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.’