‘She’s more likely to have left me a whole load of responsibility of some sort or another. Somehow, since I’ve chatted with Miss Paling I’m beginning to worry as to exactly what she did mean when she referred to her “dearest possession”. Could be any one of a thousand things.’
‘Sister! Would you please come and take a look at Mrs. Bredon?’
Nurse Bagshaw looked a little frightened and distressed and Joy rose at once.
‘I’ll be back in a moment, Staff,’ she spoke over her shoulder, ‘then we can finish going through those lists.’
There wasn’t much time to spare, after all, during the afternoon. What had promised to be a fairly peaceful day was shattered by one event after another, and when at long last young Cadet Nurse Lenton brought in Joy’s afternoon tea, she was only too happy to sit back and relax for those few minutes it would take to drink the welcome brew.
‘I should open it now.’ Marcia lifted her own cup and fixed an interested gaze on the bulge of the letter Joy still carried unopened. ‘I honestly don’t know how you can sit there so calmly, when for all you know you might have in your pocket the key to a lifetime of ease and leisure!’
‘I hardly think so,’ Joy laughed, but the temptation was great, there was no denying the truth of that statement. ‘Well,’ she said reluctantly, ‘just a peep I By the look of the envelope it’ll take me hours to get through all this. I ought to save it until this evening.’
‘I’d be consumed with curiosity,’ was Marcia’s only comment, and with a half-stifled laugh at her own feelings of guilt, Joy took the letter into her hands and began to tear the thick, heavily gummed flap.
She was quite right in her assumption that there would be a great deal to read through, but as she scanned the first of the pages she gave a startled little gasp.
‘What is it?’ Marcia was agog with curiosity. ‘Anything good?’
‘Just a large house,’ Joy said faintly, ‘with, it seems, an equally large garden, with a view of the sea and the shore which, so Miss Barnes had written, can’t be beaten anywhere along the coast. She’s left me the house and grounds, the contents and sufficient money to attend to the upkeep, the rates and all that sort of thing. It’s in the form of an annuity of five hundred pounds a year, and she says it will last until I can pass it on to someone else. There’s an elderly couple who’ve looked after her house and garden, and who’ve cared for Miss Barnes and her sisters for as long as they can remember. She says her father promised them they’d have “shelter and care” to the end of their days, so whatever they’re like they’ll have to stay.’
‘And what about the sisters?’ Marcia asked quickly. ‘Are they in a nursing home or something?’
‘Dead,’ Joy was still scanning the letter. ‘It says here ... “now that I am the last of the family”, so they must be.’
‘Very interesting, Sister Benyon, I agree.’ Matron’s cool tones brought Joy, scarlet-faced, to her feet, and she flung a quick look in Marcia’s direction which the girl correctly interpreted as ‘make yourself scarce ‘, and which she needed no second instruction to obey.
‘I was just scanning Miss Barnes’s letter as I drank my tea,’ she was beginning, but Matron cut in almost at once.
‘There will be ample time for that later,’ she said quietly, ‘when you have left the hospital precincts. In the meantime, I suggest you take the letter to your wardrobe and lock it up, then it will not remain as a continual temptation to you, not being close at hand. There is just one other point.’ She raised her hand as Joy was about to apologize. ‘You were barely on time this morning, as I saw from my window. That is why I am, as you are well aware, strongly opposed to my nursing staff living out of the Nurses’ Home. I realize quite well how difficult it must be for you always to get away in sufficient time to arrive at the hospital early, but I would like you, for the future, to make a little more concentrated effort to do so.’
She sailed majestically from the office, and Joy, her cheeks still burning, hurried to the Sisters’ cloakroom to put away the offending epistle. Fortunately everything in the ward was in order, and having had a word with the patient she had come especially to see, Matron left, her face impassive as usual, but Joy felt angry with herself for yielding to Marcia’s pleas to know the contents of the letter, when it had really been against her own better judgement.
‘Was she very angry?’ Marcia whispered half an hour or so later as they worked together establishing a blood transfusion for Mrs. Potter, newly brought up from the theatre.
