Pt. 2

Van Hauten showed her literally everything. Occasionally, he greeted guards or maidens, and had a little chat with some of them. Clare was totally in love with the place. It had everything she never had: A huge bedroom with a kingsize bed for Van Hautens mother alone, beautiful windows and curtains, a huge living room with a couch that could easily host six people and so on. The occasional sigh or 'oh wow' coming from her let Van Hauten know she liked it very much. At the end, they were back in the hallway again. 'That was absolutely beautiful. I'd never thought you'd lived in a place like this,' Clare said. 'No, you can't see it can you,' Van Hauten laughed. He seemed to have forgotten about Annabel, at least for now. 'So, is there anything more you'd like to see?' Van Hauten asked. He thought she might have forgotten about the other door. 'Of course. You were going to show me what's behind that, remember?' she said pointing at the door. 'Oh, of course,' he said. 'Let me call someone for that.' Clare looked puzzled. Van Hauten went upstairs, and she heard him talk to someone. When he came back, she was only three times as curious. 'We can enter,' he said. 'There will be someone to guide us in a few minutes.'

Clare laughed at him. 'You don't even know your own house?' 'It's not for the house,' Van Hauten said. 'Oh stop it, I'm going mad from your teasing,' Clare said. She walked to the door and stopped in front of it. 'May I...?' 'Sure, open it,' he said. She opened it and what she saw when she stepped through is what every girl should dream of.

They walked into a hallway without a roof. 'May I present to you: the stables,' Van Hauten said. Clares mouth fell open. At every side of the hallway, there were six stables with beautiful horses in them. Only the last stable was empty, Clare thought. Van Hauten touched her chin with a hand and literally closed her mouth. 'You were gaping,' he smiled. 'I'm sorry, it's just that this.. This can't be happening, no one has a life like this.' 'No one abandones a life like this, except for me, you mean,' Van Hauten said. 'Yes, that too.' Clare walked into the hallway, stopping at some stables to look at the horses. Most of them were shining white, others blonde or brown. 'So.. do you have an own horse between all those beauties?' Clare asked. She loved horses, when she was young she'd had one but her study and work wouldn't allow her to keep one. 'Yes, I have actually.' Van Hauten said. 'Which one do you thing is mine?'

'How should I know that?' Clare looked at him. 'I can't tell which horse is yours!' 'Just.. look at them, look at their names, their colour, their.. well their everything and tell me, which one do you think is mine?' Clare walked back to the door and leaned against it. She had agfs of all horses from there. After standing there for a few minutes, she walked past every single horse and back again. She stopped at a brown horse. 'I think this one is yours.' Van Hauten walked towards her and patted the horse on its slender neck. 'Almost right. This is the daughter of mine. Clare, meet King,' he said and walked to the next stable. A huge black horse stuck out it's head and licked Van Hautens hand.

TBC

'Ah, there comes our guide,' Van Hauten said. Clare noticed a young woman, probably in her early twenties walking through the door. Van Hauten walked to her and talked to her for a few moments. Clare didn't understand much, only that he asked her which horses were fit to go. 'Ik wil King en Ivy meenemen als dat kan,' he said. Ivy would probably be a different horse, she thought. The woman nodded and walked to Clare. 'Hey, I'm Ellen,' she said. 'It's a pleasure to meet you.' 'Hi, Ellen. How are you doing?' 'Fine, thank you. Mister Van Hauten would like to take you for a ride, if that's okay with you,' she said. 'That would be great! Your English is flawless, by the way.' 'Thank you. I've lived in London for a few years myself. Bilingual education does the rest,' she smiled. Clare smiled back. Ellen guided her to a stable. 'This is Ivy. I'll brush and saddle her for you.' 'That's okay, I used to have a horse as well. I know my way around the stables,' Clare said. She saw Van Hauten look at her. 'Really? Great,' Ellen said and she walked to Van Hauten.

Clare brushed and saddled the white horse as if she had done it only yesterday. It was strange, it had been almost twenty years since she'd last saddled a horse and she still knew exactly how to do it. The blanket underneath the saddle had a silver print with the letters V and H in it.

