She gritted her teeth and pulled her phone from her tunic, turning it to face him. ‘You—and your apparent potential bride—are all over social media since the early hours, after falling out of some club together. And yes. Esther’s seen it. Which is why I doubt very much she’ll answer any of your calls.’ Oona shook her head. ‘You really couldn’t have timed this any worse.’
Dread swept over him. The headline above the photo of him and Penelope was bad enough. Will Penelope Brackenridge Be the New Duchess of Montrose?
But the photo certainly didn’t help. It looked...kind of compromising, even from his gaze. It didn’t matter that he knew what had happened. It didn’t matter that he knew there was absolutely nothing in it. He knew exactly what the press were like. And his heart sunk at the thought of Esther being confronted with this last night in the midst of the bad news from back home.
He straightened his back and looked Oona straight in the eye. ‘That picture is not what you think. Penelope is my friend, has been since we were five. She phoned me last night when she felt threatened. I picked her up and took her home.’ Anger was rising in him. He didn’t need to give Oona an explanation of his behaviour, but he wanted to—for Esther’s sake. At least Oona had been up front with him; now he knew exactly what was going on and why Esther hadn’t answered his calls. He turned to walk away. He had things to sort; he needed to find cover for today, and probably tomorrow too. Then he’d need to try and find a flight.
His hand was on the doorknob when he turned back around. It was like every little light had taken fire in his brain at once. He could explain this to Esther, of course he could. But more than that, he wanted to be by her side. She’d be devastated over what had happened back in Scotland and he didn’t want her to go through that alone. She shouldn’t have to, and she didn’t need to.
He turned back to Oona. ‘Just so you know, I would do it again—in a heartbeat—for any friend, male or female, who told me they felt unsafe.’ Then his expression softened. ‘And why on earth would anyone think that I’d cheat on Esther—the woman that I love?’
He watched as Oona’s eyes widened as he stepped out of the office and picked up the phone. He had no surgeries scheduled in the next few days, but a couple of babies who would require surgery when delivered. He made sure his contact details were available for the responsible hospitals as he knew that even with the best-laid plans, babies sometimes had ideas of their own.
Francesca appeared at his side. ‘You okay?’
‘No,’ he said honestly. ‘But I will be.’
She didn’t ask questions, just gave his arm a squeeze. ‘You know you can leave any instructions with me.’
He pulled his notes from a pad. ‘And I was just doing that.’ He gave her a hug. ‘Thank you for this, and phone me if there’s anything at all.’
She nodded slowly and pressed her lips together. ‘I’ll try my best not to.’
He wasn’t worried about the hushed atmosphere around him now. Oona would spread the news in his absence, and gossip like this would fly through the hospital like a firework.
He’d just declared his love for Esther.
He hadn’t even known until that second that he was going to say those words.
But right now, he needed to tell them to the person who mattered most.
And that was exactly what he planned to do.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE COULD ALMOST swear that her heart hadn’t stopped racing in her chest until that moment that she finally saw her mother lying in the hospital bed and rushed over to wrap her arms around her.
Finally, she could breathe.
She was here. She was alive.
It didn’t matter that her mother was lying in a hospital bed with crisp white sheets, or that she was wearing a pale blue hospital gown. As Esther encompassed her in a hug, all she could smell was the smoke. It clung to her mother’s hair and skin, with even a smudge of something on her cheek.
Esther tried to hold back her tears. It wouldn’t do for her mum to see her so upset. She sat at the edge of the bed—ignoring all the rules that said she shouldn’t—and took both of her mum’s hands.
‘I am so glad you’re safe. What happened?’
Her mum didn’t speak for a few moments. ‘I’m not sure. I was in bed. I think it might have been the washing machine. That’s what the fire officer said. One minute I was sleeping, and the next the place was full of smoke.’ Her voice was trembling now. ‘I just grabbed my slippers and dressing gown and ran down the stairs.’ She shook her head. ‘My bag was sitting on the table near the front door so I grabbed it too on my way out.’ Her eyes were filled with tears. ‘I couldn’t even go near the sitting room.’ She shivered. ‘The heat coming out of there was too much.’
Esther couldn’t hide the fact that she was shaking too. She’d seen too much in A&E, saw the impact of house fires. Helped when trying to resuscitate adults and children who’d been overcome by smoke. Knowing that one of those people could have been her mother was just too much.
She hugged her again tightly. ‘Oh, I’m so glad you woke up. I’m so glad you ran.’
Her mother bowed her head, holding on tight to her. Esther knew her mum was just as glad to see her. She must have got such a fright last night. ‘You didn’t need to come all this way,’ her mum whispered. ‘I’m so sorry. You’re so busy. And you’ve got so much to do. You shouldn’t need to worry about me.’
Esther put her hand on her mother’s cheek. ‘I’ll always worry about you. You’re my number one priority.’
Her mother’s voice stayed low. ‘But you shouldn’t be doing that. You should be out living your own life, having fun.’
Something twisted inside Esther. She didn’t like the way this conversation was going. She knew her mother too well.
When she was stressed about something, she tried to find a way to say words without actually having to say them. Just like she was doing now.
She’d already told her mum that she was dating someone—she just hadn’t filled in all the blanks. But it didn’t feel like this was where this was going.
‘What is it, Mum? Just tell me.’
Her mum’s eyes brimmed with tears. ‘I don’t think you’ll be able to stay in the house. There’ll be too much damage. Gladys says you can stay with her tonight.’
‘Don’t worry about me. Let me sort things out. I’ll arrange to get the house cleaned up, and the place assessed. I’ll contact the insurers. Just you rest. Worry about getting better. Let me worry about everything else.’
* * *
Harry had only been standing outside the small fire-damaged house for a few minutes when one of the neighbours approached. ‘Are you looking for Mrs McDonald?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘And Esther—I’m looking for her daughter too.’
The woman glanced back at the house and shuddered. ‘Come with me. Esther will be staying at mine tonight. I’m sure she’ll be back once she’s done with visiting at the hospital. Let me make you some tea.’
He’d barely blinked before a large teapot appeared, along with an eclectic array of mugs and a plate of biscuits and thick wedges of fruit loaf.
‘I’m Gladys,’ the woman said, sitting at the other side of the table. She gave Harry the eye, in the way that a woman of a certain age only could. ‘Are you Esther’s young man?’
He wasn’t quite sure how to answer that one. He wanted to be. He wanted to be more than her young man, but until he’d spoken to Esther it didn’t seem fair to introduce himself that way.
He stretched his hand across the table. ‘I’m Harry, Esther’s friend. We work together.’
Gladys’s eyebrows lifted. ‘From what I hear, that’s the only way to see Esther these days.’
He nodded in agreement. ‘She works very hard.’
Gladys opened her mouth as if she were about to say something
else, then stopped, giving a simple nod. ‘She does.’
The doorbell rang and Esther walked through the door. ‘Harry.’ She stood frozen in shock. She looked tired out, her skin pale and her eyes dark.
Her gaze flitted between Harry and Gladys. ‘How...?’
‘Here.’ Gladys jumped up. ‘Have some tea. You look like you need it. I need to pop to the corner shop. So now that you’re back, I’ll leave you and Harry for five minutes.’