E for England (3 page)

‘I'm sorry to bother you but I didn't know what else to do.' No return smile, she was already halfway across the foyer. She stopped, breathless at the door.

‘It's fine. Don't worry.'

Annie slammed her hand onto the green exit button and was out the door before it had finished opening. Hugh followed, shining the torch on the path in front of her. She shot around the corner into the gloom.

‘Where exactly did you climb up?'

She stood looking uncertainly at the retaining wall and pointed. ‘About here I think.'

Hugh handed her the torch, grasped an oleander stem and began to clamber up the stone wall as she said, ‘You can't climb in there. You won't fit.'

He discovered that immediately. His shoulders jammed between two thick branches and he couldn't get the lower half of his body any further than halfway up the wall. He gave up and dropped back to the path.

‘Ooh, you've scratched your face.' She dabbed a tissue at his cheek, a soft touch, which caught him unawares with its intimacy. ‘Hope you don't get poisoned and die. Can you, from a scratch?'

‘It's possible but unlikely. I've never had a bad reaction to oleander before and I'm not going to eat it.' He scanned the wall for an easier access point. Nothing.

Annie shone the torch on the ground between the plants. The keys could easily have slipped under the thick, composting leaves and disappeared.

‘What are we looking for? Are they on a key ring?'

‘Just a metal ring but my car key is on there, too.' She leaned over and began scrabbling about in the leaf litter. ‘I have to find them.'

‘Are you sure you didn't leave them upstairs?'

‘No, no. Definitely not! I'd never do that. I never leave Mattie and Floss alone. Never.'

Except tonight. But berating her wouldn't help. He gritted his teeth and exhaled a short sharp breath.

‘Hey.' Hugh put his arm around the rapidly becoming hysterical woman and squeezed, injecting calm and sense into his voice. Her body, warm and soft, yielded to his embrace, the scent of roses twined into his nostrils. ‘Don't worry. We'll find them and if we don't tonight, we will tomorrow. In the meantime we can call your flatmate.'

‘She's out.' Annie sniffed, shuddered as she fought for control. His other arm crept around to hold her more securely.

‘She has her phone with her though? Yes?' A nod. ‘And she'd understand and come home?' Another nod although slightly less enthusiastic. He reluctantly released his grip.

‘I'd hate to ask her to do that. She's…we're…'

‘If the worst comes to the worst and we don't find the keys and your flatmate refuses to come home, you could go to her and get them.'

‘Leave my children alone?' she squeaked. ‘That could take hours.'

‘Annie, what else can you do? If one of them wakes up they can let you in but you'd have to sit outside the door all night. Are they likely to wake up?'

Another shake of the head with a whispered, ‘No.'

‘Right. Let's search. They must be here.'

Annie clenched and unclenched her fingers. Get a grip. The keys were in there. They must be. Thank goodness Hugh was here with his calm reassurance and his warm, comforting hug. ‘I got in there before, I can do it again.'

She gripped the nearest stem and hauled herself into the thicket. Crouching between the branches she plunged her hands into the squishy dank matter at her feet. Hugh held the beam steady. Something crawled up her wrist and she screeched, slapping at her arm, shuddering.

‘What?'

‘A spider…something. Ugh.'

‘Did it bite you?'

‘Hope not. I need gloves.'

‘Should I get you some? Hang on.' Hugh rested the torch on the wall and tried to tap on the window. ‘It's too high for me to reach.'

‘Don't worry about it,' she said tersely. No time to mess around with gloves. If something bit her, too bad.

Hugh picked up the torch and held it high to give more light but the shadows were too thick and the trunks too close together. Annie couldn't reach far without getting her upper body stuck and if she managed to straighten and stand she couldn't reach the ground.

‘This is hopeless; I can't see a thing. I'll have to call Leonie.' She backed out and dropped to the path beside him.

‘My phone's inside.'

‘Thanks.' Big eyes looked up at him through a sheen of tears. ‘You're being so kind.'

‘Come on.'

