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Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

midnight memories 西德尼·谢尔顿 5742Words 2018-03-18
St. Moritz is a fascinating place to be.There are miles of downhill ski runs, walking trails, sledge trails for tandem and horse-drawn sleigh rides, polo games and a dozen other fun activities.This small mountain village lies six thousand feet above the southern foot of the Alps, winding around the lake that glistens in the Ingadin valley, between Celerina and Pease Nair.The sight of it literally took Catherine's breath away with excitement. Catherine and Kirk Reynolds check in at the fabulous Palace Hotel, whose lobby is packed with tourists from a dozen countries. Kirk Reynolds said to the receptionist, "I want Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds's room." Catherine turned her face away.I should have worn my wedding ring.She knew that everyone in the hall must be looking at her to know what she was doing.

"Yes, Mr. Reynolds. Please go to Suite 215." The receptionist handed the key to the student. "This way, please," said the waiter. They were sent into a very nice suite.The furniture is simple here, and every window offers a magnificent view of the mountains. After the waiter left the room, Kirk Reynolds held Catherine in his arms. "My dear, I cannot tell you how happy you have made me." "I hope so," Catherine replied. "I...it's been a long, long time, Kirk." "Don't worry, I won't do it rashly." He is so cute.Catherine thought.But how would he feel if I told him about my past?She had never mentioned Larry to him in the past, or the murder, or any of the horrible things that had happened to her.She wanted to get close to him, to tell him the truth, but something kept her from speaking.

"I think it's best to unpack," said Catherine. She unpacked slowly—very slowly—and suddenly she felt like she was putting things off, that she was afraid of the end of what she was doing, because she was afraid of what was going to happen next. She heard Kirk calling her from another room, "Katherine..." Oh my God!He's about to say let's take our clothes off.Catherine swallowed and said softly, "What's the matter?" "Why don't we go out for a walk?" Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, feeling weak all over. "That's a good idea," she agreed enthusiastically.What is the matter with me?I'm currently traveling in one of the most romantic places in the world with an attractive man who adores me so much, and I'm freaking out.

Reynolds looked at her in surprise. "Are you feeling unwell?" "I'm fine," Catherine said cheerfully. "very good." "You look a little sad." "No, I... I was thinking about—skiing. Skiing is dangerous." Reynolds smiled. "Don't worry. I'll let you start skating on a flatter hill tomorrow. Let's go." They put on thick sweaters and striped coats and headed outside into the crisp, cold air. Catherine took a deep breath. "Oh, that's great! Kirk, I like this place." "You haven't seen it yet," he grinned. "The summer here is twice as beautiful as it is now."

Will he still see me in the summer?Catherine murmured in her heart.Am I going to disappoint him a lot?Why should I worry so much?
The village of St. Moritz is a medieval and very popular resort, full of antique shops and restaurants in the village.There are some farmhouse-style villas hidden in the majestic Alps. They stroll around the store.Catherine bought some presents for Evelyn and Wim, and they stopped in front of a small café for a poutine. In the afternoon, Kirk Reynolds rented a sleigh drawn by a sorrel horse.They drove uphill in the sled along the trails covered with snow, the snow crunching and crunching under the metal runners of the sled.

"Happy?" Reynolds asked. "Oh, glad," thought Catherine, looking at him.I'm going to make you happy tonight too.Tonight, yes, tonight, I'm going to make you happy.
That night, they ate at the Stump restaurant in the hotel.This is an old country inn restaurant. "This room dates back to 1480," Kirk said. "Then we'd better not call bread." "What did you say?" "Sorry, I made a little joke." Larry always understood my jokes; why am I thinking of him again?Because I don't want to think about it tonight.I felt like Marianne Downey going to the guillotine.I don't eat buns for dessert.

The meal was very good, but Catherine was too nervous to enjoy it.When they finished eating, Reynolds said, "Shall we go upstairs? I have a ski lesson for you early tomorrow morning." "Of course. Very well, of course." They got up and went upstairs.Catherine could only feel her heart pounding.Right away he'd say, "Let's go to bed." Why shouldn't he?That's what we're here for, isn't it?I can't pretend I'm here for the skiing. They walk to their suite.Reynolds opened the door and turned on the light.They walked into Sleeping Po.Catherine stared at the gigantic bed, which seemed to take up the entire room.

Kirk looked at her and said, "Catherine...are you worried about something?" "What?" She pretended to smile. "Of course not. I... I just..." "Just what?" He smiled brightly at him and said, "It's nothing, I'm fine." "That's good. Let's undress and go to bed." I knew that was exactly what he was going to say.But does this still need him to say?In fact, we should have done this kind of thing long ago.How... so... stupid to say it. "What did you say?" Catherine did not realize that she had spoken aloud what was on her mind.

