From Doctor to Princess?

‘It’s a matter of knowing your power.’ Since the choosing of the dress had been accomplished in record time, they were now free until three o’clock, and Hugo had taken Nell for a stroll in the palace gardens.

‘I’m not sure I have any power, do I?’ Nell looked up at Hugo. Caressed by the sun and relaxed in the warm breeze, he seemed the epitome of a handsome prince.

‘Of course you do. You know, when you’re a prince, people will tell you that you’re the one in charge. And then they tie you up in knots over all of the things you can and can’t do.’

‘Like having to accept your own private doctor?’ Nell knew now that Hugo’s studied avoidance of her advice hadn’t been just a game. He’d been fighting to express his own feelings over his surgery.

‘Well...that worked out. And you were right, I did need to rest a little more. And I needed to be told that I’m not indestructible.’

‘You needed to accept that for yourself. Not to be told.’

He chuckled. ‘Yes. Big difference. And you don’t need to be told which dress you like, so remember that next time.’

‘There probably isn’t going to be a next time.’ Nell had to remind herself every day that this wasn’t permanent. That she wasn’t really Hugo’s fiancée and that in a few months’ time she’d be leaving.

‘No. I suppose not.’ Suddenly the space between them seemed to grow. Their leisurely pace was the same, but they were just taking the same path through the gardens, not walking together.

‘Thank you for stepping in, though. I’m not sure what I would have ended up with if you hadn’t been there.’

‘My mother knows how to handle Madame and her entourage. It might have deteriorated into a squabble, though.’

‘A squabble? Surely not!’

Hugo chuckled. ‘They’ve known each other for years. Madame has access to all the best dresses, but she’s not that flexible in her approach. There have been a few full and frank discussions.’

‘I didn’t realise...’

‘That’s what I mean about taking your own power. People like Madame love to tell you what to do, but if you stand up to them, they’ve got nothing.’

‘And you take a lot of pleasure in standing up to them, don’t you?’

He didn’t answer. The complex politics, the unspoken expectations of the palace must be hard to live with. Being a doctor seemed suddenly a lot simpler.

‘I’ve been thinking. About Martin...’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Yes? You do that a lot?’

‘Not all that much.’ The last ten days had been busy. And full of the kind of achievement and joy that didn’t naturally bring Martin to mind. But that respite had served to consolidate Nell’s thoughts.

‘I’m glad to hear that.’ There was a note of possessiveness in Hugo’s tone.

‘I checked his social media accounts. He’s been very quiet recently.’ Nell had wondered whether Hugo had had anything to do with that.

‘The email that our legal team sent him might have had something to do with that.’

‘So you did do something.’

‘Nothing very much. They simply made contact and made a polite request that any future public statements be copied to them, as a courtesy.’

‘But coming from an eminent law firm, with the backing of the palace... That sounds like a threat to me.’

‘There were no threats. All bullies are cowards, don’t you know that? If Jarman backs off because you have powerful friends, that’s his business.’

‘I was thinking maybe...that I might make him back off by myself. I’m considering lodging an official complaint with the hospital.’

Hugo nodded. ‘If that’s what you want. It won’t be easy, though. Our lawyers can support you through the process.’

‘I know, but I don’t want that. I thought about what you said, about him probably acting that way towards other people. I’d been so bound up in my own problems that I thought I was alone, but if there is anyone else...’