Page 118 of Daughters of Paris

‘Barbiturates. Sedatives. I need something to dull the pain and give me a dreamless sleep. These will knock me out for a good twelve hours. Give me one of the round ones. The others are amphetamines and would have the opposite effect. Put the rest back and make sure you tighten the handle on the brush.’

‘Where did you get these?’ Fleur asked. It seemed unlikely he would have had a different number of each, and she wondered under what circumstances he might have used something to force him awake.

He grimaced. ‘Best not to ask. What you don’t know can’t be taken from you.’

Icy hands dragged themselves down Fleur’s spine and gripped her heart. She shivered at the thought that someone might do to her what had been done to Laurent. She would never be able to withstand that amount of pain. His fingers brushed against her forearm, causing her skin to prickle and grow hot. She met his eyes.

‘You’re wondering if you should ever have got mixed up with all this, aren’t you?’

She nodded.

‘That’s understandable. I’ve asked a lot of you already but will you do one more thing and fetch me a glass of water?’

Fleur obliged. Laurent took it from her. His grip seemed a little firmer.

‘I’ll be out like a light in ten minutes once I take this. You can go then if you want.’

He swallowed the small pill and handed the glass back to Fleur.

‘Why didn’t you take one before now?’ she asked.

‘I didn’t want anyone else to know they exist. I trust you, though.’

Did he, she thought wryly. Not enough to tell her what was preventing them being together. She helped him lie down, moving the pillow and easing him back. It meant she had to lean over him. Their gazes met. He licked his lips and Fleur had to resist the strong temptation to kiss them. Not so much out of desire – though that was as powerful as ever – but simply to confirm he was there and alive.

‘Fleur, will you stay a little while longer? Just until I’m sleeping.’

‘Of course. Whatever you wish, you only have to ask.’

Laurent’s eyelids flickered. ‘That’s a very dangerous offer.’

‘Is it?’ she asked, trying to keep the tremor from her voice.

She sat on the edge of the bed. She tried to stop her eyes roving down to settle where the sheet was a neatly folded demarcation between the visible and hidden body but couldn’t help herself. It was a Maginot Line whispering seductively to be breached.

‘I think you’re a gentleman, and even if you’re not you don’t look in a position to demand anything scandalous, or act on it if it was offered.’

He laughed, though it quickly turned into a cough. He winced and put his hands to his ribs. ‘Now look what you’ve done, making me laugh, you wicked temptress. You’ve probably set my recovery back days. You will have to come every day to nurse me.’

He spoke lightly but there had been real pain in his eyes. Fleur felt a prickle in the back of her throat and the rims of her eyes grew moist.

‘Don’t cry. I’m only teasing,’ Laurent murmured.

Fleur sniffed. ‘I was so worried. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and wondering if I would ever see you again.’

‘Thank you. It’s good to know I wasn’t forgotten by the world outside those walls. Come here, my girl.’

He tugged on her sleeve until she gave in and lay beside him. There was barely room for two bodies lying side by side so she snuggled against him, taking care not to put any weight on his bruised frame. He yawned loudly, taking Fleur by surprise. His jaw grew slack then and she realised the sedative was starting to work. He murmured something and Fleur had to put her ear close to make it out.

‘I thought of you. I didn’t want to. I tried not to, of course.’

‘Oh.’ Fleur couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. ‘Of course?’

‘Of course. Any prospero … pros … prospect that you might spring to mind might mean you were in my … thoughts, and if you were in my thoughts, you could very quickly appear … on my lips. I would rather have died than risk… I couldn’t let anyone discover … you are so involved, but we aren’t involved and I think I’m…’

He was burbling, making increasingly less sense the longer he spoke. The sedative was working its magic and easing him into sleep.

‘Falling…’

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