From the path, Van Hauten called at her. 'You almost ready?' 'Yes, I'm coming,' Clare said. She put on her cap and walked out of the stable, Ivy at her hand. She had to laugh when she saw Van Hauten. 'What's so funny?' 'The trousers, for starters,' Clare said. 'I know, I"m sorry it's been a while since I've worn these. My good ones are in Amsterdam, I think.' 'It's okay, as long as you don't walk next to your horse the whole time,' Clare said. It really looked stupid on him. 'That's not the idea, Clare,' he said and smiled at her.

They mounted their horses and Van Hauten lead the way, Ellen and Clare following him. They rode for two hours. Halfway down, Ellen turned back because Van Hauten told her to. 'You have a lot of influence here,' Clare said. 'Count, that does the trick,' Van Hauten answered. 'I'm serious. You really own this place and everything, and everyone in it?' 'Well, they work for the castle, not for me,' he said but Clare knew he liked using them sometimes. 'But.. they come in handy, the maidens and all.' he added. 'I knew it. You take advantage of them while they clear up your mess,' Clare laughed. 'I don't, they have their house in my castle, you haven't seen the guestrooms. Most of them are occupied by the maidens, but they're wonderful. I'm not using them!' 'Yes you are..' Clare teased him. Van Hauten spurred his horse and it galopped away. Clare followed him at once, but her horse was no match for the brown stallion Van Hauten was riding. At the top of the hill, he stopped and Clare could catch up. 'Wow.' was all she could say. Van Hauten smiled at her and slowly they rode back to the castle.

After taking care of the horses and making sure everything was okay, they got back in the car. 'Did you enjoy yourself a little?' Van Hauten asked. 'Man, it was great. I've never had such a wonderful day before,' she answered. 'So it isn't that hard to satisfy you after all,' he grinned. A smile appeared on Clare's face. 'Oh, it's hard. You have no idea.'

TBC

Back at the hotel, Clare invited Van Hauten in. She didn't know if it was a good idea to let him go home by himself, and she still had to collect all her stuff so she could stay at his place. 'I'll help you carrying that down,' Van Hauten said when he saw her huge bag. 'Thanks,' Clare said and she let go if the bag immediately. Van Hauten laughed and carried the bag to his car. Clare checked out and stole one last bottle of wine from her personal fridge in her room. They got in the car and drove to Van Hauten's place.

Once they were in, they were greeted by Julian and a young girl. 'Dankjewel, Natasha. Ik zie je morgen, dezelfde tijd.' Van Hauten apparently sent the girl out, because she took her coat and left. 'That was the nanny.' 'Oh. Okay,' Clare said. She looked around the house. 'This is pretty large too,' she said. 'Where the hell do you get the money?' 'Heritage.. jobs.. I also get my share from the incomes of the castle as a monument,' he added. 'Wow. You've got it all worked out,' Clare laughed. 'I do. I'll show you to your room.' 'Thanks.' They went up and Julian followed them. He said something in Dutch to Van Hauten, and he nodded. 'Would you like something to drink?' the boy asked her. Clare smiled at him and put down the last bag. 'Yes, please.' She winked at Van Hauten and took the boy down to the fridge to pour the three of them a drink. For the fist time since she was fourteen, Clare drank orange juice.

When Van Hauten had brought Julian to bed, Clare decided to turn in as well. 'It's been a lovely day, but I'm tired as hell,' she said. 'Me too. I'll clean up here and I think I'll go to bed too,' Van Hauten said. 'I'll help cleaning up.' 'No, that's okay, you take a shower or a bath or whatever,' he waved away her offer. Clare nodded and started walking up the stairs.

'I did love her you know.'

Clare turned around. 'I'm sorry?'

'I did love her, Annabel,' he repeated. Clare had tried her best to let him forget about his murdered daughter all day, but sitting there drinking orange juice had brought it all back. Clare sat down next to him on the couch. 'I know you loved her. You were her father.' Van Hauten looked at her and nodded. 'You understand.' 'I try to.' He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Thanks.' Clare smiled and stood up. She helped him clear the glasses they'd used and after that she took a long shower. It felt good to be in his house, she didn't know why but she enjoyed it.

