Page 17 of Mayfair Madame (Mayfair Heights #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Ellie

W hen I walked into the office the following day, I didn’t expect the standing ovation or the pats on the back as I made my way to my desk.

“Here she is. Our little hero.” Josh beamed and vigorously shook my hand.

“Fuck off with the little,” I muttered, embarrassed by the attention. I’d only been doing my job.

“News travels quickly, and when one of our own performs an act of heroism, we’re going to celebrate it.”

“Please say there’s no cake.” I groaned.

“Nah, we’re not that organised, but you did good yesterday, Ellie. I’m proud of you.”

“I was only doing my job.” I uttered the same words I’d told everyone yesterday, including Naomi.

“Eh, maybe, but you saved a man’s life. That’s something to be proud of.”

“Can we, you know, just get on with today and forget that even happened?” I loathed attention of any type, especially since I was just doing my job. How many times did I have to say?

“Okay, okay. How was your weekend other than that? How was the date with Naomi?”

“Can we not? I’m tired and just want to get on. Maybe later.”

I’d barely slept the night before. I’d arrived home, showered, and gone to bed, hoping to sleep, but my brain had other ideas.

Flashbacks of the weekend invaded my thoughts—Naomi, Saturday night, my eating habits, and of course, my unexpected dip into the cool water of the Serpentine.

I’d finally fallen asleep, only to wake an hour later in a cold sweat. The details of the nightmare faded the moment I opened my eyes, but I knew without a doubt I’d been terrified. My heart raced a million miles a minute, and the stench of dirty water filled my nose.

I might have been brave, as everyone kept saying, but I’d been fucking stupid. What the fuck had I been thinking? The guy would have made three of me, yet I dived in without a thought for my own life, to save his.

Josh brought me back to the present.

“Of course. We’ve a couple of cases to look at, but nothing important. We’d best start with coffee.”

I smiled, grateful he wasn’t pushing the issue.

“I’ll get it. You rest your old bones.” I pushed away from the desk, and a wave of dizziness washed over me. My eyes blurred, and bile crept up my throat. Fuck, what was wrong with me?

“Are you okay, Ellie? You don’t look so good.” Josh’s hand landed on my arm.

I shook my head, my eyes finally able to focus on the papers in front of me. “I’m fine. Just tired, like I said.”

But as I walked towards the coffee machine, the room spun, and I stumbled. Tiredness, that was all it was. I’d been tired before. Fuck, I’d been on stakeouts and stayed up for thirty-six hours straight.

The weekend had been exhausting in many ways; it had to be that.

I stood with my eyes closed for a few seconds more until eventually, everything settled, my sight and my stomach.

Perhaps it was the pizza? It’d been a while since I’d eaten that much in one sitting. It was probably that.

I took a steadying breath and survived making coffee for us both.

“Let’s get on.” I smiled, but deep down my stomach roiled. I fought the urge to vomit, and as the day progressed, it became harder to do.

By lunchtime, I couldn’t contain it any longer and ran to the toilets, barely making it in time.

I heaved and wretched, my stomach empty except for the coffee I’d drunk earlier. What the fuck was wrong with me?

My skin felt clammy, hot to the touch. Perspiration wet my brow, but I couldn’t stop the shivers that wracked my body.

Something wasn’t right.

I dialled Josh’s number. “Hey. Where did you get to? One minute you were here. The next you were gone.”

“I’m in the ladies’ loo. I need help.” The phone fell out of my limp fingers to the floor. My arms felt like wet noodles. All my strength had left me. I leant against the wall of the toilet stall and tried to catch my breath.

Was I having a panic attack, or was it something more? I closed my eyes, bright lights pulsed behind my lids, pain keeping time with each flash.

They flew open as the door banged open, and Josh was on me in an instant.

“I’ve got you. Let’s get you up off this floor.” He bent to lift me, his brawny arms wrapped tightly around me. He half carried me to the sink, and I spluttered as cold water splashed on my face.

