Forbidden Night with the Duke

by Annie Claydon

  ‘No, I talk in my sleep. What do you want?’

  ‘Have you got the stocktaking chart we were using last night? I can’t find it anywhere.’

  So he was up already and had gone across to the stockroom to start work. Megan looked at her watch, and realised that it was well past the time she’d said she would meet him there.

  ‘Sorry. I overslept. I have it here.’ Untangling herself from the sheet and drawing back the mosquito net, she grabbed the chart from the top drawer of the chest beside her bed. Megan wrapped herself up in her dressing gown and opened the sliding doors a crack, trying not to disturb the curtains as she did so.

  When she posted the chart through the crack, she felt someone on the other side of the door take hold of it. Jaye was just inches away, and the everything’s all right feeling suddenly kicked in again, this time with a vengeance.

  ‘Don’t lose it. This is my only copy.’ Megan struggled with a smile, failing to keep it out of her voice.

  ‘I’ll guard it with my life.’

  ‘Don’t do that. Just don’t lose it.’

  She heard Jaye’s quiet chuckle from behind the drapes and let go of the chart. It was about time she did something to dispel this early morning haze and got ready for the realities of the day.

  Chapter Eight

  THE REALITIES OF the day were almost as good as the pink, scented haze that Megan had woken up in. Someone to help with the lonely task of sorting through boxes and noting down the expiry dates on each batch of drugs. Jaye’s height and strength, the way he mucked in and lifted the heavier boxes, made the work a lot less physically demanding, and his quiet humour made it a lot more pleasant. When he left to make his rounds of the clinic in-patients, the feeling that she finally had some support persisted.

  ‘Dr Jayananda would like to see you on the ward.’ Jaye had sent one of the ward helpers to relay the message.

  ‘What does he need me for?’

  The young girl shrugged. She hadn’t asked and Megan probably shouldn’t either. Jaye knew what she was doing and his decision was that her presence on the ward was more important. That was what a man in charge did.

  He was in the small room where the young boy with dengue fever was being treated. Jaye was on one side of the bed, talking quietly to the boy’s mother in Sinhalese. Megan caught the gist of the conversation, a report on how the boy was doing, but from the mother’s face and Jaye’s body language there was clearly a good deal of reassurance going on that her Sinhalese wasn’t up to yet.

  ‘How is he?’ Megan had waited for Jaye to finish talking with the boy’s mother before she advanced into the room.

  ‘Better. He still has a fever, but the bleeding’s stopped now. He’s getting stronger.’ The boy moved restively in the bed, and Jaye soothed him, his fingers caressing his brow. Whatever bad dreams he was having seemed to fade at Jaye’s touch.

  ‘You wanted me?’ The circle of warmth that Jaye created so effortlessly wasn’t what she was there for.

  ‘You haven’t had an opportunity to see him yet. After all your efforts yesterday...’ He smiled. ‘Or are you one of those nurses who doesn’t much like finding out how her patients are doing?’

  ‘Are there any nurses like that?’ Jaye was just being a good boss. He wanted her there to give her the reward of seeing that little Ashan was better now.

  ‘I haven’t met any yet. Maybe you’re one of a kind?’ He moved away from the bed, letting Megan take his place at Ashan’s bedside.

  ‘No, I’m just your standard everyday nurse.’ Megan leaned over the boy, touching his forehead. She didn’t need temperature charts or monitors to tell that he was better, he was much quieter and the delirium that had tainted his sleep yesterday had abated.

  ‘I was hoping you might be.’ Jaye’s voice came from behind her. When Megan turned he seemed to be watching her every move, and she shivered. She turned back to little Ashan and smiled at his mother to show that she too was pleased with his progress.

  Five precious minutes, watching the boy sleep. Jaye had mercifully left her to it, but when she tore herself away from the child, he was waiting outside the room.

  ‘Walk with me.’

  He led her out of the clinic building and into the compound, stopping under a massive mahogany tree and leaning against its trunk.

