Encore! (Tudor Saga Book 1) (11 page)

Standing behind the bar, which had always occupied a far wall, was Amadeus. He hadn't said a word, just watched what was transpiring.
Oh yes, Amadeus, let's be melodramatic, as always.
A dark haired woman, who had been sitting on one of the bar stools near him, suddenly jumped down and walked over to where Daniel and I were standing. Zara.

"Elizabeth, you look wonderful," she gushed as she hugged me. Looking down, I noticed she was pregnant. Quite pregnant.

"Thanks. I see you two finally got together? Good thing. He needed someone strong."

I glanced toward the bar. "Amadeus? Good to see you, too."
There, make the first move. Make him squirm.

Daniel and I sat down. He seemed to be managing the situation quite well and initiated the tone of the conversation. "I'm sorry we can't stay longer today, but my schedule is rather tight."

"That's okay, Daniel," Angus chimed in. "We appreciate you going to the trouble of rearranging things. Next time we'll do it when none of us are touring."

"Perhaps do a family trip, like we did for Christmas?" Mother added.

"That would be nice," Daniel replied, just as Ashleigh reentered the room, bringing us each a large glass of water. He glanced over at me, wanting me to say something.

"Yes, that would be a nice get-away."

In my peripheral, I watched Amadeus shift his weight behind the bar, bending over and leaning against the top, taking it all in. Then he spoke.

"So, Elizabeth, why don't you enlighten us all with what you've been doing all these years? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm quite curious. Julliard? Photography? Never married I take it?"

I squeezed Daniel's hand, letting him know it was good. Just Amadeus being snarky, like old times.

"Well, twin, you seem to have covered it all. But yes, I went to Julliard. I got into photography quite by accident. Oh, and yes, I've never married. Never been serious about anyone, until now."

Amadeus raised his lean muscular body back up. He walked from behind the bar and headed toward the slider. Opening it, he walked outside onto the deck.

"Hey, why don't we all go outside?" Angus suggested. He was trying to make everyone comfortable. "Not too often we get warm weather this early. Sis, you need to see what I've done out here."

We all followed Angus out onto the deck where Amadeus was standing against the side of the house, arms crossed.

Angus began explaining how he'd replaced the original siding with a new type made from concrete. It was supposed to be quite energy efficient.

Amadeus slowly crept over until he was next to Daniel, sizing him up. Daniel, in turn, was attempting to ignore him and stay focused on what Angus was telling us.

Then, my twin had to open his big mouth and ruin it all.

"So, Daniel, tell me…how easy was it to get my sister into your bed? First date, second…"

Without thinking Daniel reacted, sending his fist into what he thought was Amadeus' face. Instead, his hand met the hard exterior of the house with such force, it made everyone standing nearby turn and look. Amadeus had seen it coming and moved just in the nick of time.

I heard Daniel groan as he pulled back his hand, trying to assess the damage. Our eyes met. This was not good. Anyone could see that. Daniel was holding his injured hand with his other. I bolted into action.

"Someone get me a bag of ice. Now!" I gently put my hand on Daniel's shoulder and guided him back into the house, so he could sit down. His face was white. Whether it was from shock, pain or disbelief at what had just happened, I didn't know, nor did I care.

Ashleigh came running into the den, a large plastic bag half filled with ice. She passed it to me and I set it down next to Daniel. "Put your hand in here. This ought to help with the swelling."

He didn't say a word, but his face said it all. "I'm sure it's just bruised, sweet. It should be fine after it's sat here in the ice for a while," he said trying to reassure both me and himself.

Neil strolled into the room, having come in after being informed of what had just happened. Taking one look at Daniel, he squatted down in front of him to assess the situation.

"What the hell happened, Daniel? I can't leave you alone for a couple of hours without you getting all hot headed on me?" He joked.

"I guess not."

"Come, let me have a look at your hand."

"It's just a bruise. I'll be fine. The ice will help with any swelling." Daniel replied.

"I want to see it, anyway."

