‘All right, sweetheart. Hold on to me.’
A siren, which cut off abruptly, heralded the arrival of the ambulance. Then voices, telling Hugo to move back, which changed their tone considerably when he turned around and the ambulance crew recognised him. He updated them on the woman’s condition and asked what analgesics they carried with them. After some conversation he turned back to Nell.
‘I’m giving her a shot of morphine. Are you all right down there?’
‘Yep.’ Nell’s back was twisted uncomfortably and her arm was beginning to ache. But she didn’t dare move in case the dressings were dislodged and the woman started bleeding again.
After what seemed like an age, but was probably only a few minutes, Nell heard another siren. She heard Hugo talking to someone and squeezed her eyes closed, concentrating on holding the dressings in place and ignoring the ache in her back. Hugo would take care of things. He would deal with it, and the woman would be brought safely out of the car.
‘Okay... Nell, are you still with us?’
‘Yep.’
‘Good job. They’ve decided to take the roof of the car off.’
‘Right.’ Nell had expected that. It made it easier and safer to move someone who might have a spinal injury. And the Jaws of Life should make short work of the car’s structure and allow the rescuers to peel the car roof off.
‘It looks as if once that’s done, they’ll be able to free her legs easily. Shouldn’t take too long.’
‘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.