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.He s always been faithful to her in his heart.Jerna looked at him earnestly. Sometimes that s not enough.If she s that insecure,Orlan can t afford to assume she knows when his heart is or is not engaged.But I supposehe didn t realise she was that insecure. Clearly not, Ria said. I thought he couldn t help his infidelity.But I think hewould have never strayed if he d known what it was really doing to his marriage.Sheshould have told him. She would say, he should have known. Jerna sighed. I wish them luck, regardlessof my feelings about him.There s enough misery in the world without adding to it thisway. That s my thoughts exactly.My love, please, let that never happen to us, Ria saidearnestly, looking deep into Jerna s eyes, and taking his hand again. I want to share ineverything that happens to you, that you re going through.Even if it s family stuff thatyou think I wouldn t care about.If it s important to you, it s important to me.Promise mewe won t lose this through inattention. I promise, Jerna said, touching the chain at his throat. By our bond and by mylove, I swear.He would keep him to that promise, Ria thought, and would do the same in return.Orlan s habit of concealing his emotions behind a careless arrogance had developed overmany years as a defence, but in the end, it had been his worst point of vulnerability.Hisfriend was clever.Ria hoped he was not yet too old to change his ways, and maybe therereally was the smallest hope for him and his love.Sila believed there was.Ria hoped shewas right.But in the end, only Orlan and Estaone could fix this horrendous mess.He held Jerna s hand tight.He would never lose him through that kind ofcarelessness.Never, no matter what life threw at them.Together, or not at all.That washis motto now.Chapter 18Jerna dismissed Feseo early to her lunch break since it was so quiet.There was rarelyany activity at this time of day too late for checkouts, a little too early for even the firstafternoon check ins so he expected to be able to work on the latest applications withoutany interruption.He looked up as he heard footsteps. Good afternoon, sir, he said neutrally as OrlanGomici approached. Good afternoon.I wanted to let you know that Sila is settled in nicely in her flat,and to thank you for your assistance, Jerna. Sila s a good friend, sir, he said, a little surprised at the politeness. I trust thesupplies were sufficient? Yes, they were, and she said to thank you and Ria for organising that.I think it ll bea bit of a shock to the system to have to cook and clean for herself after so long. I suspect she ll welcome returning to her normal life, sir, though I m sure she senjoyed her stay here with you, he added, not wanting to be gratuitously rude.At least,not first. She claims to have done so, certainly, and if she had not, it would not have been thehotel s fault.Jerna frowned a little.Gomici seemed really quite flat, almost depressed.He hadn teven made a single snide comment. Thank you, sir.Was there anything else? Yes.You know I depart in the morning? Yes, sir.Master Deti let me know. Then I d like to settle my account, and arrange tips for those staff members who vebeen so helpful.I d do that personally, but frankly, I m simply not in the mood forprolonged personal contact.Can I ask you to assist me? Certainly.It took some time to sort out.The size of his bill alone came to slightly more thantwo years salary for Jerna, and he was truly generous with the bonuses he was allocating.There would be some very happy little servants when they collected their personalmessages. As for you, Master Setiq, Orlan said finally.Jerna braced himself for the insult.Here it comes.Orlan bowed. You are to be commended for your professionalism.I dare say you reglad to see the back of me. You ve been very kind to a mutual friend, sir.I m grateful for that.Orlan just grunted. Perhaps.I haven t added a gratuity for you.In thecircumstances, I felt you would rather not receive something like that. It s not necessary, sir.I wish you good fortune in your future endeavours. Thank you.But speaking of mutual friends.He stiffened.Did this man never take a hint?  Sir, Ria  Is off limits, yes I know.I will only say this.I ve never known Ria be devoted toone person for more than a month at a time.Romantically, I mean.His friendships endurefor life.He obviously cares for you very deeply.I ask one thing of you, and one thingonly.Don t break his heart.The man s eyes were serious, and his voice full of honest pain.Jerna responded tothat honesty with honesty of his own. I would shatter my own first, Master Gomici.Orlan nodded.He seemed about to add something, but then thought better of it. Then I wish you good fortune too, Master Setiq.He turned and walked away towards the elevators, a sadder, hopefully wiser manthan the arrogant bastard who had entered Jerna s life two months before.Despite Orlan s comment, Jerna wasn t particularly moved one way or another byhis departure.He d been no trouble, despite the occasional snotty remark.In that, hewasn t even up to the worst of their regulars, and it had been a true act of kindness, theway he d cared for Sila, and then, once she d been on the road to recovery, taken a lot oftrouble over entertaining her and helping her to enjoy things.What she had given him inreturn, only Orlan himself knew, but the two seem to have become good friends, andJerna felt it had been a positive thing for both of them.But now Sila was home and Orlanwas back to Uilino.Life would return to its normal, welcome rhythm.Feseo returned from lunch, and Jerna went to find his own.It was quiet in thecanteen, since he was later than most of the day staff, and there before the evening shiftcame in.He was still pondering the enigma of Orlan Gomici when he noticed one of theirguards coming in for his own break.Recognising Bri Jimar, he called him over. Hello,Bri.How is Helda? Fine, thank you, Jerna, he said as he sat down. She s almost completelyrecovered.It ll be a while before she can get work though. You look better.Are things improved at home? Bri bit his lip, and with a sinkingheart, Jerna thought he must have done something illicit again. What is it, Bri? Aproblem? No.Just.I m still trying to believe it. Believe what? Come on, Bri, I don t read minds. Well, a week ago, a man called around at the apartment, and said he was a lawyerrepresenting Orlan Gomici.I was terrified.I thought we were going to be sued orsomething. Orlan? Why on earth.? Jerna made himself stop. What did he say? He said that Master Gomici wanted to make an arrangement about our mortgage.He would buy it from the bank, reduce the interest to zero for the next ten years, and thenraise it to half what we re paying now. Really? That sounds rather generous.Bri nodded. I know.Anyway, I didn t accept at first, but I talked to Pel first, andthen he asked Master Deti, and they both said they didn t have a problem with it.So thenwe agreed to it, and it s all just gone through.It s cut our monthly payments in half, hesaid, looking rather amazed by it all. It s made all the difference in the world, but I don tunderstand why he did it.I mean, look what I did to him.He could have demanded I gotthe sack [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]