A Wedding in the Village

by Abigail Gordon

  ‘We’ll all be thinking of him, Tom, and wishing him well,’ she said comfortingly.

  ‘The foolishness of youth, eh, Megan?’

  ‘Yes, indeed. One of Dr Anderson’s nephews is in hospital after they set off a very powerful firework without permission.’

  ‘Oh, dear! I’ll tell Sara and we’ll pop in to see him while we’re there. It will be hours before there is any news for us.’

  As Tom went hurrying back inside Megan thought how Luke envied her the friendships and acquaintances she had with the villagers. As well as sharing their good times, she suffered with them when things weren’t so good, and she wouldn’t change it for the world.

  * * *

  With two lots of patients to see, the morning flew with not a moment to spare and just as she’d said goodbye to the last of them and was about to set out on the house calls, her Aunt Izzy phoned.

  ‘So what’s this that Rebekah tells me about those boys from Woodcote House?’ she asked immediately. ‘Trying to blow the place up, were they?’

  ‘Almost, Aunt Izzy,’ Megan told her. ‘Hopefully they’ve learned their lesson. Owen is all right, but Oliver has burns and some hearing loss at the moment, which we are hoping is only temporary.’

  ‘Hmm. I see.’

  ‘I’m going to have to go,’ Megan said. ‘I’ve my house calls to do and I’m late already.’

  ‘I suppose he’s at the hospital with them,’ she said, ignoring Megan’s comments about how busy she was.

  ‘If you mean Dr Anderson, yes, he is, and now, if you don’t mind, Aunt, dear—’

  ‘It would seem as if Gareth Standish can rest easy with his brother-in-law on the scene,’ her aunt went on, determined to say her piece, ‘but he’ll need eyes in the back of his head with those two. I’ve sent some bottles of my home-made elderflower cordial for them with Rebekah.’

  Megan was laughing. ‘You are something else,’ she told her. ‘Hard on the outside and soft as putty where your heart is.’

  She heard the old lady chuckle at the other end of the line. ‘It doesn’t do to let folk see you’re soft. Especially menfolk. Bear that in mind, my dear.’

  * * *

  A doctor had been to see Oliver on the children’s ward and pronounced him to be recovering satisfactorily. Some of his hearing loss had gone and his throat muscles seemed to be less painful and in good working order. The day staff had put fresh dressings on the burns and now he was waiting eagerly for his mother to arrive.

  When Alexis arrived he and Luke were just finishing a board game, with Oliver delighted to have won and Luke pretending disappointment.

  She looked rather at a loss and Luke hid a smile. Alexis was used to having the full attention of those present when she entered a room, but not this time. He appreciated her making the effort to see Oliver again and would tell her so, but that would be it.

  His mind was full of a young doctor with red-gold hair and green eyes, who moved with grace and purpose, loved her job, and was having to put up with a clever-clogs like him, who had a high opinion of his capabilities.

  When Alexis had finished examining Oliver she said, ‘The hearing is better this morning, don’t you think?’

  Yes, I do,’ he agreed. ‘It is a relief, and Sister said he ate his breakfast without any trouble, so it would appear that the throat strain has eased off.’

  ‘When are they sending him home?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. His mother is due home from France any time and she’ll be coming straight here.’

  Alexis was getting ready to go and said, ‘I don’t think you need me any more, but give me a call if you do.’

  He nodded. Alexis was the only person he knew who could put two double meanings into one sentence. She was asking if it really was all over and telling him to ring her if it wasn’t.

  ‘Thank you for your time,’ he told her politely. Then he almost laughed when she said, ‘Where shall I tell my secretary to send the account?’

  ‘No need. I’ll settle it now,’ he told her, taking out his cheque book. There was no way he was going to give details of his whereabouts to her. But having got the message, she waved him away and sauntered out of the ward in search of someone she could manipulate.

  * * *

  By the time Megan got back from the house calls, a pale sun had come out. Taking advantage of it, she went down to her favourite place on the riverbank to eat her lunch.

