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Authors: Lucy Gordon
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to be sensible?’
‘Never for you; I can see that,’ she said tenderly. ‘Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.’
‘Wherever you say. Lead on.’
She suddenly felt protective. Taking his hand as she might have taken the hand of a child, she led him until they found a small café with a table on the pavement where they could let the sun drench them.
‘I need this,’ he said, ‘after all that smoke. I also need a drink, but I suppose I’d better not have one since I have to drive home—when we find the car.’ He began to laugh. ‘Where are we going to find it? Where do we start?’
‘I think I remember the street. Don’t worry about it now.’
When the waiter had taken their order, he leaned back, looking at her. There was exhilaration in his eyes.
‘Dante, for pity’s sake,’ she said, taking hold of his hand again. ‘Will you come down to earth?’
‘I thought that was what I’d just done.’
‘You know what I mean. You’re up in the stratosphere somewhere. Come back down to the same planet as the rest of us.’
‘What for? I like it up here.’ He turned his hand so that now he was holding her. ‘Come up here with me. It’s a great life. I’ve never had such fun.’
‘Fun? You could have died!’
‘Well, the strangest things can be fun if you look at them the right way.’
‘You could have died,’ she repeated slowly, as if to an idiot.
‘But I didn’t. I could have, but I didn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s been a great day.’
‘How can you say that?’ she exploded. ‘How can you sit there as if it was nothing? Of all the mad things to do! To save a child, yes, that’s wonderful. But to take such a risk for a dog—what were you thinking of?’
‘I’m a dog lover. And that little boy would have been broken-hearted if I’d left his dog to die.’
‘And what about you? Don’t you mind if you live or die?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t worry about it. It’ll happen when it happens.’
‘It’ll happen a lot sooner if you take crazy risks.’
‘Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. What’s wrong with taking risks? Life’s better that way. Think of it as doing the quick-step with fate as your partner. You go faster and faster, never knowing which of you is going to reach the edge first. Everything is possible; it’s the only way to live.And, if not, better to die like that than, well, some of the other ways.’
‘You nearly came to grief,’ she reminded him. ‘When you were on top of the ladder you seemed to collapse. You just clung there and I thought you were going to fall. What happened?’
‘Nothing. You imagined it.’
‘But I didn’t. You slumped against the ladder.’
‘I don’t remember. There was smoke everywhere and a lot of things passed me by. It doesn’t matter now. Let’s leave it.’
‘I don’t think we ought to leave it. You may have been affected in some way that isn’t obvious yet. I want a doctor to have a look at you.’
‘There’s no need,’ he said in a voice suddenly full of tension. ‘It’s over.’
‘But you don’t know that,’ she pleaded. ‘You passed out on the top of that ladder and—’
‘How the hell do you know?’
The sudden cold fury in his voice was like a slap in the face, making her flinch back.
‘You weren’t up there; you don’t know what happened,’ he snapped. ‘You saw me close my eyes against the smoke and give myself a moment’s rest before climbing down the rest of the way. And that’s all! Don’t start dramatising.’
‘I didn’t mean—I’m just worried about you.’
‘Do I look as if I need worrying about?’ he asked in a voice that was now quiet and steely.
Ferne was struggling to come to terms with the terrible transformation in him, and she had to take a deep breath before she could reply bravely, ‘Yes, actually, you do. Everyone needs worrying about. Why should you be any different? Something dreadful has happened to you. It might have made you ill and I
‘Never for you; I can see that,’ she said tenderly. ‘Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.’
‘Wherever you say. Lead on.’
She suddenly felt protective. Taking his hand as she might have taken the hand of a child, she led him until they found a small café with a table on the pavement where they could let the sun drench them.
‘I need this,’ he said, ‘after all that smoke. I also need a drink, but I suppose I’d better not have one since I have to drive home—when we find the car.’ He began to laugh. ‘Where are we going to find it? Where do we start?’
‘I think I remember the street. Don’t worry about it now.’
When the waiter had taken their order, he leaned back, looking at her. There was exhilaration in his eyes.
‘Dante, for pity’s sake,’ she said, taking hold of his hand again. ‘Will you come down to earth?’
‘I thought that was what I’d just done.’
‘You know what I mean. You’re up in the stratosphere somewhere. Come back down to the same planet as the rest of us.’
‘What for? I like it up here.’ He turned his hand so that now he was holding her. ‘Come up here with me. It’s a great life. I’ve never had such fun.’
‘Fun? You could have died!’
‘Well, the strangest things can be fun if you look at them the right way.’
‘You could have died,’ she repeated slowly, as if to an idiot.
‘But I didn’t. I could have, but I didn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s been a great day.’
‘How can you say that?’ she exploded. ‘How can you sit there as if it was nothing? Of all the mad things to do! To save a child, yes, that’s wonderful. But to take such a risk for a dog—what were you thinking of?’
‘I’m a dog lover. And that little boy would have been broken-hearted if I’d left his dog to die.’
‘And what about you? Don’t you mind if you live or die?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t worry about it. It’ll happen when it happens.’
‘It’ll happen a lot sooner if you take crazy risks.’
‘Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. What’s wrong with taking risks? Life’s better that way. Think of it as doing the quick-step with fate as your partner. You go faster and faster, never knowing which of you is going to reach the edge first. Everything is possible; it’s the only way to live.And, if not, better to die like that than, well, some of the other ways.’
‘You nearly came to grief,’ she reminded him. ‘When you were on top of the ladder you seemed to collapse. You just clung there and I thought you were going to fall. What happened?’
‘Nothing. You imagined it.’
‘But I didn’t. You slumped against the ladder.’
‘I don’t remember. There was smoke everywhere and a lot of things passed me by. It doesn’t matter now. Let’s leave it.’
‘I don’t think we ought to leave it. You may have been affected in some way that isn’t obvious yet. I want a doctor to have a look at you.’
‘There’s no need,’ he said in a voice suddenly full of tension. ‘It’s over.’
‘But you don’t know that,’ she pleaded. ‘You passed out on the top of that ladder and—’
‘How the hell do you know?’
The sudden cold fury in his voice was like a slap in the face, making her flinch back.
‘You weren’t up there; you don’t know what happened,’ he snapped. ‘You saw me close my eyes against the smoke and give myself a moment’s rest before climbing down the rest of the way. And that’s all! Don’t start dramatising.’
‘I didn’t mean—I’m just worried about you.’
‘Do I look as if I need worrying about?’ he asked in a voice that was now quiet and steely.
Ferne was struggling to come to terms with the terrible transformation in him, and she had to take a deep breath before she could reply bravely, ‘Yes, actually, you do. Everyone needs worrying about. Why should you be any different? Something dreadful has happened to you. It might have made you ill and I
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