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‘That’s a beautiful piece. It’ll really suit her.’ Nell was completely caught up in the proceedings, leaning over to murmur the words in his ear as she watched the winner talking excitedly to her husband.
‘Would you like one? I can have another made...’ The abstract curves of the silver necklace would actually suit Nell far better than they would Monique LaTour.
‘Don’t you dare!’ She turned to him, a look of reprimand on her face. ‘For what she’s just paid, she deserves to have something unique.’
Hugo thought about telling her that Jacques LaTour was a multimillionaire and that Monique had enough jewellery to fill a wardrobe. But he doubted the information would make any difference to Nell, and anyway her attention was back on the auctioneer’s podium now.
‘Now, a special treat, ladies and gentlemen. Hosted by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hugo DeLeon, a weekend trip on Montarino’s royal yacht.’ A gratifying buzz of excitement ran around the tables. Hugo smiled in acknowledgement, and then glanced at Nell. Her champagne flute was in her hand, and she’d just downed the whole glass in one.
* * *
Ted would have to drive back, or they could call for the chauffeur. Nell was sure that something could be arranged, and she needed something to calm her nerves. Bubbles hit the back of her throat and she almost choked.
This was it. She was about to spend an unknown sum of Hugo’s money just to have his company for the weekend and ensure he didn’t over-exert himself, something she was being paid to do anyway. The doctor’s common room would have had a field day with that, but suddenly she couldn’t have cared less. This felt like an adventure, one that might wipe away all the slights that had hurt her so over the last year.
As soon as the bidding started, three women held their cards up. The auctioneer managed to come to a decision over who had bid first, and as his finger moved briskly to and fro the price began to rocket upwards.
Nell saw Hugo’s head turn towards her, and caught a glimpse of his worried expression. Then she held up her card, waving it to attract the auctioneer’s attention.
‘Two thousand from the lady on the right...’ Nell felt slightly giddy at the idea that she was spending this much money.
There were many more rounds of determined bidding and one by one her rivals shook their heads. When the auctioneer rapped his hammer, an unexpected burst of exhilaration made Nell catch her breath. A few people looked round at her as Hugo leaned towards her, smiling.
‘I thought for a moment you were going to let me down. Do I detect an element of risk-taking in your approach?’
Let him think that. If this was an exercise in each keeping the other off-balance, it couldn’t do any harm. Nell gave him a smile and reached for her glass, which had been refilled at some point during the bidding. Clearly one of the attentive waiters had thought she might need it.
Hugo’s lot was the highlight of the afternoon. There were a couple more, to round things off, and then the ring of a silver spoon against a crystal glass called for quiet as their hostess got to her feet. She thanked everyone for being there, and introduced Hugo.
He got to his feet, smiling, and Nell saw more than one person smile back. Taking a sheet of paper from his pocket, Hugo scanned it and then tore it in two.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I had a speech prepared, but I find that there’s little more I can do to add to this afternoon.’
Nell took a sip of her champagne. This sounded pretty much par for the course. This afternoon was all about delighting in smoke and mirrors, not getting to grips with the serious issues.
‘First, I’d like to thank Yvette, our hostess today...’ He paused as a round of applause ran around the tables, and Yvette nodded a smiling acknowledgement. ‘Second, I’d like to thank you all for your generosity.’
He paused. Five seconds’ silence, which was enough to catch everyone’s attention. Hugo’s timing was impressive.
‘You all deserve to know what that generosity means. Under your placemats, you’ll find a leaflet...’ He held up a glossy trifold, and Nell looked under her place mat and found one just like it. ‘We’re not in the business of bricks and mortar, or of reputation, although we’re rightly proud of Montarino Hospital’s record of excellence. We deal in people.’
Hugo’s gaze dropped suddenly to the trifold in his hand. Almost against her own will, Nell opened her own copy of the leaflet, seeking out the photograph inside that he seemed to be studying. A little girl in a pink dress, cuddling a battered teddy bear. She was smiling, reaching for someone or something behind the camera.
‘I’ll let these photographs tell you how much your kindness means. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.’
Hugo sat down abruptly, seeming to be almost overcome by emotion. Applause ran around the tables, followed by a buzz of conversation, which seemed to be centred around the leaflets in everyone’s hands.
It was a great speech. Short and to the point, and tugging nicely at the heartstrings. Nell had noticed that he’d put the paper he’d torn in half safely back into his pocket. She wondered vaguely if there had ever been anything written on it.
It didn’t matter. If Nell had seen the reality of heart disease, and knew that it wasn’t all smiles and teddy bears, that wasn’t what today was about. She’d lost count of the amount of money that had been raised, and it seemed the auction was just the tip of the iceberg.
A middle-aged man in a silk suit had approached their table, and Hugo had turned in his seat to talk to him. He pressed a folded cheque into Hugo’s hand.
