The Army Doc's Secret Princess

by Emily Forbes

  ‘Are you going to swim?’ Viktoria’s question brought Cam back to the present.

  ‘I don’t think I need to now.’ His leg had loosened up with the walk and he didn’t want to swim alone. He assumed she wasn’t about to join him without bathers. He would swim in his pool later if he needed to.

  Viktoria tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow as she walked beside him.

  He let himself relax into the moment and it actually felt good to let his thoughts go.

  He knew he was wound tight, but he found it hard to take a deep breath, he found it hard to relax. He knew he tended to keep busy, sometimes frantically so, as that didn’t give him time to dwell on the past or think about a future that was different to how he’d imagined. But to actually just stop and be in the moment, in the present, was okay. He didn’t need to think about the past or the future. He could just be.

  Their steps were in sync and left two sets of perfect footprints in the damp sand. Confirmation that he had shared this moment with her. A moment he didn’t regret.

  ‘Thank you for bringing me here,’ she said. ‘It has been a much nicer way to spend the evening than being in my hotel.’

  He felt a little guilty that he’d only invited her to join him as it had given him an excuse to get out of Doug’s function.

  The sun was low in the sky by the time they climbed the steps back to the house. ‘Would you like to go out for dinner?’ she asked. ‘My treat, in return though I want to pick your brains about the issues facing the athletes.’

  ‘I can throw something on the barbecue,’ he said. He was reluctant to go out; he was enjoying her company and he wanted that feeling to last a little longer. If they went out, other people would intrude on their space and he selfishly wanted to keep her to himself.

  Viktoria couldn’t cook—she’d never needed to learn—but she chopped vegetables for the salad while Cam barbecued lamb fillets.

  They ate on the terrace overlooking the ocean and the sparkling lights of the other houses on the clifftops. Their conversation flowed smoothly, and Viktoria was able to get Cam’s opinion on what she had discussed with the athletes. She had spoken to several of the Games competitors and they all had similar stories to tell. How the commitment to an exercise regime had helped to get them out of bed or socialising again. How exercise and the Games had given them a focus. How the feeling of pushing themselves, of setting and achieving goals, had given them a purpose. In short, how exercise had saved them.

  Their conversation alternated between the Games and her life in Berggrun, but it wasn’t until Cam had cleared their plates that she realised he’d given her very little insight into his own life. While he did answer some of her questions about army life, his answers were generic, giving her no insight into his personal experiences. Even his house gave no hints as to his life and the type of man he was. There were no family photographs; he’d mentioned a sister but there was no sign of her, nor was there any sign of parents or friends. No holiday snaps. No hobbies.

  She would have liked to have tried again to steer the conversation back to him, but she was aware it was getting late and she still had work to do.

  ‘Thank you for dinner. I should call Hendrik to collect me.’ They had shared a bottle of wine and Viktoria assumed Cam wouldn’t want to drive her home and nor did she expect him to.

  ‘Why do you have a driver?’ he asked.

  She had always had a driver and didn’t actually have a driver’s licence. She had never had the need for one, but she knew telling him that would invite a lot more questions. ‘Because we drive on the opposite side of the road in Berggrun and we thought it was safer not to drive here.’

  ‘We do have taxis, you know.’

  She would never be allowed in a taxi. Especially not unaccompanied. ‘Hendrik won’t mind; he’ll be expecting me to call. What is your address?’

  Cam told her his address and then went out onto the terrace to bring in their glasses, giving her some privacy.

  ‘Bonjour, Hendrik,’ Viktoria said when he answered. ‘Are you able to collect me from Vaucluse? I have the address.’

  ‘Oui, Your Highness, I know where you are.’

  ‘Comment?’

  ‘It is my job. I did a search on the doctor.’

  ‘Quoi? Pourquoi?’

  ‘I run a check on anyone you are alone with. I was not about to risk my job by leaving you unprotected. I am outside already.’

  She should be cross. She was not even allowed that little bit of freedom. But she couldn’t mind because she’d had a wonderful night. And Hendrik was right—it was his job; she couldn’t argue or berate him for doing his job.

  ‘How long did it take you to get here?’

  ‘Twenty minutes.’

  ‘I will meet you outside in twenty minutes.’ She would delay leaving, partly because she didn’t want to go, although she knew she had to, but mainly because she didn’t want Cam to wonder how Hendrik had arrived so quickly.

  ‘D’accord. Vingt minutes.’

  She kissed Cam on both cheeks and thanked him again as he walked her outside to where Hendrik waited.

  Hendrik held the door for her and she slid into the back seat, wishing she could have given Cam a proper kiss goodnight, but she couldn’t do that in front of her bodyguard. Even if she was denying her royal background there were still rules that needed to be followed.

  ‘Hendrik, will you be shadowing me all the time?’ she asked as he pulled the car away from the kerb.

  ‘Oui, Your Highness,’ came his reply.

  ‘Even when I’m with Dr Hamilton?’

  ‘Always.’

  That was not part of her newly formed plan.