‘Not more than I expected her to be,’ Joy whispered back. ‘She mentioned that she saw I was barely on time this morning, which is true, but I thought it had passed undetected. I know she doesn’t like her staff living at home, but,’ she could not help the sigh as she thought of the chaos there had been that morning, ‘she simply doesn’t understand how difficult things can be when there’s a family to contend with and Cousin Emma isn’t feeling so good.’
‘Get another job,’ Marcia advised briskly. ‘I would. There are nurses wanted everywhere, and I don’t suppose Vanmouth is any exception to the rule! All you have to do is to give a month’s notice ... and you’ll have to do that, anyway, if you’re going to live in this house Miss Barnes left you! Or move into the Nurses’ Home and leave the family to fend for themselves by way of a change.’
‘I suppose I shall,’ Joy said slowly. ‘I hadn’t really got as far as thinking along those lines. It’s all too new. I hadn’t even thought about the fact there won’t be any more quarter days for the rent, either. If we do move, that is. And there isn’t much point in owning a house and having the rates paid for me if I don’t live in it, and all the family as well. There are some good schools and what-have-you in Vanmouth, I think,’ she began doubtfully. ‘There’s the problem of the twins completing their education. They’re both bright as buttons, and I’d hate to do anything to upset things for them. Then there’s Pete. He’s just beginning to earn himself something like a wage. He’s been a long time on what was merely pocket money, you know. And there’s Mother. She’s always wanted something she could do at home ... something in her own line, like a typing bureau or something. We’ve never been able to afford a room for her, and there certainly isn’t even a vacant corner in the house at Cranberry Terrace.’
‘You do meet your troubles halfway, I must-say,’ Marcia said meaningly. ‘I shouldn’t think about all that. I’d be off like a shot, and if the family know what’s good for them they’ll be along with you, you just see if they don’t. Anyhow, it can’t be like moving into the unknown. At least you’ll have Miss Barnes’ solicitor to advise you. I should take the plunge and hand in your notice. Vanmouth’s a lovely place. A little select and choosy, but a very pleasant place to live in, I should think. It ought to work wonders for that sister of yours. One never knows. The prospect of being able to walk along firm, golden sand whenever she felt like it might produce the impetus to try again which she seems to have been lacking for so long.’
There wasn’t time for any further conversation just then. In the usual manner of hospitals the world over, everything was geared to a timetable, a timetable which took emergencies and crises in its stride and expected the staff to be able to do the same thing. The remainder of the afternoon wore by at an amazing speed, but whenever she had a few seconds in which she could think of her own concerns, Joy found Marcia’s words returning to her, until by the time she came off duty at half past four she had made up her mind that it would be foolish not to take the advice of the other girl.
Her heart seemed to be playing tricks as she tapped on Matron’s door for the second time that afternoon. She need not have worried. Matron, having heard so much of what Mr. Belding had said to her, was not in the least surprised when Joy asked to give her month’s notice and said she would be leaving for Vanmouth as soon as was possible.
‘I expected you to do this, Sister,’ Matron sighed.. ‘I’m not in the least surprised, nor do I blame you. I have visited
Vanmouth on more than one occasion, and found it a delightfully unspoiled resort. I suppose you will continue to nurse?’
‘I hope so,’ Joy agreed. ‘I shall have to find out what hospitals there are in the area when I arrive.’
‘There is the small St Lucy’s at Vanmouth itself,’ Matron surprised her by saying. ‘And there is the larger General Hospital some miles out of the town. I should imagine it would be more convenient in your case if you could find employment at St Lucy’s. And I will certainly do anything I can to help. I might also add,’ she lifted her head and looked directly into Joy’s eyes, ‘that should you, at any time while I am still Matron here, wish to return to Wilborough General, we shall be delighted to have you with us again.’
‘Thank you, Matron. That’s very kind of you.’ Joy felt her colour rising again and was annoyed with herself. Why should she blush simply because Matron had been surprisingly and unexpectedly pleasant and understanding?
‘You are a good nursing Sister,’ Matron commented, rising from the chair behind her desk, an action which Joy correctly read as being an indication that the interview was at an end. ‘I have only one last word of advice,’ she concluded. ‘Beware that you don’t always allow your heart to rule your head! It is not always a wise thing to do when one is a member of our profession?’
