From Venice With Love

by Alison Roberts

  So Nico had done nothing. Said nothing. As the minutes had ticked by he’d continued to do nothing and that was when he’d felt Charlotte’s heartbroken sobbing subside. When the exhaustion in her body had taken over. When she’d slipped into a peaceful, bone-deep slumber.

  He could have eased himself away at that point, found a pillow and blanket to make her comfortable on the seat. Or carried her to a bunk, maybe, and left her to sleep for an hour or two. What was it about this bizarre situation he’d been caught up in since early yesterday morning that made it impossible to walk away?

  He could have ignored Charlotte when he’d first seen her crying on the terrace below his window. He certainly hadn’t needed to come up with the dangerous notion of posing as her lover, let alone shoving a ring on her finger. And he could have found an excuse not to accompany the women on this train journey.

  But he hadn’t. Every step of the way he had hesitated and then been drawn in deeper by something he couldn’t explain. And if the steward hadn’t rapped on the door at that particular moment, he would have kissed Charlotte again.

  More than kissed her, actually. He could have asked gentle questions with his mouth and his hands that would have confirmed what he suspected was the answer to the puzzle that had intrigued him ever since he’d recognised Charlotte on that cobbled Venetian street.

  He would have got answers to those questions, he was sure of that. Just as sure as he was of the fact that Charlotte had wanted him to kiss her. He had seen that desire darken her eyes and soften her lips and he’d felt that knowledge kindle his own flame because it was part of what intrigued him so much. The contradictions. The ice queen on the surface and the woman capable of such deep emotion within. Was the single, ultimately professional doctor desperately in need of physical release, possibly without being consciously aware of it?

  Whatever. The desire had been wiped from her eyes the moment that sharp rap had sounded on the door and the tone of the steward’s voice had told them that they were not only needed but needed urgently.

  Charlotte’s assumption was, of course, that Jendi had become ill. She moved swiftly to wrench open the cabin door.

  ‘It’s my grandmother, isn’t it? She needs us?’

  The steward nodded. ‘Only you, Dr Highton. She’s asking for assistance to get dressed for dinner.’

  ‘But you said you needed both of us.’

  ‘Yes. I’m hoping that Dr Moretti could come with me to see another passenger in the carriage who requires a doctor. He thinks he might be having a heart attack.’

  Nico could actually feel his professional persona taking over. Smothering anything personal, like his desire to kiss Charlotte. There was still a flicker of something personal there, though. He stepped closer, needing to touch her, and put his hand on her shoulder.

  ‘You go and help your nonna,’ he told her. ‘I’ll deal with this.’

  ‘But…’ Was it his imagination or did Charlotte lean into his hand a little, as if she was trying to return the touch? Her gaze caught his and he could read the message so easily. She was reminding him of what he’d told her grandmother only hours ago. That, together, they made an amazing team.

  ‘I’ll send for you,’ Nico said softly. ‘If I need you.’ He stepped past Charlotte into the corridor, where the steward was waiting anxiously for Nico to follow him. The last personal thoughts evaporated. ‘What equipment do you have on board?’ he queried. ‘Oxygen? A defibrillator?’

  ‘Yes. We have oxygen. And an AED.’

  ‘Good.’ Nico picked up his pace as they made their way to the cabin at the far end of the carriage. ‘Show me which cabin and then fetch them for me, please.’

  The man in the end cabin was in his sixties. His colour wasn’t good and he was clutching a small red and white canister of glyceryl trinitrate spray in his hands. His wife was beside him, looking even paler than her husband and virtually wringing her hands.

  ‘How long is it since the pain came on?’ Nico asked.

  The anxious woman checked her watch. ‘Nearly fifteen minutes.’

  ‘And how many doses of the spray have been taken?’

  ‘Two? Maybe three…I’ve lost count.’ The woman was struggling to hold back tears. ‘It’s not working and…and they said that if it didn’t work it could be a heart attack and we’d have to get Douglas to the hospital as quickly as possible.’

  Nico had his fingers on the older man’s wrist. His pulse was a bit rapid but quite strong and regular.

  ‘Tell me about the pain.’

