Page 106 of Duplicity

‘Oh my God.’ I set down my bag and go to check out the full-sized divan on the far side of Tabby’s bed. Now this reallymustbe a mirage. It’s beautifully made up with white linen and piled high with fluffy pillows whose cases I could swear bear the same monograms as the ones in Brendan’s hotel suite. The top of the duvet is turned back with all the precision of a hotel turn-down service. I swing around. ‘Is that…?’

‘A lady came and maked it for you, Mummy,’ Tabby pipes up.

‘Brendan strong-armed the concierge into selling us an entire set of linen and then sending it over in a cab with one of the maids who set the whole thing up,’ Athena clarifies. ‘Right down to the memory foam mattress topper. Oh, and get this. He made the concierge send througha PDF of the pillow menu. He went for Norwegian goose down, if you must know. It seems our Brendan is the real life equivalent of the princess from The Princess and The Pea.’

Tabs covers her mouth, peals of delighted giggles pouring forth in the most magical way. I drag my eyes away from my princess bed for long enough to see something akin to awe pass over Brendan’s face at the sound of it. He recovers quickly.

‘That’s because your mum needs her sleep, doesn’t she sweet pea? Though I should have bought her some snoring strips for her nose too, shouldn’t I?’

Okay, the snoring jokes are getting a little tedious now. I don’t snore.

I turn back to the bed and reverently stroke the heavenly sateen cotton of the duvet cover before pressing down to reveal that yes, there’s definitely some memory foam under there. I can say I’ve never, in my entire life, been so delirious at the sight of a bed.

Well, not since Tabs’s newborn days, anyway.

‘This is incredible,’ I say to Brendan. ‘Thank you, thank you. Honestly, I’ll sleep like a dream tonight. I feel like Sara Crewe after Ram Dass gives her garret a glow-up.’

Athena and Tabby both giveahhsof appreciation at my analogy. Brendan frowns in confusion.

‘InA Little Princess,’ Tabs tells him, ‘Sara is so poor and has no mummy or daddy. She sleeps in an attic with her pet rat. But one night the nice servant Ram Dass breaks into her room and leaves loads of hot food and fluffy pillows for her, and when she wakes up she’s all warm and cosy.’

Brendan’s frown intensifies. ‘Sounds very, very creepy to me,’ he says. ‘And do we think your mum’s being a bit overly dramatic, perchance?’

Tabby giggles again in delight. Oh, dear God. He’s winding me up to score points with her, and she’s already falling prey to his charms. Not that she can help it—she’s only human, and she hasn’t seen his arsehole side yet.

That said, I am very, very touched. I know Brendan admitted back in the hotel that he’d be supporting me in the only way he knew how, by throwing his money around, but this is another level of thoughtfulness.

‘You try sleeping in a plastic armchair for two nights and then see how dramatic you’re feeling,’ I retort, but then I smile at him. ‘That’s the best present I’ve ever, ever received. Thank you. And thanks for being his Girl Friday, Athena.’

‘It’s nothing,’ he says, then turns to Athena. He seems embarrassed by my gratitude. ‘Food all sorted?’

She stands and smooths down her lightweight sweater. ‘Yep. A local chef will deliver meals for both of you three times a day, starting in about—ooh, an hour. Tabby helped me choose the menu. It’s weirdly heavy on both watermelon and sweet potato fries, but there are ginger shots in there for you.’

Okay. This is getting ridiculous now. We’re in a hospital, not the Four Seasons. ‘You’ve been very kind, but we can slum it for a few days.’

Brendan closes the gap between us in a few easy strides and looms over me, putting his hands on my upper arms. I stare up at him.

‘It’s not up for debate. She’s ill and you’re exhausted. You know full well you need good-quality rest and nutrition if you want to survive this. Don’t argue.’

‘Thank you,’ I mutter again.

‘I’m going to head back to the hotel and shower,’ Athena announces. ‘It’s no fun being thrashed at cards by a clever little monkey. You coming, Brendan?’

He sticks his hands in his pockets. ‘I think I’ll hang around for a bit, if that’s okay with Marlowe and Tabby. Nice to have a change of scene from the hotel.’

‘Of course,’ I murmur, but I can’t quite work out what his game is. I suppose, if he’s sticking around all week, then he doesn’t intend to hide out in his hotel the entire time, but I can’t imagine it’ll be fun for him to hang out in a hospital room for hours on end.

Athena takes her leave after a big hug from me and Tabs and saunters off. Brendan sits himself down next to Tabby’s bed, crossing one ankle over its opposite knee.

‘A lot of machines,’ he comments. ‘Do you know what they all do?’

She looks puzzled, like she’s not quite sure what he wants from her. ‘Some of them?’

‘How about this one?’ He points to the oximeter on her left index finger. ‘What’s that one for?’

‘That’s an oximeter,’ she tells him shyly. ‘It measures my sats.’

‘SATs? Aren’t they the tests you take in school?’

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