Chapter 41

At dawn in Estación de Francia, David waits for late-opening ticket offices, chats with a jaunty porter, and purchases two first-class tickets to Paris for the one o’clock train. He then withdraws funds at Banco Hispano Colonial, arranging access in Paris near Cristina’s chosen hotel, and leaves buoyed by hope. On the way home he buys white roses, envisioning their new life together.

Arriving at the apartment, David finds the door ajar and the rooms empty. Assuming Cristina briefly stepped out, he dozes in the sunny gallery. He wakes near departure time, searches the flat, and discovers in the study a faint phosphorus smell, wisps of smoke, burned matches, and the manuscript folder in the trunk with its red ribbon untied. He reties it tightly, waits, and listens as time runs out.

When the bells mark two o’clock, David realizes the train has gone and Cristina has not returned. Convinced she has abandoned him for Pedro Vidal, resentment and despair overwhelm him. He opens the window, contemplates the fatal drop, and weighs the pain of suicide against his desolation.

Three insistent knocks interrupt him. Believing Cristina has come back, David rushes to the door but finds Isabella, in tears. She tells him that Señor Sempere has died, replacing David’s personal betrayal with fresh grief and anchoring him to urgent, unexpected loss.