‘I’ll come.’
Matilda bucking? Jess frowned. There had to be something wrong. Despite the distraction of Niall’s voice, her mind started racing. ‘Tell the Benns I’ll be there in ten minutes.’
‘I’ll wait,’ Niall told her. ‘I’m interested.’
‘There’s no need.’
‘No.’ She could hear the smile on the other end of the phone and Jess flushed. ‘I know there’s no need. But we’re medical partners, after all, and you might want a hand. I’m staying.’
‘I don’t need a hand.’
‘You’ve got one whether you like it or not,’ he said bluntly. ‘I’m staying.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
THEY were all waiting for Jess when she arrived.
She saw them as she rounded the last bend in the road and her nervousness lifted.
What a reception committee!
The road gate was a steel swing-gate and Jess could count eight heads over the gate. Ray Benn. Five assorted little Benns. Paige. And Niall.
Ray and Niall were chewing grass straws-as though Niall was country-bred and not a London doctor, for heaven’s sake-and indulging in slow country talk and the kids were avidly waiting for Jess.
The gate was swung open before she arrived and Jess pulled up, laughing.
It was almost enough to let her forget her nervousness-to forget what the sight of Niall Mountmarche did to her.
Almost.
‘It must be a heavy gate,’ she smiled as the children all pushed the gate closed and Paige emerged from the throng of children to claim Jess as her own.
The child seemed happy in this crowd of strangers-and Jess had to remind herself that this would be what Paige was accustomed to. Strangers were familiar.
It was family that was strange to Paige. The child was learning only slowly what having her own people meant. Having a parent who was prepared to face his responsibilities…
‘We’re really worried about the horse,’ Paige told Jess importantly. ‘And I told everyone you’d know what to do.’
Jess ruffled the child’s hair in affection, carefully avoiding Niall’s eyes in the process, and turned to Ray Benn.
‘What’s the problem, Ray?’
The fisherman shook his head.
‘That’s more than I can tell you, Jess,’ he said heavily. ‘The horse seemed out of sorts this morning when we loaded her in the float. Took me fifteen minutes to get her into the box and normally she comes in like a lamb. I couldn’t figure out what was what. If Sam hadn’t been so keen to ride-he’s been practising for months-I would have given up and left her at home.
‘Didn’t do us any good, anyway. She was hopeless in the ring. Didn’t do a thing Sam wanted and they’re normally a great little pair. Then, as they finished the event, danged if Matilda didn’t just up and throw Sam off-and then kick out at anyone who came near.’ He scratched his head. ‘She’s never done such a thing before.’
‘Has anything happened to her over the last few days? Anything to give her a shock?’ A horse sometimes reacted to a fright by being extra-sensitive for a few days afterwards.
‘No. Nothing. I tell you, Jess, she’s never been like this and we’ve had her ten years. I thought she must be coming down with something and asked the doc to have a look after he’d fixed Sam’s knee.’
Jess did meet Niall’s eyes then and a smile flashed between them.
How many times had Jess been confronted with this? Because she was a vet she was expected to know general medicine. So, while she was here, could she just have a look at Tommy’s rash or Mary’s sore throat-or even, once, Grandpa’s piles! It seemed, then, that for doctors it was the same. While you’re treating Sam’s knee could you just have a quick look at our horse…
‘And can’t Dr Mountmarche diagnose the trouble?’ she asked demurely and got a wicked look from Niall for her pains.
‘The doc said we ought to ring you,’ the fisherman told her. ‘I dunno, though, Jess. It was worth asking him. You can claim a doctor’s visit on the health fund and you can’t claim for a vet.’
Jess stifled a smile and grabbed her bag from the back seat of her car. The Benns weren’t a wealthy family. Ray Benn had worked as a fisherman’s hand until he was in his thirties and it was only by scraping and saving every cent that he was able to buy his own boat and this little plot of land to raise his family.
‘Let’s have a look at her, then,’ she said and they set off-the whole entourage.
