As Kit came to his side he turned, and she thought she had never seen so much sadness in a face before. And yet, at the same time, there was tranquillity there—the tranquillity of a man who, though he may be overwhelmed by events, is nonetheless master of himself. He even managed to smile at Kit.
During the afternoon, Tom Fleming arrived. He, too, stayed for about an hour, and when he had gone, Mr. Baylis admitted that he felt tired and needed little persuasion to go back to bed. But still he assured Kit that there was no need to worry.
“I’ll be the most docile patient you ever had now,” he promised. “I’ve done what I had to ... and my mind is at rest!”
Kit smiled in response, but she could not help remembering what Noel had said the night before.
“...After he’s done what he intends, what about reaction then?” Would Mr. Baylis feel that now there was no need to make an effort and slip quietly out of life? Kit had seen such things happen before and she was afraid. She had just decided that another attempt must be made to get in touch with Jason when a car drove up and Jason climbed out. Kit met him at the door and led him to the study.
“Oh, Jason, I’m glad to see you!” she said fervently.
“Sorry I couldn’t dome before, but I’ve been at it all day. Didn’t get your message until an hour or so ago. What’s happened?”
Kit told him all she knew, and Jason nodded.
“Yes, I should say without doubt, this is it! A showdown. Tell me exactly what his condition is.”
“His pulse is quite good and his temperature is normal,” Kit told him. “He’s tired—he admitted that. But otherwise, he seems quite normal except that he’s so very, very quiet. Almost, one might say, resigned.”
“Hm,” Jason commented. “Yes, that could be bad. I’ll have a look at him. I think perhaps it might be an idea if I went alone, Kit. He might talk to another man where he’d feel it was weakness to talk to a woman.”
When he came down, there was an awed expression on his face. “I wish I could be sure that if ever I’m up against it as he is, I’d be able to show half his courage,” he told Kit. “He’s a marvel! He didn’t go into details, but he made it clear that he’s had the shock of a lifetime. But that, he insists, is behind him now. It’s evident that he has made some decision and is convinced that it’s the right one. What’s more, he has every intention of carrying on. The way he put it was, ‘I’ve every intention of living, Heathfield, because I know that I shall be needed for as long as possible.’ I don’t think you need worry, Kit.”
“I’m glad,” Kit whispered, very near tears. “I know one is always told it’s unwise to get fond of patients, but sometimes you just can’t help it.”
“And this is one of them,” Jason agreed sympathetically. “He’s a fine old boy—and incidentally, Kit, he spoke as warmly of you as you have of him. Well, we’ll just have to do our best for him. When is Mrs. Baylis coming home?”
“Four or five days from now,” Kit told him. “Sooner than she thought, actually.”
“Hm. I wonder if things have gone as she hoped?” Jason pondered. “It could make a lot of difference.”
“I think we shall know the moment she comes into the house,” Kit replied, then sighed. “You can’t think how different it’s been here since she’s been away, Jason. It’s been a real home instead of just a very well-run house. Oh dear!”
“A real home,” Jason repeated slowly. “That’s something I fancy you know more about than I do, Kit. You see, my parents died when I was quite young, and no matter how good other people are—and I was lucky that way—I don’t think it can be quite the same.”
“No, I don’t expect it can be,” Kit agreed sympathetically.
Jason took her hand in his and raised it gently to his lips. “You would be a wonderful homemaker, Kit,” he said deliberately.
“I hope so ... one day,” Kit said tremulously.
“One day,” Jason echoed, and left her to have a word with Noel.
Kit had been quite right. It was clear from the moment Mrs. Baylis stepped foot in the house how things had gone on her trip. She was, in fact, in a coldly angry frame of mind because she knew, quite well, that she had not scored the triumph she had been so convinced would be hers. This she put down to the stupid prejudice of the men she had met against dealing with women in executive positions, but whatever the reason, the result had been that they had hemmed and hawed and raised points it had been impossible to give answers to then and there. So she had come back without the contracts she had anticipated.
To Mr. Baylis she made light of the matter.
