From Doctor to Princess?

by Annie Claydon

  ‘Good. That’ll be good.’

  ‘Tuck your legs in a bit. They’ll be using a shield to protect you both from the broken glass.’

  Nell moved her legs, tucking them under her as well as she could manage, without letting go of the dressings.

  ‘That’s great. Hang on in there, honey.’

  Nell felt the car move slightly as it was propped and steadied. Then the sound of the mechanised cutters and the breaking of glass. She concentrated on the woman’s leg. It looked as if it needed attention soon.

  Hang on in there, honey.

  Hugo was always kind and encouraging towards his patients. And perhaps he was, even now, keeping up appearances—she was supposed to be his fiancée. But there was a note in his voice that no one could counterfeit.

  The words were just for her, no one else. She repeated them over and over in her head as she felt the rough brush of a gloved hand against her ankle, moving her leg a little in the constricted space and sending showers of pins and needles down it.

  Sunlight filtered down into the footwell as the rescuers peeled the roof off. Then Hugo leaned into the car, his gloved hand over hers, taking over the pressure that she was keeping on the wound.

  ‘Got to stop meeting like this.’ His grin and the murmured words were for her too, despite the quiet, concentrated work going on around them.

  ‘Have you got it?’ Nell slipped her hand out from under his, and he nodded, his gaze flipping up to somewhere above and behind her.

  ‘Okay, someone’s going to help you out now.’

  Someone gripped her waist firmly, pulling her backwards. Her leg muscles began to cramp painfully and she grimaced, trying not to cry out as she was hauled out of the car.

  ‘Ça va?’ A tall fireman was looking down at her as she sat on the grass, rubbing her leg.

  ‘Oui.’ Nell pulled her rumpled skirt down. Not all that demure for a wannabe princess, but as a member of the team who’d just spent the last fifteen minutes in an awkward, half upside-down pose, flashing a little leg could be forgiven. She wondered briefly which one the fireman saw her as.

  The latter, clearly. He turned away, leaving her to it, and got on with his job. Nell watched as Hugo and the paramedics quickly ascertained the woman’s condition a little better, and Hugo gave the signal for the fire and rescue team to remove the twisted metal that was holding her legs down.

  As soon as Nell could stand, she hobbled out of their way and sat back down on the grass, watching. It was a quiet, professional operation, everyone updating everyone else on what was happening, the woman in the car the centre of their attention. The paramedics backed off, leaving Hugo with the woman, as the fire and rescue team made the last, careful removal of pieces from the car. Then they closed in again, carefully lifting the woman from the car and securing her onto a stretcher.

  Hugo was still directing operations, speaking briefly to Ted, who climbed into the ambulance with the baby, still in its car seat. Hugo followed him, obviously intent on a last examination of the woman and her child, to make sure that they were ready for the journey to the hospital. Nell sat alone and unnoticed, watching the fire and rescue team pack up their equipment.

  Then Hugo climbed down from the back of the ambulance and the driver shut the doors. He walked across the grass towards her and sat down stiffly.

  ‘How is she?’ Nell looked up at him, knowing that the answer would be written on his face.

  ‘Her legs are broken and she’s lost a lot of blood. No sign of spinal injury, and although she’s drifting in and out of consciousness, which is a worry, I don’t see any head trauma either. They’ll do a CAT scan...’ He lapsed into silence, realising perhaps that his face had already told Nell what she wanted to know. There was every reason to be optimistic.

  ‘Good. And you’re okay?’

  ‘Yes. I knew there was a reason for the last couple of days’ rest.’ He chuckled, and then saw Nell’s hand, still absent-mindedly rubbing her leg. ‘Cramp?’

  ‘Yes. It just aches a bit now. Ted’s going with them?’

  Hugo grinned. ‘He’s going to see that the baby’s all right and handed over to its family.’

  ‘Good.’ Nell chuckled. ‘Think he’ll give it up that easily?’

  ‘They might have a bit of a struggle on their hands. He’s bonding fast.’