Hugh wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her back along the path. She was clinging to composure by a thread and leaned into him, accepting his support. Keep it relaxed despite the surprising jolt of awareness that nearness of soft female curves sent through his body. ‘You smell very nice,' he said. ‘Like roses.'

Annie's tiny laugh pleased him. ‘It's Playtime Bubble Bath. Flossie soaked me earlier.'

He forced himself to release her as they entered the foyer, and with a mental slap, a
what the hell are you thinking
, strode ahead to unlock the apartment door.

Inside, James was roaring with laughter at the stateroom scene. ‘Come and watch. This is a classic,' he called.

Hugh handed Annie his mobile phone and went to join James.

‘We can't find her keys. She's calling her flatmate.'

‘Bummer.' James didn't shift his attention from the screen where Groucho was inviting yet more people into his tiny cabin.

Annie wailed from the hallway, ‘I don't know her number! It's on speed dial on my phone so I never have to key it in. What am I going to do?'

James grimaced at Hugh but didn't move.

Hugh got up and said, ‘Calm down and think, Annie. What does it start with? 01? 02?'

She stared blindly for a moment. ‘0434.' She punched it in and paused then suddenly whacked in more numbers, chest heaving with pent up emotion.

‘Leonie? Annie.'

She barely waited for a response before barging on with a gabbled and totally incomprehensible version of the situation. Hugh took the phone from her and said, ‘Hello Leonie, my name is Hugh. I live in the ground floor apartment in your block.'

Annie gasped when Hugh eased the phone from her grubby, sweaty, itchy hand but she listened while he explained clearly and precisely what was going on.

‘What's she saying? Where is she?'

He held a finger to his lips. ‘Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes.'

He disconnected and immediately redialled.

‘What are you doing?'

‘Calling a taxi. She's at The Basement near Circular Quay.'

‘It's a jazz place. Isn't she coming?'

He shook his head. ‘No need. I can go. She said there's a good band on and she doesn't want to miss them.'

‘I'll go. It's not your problem.'

‘Annie, if children are involved it's everyone's problem. You stay here. Go up and listen at the door in case one of them wakes up and is frightened.'

‘They won't wake up.'

‘How do you know?' His eyes bored into her. Blue lasers. Stern all of a sudden. ‘You didn't think you'd be gone more than a few minutes and look what's happened. It must be half an hour, at least.'

‘I…' Every word was true but she knew her children. ‘They don't wake up once they've gone to sleep.'

‘And you never leave them alone.' A touch of sarcasm? What was he implying?

‘I don't.' Her eyes narrowed.

He cocked a sceptical eyebrow. ‘How come we're in this situation then?'

We? Annie scrunched her mouth into a tight line. Arguing was not a good idea. Trying to defend her actions. How would that make her look? Guilty. And technically she
had
left them alone, but it was hardly neglect to the extent he made it sound.

Hugh said, ‘I'll wait outside for the taxi.'

Annie followed him out but in the foyer he said, ‘Go up and check on them. I'll be back as soon as I can.' He pressed the door release.

‘Hugh?' He turned. ‘Thank you. I'll pay you for the taxi when I can get at my purse.'

He waved an arm as he disappeared but there was no accompanying smile.

Hugh sat in the taxi staring out at the kaleidoscope of lights whirling past his window. Everyone was out and about on a Friday night. He wasn't, or hadn't been. James was home but it was an aberration. He was out almost every other night and would be tomorrow.

Hugh sighed and gripped the seatbelt as the taxi swerved round a bus and changed lanes with a sickening lurch and sway. The driver had a penchant for braking and accelerating with alarming and inconsistent rapidity. Thank goodness the trip to the city was short. He wasn't a good sailor and this was having the same nausea inducing effect as a boat ride.

Not for the first time he asked himself why he was doing this? Wasn't it taking neighbourliness to an extreme? He didn't know Annie, he didn't know her children. Why should he care? He amended that to why would he bother? She could have been in this taxi fighting a rising desire to throw up. It wasn't his business; he'd done more than enough to assist her.