Gingerly, Daniel removed his hand from the bag of ice, holding it with his other hand as he did. My eyes froze when I saw it. The swelling was worse and Daniel knew it. He tried to slowly move his fingers, grimacing in pain as he did. "See, just swolen and getting black and blue."

I glanced at Neil, then at Daniel.
Time to make a decision.
Daniel needed to go to the emergency room and have x-rays made.

"Danny," I began, speaking softly. I never called him Danny except when we were alone together; and I was the only one allowed to use that name. "You need to have your hand x-rayed to make sure nothing is broken."

He winced in pain. "I think that's probably a good idea, sweet. Just to be sure."

"Yeah, let's do that," Neil agreed. "We can make any decisions once we know what we're dealing with."

Daniel nodded. Within minutes, we were assisting him into the SUV, Angus joining us to direct Neil to the hospital. I stared back at my family, most of who were standing around the front door or by the SUV. I found Amadeus smirking at the top of the stairs. I bolted up to him.

"I hope you're proud of yourself. This is your fault!" I hissed as I turned and ran down the two remaining steps and climbed into the backseat next to Daniel, shutting the door behind me. I never looked back at my brother.

We didn't say much on the way to the hospital. Daniel still had his hand immersed in the ice. I felt sure he was secretly hoping the damage was minimal, but knew it wasn't.

They immediately took him back to a room, having been called and informed about the famous patient in route. Angus and Neil went to find a seat for the wait, while I stayed by Daniel's side. A nurse came in to get the usual information and finally gave me a look. "And you are?"

"My fiancée," Daniel replied. My head jerked up hearing the words. He winked at me. He knew they'd probably never allow me back with him if I was just a friend. Hospitals tended to be strict that way.

She finished up making her notes before gently taking his hand and removing it from the ice. Though she said nothing, I could tell from the expression on her face that it wasn't good.

"Doctor Wyatt will be in here to see you in a few minutes. Go ahead and put your hand back in the ice if it makes it feel better." She turned and walked about, closing the door behind her.

I stood up and walked to Daniel. I kissed him on the forehead, not saying a word. What could I say?

Daniel was definitely getting the star treatment; because before he could say a word, we heard the sound of someone taking the chart out of the door. But, on the other hand, his hand looked really bad; so he might have been bumped up the triage list.

The door opened and a dark headed man in surgical scrubs entered.

"Mr. Kennedy, I am Dr. Wyatt. I understand you're having some issues with your hand?"

"Yes, I am, I'm afraid," Daniel replied gingerly taking the injured extremity from the bag of melting ice.

He grimaced in pain as the doctor took his hand, attempting to flex the fingers with his own, then opening and closing Daniel's hand as he watched.

"I'm going to x-ray your hand first, to see what the damage is, but it is definitely broken, Mr. Kennedy."

"My concert?"

"You won't be performing any time soon." The doctor shook his head. "Not for the next two months, at least. I'll know more once I see the x-rays. In the meantime, I'm going to have one of the nurses bring you something for pain."

"You're sure it's broken?" I asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be any different from two seconds ago.

"Quite sure. But let's get the x-rays done and see what the damage is."

"Daniel, I'm going to go tell Neil and have him cancel your concert and the remainder of the tour."

"No," he replied. "Let's wait and see what the x-rays say."

"Danny, that is your violin hand. There is no way you can play in this condition. Your hand is broken. You cannot play tonight. You have to think of the future. In two months time, you'll be healed and you can resume your tour."

He nodded. Just then, a nurse entered with an IV set up and a syringe of pain meds. Five minutes later, he felt no pain in his hand or anywhere else for that matter. I quietly left him as he nodded off and went out to update Neil. By this time, half my family was there. Everyone except Amadeus and Peter.

I shook my head in Neil's direction. "They're going to do x-rays to see the damage, but his hand is broken. You need to cancel tonight, Neil."

"I'm on it. It's safe to say I may as well go ahead and get the wheels in motion to cancel the remainder of this leg of the tour, as well"

I nodded my head. "Europe next month, too. The doctor already told him, even without x-rays, it'll be a minimum of two months before he can play."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mother asked.