  Coming to Sydney had been her chance to have one last adventure. She hadn’t expected to meet a man like Campbell Hamilton. She still hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that they had been destined to meet. That there was a reason he had been sent to collect her, that a higher power was at work. She hadn’t intended to have one last fling but if the opportunity presented itself with Cam she wanted to take advantage of it and, to do that, she needed to find a way of getting away from Hendrik’s protective observation. ‘Do you think, if he’s trusted by the Australian government as part of their armed forces, you could trust him too?’

  ‘He is not part of our armed forces.’

  ‘We don’t have an armed force. We have palace guards.’

  ‘Well, he is not a Berggruner.’

  ‘I understand, but you said you did a search on him. Did you find anything suspicious about him?’

  ‘Non.’

  ‘What did you find?’

  She was curious. She wished she’d asked Cam more questions but perhaps Hendrik could shed some light on him.

  ‘He is thirty-four years old. He was raised on a sheep station and has served in the army for four years. He has done two tours of Afghanistan and was injured during his last deployment.’

  Viktoria knew Campbell carried an injury of some sort—she had noticed his limp—but he hadn’t mentioned it. She wondered if Hendrik would tell her. She wondered if she should wait to see if Cam would. But she knew she didn’t want to wait. She wanted to know as much about him as she could. ‘Do you know what happened?’

  ‘He was in a helicopter that was shot down. Everyone else on board was killed. He almost didn’t make it. He sustained a collapsed lung, fractured ribs, leg and pelvis, and a ruptured spleen.’

  ‘How long ago was this?’

  ‘Two years.’

  She wanted to know who was with him. Who’d nursed him back to health. Who was there for his recovery. Where was his family?

  But she couldn’t ask Hendrik any of that. It wouldn’t do to show that much interest. As far as Hendrik was concerned her relationship with Cam was strictly professional.

  Cam swam one final lap of th
e pool before he hauled himself out, towelled off and padded inside. He had needed to swim after all, not to ease his muscles but to cool down. He had enjoyed the evening far more than he’d expected and it had left him energised and buoyant. He’d needed to burn off some of that energy before he’d be able to sleep.

  He flicked on the light as he stepped into his bedroom and the one personal photo displayed in the house caught his eye.

  On his bedside table was a photo of him with Gemma.

  A familiar pang of guilt flared through him as he looked at her smiling face.

  He turned his back on the photo and went to hang his towel in the en-suite bathroom.

  The evening had been perfectly innocent, but he still felt as if he was cheating on Gemma. The few dates he had been on in the past twelve months hadn’t gone past a drink or dinner and the occasional kiss. He’d always held back, unwilling to expose his scars, emotional and physical, and unwilling to cheat on Gemma. The evening with Viktoria had been more innocent than some but he still felt guilty and this time he knew it was because he wanted to see her again. This time he wasn’t done. This time he didn’t want to say goodbye.

  He knew it was time he moved on—he knew he shouldn’t feel guilty about enjoying himself—but the guilt had become part of him and letting it go was hard.

  He stepped out of the bathroom and looked again at the photograph, at Gemma’s wide smile. He could almost hear her voice and he knew what she would say.

  She would tell him to get on with his life.

  She had never stopped. She’d always had a purpose, just as he always had a goal. He knew Gemma would not want him to stagnate, but that still wasn’t enough to assuage his guilty conscience. He knew his world had become insular, that work and exercise were his only focus and that it wasn’t healthy. He knew he needed to spend time with other people, that he was at risk of becoming a recluse, but he hadn’t been very good company recently.

  But maybe he could start with a small step outside his insular world. Maybe it was time.

  He went over to the photo and laid it face down. He didn’t want to put it away, not yet, but he found he didn’t want to look at it any more tonight. Tonight, he was going to go to sleep with thoughts of Viktoria in his head.

  Viktoria thanked the hotel chauffeur and hurried across the army base. She was running late after an early morning drama. Hendrik’s wife and child had been involved in a car accident in Berggrun. His wife had sustained a fractured elbow and ribs and Hendrik had flown home to be with them, leaving Viktoria and Brigitta in Sydney. Viktoria didn’t mind; the hotel had chauffeurs available and she knew this would give her more freedom. In her opinion that was a good thing.

  She smiled as she headed for the mess hall. She was still thinking about the feel of Cam’s cheek under her lips as she’d kissed him goodbye last night. Thinking about the taste of the sea on his skin and the smell of the sun in his hair.

  She’d enjoyed the evening. Even if he hadn’t opened up to her, he had relaxed. He’d seemed calmer in his own domain. Whether it was the glass of wine, the walk on the beach, the familiar environment or the company of his dog she wasn’t sure, but she’d liked that side of him.

  His house had surprised her, though. It was stunning but it hadn’t felt like a home. She hadn’t had a lot of experiences with regular houses, but she had expected to feel a sense of Cam within the walls. She’d expected to see something of the man he was, even if it was just a glimpse, but she’d been able to glean very little about him. It made her wonder why he was so guarded. What was he hiding?

  She had no idea but at least she hadn’t seen any evidence of a woman in his life and for that she was grateful. She’d been made a fool of once before and, even if she was only hoping for a fling, she didn’t want to make a mistake. She’d been a poor judge of character in the past but, while she knew there was something Cam wasn’t telling her, probably a great many things, she was confident that he wasn’t hiding a girlfriend or a wife.