‘I’ll remember, Matron,’ Joy promised, and even as she walked out of the hospital and across to where she saw Mr. Belding sitting at the wheel of an enormous saloon car, she was still wondering if, all the time she had been on Matron’s staff, she had been misjudging her when she had found herself full of resentment when she had been told off for just arriving on time, or for some little thing which might be held at her door because of her home circumstances.
‘You look worried, Sister Benyon.’ Jules Belding made the observation as he drove down the hill from the hospital and, following her directions, joined the main stream of traffic at its foot. ‘There isn’t anything wrong, I hope?’
Mr. Belding, probably by reason of his long association with the problems and worries of humanity in all phases and stages of life, seemed to invite confidences, and almost before she knew where she was Joy found herself telling him about how she had been ‘on trial,’ as it were, ever since she had arrived at Wilborough General.
‘I rather think Matron’s bark is worse than her bite,’ he observed, weaving his way through the tea-time traffic. ‘Before you joined us this afternoon, she was full of praise for the way in which you conducted your ward, for almost everything about you.’
‘Almost?’ Joy pounced on the one word. ‘What was wrong?’
‘Just what she has said to you now, my dear.’ Mr. Belding halted at the traffic lights. ‘You have a heart which, as Matron put it, would embrace the whole world, were it possible. That’s the sort of thing which leads to a heart being broken if you’re not very careful,’ he warned. ‘I’m not advising you to be hard or anything like that. You are the sort of person who couldn’t be, anyhow. But do try now and then to think a little of yourself! Now,’ he changed gear smartly and fell into line, ‘tell me about this little family of yours into whose midst you intend to thrust me, a stranger. And by the way,’ his shrewd grey eyes twinkled kindly, ‘have you any shopping you wish to do on your way home? I know the arrival of unexpected guests always results in my wife telephoning local shops at the last minute, despite the fact that there is always a large, well-stocked fridge and cupboards full of whatever she’s likely to need.’
‘I did want to get something from the supermarket at the corner of Wigmore Street ... just round the next bend, and it’s the first shop on the corner of the junction, this side.’
‘And I see we are allowed a parking time of twenty minutes.’ Mr. Belding scanned the notice and switched off the engine, not two yards from the shop. ‘Take your time,’ he advised. ‘Do you require any help?’
‘No, thank you,’ Joy assured him, but she was smiling to herself as she entered the supermarket and picked up her little wire basket at the door. He was rather a pet, she thought as she went quickly to the counter where the cooked meats were kept. If fulfilling whatever trust Miss Barnes had placed with her entailed the use of a solicitor, then she knew it would have to be Mr. Belding and nobody else! There was something so reassuring and confident about him ... he gave a strange reality to the fantasy in which she seemed to have been living ever since she had heard of Miss Barnes and her will and her letter.
Her purchases made, she came out of the supermarket to find Mr. Belding engrossed in the day’s copy of the Financial Times. He folded his paper as she settled herself beside him, squinting appreciatively at the transparent bag of fresh mushrooms.
‘I hope you like them,’ Joy ventured. ‘Cousin Emma will never touch them. She’s always afraid of being poisoned, and whenever we eat them she’s always waiting anxiously for the first twenty-four hours to pass without incident, then she’s certain we’re all right.’
Mr. Belding chuckled appreciatively, smiling with the understanding smile she had already come to associate with him.
‘It’s quite understandable,’ he said tolerantly. ‘Accidents do happen, I suppose. But they are very rare these days, and I should say the possibility is ruled out completely when one buys these cultivated mushrooms. It was quite a likely happening, however, in the days when one depended entirely upon those growing wild in the fields and picked and packed by people who did not always know a mushroom from a toadstool. Yes,’ he finally got round to answering her question—‘I like them very much. I look upon them as one of my favourite foods, but I’m sorry to say Mrs. Belding doesn’t always agree with me.’
Chatting of this and that, of food and their likes and dislikes, they finally arrived at Cranberry Terrace. Feeling suddenly shy of announcing that she was some sort of heiress, no matter of how small an inheritance, Joy ushered her visitor into the house.