  ‘It’s like a bus parked on my chest. Right here…’ Douglas pressed a fist to his sternum. ‘It’s hard to breathe.’

  ‘Just in your chest?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Have you ever had a heart attack?’

  ‘Yes. Ten years ago. That’s when this whole business started. But it’s been stable. Always comes on the same way…and if I sit down and use the spray it…does the trick.’

  He was starting to sound breathless. Thankfully the steward had returned now. He was carrying an oxygen cylinder in one hand and the small red case of an AED in the other. Hopefully the automatic defibrillator wouldn’t be needed but it was great to know that such a lifesaver was available if it came to that. Even with the best team in the world performing CPR, it could only buy time. The only way to restart a heart was through defibrillation.

  The best team in the world. Unbidden, a memory of Charlotte working with him on the man at the building site flashed into the back of Nico’s mind. He shook it off as he uncoiled tubing and fitted nasal prongs to give Douglas some oxygen.

  ‘This may help the pain,’ he said. ‘Are you on any medications?’

  ‘Yes. Too many.’

  ‘Can you tell me what they are?’

  Douglas shook his head, closing his eyes and screwing up his face as though the pain was becoming unbearable. A sheen of perspiration was beginning to show on his bald head. Nico’s heart sank.

  ‘I’ve got them.’ The anxious older woman was rummaging in a small suitcase. She pulled out a plastic bag containing numerous packages of medication. They were all things that a cardiac patient could be expected to be on.

  ‘Have you had your aspirin today?’

  ‘Yes.’ It was his wife who answered. ‘He’s taken everything.’

  ‘Let’s try another dose of the GTN.’ Nico took the canister from the man’s hands. It was a bad sign if the spray that normally worked on his angina was failing to be effective but was it possible that it hadn’t been used correctly? Nico rolled the canister in his hands, making sure the contents were mixed and then sprayed a dose into the air to check that the metered dose mechanism was working. The spray came out but, oddly, Nico couldn’t smell anything.

  He held the canister up and peered at the base. ‘This spray expired two years ago,’ he exclaimed.

  ‘Oh, my goodness!’ Douglas’s wife clapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Really?’

  ‘Really.’ Nico reached for the portable pharmacy in the plastic bag. Yes. There was a small box in there that contained a replacement canister. And the expiry date was a year away. He ripped open the box, took the lid off the canister and squeezed off a test shot. ‘Open your mouth,’ he directed Douglas, ‘and lift your tongue.’

  He gave Douglas two sprays under his tongue and then kept his fingers on his patient’s pulse and watched his breathing while they waited. Within a matter of minutes Douglas started breathing more easily and deeply. The lines on his face relaxed and when he opened his eyes he actually smiled.

  ‘It’s almost gone,’ he said.

  ‘Oh…thank God…’ His wife was crying. ‘I’m so sorry, Doug. This is my fault. I should have thrown that old spray away as soon as we had the new one.’

  ‘Waste not, want not.’ Douglas patted his wife’s hand. ‘If you weren’t so good at being thrifty we’d never have been able to afford this trip, would we?’ He turned to Nico. ‘Thank you, Doctor. I’m not having a heart attack after all,
am I?’

  ‘It certainly looks like nothing more than an episode of angina. Let’s keep the oxygen going for a little while and see how you go. Someone can always come and find me later, too, if you’re worried.’

  The only person looking worried now was Douglas’s wife. ‘I’m so sorry to have disturbed your trip,’ she told Nico.

  ‘It’s not a problem.’

  ‘Is it your first time on the Orient Express?’

  ‘It is.’

  ‘Isn’t it wonderful? Are you enjoying it?’

  ‘Of course.’ But Nico had to consciously smile instead of allowing a puzzled frown to crease his forehead. Enjoyment wasn’t a word that he would have chosen to describe his state of mind so far. He’d started out being intrigued and then he’d been impressed by Charlotte’s piano playing. He’d had a spell of being angry when he’d been accused of planning to take advantage of her and then he’d had that cold chill of horror when he thought he’d guessed her secret.

  But the overwhelming emotion that he would remember from this trip was going to be the way he’d felt sitting in that cabin and holding Charlotte while she slept. The feeling of protecting her. Of knowing that she trusted him enough to fall asleep in his arms like that. That he could trust her enough not to ever share the personal information he had given her.

