Page 7 of An Immaculate Deception

“Everything hurts.”

“Everything hurts?” His tone is one of mock exaggeration, and I smile. “You look good to me.”

Heat climbs up my cheeks and I know even without a mirror that I’m blushing, which is silly because he doesn’t mean it as a compliment on my appearance.

“Tell me, what hurts?”

I start pointing to the areas that feel sore, filling in the details. Doctor Lobo nods while scribbling on his notepad.

“Is this Leandro’s house?” I ask.

He nods again.

“Where is he? How is he?”

“He’s resting in his room,” he says without looking up from his notepad.

A huge weight lifts from my shoulders. So Leandro is alive.

“He’s well, then?”

He looks at me. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“We were on the way back from the Festival of São João,” I say. “There was a storm.” At the memory, the throbbing in my temples renews, and I feel a pressure pushing against the back of my eyes. “Thunder spooked the horse, and it bolted. The driver fell off, and we got dragged into the dense woods, where we must have crashed into the trees. I don’t remember the details or anything after that…I’m sorry, I…”

“You are doing perfectly well.”

I don’t know if it’s his gaze or his voice, but those simple words already make me feel better. He sounds like he means it, and I believe him: I am doing well. And he said Leandro is resting in his room, so clearly he is alive. All will be well.

“Did…someone find us?” I rub at the back of my neck anxiously. I hate the thought of us lying there for hours, injured or unconscious. Some passersby finding us, then having to send for help. “And my baby, is my baby okay?”

He looks up at me and goes very still. The way he regards me, surprised and alert…

He doesn’t know.

I hesitate. Not a soul other than me, Mother, and Eloisa knows about the baby. The last thing I want is for word to spread about it. But…

“Madalena,” he says softly, “are you with child?”

“I’m carrying Leandro’s baby. It’s early on, just a month or so into the pregnancy. I told him last night in the carriage. I suppose he must not have had a chance to tell you yet. Or…or maybe he doesn’t remember?” My voice trembles as the thought hits me that maybe I’ll have to break the news to him all over again.

“Do you think the baby is well?” I ask. “You’ll examine me to make sure the baby is well, right?”

He steps closer to me. “Do not be concerned. I didn’t detect any signs of internal damage, but I will examine you more thoroughly to be sure.”

I nod. “Are you the Neves family physician?”

He starts taking out medical instruments from his case. “You could say so.”

Apprehension gnaws at my rib cage as I picture Eloisa getting home without me, confessing to Mother that she lost track of us. Mother scolding Eloisa for hours, getting angrier and angrier as the hours pass and I do not show up, until finally realizing something must have happened. Did someone send a messenger to her?

“Does my family know I’m here?” I ask.

Doctor Lobo appears not to have heard me. He’s staring at the door with a frozen expression. I become aware of footsteps just outside, getting closer. Someone is out there. My heart skips a beat. Could this be Leandro?

Doctor Lobo’s demeanor has shifted. A line forms between his brows and there’s a fright in his eyes that turns my blood to ice.

“Listen, Madalena,” he says, still staring intently at the door. “There’s something I have to tell you. Concerning, uh…Leandro.”