Breath of Scandal(53)

"I fired Haskell Scanlan today." Debra's smiled faltered.

Dillon told her what had happened. "I hated like hell having to go to that extreme, but he left me no choice."

He studied her worried expression. "You don't think I did the right thing?"

"I think you did exactly the fight thing. Unfortunately, my opinion doesn't carry as much weight as Forrest G. Pilot's. "

"That's why I want to leave for Switzerland tonight. if he agrees with my decision, we'll have had a terrific weekend in the Alps. If he reverses it, I'll have to quit on principal, in which case we can no longer afford a trip to Switzerland. And if he fires me, the above is also true. So, while I'm still gainfully employed and feeling as good as I do, let's say to hell with everything else and go."

They took an express train to Lausanne and another to Zermatt. They joked with students, chatted with a grandmother from Montreux who was knitting a cap for her tenth grandchild, and snacked on the food Debra had had the foresight to bring along.

Dillon drank strong red wine from a bota one of the students offered him, but declined to take a toke of marijuana. When the couple sitting across from them began to neck, Dillon and Debra asked each other why not, and cuddled and kissed until they fell asleep.

In Zermatt, Dillon skied the expert slopes. Debra's pregnancy prohibited her from that, so she consoled herself by browsing in the glitzy shops and watching the endless parade of jetsetters. Together she and Dillon rode in a horse-drawn sleigh and watched skaters gliding on silver blades across a frozen pond. They gorged on cheese fondue, thick, dark bread, white wine, and Swiss chocolate,

During the train fide home, Dillon pulled her against him and tucked her head beneath his chin. "This was our real honeymoon. "

"What was wrong with our trip to Bermuda?" "Absolutely nothing. But then you were merely my bride. Now you're my wife." He slipped his hand into her coat and laid it on her swollen belly, "I love you."

While they were waiting to switch trains in Lausanne, she bought a tin of aspirin. "What's wrong?" he asked. "My throat's getting sore."



148



Sandra Broum



Breath of Scandal



149



She slept fitfully for the remainder of the trip to Paris and was frequently awakened by chills. "It hurts to swallow," she complained -

Dillon pressed his hand against her forehead. "You're burning up. Better take some more aspirin."

-I hate to without asking the doctor first. Aspirin might not be good for the baby - " ed, alBy the time they reached Paris, Dillon was worri



though Debra assured him that her sore throat was simply the result of her exposure to mountain air. He fought Monday morning rush-hour traffic to get her to her obstetrician, and they reached his office just as it was opening. The nurse, with kindness and concern, guided Debra into an examination room and asked Dillon to wait outside. He didn't like it, but he waited. After several waiting patients averted their eyes, he realized he must look like a reprobate. He hadn't shaved during their trip and had spent a virtually sleepless night on the train.

Finally, he was ushered into the doctor's private office.

16Madame Burke has a very nasty throat," he said in heavily accented English. -l-- He made a swabbing motion.

"He took a culture," Debra said with a grimace. "Strep?" Dillon asked. "No offense, Dr. Gaultier, but if it's that serious, maybe you should recommend a specialist. "

"I agree," he said, giving a brief nod. "Let us await the lab results. We should know by tomorrow."

"I'm sure it'll be all right," Debra assured her worried husband. "He prescribed an antibiotic. I'll stay in bed today and let you wait on me hand and foot."

Dillon tried to return her smile, but she looked so ill that he couldn't find anything to smile about. He saw her into their apartment and got her into bed before running two blocks to the nearest pharmacy to have the prescription filled. She swallowed the capsule and drank a cup of tea before lapsing into a deep sleep.

Only then did Dillon remember to call the work site. He spoke to the foreman he had placed in temporary charge



before leaving the previous Friday. The Frenchman convinced him that everything was all right and urged him to stay at home with his ailing wife. Throughout the long day, he sat at Debra's bedside, taking catnaps in the chair, waking her only when it was time for her medicine.

In spite of her fever and discomfort, she managed to quip jokes when he carried her into the bathroom to relieve herself. "Good thing this didn't happen in my ninth month. You wouldn't be able to lift me."

Dillon ate a sandwich for supper, but couldn't coax her to take any more than a cup of beef bouillon. "My throat's already feeling better, though," she told him. "I'm just very weak. A good night's sleep is all I need. You look like you could use one, too," she said, running her hand over his bearded chin.

After giving her her medicine, he undressed and got into bed with her. Exhausted, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

During the night he awakened. Squinting through the darkness, he consulted the clock on the nightstand. It was time to give Debra another capsule. He switched on the lamp.