Clearly, he still thought that she was a party animal, but she didn’t have the energy to argue the point with him. She glanced over at the building. ‘They seem to have put the fire out,’ she murmured. ‘Do you think they would let me back in there?’
‘Definitely not. It’s probably not safe, and no one will be allowed in until the fire chief gives the say-so. That will probably not be for a day or two, given the damage.’
She made a face. ‘All I actually need is a phone. Then I could arrange for a taxi to come and pick me up.’
‘I’ll take you where you need to go,’ he said, and when she would have demurred, he added, ‘That way I can be sure that you will get there safely, and that you won’t be wandering the streets in your bare feet. Are you staying at your aunt’s house?’
‘No, I have a place of my own.’
He looked surprised at that, and she wondered what he was thinking. Did he imagine that she was just a slip of a girl who was incapable of looking after herself?
He flicked a glance over her, and she realised that she must be in a totally dishevelled state. Her long chestnut hair was unruly at the best of times, and since she had unpinned it when she’d gone to bed last night it must be in full riotous disarray by now. No wonder he was looking at her as though she had lost her senses.
‘I would appreciate a lift. Do you think we could go now?’
He nodded. ‘Let me help you to my car. It’s just around the corner from the building.’
He helped her to her feet, and said, ‘Keep the blanket around you. I’ll take it back to the paramedics tomorrow.’
His car was a top-of-the-range saloon, gleaming even in the darkness, and she guessed that even if he wasn’t in partnership with his father, he must be doing well for himself. He helped her into the passenger seat and she sank back against the upholstery, her weary limbs thankful for the luxury and comfort that the interior offered.
He started the engine. ‘Where do you live?’
She gave him the address with some hesitation. He was probably used to the best of everything, but her modest cottage was all she could afford, and at least it gave her the opportunity to be independent. She had come to Devon at her mother’s request, but there was simply no room for her to lodge with her aunt.
‘Are you going to be able to get in without your keys?’ he asked as they drove out of the town and headed for the country lanes.
‘I keep a spare, just in case. I’ve hidden it away.’
‘You’re not going to tell me that it’s under a plant pot, are you?’ He sent her an oblique glance.
She lowered her head and hoped that he couldn’t see the flush of heat that ran along her cheeks. ‘Not exactly. It’s under a stone and there are several others around.’
‘I might have guessed.’ He raised his eyes heavenward and then concentrated on the road ahead.
He was a good driver, confident at the wheel, and he took the bends with ease. It didn’t take long before they arrived at the house, and he parked the car by the pavement, coming around to help her out of her seat.
‘This is it,’ she said. ‘It isn’t much to look at, but it’s just right for me.’
He was staring at the plain, stone-walled front, and she hoped that in the darkness he couldn’t see the peeling paintwork at the windows. ‘I’ll just go around to the back and find the key,’ she muttered.
He went with her, stooping to get the key when she located the rock in question. ‘I’ll come in with you and see that you get settled in all right,’ he said, and she recognised a sinking feeling in her stomach. What was he going to make of her minuscule, dilapidated home?
At least the kitchen light was working. She flicked it on and invited him inside. ‘I’ll see if I have any coffee in the cupboard,’ she said. ‘Would you like a drink?’ It was the least she could offer after all he had done for her.
‘Thank you. That would be good.’ He was looking around, and she could see that he was finding the place hard to take in.
‘I know that a lot needs to be done to make it right,’ she said, as she stopped for a moment to wash her hands under the tap, ‘but I bought it for a song, and I thought that in time I would be able to do it up. It needs some building work here and there, and I think there’s going to have to be a lot of replastering, but it has great possibilities.’
He didn’t appear to agree with her. He was frowning, and she thought it was perhaps a good job that he couldn’t see the rest of the house. ‘At least the cooker’s working,’ she said. She was rummaging in the cupboards, a struggle while she was holding onto the blanket in order to retain her dignity, but she had to turn around and say, ‘Sorry, no coffee. Will tea do instead?’
‘Tea will be fine.’ He stared around him. ‘You know you have damp in here, don’t you?’
She nodded. ‘It was one of the things that was pointed out in the survey, but I was assured that it could be put right. It’s just going to take me a while, that’s all.’
She made the tea and pushed the cup towards him. ‘I’d offer you biscuits, but I’m afraid I haven’t been able to get to the shops yet.’
‘That’s all right. I’d say biscuits were the least of your worries.’ He looked at her as though he thought she must have been completely mad to take on a project like this. ‘How on earth are you going to manage?’
‘I’ll get by,’ she murmured. She took a sip of her tea to calm her nerves. What did he know of how the other half lived? From the looks of the expensively tailored suit he was wearing, and the car outside, he had never had to struggle for anything.
‘Wasn’t there any possibility of you going to live with your aunt—that is, assuming that her house is more habitable than this one?’
She grimaced. He wasn’t one to mince his words, was he? ‘She only has two small bedrooms, one for herself and my mother has the other one. We can’t complain. We only moved to Devon a couple of weeks ago, and it was good of her to take my mother in.’
Her mother had been adamant that they should come here. There was every possibility that Amber’s brother could be in the area, and she was desperate to get in touch with him.
She said cautiously, ‘Your father must have been devastated by the news of the fire. Does he own other properties, or is the nurses’ accommodation his only investment?’
‘He has others, locally. Yes, it’s a blow, but the insurance will cover the damage. The biggest problem is the disruption to the lives of the people who were living there.’ He looked at her over his teacup. ‘They were lucky to come out of this alive—you among them—and most of them will have lost belongings.’
‘What happened to the man whose jacket was on fire?’
‘He’s OK. He escaped without any major injury. It’s the doctor who saved him who has the problem.’
‘How badly was he hurt? I know you said he had burns to his hands, but will he recover from them? Will he be able to work again?’
‘From what I gather, he should come through this all right. It will take time for his hands to heal, though, and of course it will be some months before he’ll be able to go back to work. It was a brave thing he did, saving his friend.’
‘I didn’t know him. I sort of remember seeing him at the party, but I wasn’t sure whether he worked at the hospital—at the Castle Hill hospital.’
‘Yes, he does—or, rather, he was about to start work as a senior house officer in the A and E department. That isn’t going to happen now, of course. We’ll have to find someone to take his place.’
Amber’s