Bella knew those eyes; knew the way they looked as if they were laughing even when the rest of his face was still. Come to think of it, she even knew the silken sheen of that shirt sleeve.
It was him.
The Prince of Wales? And she had blurted out her problems to him! Left him to return her naff pink phone! Not recognised him!
What a fool he must think her. What a blind, blank fool. And he had seemed so kind. Damn it, she had even told him he was kind, this morning. Thanked him for mopping her up on Saturday night. When all the time he was holding out on her, pretending to be someone else. And had gone straight on from that party to a backless blonde at the Funky Bôite. There was no doubting that Backless knew who he was.
Had he told her about the mad girl he’d met at the party? God, maybe he’d even had a bet with her or the others at the club. ‘I met this blonde bimbo tonight who couldn’t see straight enough to recognise me. How much says I can string her along a bit more, if I wear my sunglasses and keep her on the move?’
Bella writhed with embarrassment. But it was worse even than that. It hurt. In his way, he had done as much of a con job on her as Francis had. Only with Francis it had all been about vanity and getting his work done for him. With Richard – bloody Prince bloody Richard – it had been a deliberate deception.
And he had seemed so … honest. She’d thought there was an attraction between them. When he’d said that about fellow feeling this morning, she’d thought it was something they shared.
Well, that would teach her not to go reading too much into a few words that meant nothing. She thought: I am never telling anyone about this, not even Lottie, and I am going to forget it. I am!
*
She was polite but crisp with her prospective employer. It cowed him into signing her up without any attempt to bully her. Bella barely noticed.
When Lottie rang, she didn’t answer. In fact, she didn’t answer any call except her mother’s. She took that, chatted briefly and arranged to visit next weekend. But when her mother said anxiously, ‘Darling, are you all right? You don’t sound it,’ she just said, ‘Bit busy right now. Gotta go.’
She didn’t want to go back to the flat. Instead, she walked for hours: Harrods, warmly scented and blessedly anonymous; Hyde Park, bright and chilly, with a wind making waves dance on the Serpentine; Oxford Street; the luxury shops of Mayfair; Piccadilly, the Haymarket. By the time she got to Trafalgar Square, she was chilled to the bone and exhausted. She fled into the National Gallery and went round three galleries without taking in a single painting.
This is ridiculous, she thought. I only met the man once. Well, twice, if you count this morning. He can’t do this to me. Pull yourself together, Bella. Answer your phone calls. Tell Anthea you’ve taken the job. Get on with real life. No bones broken, as Georgia would say.
She found a small café and took a latte to a table in the corner. She pulled out her phone – she was starting to really hate the pink sparkly thing – and worked her way through the messages. There was one number she didn’t recognise. It had called several times.
Could it be him?
Nah, not a chance.
She was just about to text Anthea when the phone rang. The unknown number. Bella’s heart lurched.
‘Yes?’
‘Can we talk?’ said a voice she recognised.
To her horror, her eyes filled with sudden tears. What was happening to her?
‘No, we can’t,’ she said nastily. And cut the call.
She dropped the phone on the table top and rummaged for a hankie. She couldn’t find one, so she blew her nose hard on one of the café’s paper napkins instead. Georgia would have called it sordid and Georgia would have been right, she thought.
The phone rang again. She glared at it. But in the end she answered.
‘What?’
‘You know, then.’ He sounded chastened
‘Know? What do I know? I just saw your photo in the Despatch and I know who you are, if that’s what you mean.’
He groaned. ‘Hell!’
‘But I don’t know why you wanted to play games like that. It’s not honourable and it’s not kind.’ Her voice shook. She wasn’t going to let him hear her crying.