toward the center of the citadel, the structures grew larger, more ornate - palaces, temples. Finally, in the very center of the city, a huge pyramidical edifice rose mightily. A series of wide, deep steps in the front led to a columned temple at the top..... It was warm in the valley. The sun shone brightly. The people who came out of their homes or looked down from palace terraces were dressed in togas and sandals according to their stations in life - from simple sleeveless Llama wool shifts to richly embroidered, multi-colored motif-decorated tunics and trousers and skirts. Their bodies were the color of dark burnished copper; their hair black and straight and trimmed evenly just below their ears. These people did not look Peruvian, per se. Rather, a mixture.... Lord Hayden remarked to Grace, "Do you remember reading in some textbook in your student years, about the belief that thousands of years ago, Egyptians along with Hebrews crossed the Atlantic. Occasionally archaeologists have uncovered a Central or South American artifact which bares a resemblance to Egyptian and/or Jewish art.... Grace nodded, but she did not elaborate on the comment, preoccupied with another subject that she preferred not to discuss -- Talbot and the nightmare she had experienced after viewing the Stele H while in the Mayan country. Her sight of Talbot in full Inca regalia had connected the two images and she now knew why the sculpture had terrified her. The Stele H had reminded of her Talbot, a Talbot she had inexplicably known before. So many questions, but no answers. When the time is right, you will remember, Talbot had said. Grace moved closer to Lord Hayden....
PREVIEWS
Part Four:
As Tesk's Hopu Manu, Tunai will attempt to kill you," the taller of the two Holy men in the white wraps said to Lord Hayden. "Tunai's wife swears you are a special man, one who has overcome insurmountable obstacles in your search for the past. We believe her and have faith in you." Both men dropped to their knees before the prisoners. Lord Hayden blanched. He grasped the priest's arms and pulled him to his feet. "I'm no God, if that's what you think." "No," the priest agreed. "But not just a man, a palu, a special man." Lord Hayden stifled a laugh, not wanting to appear rude. Grace had called him that once. It was a word common to the oceanian people. Why would they put such a tag on him. He was only an instructor of archaeology who enjoyed fieldwork. Lord Hayden turned to his student, Ronne. "We don't truly have any other choice. We work with them, or we end up at the bottom of the strait." Ronne nodded in mute agreement. He smiled resignedly, adding, "I have faith in you as well." All this faith in him, tended to unnerve him, causing him to forget the low ceiling, raise and hit his head again. "Palu, huh?" he grimaced, rubbing his bruised scalp....
PREVIEWS
Part Five:
The following three months were the longest Lord William Hayden ever lived through. The days dragged and only his classes and his archaeological research eased their monotony.... Ironically, he was grateful for Professor Eldridge's company during coffee and lunch breaks; grateful for the love of the ancient that burned in her veins, like his. She was his only link to Grace, and though nowadays he rarely mentioned Miss Quinlan, he waited heart in throat for Elizabeth to announce that she had heard from her cousin.... Where his meetings with Elizabeth during breaks and lunch had been coincidental or at her promptings, he now often did the asking, using as his excuse the need to discuss his archaeological pursuits. Elizabeth would listen, not interrupting, just listening. He always felt better after his quiet talks with her.... Marry Professor Eldridge, Grace had once advised him. Perhaps he should, if only to show that green-eyed siren that no one broke the heart of Lord Hayden and got away with it. But though he had always known that Elizabeth carried a torch for him, he was no cad. She was an ugly duck who would probably grow uglier with the passing of years, but she possessed a gentle soul that loved the past and its relics as much as he, and perhaps more. For that alone, he could never hurt her.
Romance/adventure, foreign ports, and a touch of sci/fi. Two archaeologists travel to Zimbabwe in Africa to unravel the secret of the Conical Tower, and along the way unravel the mystery of their love.