Annie Claydon – From Doctor To Princess?: From Doctor to Princess? / The Doctor's Cinderella (страница 15)
Fat chance. His mother had made a comment to the effect that she wished he’d make up his mind, and had gone on to embrace the idea. She appeared at the door of his apartment within minutes, and it seemed that she saw eye to eye with Nell over this compromise solution.
The details were worked out over a glass of wine. Nell insisted on giving up her employment, which seemed only sensible to Hugo. He insisted on her being involved with his work for the clinic as much as possible, so she’d at least have something to show on her CV later on. Even if that hadn’t worked out so well with his real engagement to Anna, it seemed that it could at least be accomplished in the context of a fake engagement.
‘This will work well, Hugo. You’re obviously already good friends.’ His mother’s habit of not leaving before she’d made some private comment about the situation could be trying, even if it did usually elicit her real thoughts.
‘We’re...’ Hugo shrugged. ‘
‘You want to protect her. She wants to protect you.’ His mother turned on her heel, leaving Hugo to think about the implications of her statement.
He was too tired to think about anything very much. Nell cleared away the glasses, and thankfully skipped any examination of the healing incision on his chest. Perhaps she knew that the intimacy would be too much for him to bear tonight, when he was fighting to remain detached, now that they were alone.
He slept deeply, not remembering his dreams. In the morning, a package sent from his mother set the seal on the agreement that had been made last night, which was itself the stuff of crazy dreams.
He tore open the package and, looking inside, found a short handwritten note from his mother.
Right. He didn’t need to be told. He reached into the envelope again, finding a bundle of tissue paper wrappings and another note. He looked at both briefly, before putting them in his pocket.
NELL HEARD THE knock on the connecting door between their apartments, just as she was putting the last of her clothes into her suitcase. When she answered it, Hugo was looking rested, which was a great deal more than she felt.
‘You’ve had breakfast?’ He grinned at her and she felt her stomach lurch. That would have been entirely appropriate if the engagement they were planning wasn’t all a fabrication.
‘No, I’ve been packing my bags. I was going to get that done first.’ They’d agreed last night that it would be best for them both to leave the palace. Hugo’s house in the country had no staff and was small enough that Ted and his team could maintain close security.
‘Would you like to join me, then?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. That would be nice, thank you. Just toast...’
An awkward silence accompanied the arrival of the tray from the kitchen, and Hugo motioned towards the balcony table, indicating that the tray should be set down there. Nell sat down, reaching for the coffee and pouring it.
‘You still want to go through with it?’ He didn’t need to say what.
‘Yes, I do. I’m even more sure this morning.’
He nodded, taking a tissue paper package from his pocket, undoing it and laying four rings in a line on the table. ‘These are my mother’s. She’d like you to have something nice to wear.’
In Nell’s book,
‘Yes, of course they are.’
‘I can’t wear any of these, Hugo, they must be worth... I can’t even think how much they might be worth. Can’t I wear a fake?’
He shook his head. ‘No fakes, Nell, please. This engagement may not be real, but I want to say to you now that my promise to protect you is. I believe that you want to protect me, too.’
It wasn’t the proposal that every girl dreamed of. But suddenly Nell felt that there was something real about this. Hugo was a better man than she’d thought he was, not just a spoiled prince who could destroy her if he wanted, the way that Martin had tried to.
‘I will protect you, Hugo. I promise you that.’
He nodded. ‘Then I’d like it if you would choose whichever ring you like the best.’
That sounded like something she could put her heart into. She looked at the rings, not daring to touch any of them. One had a massive ruby at the centre, and it looked far too opulent. The other three were all large diamonds.
‘That one...’ She pointed awkwardly to a diamond solitaire that flashed blue-white in the morning sunshine.
‘That’s a very good choice. It’s the best stone.’
Nell went to protest that the only thing she’d seen was that it was the smallest stone, and he silenced her with a laugh. Picking up the ring, he held it out towards her. ‘Will you wear it now?’
‘The announcement hasn’t gone out yet. I shouldn’t wear it until tomorrow, should I?’
‘We’ve made a promise. I’d like it if you would wear the ring now, because that’s what it is to us. You can wear it on your right hand until tomorrow.’
Still he wouldn’t touch her. It was as if this new arrangement had blotted out any possibility of an innocent touch, and anything physical was now laden with some kind of meaning. Nell reached out, putting her hand in his.
‘Then...would it be appropriate for you to put it on for me, please?’
‘I think that would be entirely appropriate.’ His voice sounded inappropriately husky, and Nell avoided his gaze. Looking into his eyes wasn’t necessary.
She felt him slip the ring onto her finger, twisting it a quarter turn to get it past the knuckle. ‘It looks nice.’
‘It’s beautiful. I’ll take care of it and return it to your mother in good condition.’
He wrapped the remaining three rings in the crumpled tissue paper, and then put them back into his pocket, withdrawing a piece of folded notepaper. He handed it to Nell and got to his feet. ‘I’ll leave you to read that.’
Nell read the note. Queen Margaux would be most grateful if she could accept whichever ring she and Hugo chose, as a gift. It would be a symbol of gratitude and of enduring friendship between them.
Nell put the letter down on the table. It was too generous, and she’d have to ask Hugo if there was some way she could express her gratitude to his mother, whilst refusing the gift. She had the feeling that wearing it after the arrangement was over wasn’t going to be a particularly comfortable option.
But while she had it on her finger, she’d do her best for Hugo. She’d take care of him, and help him raise the money he needed for the clinic. That was a promise.
* * *
Hugo was aware that this arrangement had to be treated with the utmost delicacy. He must show how much he valued Nell as a friend. Slipping into anything more would be horribly easy, and something that he had promised himself he wouldn’t do.
All the same, their departure from the palace seemed like the start of something new and exciting. With the top of his convertible rolled back, and Nell at the wheel, it felt as if he was making an escape with a beautiful woman at his side. Who knew what might happen when they were finally alone, away from the bustle of the palace?
Ted’s voice from the back seat jerked him back into reality. ‘Left-hand side...’
Nell obligingly swerved to the left of the palace driveway, and came to a halt, waiting for the palace guard to open the gates.
‘Thanks. I nearly forgot.’
She waved to the guard, the ring flashing bright on her finger. Then she turned out of the gates into the anonymity of the busy city on a warm summer’s morning.
* * *
Their destination was only half an hour’s drive away, which was about as far as anyone could go from the capital of Montarino and still remain within its borders. There was no suburban sprawl, just a sudden change from houses to open countryside. And the countryside in Montarino
Hugo directed Nell through rolling hills and around the edge of a wide, blue lake. Another mile and they reached a high wall, built of weathered bricks, driving the length of it until they reached an archway, protected by a heavy wooden gate.
The gate swung open and Ted got out of the car, speaking briefly to the man who had opened it. He waved the car through, and Nell drew up outside the house. It was small by the standards of the palace, built in stone and shaded by trees. A small garden at the side was overlooked by arches, the weathered stone now housing state-of-the-art single sheets of glass.
‘It’s lovely. This has been in your family for a long time?’
Hugo quirked his lips downwards, shaking his head. ‘No. I bought this place with my doctor’s salary. Since I have almost everything else provided for me, it seemed like a good idea to have my own bolthole.’
Nell wondered what it must be like to have to take your own independence that seriously. She took it for granted that everything she had was the product of her own work, but Hugo seemed to need to make a distinction between what he’d been given and what he’d earned.