  It was too chilly to sit, so she leaned against the trunk of an old oak tree and munched away thoughtfully, until a shadow fell across her and Luke was there.

  ‘I thought I might find you here,’ he told her. ‘I’ve come to do the afternoon surgery. Oliver is better this morning and he’s with his mother. Sue arrived an hour ago and as they’re not going to need me for a while, here I am. What’s been happening while I’ve been absent?’

  ‘Some good news. Josh Meredith is being given a liver transplant as we speak.’

  ‘Really? That’s great.’

  ‘And Aunt Izzy has sent you some of her home-made elderflower cordial.’

  ‘Nice! To what do we owe that honour?’

  ‘It’s her way of saying that she approves of you. Did Alexis put in an appearance?’

  ‘Er, yes, briefly. I thanked her for her time and she asked me where she should send the account.’ He was smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘It would seem that nothing changes.’

  ‘So what did you do?’

  ‘Called her bluff. Got out my chequebook to settle it on the spot and she just waved it away and went. But I haven’t come back to talk about Alexis. You’re the one who’s been on my mind all the time I’ve been at the hospital.’

  ‘What about the wages for the garden center?’ she teased. ‘Don’t tell me I came before them.’

  ‘I managed to get them done, but my powers of concentration weren’t at their best.’

  ‘And what are they like now?’

  ‘Fully keyed in. It’s a pity that duty calls. I would love to explore the river with you.’

  ‘We should have done it before the summer went,’ she told him, and as two brightly painted canoes sailed past at that moment, with those who were paddling them shouting cheerful greetings, she went on, ‘But it’s never too late. Once things have settled down at Sue’s place, I’ll show you all my favourite haunts, but this is top of the list.’ She smiled. ‘If I ever get married I want it to be here on the riverbank where I make my vows.’

  He raised his eyebrows. ‘That could be a bit tricky.’

  ‘Mmm. I know. But that is what I would want.’

  ‘You said “if ever I get married”, which makes it sound as if you have doubts regarding it. Have you?’

  ‘I have one, yes.’

  ‘What is it?’

  They were on a delicate subject, she thought uneasily. Both were eager to know each other better, but if she spoke the truth it could bring an end to that. And if she didn’t she might regret it later in their relationship.

  She took a gamble and knew as the words came out of her mouth that it was a mistake. ‘I would want to be the first love of the man I married.’

  ‘I see,’ he said flatly. ‘It’s understandable, I suppose. No one could blame you for that. I’m sure there must be lots of men who would be happy to have you as their first love.’

  But not me, he thought as he left her to finish her lunch and went back to the surgery. He didn’t have the right. He’d forfeited it because of one big mistake.

  Megan was a great one for straight talk. He supposed he should be thankful for that, and put those sort of thoughts out of his mind, if it was possible.

  CHAPTER SIX

  AS SHE watched Luke stride back into the surgery Megan wanted to run after him and explain that she’d just been generalizing, that there had been nothing personal in what she’d said, but it wouldn’t be true. She’d been referring to the two of them and, judging from his reaction, he’d got the message.

  The pity was t
hat she hadn’t said the rest of what was in her thoughts, mainly because she wasn’t sure he would want to hear her say that if she hadn’t been his first love, he had been hers, and nothing had changed regarding that.

  In view of everything that was going on in the background, her timing had been atrocious, but he had insisted on pursuing the matter and she’d been honest with him, told him how she felt and made herself sound a lot of things she wasn’t, such as smug, self-righteous and hard to please.

  She didn’t see him again for the rest of the afternoon and because her last patient of the day turned out to be a long consultation, by the time she was free, Luke had gone.

  ‘Dr Anderson left a message to say he will see you in the morning. He’s gone home to pick Owen up and then they’re going back to the hospital,’Anne said when Megan surfaced, and she thought that he might be seeing her before that as she was anxious to see how Sue was coping.

  But did she want to go to the hospital and butt in on them all, and have to endure Luke’s coolness into the bargain? She had no doubt about how he’d construed what she’d said.

