“Why?” she asked Adam.
“Says he doesn’t believe in drugs.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s rather stubborn.”
Pierre caught Liam’s eye and they both burst out laughing. “So, you noticed?” she asked the doctor. “Because he makes granite rocks look soft.”
“Hello,” a voice said from behind them.
Pierre turned before she could stop herself. Gabriel stood just inside the kitchen door, pulling on a wool jumper over a t-shirt. A tight-fitting tee, she couldn’t help noticing.
“Emmet.” Cook beamed. “My word, you’re all down for an early brekkie.”
His eyes swept the kitchen and settled on Pierre. “I was going out for a walk, but it takes a stronger man than me to resist the smell of baking bread,” he said, coming in.
“Scrambled eggs and sausages, isn’t it?” Cook asked him.
“Anything is fine. I can’t believe you’re up and cooking so early.” He pulled a chair and took a seat opposite Pierre.
“Breakfast is usually at eight, but we’ve had a busy night with Lord M,” Nurse Ann said. “Have you met him yet?”
“No.” He looked from Nurse Ann to Liam. “Is he someone to fear?”
“You have no idea.” Liam chuckled. “When I started working here, he didn’t talk to me for three months. Every time I walked into his room, he would turn his head away and ask Ann to get rid of” – Liam mimed inverted commas – “that useless little boy.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened.
Ann laughed. “That’s nothing. You should ask Millie. When she started working here, he would ask her every morning ‘What are you still doing here when I quite clearly told you to bugger off?’ Poor Millie put up with a lot.”
“Isn’t she marrying his son in a few weeks?”
“She is, but after a long struggle. A lot of work went into bringing that relationship to a happy ending.”
Gabriel accepted a cup of tea from Nurse Ann. “Well, he’s an old man and he’s entitled to be set in his ways. If he thinks his son is marrying someone…erm…not quite of the right …” He was clearly struggling to find a tactful way of saying George was marrying beneath him.
All conversation stopped. Pierre could see compressed lips and silent anger all around the table.
She remembered Nicole’s words last night about George marrying “a waitress.” Millie’s loving face and gentle smile floated across Pierre’s mind, and she fought the impulse to spring to Millie’s defence.
Nurse Ann was always the outspoken one who said it like it was. She took her glasses off and rubbed them vigorously on a napkin as if she had a vendetta against them. “I knew Millie from the day she first arrived here, three years ago,” she said, speaking slowly and deliberately, each word like a bullet. “And a classier young lady I’ve never known. If anyone is marrying up, it’s George. He’s lucky she’s accepted him.”
Gabriel looked from one face to another; no one met his eyes. He must have felt the disapproval in waves because his smile faltered before he managed to get it back in place. He coughed awkwardly then pushed his chair back. “Perhaps I’ll go for that walk.”
“Wait!” Pierre said before she could stop herself.
Gabriel paused, one hand on the back of his chair, his eyes warm on her.
She shoved her hand into the pocket of her skirt. “I have your phone.”
“Thank you.” He reached for it, but she didn’t let go immediately. He mind was working furiously; surely there must be something she could do to smooth things over.
In the end it was Liam who came to the rescue. “We all love Millie very much, but no one loves her more than Lord M. He dotes on her.”
There were nods all around the table.
“I’m so sorry,” Gabriel said, his tone easy and friendly. “Please forgive my stupid—”
“It’s okay.” Liam moved the chair back inviting Gabriel to return to the table. “You don’t know her. Trust me when you meet her, you’ll understand.”
Gabriel sat back down. “Thank you for explaining this to me. I’m new here and it’s easy to get all the names muddled up.”
