Page 5
Author: Tiffany Reisz
“Perhaps you would show Mr. Boissonneault the dormitories. Give him more of an introduction to the school than young Matthew did,” Father Henry said. “If you have the time. ”
Stearns nodded, took one more step toward Kingsley and looked down into his eyes. Down? Kingsley had been measured in the hospital and stood at exactly six feet. Stearns had to be six-two at the least.
“I have the time. ” Stearns gave him another smile. “Shall we?”
Kingsley thought about saying no, demurring, protesting that Matthew had given him a thorough introduction to the school and he needed no other, but merci beaucoup for offering. And yet, although Stearns already seemed to dislike him, loathe him even, Kingsley couldn’t deny that everything in him wanted a moment alone with this mysterious young man who even the priests deferred to.
“Oui,” Kingsley whispered, and Stearns’s sculpted lips formed a tight line.
Kingsley followed him from the kitchen. As soon as they were out of the door and alone in the hallway, Stearns turned and faced him.
“Père Henry est un héro,” Stearns began in flawless French. Father Henry is a hero. “You’ll have to forgive him for knowing very little about France. During World War II, he was in Poland smuggling Jews to safety and hiding women and girls from the Russian soldiers. I only know this because another priest here told me. Father Henry does not talk about the hundreds of lives he helped save. He talks about Italian food and mystery novels. Father Aldo is Brazilian. He and twelve others were held captive by guerrillas in 1969. Father Aldo was twenty-nine years old and, despite being from a wealthy and politically connected family, was the last captive to be
released—by choice. He would not leave until the others were safely freed. He forgave his captors and publicly asked the court to show them leniency. Now he cooks for us. ”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Kingsley asked in English, feeling for the first time since his parents’ death that he could easily start crying.
“Father Henry asked me to introduce you to Saint Ignatius. That is what I’m doing. Coming?” he asked, still speaking French.
Kingsley said nothing, but followed him down the hall.
Stearns paused in the doorway to the dining room. Only two boys remained at the table, eating and talking.
“Ton ami Matthew,” Stearns said, inclining his head toward the small redheaded boy who had first given him a tour of the school, sitting next to a slightly taller boy with black hair and glasses. “He came here a year and a half ago. Although eleven years old when we saw him first, he looked hardly older than eight. His parents had neglected him to the point of starvation. A wealthy Catholic family in the neighborhood where Matthew was found digging through garbage cans is paying his tuition here. The boy he’s sitting with is the son of the people paying Matthew’s tuition. Neither of them knows that. They became friends on their own. ”
Kingsley swallowed, said nothing and followed Stearns from the dining room.
“I think Father Henry meant for you to tell me what time classes start, that sort of thing. ”
“Breakfast is at seven. Chapel is at eight. Classes start at nine. Tomorrow you’ll meet with Father Martin, who will set your class schedule. ”
“I suppose Father Martin is a hero, too. ”
“Father Martin is an astronomer. He discovered three comets and invented a formula for calculating the expansion of the universe. Retired now. His eyes aren’t strong enough to keep searching the heavens. So now he teaches math and science to us. ”
Stearns led them from the dining hall, outside and to the library. The main room was empty but for three boys about Kingsley’s age huddling by the fireplace on the west wall. Stearns picked up an abandoned book off a table, glanced at the spine and headed to a bookcase not far from where the boys sat and talked.
“Stanley Horngren—he’s the one wearing the jacket,” Stearns
said, inclining his regal blond head toward one of the boys. “He has twelve brothers and sisters. He works two jobs every summer in order to pay his own tuition here and not burden his family with the extra expense. James Mitchell, sitting next to him, is here on a full academic scholarship. Rather impressive considering he is completely deaf and never had access to a school for the deaf. When you speak to him, speak clearly and make sure he can see your lips. And speak only in English,” Stearns said, giving Kingsley a dark look. He slipped the book onto a shelf in what was no doubt the correct spot. “The boy on the sofa is Kenneth Stowe. He spent two years in an institution because his teachers thought he was mentally deficient. In reality he has a minor learning disability and a genius IQ. He is now a straight-A student. The library closes at nine. If you need to stay later, you can ask Father Martin for a pass. ”
Stearns turned on his heel and headed back outside. He paused outside the door to the church.
“Weekend Mass is at 5:00 p. m. on Saturdays and 10:00 a. m. on Sundays. It’s a traditional Catholic mass. Are you Catholic?”
Kingsley shook his head. “We’re descended from the Huguenots. ”
Stearns exhaled through his nose. “Calvinists. ” He said the word like a curse before continuing on. “You are encouraged but not required to attend chapel. You will not be asked to cut your long hair. You will be asked to wear the school uniform, but for no reason other than it helps foster an environment of equality. None of us here is better than any of the others. You do understand that, yes?”
Kingsley stared at the floor. “Yes. ”
Stearns took them to the dormitory building, stopping outside long enough to gather an armful of logs. Kingsley picked up some firewood as well, thinking they would be carrying it up to their dormitory room on the second floor, but instead Stearns went into the room where the youngest boys slept and piled the wood neatly next to the hearth.
He took the wood out of Kingsley’s arms and added it to the pile.