Lana had recovered from her rather soured humour of the morning, and, as always, when anyone strange arrived, set herself out to be as pleasant and attractive as only Lana knew how to be. As Joy and Emma hurried about preparing the meal, Lana talked to the solicitor, and by the time a key in the front door announced the return of Aileen, the twins at her heels, Mr. Belding was feeling almost like one of the family.
Everything was ready, the tea waiting in the teapot, when Pete, last always to return from his work of the day, came in, a look of surprise still on his good-natured young face as he pondered the large and impressive car outside their door. Introductions were quickly made, and Joy was grateful for the careful grounding in good manners which Aileen had given to each of her children. Everyone was obviously wondering why Joy had invited an unknown solicitor to share a meal with them, but everyone was too polite to ask questions. They were all waiting concealing their impatience as best they could, until she made her announcement.
No sooner had the creamed mushrooms and the cold chicken and fresh salad been served than Joy decided it was time to give them all a little idea of what had been happening.
‘Mr. Belding,’ she announced gravely, ‘has come to tell me that I’ve been left a house and garden, enough money to pay for its upkeep and some unknown special responsibilities ... at Vanmouth. And this afternoon I gave in my notice at the Wilborough General. I only hope there’ll be a place for me in one of the hospitals in or just outside Vanmouth!’
CHAPTER IV
There was a moment of complete silence as the family absorbed the unexpected and exciting news. Then it seemed that everyone’s tongue began to wag at once, but as was their long-standing custom, as soon as Aileen began to speak the others lapsed into silence, leaving it for her to ask the questions trembling on their lips.
‘Why?’ Aileen asked first. ‘And whom, Joy? One of your ex-patients, I take it?’
‘That’s right. You remember I told you about Miss Barnes who was with us some months ago? She’s left me her house in Vanmouth—Fernbank is its name—with a garden and an annuity of five h
undred pounds, which will more than keep the place in repair, pay the rates and so on, and a few responsibilities which I’m not certain about at the moment but which will no doubt be explained in this letter’—she took it from her bag on the floor at her feet—‘which Mr. Belding brought to me at the hospital this afternoon.’
‘Then perhaps Mr. Belding will be kind enough to tell us a little about both the house, Vanmouth and Miss Barnes while you read your letter and learn your new responsibilities,’ Aileen suggested, ‘then we can begin to make plans.’
‘It is by no means a new house,’ Mr. Belding began, ‘but a very solidly built Victorian house with a conservatory and a garden which has always been well tended and cared for. The house has been modernized as much as old Mr. Barnes thought it should be. That is, the electricity, plumbing and gas mains are sound enough and fairly new. There are three bathrooms. I think there are six bedrooms and four large airy rooms downstairs with a sizable kitchen as well. The interior decorations are not so modern as your own.’ He glanced round appreciatively at the light paint and paper with which Aileen and Pete, with the help of the twins, had used throughout the house. ‘But there is nothing else wrong with the place in any way at all. From the garden there is a good view down to the sea, but Mr. Barnes had a high hedge built some years ago, and it is necessary to stand at the little gate in the hedge to get the view, unless,’ he smiled, ‘one is content to look through an upstairs window.’ He cleared his throat gently and smiled at the silent, beautiful Lana. ‘If I may say so, my dear,’ he offered, ‘the change of air, the new surroundings, might well work wonders where you are concerned. Vanmouth is a noted health resort, and with good reason.’
‘What about schools?’ That was Aileen, casting an anxious if loving glance at the twins. ‘They should be sitting their G.C.E. examinations early in June.’
‘There are some excellent schools in Vanmouth,’ Mr. Belding assured her gravely. ‘As to the examination, that, I suppose, depends on whether they have been working on the same syllabus as the school to which they will, we presume, be changing. If I might make a suggestion, I should have a word with their present headmaster and ask him to get in touch with the examining board in question. I know the Vanmouth Technical College caters for about eight boards altogether, so maybe they would be sent there for the actual examinations when the time comes.’ He turned to the twins, listening to his every word. ‘Have you, either of you, any thoughts in mind as to the kinds of careers you wish to follow?’
Promise the Doctor Page 3