“Just a few odd details to be cleared up,” she told him. “Nothing of any importance. Incidentally, they were very much impressed by the machines we sent to France last year. In fact, that’s why they’ve come to us. So really, it’s a feather in your cap, darling, because you dealt with that.”
Just as she had hoped, her husband appeared to have been diverted from asking any awkward questions about the delay by the compliment she had paid him. He smiled, but made no comment.
“And now, darling, tell me all about yourself,” she went on eagerly. “How are you feeling?”
“Much stronger,” he told her, “I really do feel I’m on the mend now, Ruth.”
“Good!” she smiled with every appearance of pleasure. “I’ve been rather worried that you might try to do too much.”
“No more than I’ve needed to, my dear,” Mr. Baylis assured her. Ruth looked at him sharply. Surely there was something a little odd in the way he had worded that remark? One could, if one wished, read almost anything into it.
“And you’ve been properly looked after?” she asked anxiously. “No one has been slack because I wasn’t here?”
“Not a bit. Both Nurse Cavendish and Sue have done everything possible to make me comfortable. And Noel has given me a lot of his time in the evening.”
“Good.” This time she found it difficult to reply with any conviction. Really, need Ralph have made it quite so clear that not only had he been quite comfortable, but also that he had not really missed her? Anyone would think that all she had done for him really counted for very little. Sue and Nurse Cavendish ingratiating themselves with him so that it would be difficult now to keep them in their proper places, Noel, who had always disliked his father’s second marriage, getting into his good books...
She stood up.
“I’d better unpack,” she said shortly. “Everything is absolutely higgledy-piggledy in my cases. The customs people were quite idiotic...”
“Oh, before you go, there’s just one thing,” Mr. Baylis remarked. “About little Sue—”
“What about her?” Ruth asked sharply.
“Simply I believe I was right and you were wrong about her and Noel,” Mr. Baylis explained. “Anyway, he’s taken her out a couple of times in the past few days, and they both seem to have enjoyed themselves thoroughly.”
“Oh, I see.” Ruth did not sound particularly interested. “Well, don’t jump to conclusions too soon, darling. It really wouldn’t be fair.”
“Not fair? To whom?” Mr. Baylis wanted to know.
“To both Sue and Noel,” Mrs. Baylis explained gravely. “Oh, don’t you see, if we take too much for granted there’s a danger that Sue may do the same. I don’t want her to break her heart, nor do I want Noel to feel that he has to marry her because we expect it.”
“I don’t think Noel would be so spineless as to marry anyone for that reason,” Mr. Baylis said quietly. “It’s far more likely that it would be because he’s becoming more and more attracted to Sue. And no wonder. She’s a very lovely girl.”
Ruth stared at him in amazement. Lovely was the last word she would have thought of applying to her niece. Insignificant, shy to the point of stupidity, and with a face that very few people would remember once they had left her. All those things, yes. But lovely, never. Just what had been going on in her absence?
She pulled herself together.
“I don’t think you need worry that anything we do will make any difference,” Mr. Baylis told her, taking up his book. “Young people in love have a way of managing their own affairs, you know. Older ones, too. We did, you remember.”
Ruth shrugged and went to her own room. Really, Ralph must be entering his dotage! After all that she had gone through in the past ten days, this was the final straw! Really, if he had said any more, she would have screamed!
Dinner that evening was not such a happy affair as it had been during Ruth’s absence, but to her there appeared to be a very great change from what she was used to. And she resented it.
Noel, of course, was largely to blame. Sue had her meals with them because Ralph insisted on it. But in the past she had always sat silently at meals, hardly looking up from her plate. Now, in answer to Noel’s sallies, her face would light up and even, now and again, she would reply with a humor that Ruth found completely out of place in a penniless dependent.
And Nurse Cavendish was just as bad. It was for her, Ruth, or of course Ralph, to initiate topics of conversation. But no one else seemed to realize that. Nurse Cavendish started talking about Ravenslea as it used to be—as if anyone was interested—and worse than that, it really seemed as if she was doing her best to draw Sue out. And worst of all, Ralph seemed to be enjoying it all.
