The Youngest Bridesmaid (7 page)

She slept again, this time leaning unconsciously against Piers
’
shoulder, then the piercing squeal of
tires woke her, she was conscious of being flung across the car as the brakes bit and threw them into a skid, and in the sudden ensuing silence, broken only
by a sinister hiss of steam, she became aware of Piers beside her slumped across the steering wheel.

CHAPTER THREE

Lou, for all her emotional timidity, was, curiously enough, undismayed by purely physical shock. Having assured herself that Piers was not dead but merely unconscious she set about determining his injuries. From a nasty-looking cut on his forehead and blood on the splintered
”
driving mirror she deduced that he had been thrown forward and knocked himself out. She began staunching the wound with a handkerchief she found in his breast pocket, relieved that he did not appear to be unduly crushed against the steering wheel, and for the first time that day life took on some sort of reality. Here beside her was no longer the notorious Piers Merrick who gave the orders, but a helpless stranger whose face in oblivion looked oddly defenceless.

As she gently dabbed and mopped, Lou found herself memorizing with tender surprise this unfamiliar aspect of the man she had just married. He looked younger
a
nd rather touchingly vulnerable, and with the temporary lifting of the habitual mask which he showed to polite society, he was, she thought, a man it would not be difficult to love, for the face now matched the voice. She had, very strangely, an instant
’
s sharp impression of the little boy
w
ho long ago had trustingly placed his life and his love in the careless hands of a beautiful woman and found his security shattered.

“
Poor Piers
...
”
she murmured compassionately, stroking the lines of his unaware face.
“
Poor little boy, hitting back at life with your fabulous possessions
...
probably not caring very much about any of them .
.
. She did not know why she should think this last, except that she supposed if there was money enough to indulge every whim, values would cease to have importance.

She began to be aware that she must be suffering some measure of delayed shock herself, sitting here pondering on unlikely subjects when she should be
going to seek help. She made Piers as comfortable as she could, then got out of the car and went to stand in the road to stop the first passing vehicle. Nothing, she realized, had gone by since the accident, and it seemed to be a lonely stretch of road, not even a highway, but probably one of the many short cuts on which Piers prided himself. A short cut to where, though? She had fallen asleep before asking him again where they were going, and now she did not know in which direction to walk to find the nearest town or village. It had started to spatter with rain again and she stood irresolutely in the cold and darkness, glad of the comfort of Melissa
’
s mink, but reminded anew of her borrowed identity.

While she was still trying to decide which way to take, she saw with relief approaching lights in the distance, and ran into the centre of the road, waving frantically.

The car slowed down and an irritable face peered from the window.

“
Can
’
t stop for lifts, I
’
m in a hurry,
”
an equally irritable masculine voice exclaimed.
“
Run out of juice, I suppose—just like a woman. I
’
ll notify a garage for you.
”

“
No!
”
she shouted as he seemed about to drive on.
“
There
’
s been an accident. My—my husband
’
s hurt.
”

“
Oh, that
’
s different,
”
he said, and backed his car into the side of the road. When he got out he revealed himself as a stocky, middle-aged man with a bustling professional manner that was vaguely
familiar,
and Lou was not at all surprised when he said:
“
You
’
re in luck, young lady. I happen to be a doctor.
”

Lou, who in the past had seldom found luck to be so accommodating, accepted with composure the fact that the spoilt Piers Merrick would never be seriously incommoded, even by an accident.

“
What a blessing,
”
she said.
“
I—I think he
’
s just knocked himself out on the driving mirror, but he
’
s got a nasty cut.
”

The doctor shot her a quick and slightly puzzled glance. She appeared to him to be very young and, in the circumstances, unnaturally calm.

“
H
’
m
...
”
he grunted.
“
Let
’
s have a look.
”

She stood watching while he bent over Piers, probing and examining,
fetched his bag from the car when he called for it, catching the smell of antiseptic as he cleaned and dressed the wound.

“
No very serious damage, I think, but we
’
d better get him to the hospital. That cut must be stitched,
”
he said straightening up.
“
There may be a bit of concussion. I
’
ll go on ahead and send back an ambulance. You
’
re not hurt yourself?
”

“
No—no, I don
’
t think so. What is the nearest town? I mean I
—
I haven
’
t an idea where we are.
”

“
Lexiter
’
s only five miles on.
”

“
Lexiter?
”

“
Lexiter in Wiltshire. Where were you making for?
”
he asked impatiently.

“
I—I don
’
t know,
”
she answered, and as he saw the sudden blankness in her eyes, his scrutiny became professional again.

“
Can
’
t remember, eh? Sure you didn
’
t get a crack on the head?
”

“
Quite sure—and it isn
’
t that I can
’
t remember. I just never knew.
”

“
H
’
m
...
”
he grunted again, a suspicion beginning to form at the back of his mind that this was a rather odd set-up. The girl was years younger than her husband, if indeed he was her husband, she kept tugging at her mink coat as if the feel of it was unfamiliar, and his trained eye noticed the newness of her handbag and the luggage piled in the back of the car.
At that moment, however, there was a movement from his patient, and he turned back quickly.