  A good feeling.

  An incredibly powerful feeling.

  Even more powerful than the desire that had kicked in when he’d realised that Charlotte had wanted him to kiss her as much as he’d wanted to kiss her?

  Yes. Strangely, it was. He was used to desire and he knew there were countless women in the world who could make him feel like that.

  But that other feeling was completely unfamiliar. And deeply disturbing. Powerful enough to feel like it had a life of its own and could take control. Was this what falling in love was all about?

  Nico couldn’t answer that because he’d never been in this space before. He wasn’t capable of falling in love. He knew that. But maybe he was getting a glimpse of what it might be about.

  And it was disturbing enough that he never wanted to experience it again so maybe it was time to take charge and make sure he wasn’t ambushed by any other strange emotions. The distraction of being a doctor for a little while was definitely helping. The fact that the train seemed to be coming to a halt was less helpful.

  Had something happened? Maybe there was engine trouble or something on the tracks and he’d end up being on this train for a lot longer than expected. Just how long could he keep up the level of control he might need when he was sharing a compartment with Charlotte?

  The steward, who’d been hovering outside the cabin while Nico treated Douglas, stooped to peer through the window. ‘We’re coming into Innsbruck,’ he announced. ‘I need to attend to other duties.’

  Nico nodded. ‘Thanks very much for your help.’

  ‘I can put the AED away now?’

  ‘Yes. Thankfully, I don’t think we need it.’ Nico raised his eyebrows as the train jerked and came to a complete halt. ‘Why are we stopping?’

  ‘We have to change engines whenever we come to an international border. This is a thirty-minute stop and most people like to get off the train and stretch their legs a bit.’ The steward hurried off, probably to open doors and then to stand, looking very smart in his blue uniform, to give people another photo opportunity.

  Douglas certainly wasn’t going to be jumping off the train to stretch his legs right now. Nico adjusted the setting on the oxygen cylinder and settled in to watch the progress of his new patient.

  The contents of Lady Geraldine’s larger suitcase were spread out over the seat and hanging from the edges of the bunks as she chose her outfit for dinner.

  ‘The long black taffeta skirt,’ she decided. ‘With the black, silk camisole and the velvet bolero jacket.’

  ‘Very Gothic,’ Charlotte smiled. ‘Shall I do your hair so that you’ve got a bit of fringe covering one eye?’

  ‘Don’t be naughty, Charlotte Jane. The black is merely a canvas to show off my diamond jewellery. I’m going to need my necklace and the brooch that goes on the jacket. And I’ve got my bracelet and best rings in my jewellery case. Oh…we mustn’t forget that darling little tiara either. The one I wore last night, remember?’

  ‘How could I forget?’

  Lady Geraldine eyed her granddaughter suspiciously. ‘I don’t think you’re taking this seriously, Charlotte. This is the dinner of my lifetime and I intend to look the part.’

  ‘Sorry, Gran.’ Charlotte kissed her fondly. ‘I want you to enjoy tonight as much as possible. Are you sure you’re feeling all right? Did you have a good rest?’

  ‘I had a lovely rest. And then I had an even better time having afternoon tea with my old friend, Winsome. We still have lots to talk about.’

  ‘Maybe you’ll see her again after dinner.’

  Oddly, Lady Geraldine looked evasive now. ‘Help me into my skirt, child. And then you’d better start doing something to get ready yourself. Fancy suggesting I wear my hair over my eye. Have you looked in a mirror recently? What have you and Nico been up to in your cabin?’

  ‘Gran…’ But Charlotte couldn’t help thinking about the look in Nico’s eyes just before the steward had interrupted them. About how much she had wanted that kiss to happen. Even now, the curl of desire the memory could evoke was enough to make her close her eyes for a heartbeat. To make her lips curl in pleasure at the memory.

  If that kiss had happened, would it have stopped there? Would she have wanted it to? The bite of fear that kicked in was enough to make her shake her head as if she could banish the hateful sensation.

  She needed to try and locate at least a shimmer of her old armour. To pretend to be in control. Normal. Maybe it would help to make a joke of it. ‘Have you seen the size of those bunks?’

