Fragile Crystal: Rubies and Rivalries (The Crystal Fragments Trilogy) (7 page)

Chapter Five

The doctor was probably in her late thirties, Kris thought, though her serious expression made her look a little older. Her hair was not quite as long as Kris’s and tied back, and her face had a little makeup on it which was probably more a concession to femininity than anything else. She was somewhat stern but that actually made Kris feel more secure.

The pain in her ankle was deadening now, and she was thankful for that. Daniel had lifted her carefully after she had screamed, a small crowd gathering around the two of them. He had been polite but resolute, asking them to stand back in a strong, loud voice, and then he had carried her all the way back to where Filipe was waiting by the car. She had been glad of his strength then: the walk must have been half a mile, yet never once did he stumble or falter as she was in his arms, holding onto him around her neck while an invisible knife was stabbed into the socket of her foot.

Filipe had driven at speed to Lisbon. For a few minutes Daniel had wondered whether they should return to Cascais, but Filipe had told him that the private hospital in Lisbon was better. Sitting in the back with her as Filipe pushed the car faster than she had ever known him before, Kris could see that Daniel’s face was almost white at one point, and he gripped her hand with a fear that, she knew, was for more than her.

You poor thing, she thought. You can see it all now, can’t you. That night. You hate this, and yet you do it, for me.

And he was with her now as the doctor lifted X-rays onto a screen, her white coat shifting as she raised her arm. His expression was almost as stern as hers, and Kris thought that she was probably the only relaxed one in the room, for which she had the drugs to thank. As she reclined in the bed, her head slightly lifted but her leg, bandaged and in an air splint raised even higher, she saw the shadowy ghosts of her foot upon the brightly lit screen.

“Fortunately nothing was broken, Miss Avelar,” the doctor was saying, in English for Daniel’s benefit. “But you did severely sprain the ankle.”

A sprain, that was all? The pain she had felt seemed to Kris that she must have shattered her foot when she fell, but now she had to endure the embarrassment of a simple sprain. She blushed and, more to Daniel than the doctor, began to say: “I’m so sorry—it was such a stupid thing to do. Never mind, I’ll be out of here soon and back on my feet...”

The doctor interrupted her. “No,” she said. “You didn’t break anything, which is what we had to check, but you’ve torn the ligaments here,” she gestured to one of the X-rays, “and here. We’d prefer you not to move for three days. If you want to go home, then that will be okay but you can’t walk. The ligament isn’t completely severed—that
would
be serious—but this will require complete rest for a while to begin to heal.”

“And how long before I’ll be able to walk?”

“Two weeks, maybe three. But nothing too strenuous. It will be a month to six weeks before it is completely healed.”

“A month?” Kris was infuriated, more at herself than anything else. How could she have been so stupid? “That’s not possible...”

It was Daniel who interrupted her now, laying a hand gently on hers as she waved it around, returning it softly to her belly. He looked at her, his eyes warm with concern, and then returned his gaze to the doctor.

“Thank you, Doctor Crasto,” he said. “I’ll make sure that she’s well cared for.”

As the doctor left them, he bent over Kris and kissed her on her brow, his lips lingering for a moment. With that touch, some of the frustration left her and she arched her neck slightly, lifting her mouth and seeking his.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “So damn sorry. How could I have been so stupid?”

“Youthful exuberance,” he said, his face a few inches from hers, one of his fingers stroking a stray lock of her dark hair. She could lose herself in those eyes, she thought, when they looked at her like this. When first she had seen them, one pupil so much larger than the other, they had disturbed her a little, even frightened her. Her own eyes took in the criss-crossing scars of his face, more visible when he was this close, the firm line of his nose and his lips, smiling gently, the shape of his jaw on which, she noticed, a fine shadow of stubble was beginning to form.

She lifted up a hand and traced a finger along his face, feeling the slightest friction. “You forgot to shave this morning.”

He raised his own hand and rubbed his jaw more roughly. “So I did,” he said. “I had better see to that promptly.”

