From Doctor to Princess?

by Annie Claydon

  ‘I’m sure. I feel it beating, Hugo. Strong and steady.’ Fast. But who could blame it for that?

  A noise behind her made her jump and Nell looked round to see three men from the palace security team. People were running down the steps of the terrace and Nell could see the King at their head, no longer the stiff monarch but a man of action like his son.

  ‘I’m a doctor. Stand back, he’s all right.’ She waved the security men back, and they formed a triangle around them, keeping watch. Nell clung to Hugo, trying to comfort him, as he rolled painfully onto his back, his head in her lap.

  ‘Hugo!’ The King practically skidded to a halt, bending down, his questioning gaze meeting Nell’s.

  ‘He’s been hit by a stun gun. It’s very painful but it’ll pass. The jolt from a stun gun shouldn’t affect a pacemaker.’ Her words were for Hugo, as much as they were for the King. It must have been terrifying, feeling only pain, his body out of control. Knowing that the pacemaker was there in his chest and wondering whether his heart had already stopped beating.

  The King knelt down, suddenly just another father. ‘You hear that, son?’

  Somehow Hugo managed a smile. ‘Never contradict a lady...’

  ‘No. That’s right.’ King Ferdinand flashed a tight smile at Nell and reached for his son. Hugo took his hand, gripping it tight.

  The King had asked one of the men who came running towards them to tell the Queen that Hugo was all right and then his attention was for Hugo alone. He hardly seemed to notice the security guard who had approached and was standing at a respectful distance, waiting to be acknowledged.

  Nell caught the guard’s attention, keeping her fingers on Hugo’s pulse. Now wasn’t the time to interrupt the King. ‘You have something to report?’

  ‘We’ve apprehended the two men, and called the police.’

  ‘Thank you for acting so quickly. I’ll tell the King. Do you have the stun gun?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Would you find out the make and model for me, please?’ Obtaining the information would stop the guard from hovering here, and finding out exactly what Hugo had been hit with couldn’t do any harm.

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ The guard turned and hurried away.

  Maybe she’d overstepped her authority, but there was no trace of reproof in the King’s face when he looked up at her.

  ‘Thank you, Nell. Should we move him, now?’

  ‘I’d like to take Hugo to hospital. It’s just a precaution, but I want a pacing check done, and he should be monitored for a little while. Just to be on the safe side.’ Scar tissue hadn’t had a chance to form around the newly implanted leads yet, and they might have been dislodged by the scuffle or the sudden convulsions of Hugo’s body.

  ‘I think that’s wise.’ The King nodded, looking down at Hugo. ‘What do you say, Hugo? Still in no mood to contradict the lady...?’

  ‘No mood at all.’ Nell had been sure that Hugo would protest, but he just nodded. This had frightened him even more than she’d thought. ‘You should go back to our guests, Father.’

  For a moment the King seemed torn. Then he shook his head.

  ‘He’ll be all right. And I’ll keep you and the Queen informed.’ It seemed wrong to break the new bond that had surfaced between father and son in the heat of this emergency, but Nell was beginning to understand that duty was a hard taskmaster.

  ‘Every step of the way?’ The King’s voice was cracked with emotion.

  ‘Yes, I promise.’

  The King bent over his son. ‘You know we’ll be there, Hugo. Your mother and I...’

  ‘Yes. Just give me a bit of space.’ Hugo’s words were clearly a fond joke, and his father laughed quietly.

  ‘Perhaps you’ll help me get him up on his feet and we can walk him over to the car.’ Before now, Nell would never have asked the King to do such a thing. But he seemed to need this, and Hugo clearly did, too. It had taken a stun gun and a lot of pain before the two men had been able to bury their differences, but maybe it was worth it.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ALTHOUGH THE JOURNEY to the hospital was a short one, the car was starting and stopping in the evening traffic. Ted had been fetched from the palace kitchen and arrived stony-faced, clearly annoyed with himself that he’d done what had been expected of him and relied on the security measures at the palace to keep Hugo safe for the evening. He sat in the front seat of the car, next to the chauffeur.