Just before she fell asleep, she noticed Van Hauten stick his head around the door and look if she was comfortable. She smiled and saw him smile back before he turned away. That's all she remembered before she fell asleep.

The next morning, Julian woke her up. 'My dad asked me to get you, but you were still asleep,' he explained when he saw her bothered face. 'That's okay, thank you,' she said. 'Tell your dad I'll be ready in a few minutes.' The boy nodded and disappeared down the stairs. Clare dressed as fast as she could and went downstairs. She didn't want to keep Van Hauten from his daily routine. Downstairs, the smell of toast filled her nose. 'Good morning, my sleeping beauty,' Van Hauten said. Julian giggled. Clare just gave him a warning look and nodded at the toaster. 'I thought that was énglish breakfast,' she said. 'Dutch recepy,' Julian and Van Hauten said at the same time. Julian blushed. 'You've been practicing,' Clare laughed. The boy coloured an even deeper colour of red.

TBC

-restaurant The Grasshopper actually exists!

They ate breakfast, toast with bacon, eggs and peanut butter for Julian. The boy talked all the time, about school, the bear from London, his mother and of course his famous father. Clare liked the boy very much, he talked to her as if she'd lived there for years. She almost felt like his mother. When it was time to go, the boy walked to Clare and she bowed. He kissed her on her cheek. 'See you tonight!' Clare laughed at Van Hauten, who looked at her with huge eyes.

'He normally doesn't do that,' Van Hauten said when he got back. 'I like him. Apparently he likes me too,' Clare said. 'He's very open.' 'I know. We've been to therapy together, when his mom disappeared. It helped him a lot. He talks to me, to people he trusts and to the therapist.' Clare laughed at that. 'What?' 'You said to people he trusts, ánd the therapist,' Clare giggled. 'He doesn't fully trust her, no,' Van Hauten said. Clare nodded. 'I had therapy too. When Brenda Thornton had attacked me, I started having panic attacks. The therapist was very friendly, but we were more on a friendly basis than on a therapist-patient one. When she started acting professional, I put up a shield.' Van Hauten smiled. 'That's the same thing he had.' Clare smiled back. 'Reason found.'

Van Hauten wanted to show her Amsterdam. Clare took the files of the case with her, she didn't know why but she needed to have them with her. They walked out of the house and took the tram. Van Hauten bought two tickets for a tour around the waters of Amsterdam and they got the back seats in the boat. There was a woman telling all things that were interesting to know. Clare enjoyed it a lot. 'There's so much to see around here,' she said. 'It's hard to see everything.' 'You can't see everything, at least not in one tour,' Van Hauten said. 'I can at least try,' Clare answered. He smiled at her. 'You really don't give up do you.' 'Nope, never.'

The tour took them through the small channels but also to the centre of the city. Clare was amazed. 'It's all so large, and so beautiful!' 'London is much better than this, believe me.' Clare frowned. 'No it's not. London isn't this old and beautiful at the same time, it's old in one place and beautiful in the other.' 'So is Amsterdam.' Clare was silent. She enjoyed it very much, and if Van Hauten had a hard time believing that than so be it. 'This is a replica of a real VOC-ship,' the woman said. 'It's huge,' Clare said to Van Hauten. 'You know what it's called?' he asked. 'No.' 'It's not such an original name, I should tell you,' he said. 'It's not called the Amsterdam, is it,' Clare asked. Van Hauten looked at her. Clare sighed. 'That's so Dutch, naming ships after cities.' 'Don't you have Liverpool and Dublin and Harwich ships in Great Britain?' Van Hauten asked. 'Oh I don't know, I'm not really into ships,' Clare said. They both laughed and enjoyed the rest of their tour.

A little after five they arrived home again. Julian and the nanny were waiting. 'Hi Clare, how was your day?' Julian kissed his dad and ran to Clare. For a moment Clare thought he'd kiss her too, but he just hugged her and Clare hugged him back. While she wrapped her arms around the boy's neck, she looked up at Van Hauten. A sad look crossed his eyes but was replaced by a happy one. He nodded at Clare and Clare let go of Julian. 'It was great. You live in the most beautiful cities in the Netherlands.' 'How many have you seen?' Van Hauten asked. Julian laughed, and Clare joined in. 'One.'

