From Doctor To Princess?. Susanne Hampton

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.

      Inside, the house was light, airy and simple. None of the folderols of the palace, just plain furniture in neutral colours, exposed wooden beams and a utilitarian kitchen. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms, one of which was clearly Hugo’s. He directed her towards a second, which commanded stunning views of the hills stretching off into the distance.

      ‘I suppose I’ll have to keep away from the windows when the news breaks.’ Nell wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

      ‘Not really. Because of the Agreement, the paparazzi won’t be able to sell any pictures they take, so it’s not worth their time. And Ted’s team will make sure that no one disturbs us here.’

      ‘You usually have this much security?’ Nell had counted four men outside.

      ‘No, it’s usually just Ted, and he generally doesn’t have all that much to do. He stays in the guest house at the back.’

      Nell walked over to the window, looking out. Beyond the garden, and shielded by trees, was a small cottage, nestling against the perimeter wall.

      ‘It all sounds reassuringly normal.’

      ‘Not quite. But we try to make it so.’ Hugo was watching her speculatively. ‘There is one thing I want to ask you.’

      ‘What’s that?’

      ‘Nadine, the little girl in the brochure, wearing a pink dress. I told you she’d had an operation recently...’

      ‘Yes, I remember.’

      ‘Dr Bertrand, the head of department, is the only one there who knows that I’ve been ill—everyone else thinks I’m taking a leave of absence for fundraising. He told me that he’d have me removed by security if I went in to see Nadine earlier than seven days after my own operation.’

      Nell grinned. ‘He sounds like a good man...’

      ‘He’s a very good man. You’d like him.’

      ‘And since this is the seventh day, you’d like to go and see Nadine.’

      ‘It would be best to go today. After the news of our engagement breaks, my turning up on the ward might cause a bit of a stir.’

      ‘Where is the hospital?’

      ‘On this side of the city, so it’ll only take twenty minutes to get there. I’m feeling better every day, and I’d really like to see Nadine.’

      If this was normal, then it was a new normal that Nell hadn’t experienced before. Hugo asking her whether or not he could do something. ‘It sounds like a lovely idea. May I come along? I’d like to see the hospital.’

      Hugo smiled. As time went on that smile was surfacing more and more, and it convinced Nell that everything was going to be all right. ‘I was hoping you might. You’ll have to drive.’