"Nothing." Catherine had come to the bed.It was the biggest bed she had ever seen.It's for couples, and made just for couples.It's not a bed for sleeping in, it's for... "Honey, do you want to take off your clothes?" Should I take it off?How long has it been since I slept with a man?It's been over a year and he's my husband. "Cathy..." "Yeah." I'm about to undress, I'm about to go to bed, and I'm about to disappoint you.I don't love you, Kirk.I can't sleep with you. "Kirk." He turned to face her, half of his clothes off. "What's up?"

"Kirk, I... excuse me; you're going to hate me. I... I can't. I'm really, really sorry. You're going to think I'm..." She saw the look of disappointment on his face.He forced himself a smile. "Cathy, I'm telling you, I'll bear with it. If you don't want to, I...I understand. We can still have a really good time here." She kissed him gratefully on the cheek. "Oh, Kirk, thank you. I feel ridiculous. I don't know what's wrong with me." "You'll be fine," he assured her. "I understand you." She hugged him. "Thank you, you are an angel."

"Then," he sighed, "I'll sleep on the couch in the living room." "No, you can't," cried Catherine, "because I'm responsible for this stupid conundrum, and at least I've made sure you're comfortable. Let me sleep on the couch and you on the bed." "That's absolutely not possible."
Catherine lay in bed, not at all sleepy.She thought of Kirk Reynolds.Can I still make love to another man?Could it be that Larry had burned all the eroticism out of me? Maybe, at this point, Larry had really killed me after all.Finally she fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, Kirk Reynolds was awakened by moans.He sat up on the couch, heard the groans, and hurried into the bedroom. Catherine writhed violently on the bed, her eyes shut shut, and she cried, "No, don't! Don't! Leave me alone." Reynolds knelt down and put his arms around her tightly. "Shh!" he said, "it's all right, all right." Catherine's body was shaking violently with sobbing, and he held her tightly until she calmed down. "They—tried to drown me." "It's just a dream," he said soothingly. "You had a nightmare." Catherine opened her eyes and sat up.Her body was still shaking. "No, it's not a dream, it's real. They're trying to kill me." Kirk looked at her in bewilderment. "Who tried to kill you?" "My... my husband and his mistress." He shook his head and said, "Catherine, you had a terrible dream. And..." "I'm telling the truth. They tried to murder me, and they've been executed for it." Kirk had a look of disbelief on his face. "I haven't told you before because it's... it's painful for me to bring it up." "Catherine..." He suddenly felt that da was a serious matter. "What happened?" "I don't want to divorce Larry. . . . and he's in love with other women who are determined to kill me." Kirk listened attentively now. "A year ago." "How are they?" "They—they've been executed by the court." He raised a hand. "Wait a minute, you mean they were executed for trying to kill you?" "That's right." Reynolds said, "I'm not well versed in Greek law, but I'd be willing to bet there's no death penalty for attempted murder. There must be something wrong. I know a lawyer in Athens who actually did it for State work. I'll give him a call in the morning to clear things up. His name is Peter Demonides."
Catherine was still asleep when Kirk Reynolds woke up.He dressed lightly and went into the bedroom, where he stood for a moment looking at Catherine.I love her so much.I must find out the truth of what happened and get rid of the shadow in her heart.
Kirk Reynolds went downstairs to the lobby of the hotel and called Athens. "Peter Demonides, operator, please. I want the person to answer the phone himself." The call was connected an hour and a half later. "Mr. Demonides? I'm Kirk Reynolds. I don't know if you remember me, but..." "Of course I do. You're working for Constantin Demiris." "That's right." "What can I do for you, Mr. Reynolds?" "Excuse me for interrupting you. I have just encountered some somewhat puzzling situations. This matter involves Greek law." "I know a little Greek law," Demonides said cheerfully. "I'd be happy to help you." "Is there anything in your laws that allows the death penalty for attempted homicide?" There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. "I want to ask, why do you ask such a question?" "Now I'm with a woman named Catherine Alexander. She seems to think that her husband and his mistress are being sentenced to death by the state for attempting to murder her. That doesn't sound reasonable, you know what I mean ?" "I understand." Demonides' voice was very serious. "I see what you mean. Where are you now, Mr. Reynolds?" "I'm staying at the Palace Hotel in St. Moritz." "Let me look it up and I'll answer you." "Thank you very much. The way it is, I think Miss Alexander may have imagined these things. I hope to get the whole thing out of the way so that she can be at ease." "I understand you. I promise you will hear back from me."