  ‘I’ve decided where my office is going to be.’

  Megan looked around. She didn’t see an office anywhere. ‘I thought you’d take Dr Clarke’s office.’

  ‘No, that’s going to be for Dr Stone when he arrives. My office will be here.’

  ‘Under a tree?’ Actually, the idea wasn’t a bad one. He was visible here, and approachable. It was exactly what the clinic needed, transparent and open leadership.

  ‘Yes. The open air’s nice, don’t you think?’

  ‘You’ll be getting a bit wet. The rainy season will be here any day.’

  ‘Dinesh is going to put some duckboards down and string up an awning. In fact, rain’s part of the plan. I get people in here and they can’t leave without getting soaked.’

  ‘They can’t slam the door either.’ Megan smiled up at him. Even her bad behaviour didn’t seem so bad that she couldn’t joke about it now.

  Jaye chuckled quietly. ‘So you like it?’

  ‘I think it’ll do very nicely. I’ll come and see you here when you have a moment.’

  ‘If you don’t, I’ll find you.’

  Megan felt herself redden a little. There were some aspects of yesterday that she couldn’t bring herself to joke about. ‘I won’t make that mistake again.’

  ‘No. Neither will I.’

  ‘Okay. Just to make things easy, you’ll probably find me in the stock cupboard for the next couple of days.’ Megan quite liked the idea that Jaye might come to her.

  ‘Noted. First place I’ll look.’

  * * *

  It was as if a well-mannered hurricane had hit the clinic, eating up the atmosphere of discord and leaving calm in its wake. Jaye started out by talking with everyone and listening to what they had to say. Even that made a difference, as the absentee level dropped suddenly and there was no more wondering who was going to turn up to work and who wasn’t. And when he was done with talking, he started to make things happen.

  Now that the many other worries had been lifted from her shoulders, Megan worked with a will, finishing the stock-take and disposing of anything that was out of date. After two more days closeted in the drugs cupboard, she emerged to find the clinic a very different place from the one where she’d arrived a month ago.

  The atmosphere felt quieter, more peaceful somehow. Everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do, and the daily grumbles that Megan had heard amongst the staff were beginning to subside. Ranjini’s smile was far more in evidence.

  She walked across the compound towards the tree. There had been some improvements. Dinesh had strung up a tarpaulin and a mosquito net for the evenings. There were two wicker chairs and a low table, and Jaye was sitting in one of the chairs.

  Since he didn’t have a door, she knocked on the trunk of the tree. Jaye looked up from the papers that he was reading and smiled.

  ‘I came... I heard that you’re making some changes. I’d like you to fill me in on the ones that might affect me.’

  ‘Of course.’ Jaye rose, waving her to the empty chair. He seemed pleased to see her, and Megan wondered whether he’d been waiting for her to come. Waiting for her to keep her promise, so that he could keep his.

  ‘Would you like some iced tea?’ He reached under the table, inspecting the contents of an ice bucket.

  ‘No, thanks. Don’t let me stop you, though.’

  He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. ‘I’m glad you came, Megan. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you. And some news that I’d like to share, because I f
eel that all the staff who worked with Dr Clarke have a right to know.’

  ‘Is something the matter?’ Megan shivered, feeling guilty about all the times she’d cursed Dr Clarke’s behaviour in her head.

  ‘Yes, but now we know about it, we’re hoping we’ll be able to help him. The problems here came as a surprise to us because Dr Clarke had worked with us for some years in Indonesia and had an excellent track record. But it seems that his marriage was in difficulties and he had been self-medicating with increasing doses of sleeping pills and amphetamines.’

  Suddenly, things began to make sense. Dr Clarke’s uncertain temper and mood swings, the way he used to lock himself in his bungalow for hours, even when he was needed at the clinic. How he’d neglected most of the administrative side of his job, leaving a large pile of paperwork for Megan to pick up as soon as she’d arrived.

  ‘And then his wife became ill?’

