Public Property (14 page)

‘
I know that lo
ok, you have something going on.’

‘
We might have. Nick, Roger thinks we have something going on. Do y
ou want to tell him or shall I?’
Freya called as Nich
olas appeared at the front door
. He was looking every inch the Hollywood heartthrob in
a charcoal grey suit.

‘
We’ve set a date for the wedding
,
Roger
.
December
twenty second.’
Nicholas took Freya’s hand in his.

‘
Well
,
that is fantastic news
.
C
ongratulations
,
man
,’
Roger
said. He held his hand out to his boss.

‘
Thanks
,
Roger
.’

‘
And
it goes without saying
we would really love you and Dionne to be there. In fact
,
Roger, I kind of need you to do something else as well
,’ Freya spoke in serious tones
.

‘
I’ll wait in the car
,
’
Nicholas said.
He
wink
ed
at Freya and open
ed the door
.

‘
You want me to
organise
the security?
’
Roger asked.

‘
No, God no!
I
’
m hoping we can do this quietly and without the need for anything like that. No, I was rather hoping you might give me away
.’

‘
My, I wasn’t expecting that. I don’t know what to say
.’

Freya watched him fiddle with the collar of his shirt.

‘
Well, you know my history with my father,
and
my mother for that matter
.
A
nd you know, since we share the same admiration of Bruce Willis
,
I thought
it
was a good enough reason to ask you
,’
Freya continued.

‘
Freya, I would be
truly
honoured
to give you away.’

‘
You would?! Well that’s great!
’ She threw her arms around him and hugged him close. They’d formed a bond from the moment they’d met and he was the closest thing she had to a father figure.

‘A
ny idea on location yet?
’
he asked.

‘
I have a few ideas and I
’
m not telling you any of them
.
B
ecause I know if I tell you
,
you
’
ll be mentally working out where all the exits are
.’

‘
You know me
way
too well
.’

Half an hour later the car pulled up outside Carlton General Hospital and Freya could see the
whole state’s
photographers and journalists were outside waiting to take photographs and ask questions.

‘
I really
,
really hate this
,’
Freya remarked to Nicholas as they prepared to get out of the car.

‘
I know you do and you know I would rather go in through the back door
.
B
ut
it’s
publicity the charity needs to ensure its future
,’
he reminded
her.

‘Yes I know, I know.
I just would rather come here at the dead of night and speak to people privately, not pose for the papers
.’

She also had the beginnings of a spot on her nose and although she’d concealed, those lenses were unforgiving.

‘
It
’
ll be fine and remember there
’
s a meal waiting for us after we
’
ve done the posing and
the
smiling and
all the
publicity shots
.’

‘
I know
,
that thought will see me through
.
OK, let’s go
.’

They got out of the car and the photography began at once. There were whirrs and clicks coming from all directions and Freya gritted her teeth and smiled, holding on tight to Nicholas’ hand.

‘
Freya, Nick, over here!
’

‘
Freya, Nick
,
how does it feel to know that the people of Carlton and the surrounding towns will benefit from advanced cancer scre
ening thanks to your donations?’
another journalist yelled in their direction.

‘
Both Freya and I are delighted that we
’
ve been able to obtain this equipment for Carlton General and we hope it will end up saving many lives
,’
Nicholas answered.

‘
Freya,
may I be the first to offer my congratulations on setting the wedding date
.’

The voice calling out from behind them had Freya spinning round
to see who was speaking
. There she was, Sandra McNeill from
Shooting Stars
magazine.
They had met on more
than
one occasion, the first being when
Freya
met Nicholas in Corfu.

‘
Sorry
, Sandra, what did you say
?
’
Freya
asked.

‘December twenty second
, the date for your wedding. Will you be
going back to England or having a
ceremony in Hollywood
?
’
Sandra continued
, her recorder held out.

‘
Nick, are you hearing this?
’
Freya asked him, pulling on his hand.