Several young boys sat on their beds reading. Only one managed to mumble a muted “thank you” as the two of them walked out. Stearns said nothing, only tapped the boy lightly on the forehead in a gesture almost brotherly. All the boys in the room followed Stearns with wide, awe-filled eyes.
Kingsley trailed after Stearns to the top floor of the dormitory, where the oldest boys slept.
“Lights-out is at nine,” his guide continued in his shockingly fluent French. Had Kingsley not known otherwise, he would have assumed Stearns was a native. “If you have homework that keeps you up later, you can work in the common room downstairs. As Father Henry says, ‘Firewood does not grow on trees. ’ Please replace any of the wood you use. ”
“Bien sûr,” Kingsley said, but knew he wouldn’t have thought to replace the firewood without someone telling him.
“Eighteen of us sleep in this room. Nineteen now that you’re here. Nathan Weitz has night terrors for reasons he hasn’t chosen to share with anyone yet. At least once a week he wakes up screaming. Ignore it. He will go back to sleep in a few minutes. If you see him sleepwalking, follow him. Last winter he wandered outside and nearly developed hypothermia. Joseph Marksbury is in charge of the chore list. I suggest you talk to him before he comes to you, unless you want nothing but bathroom duty for the entire semester. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my Portuguese. ”
“You’re learning Portuguese, too?” Kingsley asked. “How many languages do you speak?”
“Eight. ”
“I’m bilingual. What do they call someone like you?”
Stearns arched an eyebrow at him. “Intelligent. ”
Kingsley started to laugh, but then realized Stearns hadn’t been joking.
“Eight,” Kingsley repeated. “I would go crazy with so many words in my head. I have enough trouble keeping my French and English separate. ”
“A few students here speak a little French, but since Father Pierre died, I’m the only one fluent at
the school. If you need to speak French, speak it to me. And as you’ve seen, this place is full of kind and courageous priests and intelligent and hardworking young men, many of whom have had to overcome great obstacles to be here. If you ever feel the need to lie again, tell your lies to me. ”
Kingsley blushed and crossed his arms. “I’ll apologize to Matthew. ”
“A very good idea, Mr. Boissonneault,” Stearns said.
“You can call me Kingsley. That’s my name. ”
Stearns seemed to mull the invitation over.
“Kingsley…” He nodded, and Kingsley tensed at the sound of his name spoken by the blond pianist who seemed to own the school. “This school has been my salvation. I would appreciate if you at least pretended to show it some respect. ”
Stearns turned and started to walk from the dormitory room.
“Merci,” Kingsley said, before he was gone. “Thank you. ”
“For what?” Stearns asked from the doorway.
“The Ravel today. Mon père aimait Ravel. ”
For a moment Stearns only stared at him. Kingsley wanted to shrink from his penetrating gaze, but held his ground and didn’t blink, didn’t look away.
“Aimait? Your father is dead?”
Kingsley nodded. “Et maman. A train crash last May. You play piano beautifully. I’ve never heard Ravel like that before. ”
Stearns came back into the room and stood before him. Kingsley felt his eyes on his face again and found himself suddenly shy. Shy? At age sixteen Kingsley had slept with nearly fifty girls already. No, not just girls—women, too. Even the wife of his late father’s business partner.
“I was named Marcus Stearns,” Stearns finally said. “No one ever calls me Marcus. ”
“Why not?”
“Because Marcus is my father’s name, and I am not my father’s son. ” He spoke the words slowly, deliberately, as if imparting a threat instead of just information.
“Can I call you something other than Stearns? It seems very formal. ”
Stearns seemed to ponder the question.
“Perhaps someday. ”
“Anything else I need to know?” Kingsley asked, intimidated by him, but for some reason not wanting to let him go yet.
Stearns fell silent and looked at Kingsley’s suitcase sitting at the foot of a bed. “Your bed is the one next to mine,” he finally said.
Kingsley’s hands tingled at the mention of the proximity of their two beds. He didn’t know why he was reacting to this young man the way he only ever reacted to a beautiful girl. He couldn’t stop staring at him, couldn’t stop wondering what secrets he kept, and what it would be like to hear those secrets whispered across a pillow at night.
“How did you get stuck sleeping so far from the fireplace?”
“I volunteered. I stay warm enough. A word of advice,” Stearns said, turning to stare Kingsley in the eyes, “do not wake me up at night. ”
Kingsley barked a laugh. “What? Will you kill me?”
Stearns turned and headed toward the door again.
“Or worse. ”
NORTH
The Present
Kingsley took a length of rope and twisted it into a slipknot. With wary eyes the girl watched him as he brought the rope down over her head and let the knot rest at her throat.
“It’s a simple game, chèrie. ” He made a circuit of her body and nodded his approval. Lovely girl. Twenty-nine years old. Blue eyes. A yoga instructor or something equally silly. He’d bend her in half tonight, and she’d thank him for it after. “One end of the rope is around your neck. The other end…” He tapped the back of her knee until she raised her leg like a well-trained show pony. Grasping her calf, he raised it, and looped the other end of the rope around it. “Goes là, on your lovely, well-turned ankle. You say you can hold your yoga poses for hours. Let’s see how long you can keep your back leg up and bent while I fuck your ass. The leg starts to drop…you start to choke. Simple. Oui?”