“It’s a shame you don’t grow it back,” she told him.

“I thought you didn’t like beards.”

“Well, I don’t really like them in the abstract, but I liked
your
beard. It reminds me of another Daniel.”

He smiled again, but this time she thought there was the hint of some sadness in his eyes. “I don’t think the board would approve. Felix in particular has a prejudice against any form of facial hair. In his eyes, it makes you either a hippy or gay.”

Kris stiffened slightly at Felix’s name. “And are both of those bad things?”

“Not at all, but Felix without his prejudices wouldn’t be Felix.”

“I don’t know why you keep him. I’m sure you could do a much better job.”

“I’m not sure my peers would agree. They seem to think I’ve lost my touch recently. There’s no position so precarious as being a master of the universe.”

Kris shook her head. “I’ll never get you men and your machismo,” she muttered, a little irritably.

“I thought you liked my machismo?”

This made her smirk. “In some things, but only
some
things.” She lifted her head and kissed him again.

When they broke, Kris heard a bleep and Daniel reached into pocket, drawing out his phone. As he read what was on the screen, his face darkened.

“A problem?”

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Felix wants to know why I’m not back in London. He says we can’t delay a meeting any more, not if we’re to be in New York by the end of the week.”

“I’m sorry,” Kris said very softly, feeling extremely guilty.

“What are you sorry for?”

“This,” she gestured towards her leg and then swept her arm around the room.

“You did nothing wrong. Fuck him. He can wait.” He bent forward to kiss her again, but she raised a hand to his lips.

“No.” Her voice was firm this time. “I won’t be going anywhere fast. You should head back. It won’t be that long and then you can return when you get back from New York. What’s this meeting about?”

He shrugged. “Business. Well, it’s important, certainly. But...” His voice trailed away.

“Go. It’s fine. Really. I’ll be okay—honestly.”

He nodded his head, and once again the distracted, slightly vacant stare had returned to his eyes. She was about to speak when his phone made another noise. This time when he read the screen, he smiled.

“Good news?” she asked.

He was still reading as he spoke. “Yes, indeed. Maria’s making progress on the legal side for the acquisition of Chiado. I’m hoping everything will be tied up in the next month.”

Another name to make Kris stiffen as she lay there in the bed, although this time her reaction was more ambiguous. Felix had given her sufficient reason to dislike him, but she could not fully account for her response to the French lawyer.

“I still don’t know why you don’t rely on the locals,” she said somewhat testily, noticing that he was half-listening to her, half-typing in a reply on his phone. She wanted to take the device and throw it out of the window.

“I told you, I trust her.”

“Why?”

Something about his tone made him look up into her face. For a second a glimmer of confusion passed over his face, his mind obviously still lingering over the response he had been sending. Then he raised an eyebrow slightly and his nostrils flared slightly. Switching off the phone he placed it back in his pocket. By that time, he had obviously decided on the answer he wanted to give her.

“Because she’s good at her job. I’ve known Maria Gosselin for nearly ten years, and she’s never let me down yet.”

“Oh,” Kris began to push herself up the bed—and also slightly away from Daniel, the better to look at him.

“Yes, oh.” There was a finality in his voice, an indication that he would brook no further discussion on this subject. Then he looked around him and his expression changed, showing a genuine distaste that surprised her.

“We should get you out of here, back to Cascais.”

“It’s okay. I can get back to Alfama after I’ve rested here for a day or two.”

He shook his head. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t. Let Anna look after you for a while. I’ll set Jorge to drive you around—I know you like him.”

“That’s true. But why not let them look after me here?”

His mouth smiled grimly but his eyes still looked around him with extreme displeasure. At last they came to rest on her and he lifted his hand, waving it in front of his face. “Because of this,” he told her. “I spent too long in a hospital after the crash, and I’ve always resolved to waste as little of my time as possible in one ever since. I want to be with you tonight, if I’m going to be away for a week again.”

The reminder about his crash made Kris more subdued, and she regretted her earlier tartness about the lawyer. “I’m sorry, I forgot.”

