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‘Nice. Now secure the winching stick so it doesn’t reverse and loosen what you’ve just done, then slip each end of the cross-branch into the notches I made in each of the splint branches.’
‘Like this?’
‘Exactly,’ Louis confirmed, turning back to Florien to confirm to him that it was over. Then he checked the pulse in the boy’s toes and foot.
‘Good pedal pulse, no swelling, toes are nice and pink. Good result, Alex, well done.’
His praise felt inordinately good, but more than that they’d been working well together and somehow that had eased her discomfort since her arrival better than any gourmet meal could have done.
‘Take my car back to the chateau and speak to Brigitte. Florien’s mother has already been contacted and is on the way to the hospital but Brigitte will know the best people to call to look after the younger siblings over the next day or so.’
‘Okay.’
‘And, Alex,’ he called softly. ‘I’ll see you back at home.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
IT WAS LATER than she’d thought it would be by the time Alex trudged up the stone steps and through the silent chateau. She didn’t need to search for Brigitte as the older woman came hurrying from the kitchens as soon as Alex entered. Hugging her and nodding, taking a moment to talk about other things, which left Alex’s head spinning, the older woman bustled away. Her parting words were to tell a dazed Alex that a fire had been lit and food set out if she was hungry.
It was a welcome suggestion, especially when the first waves from the blazing fire began to thaw Alex’s frozen toes. The engagement ring glinted in the firelight, and a different kind of warmth blew gently through her chest. Despite the long night and the exhaustion beginning to set in, the thought of going to her room without Louis was one she didn’t care to entertain.
Louis. The man who would soon be her husband. Her stomach flip-flopped. Their charade aside, if she wasn’t marrying playboy Louis, but instead marrying the version of the man she’d seen out there tonight, the man who hadn’t thought twice about helping the son of one of his employees, treating him with no less care or respect than he would his top bill-paying patients, then she could actually be the luckiest unconventional bride around.
She quashed the nerves that betrayed her. The fluttering sensation that maybe, just maybe their marriage could be so much more than just a charade. If only she could convince him to stop punishing himself for something he couldn’t possibly have had any control over.
Alex froze.
Wasn’t that exactly the mistake she’d spent her own life making? No, it couldn’t possibly be the same thing? Could it? Lost in thought, she collapsed back into the wing-backed chair and stared into the fire.
She didn’t know how long she waited, or that she’d even dozed off, but when she awoke Louis was in the room, throwing a couple of logs on the dying fire, the first rays of morning light peeking from around a kink in the heavy curtains.
‘What time is it?’ She stretched, her neck moving awkwardly.
‘Around dawn. You should have gone to bed.’
‘I was waiting for you.’
‘I accompanied Florien to the hospital.’
Why didn’t that surprise her?
‘How is he?’
‘He’ll recover.’ Louis nodded grimly.
‘But no more Motocross.’ She hazarded a smile, unprepared for the shockwaves that coursed through her body as Louis smiled wryly in return.
‘Not for a good while. But, knowing Florien, he won’t be able to give it up for good.’
‘Obstinate, then, just like all young men?’
‘We Lefebvre men are the same.’
The room fell silent, only the logs spitting in the fireplace disturbing the air. And Louis’s gaze was on her, reaching out to her, although she didn’t think he even realised it. The fact that he had jus
t identified himself as Lefevbre rather than Delaroche offered her a glimmer of hope that he was finally beginning to accept he wasn’t like his cruel father after all; that he had more of his mother’s kindness about him than he realised.
Something skittered through Alex and she unconsciously fingered the ring on her finger. Once Louis accepted that he didn’t need to punish himself any more, he would truly be unstoppable. He could change anything he wanted to—if he wanted to—and maybe they could really begin to trust each other.