‘Thank you, Henri. We’ll use this well.’
The woman standing next to Henri spoke. ‘Next time, I insist on being the hostess, Your Highness.’
Hugo hesitated. ‘You’re too kind, Justine. Think about it...’
‘No, I don’t need to think about it. I’ve thought about things for too long and it’s about time I did something.’
‘I’ll have Nathalie contact you, then. She’ll talk through all the options with you.’
‘I think I have an idea that will be perfect.’ Justine brushed off any other options with a wave of her hand.
Henri smiled suddenly. ‘We must be going. It seems that my wife has a plan that needs my attention.’
‘You shouldn’t work so hard, Hugo...’ Justine frowned suddenly at Hugo and caught Nell’s eye, reverting to English. ‘Take him away, my dear. He is neglecting his responsibilities to you.’
Nell smiled, not knowing quite what to say, and Hugo bade the couple goodbye. When he turned, his face was suddenly ashen and drawn. This was the first time that Nell had seen Hugo betray any weakness, and he was obviously tired.
Nell leaned towards him, speaking quietly. ‘We’re going. Now.’ She injected as little room for argument into her tone as possible.
‘I think you’re right... Yvette will wrap things up.’
Nell glanced across at their hostess and saw that she too was accepting cheques, tucking them into a small designer clutch bag that lay on the table in front of her, which seemed to contain little else.
‘I’ll...go and make our excuses...’ Maybe something would spring to mind on the way over to Yvette’s table.
‘That’s all right. I said we might have to leave a little early.’ Hugo reached for an auction programme, taking a pen from his pocket and scribbling something on it, then beckoning to one of the waiters. The note was carried to Yvette, who read it and smiled over at them.
Whatever he’d written, it seemed that their hostess was now happy to allow them to leave with as little fuss as possible. Nell bit back the thought that they should never have been here in the first place. Perhaps this would serve as a lesson to Hugo, and he’d respect his own limitations a little better from now on.
He swayed a little as he stood, wincing in pain. Nell hung on to his right arm, supporting him as well as she could and ignoring the glances and smiles from the people who crossed their path on the way back into the house. If they wanted to jump to the conclusion that there was something between her and Hugo, then let them. She imagined that she was just the latest in a very long list, which had the virtue of rendering her unremarkable.
Ted appeared out of nowhere, and Nell breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Would you be able to bring the car round, please, Ted?’
‘Yes, Doctor.’ Ted flashed her a conspiratorial smile and hurried away.
Hugo almost stumbled at the bottom of the steps at the front of the house, and when she put her arm around him to steady him, Nell found herself almost in an embrace.
‘I’m sorry.’ He made to pull away, but Nell held him tight.
‘That’s all right. We’ll just get home, shall we?’ She could see his car now, moving towards them, Ted at the wheel.
He nodded, and she felt his arm curl around her shoulders. ‘Yes. Thank you.’
CHAPTER FIVE (#ud65e59a7-5521-5b05-ace0-e0fd12bf648e)
HUGO HADN’T QUITE been feeling fine, but he had at least been in charge of himself. And then suddenly he’d hit a wall. The one that he told his own patients about and reassured them wouldn’t be there for ever.
If Nell hadn’t been there, he wasn’t sure how he would have managed. But she had, and he’d felt her next to him, holding on tight as he’d walked what had seemed like a marathon to get to the car. Somehow, her scent had strengthened him and stopped him from just sitting down right where he was and not getting back up again.
Ted had helped him back up to his apartment and Nell had fussed around, taking off his shoes and jacket and loosening the collar of his shirt, then making him lie down on the bed. He’d protested and she’d ignored him, and then suddenly a wave of fatigue had pulled him into sleep.
When he woke, the room was in semi-darkness. He could make Nell out, sitting by the window, reading in the last rays of the sun.
‘Do you want me to say it?’ When he spoke, it felt as if his mouth was full of cotton wool.
She looked up from her book. ‘You can if it makes you feel any better.’
It did. Hugo pulled the bedspread down from his chest, sitting up slowly. ‘I overdid it today. I felt okay and I was sure I could manage it but... I couldn’t.’
She smiled and suddenly overdoing things and proving Nell right didn’t seem such a bad thing after all.
‘You know, of course, that this happens. After the shock of being taken ill and then going through a surgical procedure.’
‘Yes. Primitive instincts. We fight to survive, and then, when the danger’s passed...’
She nodded quietly. ‘And now you have to come to terms with it all.’
‘What if I don’t want to?’ The words escaped Hugo’s lips before he had a chance to stop them.
Nell shrugged. ‘That’s just too bad. You can command it to go away all you like, but it’s not going to listen.’
Maybe. But if he couldn’t rule his own feelings, then he could return the favour and not listen to them. Not let anyone know his weakness.