‘Feel like the Pied Piper?’ Niall laughed into her ear and Jess grinned back.
It was exactly how she did feel.
The laughter died when she saw Matilda.
Ray had put the horse in a small paddock beside the house. The old brown mare stood backed into a corner, ears stiffly upright, nostrils flared and her eyes wide with flight. She looked almost haunted.
Jess took a deep breath.
‘Can you take the children inside?’ she asked Ray. ‘She’s obviously nervous-and I prefer to examine her alone.’
A horse like this was unpredictable-even dangerous. She didn’t need an audience.
‘I dunno…’ Ray said doubtfully. ‘Do you reckon you’ll be right on your own?’ He looked at the crowd of children. ‘The missus is out with the water truck-she says it’s easier to cart water than to look after this many kids-or I’d send ‘em all in to her and help but…’
‘I’ll assist Dr Harvey,’ Niall assured him. One small boy had just been edged off his place on the fence by his big sister and the early signs of World War Three were obvious. The horse was visibly flinching at the noise.
‘I can manage…’ Jess protested-but not too hard. There was something badly wrong here and she wouldn’t mind some back-up. Even Niall…
‘I’ll stay,’ Niall said firmly. ‘If you remember, Dr Harvey, I was first medico called in. You’re just here in a consultant capacity.’
It took time to get near the frightened horse and by the time she did Jess was really worried.
This was no mere fright.
Under firm instructions, Niall stayed where he was.
‘She’s scared stiff,’ Jess told him. ‘I don’t need anyone…’
‘And if she kicks?’
‘Then I might need someone,’ Jess acknowledged with a rueful smile. ‘So stay where you are and wait. If you’re lucky you might have a case to care for as I go down to a hoof. If I’m lucky you won’t.’
‘Good luck, then,’ he smiled and his heart-stopping smile was a caress. ‘You be lucky. I hope I’m not’
Niall Mountmarche folded his arms in a gesture that Jess was beginning to know, leaned back against the fence and watched.
Jess tried to block out his presence. Tried and failed.
The fact that she found his presence reassuring was almost infuriating.
Concentrate on the horse.
‘OK, Matilda…’ She spoke gently to the mare and
watched the nostrils flare. ‘OK…’
One step at a time…
Finally she reached her. Jess gently slipped her hand into the horse’s bridle and patted the soft brown head. The horse’s fear remained.
What was wrong?
Jess examined her with care, whispering softly as she ran her hand over the brown coat. Once she raised her voice above a whisper and the horse tried to rear away in fright.
It was as if noise hurt…
The mare’s eyes were strange-different. The third eyelid was visible and the pupils seemed dilated. For a horse to compete in a gymkhana like this…
She must be growing worse. Ray would never have tried to transport her like this-or risk putting his son on her.
Jess moved the horse gently along the fence, her hand tight on the bridle.
‘Come on, girl. Gently…’
There was a stiffness there-almost arthritic-and a definite tremor to the back legs.
Something…There had to be something…
She needed help. Jess turned to Niall and
signalled him with her eyes.
He wasn’t stupid. Niall had seen what happened when Jess raised her voice. Without speaking he climbed the fence with careful unhurried movements and came toward them slowly-as aware as Jess that this was a horse on the edge of panic.
As soon as he was close enough Jess took his hand and guided it to the bridle, indicating again with her eyes that she wanted the horse held.
Niall’s strong hand touched hers again as he took the bridle, signalling that he’d understood. He took control of the horse, his spare hand coming up to run down the mare’s trembling face.
Jess stood back and looked.
She ran her eyes all over the big brown body, searching for something that she didn’t want to find. Then she knelt and looked again.
It was there. Just above the hoof on the left foreleg…
A recently scarred wound. Not big. Half an inch long, maybe, but it must have been deep. The scab had almost fallen away. Three, four weeks old?
The timing was right.
Everything was right.
Or everything was wrong, depending on how you looked at it. For a vet wanting a diagnosis things were right. For Matilda things were very badly wrong.
