When he got back to the hotel, Laura's lights were out. He hoped she would get a good night's sleep—he wanted her to feel well enough to come to Barcelos with him. Daniel sighed. He'd been spoiled this week, having her with him. He'd thought he liked travelling alone, not having to worry about what someone else wanted to see or do—that was one of the reasons he hadn't wanted Natalie with him—but with Laura, all that had changed. He would never have guessed how much he appreciated her input, her knowledge, and, more than anything, her company.
But it was temporary. Next week he was back to being on his lonesome. He wasn't sure he liked the idea anymore.
****
When he knocked at her door early the next morning, she opened it looking much better. His heart lifted to see the colour in her cheeks as she grabbed her things.
"You're sure you're up to this?" he asked.
"You try and stop me! I need a new handbag, and Barcelos' market is just the place to find one."
By the time they were approaching the town, the roads leading in were already ridiculously busy. Laura narrowed her eyes as they crawled along.
"I think you need to grab the first space you can get at the side of the road," she told him. "It's going to be quite a walk in from here, but I don't think you'll get any nearer."
Taking her advice literally, Daniel skilfully parked the car in an improbably small space—put off a little by Laura squeezing her eyes shut and refusing to open them until he'd done it without dinting anything—and they walked hand in hand towards the Campo da República where the market was in full swing.
Daniel had seen plenty of markets before, but this was something else. Fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, crates of live chickens, ceramics, crafts, leather goods . . .
"What on earth are those?" He pointed to a stand laden with yards and yards of curling yellowish tubes.
Laura laughed. "Sausage skins."
"What?"
"Skins for sausages. Now there's a souvenir for you to take home for the family."
Daniel shook his head. "They sell everything here, don't they?"
As Laura browsed the leather stalls, Daniel marvelled at the number of wares on display involving cockerels. There were ceramic cockerels, dishes and mugs hand-painted with pictures of cockerels—the creatures were everywhere.
When Laura found a handbag she liked, he insisted on buying it for her. "A thank-you present," he told her. "For helping me out this week."
And when they finally decided they were going no further without coffee and found a tiny table on a corner, he decided to ask the expert.
"Okay, so what's the deal with the cockerels?" He gestured at a nearby stall laden with hundreds of the things.
Laura laughed. He loved it when she laughed.
"It's all to do with a legend about a pilgrim who was passing through here on his way to Santiago de Compostela," she told him. "There was a crime committed and because he was a stranger, he was accused of it and sentenced to hang. He asked to see the judge, who was at a banquet. There was a roasted cockerel on the table and the condemned man told the judge that if he was innocent, the cockerel would rise up and crow three times. According to legend, it did, and the pilgrim got a last-minute reprieve at the noose. The cockerel is a symbol of good luck nowadays, and the pilgrim came back later to build a monument to the Virgin Mary."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "And to set up a factory producing every kind of cockerel ornament known to man, by the looks of it." Regretfully, he glanced at his watch. "Well, I could stay here all day, but unfortunately we have a hotel to see."
He damped down his resentment as they walked back to the car and drove to their working lunch. By the time they had finished their meeting, Laura was a little pale, so he suggested driving back early.
"Don't you need to look around town?" she asked him.
He shook his head. "No, I need to get you back to the hotel to rest." When she opened her mouth, he warned, "Don't argue with me, Laura." She closed it again without a peep.
On the drive back to the Quinta, Daniel's mind was only half on the road. What was happening to him, putting his business in second place like this?
A small, quiet voice within whispered that it was about time he put his own needs first for a change, but a bigger voice shouted it back down. Nothing could come of this. He was leaving tomorrow, Laura couldn't or wouldn't come with him, and they would soon both be back in England with their own lives and jobs and commitments. And that was that.
****
When they arrived back at the Quinta, Daniel was in a strangely quiet mood. He said he had things to do in town, and Laura didn't argue when he insisted she take a nap. She woke an hour or so later feeling better and decided to sit by the pool in the shade. No more sunstroke for her!
As she made her way down the path, she bumped into the Hursts.
"I'm so glad you're feeling better," she told Mr. Hurst. "Will you be alright to drive back to the airport tomorrow? If not, I could find a different way to get you there and then get your hire car returned."
Mr. Hurst smiled his appreciation. "I'll be fine. It's just the one journey and then we'll be on the plane. I can manage."
"Well, if you're sure. But