After a cup of coffee and an orange juice for Julian, he ran to his dad and started whispering in his ear. Clare looked at the two, curious what they were discussing. 'You know, whispering in public is not very polite,' she said. Julian blushed. 'Sorry.' 'It's okay, go on,' Clare said and she tried hard not to listen. Van Hauten nodded and Julian called out. 'Yes!!' Clare looked at him with huge eyes. 'You scare me.' 'Can I tell her, dad?' Van Hauten smiled. 'It was your idea, so you can tell her, yeah,' he said to the boy. 'We're going out for dinner. To a restaurant, The Grasshopper. They have very good pizza there.'

TBC

'So, what about an ice cream?' Van Hauten called a waitress to get the chart. They'd just finished the main dish and Clare was stuffed, but never too stuffed not to eat ice cream. Julian frowned and looked at the chart. 'Pap, mag ik deze? Please?' Clare smiled. 'You can have that one, yeah.' 'Hey, who are you to decide over my sons ice cream?' Van Hauten joked. 'A friend, just a friend,' Clare said. 'A friend who like ice cream. I want the same as Julian.' Van Hauten ordered, and Clare thought he was flirting with the waitress. 'You really shouldn't look at her like that,' she said. 'Like.. how?' he asked with puppy eyes. 'You know.' He smiled. 'I'm not flirting or anything. I just want to be friendly, not that many people are over here. If I didn't know better, I'd say you're jealous.' 'Good thing you know better, then,' Clare said. She did feel jealous, she was sleeping in his house, only a few metres away from his bed, he should flirt with her. Not with the waitress.

Clare and Julian enjoyed their fruity coupe of vanilla ice cream and Julian played with the toy he got with it while Van Hauten had one with just cherries. 'Here dad, taste this,' Julian said. He had switched from Dutch to English in a few minutes, when he was talking in public he always spoke English. The boy didn't even seem to notice, and Clare was glad. She'd have felt a lot worse when the whole conversation would have been in Dutch. The boy's behaviour made her feel at home.

Julian was feeding his dad strawberries and pieces of apple from his coupe. Van Hauten ate everything the boy gave him, and he seemed to enjoy every bit. Clare laughed at the sight, and Julian looked at her. 'Jealous?' Van Hauten asked. 'Only a little.. He's taking good care of you,' Clare laughed. 'I even get fed. How's that for manners?' Clare laughed harder. 'Yes, yes, you've tought him well.' Van Hauten picked up a cherry with his spoon. 'Would you like to taste this, ma'am?' Clare blushed, but the lights were too dim for Van Hauten to notice. Clare leaned in a little and Van Hauten brought the spoon to her mouth. Clare bit in the cherry and ate it off. Van Hauten put back the spoon and smiled at her. 'And?' Clare didn't say a thing, she just looked at him while she let the cherry melt in her mouth. Finally she found her voice back. 'Tastes great.'

They ate their ice cream in silence and when they'd finished, Julian wanted to go out and sit on the veranda, so he could watch the boats. Van Hauten paid for their dinner and Julian took Clare out. 'It's really beautiful, you can see the station, and all the tour boats!' Clare laughed. 'That sounds great, let's see it!' Julian took the bench that was closest to the water, and Clare sat next to him. The boy stood on the bench, so he could watch further. 'You can see all the way up to NEMO here!' 'What's nemo?' Clare asked. She'd heard of it before, and she'd seen it on the boat tour but she still didn't know what it was. 'It's a science lab.' 'Wow, that sounds cool,' Clare said. 'It is, I've been there twice with my birthday!' Van Hauten walked to them and sat next to Clare. 'It's not really a science lab,' he said to her when Julian had gone back to his boat seeing. 'It's a science museum for children, you can do all sorts of things there and they're allowed to touch everything. They even have to, if they want to see the machines in action.' 'That sounds very nice, especially for kids,' Clare said. 'Julian loves it. It's also got a great terrace, all the way down the roof.' Clare smiled. 'I bet you can see a lot of boats from there.'

