Page 26 of Break Me: Smith and Belle

“What are you saying?” I asked. I wanted to hear him say it.

“I’d keep a careful eye on your wife, Mr. Price. Thornham does funny things to people.” He tipped his hat and continued down the stairs, leaving me with more questions than answers.

Jane passed him on the stairs. It was the first time I’d seen her since the party last night. She smiled warmly at the doctor before floating the rest of the way up. “I came to check on her. Edward filled me in on what happened last night. It sounds like a tragic accident to me.”

“It was, but Belle blames herself.” I managed to force the corners of my lips up a little.

“She’s always been the motherly type,” Jane said with a sigh. “I saw it when she lived with Clara, and, of course, she had to take care of herself when she was a child. She’s too hard on herself for her own good.” Jane’s eyes narrowed into a shrewd look. “That’s why you must go easy on her.”

“I try,” I promised. But I couldn’t help feeling as though I was failing. If Jane was right, what Belle needed most was someone to take care of her. “I feel like she doesn’t want me to mother her.”

Jane laughed, shaking her platinum head. “Don’t mother her! I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood me. Just be her refuge. That’s all any of us want from love: a safe place in someone’s arms.”

“Is she giving you advice?” Belle asked, startling us both. “She’s always giving relationship advice.”

“That’s because I know what I’m talking about,” Jane said, recovering quickly. She moved to Belle’s side and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. “Do you want to tell me about your night—or should I tell you about mine?”

Belle laughed for the first time all day. “I think I’d rather hear about your night.”

“Hughes has already asked me to go to Paris,” Jane told her, steering her back towards the bedroom. She tossed me a wink before she closed the door to gossip. It was a good distraction for Belle—for the moment. But if I knew Jane, she’d depart in the same flurry of activity she arrived in.

I found myself walking down the hall, not really clear on where I was going. Somehow, I found myself at Edward’s door. I knocked, wondering if he’d made it back yet either. He opened the door, sporting bed-head. He squinted at the light in the hall and held a hand up to block it from his face.

“Hungover?”

“More than a little.” He closed both eyes as if words actually hurt to speak. “Need something?”

“I was thinking that maybe Belle could use some time away from the house.”

Edward drew a breath, and I knew he understood why I was bringing this up. “She wanted to go to London for a shopping trip.”

“I’ll talk to Georgia.”

“I don’t know if we need—”

I flashed him a don’t-fuck-with-me look and he shut his mouth. “I’ll talk to Belle.”

12

Belle

“If you check your phone one more time, I’m going to confiscate it.” Edward had taken the backseat, which had only left him craning to see what I was doing in the front. He leaned over my shoulder and swatted my arm. “We’ve only been gone an hour.”

“I know.” I turned off my screen and placed my mobile in my lap, already feeling the urge to check one more time.

“Give her a break,” Georgia said from the driver’s seat. “This is the first time you’ve been this far away from Penny, isn’t it?”

I swallowed and nodded. The last few days had been calm at Thornham since Nora’s accident on New Year’s Eve. But calm at Thornham felt like a relative concept. I hadn’t wanted to leave the estate. Edward had insisted we go through with taking our shopping trip to London. Jane had left the day before, swept off to Paris by Hughes, and I wasn’t entirely certain when she might return. That made finishing her guest room feel less important. I doubted Georgia cared very much about her living space. But Edward’s insistence was both infectious and persuasive. I got the impression he needed a shopping trip more than I did. I’d finally agreed, and then, Smith had insisted that Georgia drive us. I’d wanted to take Penny along, but I was met with resistance on all sides. It seemed I “deserved a break from the baby.” I couldn’t help thinking that it had less to do with a break and more to do with no one trusting me to handle her for a whole day in the city. I’d lost the debate, and now Penny was home with Nora. I had even managed to pump a few bottles of breast milk so she wouldn’t have to give Penny formula. She was in good hands. Smith would be there the whole time. Still, I found myself nervously tapping the sleek black console of Georgia’s Porsche.

“Maybe we need to get her drunk,” Edward piped up helpfully.

“I really am going to have to babysit you two,” Georgia muttered, exiting the M25. Spotting a sign for Heathrow, my nerves shifted. Despite my worry about leaving Penny behind, my excitement grew with each mile that took us closer to the city. I hadn’t been back since Penny was born, and I had spent most of that trip trying to go into labor. This would be the first time in months that I could walk around freely, doing whatever I wanted. I didn’t care what Georgia thought, this called for champagne.

When we reached Harrods, Georgia pulled directly up to the entrance. She ignored the door attendant clad in his pea green uniform, trying to wave her down. “I’ll be in in a few minutes. Behave yourself.”

“Yes, mum,” Edward teased her as we made our way out.

“I’m sorry but there’s no parking—” The man immediately froze when he spotted Edward and moved to the door. People in the crowd, who’d turned to look at the renegade Porsche, began to whisper. For one second, the paranoia I’d felt since moving to Thornham took hold, and I gripped Edward’s arm. He dragged me inside with practiced disinterest, nodding to a security guard, who moved to block the curious onlookers from following us.