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Leonora sensed Gabriel before she saw him, but she kept on reading aloud to Matías, who had come to the castillo to visit her. He’d always loved being read to, and she still did it on occasion. It was like a security blanket, and he’d obviously sensed that something wasn’t quite right with his big sister. She hadn’t told him about her operation, he’d be too upset.
But Matías had spotted Gabriel and he jumped up from the seat they were sharing and went over, throwing his arms around Gabriel’s neck. Gabriel looked at her over Matías’s shoulder and she could see it in his eyes.
Now he was ready to discuss things with her.
She’d been feeling perfectly well again for a few days now. Apart from the small scar on her abdomen it would be hard to know that anything had happened. But it had. And it had had catastrophic repercussions.
They both had dinner with Matías, and then he was taken back to his school by one of Gabriel’s staff.
Gabriel turned to her at the door, from where they’d waved him off. ‘Come and have a nightcap on the terrace?’
Leonora’s hand gripped the door for a moment, and then she let go and nodded. ‘Sure.’
She followed him out to the terrace, peaceful and fragrant with blooming flowers and plants. Candles flickered gently in the light breeze. Leonora sat down in a chair and tucked her legs underneath her. She watched Gabriel pour himself a coffee and then he looked around.
‘What would you like?’
‘A little port, please.’
He poured some into a delicate glass and brought it over. Amazingly, considering how battered and bruised her insides were, Leonora felt a flicker of response. She took a sip of the sweet alcohol.
Gabriel came over and sat down on a chair at right angles to hers. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing the strong bronzed column of his throat and a glimpse of curling chest hair. His sleeves were rolled up and the muscles of his arms were a distraction that sent further tendrils of awareness to Leonora’s core.
To her surprise he said, ‘I had a visit from Lazaro Sanchez today.’
‘Oh?’
‘He told me he was pulling out of the bid...that he no longer cares about it.’
‘That’s...strange.’
From what Leonora had learnt about Lazaro during their short and very chaste relationship, he was ruthlessly ambitious. He’d been willing to marry a woman he hardly knew, after all.
As had Gabriel, pointed out a small voice.
‘Yes...it is,’ Gabriel said, and took a sip of coffee.
They sat in silence for a while, and then Gabriel put his cup down and sat forward.
Leonora tensed. He look
ed at her and she saw compassion in his eyes.
He said, ‘I’m so sorry, Leo, for what’s happened to you. If there was some way I could reverse the diagnosis or offer you a solution then I would.’
He stood up and she realised how agitated he was when he ran a hand through his hair. He cursed and walked over to the wall, placing his hands down on it.
Leonora untucked her legs and sat up, putting down the glass. She wasn’t sure what to say.
He turned around and there was a bleak expression on his face. ‘I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. And it’s not a nice feeling. To know that there was literally nothing I could do. You were at the mercy of the doctors.’
A little of the ice that had been like a block in her chest for two weeks started melting slightly. She hadn’t really thought of this impacting on Gabriel, but of course it must have.
‘I know...and thank you for wanting to do something. But nothing could have been done.’
He came back over and sat down. ‘It’s not fair, Leo... I see you with Matías and know that you’d be a wonderful mother. Loving, caring, compassionate...’
Leonora had been trying not to give in to anger after her diagnosis, so hearing Gabriel articulate it for her was like a balm to her jagged edges.
