He flew out there for the last night." Elias shook his head slowly. "I don't remember him. There were so many people. I hadn't slept in 3 days."
"He remembered you," Vivienne said. She took a sealed envelope from the drawer of the desk already opened once along the top and handed it to him. He wrote this in the hospital two weeks before he died. After I told him about the fire and the repair man who carried me out, the moment I said your name, he asked for paper. Elias unfolded the letter.
The handwriting was shaky but deliberate. My dear Vivienne, 15 years ago, I stood on a mountain and watched a young man refuse a bribe. The mining company offered him a bonus to sign a report, saying the collapse was unavoidable. He tore it up in front of them and said six men were still alive down there and he was not leaving until they came up. They came up.
All six. I have spent my life surrounded by men who would sell their mothers for a quarter point of margin. I have met only one who would not sell anything at all. If you ever find him again, do not judge him by the money in his pocket. Judge him by what he refuses to take.
Elias read it twice. Then he folded it carefully and handed it back. He did not say anything. He did not need to. Viven watched his face and saw something there that no balance sheet had ever shown her.
A man embarrassed to be praised. The silence broke with the sound of footsteps on the marble. A man walked into the library as if he owned it. Late30s, handsome in a polished empty way, wearing a camel coat and a smile that never reached his eyes. Cousin, he said warmly, I just heard the news.
Congratulations. Viven did not move. Damian. Damian Blackwood turned his smile on Elias and the warmth in it drained away like water from a sink. He looked Elias up and down.
The worn boots, the plain jacket, the scarred knuckles. Then he laughed. So it's true. The chief executive of Blackwood Meridian married a man who fixes boilers. Viven said nothing.
Her face was a closed door. Elias only looked at Damian calm and steady. Don't worry, he said. I didn't marry her for money. Damian's grin widened.
Really? Then why did you marry her? Elias considered the question honestly the way he considered every problem. I don't know yet, he said. Damian snorted, shook his head, and left, his laughter echoing down the hall.