‘How on earth do you know that?’
A wrinkle appeared across her brow. It was obvious she was choosing her words carefully. ‘Do you remember I told you I spent the summer with my aunt?’
He nodded.
‘My aunt did lots of charity work. At that time most of her work was in some of the Chinese orphanages. She took me over there for a whole summer. It was the best summer of my life.’
‘You learned a Chinese dialect in one summer?’
‘I still go back,’ she said quietly. ‘Away from the spotlight. Every few years Jo and I go back to that same orphanage. I feel a real connection with it. I’ve spent a long time learning the language, the particular dialect. It makes the work so much more rewarding when I can converse with the children.
‘Some of those children were taken away from their parents against their will. The parents couldn’t afford to pay the fine for having more than one child. It’s awful. But we’ve tried to make things better. We have links with social services around the world and some of the children get adopted internationally.’
‘So, An is from the same area?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. I’m not completely fluent, but I can easily make myself understood. You don’t need to wait for an interpreter.’
Iain hesitated for a second. He was trying not to let his mouth hang open. But Lexi had just rendered him speechless.
This was not what he had expected. And he was almost ashamed to think that.
He’d been up close and personal with her. He knew she was much deeper than people assumed. But it was obvious he’d only scratched the surface—only got to know a little about the woman underneath the pretty façade.
From her teenage years Lexi had spent summer after summer helping out at a Chinese orphanage. This was more than charity work for her. She was committed to this. Committed enough to learn the language.
He’d spent a summer at a Romanian orphanage himself, operating on children with cleft lips and palates. He knew how much it sucked you in. How you would do anything to help. How you could think about nothing else.
This was a whole new part of Lexi Robbins he hadn’t counted on.
‘Iain? Are we doing this?’
He nodded, embarrassed by his long silence. ‘Of course … thank you.’
He knelt down next to An, who was perched on his mother’s knee. The stitches on the skin along the little boy’s jaw had healed well. ‘Ask him how he’s managing to eat.’
Lexi nodded and spoke quietly to his mother, listening to her reply and letting An answer too. She turned to Iain. ‘He’s fed up with soft foods.’ She gave him a smile. ‘He wants some chips.’
Iain smiled. ‘Can you ask him to open his mouth so I can have a look at his dentition? Some of his teeth have been affected by the repositioning of his jaw.’
Lexi only took a second to ask the question and An opened his mouth a little hesitantly. Iain bent down and looked inside, using a small torch, ‘Everything looks as though it’s healing well. I see no reason he can’t have a more substantial diet.’
Lexi translated quickly. An’s face was still bruised and slightly swollen and his attempt at a smile lopsided. But it was the most satisfying thing that Iain could see.
‘Can you ask him about pain relief? If he’s going to eat a bit more he might need his analgesics adjusted for the next few days.’
Lexi took a few minutes, taking her time while she spoke to An and his mother. She made it seem like the most natural thing in the world. It was obvious she wasn’t completely fluent, but she had more than a grasp of the language, and An and his mother seemed to appreciate being able to communicate with a member of staff.
Lexi turned around from where she was kneeling on the floor and touched Iain’s leg. The warmth of her hand startled him, as did her position. He moved quickly out of her reach, before her touch could have any affect. ‘An hasn’t been talking too much as he finds the jaw movements painful. He probably does need his analgesics adjusted.’
Iain nodded. ‘Let them know I’ll take care of that now.’ He lifted the chart and walked over the nurses’ station to talk to the nurse allocated to An. Lexi stayed where she was, continuing to talk to An and his mother.
They loved her already. It was obvious. She was writing a few things on a piece of paper along with a little picture and telling them what they meant. It was obvious there had been a few key things they had wanted to communicate to the staff and hadn’t been able to. Lexi was doing her best to facilitate that. She was doing her very best for an unknown mother and child she’d just met.
It made his stomach twist. Lexi’s nature was sweet and kind. This shouldn’t be unexpected for him. But seeing it, right before his eyes, was just a little different.
He was used to Lexi Robbins, Head of PR. He’d also experienced Lexi Robbins, sultry, sexy woman.
But Lexi Robbins, humanitarian, was a whole different ball game. Now he understood where the passion in her eyes came from when she spoke about the charity work. It wasn’t just all part of her PR game. It was how she really felt.
And that made him uncomfortable.
It made him feel too close.
She was unsettling him, in more ways than one. She was much more than a pretty face.
But the thing that worried him most was just how much more he wanted to know.
The knock on the door work her up. Eek! She’d overslept.
She dashed to the door, trying to shove her arms into her dressing-gown. She pulled the door open. ‘Iain. I’m sorry. Give me five minutes and I promise you I’ll be ready.’ She didn’t wait for an answer, just dashed to the bedroom to throw on some jeans and a jumper.
A few minutes later she found him in her kitchen, stirring a cup of black of coffee. ‘Inside or out?’
‘What?’ He looked confused.
‘You haven’t told me where we’re going. What kind of jacket do I need?’
He smiled. ‘Dress up warm.’
She raised her eyebrows and ducked back into her bedroom, pulling out a pair of red leather gloves and a red woolly hat with a huge pom-pom on top and big flaps to cover her ears. She stuffed it on top of her blonde hair and pulled on a thick black jacket and fleecy black boots.
It was freezing in London. Not wet or drizzly. It was completely dry, j
ust very, very cold.
‘I’m ready.’ She marched into the kitchen and took a quick drink of the coffee Iain had made for her. It wasn’t a skinny caramel latte, but he’d made it perfectly. Maybe this was all just a little too good to be true.
Iain held the door open for her. ‘Then let’s go. Time to have some fun.’
They rode on the Tube and got off at Tower Hill. They walked out of the Tube station and round the corner to face the impressive façade of the Tower of London.
‘We’re going sightseeing?’
He nodded. ‘I haven’t been yet. I’ve been in London two years and I’ve hardly seen a thing.’ He walked up to the ticket booth. ‘Do we want to see the Crown Jewels too?’
She didn’t hesitate for a second. ‘Absolutely. It’s my favourite part.’
He took their tickets and reached out to take her hand as they walked towards the main entrance, where impressive Beefeaters in their black and red outfits stood.
Iain stopped for a few seconds. ‘Wow. It’s some place. Have you been here much?’
She nodded. ‘Not as much as you think. Last time was around eight years ago.’ She stopped and looked back at the impressive White Tower. ‘Why did you pick here?’
He looked a little sheepish. ‘I actually wanted to go to Buckingham Palace but I didn’t realise it’s only open in the summer for tours.’
‘It’s fabulous.’ Something tickled in her stomach. July would be the time for the tours to start at Buckingham Palace. That was five months away. ‘Maybe we can go some other time.’
‘Maybe.’ It sounded so noncommittal and she tried not to feel disappointed. Iain had already told her he didn’t know where this would go.
She pulled him further along where she could see a small crowd gathering. ‘Let’s listen to one of the Yeoman tours. They know everything about the Tower’s history, it’s great fun.’
They joined the crowd and waited for a few minutes for the tour to start. Lexi was right. It was fascinating. He’d never realised just how treacherous a place the Tower of London had been. He watched as the Yeoman showed them where the boats used to moor with their prisoners and royal victims at Traitor’s Gate. He showed them the place where the two young princes were supposedly imprisoned and perhaps killed.