An Exception to His Rule(67)
They were in the flat above the studio, where all Harriet’s belongings had been unloaded from Brett’s vehicle and where she now sat in an armchair with one foot swathed in bandages and resting on a footstool.
The ambulance had picked Charlie and Damien up from Ballina airport because, due to his casts and stitches, fitting into a normal vehicle would have been difficult for Charlie.
The ambulance had escaped unscathed from the incident at the gate. So, yet again, had Brett’s four-wheel drive. The gatepost was another matter. It had collapsed into a pile of rubble. And Harriet had somehow sprained her ankle.
The male nurse accompanying Charlie had attended to it.
‘Nothing,’ Harriet repeated, ‘and I would appreciate it if you didn’t tower over me like that or treat me like an idiot!’
‘My apologies,’ Damien said dryly and sat down opposite her. ‘It’s not the first time this has happened, however.’
‘And it might not have happened if...if people hadn’t made...hadn’t cast aspersions on my driving or if I hadn’t been...’ She shook her head and closed her eyes. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Been crying?’ he suggested.
Her lashes lifted. ‘How did you know that?’
He grimaced. ‘You looked as if you’d been crying— red eyes, you still had tears in your eyes, as a matter of fact, and tearstains on your cheeks.’
There was a longish pause, then she said, ‘It was only Tottie I was crying over.’ She paused. ‘And perhaps Isabel.’
‘Despite her aspersions on your driving?’
‘How did you know that?’
‘She told me. She feels very guilty and has asked me to apologise.’
Harriet shrugged. ‘She meant well,’ she said gruffly.
‘So there’s no possibility there was a skerrick of regret in you about leaving me?’
An uneasy silence developed until Harriet said carefully, ‘You know it could never have worked, Damien.’
‘I know I made a tactical error in asking you to marry me there and then. My intentions were the best, though.’
‘Yes.’ Harriet looked across at him. ‘You thought I’d go into a decline if you didn’t. You thought it could all be worked out on a pragmatic basis. Above all, you had me on your conscience again.’
‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘But look, we’re both stuck here for a while so we need to come to an arrangement.’
Harriet raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re staying?’
He nodded. ‘I’ve postponed Africa while Charlie recovers.’
‘I should be fine within a week at the most. It’s only a sprain.’
‘It’s quite a severe sprain. The nurse told you to take it easy for at least a fortnight.’
‘I could go crazy in a fortnight,’ Harriet said gloomily.
‘Not if you start on the paintings.’