  They sat together in silence as the ambulance drew away, followed by the fire and rescue truck. The other driver was standing by a police car that had arrived at the scene and was parked a couple of hundred yards along the carriageway, and the people who had stopped had got back into their cars and resumed their journeys.

  It was suddenly quiet. In between the swoosh of passing vehicles, Nell could hear birds singing and the sun was warm on her face. If it hadn’t been for her own crumpled dress and the spots of blood on the rolled-up sleeves of Hugo’s white shirt, it would have been a fine day for a walk in the countryside.

  ‘Have you seen my shoes?’ A thought struck her.

  ‘Ted put them in the car.’ Hugo turned his face up to the sun, as if he were thinking the very same thing. It was the quiet after a storm, in which they both began to move from the urgency of a wrecked car by the roadside back into the other reality of their everyday lives.

  Or back into Hugo’s reality. However much he tried to involve her, it seemed as if he was just giving her something to do, making her feel as if she wasn’t just an accessory on his arm. But in truth, that’s what she was. This was Hugo’s country, and his mission, and Nell was just helping him out for a while. She’d be back in London, reading about him in the newspapers, before very long.

  ‘Why so glum?’ Nell turned to find that he was looking steadily at her.

  ‘Nothing. I was just hoping that the woman will be all right.’ She got to her feet, flexing the still-sore muscles in her leg, watching as Hugo stood. He was holding his left arm loosely by his side, not moving it but seeming to have suffered no ill effects from his exertions.

  He opened the back door of his car, motioning her inside, and Nell stood her ground. ‘If you think you’re going to drive...’

  ‘No, I don’t think that.’ He reached into his pocket, drawing out the car keys and put them into her hand. ‘Just get into the back for a moment.’

  Nell got in, shifting over to let him follow her. He closed the door and then turned, reaching for her ankle and propping her leg up onto his lap. ‘Looks as if your leg’s still sore, which gives me a marvellous opportunity to return the favour you’ve been doing me.’

  The look in his eyes wasn’t anything like Nell hoped that her demeanour was when she massaged his shoulder. But his face was the model of propriety. She sat still, feeling his fingers on the back of her leg, just above the knee.

  ‘Ah!’ For a moment, all she could think about was his touch. And the way that the sore muscle at the back of her leg was reacting and then relaxing as his fingers pressed a little harder. ‘That’s it. A bit higher?’

  It sounded a little bit like sex, and felt a lot like it, too. Rather than stare into his eyes, the way that she wanted to, she squeezed them shut.

  ‘Right there?’ Even his voice sounded like the honey-smooth tones of a lover.

  ‘Yes, you’ve got it. That’s much better.’

  Her leg felt a great deal better. The rest of her body was beginning to ache for the same touch. Very slow, and as sure as the careful progress of his fingers on her leg. Closing her eyes hadn’t been such a good idea after all, she could practically see Hugo making love to her behind her eyelids.

  ‘Thanks. That’s fine now.’ When she opened her eyes, she thought that she saw the hint of a smile on his face. The dark echoes of what she’d been imagining in his green eyes.

  ‘Wouldn’t want your foot to slip off the clutch...’ His fingers kept massaging.

  ‘This is an automatic.’


  ‘Ah, yes. Silly me.’ Hugo let her go and Nell pushed her skirt back down to her knees. Feeling in his pocket, he brought out the ring. ‘Don’t forget this.’

  Nell smiled, holding out her hand. Whenever she took the ring off, he always put it back on her finger again. She liked that, even if it was only temporary and didn’t mean what everyone thought it did.

  He leaned towards her, as if he were about to kiss her. But something attracted his attention and Nell turned to see one of the policemen strolling towards the car. Hugo grinned at her, getting out of the car and walking towards the man.

  He seemed to have a sixth sense about that. Hugo was always on guard, aware of who was around him and what they were doing. Nell supposed that came from living his life in the spotlight, never being able to walk down the street alone and unnoticed. It was why he guarded his secrets so carefully. He had to know that something was private.