It was already very late when they got home. Julian had been asleep in Van Hautens arms almost all the way back to the house, and Clare was holding the boys small toy. 'I'll put him in bed first, if that's okay,' Van Hauten whispered to her. 'Sure, I'll help,' Clare said and carefully opened door after door until they reached the boy's bedroom. Van Hauten smiled and thanked her. Clare smiled back and retreated from the room, but she stayed in the doorway watching Van Hauten put his son into bed. He carefully took off the boys jeans and sweater, trying hard not to wake him. Julian was very tired so he didn't wake up. Clare suspected a bomb had to go off right next to his bed to wake the boy up right now. Van Hauten whispered something to the boy and although Clare didn't understand it, she couldn't help but notice how loving it sounded.

TBC

Van Hauten suddenly turned around and caught Clare smiling at him from the doorway, casually leaning into it. 'I'm sorry, I didn't know you were still there.' Clare crossed her arms. 'That's okay. I was just watching, I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable.' 'It didn't. Julian is the only steady thing in my life, and he has been for many years.' 'I could see that. You clearly love him very, very much.' 'Of course, he's my son.' The memories of his lost daughter came back and Clare noticed. 'Let me get a drink,' she said before Van Hauten could think about her more deeply. He nodded and followed her down the stairs.

'Do you mind if I put these...' She didn't get to finish her sentence. 'Of course not, I can understand you can't keep walking on high heels forever.' 'As a matter of fact, no I can't. They're real killers.' Van Hauten smiled watching her kick off her boots into a corner of the corridor. 'Just make sure no one can fall over them, okay?' 'Aye Sir.'

They had a glass of wine, and then another. Van Hauten had been looking outside for almost fifteen minutes now and Clare was dying to know what was on his mind. Van Hauten seemed to notice. 'Come sit over here,' he mentioned to her to come to sit next to him on the couch. Clare moved over but she kept her distance, not knowing how close he wanted her to get. 'Come... Come here.' Clare smiled, took her glass off the table and moved closer to him. 'You're probably wondering what's going on in my head, right?' Clare knew it wasn't a question, more of a statement so she kept quiet. 'I was thinking about... Does Mary know already? Did anyone tell her?' Clare sighed. 'Yes, I know what you're thinking, can't he get her out of his head, but no, Clare. I can't.' 'That's not what I was thinking. I was thinking why this has to be you, not someone who deserves it more.' 'No one deserves to loose a daughter, Clare.' 'I know, you know what I mean.' Van Hauten nodded. 'Yeah.' 'I think someone must have told her. That's their job, and even without us they're pretty good at it.' 'I know, but what.. What if they couldn't find her? I mean I had a very hard time finding her, and now I don't want to find her but I wouldn't have the faintest idea where she is.' 'Maybe they haven't figured out the family yet,' Clare wondered with him. 'Maybe she doesn't care,' Van Hauten countered. 'I think she cares as much as you do,' Clare answered softly.

'I'm sorry, so sorry for getting you into all of this,' Van Hauten said. 'Erik, really, it's fine. I'm glad to be here for you.' 'Thanks, you know I appreciate it.' Clare smiled softly. She was glad to be there for him, but she couldn't stay forever and she hoped he knew too. 'I do have to go back, you know, pretty soon,' she said. Van Hauten sighed. 'I know, and I'll miss you. Very much.' Clare blushed. Van Hauten had moved his hand to her arm, and it was only now that Clare noticed it. She didn't try to move, she just looked at his hand.

'So, are we dating now?' Van Hauten suddenly asked. 'I beg your pardon?' 'You know, Julian thinks you're cute, I should be dating you according to him. Are we?' 'Let's see, whe had a boat trip,' 'Not a very romantic one,' Van Hauten interrupted. 'We had a boat trip,' Clare started over. 'A dinner at a very cozy restaurant,' 'With my son sitting next to us,' 'Still, it was dinner. And we had quite a few glasses of wine together. I'd say.. we're at least pretty close to dating.' 'I'd say so too,' Van Hauten said and they laughed together.