Something would have to be done, but what?
A few evenings later Noel seized an opportunity to have a quiet word with Kit.
“Come out into the garden for a minute or two,” he urged. “I have something to tell you; in fact, I’ll burst if I don’t tell someone!”
Kit hesitated. Mr. and Mrs. Baylis were watching television, Sue was still busy with some small duty or other that Ruth had found for her. There was really no reason she should not do as Noel wished—and yet she could not feel really at ease about it.
“Come on, honestly only a minute or two!” he coaxed.
So Kit went. Noel caught her by the arm and hurried her a little distance from the house.
“I want to be jolly sure that no one else hears,” he explained. “This’ll do. Now then...” He drew a deep breath. “Guess what?”
“You tell,” Kit retorted, determined not to let him guess what she thought might be at the bottom of his mysterious maneuver.
“Well, Sue’s promised to marry me! Do you get that?” His fingers pinched her arm quite painfully. “Sue—me! Isn’t it marvelous!”
“Wonderful!” Kit agreed with a warmth that satisfied even the ardent young lover. “I wish you both every happiness!”
“You’re great,” he said appreciatively. “I wanted you to be the very first to know—and so did Sue—because you’ve done so much for us.”
“I? I’ve done nothing,” Kit insisted in surprise.
“Oh yes, you have. After something she overheard dear Ruth say, Sue thought you and I were falling for each other. And you scotched that idea! And then it was you who put the idea into my head to take Sue out.” He paused. “You know, it really is quite incredible, but until then, I never thought of Sue as a person. She was just someone about the place ... Gosh, how could I have been such a fool! So there it is. Largely thanks to you.”
“Well, if that’s so, I hope you won’t broadcast the fact,” Kit warned. “I think it might be ill-advised.”
“I’ll say!” Noel agreed. “As a matter of fact, we’re not going to say anything yet about the whole thing.”
“Oh!” Kit was startled. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“You mean, if Ruth spots that we’re gone on each other, she’ll try to put a spoke in our wheel?” Noel enlarged. “Well, to tell you the honest truth, I wondered about that. But Sue thinks it might be better for us to give her a chance of getting used to the idea before she hears the worst. I agreed because I didn’t want to put it into Sue’s mind that Ruth might get up to tricks. And anyway, it doesn’t matter much, because yesterday I applied for a marriage license. From tomorrow onward we could be married then and there. So if there’s any trouble, I’ll sling Sue over my shoulder and carry her to the church. And that will be that!”
“Oh, Noel!” Kit reproached him laughingly. “I believe you’re hoping there will be trouble so that you can do just that!”
He chuckled appreciatively.
“You always see through me, don’t you? Well, at least I won’t try to start any trouble just to be able to indulge my caveman personality! Now I suppose we’d better go in. But first of all—” he caught Kit in an exuberant hug and kissed her soundly “—that’s a thank-you from Sue and me,” he explained.
Kit laughed and pushed him away.
“I’m so glad you and Sue are so happy,” she told him, touched by his impulsiveness. “But I really do think you’d better keep that sort of demonstrativeness for Sue, you know. Otherwise, if anyone saw, it might be misunderstood.”
Just how right she was, neither of them could know. But to Ruth Baylis, who had chosen just that moment to look out of the window, it really did not matter just how much or how little that kiss had meant. That it had occurred at all was the important thing, for her quick brain had realized just what use she could make of the incident.
Dr. Grainger, up and about after his attack of influenza, was nonetheless wishing heartily that he need not have left his bed. And sitting in a not very comfortable chair in Ruth’s study, he wondered why in the world the woman gave herself such airs. Lord, the way she sat at that desk reminded him of an interview with the headmaster in his schooldays—with a licking to follow!
“I’m very well satisfied with Mr. Baylis’s condition,” he assured her for the third time.
