Page 58 of A Very Irish Christmas
‘You fell? You weren’t trying to… hurt yourself, were you?’
‘No, Dad, no – I promise! I know the ice isn’t thick enough to walk on, but the stupid dog didn’t! He just r-r-ran off, straight onto it, and he was right in the middle when I heard it cracking! He can’t swim yet, and I couldn’t leave him, could I? I couldn’t just stand by and watch him die…’
I realise that I’m crying, the tears freezing on my eyelashes as they escape. She had to stand by and watch Vanessa die, and was obviously determined not to let that happen again. The agony on Charles’s face is clear as he clasps her to him, kisses her face, tells her again that everything will be fine, that he loves her, that he’s got her. That she’s safe.
Ryan meets my eyes, and we share a sad look. He knows her history as well, and it’s heartbreaking.
Roberts puts his hand on Charles’s shoulder, and says: ‘We should get her to the hospital, Charles. It looks like she’s on the mend, but we need to make sure she’s okay.’
‘Yes… of course, we should do that,’ Charles replies, clambering to his feet, his daughter still in his arms. He’s cradling her like a baby, and I wonder if he will ever let her go.
He seems to remember that we’re there, and looks directly at both of us.
‘I can’t thank you enough. I’m going to drive her to the hospital – it’ll be quicker than calling an ambulance. Will you be all right?’
‘Off you go,’ Ryan says firmly. ‘We’ll be grand. I need to dry off, and we’ll see you there, yeah?’
Charles nods, clearly in shock, and starts to stumble away towards the car. Roberts lingers for a moment, taking in our bedraggled appearance and Ryan’s shivers.
‘Get back to the house, you two,’ he says. ‘Get showered and warm, and help yourself to anything you need. If you could take Jasper that would be helpful. Allegra is there somewhere, but we haven’t told her about any of this, so tread carefully until we know Georgina is well. Thank you, again. I shall be rooting out medals to present to you both later – I’m sure we have some knocking around.’
The walk back to the manor is excruciating. It’s bad enough for me, damp and without a jacket, and for Ryan it must be even worse – his clothes are clinging to him, and when I hold his hand, I’m worried that he should be going to the hospital too. We take turns carrying Jasper, who is very loudly heartbroken at being parted from Georgie and keeps trying to run away to find her.
We make our way minute by slow minute, moving at a steady jog, and I feel a huge sense of relief when I see the terrace come into view. We run faster once we see it, and soon we are inside. I find a bowl of water and some food for Jasper, and give him a rub down with the kitchen towel. He seems fine, mainly because Georgie kept him out of the water I guess.
I pour us both a big glass of whiskey from the decanters in the Blue Room, then lead Ryan up the stairs to the suite that used to be mine.
‘Get your clothes off,’ I say, ‘and get in the shower. I’ll start the fire.’
He manages a suggestive smile, and says: ‘I’ve waited a long time for you to ask me to get my kit off, Cassie…’
‘Yeah. Well, your lips are turning blue, and that’s not the sexiest of looks – go on, away with ye!’
I lay on the Irish with the last part, and shoo him towards the en-suite. I soon have the fire roaring in the grate, and wrap myself up in the comforter for extra warmth. I hear the water flowing in the bathroom, and after a few minutes I start to regainfeeling in my numbed face. I sit on the edge of the bed, and my heart is racing so fast I can almost hear it.
That was so close, I think, to being a disaster. I don’t know how long Georgie had been stuck there, but I do know that if we hadn’t turned up, it could all have been a lot worse. I will be fine, and so will Ryan – we just have to hope that she is as well. As the adrenaline starts to flood through my system at the thought of what might have been, I rub my hands together, tell myself that she is okay. That the worst did not happen.
I sit like that for a while, letting myself settle, focusing on the crackling of the fire and the sensation of blood running into my chilled extremities. I need a shower too, but it can wait. Everything can wait.
The sound of the shower stops, and after a few moments Ryan emerges in a cloud of steam. His hair is wet against his neck, and he is wearing nothing but a white towel knotted around his waist. I stare at him, transfixed by the shining skin, the curve of muscle on his torso. The trail of hair that runs from his chest to his waist. He stares back at me, standing proud and unashamed, and raises an eyebrow.
I’m preparing myself for some flirtatious comment when the door to the room flies open. Allegra strides in, still wearing a Japanese-style robe, her feet encased in plaid slippers that don’t match it at all.
She stands still, and her eyes go from Ryan to me and back again. Oh Lord, I think,please let her remember who we are – I’m not up to a sword fight right now.
‘My goodness,’ she says eventually, smiling as she eats up the sight of Ryan in his towel. ‘I haven’t seen anything like that in quite a while!’
TWENTY-THREE
Within the hour we receive a message from Charles telling us that Georgie has had her initial examination, and she’s doing well. We explain the situation, very carefully, to Allegra, starting with the fact that everything is okay.
She grasps it quickly, goes off to get dressed, and we all drive to the hospital in Ryan’s truck. He’s had to scavenge for dry clothes, and Charles’s don’t really fit him. Charles is taller and leaner, so everything Ryan currently has on looks like it’s about to burst at the seams as if he’s the Incredible Hulk.
Charles meets us on the ward, where Georgie has her own side room, and he hugs his mother reassuringly before Roberts leads her away to see her granddaughter. I see him take in Ryan’s outfit and fight back a snigger.
‘All right, all right, Your Lordship,’ Ryan says, ‘we didn’t come here to be judged by the fashion police. How’s your girl doing?’
‘Well. They’ve got her in some special blankets that are bringing her temperature back up gradually, and some kind of drip as well. They’re keeping her in overnight just to make sure, but they’re positive she’ll recover and be able to come home tomorrow.’