‘
Sandra, I
’
m afraid you
’
ve yet again found yourself an unreliable source. Freya and I haven’t set a date for our wedding yet, but when we do you will be the first to know
.’

Nicholas directed Freya away from Sandra McNeill and towards the entrance
of
the hospital where the board members were waiting to meet them.

‘
She knew the date of our wedding. We
’
ve told
three people and she knew.
How?’
Freya wanted to know.

‘
You know what it’s like
.
N
ews like that just has a habit of getting out. We have a team of photographers permanently at our front gate
.
Maybe
they overheard you talking to Roger
,’
Nicholas suggested.

‘
Our gate is nearly one hundred yards from our front door
,
Nick
.
T
hey couldn’t have overheard
,’
Freya whispered.

‘
Hey, calm down, it isn’t the end of the world
.
I
t was going to get out sooner or
later,
it’s the nature of the beast
.
D
on’t let it get to
you,
you know what reporters are like
.
T
hey
could probably track down your “Wild Wednesday”
pants if they put their minds to it
.’ He smiled and squeezed her hand.

‘
Do
you think our house is bugged?’ Freya asked.

‘Now you’re
being ridiculous and you really have to cut down the amount of crime dramas you watch
,’
he responded with a laugh.

‘
I don’t like people knowing things like that when we’ve only just decided it ourselves
.’

It wasn’t just irritating it was unnerving. She didn’t want to think anyone she’d told about the wedding date would divulge the information to someone like Sandra McNeill.

‘
Listen
,
don’t let it spoil how we feel about setting the date
.
P
eople are bound to be interested
,
but at the end
of the day it
’
s our private event. So they can talk about it all they like
,
but they won’t be getting invitations
.’

Freya nodded
but
Sandra McNeill’s comment had unsettled her. She was just getting used to the idea herself,
the last thing
she want
ed was to have
the moment ruined.

It was still playing on
Freya’s mind when they were being given a tour of one of the cancer wards by Bill Stanton, the chairman of the hospital.

‘
Nick, Freya, this is Katherine
. She hasn’t been able to stop talking about you coming to visit since we told her
about it
,’
Bill Stanton introduced as they stopped walking and stood at the foot of one of the beds.

A pale, dark
-
haired, dark
-
eyed girl of approximately eight years old
lay in the bed they had halted at. She looked pale and frail and was attached to a drip.

‘
Hi
,
Katherine
,’
Nicholas greeted
.
H
e went closer to her and sat on the edge of her bed.

‘
Hi
…
you are my
favourite
actor
.
I think you’re cool
,’
Katherine spoke quietly
.
S
he attempted to sit herself u
p.

‘
Well thank you very much. Katherine, this is Freya, my fiancée
,’
he introduced. He motioned
Freya to come nearer to the bed.

‘
Hi
,
Katherine, it’s very nice to meet you
. Do
you know, he’s my
favourite
actor too
,’
Freya
said, smiling.

‘
Freya! How can you lie to Katherine like that? Freya’s
favourite
actor is Bruce Willis
.’

‘
I like him too. What’s a fiancée?
’
Katherine questioned.

‘
Well, being someone’s fiancée means you
’
re going to get married to that person
one day. Freya and I are going to get married,’
he told the girl.

‘
W
ow
! Are you going to have a big white dress and bridesmaids and a fancy cake?
’
Katherine asked
. At
the mention of a wedding she had
perk
ed up and was overflowing with excitement.

‘
Well
,
I’m not quite sure yet, maybe. Is that what you
’
d like
when
you get married one day?
’
Freya asked her.

‘
If I was getting married I
’
d have five bridesmaids
.
M
y
m
om, my sister
,
Karen and my friends Anne, Britney and Erica.
And I w
ould make my
d
addy wear a real
smart suit so he would look nice when he took me to the church
,’
Katherine explained
, a faraway look in her eyes.

‘
That sounds like a perfect wedding day to me
,
’ Freya said, smiling.