  ‘I feel fine now. There’s no need for the hospital. Ted...?’ Hugo appealed to the back of Ted’s head from the back seat of the car, where he sat with Nell.

  ‘You know what I think.’ Ted didn’t turn around, and Hugo looked across at Nell in a silent appeal.

  ‘We’re going to the hospital.’ Nell glared at him. If he thought that she was an easier touch than Ted, he had another think coming.

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Hugo settled back into his seat. ‘Only I’ll prove you wrong when I get there.’

  ‘That’s exactly what I expect you to do. And it’s never wrong to be on the safe side.’

  She heard Ted chuckle from the front of the car, and Hugo rolled his eyes.

  By the time they arrived at the hospital, the cardiac surgeon who had implanted Hugo’s pacemaker had been roused from his bed. Nell quickly told him what had happened and he nodded in agreement with her assessment. She left him alone with Hugo for a moment, and found Ted brooding outside the door.

  ‘He’s okay, Ted.’

  ‘I know. But I should have been there. A stun gun hurts like the blazes.’

  If Ted had been on duty, she and Hugo would have found a way to evade him. The sweet promise of those moments with Hugo, alone in the darkness, made Nell shiver. ‘You can’t be with him all the time. You were off duty.’

  Ted knew that she was trying to make him feel better, and flashed her a wry smile. ‘He knows what to do if there’s an incident. He should stay back and shout for help.’

  ‘He was protecting me.’ Nell had been feeling just as guilty as Ted obviously was.

  ‘Understandable.’ The creases in Ted’s forehead relaxed slightly. ‘Maybe I’m getting a bit too old for this.’

  Nell laid her hand on his arm. ‘He trusts you, Ted. And Hugo needs people he can trust right now. I don’t think age has anything to do with the fact that you can’t be in two places at once.’

  ‘Maybe...’ Ted didn’t look convinced, but at least he was thinking about it.

  ‘Why don’t you go and get a cup of tea? I’m sure there’ll be somewhere...’

  Ted nodded. ‘The café on the ground floor is open all night. Would you like me to get you something?’

  ‘No, I’ll stay here and talk to his doctor. I’ll call you when we’ve finished and you can see him.’

  ‘All right.’ Ted went to turn, and then stopped. ‘Thanks.’

  * * *

  Hugo was lying in bed, a heart monitor by his side. His smile was back in full force, as his coping mechanisms kicked in.

  ‘Don’t you think this is a bit over the top? People get hit with stun guns all the time, and they get up and walk away.’ He’d waited to come up with his objections until the door had closed quietly behind the cardiac surgeon.

  ‘Yes, they do. But they’re generally people in good health who haven’t just had surgery. Give it a rest, Hugo.’

  ‘I am in good health. Reasonable health, anyway. I’ll feel better when I can get back into the gym.’

  Nell rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t give me that, Hugo. This might be just a precaution but it’s one that I believe is warranted, and your cardiac surgeon agrees with me.’

  ‘I know what the risks are as well as you do...’

  He broke off suddenly, seeing the tears that were filling Nell’s eyes. This time she’d made no effort to hide them from him. Why should she? Nothing
else seemed to get through to him.

  ‘I’m sorry, Nell. I know you must have been really frightened tonight.’

  ‘Yes, I was. And the bit that frightened me the most was hearing you scream and seeing you hit the ground.’ She grabbed his hand, holding on to it tight.

  He twisted his mouth down in a show of embarrassment. ‘I heard that everyone cries like a baby when they’re hit with a stun gun. I know why now...’

  ‘Stop it, Hugo! Stop trying to make out that you weren’t afraid. And don’t pretend that your first thought wasn’t that your heart had stopped, or that you needed your father and he was there for you.’

  ‘Please... Don’t cry.’ His voice was suddenly husky.

  ‘Well, someone’s got to. Ted’s maintaining a stiff upper lip, while wrestling with the idea that he should have been there. Your father was really cut up about letting you leave without him, but he had to put on a brave face for his guests. He really cares...’