  ‘That was the reason he gave for going back to London. It wasn’t true. Things just got too much for him and he needed to go home.’

  Megan shook her head. ‘I wish we’d known. We could have at least tried to help him.’

  ‘I don’t think...’ Jaye’s gaze grew suddenly softer. ‘From what I hear, you did try to help him. You picked up a lot of the things that he’d neglected and smoothed over a lot of the discord that he created.’

  ‘I didn’t know what else to do. Looking back, I just facilitated his behaviour when I should perhaps have called him on it.’

  ‘That was our responsibility, not yours. And there was no way you could have known. It seems that Dr Clarke had been taking the drugs for a while—it all started when he was at home for a year before he came here. He was good at covering up.’

  ‘It’s... I hope he finds his way through this.’

  ‘We’re doing all we can to support him and his wife. John Ferris only found out the full extent of the problem yesterday, and he phoned me and told me last night.’

  This...this was why it was so important that she stay strong. That Jaye stay strong. Because if they failed, if they allowed their personal lives to take over, there were consequences that didn’t bear thinking about.

  ‘Thank you for telling me.’ Her own voice was little more than a whisper. ‘It’s...a lesson, I suppose. For all of us.’

  ‘Yes, it is.’

  Silence curled around them. Maybe Jaye was making the same resolutions that she was. The damage would be repaired.

  ‘So...what next? How do we move forward from this?’

  He smiled. ‘I was hoping you’d ask. I’ve offered Ranjini a new post as director of the clinic, and she’s accepted.’

  ‘That’s great news. I’m so pleased for her.’

  Jaye nodded. ‘Yes, and long overdue. She’s going to be training a new senior nursing officer and transitioning into her own role over the next two months, and I’ll be staying here to work with her over that time.’

  There was a hint of awkwardness in his tone. Megan wasn’t sure how she would have reacted to the news before now, but she’d seen how much good he’d done already.

  ‘That’s good. We need you here, Jaye.’

  ‘Thank you. And as for you...’ He grinned. ‘I’d like you to be more involved in the clinical side and to see more of the practical problems that people here face. Ranjini’s going to be looking at ways she feels we can expand our services and I want you to liaise very closely with her on that. She’s taking on a lot, and she’ll need all the help you can give her.’

  ‘Thank you. When can I get started?’ Megan grinned back. This was all that she’d hoped this job would be. And Jaye had made it happen.

  ‘Speak to Ranjini tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m going to be doing some home visits every Friday. I’d like you to come along with me at the end of this week.’

  ‘Not Dr Stone? He’ll be here by then.’

  ‘No, I’m easing him in gently. His clinical skills are excellent and he’s enthusiastic, but he doesn’t have much experience of working outside the UK. I’m keeping him here for a few weeks while he finds his feet. Ranjini’s going to be supervising him. I want that relationship to be clear from the start.’

  Jaye had thought of everything. And it was all falling into place. He was a great boss. Or at least he would be as soon as she could stop thinking about how great he might be in bed. And that was just a matter of time and concentrating her mind on other things.

  ‘Thank you. I’d like to come with you.’

  ‘Good. Any issues you’d like to disagree with me about?’

  Megan grinned. ‘No. I’m picking my battles. I’ll let you know when something really big comes to mind.’

  Chapter Nine

  FRIDAY MORNING DAWNED bright and clear, after the first really big storm of the rainy season during the night. The clinic’s medical outreach truck had been loaded the night before, and there was only enough time to grab a coffee and a piece of toast before she saw Jaye walk across the compound with Ranjini. They were talking together, her sari bright against his loose white shirt and pale chinos.

  He leaned against the door of the truck, still talking, the keys dangling loosely from his hand. In the last few days Megan had learned that he and Ranjini discussed everything, and the easy, friendly way they did it was setting the tone for everyone else. And if jealousy nudged at her heart every time she saw Jaye talking things through with someone else, she could remind herself how hard she’d fought to be just another member of the team in his eyes.