  ‘You’re young,’ Lady Geraldine said with a smile. ‘I’m sure you’ll cope.’ She reached out and stroked Charlotte’s cheek. ‘Oh, darling. You’re so in love with him, aren’t you?’

  Charlotte had to turn away. To find something solid to focus on as she felt the ground shifting beneath her feet with a curious spinning sensation. She lifted the hanger holding her grandmother’s astonishing skirt with the ruffled hem down from the top bunk and pretended to notice some lint that needed brushing away.

  In love?

  Ridiculous. Nobody fell in love that quickly. She felt safe with Nico, that was all. He knew more about her than anyone. More than her grandmother, in fact, in a rather significant area.

  She liked him. A lot. Who wouldn’t? He was clever and kind. So kind that he’d sat, getting cramp, for hours, holding a woman in his arms because he hadn’t wanted to wake her?

  She trusted him, too. Who couldn’t trust someone who put the kind of trust in you that led to sharing the kind of secret she could so well understand him wanting to keep to himself? Not that it was true, of course. Nico was more than capable of falling in love if he’d only let himself.

  And that feeling when she’d woken up in those arms. As if she had been floating in the most blissful place on earth. She’d never felt so safe.

  So protected.

  Superimposed on that memory came that look of desire in Nico’s eyes when their lips had been drifting closer together in the moments before that rap on the door.

  That mix of safety and desire was a chemical combination that could only mean one thing.

  That…yes. She was in love with Nico Moretti.

  No. Maybe it meant two things.

  She was not only in love. She was in trouble.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  MAYBE IT WAS her new awareness of how she felt about Nico. Or perhaps it was the incongruity of him appearing in these surroundings looking impossibly gorgeous in his dinner suit. Whatever it was, it completely stole Charlotte’s breath away when she opened the door of her grandmother’s compartment to his polite knock.

  Did her grandmother actually bat her eye
lashes?

  ‘It’s been a long time since I was escorted to dinner by such a handsome young man,’ she said with delight. ‘Charlotte Jane? You can have him later but I really do need Nico’s arm while we’re walking. This train is remarkably jerky at times.’

  ‘No worries, Gran.’ Charlotte smiled. ‘He’s all yours.’

  But then her gaze caught Nico’s and the smile got stolen away like her breath had been. Oh…Lord…that look in his eyes.

  ‘I love that dress,’ was all he said. ‘I’m so glad you’ve worn it again, cara.’

  Lady Geraldine made a tutting sound. ‘I’m trying to train Charlotte to expand her wardrobe, Nico. It won’t help if you tell her you’re happy she’s worn the same thing two nights running.’

  ‘But it’s true, Jendi.’ Nico’s smile for her grandmother was so warm and genuine that Charlotte’s heart squeezed painfully. How could she not love a man who was clearly already so fond of her beloved gran? ‘And I am an honest man.’

  The comment did something strange inside Charlotte. Echoes of his voice telling her that he’d been honest with her and asking her to give him the honour of being the same with him. It was a bond she knew she could never have with another person. Did he feel the same? No. How could he when she hadn’t shared the most shameful part of her secret? When she’d been less than completely honest?

  But his gaze flicked past Charlotte’s again. ‘Most of the time,’ he added.

  All the time, Charlotte suspected. This pretence they were engaged in was an aberration. Sure, Nico had approached it as an amusing diversion but any control had been lost very quickly, hadn’t it? At about the time he’d pushed that ring onto her finger, probably.

  No wonder he was feeling uncomfortable but Lady Geraldine didn’t seem to pick up on the loaded comment. ‘I’m ready to go,’ she announced. ‘I want as much time to enjoy seeing everybody else dressed up as I can before I start feeling too old and tired.’

  Or before she felt too sick and sore? Charlotte followed Nico as he carefully escorted Lady Geraldine through the rocking carriages towards the dining cars. She needed a break, she said, when they reached the bar car. She wanted to sit for a few minutes and enjoy listening to the piano. And…how nice…her friend Winsome was sitting at one of the side-facing seats and seemed to be saving space for her. Perhaps Charlotte could order a nice cocktail for her?