Once breakfast was done Gabriella and Catherine loaded their kids in the van and with a wave they set off for Turin.
Alexis and Béatrice were right behind them. They were headed in the opposite direction and had the list of items Ben had written down for them. They were also driving a van but it was definitely more for cargo than passengers. Perfect for this trip.
Marie passed them with a smile as she headed out to do the grocery shopping. Then it was just Ben and Stephanie.
He walked back into the chateau with her. “When is that fellow Richard going to be here?” he asked.
“He said sometime this morning. Hopefully soon.” She looked nervous. “Would you mind keeping me company? I don’t like being alone. Now.”
“Certainly.”
They walked back to her room and took seats. Ben looked around the room at the sculptures lining the shelves. Dozens of dancers in a row in various poses. Obviously her love of dance had fed her art.
“Your sculptures are beautiful!”
“Thank you.”
“Are they all dancers?”
“Most. Occasionally I try my hand at other subjects but they lack the passion,” she frowned.
“But you’re going to sculpt me?” he asked cautiously.
Her smile came back. “There is no lack of passion in you! I felt it in your body as I mapped you. The scars you carry both outside and in. Your love for the women in your life. So much passion! I’m vibrating with the energy I picked up from you and I must pass that into the sculpture as soon as possible. That’s why it needs to be so much larger than my previous work. I can’t contain this in a tiny figure!”
Ben smiled at her enthusiasm.
There was a gentle chime and he looked up. “What was that?”
“That’s someone driving into our lane. It may be Richard or a potential new guest,” she said.
Ben walked out to the front door with her and stood next to her. He saw a distinguished looking man carefully extracting a four foot tall wire figure from the back of his SUV and turn towards them. He spotted Stephanie and smiled then he looked at Ben and his smile froze. He looked back at the wire armature and Ben saw something pass across his face. He closed the car door and walked towards them.
“Good morning Stephanie! I have the armature you requested,” he said, his voice was deep and hinted at his British origin.
“Good morning Richard! Thank you so much for making it so quickly and on such short notice! May I introduce my cousin’s good friend and neighbor Ben Shepherd? Ben, this is my good friend and fellow sculptor Richard Garrison. Richard is a master with bronze and will be working with me on this piece. He and his partner Henry Desjardins own the B&B a short distance from ours further up the mountain.”
Ben shook Richard’s hand with a smile. His grip was firm and there was strength in his arm. The man had a close shaved beard and warm brown eyes. His neat brown hair was just starting to show some grey at the temples and Ben thought the man might be a little older than him. He looked fit and dressed impeccably which made Ben feel terribly underdressed in his shorts, t-shirt, and sandals.
“A collaboration? You’re not making a clay sculpture?” he asked Stephanie.
“It starts with my clay sculpture but then we’ll make a mold of that and Richard will make a bronze sculpture from that,” she explained.
“Are you a model?” Richard asked carefully.
Ben snorted. “Sorry. No, I’m a semi-retired Mechanical Engineer.”
“Semi-retired?” the man repeated.
“I like to keep my finger in the game so I do piece work now and then,” he explained.
“If you don’t mind me saying so I can see why Stephanie was so enthusiastic to sculpt you,” Richard said with a smile and Ben blushed.
“Oh Richard! You have no idea!” Stephanie reached out and tapped at Ben’s chest. “Ben, show him your chest.”
“No that’s quite alright,” Richard began and Ben looked at the woman in surprise.
“Please Ben!” she begged.
His blush heating up his face Ben tugged his t-shirt up and off.
“Oh my lord!” Richard said as he took in the solid muscles… and the scars. “What- what happened to you? Are those stitches? Some of these are fresh?!?” His voice was starting to sound strained.
“A few months back I was stabbed repeatedly by…” His head began to hurt. “… an abusive husband after I stopped him from killing his wife. The fresh ones were from a fight I got into while we were in Paris. Turned out to be a serial killer. Ca- The police shot him before he got me.” Ben massaged his temple to get the thumping to settle.
Richard was looking down at the three bullet scars. He pointed with wide eyes.
“Oh, yeah. A pedophile shot me as he tried to abduct Gabriella’s daughter. I killed him,” Ben said with a grim look and his facial scar flared.
Richard felt a chill run through him and suddenly he understood Stephanie’s compulsion to begin. He reached out and took Stephanie’s hand and she smiled broadly as she felt his hand trembling. She could tell he understood.
There was a sudden sharp sound of glass breaking behind them in the chateau. Ben’s eyes went cold. He pulled his phone from his pocket and started the video app. He handed it to Richard.
“I thought he might do this. Please follow me and record this. Stephanie, please go back to your bedroom and lock the door. Call the police,” Ben said with a cold voice and handed her his t-shirt.
He turned and walked back through the house quietly, Richard at his back holding the phone out in front of him.
Ben pushed into the hall leading up to the front door of the chateau. Standing in the vestibule was Arsene Dumond. He’d broken a pane of glass on the door and reached in to unlock it.
The man focused his deep set eyes on Ben and glanced at Richard behind him. Seeing Ben topless with the homosexual following him led him to believe Ben was gay as well. Equally deserving of his wrath. He felt sickened by the abominations before him.
“Arsene Dumond! You are guilty of breaking and entering. Were you coming back to sexually assault Stephanie again?” Ben called out clearly. He smelled the reek of body odor and alcohol pouring off the man.
Richard gasped behind him. Ben guessed that Alexis hadn’t shared that particular detail with him.
Suddenly Arsene swung his heavy walking stick at Ben’s head. For all his fat the man had muscle underneath. Ben ducked but the stick got a glancing blow off the side of his head.