  ‘Ready to go?’ He and Ranjini had shared a joke, and remnants of its warmth still lingered in his face.

  ‘Yes, I’m good.’ Megan opened the passenger door before Jaye could move. Today, working alone with him, she had to be on her best behaviour. And just another member of the team.

  * * *

  It was a special kind of torture. The clinic compound gave Jaye a certain amount of freedom because he knew that he was never truly alone with Megan. But out here, on the empty road, there probably wasn’t another living soul for miles. Today would test all their good resolutions to the limit.

  Perhaps he shouldn’t have suggested they do this so soon. But that would be falling short of the task he’d set himself. He was determined to set the clinic to rights, have it running the way that it should, and that included giving Megan the opportunities that had been promised and which, so far, she hadn’t had.

  As they wound their way up into the mountains, the track grew muddier, evidence of heavier rain in the last few days. Megan’s head was turned away from him, her gaze glued on the surrounding countryside.

  ‘You haven’t been up here before?’

  ‘No, I haven’t. It’s beautiful.’

  ‘Yes.’ Jaye didn’t want to think about beautiful right now. Not while he was sitting so close to Megan in the cabin of the truck. ‘It can be unforgiving at times.’

  ‘I imagine so.’ She didn’t turn to look at him. ‘Where are we headed first?’

  ‘We’ll follow up on Ashan.’ The boy with dengue fever had been released from the clinic the previous day, and Jaye had promised to call in on him and see how he was doing. ‘There are a couple of long-term patients in the same village who I also want to look in on. Landmine victims.’

  ‘You provide social care, as well as medical care?’ She turned to him suddenly, smiling. ‘I saw in the clinic’s accounts that there were expenses marked “training and development”.’

  ‘Yes, we do. Although I’m not entirely sure where the line between the two lies.’

  ‘No, me neither.’ Megan turned her head back towards the window, and Jaye concentrated on the road.

  The rest of their journey was made in silence, but when they reached the village Megan seemed suddenly more animated. She followed him from the truck, drinking in everything around her. The clay-brick houses, with thatched roofs extending o
ver porches that were often larger than the houses themselves, providing a living area for each family. The well-tended gardens, and lush vegetation that provided food. The men who approached Jaye to greet him, the women and children standing further back but watching all the same.

  When they came to Ashan’s home, Jaye hung back, waiting to see what Megan would do. The boy’s mother welcomed her, and she exchanged a few smiling pleasantries in Sinhalese. The boy was resting in the shade of the porch, and although Megan clearly didn’t understand his chatter, the warmth was obvious. As she nodded and smiled at the boy, her fingers brushed his cheek, checking for any fever.

  ‘How is he?’ Jaye had been watching, trying not to be entranced by her.

  ‘I think he said he’s happy to be home. He seems happy to be home.’ Megan looked up at him. ‘Are you taking a look at him?’

  ‘I thought you might do that.’

  ‘Will you ask his mother how he’s been?’

  Jaye didn’t move. He wanted to see how Megan coped on her own.

  Her lips narrowed into a line. Any reaction from Megan, even if it was a frown, felt better than her studied professionalism. He was going to have to be careful.

  ‘My Sinhalese isn’t good enough. I might miss something she says.’ She picked up the medical bag from where it lay at his feet and flapped her hand at him, chivvying him along. ‘Come on. Pull your weight, Jaye.’

  ‘This is how you treat your boss?’ He couldn’t help grinning.

  ‘You asked for it.’

  Yes, he had. After the last time he’d pushed her and gone too far, doing it again seemed like a hazardous process, but it seemed to be working out. She was making it work.

  He watched out of the corner of his eye, talking to Ashan’s mother, while Megan carefully checked the boy over, taking his blood pressure and listening to his chest. When she’d finished, and packed up the bag, he waited for her verdict.

  ‘What does his mother say?’ Clearly she wasn’t going to give it until she had all the information.

  ‘No problems. They’re giving him the medication we sent him home with.’