Naked for Her Two Masters(6)

“I know it took me over a week to hike up the mountain. But I wasn’t in any kind of a rush. I had to catch fish and pick berries because I didn’t have much food with me, and I didn’t know where I was going anyway. I just wanted to keep climbing. But wouldn’t you just drive down the road to go to the store? How many miles is it back to town?”

Nevis turned and stared at her. “There isn’t a road.”

“What?”

“Come over here and look.”

Andorra followed Nevis to the edge of the roof. She leaned on the waist-high metal railing and stared out at mile after mile of magnificent scenery. Sharp, craggy mountains, sheer cliffs, wooded valleys. The mountains stretched as far as she could see in every direction. Andorra walked around the roof following the railing, taking in the scenery as she went. It was truly beautiful, with sunset still an hour or more away, but the deepest valleys already dark with shadows while the higher peaks were still bathed in sunlight.

“It’s all so beautiful. I’m glad I hiked up here. I’ve never seen such amazing rock formations.” Then she had a guilty feeling, remembering she’d strayed onto private property. “I didn’t mean to hike on your private land. I just had this urge to get to the top.”

“You said that before. Why?”

Andorra turned to look fully at Nevis. “I don’t actually know. When that man was so rude to me, I just wanted to get away. But soon I couldn’t think of anything except continuing to climb the mountain.”

“What man? No, hold that thought. We’ll talk in the hot spring.”

Nevis turned and led Andorra back to the stairs. Andorra expected her to stop just one level down so she could pick up some spare clothing, but Nevis kept going so Andorra followed her. The last thing she needed was to get lost here and require someone to come looking for her. They’d never believe she wasn’t trying to sneak off where she shouldn’t be.

They kept going down and down, past where Master Kingston had first brought Andorra and still the stairway went farther down. When Nevis pushed the stairwell door open for Andorra and held it, Andorra had to stop and take a breath at what she was seeing. The walls here were solid rock. “Are we inside the mountain now?”

“Yes. These are the original caves. Hot Springs Caves.”

Nevis was walking again so Andorra followed her, wishing she was brave enough to reach out and touch the rock to feel if it was slimy or wet or cold. At the end of the hallway was a huge room—well, cave she supposed—and the center two-thirds of it was a rock pool with steam rising off the water. There were chairs and chaise longues around the walls, and a table piled high with towels. Across the ceiling above one corner of the pool was a curtain on a metal rack. It was open right now, but Andorra followed the track with her gaze and it just seemed to circle a very small part of the pool and the area behind it.

Nevis stood beside a chair and started to get undressed. “Come on, Andorra.”

Obediently Andorra followed her to the next chair and stripped out of her jeans, boots and sweatshirt, then pulled her hair up higher on her head and tied it up.

“I’ve often thought about growing my hair longer, but I guess I’m just too lazy to look after it properly. It’s so much easier to keep it short,” said Nevis.

“I haven’t been able to afford to go to a beautician since—for a while. I’ve cut it myself a few times but it’s too hard to keep a straight line across the center back. It’s easier to let it grow.”

Nevis walked across to the pool and stepped casually into it. Andorra noticed it wasn’t deep, not even up to Nevis’s knees, so she followed her across. Exactly as she’d remembered from the hot pool out on the mountain, the rocks were smooth and easy to walk on, likely worn away from the water rubbing over them. The pool was natural so neither round nor square but with curves and bends and wave shaped rocks surrounding it. Nevis sank down on the rock base, leaning against the wall, so Andorra copied her, wishing she had the other woman’s grace and confidence.

“Now, do tell me. What man?”

“Huh?” Andorra had no idea what Nevis was asking.

“The man who was rude to you so you came up the mountain. Very few people climb the mountain. Why did you? Actually why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me all about yourself?”

“There’s not a whole lot to say and it’s pretty boring, really. Four months ago my dad ran off with a blonde from his office. He cleaned out his and my stepmother’s bank accounts first, and naturally my stepmom wasn’t very happy about that. She closed up the apartment and took my stepbrother, her son, and went off to live with her family in another state. I’ve always loved hiking so I’d planned to backpack around the United States for a while and choose somewhere new to settle down, but then I found my bank account was empty as well. I expect it was Dad, not my stepmom who did that.”