  He exchanged a few words with the policeman and Nell climbed into the driver’s seat of the car, pulling the seat forward. In the rear-view mirror, she could see him walking back towards her. Relaxed, stains on the knees of his trousers from having bent down beside the injured woman, but still handsome. Still so perfect that Nell could hardly bear it.

  She started the car, waiting for him to get in beside her. It was time to get back on the road.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  HUGO COULD FEEL his strength returning. The bruises were long gone, and the red gash on his chest had knitted well. It would heal into a fine white line, as barely noticeable as the slight change in the contour of the skin above the pacemaker. It was there but rapidly becoming hidden.

  He needed Nell less and less each day. He could make his way through a press of people now, without wanting to shy away from them and protect his shoulder. He’d be able to drive in another few weeks, and the exercises that he did every morning, to prevent his shoulder from freezing, could become a little more strenuous.

  Nell had thrown herself into raising money for the clinic, and they’d decided that, working apart, they could cover twice as much ground as working together. Hugo missed having her with him, but he knew she enjoyed it, and as time passed, her confidence seemed to be growing.

  The best part of the day was always the morning. Dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants, her hair scrunched on the top of her head, and without a scrap of make-up, Nell was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. They’d have breakfast together, discussing their respective commitments for the day. Then he’d put a suit and tie on, and Nell would put on a dress and her engagement ring, and they were ready for the day, their public faces firmly in place.

  ‘So...how would you like a day off?’ Hugo had been thinking of broaching the subject for a while and had decided that there wasn’t much to lose by doing so. The worst that could possibly happen was that she could say no.

  ‘A day off?’ She was sitting in the sun, the breakfast things in front of her on the patio table. One leg was curled up beneath her, and there was a smudge of marmalade on her thumb. Hugo tried not to look as she licked it off.

  ‘Yes. Remember I still owe you a trip on the royal yacht.’

  ‘That was just for show, Hugo.’

  ‘It doesn’t mean we can’t go. Take a weekend off, we’ve both earned it.’

  ‘Isn’t there...? Don’t you want to spend the time somewhere else?’

  Nowhere in the world that he could think of. ‘We’re supposed to be engaged. I wouldn’t dream of spending a weekend anywhere other than with you. And I paid enough for the pleasure of your company.’

  Hugo winced. He hadn’t meant that quite the way it had sounded and from the look on Nell’s face, the joke had fallen flat. It had been a long time since he’d been this tongue-tied when asking a girl out.

  ‘We’re not really engaged, remember,’ she said quietly.

  ‘I can still enjoy spending time with you, can’t I?’

  ‘You don’t have to say that here. No one’s listening.’ There was an edge to Nell’s voice now that cut away at Hugo’s heart. Suddenly the morning sun seemed harsh and altogether too bright to sit here for any longer.

  ‘Of course. I’m sorry.’ He stood up, reaching for his diary, which lay with hers on the table. ‘I have an early start this morning. I’ll see you this evening.’

  * * *

  She hadn’t needed to say it, not like that at least. Nell sat on the patio, wondering whether Hugo would forgive her, and when she heard the front door open and then close, it seemed that he hadn’t. She ran to the front window and saw him, immaculate in his suit and tie, getting into the car, while Ted waited at the wheel.

  A weekend with Hugo. Sun and the sea, a chance to relax. It had sounded too wonderful to be true.

  And in Nell’s experience, that usually meant that it was. Beneath all the excitement and glamour, beneath the very real relationship that was growing between them, Hugo was still a prince. He could buy whatever he wanted, and even though there was no contract of employment between them any more, he was as much in control of her future as Martin had been. And she’d allowed that.

  She had to get ready. She was due to speak to a women’s club at noon, a talk that was designed both to educate them about the signs of heart disease and ask them to spread the word about the plans for the clinic. That was what she was here for, a shared goal and an agreement, which protected his secrets and her reputation. She needed to remember that whenever it started feeling too much that her rightful place was on his arm.