"No, the last thing I need is help from any of you. I'm going to go sit with Daniel. If you need me for anything, just have one of the nurses come get me."

"Okay," Angus replied. "Let us know as soon as you know something."

I turned and went back to join my “fiancée”. When I walked in, an orderly was helping a very buzzed Daniel into a wheelchair. I was informed I could wait either in the waiting area with the others or in the room.

"No, she's coming with me." Daniel informed the young man.

After what seemed like hours, we were back in the small pale blue room, waiting on the doctor and his diagnosis. Daniel knew. He'd resigned himself to the fact that the situation was out of his control and he was having a very hard time dealing with it.

The doctor returned with the news a short time later, and it wasn't good. Daniel needed surgery on his hand. His prognosis was good, in spite of the two to three months of down-time Daniel would need before he could even think of playing again. He joked that he'd spent more hours of his lifetime practicing than he had sleeping, but now that was about to change.

After the doctor left, I began to help Daniel out of his clothes and into the surgical gown. Placing his clothes into a bag the nurse had provided, I slipped his black jacket over mine, wanting him close to me while I waited. His cell phone was inside one of the pockets. I placed it, along with his wallet, rings and other jewelry, inside my purse.

I bent over and kissed him as they began to wheel him out of the cubicle to surgery. "I love you. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

He mumbled something in a mix of French and English. My French had improved, thanks to the tour and the time I was spending with Daniel.  It was good enough to understand most of what he said. He flashed me a drunk smile and waved with his good hand as they wheeled him down the corridor.

I gathered up the bag and my purse and headed back to the waiting room. I shook my head at what I thought Daniel had just said.
He loved me. But the part about marriage? Naw, that was the drugs talking!
Everyone was still there when I walked in. I gave them a quick update and told them it wasn't necessary for them to wait. No one budged.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Ashleigh asked.

I nodded my head and looked at Neil. "He'll be right as rain in a few months. Knowing Daniel, though, he'll be back at it long before he's given the okay."

"You're right about that. This will be the first vacation he's ever had from his violin."

I panicked, looking around for the case. Daniel had brought it along for his interview, later. He had left it in the car with Neil while we were in Angus' house. Where was it now? I always kept tabs on Daniel's instrument. If he didn't have it, I did.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Neil asked, handing it to me. What was inside that case was worth a small fortune.

"Thank you."

Neil nodded. "Everything's in motion. You just take care of our boy and see that he gets better."

"I will." Ashleigh passed me a cup of steaming Starbucks. Then it dawned on me. Daniel's family. I fumbled in my purse until I found his cell phone. I scrolled down until I found ”Mother and Father”.

"Who are you calling?" Neil inquired.

"Daniel's parents. It'll be late evening there, but I need to call. They don't need to find out about this over the news or from a random phone call. You know how revered Daniel is in France, it'll be all over the media there as soon as they find out."

"You're right. Probably best if the news did come from you."

"Do his parents speak English, Elizabeth? I might be able to help some if they don't." ,my mother offered.

"His mother is American--of course she speaks English." I bit off, regretting my tone as soon as I said it.

I took a deep breath, stood up and walked over to the windows overlooking the parking lot, giving myself some privacy. I'd never spoken to Daniel's parents, let alone met them. It was on our ever growing “to do” list.

I waited for someone to pick up on the other end. Thank goodness, it was his mother who answered.

"Mrs. Archambault?" I asked. Geez, I could see now why Daniel had taken his mother's maiden name for his stage name. No one in this country would ever be able to master it.

"Oui?"

"This is Mary, Daniel's girlfriend?" I hated that term, it was so teenagerish. But I suppose it was better than saying Daniel's lover.

"Yes, yes. Mary! Daniel speaks of you every time he calls. Is Daniel okay?" Her motherly instincts obviously kicked in.
Girlfriend you've never met or talked to is calling late at night. Something is not right.

"Daniel broke his hand. He's in surgery right now. I wanted to be the one to tell you before the media got hold of it."