Ruth’s face assumed an expression of exaggerated patience. “So you said before, Dr. Grainger. But what I want to know is just what that means. Is he an invalid? Is he still convalescing or is he completely recovered and fit for anything? Surely you can see the importance of making that perfectly clear.”
Trying to peg me down, Dr. Grainger decided resentfully. I wonder why? What’s she leading up to?
“He’s a man who has been very ill, is now making a good recovery, and who has every prospect of making a better one,” he said aloud. “But you must understand, Mrs. Baylis, that your husband’s trouble is not like measles or mumps. There is no definite period to the disease, and consequently—”
“I quite understand that,” Ruth interrupted impatiently. “But surely you can be a little more specific than that?”
“Certainly,” Dr. Grainger said blandly. “If you will be the same, No, just a moment, Mrs. Baylis,” as Ruth’s lips moved. “Let me explain what I mean. It’s true that Mr. Baylis has made an excellent recovery. But if I left it at that I would most certainly be to blame if he—and you—assumed that as a matter of course he was now able to take up his life at the point where his illness caught up with him. It’s too broad and not at all clear—too much of a generalization. Mr. Baylis’s progress has to be, slow, steady and in accord with his particular qualities. Yes, I mean that very seriously, Mrs. Baylis. Both Dr. Heathfield and I have been impressed by the very great self-control your husband has exercised. It can’t have been easy for a man in his position, but without doubt it has helped us considerably. I believe that he will continue to help himself in that way, and to a large extent, what he does must depend upon his own common sense. But we’re still talking in general terms. If you come to the particular—if, for instance, there is any idea of your husband returning to work at once—”
“Good heavens, no!” Ruth exclaimed fervently.
“Good,” Dr. Grainger’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Because, for the time being, that is out of the question. On the other hand, if he wanted to go down to the plant for an hour or so, or if he did a certain amount of work at home, I don’t suppose Heathfield would obje
ct—although, of course, you would have to make sure on that point. You see, Mrs. Baylis, it’s all a question of degree. I’m sorry if that doesn’t satisfy you, but at the moment that’s the best I can do, unless you have something definite in mind your husband plans to do.”
“No,” Ruth said thoughtfully. “Nothing like that, really. But I was wondering if, well, how much longer will it be necessary for Nurse Cavendish to be here?”
So that’s what it’s all about, Dr. Grainger thought. I wonder what’s at the bottom, of that!
It seemed as if Ruth must have read his thoughts, for she went on hastily, “You mustn’t think I have any complaint to make of Nurse Cavendish ... as a nurse. But of course, it’s always difficult having a stranger in the house...”
“Yes?” Dr. Grainger asked unhelpfully.
“Well, yes. Particularly when there is a good-looking young man about—”
“Indeed! I trust young Mr. Baylis hasn’t been making a nuisance of himself to Nurse Cavendish,” Dr. Grainger said stiffly.
“Certainly not!” Ruth insisted indignantly. “No, it’s the other way around. Nurse Cavendish is, I’m afraid, a flirt. As a result, I’m really concerned about her effect on him. Unfortunately, you see, he is genuinely attracted to her, but she ... Well, of course I must be careful what I say, but it’s clear that marriage doesn’t enter into her scheme of things.”
“That could simply mean that she is not attracted to your stepson,” Dr. Grainger suggested coldly.
“I suppose it could,” Ruth agreed doubtfully. “And if that was so, though naturally it would distress him, he would have to accept her decision. But it isn’t that way. I was taught that when a woman knows a man wants to marry her, if she doesn’t feel that way about him, then she doesn’t encourage him.”
“I quite agree,” Dr. Grainger admitted. “But I really cannot believe—”
“I assure you that I would prefer not to, either,” Ruth insisted gravely. “But I’m compelled to believe the evidence of my own eyes. Nurse Cavendish allows my stepson to kiss her—”
Dr. Grainger frowned. He liked Kit and found it difficult to credit these unpleasant insinuations, particularly when they came from a woman he did not trust. Yet surely she would hardly dare to fabricate such a circumstantial story...
Kit Cavendish-Private Nurse Page 11