The taxi roared around another corner and Hugh lurched across the seat. When he recovered he pressed the button to drop the window for fresh air, shoving his face out and breathing deeply. Annie was very, very attractive. No denying he liked the feel of her softly rounded body when he hugged her and the direct way she looked at him through those grey eyes, but she had far too much in the way of baggage to consider pursuing that line of thought. A whole container load of baggage. Children were the biggest turn-off he could think of.

Overwhelming responsibility plus untold messiness dealing with a husband she wasn't on good terms with. He shuddered. No, Annie was in the ‘pretty but no-go' area. And apart from anything else he might be inclined to feel she wasn't remotely interested in men at the moment. He didn't need any professional training to know that and what a relief it was.

The taxi roared down a side street and stopped. Hugh peered out and saw The Basement sign. He debated the wisdom of riding home in the same taxi but wasn't certain of picking up another one quickly.

He leaned forward. ‘Would you wait here for me, please? I'll only be a few minutes.'

‘Okay, mate.'

Hugh jumped out of the taxi and stood on the pavement breathing deeply and trying to ignore his roiling stomach while he dialled Leonie's number.

‘
OK
,' she texted.

The street level bar was packed. Infectious Latin music pulsed from speakers. Stairs led down to the basement lower level where the live music must be. Presumably what he was hearing came from the show. A very good band. No wonder Leonie didn't want to leave, he wouldn't mind staying. He took a brochure of coming events from a stand where two smartly dressed bouncers vetted incoming patrons.

‘Ticket?'

‘I'm not going in, I'm meeting someone.'

A blonde woman, displaying a generous cleavage packaged in a white blouse, with a slim grey skirt emphasising her neat hips, came up the stairs. Somehow she made the businesslike attire look provocative. She flipped a lock of hair from her face and smiled. ‘Hugh?'

‘Leonie?' He held out his hand and she shook it firmly. Clear blue eyes studied him with
unconcealed interest. The smile broadened.

‘Yes. Very nice to meet you, neighbour. Thanks so much for doing this for us.'

‘It's no problem. I wasn't doing anything special.' A burst of applause came from downstairs. ‘The band sounds good.'

‘They're great. Why don't you send the keys home to Annie in a taxi and stay? There's room at my table.' She tilted her head with a small flirtatious pout of red lips.

‘It's tempting but I'd better not. Annie's rather upset.'

Leonie grimaced. ‘I can imagine. She'd die if anything happened to those kids.' She handed him a key. ‘Tell her to leave the door unlocked.' Another suggestive little grin. ‘I'm not sure when I'll be home tonight.'

Her eyes locked with his. Hugh smiled. Now
this
female was available, unencumbered and ready for a good time. Could be worth following up. But not now. Leonie was predatory and would demand a man's complete wits and attention or disaster could ensue.

‘I'd better go. Thanks, Leonie.' He had to move, couldn't stand here making small talk to a sexy woman while poor Annie anguished. Leonie lived in the same apartment block, he had her number in his phone — no problem.

‘No. Thank
you,
Hugh. I'll see you around.'

‘No doubt you will. Goodnight.'

Fifteen minutes and a re-churned stomach later he clambered out of the taxi and strode to the door. Annie darted across and pressed the release button before he could flap the security tag across the beam.

‘Did you get it?' He held up the key and she pounced. ‘Thank you, thank you.' Relief flowed off her in waves and for the first time he was treated to the full force of her smile. Radiantly beautiful. Like the sun bursting from behind clouds and bathing everyone in sudden warmth. Far more attractive than Leonie's come-on pout. She gripped his shoulders and stretched up to kiss his cheek. Her lips were soft, her breasts pressed against his chest just long enough to disable his faculties.

He swallowed, blinked and blurted, ‘Any problems? Did they wake up?'

‘No. I've been up and down about five times since you left but I knew they wouldn't wake up.' Said blithely, unconcerned now disaster was averted.

Hugh firmed his mouth. She didn't know that. Couldn't. Anything can happen in a split second. ‘Okay. Goodnight.'

‘Goodnight. Thanks so much, Hugh. I'll bring the taxi fare down as soon as I…no, why don't you come up and I can pay you back right now?' She walked over to the lift and pressed the button. The door opened immediately. ‘How much was it?'