talk would have to wait until after this operation. But Oliver was determined to sit down and talk to Ella properly and find out what she wanted—and, with any luck, it would be the same thing that he wanted. And then they could move forward properly. Together.
Thankfully, delivering the baby and the placenta stopped the bleeding, so he didn’t have to give Courtney a hysterectomy. And their little girl, although tiny and in need of a day or two in the neonatal unit, looked as if she was going to do very well indeed.
Once he’d finished the operation and Courtney had gone through to the recovery room, he was on his own with Ella.
‘Can we take ten minutes?’ he asked. ‘I’ll buy you a cup of tea, if you like.’
‘Thanks, but I need to be elsewhere,’ she said. ‘I promised to help Jennie with her studies.’
Again? His heart sank. This sounded like another evasion tactic. Maybe he was wrong about this after all, and she didn’t want the same thing that he did. ‘Ella, I think we need to talk.’
‘No need,’ she said with a brisk smile. ‘Everything’s fine.’
He didn’t think so; and, from the expression in her eyes, neither did she.
‘How about dinner tonight?’
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I really do have to go.’
Which left Oliver to walk back to his office alone.
He sat at his desk, trying to concentrate on his pile of admin, and wondering how everything between him and Ella had gone so wrong. Was it his imagination, or was she finding excuses to be anywhere but near him?
And how was he ever going to persuade her to give him a chance?
He was beginning to think that he needed a Christmas miracle. Except they were in very short supply, and in any case he ought to be able to sort this out on his own.
‘YOU LOOK TERRIBLE, ELLA,’ Annabelle informed her best friend. ‘Rough night?’
‘I’m fine,’ Ella fibbed.
‘I’ve known you for a lot of years now,’ Annabelle said softly, ‘and you’re not fine. What’s wrong?’
Ella grimaced. It was all so complicated. Where did she even start?
‘That was a pretty stupid question,’ Annabelle said. ‘Obviously it’s Oliver.’
‘Not so much Oliver as his family,’ Ella admitted.
Annabelle winced. ‘I thought you said Thursday night went OK?’
‘Bits of it did,’ Ella said. ‘His brother’s nice, and so is his sister-in-law.’
‘So the problem’s his parents?’
Ella nodded miserably. But she couldn’t tell Annabelle the whole story. It wasn’t hers to tell, and it wouldn’t be fair to break Oliver’s confidence; Ella was the only person in the department who knew about his background. But she could tell Annabelle some of it, and maybe Annabelle would have some ideas about how to deal with it. ‘His mum wants me to have a paternity test.’
‘What?’ Annabelle looked shocked. ‘That’s ridiculous.’
But it didn’t bother Ella anywhere near as much as the other thing that the Countess had suggested. ‘And she wants Oliver to have custody of the baby.’
Annabelle frowned. ‘What does Oliver say about it?’
‘He doesn’t know,’ Ella admitted. ‘He wasn’t there when she said it.’
‘Then talk to him about it. Tell him what she said.’
‘That’s the problem. I can’t,’ Ella said. ‘He doesn’t get on that well with his parents.’
‘Then obviously he’ll take your side. And no way is he going to take the baby from you.’
Oh, but he could. Especially if she had a boy and Prue had a girl—because then Ella’s baby could be the future Earl of Darrington. But explaining that wouldn’t be fair to Oliver. ‘It’s complicated,’ Ella hedged. ‘And I don’t want to make things worse between Oliver and his parents. It wouldn’t be fair to make him choose sides.’
‘Talk to him,’ Annabelle advised. ‘And if Oliver Darrington’s even half the man I think he is, he’ll tell his mother to back off and to start treating you with a bit of courtesy.’
‘I’m not even officially his girlfriend,’ Ella pointed out.
‘He took you to meet his family. Which he wouldn’t have done if he wasn’t serious about trying to make a go of things with you,’ Annabelle countered.
But Oliver hadn’t said anything about his feelings. And Ella didn’t want to try to make a go of it just for the sake of the baby. Sienna’s words rang all too true: It’s much better for a baby to have one parent who really loves them, than two who fight all the time.
But, before she and Annabelle could discuss it any more, Jennie rushed over to them. ‘Ella, you’re needed in Room One,’ she said. ‘It’s Georgina.’
‘Georgina? As in Georgie, our mum-to-be with quads?’ Ella asked. Georgina was one of Ella’s special patients; after IVF treatment, the two embryos implanted had each split into identical twins, so Georgina was expecting quadruplets. ‘But she’s not due in for another appointment until next week.’
‘She thinks she’s in labour,’ Jennie said.
It was way too early for Georgina to be in labour. ‘I’m coming now,’ Ella said. She squeezed Annabelle’s hand. ‘Thanks for letting me talk. I’ll catch up with you later.’
‘Sure. Call me if you need anything.’
‘I will,’ Ella promised.
She went into Room One, where Georgina was sitting on the bed, looking worried. The younger woman’s face brightened when she saw Ella.
‘How are you doing, Georgie?’ Ella asked.
‘A bit scared. I think I’m in labour,’ Georgina said.
‘Is Leo not with you?’ Georgina’s partner had been to every single appointment with her.
‘He’s in New York. I called him and he’s getting the first plane back.’ Georgina bit her lip. ‘Mum’s got the vomiting bug that’s going round, and she doesn’t want to give it to me, or she’d be here to hold my hand—but she’s texted me a dozen times since I told her I was coming in.’
But texting wasn’t the same as having someone with you, especially if you were scared, Ella knew. ‘OK. Let’s have a look at what your lovely babies are up to,’