Jess straightened from where she’d been crouching and the horse sidled, fighting against Niall’s hold. She took the bridle from Niall.
‘We need a warm, dry stable,’ she whispered to Niall. ‘One as far from the house as possible. Can you go and tell Ray to organise it and I’ll bring the horse after you?’
Niall cast her a doubtful look.
‘Problem?’
‘Tetanus,’
There was a moment’s silence.
Then, very softly, Niall swore. Without another word he went to do her bidding.
‘How long since she’s been vaccinated, Ray?’
With the horse safely installed in a stable, Jess stood in the house yard with a grey-faced Ray.
‘Oh, Geez…’ The farmer put his hand to his face. ‘I dunno…We had her done last time she foaled, I reckon, and that was four years back. There was only a visiting vet once a month then-and afterwards, well, it never seemed worth the trouble. I mean, tetanus is rare, isn’t it?’
‘Not as rare as I’d like.’ Jess sighed. She reminded farmers of the need to vaccinate annually but as she’d never been called on to treat Matilda the old horse had missed her attention.
‘Is there anything you can do?’
Jess looked at Ray. The fisherman was almost rigid with distress and her heart warmed to him. To hear Ray with the other fishermen on the wharf you’d think he was as rough as bags but he was marshmallow at heart-and he loved the little horse.
‘The treatment for tetanus is often not effective-and it’s expensive,’ she told him, doing rough calculations in her head. Even if she gave the drugs at cost and didn’t charge herself…
She told him the approximate cost and Niall’s face changed.
Ray didn’t flinch. ‘Look, we have to try.’ The big man spread his hands. ‘I’ve had Matilda longer than we’ve had most of the kids-and to think I brought this on her by not vaccinating…The wife’ll be beside herself.’
Jess nodded. ‘Do you want to talk to your wife about it first?’
‘No. Treat her,’ he said roughly. He shook his head. ‘It’s been a dry winter and one of our big tanks sprang a leak. We’re having to cart water and Marg’s working herself into the ground to keep the garden going. This is all she needs!’
‘We’re having trouble in the vineyard, too,’ Niall said sympathetically, diverting his attention from the horse for a blessed moment. ‘If we don’t get rain soon…’
‘We’ll be in trouble,’ Ray said savagely. ‘I told Margy that last night-and here’s big trouble thumping down on us, anyway. Do what you have to do, Jess, girl. We’ll pay for it somehow.’
There was little enough that Jess could do. She drove back to the clinic and returned with tetanus antitoxins.
On her return she was surprised to find Niall’s Range Rover still in the yard. Paige was seated in a pool of kids and dust, playing a noisy game of marbles, and Jess looked down at the laughing little girl and saw why Niall had stayed.
He’d do a lot for this little daughter.
Niall moved with Jess into the stables, holding the mare while Jess injected the medication and carefully padded each of the mare’s ears with cotton wool.
‘It’ll reduce the noise level as much as it can be,’ she told Ray as she and Niall emerged from the stable. ‘But it’s worth telling the kids to be quiet. The less noise there is the lower her stress level.’
‘Yeah, well it’s school again tomorrow, praise be,’ Ray growled. ‘That’ll keep them quiet.’ He hesitated. ‘What odds, Jess?’
‘Low.’ It was no use dissembling. ‘I’ll come back in the morning.’
‘Right.’ Ray almost visibly braced his shoulders. ‘OK, you kids. I want you all inside watching the telly. I know I’m usually kicking you outside but Matilda needs quiet.’ He looked from Jess to Niall. ‘Can I offer you people a cuppa-or a beer?’
‘No, thanks.’ Niall shook his hand. ‘There’s a kettle on at the vineyard-and Dr Harvey’s promised us a visit. Isn’t that right, Dr Harvey?’
‘I don’t…‘ Jess started but was interrupted by Paige.
‘Yes,’ the child said definitely. ‘Hugo and me made chocolate chip cookies this morning especially in case you came. And now you have to drive practically past our front door to get home. So you’ll come.’
