Page 115

It was a personal tragedy, and on top of that he was going to add… His hands curled into fists and his jaw flexed. He had tortured himself all night, imagining what it would do to her and her family if he put her aside. There would be rumours, people would invent stories, though it would be doubtful if any would be as cruel as the truth.

By this morning and after a bare hour’s sleep, he felt as though he was adrift in a storm, pulled in disparate directions. His life had all been about duty, that was his choice, but when that duty hurt an innocent, how could it be right? The thought of his life of duty stretching ahead without Elsie beside him felt like a lump of lead in his chest.

‘Are you all right, Leandro?’

He dragged himself into the present, his smile leaving a haunted shadow in his eyes. ‘Fine.’

The frown didn’t leave Elsie’s brow.

‘Have you got something against that croissant?’

Elsie looked down, startled, then looked back to the croissant she was systematically shredding in her hand as though she had forgotten it was there.

‘Your mother might talk to you today.’

‘That’s nice.’

‘She has made a lot of friends in Scotland. Have you ever met any of them?’

The penny dropped. ‘She’s going to tell me about her boyfriend… Oh, God, just what I need.’

She sank into a chair. ‘You knew?’

‘Of course I know. Who do you think her security detail reports to?’

‘And you’re OK with it?’

He paused. Was he? Yesterday, his response might have been different, but now, well…

‘The guy seems genuine,’ he said without enthusiasm.

‘How do you know?’

‘Do you really think I’d allow my vulnerable mother to become involved with someone I haven’t checked out?’

The corner of her mouth lifted. ‘I feel pretty stupid not to have seen that one coming.’

‘You know something—if she’s happy, what does it matter what I think? What anyone thinks? Life is short and you get a chance at happiness. I say bloody grab it with both hands! Good luck to them.’

By the end of the low, impassioned speech, Elsie’s jaw was literally on her chest.

She brushed away a tear of emotion from her cheek, but not before Leandro had seen the sparkle and he was on his feet and kneeling at her side in seconds. His face a mask of concern bordering panic, he gently framed her face in his hands.

‘Are you in pain or…?’

She sniffed and caught the hand pressed to her face and, raising it to her lips, she kissed his palm. ‘That was a beautiful thing to say, and I know it’s not easy for you, being such a control freak.’

A shadow passed across his face, so dark it seemed to Elsie that night had fallen. ‘You can’t control everything in life.’

She was looking at him as though he was one of life’s good guys—a hero. Very soon, he thought dully, she would know he wasn’t.

He surged to his feet and looked down at the face turned up to him with her heart in her eyes. The pain in his chest was so intense, so crushing, that he actually feared he was having a heart attack.

‘I think I’ll go for a swim. You should rest.’

‘But Leandro, I need to tell you something.’

Something close to panic flashed in his eyes. ‘We’ll talk later.’