in St James’s Park,’ she said. ‘Looking at the ducks. In front of the ice-cream stand. Look, you and I need—’
‘Stay there. Stay there,’ he said urgently. ‘Don’t move. I can see you. I’m coming to get you.’
Bella let the phone drop, her mouth open.
Her father called out something.
She turned to him, shaking her head. ‘What?’
‘I said—’
And out of the bushes pounded Richard, Prince of Wales, and hit him. Actually, he felled Finn by the unscientific but effective method of knocking him behind the knees and then jumping on him.
‘What the fuck?’ gasped Bella.
‘It’s OK,’ said Richard, with a knee in Finn’s back. ‘I’ve got the bastard. You’re safe.’
Safe?
Bella glugged but no words came. Finn made some protesting noises.
‘Shut up,’ said Richard, so fiercely that even Finn shut up.
Richard pulled out his phone. ‘It’s OK, I’ve got her. She doesn’t seem to be hurt.’ He looked at Bella, his face haggard. ‘You’re not, are you?’
She shook her head.
‘She’s safe. Now come and arrest this bastard before I wring his neck!’
Bella got back the power of speech. ‘What are you doing, you, you thug?’ she shouted. ‘Get off my father! Get off my father now.’
Richard stared at her blankly. ‘Your father?’
Bella calmed down somewhat. ‘The man you are sitting on,’ she said, very precisely, ‘is my natural father, Finn Greenwood.’
Richard got off his victim automatically. ‘But he shouted at you. Abuse … I heard him.’
Bella turned to her father, who stood up, spitting grass and rubbing the back of his hand across his mouth. ‘What did you shout, Finn?’
His eyes crinkled up at the corners. Say what you like about footloose and irresponsible, Finn was good at riding life’s punches. ‘I said, “Chocolate, vanilla or coffee flavour?”’ he repeated mildly. ‘I take it you’re my intended son-in-law? Good to meet you.’
Richard shook hands on auto-pilot.
Down the path came two security officers. One, Bella saw, was Ian.
‘What’s going on?’ she said.
He came panting up to them. ‘Are you out of your mind?’ he yelled at Richard, entirely forgetting the respect due to the Prince of Wales. ‘For all you knew, he could have been armed.’
‘Exciting,’ said Finn, mildly interested. This was the sort of human interaction he could handle, thought his daughter fondly, plenty of action, none of the soppy stuff.
Richard rubbed his hand over his face. ‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he croaked.
He pulled Bella into his arms, heedless of his prospective father-in-law, security officers, ice-cream vendors and a tribe of interested mothers and children who entirely forgot to feed the ducks.
He became aware at last that everyone was staring. ‘Oh, God. Let’s get out of here.’
‘I still have Lottie’s key,’ said Bella. She was torn between bewilderment, relief and sheer spitting fury. She definitely didn’t want to go anywhere Royal, just at the moment, and was quite prepared to say so. Nobody asked.
So they went back to the Pimlico flat and Bella brewed tea. Richard went into the kitchen with her.
‘God, I’ve missed you,’ he said.
Looking at his face, Bella could believe it. He had dark grooves around his mouth and his eyes looked haunted. Much of her fury dissipated. She touched his poor tense mouth and he seized her hand, kissing the palm and holding it against his cheek as if he could not quite believe she was there.
Bella lost the urge to yell at him. On the other hand …
‘You’ve been keeping me in the dark,’ she said levelly. ‘You’ve got to stop that, you know. I’m a grown-up.’ She tugged her hand away.
‘I know. I know. But you were in danger, all because of me. If you hadn’t met me, if I hadn’t chased you, it would never have happened. You’d have had a safe and happy life. So it was my fault. Besides, I had to keep you safe. Do you see?’
Yes, she saw. She went on making tea, putting mugs on a tray. ‘But why didn’t you just tell me?’
‘I didn’t want you to be afraid,’ he said simply.
She snorted. ‘Great! Just great. So you put me in prison instead?’
He winced. ‘I didn’t think.’
‘No. You didn’t. And you don’t seem to think that I can either. Marriage is a partnership, Richard.’
She took the tray through to the sitting room, while he held the door for her.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘I want to know what’s been going on. All of it.’
Ian and the other security officer looked at Richard for guidance. Bella could have screamed. But he nodded quickly and she decided to let it go.
‘There’s a