It was a statement of satisfied fact and Jess couldn’t argue. She didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Jess drove slowly to the Mountmarche vineyard, full of misgivings.
Why had she agreed to this?
Afternoon tea with a child and her two male relatives? What could be more harmless than that?
Fine, if one of the male relatives wasn’t Niall Mountmarche…
She passed Marg Benn on the road. Marg’s ancient truck was carting water from the bore at the south end of the island. She waved her hand in cheery greeting to Jess, not knowing what lay in store for her when she returned home.
A dying horse…
Could Jess save Matilda?
She didn’t like her chances, Jess thought drearily. Matilda was old, and the disease was known to involve months of recovery even in young, fit horses.
Marg was in for a hard time.
‘Please…’ Jess whispered as she gripped the wheel and turned into the Mountmarche vineyard and her plea was for two things in varying degrees of urgency.
Please let Matilda live.
That was the big request.
But there was another, niggling behind.
Please let me not make a fool of myself here and get out of this time with Niall Mountmarche with my heart and my pride intact…
Niall and Paige beat her home.
Jess emerged from her car to find Paige almost running across the yard toward her, crutches flying.
‘Hey, whoa…‘ Jess caught the child in her arms and lifted her high. ‘You’re supposed to be careful.’
‘Not when you’re coming.’ Paige looked behind to where her father was watching with lazy amusement. ‘Aren’t we pleased to see her, Daddy?’
‘Very pleased,’ Niall drawled with his lazy smile and Jess burned crimson.
‘I…I can’t stay long.’
‘Daddy said he bet you couldn’t,’ Paige nodded. ‘But come inside and have a cookie. They’re really, really good!’
‘They’re even edible,’ Niall grinned and somehow Jess found herself smiling.
The tension eased.
It eased even more when they went inside. Hugo was already settled behind the tea kettle. The elderly man seemed almost a grandfather figure to Paige and it was clear that he regarded the child in the same light. He smiled at Jess and made her welcome but he clucked over Paige with the anxiety of a mother hen.
‘You’ve been good for Paige, Dr Harvey,’ he told he
r with just a trace of a French accent. ‘She’s more cheerful now than since her dad found her.’
Jess didn’t have to answer. She was finding it hard to concentrate on anything other than Niall’s presence beside her at the table but the conversation flowed over and around her and she wasn’t pressured.
It was as if they were all giving her time to acclimatise.
Hugo and Niall talked easily about the vines. There were problems with water here too, it seemed, and Hugo was concerned about the spring growth. Jess listened with half an ear while Paige chattered like a butcher’s magpie and ate chocolate chip cookies like there was no tomorrow.
Paige seemed a different child.
‘You’re hardly eating any,’ Paige complained as the child finished off her third. ‘Aren’t they delicious?’
‘Delicious,’ Jess agreed. ‘But-’ she cast a nervous glance at Niall as if expecting him to disagree with her ‘-I really have to go.’
She stood and the men stood with her.
‘I’ll take you out to the car,’ Paige said importantly but Niall shook his head.
‘Six o’clock, Paige, love,’ he told her. ‘Time for a bath.’
‘But…’
‘No buts.‘ Niall pointed to the clock. ‘We don’t argue about the rules.’
‘I’ll run it for her,’ Hugo said and made his way out to the passage. ‘After you, Paige, lass.’
They stumped off down the passage and Jess and Niall were left alone.
‘I suppose that seems hard,’ Niall told Jess. He hadn’t moved from where he’d risen but was watching Jessie’s face. ‘When Paige first came to us she fought us all the way. It was one long scream to have her do anything. We got over it by writing our schedule up on a noticeboard and sticking to it absolutely. Every night at six Paige knows she has a bath, come hell or high water. It seems to work.’
‘I’ve pulled you out of routine, then.’
‘You have at that.’ Niall’s eyes locked on hers across the table. ‘And the hard part is that it seems it’s changed things for the better.’
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