Silver Linings

everything else he did. As she had observed before, the man did not have a subtle bone in his body.
    That thought brought back unwelcome memories of the one night she had spent in bed with Hugh Abbott. No, subtle was not a word that came to mind. What came to mind was the old phrase slam, bam, thank you, ma'am .
    No wonder Ariel had broken off the engagement shortly after returning from Italy with Hugh in tow last year. She had explained to Mattie that Hugh had obviously been merely a phase she had been going through. He represented the Elemental period in her evolving artistic style. It was one of her shorter-lived periods.
    Mattie sat up stiffly, stretching her limbs cautiously to see how much damage a night on the stone floor had done. She had to bite back a groan. Then she realized that Paul Cormier would not be waking up at all this morning and she sighed.
    She got to her feet, aware that she was alone in the cavern. When she glanced at the level of seawater in the small, natural boat basin, she realized the tide must be out.
    There was no sign of Hugh. She assumed he was out scouting around or doing whatever men like him did in situations such as this.
    When she walked over to the ledge near the cave's entrance and peered out, Mattie could see the small patch of green foliage clinging tenaciously to a rocky overhang that jutted out above the sea.
    Above and below the natural veranda there was nothing but sheer cliff. The facilities were definitely primitive, but there was not much choice.
    A few minutes later she returned to the cavern and washed her hands in seawater. Then she turned her attention to the contents in the string bags.
    Hugh's trip to Cormier's kitchen had been brief, but he had managed to make quite a haul. Mattie found several more small tins of fancy pâtés, marinated oysters, a jar of brine-cured olives, some homemade tapanade, sun-dried tomatoes, bottled spring water, and a wedge of hazelnut torte. There was also a bit of brie and a chunk of Stilton and some day-old French bread. Hugh had even swiped a white linen kitchen towel.
    Mattie surveyed the lot and decided the only thing that vaguely resembled breakfast was the brie. She tore off chunks of the bread and began to spread it with the cheese.
    When a boot scraped on the rocky floor behind her, Mattie started nervously and leapt to her feet. She whirled around, clutching the knife she had been using to spread the cheese.
    “Hugh.” She inhaled deeply. “Don't ever sneak up on me like that again. I'm very jumpy these days.”
    “Sorry. Didn't know if you'd be awake yet.”
    He switched off the flashlight he was carrying and sauntered into the main cavern from the tunnel they had used yesterday. He was looking disgustingly refreshed and energetic, Mattie thought in annoyance. An occasional night spent on a gritty stone floor apparently did not bother him in the slightest.
    His jeans and khaki shirt were a little stained but basically did not look much different than they had yesterday. Other than a day's growth of beard Hugh appeared none the worse for wear. He looked like Mr. Macho Adventurer, always at home in primitive jungles, barren deserts, or other perilous locales.
    Mattie, who had been congratulating herself on surviving the night, suddenly felt weak and puny.
    “Want some brie and French bread?” She did not look at him as she held some food for him.
    “Thanks. Paul always said living at the edge of the world was no excuse for sacrificing the good things in life.”
    “So I gathered. Mr. Cormier was obviously a gourmet.”
    Hugh grinned around a large bite of bread and brie. “Hey, stick with me, babe, and it'll be nothing but the best all the way.”
    Mattie winced. “Nothing but the best and plenty of it?” She nodded toward the huge pile of flowers.
    Hugh looked pleased as he followed her glance. “Nice, huh? I found 'em right outside the front door this morning when I went out to take a…Uh, when I went outside.”
    “For your morning ablutions?” Mattie smiled sweetly.
    “Yeah, right. Did you go out?”
    “Yes, thank you.” She glanced back toward the bright heap. “And thank you for the flowers,” she added politely.
    Hugh's expectant expression hardened. “Don't fall all over me or anything on account of a few flowers.”
    “Don't worry, I won't.”
    “Ouch.” He took another bite of cheese and bread. “You're certainly back in fighting form this morning, aren't you?”
    “Believe me, the last