He swung his legs slowly from the bed. They seemed strong again. All he’d needed had been to sleep for a while.
‘You’re getting up?’ Nell was looking around the room as if she was trying to figure something out.
‘I feel much better now. What are you looking for?’
‘Your wardrobe.’
‘Through there.’ Hugo nodded towards the door to one side of the bed, and Nell got to her feet. It seemed she’d decided to lay out a change of clothes for him. The idea that she might stay and help him into them didn’t seem quite as deflating as it had when the nurses at the hospital had done it.
‘Oh...’ She’d opened the door and put her head inside the dressing room. ‘Sure you have enough to wear here?’
‘I go out a lot.’ Hugo chuckled. ‘Casual is on the left, at the end.’
She disappeared inside the dressing room, and Hugo heard her opening drawers and closing them again. Then Nell reappeared, with a dark polo shirt and a pair of pale chinos over her arm. ‘Will this do?’
‘That’s great, thanks.’
‘Bathroom?’
‘Through there.’ Hugo indicated another door, staying put. He wondered how far Nell intended to go with this.
She disappeared into the bathroom and he heard the sound of water running. Then she popped her head around the doorway. ‘I’ll take a look at your chest and then leave you to it.’
Hugo heaved himself from the bed and walked into the bathroom. She’d moved the shower chair in front of the basin, and motioned him to sit down.
‘How do you really feel?’ She bent down, unbuttoning his shirt.
He wanted to say that he felt fine. Hugo meant to say that he felt fine, but in her quiet, fragrant presence he couldn’t.
‘As if I’ve been hit by a truck.’
Hugo closed his eyes, feeling her slip his shirt from his shoulders and carefully threading it off his left arm. Coming to terms with the piece of cutting-edge technology that was now implanted in his chest was the easy part. It was the thought that he was somehow flawed that he just couldn’t shake.
More flawed. He hadn’t been perfect to start with.
He felt her carefully remove the dressing over the surgical incision. It was hard not to shiver at the touch of Nell’s cool fingers.
‘It’s looking good. A little bruising, still, but there’s no infection and it’s starting to heal. It’s a nice job.’
Nice job. She’d said that before and he’d wanted to turn his back on her and tell her that he didn’t need that doctor-to-doctor reassurance. If he’d still had a gaping wound on his chest, a scar that would never heal, it might reflect the way he felt a little better.
‘Take a look.’
Hugo had purposely not removed the dressings to see what was underneath. But it seemed that parts of his body answered to her and not him, and his eyes flipped open. The first thing he saw was her face, composed in a reassuring smile, and even though he knew that smile was probably something she wore for all her patients it did its job. He smiled back.
‘What do you think?’ She stepped out of the way, and Hugo found his gaze on the mirror above the basin.
‘It’s...’ Hugo tried for a shrug, and felt his left shoulder pull. ‘You’re right. It’s a neat job.’
She nodded and turned to the basin, leaving him alone for a moment with his own reflection. Hugo didn’t like the way it made him feel and he concentrated on watching Nell instead.
Her hands were gentle but capable as they dipped a flannel into the basin, twisting it to wring out the excess water. In his experience, that was only a short step away from tender. She laid the flannel over his shoulder, her entire concentration on what she was doing. It felt warm and comforting.
‘That feels good. Thank you.’
She nodded, removing the flannel and dipping it back into the water. Wiping it across his skin, careful not to allow any drops of water near the wound. He’d seen this so many times before at the hospital, and had always felt that this was one thing that no amount of technology or learning could replace. When the nurses washed a patient, there was a tenderness about it that spoke of the kind of care that only human beings could give one another.
And now he felt it. The warm touch of water against his skin calmed Hugo, and the suspicion that everything would be all right floated into his consciousness, with all the reassurance of a forgotten friend.
She leaned towards him, rubbing the flannel across his back. Stopping to rinse and then repeat, her movements slow and thoughtful, like those of a craftsman plying his trade. Hugo closed his eyes, not ready to let go of this feeling just yet.
She finished with the flannel and gently patted his skin dry with a towel. Then he felt her fingers on the top of his left arm, gently massaging. He knew what Nell was doing. He wasn’t supposed to lift his left arm above shoulder level for six weeks, and it was common to get a frozen shoulder during that time. It was just straightforward care, but it felt like so much more.
‘Would you like help to shave?’ He opened his eyes and saw that Nell was now opening one of the sterile dressings from the box that lay on top of the bathroom cabinet.
It had been a while since he’d let a woman shave him, and then it had been purely for pleasure. Anna had done it, but since then he hadn’t let a woman get to know him that well. Hugo regarded the shaving cream on the shelf above the mirror and decided against it.
‘Thanks, but I’ll go with the designer stubble.’
Nell gave him a half smile. ‘It suits you.’