“
He
’
s coming round,
”
he said.
“
Hand me that bottle of sal volatile, please.
”

“
Damn cats!
”
said Piers distinctly, and opened his eyes.

“
Here, drink this,
”
the doctor said, and smiled a trifle grimly when his patient grimaced with distaste and demanded something stronger.

“
Not if there
’
s any chance of concussion,
”
he replied, puzzled by something familiar about the man
’
s face.
“
There
’
s been a slight accident and you knocked yourself out. How do you feel?
”

“Damn silly! I remember now. A cat streaked out of the hedge and I tried to avoid it.”

“Never avoid animals when you’re driving,” the doctor said automatically. “You might have killed your—er—wife.”

Piers did not seem to notice the hesitation, but his eyes became alarmed.

“Lou—where is she? Is she all right?” he exclaimed, and Lou, leaning in from the open nearside door said rather tremulously:

“I’m here, Piers. I’m not hurt.”

He put out a hand to touch her, feeling the dampness of rain on the soft fur of the coat.

“
Poor Cinderella
...
”
he murmured.
“
What a typical ending to the day for you.
”

The doctor cleared his throat, more certain than ever that something odd was going on, then memory , suddenly clicked into place. Piers ... ah, the recent build-up in the gutter press ...

“
Aren
’
t you Piers Merrick?
”
he asked sharply, and Piers grinned.

“
Right first time, and I don
’
t doubt you
’
re also aware that I was married today. It only takes a blasted cat to upset one
’
s arrangements, doesn
’
t it?
”
he said, but the doctor frowned. There had been photographs in plenty of the future Mrs. Merrick, and she bore little resemblance to this uneasy-looking young girl who was now demanding anxiously whether or not the cat had been black.

“
How the devil should I know?
”
Piers retorted irritably.
“
Everything looks black in the dark. The main thing is to find out how much damage has been done to the car and get going again if we
’
re able.
”

He began to struggle out of the driving seat and the doctor said with crisp authority:

“
You
’
ll come straight to Lexiter Hospital with me, young man. That wound must be stitched, and
until you
’
ve been X-rayed and okayed, you won
’
t be going anywhere, so let that be clearly understood.
”

“
What in hades has it got to do with you?
”
The old arrogance was back in Piers
’
voice, even though he reached a little unsteadily for-support on the car door as he stood up.

“
I happen to be a doctor, which, if I may say so, was your good fortune,
”
the other man said.
“
Now you can walk as far as my car, I think. When I
’
ve settled you in safe hands I
’
ll instruct a garage to send out for your car. Mrs.—er—Merrick will of course accompany us.
”

This time Piers noticed the hesitation and his grin returned.

“
Oh, she
’
s my wife all right, but I can understand your confusion, Doctor. All will be revealed to you in the Sunday press, I don
’
t doubt,
”
he said ambiguously, but he allowed himself to be helped into the doctor
’
s car without further protest, and lay back with closed eyes.

“
You
’
re remarkably calm, Cinderella,
”
he observed to Lou sitting silently beside him.
“
No feminine tears? No expressions of thankfulness that you
’
re not so soon a widow?
”

“
Your wife has an admirable control of her feelings,
”
the doctor snapped from the driving seat. He did not understand the reactions of this uncomfortable pair, presumably on the first stage of their honeymoon, and was anxious to be rid of them.

“
Yes, hasn
’
t she?
”
Piers rejoined, adding in a
soft aside that only Lou could hear:
“
Or perhaps she just doesn
’
t care. That could be it, couldn
’
t it, Cinderella?
”

“
I wish,
”
said Lou, beginning to feel very tired and inclined to be tearful after all,
“
you wouldn
’
t go on calling me that. It isn
’
t true any
longer, anyway.
”

“
No, I suppose it isn
’
t. The slipper having fitted, the kitchenmaid becomes a princess.
”

“
I was never a kitchenmaid,
”
Lou protested with the unthinking absurdity of someone too exhausted to be rational any longer.

“
Don
’
t be so literal—or so sharp, my poor child,
”
he retorted, but she found her hand suddenly taken in a clasp of assurance.
“
Our good Samaritan will think we
’
re quarrelling.
”

The doctor did, although, he could not hear what they said above the noise of the engine. His first suspicions of Lou were, perforce, laid to rest, but he found himsel
f
taking a profound dislike to this dark, bitter-tongued fellow who claimed to be her husband. He was not at all sure that the girl hadn
’
t been suffering from shock, after all, declaring half
-
wittedly that she didn
’
t know where they were going to, and apparently more concerned about a cat
’
s color than her bridegroom
’
s lucky escape. He wished the hospital staff joy of them; young Merrick, he shrewdly suspected, was too accustomed to getting his own way to be detained against his will without creating a scene.