  She decided to take the chance. Rather receive the cold shoulder from him than let the day end without seeing him again. Before she slept she needed to know just how much damage she’d done, and the only way to find out was face to face.

  * * *

  When Megan arrived on the ward Sue was nowhere to be seen, and she realised she should have phoned the house first. But Luke was there, observing her with dark, unreadable eyes as he looked up from the card game he was playing with the boys.

  ‘I came to see Sue,’ she told him, and felt that it sounded as if she was putting him in his place again.

  ‘She’s gone home to unpack her cases and have a rest,’ he informed her levelly. ‘So I’m afraid you’ve had a wasted journey.’

  ‘Not at all. I came to visit Oliver, too,’ she told him in a similar tone.

  ‘He’s doing fine, aren’t you?’ Luke asked his nephew. ‘His hearing seems back to normal and the burns are healing nicely. He’s going home tomorrow and then maybe we can all relax. Did Anne give you my message?’

  ‘Yes. But I felt I had to see Sue. It was stupid of me not to ring the house first. My thinking wasn’t very clear, was it?’

  ‘I don’t know about that. The last time we spoke, your thoughts were as clear as crystal.’

  Megan could feel her colour rising as she told him, ‘Not quite. Instead of explaining what I really meant, I got sidetracked.’

  ‘It didn’t sound like that to me.’

  ‘No. Maybe not. But that’s how it was. Luke, would you want me to be sparing with the truth?’

  Owen was shuffling the cards and Oliver was fidgeting, anxious to get back to the game, so she said, ‘I won’t delay you. If the lights are on at Woodcote House I’ll call to see Sue, and if they’re not I’ll be in touch, if you wouldn’t mind passing on the message.’

  ‘Of course not,’ he said stiffly, and got up to walk to the door with her. ‘Is there any news on Josh Meredith yet?’ he asked as she stepped out into the corridor.

  ‘Not so far. I’m going to call at the post office on my way home to see if Tom and Sara are back yet.’

  ‘I’d be obliged if you would let me know if you hear anything.’

  ‘Of course I will,’ she said tartly. ‘I’m surprised that you feel the need to ask. He’s one of our patients, for heaven’s sake.’ Immediately sorry for being snappy, she added, ‘How about Saturday for a ramble around my favourite places in the village? I’d really like to show you around as you haven’t had much time to get to know it since you came.’

  She was trying to make the peace but it wasn’t working.

  ‘I can’t, I’m afraid,’ he said stiffly. ‘If you remember, I work in the garden centre at weekends.’

  ‘Oh, yes, of course you do. It had slipped my mind. Some other time, then.’

  ‘Maybe. But do you think it’s a good idea?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Megan, work it out for yourself. Surely I don’t have to explain. You pointed out some things I wasn’t aware of when we were by the riverbank in the lunch-hour.’

  ‘Yes, I did, didn’t I? And now I’m going to be punished for it, am I?’

  He sighed. ‘No. I shall just bear in mind what you said, that’s all. We have to work together, don’t forget.’

  ‘I don’t forget anything about us,’ she told him, with tears sparkling on her lashes. He turned away to stop himself from taking hold of her and kissing them away. Megan was beautiful and unspoiled. He could understand why she didn’t want to give her heart to a man who’d been married before and gone through a bitter divorce.

  But she’d just been one of his students then. A girl who’d sent him a Valentine card, along with her friends. At the time he’d married Alexis he hadn’t even known she existed, and if he had it would have made no difference. Teaching staff were not supposed to have relationships with students. And now he was discovering the hard way the difference between sexual attraction and real love.

  ‘I’m going,’ she said, brushing away the tears. ‘We’re going round in circles and getting nowhere.’ She glanced at him. ‘The boys are tired of waiting for you to go and finish the game. I’ll see you in the morning, Luke.’

  Staring straight ahead, she pointed herself towards where she’d parked her car, and with a sigh Luke went to join his nephews.

  * * *

  There weren’t any lights on at Woodcote House so it seemed that Sue had gone to bed after not having a moment to herself since she’d flown in from France.

