Page 9 of An Immaculate Deception

But the way he is now…Does he even remember our conversation? He’s curdled somehow, and it makes me ill to the bone.

Doctor Lobo has me stand, raise my arms, lift my shoulders, bend down and touch my toes, all the while asking “Does it hurt here?” and “How does this feel?” and scribbling on his notepad.

Images of the accident keep assaulting my mind, uninvited. The sickening feeling of the carriage moving so fast it bounced up and down, being dragged into the total darkness and the terror. How long did it take someone to find us? Was Leandro awake, suffering, taking care of me, and waiting for help in the darkness while he himself was also in pain or injured?

I’m too afraid to ask, so I let the weighty silence hang.

“So,” Doctor Lobo says lightly. He’s regained his larger-than-life demeanor. “What do you think about Prudente de Morais?”

“Who?”

“The politician.”

I shrug. “Never heard. I’m not so into politics.”

I can see that he’s trying to make small talk to lighten the mood, but Mother says that politics isn’t a suitable topic of conversation for proper ladies.

“Do my parents know I’m here?” I ask, ignoring the throbbing in my head.

“We sent a messenger over,” Doctor Lobo says. “I explained what happened, and that you are under medical care with only minor injuries.”

I fight the urge to protest the “minor injuries” description.

“…I reassured your family that you are expected to recover fully in a few days, and there is no need to visit yet.”

“No need to visit?”

Doctor Lobo finishes jotting something, then looks up at me. “You’ve experienced a traumatic event, both physically and mentally. The days that follow such events tend to be critical for recovery. I want you—both you and Leandro—to remain under strict medical observation for the next few days. You must avoid anything that could aggravate the symptoms and induce further shock or other side effects. To that end, you must remain here at the fazenda, in medical retreat. No visitors without my prior approval. You must also avoid any kind of strenuous physical activity—”

“Mother will not like that.”

I’m to stay here for several days, alone with Leandro, with no one other than the servants and doctor occasionally visiting?

I can already hear Mother demanding to bring in an outside chaperone.

“How is your relationship with your mother?” he asks.

I hesitate. Since I told her about the pregnancy, she’s hardly spoken to me. She turns rigid in my presence, fuming with thinly concealed fury.

I suppose I deserve it.

Only a mother could love you.

“Not very good.”

“Hmm.” He presses his lips together. “Then perhaps it’s best not to see her until the medical retreat is over.”

A part of me would like to see a familiar face as I recover, and maybe if Mother is worried about my health, she’ll soften. But the moment she sees that I’m well enough, her mood will darken. She’ll be furious that I did not manage to have a proper conversation with Leandro about the baby.

Perhaps it’s best to have a few days alone with Leandro before seeing her. In a way, I got a lucky extension of time to attain a proposal. When the shock wears off and he returns to himself, I believe I can get the proposal. He was just about to say it, I feel it in my heart.

But…

“Mother is very willful,” I say with a sigh. “I don’t believe letters sent via messengers will suffice. She’ll be very concerned about my being…”

Alone with Leandro.

“Well. About my well-being.”