This time his smile was genuine. “My, Miss Avelar,” he teased her. “You are in an apologetic mood today. Quite amusing, really. You’ve been somewhat feisty recently.”

“Yes, well. I made a complete fool of myself today—no, don’t interrupt. I did. This,” she gestured towards her leg, “will be a reminder for a little while yet.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied, looking at her bare leg in its clear, inflated cocoon, bruising clearly evident around her ankle. “I think it’s rather fetching. Having you in my power, utterly unable to resist all my darkest and most wicked desires...” Rubbing his hands together, he bowed forward and gave a melodramatic cackle before kissing her again.

She was smiling when he drew back once more. “Like I could resist anything from you.”

“Yes, indeed,” he responded, waving a finger at her. “I’ve been finding out more about the Braganza family than I care to know in recent weeks.”

She burst out laughing at this. Braganza. Her safe word. A protection from Daniel when he had pushed her, made her submit to desires that she could not fulfil. “I’d almost forgotten that. I don’t think you’ve stretched my limits anywhere near enough recently. I don’t think you love me anymore.”

He placed a hand on her forehead and stroked her gently. “Don’t say that,” he told her quietly. Then, with a wry glance at her head, he observed: “Not that I think I’ll be pushing you anywhere soon, not unless it’s in a wheelchair.”

She reached behind her for a pillow and used it to smack him across the chest, a loud soft thump echoing from her blow. Both of them were laughing but, as she shifted around, a sudden stabbing twinge made her cry out in pain.

“See,” he said, replacing the pillow behind her head. “That’s what comes of not submitting. You should know better by now, Miss Avelar.”

“Indeed I should, Mister Stone,” she replied in mock seriousness. After she had spoken, he looked around the room again, his eyes fretful. She watched him for a moment then asked:

“Does it remind you of her?”

He nodded, not needing to ask who she referred to. “I didn’t see her when they took her to the hospital.” His voice was very quiet. “I didn’t even get to the funeral. I was out cold. Apparently they tried to save the baby but...” He stopped.

She placed one of her hands on his. His fingers were warm beneath her palm, the ridges of his knuckles solid and sure. So strong, and yet so fragile, she thought.

“Come on,” she said at last. “Get me that wheelchair you promised. Tell Filipe he’s taking us home.”

Chapter Six

The day was cool but still pleasant, a few clouds passing overhead but without the humidity that could make Lisbon unpleasant even by Kris’s standards. Autumn was truly here, however, and she had even experienced the first rains in the days since she had left the hospital.

Daniel had stayed with her a little longer at the villa, determined to see that she was healing, and Anna had fussed around her from morning till night. If she needed to go anywhere, Jorge had been available to her, although after a few days he had been assigned other duties and so, to her slight disappointment, she then had to make do with Filipe. The younger driver was sober and quiet, always attentive to her, but she missed Jorge’s loquacious good humour.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Daniel had asked her on the morning before he left.

“Yes!” she told him for the hundredth time, the thousandth even. There was something very touching about his concern, and she adored him even more because of it, but she hated to admit that it was beginning to grate ever so slightly. As much as anything, perhaps, she was somewhat ashamed of the cause of her fall: she had been a fool and he was too much of a gentleman to admit it.

He had remained for another two days beyond the time he was meant to return to London. During those two days, his phone had become a constant irritation to her: she could see that he wanted to devote his attention to her, but the real world beyond the two of them was making its demands upon him.

“Look, I understand. You need to go, I’ll be fine. When you get back in three weeks, I’ll be right as rain. You’ll see.”

He clenched his jaw at this. “I can come back at weekends,” he told her.

“What? A nine hour flight from New York to stay overnight and then back again for more meetings? It will kill you, Daniel. I’ll be fine. Really.” How many times did she have to tell him?

“I can stay longer than... damn!” Another message, from Felix this time. She was sure that Felix was her personal demon, sent to torment her.

Both of them were frustrated, but she offered him platitudes.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder
. Neither of them completely believed it, but necessity would not let him go completely.