From Venice with Love

If she took her shoes and jacket off…

Good grief…was she actually considering diving in to try and retrieve it before it sank too far?

The downward glance towards her shoes had hammered home the reality of what was happening. Straightening and dusting off her skirt after she’d got to her feet hadn’t cured the creases and streaks of grime. Her tights were shredded and one knee was grazed enough for a trickle of blood to be obvious.

Her armour had been dented.

But worse than that—far, far worse than that—her shield had been ripped away from her and destroyed.

‘Oh…my…God…’ Charlotte had about a heartbeat before she knew the fear would try and kick in.

The man was turning towards her, clearly appalled at what had just happened.

She couldn’t let him see her fear. Couldn’t let anybody see it because if they did it would become real. It would take over and she would be sucked back into that place where she was utterly powerless. Where she became nobody.

It wasn’t going to happen. Charlotte fought back, gathering fury as if it could repair the amour. Replace the shield.

‘You idiot,’ she snapped. ‘Have you any idea what you’ve just done?’

The dark eyes widened, startled by her ferocity.

‘I’m so sorry,’ he said. But the apology in his eyes was being replaced by something more like astonishment. Anger, even, at being attacked for something that had clearly been an accident.

Charlotte knew that. She’d seen the person behind being pushed and stumbling, only prevented from falling by the safety barrier this man’s back had provided. It didn’t help, though, knowing that the action had not been deliberate. How could it, when the effect was the same?

‘That laptop has my presentation on it,’ Charlotte snapped. ‘The presentation I’m supposed to be delivering to an international symposium in…’ She jerked her gaze to her wrist. ‘In exactly ten minutes.’

His face was changing again, along with the expression in his eyes. He was putting pieces of a puzzle together with the same kind of swiftness that had been obvious when they had become a team, working in sync to try and save the life of the unfortunate man who’d fallen from the scaffolding in the wake of his cardiac arrest.

They weren’t a team now. They were on different sides of a battle and Charlotte felt as if she was fighting for her life. He couldn’t possibly understand how important this was to her but he obviously knew more than she would have expected.

‘Not by any chance the symposium on critical interventions in the emergency department? Being held at the Bonvecchiata hotel?’

‘Yes. I’m Dr Charlotte Highton. Due to open the symposium in…’ Charlotte had to swallow hard ‘…eight minutes.’

‘You’re Charlotte Highton?’

‘Yes.’ Charlotte glared at the stranger, who was looking at her as if he’d seen a ghost. As if he couldn’t believe she was who she’d said she was.

He gave his head a sharp shake. And then he held out his hand. ‘Dr Nicholas Moretti,’ he told her. ‘Nico. We’ve met before. Twice, in fact. At St Margaret’s Hospital in London. And that night at The Cosmopolitan Club. It was a few years ago now…’ His voice trailed off. He was frowning and still staring as if he could barely recognise her. As if he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.

Well…no surprises there. He was talking about a lifetime ago. She’d been a different person then.

A person she couldn’t afford to be reminded of because it would only make this situation even worse. How incredibly unfortunate was this? To not only lose the protection she depended on but to meet someone who had known her back then? Before…

Before her life had turned so sharply it had virtually doubled back on itself to take the path she was now on.

For just a moment Charlotte could remember what it had been like at that crossroad.

She could feel the fear.

She didn’t remember meeting him. Oh…she’d felt the beat of familiarity when she’d seen him. She probably would remember him if she allowed her mind to go back to that time. To when she’d been the rising star of a prestigious London hospital and her academic brilliance had been enough to erase the shadows of a painfully shy youth. To when she’d had the world at her feet and she had been courted by albeit distant royalty and wined and dined at places like The Cosmopolitan Club.

A time that it hadn’t even occurred to her that she might be reminded of today.

Not only reminded of but stripped of any protection she would normally have to ward it off. How long had it been since she’d felt this vulnerable?

To Charlotte’s absolute horror, she could actually feel the prickle of tears at the back of her eyes. Tears that could unleash weakness that might undo her completely. She blinked. Hard. She dragged her gaze away from yet another expression she could read in this man’s eyes. He had such an open face. He was probably a very nice person but she didn’t need anyone to be concerned about her.

She could look after herself. And succeed. She’d learned that long ago.

A police officer had come to stand beside them. This man who had an Italian name that matched his looks but who, curiously, spoke perfect English with an Irish accent, translated his query.

‘He wants to know if you need assistance of any kind.’

A snort of something akin to laughter escaped Charlotte. She alone was the only person who could provide the kind of assistance she needed right now. Unless by some miracle a police diving team could be available within seconds and an even more impressive miracle would reveal a laptop that could survive total submersion.

But a rapid conversation in Italian led to the police officer nodding and indicating, with a wave of his arm, that Charlotte should follow him.

Nick was also following. ‘He’s going to take us to the symposium venue,’ he said briskly. ‘In the police launch. It will only take a few minutes.’

Charlotte looked down at her ruined clothes. She couldn’t appear anywhere looking like this.

‘We will explain what’s happened.’ His hand was on her arm, guiding her through the crowd that was only now dispersing properly. ‘Please let me help if I can. I feel responsible for this unfortunate turn of events and I will do anything I can to put things right. Perhaps they can rearrange the order of the presentations. And do you have a back-up of your material?’

Having a man step in and try and solve this problem was the last thing Charlotte needed.

‘Of course I do. It’s on a flash drive.’

‘Which is where?’

Charlotte focused as the police officer offered her a hand to step into the speed boat. She ignored the hand, climbed aboard unaided and then turned back.

She had to speak through gritted teeth. ‘It’s in the side pocket of the laptop case that you threw into the canal.’

It was a totally unjustified accusation in the wake of an obvious accident. It was also an undeserved slap in the face given that he was trying so hard to help.

But Charlotte didn’t care. She couldn’t afford to.

‘Please don’t concern yourself any further.’ She turned away and nodded to the pilot of the boat, who revved the engine. Waved at him imperiously enough to indicate that speed was of the essence and it was time to leave. ‘This is my problem and I will deal with it.’

Nico watched the police launch speed away down the canal.

He could walk to the venue in only a few minutes longer than the boat trip would take. He hadn’t actually told her that he was booked to attend the symposium himself so he couldn’t really take offence that he hadn’t been invited to share the ride.

Besides…he needed a few minutes to try and get his head around this extraordinary development.

She might not remember him but he remembered Charlotte Highton very well indeed. He’d been looking forward to seeing what that dynamic young doctor was like further down the track of her brilliant career.