Matt could have hugged her. Hannah had come a long way in the last six weeks, and had gained the confidence to make her ambitions work. Sir James laughed suddenly, flashing a glance at his wife.
‘I like your plan very much. What do you think, Matt?’
‘I...’ Matt spread his hands in a shrug. ‘I’ve learned one thing over the last six weeks. If Hannah says she’ll do something, she’ll find a way to do it.’
‘That’s agreed, then. Although I’m sure we’re both looking forward to seei
ng you win, eh, Patti?’
Patti rolled her eyes, smiling at her husband. ‘Of course we are. I’m so thrilled we can be a part of it.’
Sir James threw off the persona of a hardheaded businessman, becoming an avuncular host. Patti called towards the kitchen, asking for more tea, and Hannah drank hers thankfully, sitting quietly as Matt answered Sir James’s questions about how the building should be configured to best suit their purposes. Patti joined in with the conversation, obviously keen for them to stay as long as possible, and Matt listened carefully to her suggestions.
‘You’ve both been very generous with your time and hospitality. We should be on our way.’ Finally he drew the conversation to a close, and Patti grimaced in disappointment.
‘Of course you must.’ Sir James squeezed his wife’s hand. ‘We can go and see the project when it gets underway, darling.’
‘Yes, we’d love you to come and see us. I’ll bring Sam along and we’ll show you around.’ Patti brightened visibly at Hannah’s words.
‘I’d love that. Wouldn’t you love it, Jamie?’
Sir James chuckled. ‘Yes, I would.’
There was an unobtrusive movement, from the other side of the terrace, as the camera crew started to pack up their equipment in response to Helena’s chivvying. Sir James walked through to the front door with them, and shook Matt’s hand.
‘Thank you so much. This is an incredible gift, and it’ll help a lot of people.’ Hannah held her hand out, and their host grasped it between his.
‘I should thank you, Hannah. Patti had a heart attack three years ago, in the middle of the night. An ambulance came, and the two young men were...’ He shook his head, as if words failed him.
Hannah nodded. ‘They made a difference.’
‘They were wonderful. So kind and good humoured. They whisked me off to the hospital, and I had a couple of stents put in.’ Patti confided the information to Matt, plainly considering stents as part of his territory.
‘And you’re fully recovered?’
‘Oh, yes! I’ve got more energy than I had before!’ Patti beamed at him.
Sir James was hanging on to Hannah’s hand, and she leaned forward a little, putting her free hand onto his. Matt knew that look, and the silent invitation to say exactly how he felt. If Sir James could resist it he had more steel in his heart than Matt did.
‘I shook their hands. I didn’t have the words to thank them properly, I was so worried about Patti. I’ve always regretted that omission.’ Sir James’s words were directed at Hannah.
‘Trust me, they knew. Seeing a loved one suffer a heart attack is frightening and distressing, and when someone manages to overcome that to shake my hand, it means everything to me. That, and Patti’s recovery is all the thanks that they could want.’
Sir James nodded, letting go of Hannah’s hand. He was a man of few words, but he felt this deeply. He put his arm around his wife, and the couple bade them a cheery goodbye.
‘I’m going to hug you. Just as soon as we have a moment alone.’ Matt murmured the words as he offered Hannah his arm across the gravel.
‘I’m going to hug you back.’ She turned to give a final wave to their hosts as Matt opened the car door for her. ‘What nice people.’
‘You gave Sir James a reason to be generous. I’m proud of you.’ He settled himself into the driver’s seat, waiting for Cecile to come running across from the outside broadcast van and get into the back seat of the car. ‘Where now?’
‘Fulham. There’s a shop there that does all the different kinds of specialist seating that we might need and I’d like to try some of them out. Then back to the hotel. I think we can specify the rest of the specialist equipment from the internet.’
Matt pulled out of the driveway. The stakes were higher now. Hannah had worked so hard for this, and she’d stepped out of her comfort zone when she’d come here. They had to win.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BY THE TIME Sunday evening rolled around, Matt and Hannah had been working flat out since the media centre had opened on Friday morning and they were both exhausted. Hannah had made the presentation boards, and Matt had worked through the spreadsheet, making sure they were within their budget. They’d printed off the requisite fifteen copies of their detailed presentation and bound them, and they were ready by seven o’clock. She’d called Sam and then joined Matt up in their suite.