“You look terrible. What’s wrong? Does something hurt?”

“Sick,” I croaked. “Feel sick, headache, dizzy.”

I slumped in his arms, feeling worse than I’d felt in a long time.

“We need to get you home.”

“I’m okay.” I tried to stand but my knees buckled.

“Nope. Home time for you, young lady. How did you get here today?”

“Tube, walked.” Why was talking so hard, and why were my words slurred?

Another person appeared. “I think we need to call an ambulance,” Josh said. “Her pulse is erratic, her words slurred. Something’s not right.”

“I’m okay.” I tried to say, but no words came out.

“She’s losing consciousness. Let’s get her somewhere she can lie down.”

Arms roughly manhandled me. One set under my arms, the other at my feet. A few moments later, I lay on a softer surface, a cool cloth now on my head.

“Her temperature’s spiking. Ellie… Ellie… Have you taken anything?”

My mouth felt full of cotton wool. No words came out.

“Fuck. How long will the paramedics be?”

Who were all these people?

“Five minutes out.” Another voice said.

“Stay with me, Ellie. Ellie, don’t you go anywhere.”

The voices quietened, the lights faded, and the world went black.

The jolt of a vehicle as it came to a halt woke me. Doors flew open, muffled voices gave orders, and I was wheeled into a building, then a curtained cubicle surrounded by people in scrubs.

“Do you know what happened to her?” a voice asked.

“No clue. One minute she seemed fine. The next she called me to say she needed help. I found her slumped on the bathroom floor.” Josh? What was he doing here?

“Has she taken anything?” Another voice, one I didn’t recognise.

“Not that I know of. I don’t think she does drugs or anything. I’ve not really known her that long.”

“Okay, well, if you’d like to step back while we work on her. We’ll let you know how she’s doing.”

Machines beeped, and voices spoke, but nothing was clear. Why couldn’t Josh have just taken me home? This was far too much fuss, but once again, I faded into oblivion.

The next time I woke, the room was quiet. I cracked open one eye. The room was dim, thank God. I wasn’t sure I could stand the bright lights. My head still pounded. The flashing lights I’d experienced earlier had gone, though.

I could murder a drink. I tried to sit, and instantly a hand took mine.

“There she is. My own Ellie Sharpe.” Naomi’s beautiful face looked down on me. What the hell was she doing here?

Not that I cared. She was a sight for sore eyes.

“Naomi? Why…”

“Shhh, don’t speak. Here, drink this.”

A small straw met my lips, and with effort, I managed a sip, then another.

“You gave us all quite a scare. Never a dull moment with us. First my assault, then the rescue, and now here you are in hospital. I said you should have gone, but you’re stubborn when you want to be. Now close your eyes and rest. The doctors said it’s the best thing for you.”

I squeezed her hand to let her know I’d heard her as once again, my eyes drifted closed, her hand still clasped in mine.

The next time I woke, sunlight streamed through the small window, brightening the room.

I felt much better than yesterday. The headache lingered but was bearable, and the nausea I’d been fighting had almost gone. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the pain I felt was down to hunger, nothing else.

I turned my head. Naomi was scrunched up in the small chair, her legs tucked beneath her. Her eyes twitched as she slept, but I didn’t imagine she’d got much. It wasn’t an ideal place to sleep.

I fidgeted in the bed. God, I needed to pee.

Was that a bathroom through that door? If I could just get out of bed. I raised my head and a wave of dizziness hit me. Nope. I was going to need help.

A buzzer rested by my hand, and by some stroke of luck, I pushed the right one to summon a nurse.

“You’re awake, then. We thought you were some sleeping beauty,” the nurse said.

“It’s only been a day.”

“Two. It’s been two days since you were admitted, and your friend here hasn’t left your side for a moment. We said we’d call her the moment you woke, but she was having none of it.”

A mumble from Naomi drew my attention. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, then stretched. The T-shirt she wore rode up to reveal a sliver of dark flesh. With an adorable sigh, she settled back down in the chair and went back to sleep.

