They walked on in a silence that seemed like the lull before a volcanic eruption.
Then suddenly, Simon turned swiftly, and before she was aware of his intention he had taken her roughly in his arms and was kissing her fiercely.
And she was clinging to him, half-sobbing, half-laughing “Simon, oh, Simon.”
“Angela, darling,” he said passionately. “I love you.”
At last they drew apart and looked at each other.
“Angela, tell me you’re lying. You’re not engaged to Roger. You can’t be.”
“Oh Simon, I am,” she whispered. “Only the other day. You said you were going back to Paris. I thought you were going to marry Paulette.”
He stared at her. “But how could you have thought such a thing?” he breathed.
Then she told him all the things that had been haunting her: Paulette’s greeting of him in Suzette’s flat; the night she had seen them together in Montparnasse; Paulette’s arrival in England; the time she had seen them coming out of the jeweler’s together.
He took her in his arms. “Oh, darling, if only I’d known what was going on inside your head. Paulette loves jewelry and she was buying herself a dress ring. As for everything else ... That’s just her way, it doesn’t mean a thing; and of course, she came to England to do some fashion shows. Darling, I fought my love for you because I thought you loved Roger, and oh, if only you knew what I suffered. I began loving you on that first night when Matron introduced us, but fear of being repulsed had become part of my makeup.”
They clung together for a while, then very gently he let her go. “From now on, there are going to be no misunderstandings. You’re going to marry me—oh happy, happy thought—and we must tell Roger, poor fellow.” He looked at her anxiously. “You do love me, darling?”
“Oh, yes, Simon, so very much. So very, very much.”
They went back to town and Angela called Roger.
“Yes Angela?”
“Roger, I’m sorry ... I hardly know how to tell you this ... but I’m afraid it is Simon after all. Oh, can you forgive me?”
There was a moment’s silence. “I felt it all along, darling. I’m glad you’ve found it out before—” He broke off. “Don’t worry about me, Angela. People get over these things in time. Love is eternal. It doesn’t depend on one person forever. I’ll always love you, even when I’ve learned to love somebody else. Do you know what I mean? Goodbye, darling. Be happy.”
“Goodbye, Roger...” she whispered huskily.
Simon looked at her anxiously. “All right?”
She smiled tremulously and put out her hand.
“Yes, all right. Oh yes, really all right.”
Nurse Angela Page 16