  As Oliver had seemed well enough, she presumed that Luke wouldn’t stay the night this time and that soon he would bring Owen home, as it would be school again for him in the morning.

  When she arrived at the post office Sara and Tom, looking totally exhausted, but happier than she’d seen them in a long time, had just arrived home.

  ‘How did it go?’ she asked.

  ‘Good, so far, Megan,’ Sara told her, ‘You can see the difference in Josh already. He doesn’t look as yellow, for one thing, and he’s so grateful to have been given another chance. We know that it’s early days yet, but we’re hoping that the worst is over. He’s had the transplant and, barring any hiccups, we can start looking forward.’

  ‘That’s wonderful!’ Megan told them. She’d known these people since she’d been small. Since the days when she’d been barely tall enough to see what had been on the sweet counter and had taken ages to decide which of the penny treats she was going to buy. They were kind people and she was thankful that the fates were being kind to them in return.

  She rang Luke on his mobile as soon as she arrived home and caught him on the point of leaving the hospital. ‘It’s good news from Sara and Tom,’ she told him. ‘Josh has had the surgery and according to them is looking better already.’

  ‘That’s great,’ he said. ‘I’m so pleased for them. Er, did you manage to see Sue?’

  ‘No. All was in darkness so I didn’t call. What are your plans for the evening?’

  ‘Owen and I are ready to leave. Now that he’s feeling better, Oliver says he doesn’t need me to stay.’

  ‘That’s what I thought. I’m pleased that things at your end are sorting themselves out.’

  There was silence at the other end of the line and it was as if she could read his mind. ‘Yes, it’s great, isn’t it,’ he said flatly, and bade her goodbye.

  * * *

  The next morning everything was almost back to normal regarding the practice, but not with their own relationship. Luke was already behind his desk when Megan got there, engrossed in what was on the screen in front of him, and he said without looking up, ‘Connie wants to have a word with me about her feet before she leaves to go to Woodcote House. There’s an e-mail here from the orthopaedic consultant she’s seen, and he’s prepared to operate if she’s willing, so I imagine that is what she wants to talk about.’

&n
bsp; ‘It will be interesting to see what she decides,’ Megan said, and thought that if they were going to be talking strictly shop she may as well log into her own computer and see what was happening to her patients.

  She hoped that Connie would see the long-term benefits of the operation and if she decided to go ahead, arrangements would have to be made for her husband’s care.

  ‘Sue is picking Oliver up from the hospital this morning,’ Luke said as she was about to depart. ‘So I am now back on the job in the fullest sense. She is insisting that she will work in the garden centre this weekend and that I have some time to myself. So if your offer to show me the beauty spots of this rural paradise still stands, I would like to accept.’

  He was telling himself that he was crazy. Why torture himself by being with Megan more than he had to? He could cope with being with her each day at the practice. There was no time for his feelings to run riot when they were there. It was health care from the moment they arrived to leaving at the end of the day, but spending hours together, just the two of them, would be a different matter.

  He watched the face that was never out of his thoughts break into a smile and knew he didn’t care. He just wanted to be with her. She was uncomplicated, and beautiful with it. If she didn’t return his feelings, at least he would have had this time with her.

  ‘Fine,’ she said, as the October morning suddenly seemed like spring. ‘Do you want to make a day of it?’

  ‘Yes. Why not? We can have lunch at some place that you recommend, and perhaps end the day with dinner somewhere. I feel as if I haven’t come up for air since I came here, with Sue going to France so soon after I arrived, and coping with the antics of my two nephews. Maybe life will level out a bit now.’

  ‘You are a kind and generous man,’ she told him. ‘Sue and the boys are lucky to have you.’

  ‘And I’m fortunate to have them in my life, though I know you’ve had your doubts about that. They are all the family I’ve got. Or am ever likely to have, the way things are going.’ He flashed her a quirky smile, ‘But another day at the Riverside Practice beckons, I’m afraid.’ Megan couldn’t argue with that so she went to find out what, or who, was waiting for her attention.