  ‘Yes, I know. I do too, we just... Sometimes we lose sight of that.’ Suddenly he reached for her, shifting a little in the bed.

  ‘Come here. Please... I need you, Nell.’

  There wasn’t a great deal of room on the bed but there was enough. Nell slipped off her shoes, lowering the bed a little and then climbing carefully up beside him. What the hell, if anyone found them like this, they were supposed to be engaged, weren’t they?

  He put his arm around her shoulders, holding her close. ‘I couldn’t protect you, Nell. I’m sorry.’

  ‘I couldn’t protect you either. And I’m sorry about that.’ She nestled against him. Suddenly everything seemed all right.

  They lay together for long minutes. No more words needed, just the silence and the feel of her heart beating. His, too. Finally Nell felt Hugo move, and when she looked up at him he brushed a kiss against her forehead.

  ‘Much as I love having you here, you should go.’

  ‘You’re sending me away?’ Perhaps Hugo felt he’d admitted a bit too much, and he wanted some time on his own to reconstruct his armoured exoskeleton.

  ‘I can’t sleep with you next to me. And you’re going to need some sleep, too...’

  ‘Me? I’m all right.’

  Hugo chuckled. ‘Don’t you start. I’m all right enough for both of us. But I need you to do something for me.’

  ‘What?’ Right now, she just wanted to stay here and hold him. Or if that would keep him awake, she’d go and have a cup of tea with Ted and then creep back after Hugo fell asleep and sit in the chair next to his bed.

  ‘If I’m going to be here for the next twenty-four hours, I need someone to fill in for me at the meeting tomorrow afternoon. I thought you might do it.’

  ‘Me? But I can’t!’

  ‘Why not? You know all the issues, and I think that the clinic means as much to you as it does to me.’

  ‘Yes, it does. But it’s you they want to see. We can put it off...’

  ‘That’s not going to be so easy, the arrangements have already been made. And you’ll be speaking directly for me.’ He moved his left arm stiffly, catching her hand, his thumb moving across the ring on her finger. ‘That gives you the right.’

  ‘That’s just a pretence, Hugo.’

  ‘You want the same things I do. I trust you to speak for me. That’s not a pretence.’

  ‘Is it what you really want?’

  ‘Yes, it is. Isn’t it what you’d want?’

  In his place, she’d do exactly the same. She’d want Hugo out there, working for the thing that was most important to her, instead of cooling his heels, drinking tea at the hospital. Even if the prospect of going to the meeting alone was terrifying, Hugo seemed to think that she could do it.

  ‘Okay. I’ll stay a little longer...’

  ‘No, you’ll go now and get some sleep. Ted will take you to the meeting, and he’ll point you in the right direction, who to greet first and so on. You’ll knock them dead.’

  ‘You really think so?’

  ‘Yes, I do. Go. Although if you could get me a phone first, I want to call my father.’

  ‘I’ll find Ted, you can use his.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Nell climbed off the bed, pulling her dress straight. It seemed to have survived the evening tolerably well, which was a tribute to its quality. She fussed with it, aware that she was putting off the moment of leaving.

  ‘I’ll...call you. In the morning.’ She picked up her clutch bag, checking unnecessarily that the diamond necklace and bracelet, which she’d finally managed to take off in the car on the way to hospital, were still safely inside.

  ‘Wait...’ Hugo was grinning now. ‘You were thinking of leaving without kissing me goodbye? Just on the cheek, I don’t want the monitor to register anything that gives my doctor pause for thought.’

  Nell laughed, bending over him. ‘First you tell me how you really feel.’

  ‘Dreadful. I ache in muscles I never knew I had.’

  ‘Good. You’ll be well cared for here, and I’ll be back tomorrow, after the meeting. Think you can be awake for me?’

  ‘I’ll do my very best.’ Hugo pulled her down for a kiss that set Nell’s heart thumping. Goodness only knew what was going on with the monitor, and she didn’t dare look. ‘Go. Before I decide I’m feeling a lot better now and I need another one of those...’