'Are you kissing?' the sleepy voice of Julian came from upstairs. Clare laughed even harder, but Van Hauten went quiet and looked at her. When Clare had calmed down as well, he slowly moved towards her and when she didn't pull back, he kissed her. Clare was surprised to find she was kissing him back. After a few moments, Van Hauten broke the kiss. 'Yes Julian, we're kissing,' he answered. 'Dan is het goed,' Julian's sleepy voice said. 'He's probably already asleep again,' Van Hauten grinned. Clare was still a bit shocked about their sweet kiss. 'What.. What did he say?' 'Oh. He said good.' 'Good? He thinks it's good when you're kissing with women?' Clare giggled. 'He thinks it's good when I'm kissing you, Clare.'

TBC

He's lonely, she told herself. He's lost his daughter. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's got a child, he's not yours. Although Clare could think of more than a hundred reasons not to do this, she was. She was kissing Erik van Hauten junior with all the love and passion she possessed.

Later that night, Clare woke up in Van Hauten's arms. He was awake, watching her. 'You're beautiful when you're asleep,' he whispered. Clare blushed slightly. 'Just when I'm asleep?' she asked shyly. 'Of course not. You're beautiful, every time of the day, every second you live. Dressed or undressed,' he added. Clare giggled. 'I should go,' It sounded like a statement, and Van Hauten frowned. 'Why? You've already slept here for more than half of the night, you really should stay.' 'What would Julian think if he comes to wake you up in a few hours and I'm here with you?' Clare whispered. 'He won't think anything. At least nothing bad. He's a kid, he likes you, he really won't mind. He'd want to wake you up as well.' Clare sighed. 'Are you sure about that?' 'Yes. It'll be fine, Clare. He's very understanding.' Van Hauten winked at her. 'I won't mind if you stayed forever.' Clare giggled at him. 'You're incorrigable.' 'I know.'

'Pa! Pa, wakker worden. Clare, wake up!! It's time, I have to go to school, come on dad!' Julian was shaking on his fathers shoulder. Clare slowly opened her eyes and when she saw Julian, she swiftly removed her hand from Van Hauten's arm, which was lying on her stomach. 'I'll wake him up, Julian,' she said. The boy nodded and left the room. Clare smiled, Van Hauten had been right. The boy didn't care, it seemed as if he didn't even notice. After a minute, Clare decided it was time to wake up Erik. Softly, she kissed him. When he didn't respond, she kissed him again, this time a bit more urgent. Van Hauten moaned and kissed back, but he didn't wake up entirely. 'Oh come on, wake up!' Clare lauged and she slapped him on his bottom. That woke him up. 'Auch, don't hit me,' Van Hauten laughed. 'Clare. You stayed.' When he saw Clare's questioning look, he sighed. 'I thought you'd disappear when I was asleep. Lots of women do that. They disappear from my iron grip and in the morning they tell me they just couldn't. If they're still around in the morning, that is.' 'Sounds like you've had a lot of experience.' 'Not much. Don't worry, I'm talking about two or three women here,' he answered. Clare smiled. 'I think Julian is downstairs making orange juice,' she grinned when she heard the boy stumble around in the kitchen. 'I'd better go and take a look.' Taking her underwear and top from the chair next to the bed she dressed under the blankets. Van Hauten cast her a look that told her he found it very seductive and she disappeared to the bathroom before he could get any ideas.

'Clare, do you want orange juice or tea?' Julian asked the second he saw Clare in the doorway. 'You've been a busy bee,' Clare commented. Julian and his dad had made toasts, fresh orange juice, tea and some cheese sandwiches during her shower. 'You've been in there pretty long,' Van Hauten said. 'Oh, I'm sorry. I'm an expert at wasting water,' Clare blushed. 'It's okay, this gentleman over here is probably better at it than you are,' Van Hauten smiled at her. 'Tea or orange juice!' Julian called at her. 'Tea, please,' Clare called back. Julian laughed and carefully poured her some tea.

Together, they ate breakfast. The nanny called in sick, so Van Hauten had to bring Julian to school. 'Clare has to come with us,' Julian said. 'Oh, it's okay, I'll come with your dad to collect you,' Clare told the boy. She really didn't feel like being seen with him and being gossiped about. Van Hauten nodded at her. 'Make yourself at home, don't clean up, that's my job.' Clare nodded, and Van Hauten left.

... more soon..