  * * *

  ‘Nell, I’m so sorry.’ Hugo marched into the sitting room, clearly gripped by the urgency of being on a mission. Nell jumped. She hadn’t heard him come in.

  ‘You took the words right out of my mouth.’ The magazine lying open on her lap had gone unread, while she’d mentally rehearsed her apology.

  ‘I...’ He looked suddenly perplexed. Clearly he’d been rehearsing too, and his speech wasn’t going entirely to plan. ‘You have nothing to apologise for. And since I do, I’m going to break the ladies-first rule.’

  ‘Okay.’ When Hugo was in one of these moods, there was no stopping him. Nell had learned to just go with the flow.

  He took a breath, as if reorienting himself back on his trajectory. ‘I’m really sorry about this morning. It was just a joke and...all I meant was that money pales into insignificance in the face of the pleasure I’d take in spending a weekend away with you. You owe me nothing, and there’s no obligation on your part to join me.’

  ‘I know. It’s all right, Hugo, I never thought that was the case. I was just being a bit over-sensitive.’

  ‘No, you weren’t. I know you have good reason not to mix business with pleasure, and any implication that I—’

  ‘Please stop, Hugo. Let’s just say we’re okay, shall we?’

  He nodded, bringing out a glossy paper carrier bag from behind his briefcase. ‘I was going to bring you flowers but decided on this instead.’

  What was this? The carrier bag looked as if it had come from an exclusive store somewhere, and when Hugo handed it to her, Nell saw an embellished cardboard box inside. Too big for jewellery and too heavy for underwear. But in this situation, they’d be gifts that an unsubtle man would bring, and Hugo was never that.

  She took the lid off the box and smiled. Perfect. ‘Chocolate! Thank you, Hugo.’

  He grinned, finally taking his jacket off and sitting down. Nell proffered the box. ‘Would you like one?’

  ‘You first.’

  The chocolate was delicious, with a centre of dark brandy truffle. ‘Mmm...these are gorgeous. You should try one.’

  ‘Thanks... One can’t hurt, right?’

  ‘No. One can’t hurt.’ Even though he had no problem with cholesterol, Hugo’s diet was strictly balanced and healthy. Perhaps too much so. Nell had never seen him eat sweets or sugary foods, even as a treat
.

  Hugo loosened his tie, leaning back on the sofa, taking a moment to appreciate the forbidden chocolate. ‘That’s good.’

  They were friends again. Clearly Hugo didn’t care about receiving any apology from Nell, but she cared about giving it.

  ‘Hugo, I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to infer that you were being in any way insincere. This is just...a difficult situation. I don’t know quite how to act sometimes.’

  ‘You’re doing just fine. You should never apologise to me, because it’s my weakness that’s put you into a difficult situation.’

  That assumption, again, that he was somehow flawed. Hugo seemed to take it for granted, as if it were beyond argument, and a given thing.

  ‘You’re weak because you have a pacemaker? Is that what you say to all your pacemaker patients, that they’ll never be the same again?’

  ‘No, of course not...’ He broke off, as if the incongruity had only just occurred to him.

  ‘Then why say it to yourself? You know it’s not true. Why keep it such a secret?’

  He shook his head. ‘I don’t know, Nell. I feel...different somehow. Less than what I was.’

  ‘But you don’t mind relying on a watch to tell you the time. You don’t mind relying on your phone to keep you in touch.’

  ‘That’s not the same thing. I’m not relying on either of them to keep my heart beating, that’s a bit more important.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a great deal more important. But what happens if the pacemaker fails? Your heartbeat will probably slow up, but it’s not going to stop completely. Most of the time, your heart’s beating just fine on its own, the pacemaker only activates when your level of activity increases and you need a little extra help. So the worst that can happen is that you have to stop and sit down. You know all this, Hugo.’

  ‘Yes, I do. I...’ He looked at her suddenly. ‘You’re pushing me, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, I’m pushing you. Because what you know up here...’ Nell reached forward, tapping his forehead lightly with her finger ‘...isn’t what you actually feel inside, is it?’