Page 105 of All I Want for Christmas

‘How could I be right behind you when I’ve had to get past all these people just now?’

‘Oh...’

She tried to keep her fear out of her voice. She didn’t want to sound whiny or needy...‘Aksel, I’ve never done this before and I told you I was nervous about it...You can’t abandon me.’

‘I didn’tabandonyou!’ he protested, a little too vehemently. ‘It’s not like you can make a wrong turn or get lost! We’re allheading in the same direction. You probably wouldn’t even need to paddle and the momentum of everyone else would carry you along.’

She looked away at his scorn. If he was trying to reassure her, he was failing. She saw people on the banks looking down at them. Could they tell they were arguing? She felt embarrassed that they were being watched, so conspicuous out here.

She felt her kayak pulled back slightly, bringing her alongside him; they had drifted apart again a little. ‘...Hey, I’m sorry,’ Aksel said. ‘I really didn’t mean to leave you behind like that. I just get so into it, sometimes I forget.’

‘It’s fine,’ she murmured, but her blissful mood had soured somewhat, something of the joy lost now. Could she trust him to look after her on the next leg or was he going to disappear into the night again? All these minor breaches of etiquette that she kept trying to brush off as unimportant suddenly felt so much more pertinent in an environment where she felt unsure of herself. She needed to be able to trust him, but he didn’t really make her feel safe.

‘Oh – you’re glowing,’ she said, pointing to the pouch around his neck.

He looked down. ‘Huh...Well timed.’ He unzipped it and reached inside, pulling out his phone.

Only it wasn’t his phone that was glowing.

He looked back at her. ‘...It’s yours. Do you want it?’

She hesitated. They were mere inches from the water. One fumble...‘Can you just see whose name is up?’ If it was her mother, or Freja...

‘Sure, it’s...’ She waited as he peered at it. ‘Otto.’

‘Otto?’ Why was Otto calling her on a Friday evening when all of Denmark was engaged in processions? ‘Shit.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘He’s my boss. I’d better take it.’

Aksel passed the phone over and Darcy called Otto back. It felt somewhat surreal to be sitting in Nyhavn, on a brightly lit kayak, in the dark water, making a phone call.

‘Otto, hi, you called?’ she said quickly.

‘Darcy, you need to come in.’ He sounded slightly breathless, as if he was walking at pace.

She rolled her eyes.Anotheremergency? ‘Otto, I can’t this time. I’m sorry.’

‘Why not?’ he snapped. ‘Have you left the country?’

‘No, of course not, but—’

‘Then you have to come in. They’ve released the backing.’

‘What?’ She was so shocked, she almost dropped the phone. ‘But...that’s so far ahead of schedule.’

‘I know. Everyone’s heading over to the Academy now. Get over here as soon as you can. You need to be in this meeting.’

‘But—’ She looked around her. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. She looked across at Aksel, seeing the apprehension bloom on his face as he watched her. ‘Otto, I’m in Nyhavn. On the canal. I’m in a kayak, on the water.’

‘Then get out of it and get a cab! Keep the receipt.’

‘But Otto—’ she protested. ‘...Otto?’

He had hung up.

‘Bad news?’ Aksel asked in a flat tone.

‘He’s at the Academy. He’s insisting I go over there right now...They’ve managed to release the portrait.’

His shoulders slumped. ‘Right this minute? Can’t it wait an hour, at least?’

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