The fresh and clear sky and the beauty of the surrounding scenery took away all the fears Catherine had experienced the night before. The two of them had breakfast in the village.When breakfast was over, Reynolds said, "Let's walk over to the ski slopes and show you what it's like to ski for the first time." He took Catherine to the beginner slopes and hired an instructor for her. Catherine put on her skis and stood up.She looked at her feet and said, "What an odd look. If God made us like this, our ancestors would be trees." "what?" "Nothing, Kirk." The instructor smiled, "Don't worry, you'll be skiing like a pro in no time, Miss Alexander. We'll start at Corviria Sas Lensol. That's a slope for beginners. " "You'd be surprised how quickly you get the hang of skiing," Reynolds encouraged Catherine. He looked at the ski run in the distance, turned around and said to the coach, "I think I can try the taste of Forkola Clams today." "This sounds delicious. I like it grilled," Catherine said. Kirk didn't smile. "That's the name of the piste, dear." "Hi!" Catherine felt ashamed to tell him it was just a joke.I stopped kidding around him.she thinks. The coach said: "Clamera is a beautiful but steep slope. Mr. Reynolds, you can start at the Corvilia standard yard and do warm-up exercises first." "Good idea, that's what I'll do. Catherine, we'll meet at lunch in the hotel." "OK." Reynolds waved and walked away. "Have a good time," cried Catherine. "Don't forget to write." "Okay," said the coach, "let's get to work."
To Catherine's surprise, ski lessons turned out to be a lot of fun.At the beginning, she was a little nervous and embarrassed, and her movements were clumsy when going up a small hill. "Lean forward a little so that your slideboard is facing forward." "Go tell the skis, they won't listen," Catherine announced loudly. "You did a good job. Now we're sliding down. Bend your knees and keep your balance. Start sliding!" She fell down. "One more time. You did a great job." She fell again.Tested again.And all of a sudden, she felt a sense of balance, and as if she had grown wings, she galloped downhill to her delight.Skiing is like flying.She loved the way the snow creaked under her skis and the wind beat against her face. "I love this thing," Catherine said. "It's no wonder people love it. How soon are we going to go down that big steep slope?" The coach smiled. "Let's skating like this today, tomorrow is the Olympics." All in all, it was indeed a very good morning.
While she waited in the bistro, Reynolds returned from skiing.He had rosy cheeks and looked energetic.He went to Catherine's table and sat down. "Hi, how are you doing?" he asked. "Great. I didn't break anything, just slipped and fell six times. You know that?" she said proudly. "By the end, I did pretty well. I think the coach is going to send me to the Olympics!" Reynolds smiled and said, "Yeah!" He began to recount his call to Peter Demonides.Later, however, he decided not to speak, because he did not want to make Catherine feel. After lunch they went out and took a long walk in the snow, stopping at some shops.Gradually, Catherine felt tired. "I want to go back to my room," she said. "I want to take a nap." "Good idea. The air is pretty thin here. If you're not used to it, you'll get tired easily." "So, what are you going to do, Kirk?" He looked up at the slope in the distance and said, "I thought, I can slide down the clamshell slope. I've never done it before. It's a challenge." "You mean—because there's..." "what?" "Nothing. It looks dangerous." Nornolds nodded: "Because of this, it can be regarded as a challenge." Catherine squeezed his hand and said, "Kirk, I'm so sorry about last night. I... I'll try to behave better." "Don't worry about it. You go back to the hotel and get some sleep." "I will." What a fine man he was, Catherine thought, watching him go!I don't understand, what is he looking for in a fool like me?
Catherine slept all afternoon.This time, she has nothing to dream about.It was almost six o'clock when she woke up.It's time for Kirk to come back. Catherine had bathed and dressed, thinking of tonight.No, not at night.She corrected herself, it was at night, and I wanted to make it up to him. She went to the window and looked out.The sky has begun to slowly darken.Kirk must have had so much fun.Catherine thought so.She looked up at a huge hillside in the distance.Is that the slopes of Hariga?I don't know if I'll be able to slide down there someday.
At seven o'clock Kirk Reynolds still hadn't returned.Twilight had turned to pitch blackness.There was no way he could be skiing in the dark.Catherine thought.I bet he must have been drinking in the bar downstairs. She was about to walk to the door and was about to go out when the phone rang. Catherine smiled.I guessed it right, he was calling and asked me to go downstairs for a drink together! She picked up the phone and said cheerfully, "Hey, have you met a Sherba?" A strange voice came from the phone. "Are you Mrs. Reynolds?" At first, she said no.Then, remembering Kirk's entry in the register, she said again, "Yes, I am Mrs. Reynolds." "I'm afraid I have to tell you some bad news. Your husband had an accident while skiing." "Ho! No! It...is it serious?" "I think it's serious." "I'll be right there, where..." "I am sorry to tell you that he is... dead, Mrs. Reynolds. He died when he broke his neck while skiing at Legale."
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