“I need to pee,” I whispered to the nurse, not wanting to wake Naomi.

“I’ll get you a bedpan.”

“No, I don’t want one of those. I want to go to the toilet. I was dizzy when I tried to get up.”

“You will be, but let’s see if we can get you out of bed.”

With a struggle, a shuffle, and a lot of support, I made it to the toilet. I sighed, finally relieved. I didn’t feel great, but I felt better than I had two days ago.

Two fucking days. How had that happened, and what was wrong with me?

By the time we arrived back in the room, Naomi was awake. I collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted from such a brief excursion to the bathroom.

“We’ve all been worried.” The nurse left, leaving the two of us. Naomi sat on the edge of the bed and took my hand in hers.

“What happened?” I croaked, my throat sore and scratchy. If I could have stuck my fingers down there and scratched, I would have.

“The doctors seem to think you picked up an infection from the water. They’ve been treating you with antibiotics.”

“An infection?” People swam in the lake all the time. How had I got so ill?

“More likely a bacterium, but you’re responding well. I would imagine you’ll be able to go home soon.”

“I… I don’t understand.” I rubbed my brow. This was all too much to take in.

“You don’t need to understand right now, Ellie. You need to concentrate on regaining your strength. Now, I can grab some clothes from your place if you want, or you can travel in this rather fetching hospital gown. What do you want to do?”

Fuck, I couldn’t let her see my place. I’d barely cleaned up since the weekend, the discarded clothes from Friday evening still stuffed in a pile on the floor.

God, no.

“I’ll find something,” I said, even though I knew that would not happen.

“Of course. I forgot the hospital has its own clothes shop now.” She glared at me, one eyebrow raised and a small smile on her lips.

I sighed. “Okay, but don’t look at the mess. I didn’t have time to tidy.”

“Ellie, Ellie, Ellie. I don’t care about that. Where are your keys? Now I know you’re awake and well, I’ll stop by your place to pick up some stuff.”

Keys. A good question. Where were they, and what happened to my phone? Last thing I recalled was dropping it on the floor in the bathroom.

“I don’t know where anything is,” I whispered. “I don’t even remember getting here.”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out. I doubt you’ll be leaving today, anyway. I’ll ask the nurse when she gets back. They’ll know. For now, you still need to be resting, my love.”

My love. My heart swelled at the endearment, but my stomach growled louder. Hunger gnawed at my insides. It had been days since I’d last eaten.

Naomi stroked my face. “What can I get you, baby? You name it, and I’ll get it brought to you.”

“I would love a slice of hot buttered toast.” I didn’t think I could stomach anything more. My mum would always feed it to us when we were unwell, that and a glass of blackcurrant squash.

It was the strangest things you remembered.

“Lie back, and I’ll find some for you.”

“What time is it?”

“A little after eight. They’ll be bringing breakfast by soon, but if not, I’ll go find you some. Don’t go anywhere.” She placed a small kiss in the centre of my forehead and I watched as she left the room.

That woman could wear a black plastic bag and look amazing. Here was I looking like something the cat had dragged in. Insecure thoughts reared their ugly head again, but for once, I tamped them down.

She wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want to be. She had a business to run, but instead of staying at home in her swanky penthouse suite, she’d spent the last few days here, waiting for me to wake up. Kate would never have done that, but then Naomi was nothing like my ex.

Naomi liked me for who I was. She didn’t care about how I looked, and for once in my life, someone other than my family cared for me.

A sob caught in my throat. Unbidden, tears fell and wet my cheeks. Emotions I’d bottled inside for years surfaced, and for the next few minutes, I cried, purging the fears and anxiety I’d lived with.

Finally, they subsided, and when Naomi returned with my hot buttered toast, I smiled at the woman who had stolen my heart in such a short space of time.

“You okay there, Ellie Sharpe?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Just perfect.”