"Your mobile is going crazy." Alyssa told Eleanor, leaning over her shoulder where the princess was sitting next to the Japanese princess and across from Kate. They were at Buckingham Palace for a state dinner for the Japanese Emperor. Eleanor made eyes at Kate, shrugging and excused herself. They were just starting the third course. Eleanor held out her hand to take the phone from Alyssa and both women stepped out into the hallway outside the ballroom.
She unlocked it and there were five missed calls, two from David, one from Tom, who had the weekend off, and two from unknown numbers. She called back to David, and a woman answered.
"David?" Eleanor asked, confused.
"Is this, uh, Ellie?" The woman asked, hesitating. When she replied that it was, the voice on the other end revealed herself to be Vicki. Eleanor heard her exhale loudly. There was a lot of background noise wherever Vicki was and Eleanor moved farther down the hall to hear better.
"Vicki? Where...where is David?" Eleanor asked, trying to stay calm. "Why do you have his mobile?"
"David...David was...he's in hospital. They think-" Vicki told her, but Eleanor didn't hear the rest. She swung back around to Alyssa. She covered the mouthpiece and spoke with her assistant.
"Get me a car." She said firmly. Then, she got back on the line with Vicki, asking which hospital and telling her that she would be there as soon as possible. Eleanor's palms were sweating, her heart racing. Alyssa was on her cell, getting the car brought around, and she soon hung up, nodding at Eleanor. "Help me get the tiara off." She bent a bit so Alyssa could get at the pins and soon the heavy piece was off, Alyssa holding it with two hands.
"What about...everything else?" Alyssa asked, motioning with the tiara at Eleanor's ensemble. She had on a long, strapless, blue lace gown, her mum's diamond and sapphire necklace and diamond studs the size of pences.
"I need to go. Just give the tiara to Kate and tell her I'll text her." With that, Eleanor lifted her train and headed for the car. She gave the driver the address in Shoreditch and texted Kate while they drove. Claude was in the passenger and a trailing vehicle behind them.
"What are we doing, your highness?" Claude asked, turning to face her. She was staring out the window, hitting her mobile into the palm of her hand, mind racing. He had to be okay. Claude asked her again when he received no reply.
"David's been hurt, that's all I know." As she said it, she remembered the missed call from Tom, so she called him back, but before he spoke, they had arrived, so she hung up, saying she would call back. Eleanor was out of the car before Claude could even unbuckle his seatbelt.
I'm here. She texted Vicki to David's number and she said to meet her at the A&E. Her hands were shaking by now and the stares she was getting weren't helping. The officers from the trailing vehicle were surrounding her to minimize exposure, but it was quite the scene.
She had seen pictures of Vicki and saw her one time from the car, but even though they had never met, she was able to find her immediately. The blond's eyes went wide when she saw Eleanor.
"This isn't how I'd pictured us meeting." Vicki smiled sadly. Her blue eyes were rimmed in red and they moved off of Eleanor as she noticed all of the protection officers.
"I...I rushed from a…a dinner." She replied, smiling as well, trying to minimize the absurdity of it all. Vicki motioned them to chairs on the edge of the room and Eleanor realized that there were other police there, all in SO19 uniforms. They were all staring at her, whispering and motioning. Before Vicki could speak again, Claude came up.
"Maybe we can get you into a more...private location?"
"No." Eleanor replied, turning back to Vicki. "Please tell me what's going on."
"I'm not exactly sure, but they called me saying he had been hurt. They called his mum, but she's in Scotland, so she called me.
"They wouldn't tell me anything, since I'm not his emergency contact on his work papers, but they told me to come. When I got here, they gave me his wallet and mobile, so I was able to call you. I spoke with some of the officers, but they won't say. I think it might be something sensitive?"
Eleanor nodded. She reached out for Vicki's hand and thanked her for everything. Then, she sat back in the chair to wait, talking to Vicki about the children and David and her job. The protection team had moved to the edges of the room, just Claude hovering close. She answered a text from Kate, telling her that there was nothing, and stood, restless and impatient.
"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" She asked Vicki. "I'm going to see if someone can get me a coke…"
One of the officers went to get them their drinks and Eleanor took a chance to approach the front desk, her high heels clicking on the floor, her gown swishing, Claude shadowing.
"Excuse me, is there any word on David Budd?" Eleanor asked, her hands on the desktop. The nurse slowly looked up from the computer, gaping at her. "I'm...I'm his girlfriend."