  Only the dog seemed to have some personal meaning for Cam.

  It felt as if only Rex tied Cam to the house, and he had been a gift from Cam’s sister. Cam hadn’t chosen the dog, but he had kept him and he was obviously fond of him. That had pleased her—someone who was able to form a bond with an animal had to have a kind heart, she thought as she arrived at the mess hall.

  She had made arrangements to meet Lieutenant Andrews on the base this morning to begin their interview and he was waiting for her in front of the mess hall. ‘Bonjour, Mark. How are you today?’

  ‘I’m good. Have you eaten? I thought we could grab some breakfast while we chat.’

  Viktoria didn’t eat breakfast—black coffee was her morning go-to—but she thought Mark might find it easier to talk if the focus was on a meal instead of directly on him. ‘I do not need breakfast, but I will have a coffee,’ she replied as he held the door open for her to enter the mess hall. ‘How is your shoulder today?’

  ‘The physio has told me I need to rest it from swimming,’ he said as he picked up a tray and joined the queue for food. ‘But I can do light exercises in the gym.’

  Viktoria stood beside him as he chose his food. It didn’t look particularly appetising and she was glad she didn’t eat breakfast. ‘What about your archery? Are you able to continue with that?’

  ‘Yes. That’s uncomfortable but the physio doesn’t think I’ll do any more damage.’

  ‘Have you always done these sports?’ she asked as they sat down at a table.

  ‘No. I could swim, most Aussie kids can, but I’ve never swum competitively so that’s new for me.’

  ‘Which do you enjoy more?’

  ‘Archery helps with my mental focus and balance. But, while I thought I’d like the solitary style of archery, I’m finding I enjoy swimming more. I’m swimming one individual event and also a relay and I like feeling like part of a team again. After my injury I really missed that. Comradeship is such a big part of army life and it’s good to feel that again.’

  ‘How long have you been in the army?’

  ‘I joined straight out of school and that was twenty years ago. My dad and my grandpa both served.’

  ‘When did you get injured?’

  ‘Three years ago.’

  ‘What happened?’ She felt bad for asking, suddenly it felt very intrusive, but Mark had agreed to be interviewed and he knew the reason behind her quest for the stories.

  ‘I was actually injured in a training exercise. I got tangled in a parachute and broke a lot of bones. My leg was so badly busted that even after multiple surgeries I was in constant pain. I decided in the end to have it amputated. It seemed like the best solution. And it helped. Physically I improved but mentally I was still a mess. I was angry. With the army, myself, my wife. It took me a long time to sort myself out and my marriage broke down.’

  ‘I am sorry to hear that.’

  ‘It happens a lot. The families put up with a lot, getting moved around every three years, having us deployed overseas, not knowing if we’ll come back. It’s stressful. And then we come back and we’re not the same any more. Even if we haven’t got physical injuries, we’ve got emotional scars. We’ve seen things no one should see. Sometimes we’ve also done things no one should have to do and that leaves a mark, you know? And it’s not something we can talk about to anyone who hasn’t been there. No one would understand. So, after everything my wife and I went through over the years, my injury was the last straw. And it wasn’t even the injury. It was the black hole of depression that I fell into that finished us off.

  ‘And then I had nothing. No marriage. No career. I was lost without my wife, without the army, without my mates. It’s been a long road back. The Games have brought me back and now, here I am.’

  ‘What made you want to compete in the Games?’

  ‘One of my mates took part in the last Games and he
convinced me to have a go at competing in this one. Having to get out of bed to exercise really was my salvation.’

  Viktoria had initially thought Mark seemed to have his life together and it surprised her to hear the level of despair that was evident in his voice. She hoped she could do his story justice.

  She reminded herself that Mark and soldiers like him were the reason Freddie had started the Games. His story, while difficult to listen to, could help others who found themselves in the same predicament he had.

  Mark’s next words reinforced her sentiments. ‘If each one of us who has been through something like this can help one other person then the cumulative effect could be enormous. Each person who finds the strength and the will to get out of bed in the morning and face another day is a triumph. I wasn’t ever suicidal but some of my mates have been. That’s why these Games are so important. They have given so many of us a purpose, a goal, something to aim for. I just hope I get to be a part of it.’

  ‘You will be a part of it even if you cannot compete but what will happen if you cannot swim the relay because of your shoulder?’ Would he be letting others down? What would the knock-on effect of that be? she wondered.

  ‘We can substitute another athlete if necessary but I’m really hoping I can swim the relay—that will be my highlight, I suspect—but I guess time will tell. I’m going to continue with the modified exercises that the physio has given me. I’m heading over to the gym now to do a light cardio session with the rest of my relay team and we’re having dinner together tonight. You should meet the team; they might be happy to do interviews for you too,’ he said as he pushed the last bit of his scrambled eggs onto a corner of toast and finished it off. ‘Why don’t you come to dinner with us?’

  ‘I would not want to intrude,’ Viktoria replied as she recalled Cam’s comment about being the enemy.