stab of guilt accompanied the thought that he’d been a little hard on Nell. For the last two weeks, he’d gritted his teeth and submitted as gracefully as he could to the authority of his doctors and nurses and the limitations his own labouring heart had put on him. Yesterday morning, when he’d arrived back at the palace, he’d resolved to leave all that behind. He had to get back to normal as quickly as possible if he was to achieve the goals he’d set himself.
None of that had anything to do with Nell, though. She had a job to do, and when she smiled at him, everything else seemed to retreat back into obscurity.
‘Thank you.’ She gave him a now we’re getting somewhere smile. Maybe they were.
HUGO LOOKED RESTED and relaxed. Like someone who had spent yesterday in his apartment doing nothing in particular while Nell assessed Jacob and made all the arrangements for a carer to come and help Celeste. Which was just as Nell wanted things to be.
But today was sure to bring new challenges. Hugo had wished her a good morning, and Nell had responded by picking up his car keys and giving him a lecture about staying within his limits. Ted, his bodyguard, had flashed her a quiet smile and got into the front passenger seat of Hugo’s car, while she fiddled with the driver’s seat, pulling it forward.
‘Remember to drive on the left.’ Hugo’s quiet voice had sounded from the back of the car, and she’d ignored him, slipping off her high sandals and starting the car.
Ted directed her through the morning traffic to a large house, set back from the road and gleaming white in the sunshine. She’d followed the ushers’ signals and parked the car between two others, which would have cost her the approximate value of her own flat had she been careless enough to scratch them.
‘You look very nice.’ Hugo bent towards her as they walked together to the circle of awnings laid out behind the house.
‘Thank you.’ On the basis that she couldn’t compete with anyone here, Nell had decided on a plain dress with no jewellery. That seemed to fit well enough with Hugo’s approach, a grey suit with a white open-necked shirt. No signet rings, no diamond tie pins. He really didn’t need that kind of thing, he was striking enough already, tall and tanned, with an easy manner that marked him out as someone who would always be acceptable in any social setting.
She was introduced to their hosts, and Hugo kissed the lady of the house on both cheeks. A drink appeared magically in her hand, and Hugo shook his head when he was offered one, obviously feeling that the juggling of drinks and handshakes would be too much for him to accomplish while taking care not to compromise his recent surgery.
‘Prince Hugo!’ A middle-aged woman marched up to him, and Hugo responded to her greeting with a hug. His face and body showed no signs of the pain that it would have caused him, but Nell knew that his left shoulder must be pulling at the movement. Then someone brushed against his left side, and this time he jumped imperceptibly.
This was no good. Nell carefully slipped in between Hugo and the people on his left side, curling her fingers around his left elbow. She knew exactly which angle his arm would be the most comfortable at, and she made a show of seeming to hang on to his arm, while making sure that it stayed immobile.
A nod, and a smile in her direction. And then, just for her, a mouthed Thank you.
‘Nell’s here from London. A friend of the family.’
The woman who was with him smiled. ‘What do you do?’
‘She’s in between jobs.’ Hugo had obviously decided to speak for her, in case she got their story wrong. ‘Taking a well-earned holiday.’
‘I’m particularly interested in the work of Hugo’s charity.’ Nell decided that taking Hugo’s arm could be forgiven, under the circumstances. Acting like a glove puppet couldn’t.
‘Ah...’ The woman nodded. ‘Well, he’s risen to the occasion yet again. Are you going to make a bid for him in the charity auction? So generous of His Highness to donate a trip with him on the royal yacht as one of the lots!’
Nell gave her brightest smile. ‘He didn’t tell me that there was going to be an auction after lunch until yesterday evening. It would be rude of me not to put in a bid for him.’
The woman laughed, and Hugo smiled graciously. Nell gritted her teeth.
A seemingly endless amount of small talk was cut short by their hostess, and everyone found their places at the tables. Champagne was served, and Nell leaned towards Hugo.
‘What happens if the amount I have to bid for you goes over the limit you can donate to the project?’ She hadn’t thought that would be possible last night, but now she wasn’t so sure.
‘You over-estimate my desirability.’
‘Not really. These women all look as if they can spend a large amount on just a whim.’
‘I’m suitably crushed.’ He put his hand to his heart, not looking even slightly crushed. ‘Remember this was your idea.’
‘Were there any other options?’
‘There’s always another option. But your solution was the best.’
‘So you weren’t looking forward to entertaining some lucky girl on the royal yacht for the weekend?’
‘What makes you think it’s going to be a woman? The trip on the yacht is the point of it all—a family with children would enjoy it, too.’
Right. Nell would bet a pound to a penny that there wouldn’t be any men bidding for this particular lot. But telling him that would only add to the chorus of appreciation that surrounded him, and Hugo already seemed to be under the misapprehension that he could get away with almost anything.
‘What’s Montarino doing with a royal yacht, anyway? It’s completely landlocked.’ Nell hadn’t thought to ask last night.
‘It’s moored in France. Montarino has an ancient treaty that allows us safe harbour there. Unfortunately the treaty doesn’t mention bills for the marina, so we have to pay those.’
‘So you were intending a three-hour drive to the coast, in addition to swimming and sailing and...whatever else you do on a royal yacht? You do know that you’re not supposed to be driving for six weeks.’ Last night this plan had seemed a matter of pretending to pay a nominal amount to get Hugo out of a fix. Now the stakes were looking a lot higher.
‘I won’t be doing any of that, though, will I? Not if you win the bidding.’
* * *
The look that she gave him made the large hole that this afternoon was going to make in his bank balance seem more than worth it. Hugo could have changed his contribution to this afternoon’s auction to something that demanded a little less activity on his part, but the programmes were all printed, and somehow the idea of having Nell stake her claim on him publicly had made him lose touch with the more sensible options.
Lunch was eaten, and a frisson of excitement ran around the tables when the auctioneer climbed up onto his podium. Nell’s hand moved to her bidding card.
‘You’re sure there’s no limit?’ She smiled suddenly and the sunlight playing on the ornamental fountains, on each side of the group of tables, dimmed in comparison.
‘I trust you.’
‘That might just be your first mistake...’
She was enjoying this. It occurred to Hugo that Nell might be about to teach him a lesson, and the idea didn’t fill him with as much dismay as it should have done.
Premier tickets for a football match, courtesy of Montarino’s one and only football team. Seats for a hotly anticipated rock concert. Some silver jewellery, from an up-and-coming new designer,