  * * *

  Having Nell walk away had been more difficult than he’d thought. Hugo kept it together until Ted had come and then gone again, and then there was nothing to prevent his thoughts from ranging wherever they wanted to go. However much he craved having her with him now, this was what he wanted her to do. He wanted Nell to walk out of that meeting tomorrow feeling the exhilaration of having taken it by storm. She’d been bullied and made to feel ashamed for much too long.

  Maybe if he’d done the same with Anna, given her some way of taking her own career forward while she was with him, then things might have been different. But he doubted it. Anna had told him that she lived in his shadow even when he wasn’t there, and that she couldn’t handle it. Things were working with Nell because, despite what everyone thought, they weren’t in love. He should remember that, just in case he felt any temptation to fall in love with her.

  It wouldn’t be all that hard. She was beautiful and brave, and when she was there he forgot all about whether or not his heart would keep beating. He knew that it would, just so he’d be able to spend another moment with her. But if he fell in love, things would change. However hard he tried, Nell’s career would have to take second place to the duties that he’d been born to.

  His limbs felt heavy, and he could hardly keep his eyes open. Hugo realised that the tablet he’d taken from the nurse, not even thinking to question what it was, was probably a sleeping pill. As he drifted into sleep, he wondered briefly what it might be like to fall asleep with Nell at his side.

  * * *

  Nell had called him before going into the lunch meeting, her nerves jangling in the cadence of her voice. When she called him again, a little more than two hours later, she sounded quite different.

  ‘I did the presentation, just the way you did last time. They really liked it, Hugo.’

  ‘I’m sure they did.’ Hugo leaned back against the pillows, smiling.

  ‘They’re going to help us.’

  Hugo grinned. ‘It didn’t occur to me for one moment that they wouldn’t.’

  ‘Well, it occurred to me. I thought they might chase me away and say that they’d come to hear you, and I just wasn’t good enough.’

  ‘When are you going to realise that you’re always good enough, Nell?’

  There was a pause, and Hugo imagined Nell frowning, the way she did whenever he complimented her.

  ‘I’m not sure how you can say “always” good enough. There are a lot of things you haven’t s
een me do yet. But I was good enough today.’

  That was something. If large oaks could grow from little acorns, then one of these days Nell was going to stand up and command the attention she deserved. Until then, Hugo would just keep pushing, one inch at a time.

  ‘Did your parents come to see you?’

  ‘My father did. Mother obviously decided that it was safe to allow us in the same room unsupervised.’

  ‘And was it?’

  ‘We disagreed on a few things. Patched it up again. We’re good.’ Better than they had been for a very long time. Hugo wondered whether Nell knew that it was her influence that had made that possible.

  ‘Are you getting out this afternoon?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve been pronounced none the worse for wear and I can go as soon as you can collect me.’

  Nell laughed, the sound of pure happiness reaching him despite the less-than-perfect phone connection.

  ‘That’s great. We’re on our way now.’

  She almost danced into his room a little later. Nell was wearing a red summer jacket over a red-and-white printed dress, and Hugo began to wish that he’d been with her at the luncheon. But then she would have sat quietly beside him, supporting him but hardly speaking up for herself. She could do so much more than that.

  ‘Are you ready? Before we go, I have someone who’d like to see you.’

  Hugo just wanted to go down to the car and get home. But then Nell ducked outside the doorway, appearing again with a wheelchair.

  ‘Uncle Hugo!’ Nadine beamed at him.

  ‘Nadine. What are you doing here?’

  ‘I came to see you, silly.’ Nadine wrinkled her nose at him and he laughed.

  ‘That’s very kind of you. Who told you that I was here?’

  ‘Dr Nell. She said you were ill but you’re better now.’

  ‘Yes, that’s right.’ Nell pulled up a chair and Hugo sat down, facing the wheelchair and leaning forward towards Nadine.

  ‘Are you all better?’

  ‘Yes, every bit of me. And what about you? You look much better than when I saw you last.’

  Nadine nodded. ‘Mama and Papa are taking me home soon.’