At that point,Gwen didn’t know what had happened, and she didn’t care. In fact,she was incapable of caring or dealing with anything. All she knewwas she had almost gotten left behind. She would have been lost.Anyone else might think it simple to find their way out of thisendless labyrinth of tunnels, but to someone who suffered fromanxiety, that scenario would have felt like the end of the world.Unable to cope with such a thought, she simply shut her eyes andbreathed Crispin’s familiar scent into her lungs. All else ceasedto exist. The only thing that mattered was the comforting darknessthat enveloped her. He was holding her so tight, and she wasgrateful for it, but for a split second, she wondered about thefate of their luggage.
“Shh... I’ve got you,” he whispered as both their heartsthumped wildly in their chests. “And our cases,” he added when hereyes darted around them. “God, I nearly lost you.” His words hither like a ton of bricks and at the weight of them, her kneesthreatened to give out. If it were not for his steady grip aroundher shoulders, she would have dropped to the ground. Of that, Gwenhad no doubt.
How absolutelyexhilarating, thought Crispin. As tired, fed up, and ready to getto the inn as he was, he felt awesome. This travelling thing surehad a way of keeping his thoughts in the present. In fact, hehadn’t felt this alive in months.
For a second,he rested his head on hers and gave himself a moment. What hadhappened back there? Why had she frozen? She was no longer on theplane. She couldn’t blame it on her fear of flying. All he knew wasshe was presently clinging to him like her life depended on it andfor that reason alone, he allowed it. Soon enough, he snapped outof his thoughts as the train slowed down and prepared to stop.
“Finally,” Crispin muttered, relieved when they arrived atVictoria Station. “Come on, we’re here.”
Chapter 10
Having had amoment to collect her thoughts, Gwen took a deep breath and quicklyfollowed Crispin’s lead off the train. She sighed with relief athaving arrived at their final stop. But seconds later, her reliefwas overshadowed by the very real prospect of what lay ahead of hernext. For starters, Victoria Station was huge! Along with thecrowds of people, the place was bustling with sounds and activityof the likes she had never known. She wasn’t quite sure what shehad been expecting but this was not it. The closest comparison shehad ever known to a place like this was Toronto’s Union Station andthat was no way near as overwhelming as London’s VictoriaStation.
“Okay, young miss, where do we go from here?” Crispin askedwhen they arrived at street level. “Which exit?” He looked aroundat all the people, the shops, the signs before looking at Gwen.When she only stared blankly at him, he frowned and called her namea few times until she snapped out of her trance.
“Yes, of course, sorry.”
“Don’t apologize, just tell me where to go next.”
Once again, shereined in her building anxiety and focused on the task at hand.“Umm... my itinerary.” She searched her pocket for her scribblednote. She was trying very hard to hide her confusion from Crispin.She felt awful already for messing up the start of their journey.He was waiting for her instruction as was part of their deal andall she could do was stare at the little piece of paper.
“Well?”
Gwenrobotically read out her writing. “We... um... we have to exit ontoBuckingham Palace Road and cross at the pedestrian crossing, turnto the left and then take a right onto Lower Belgrave Street. Turnleft at the traffic lights onto Ebury Street and follow the roadfor approximately 200 metres until you reach the Lemon Tree Inn onyour left.”
Again, Crispinfrowned. He hadn’t heard a word she’d said, her voice was so low.Plus the noise all around them was not helping. Frustrated, hegestured for her to follow him as he strode toward a quieter area.When he turned his attention back to Gwen, he could tell by thelook on her face that she was seconds away from falling apart. Shemust be exhausted, he surmised. One cross word from him at thatmoment and she would be in tears. Of this, he was sure, and onceagain, he reined in his temper. Resting the suitcases to the side,he placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned in and waited whileshe recited the instructions in the shakiest of voices. This wasnot getting them anywhere.
He then verygently took the little note from her hands and read it himself. Heglanced around the station and checked for signs. Tucking it intohis pocket, he looked back at Gwen. At the sight of heruncertainty, he couldn’t resist the urge to slide his hand onto hershoulder, near to her neck, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. Ather deep intake of breath, Crispin quirked an eyebrow and asked,“What can I do for you?”
At hisunexpected kind words, Gwen bit her bottom lip and leaned her faceinto his hand. How had he known to say that? More beautiful words,he couldn’t have spoken at that moment in time. When she couldn’tfind a way to respond without giving into tears, he gave her cheekthe slightest tweak and took charge of the situation.
At the stab ofunexpected emotion in his chest, Crispin gave his head a quickshake. Rather than admit he was falling for her helpless littleact, he blamed it on exhaustion.
“Right then, let’s do this.” He grabbed up their suitcases andstarted off in any old direction looking for a sign pointing themtoward Buckingham Palace Road. After a few steps, he paused,looking over his shoulder, concern all over his face. The girl waswhiter than a sheet. Clearly, she would not last muchlonger.
“Come, I believe a drink is in order.” This arrangement,whatever it was, was not working out. He had now lost all hispatience with the entire situation and she was not helping hercause one bit. Luckily, there was a bar in the
