“Can’t think why she keeps her.” The dark girl again spoke irritably. “She is a little misery anyway and is always bawling for Sister, doesn’t seem to want anyone else to do anything for her. I think old Somers encourages her.”
“Don’t be silly, Janes, the kid’s nervous, that’s all,” the freckled nurse protested. “I must admit we could do without the extra work of a child in the ward but she’s a sweet thing, and she’s taken a liking to Somers, kids often get like that—only want one person to do for them.” She paused, then added: “I remember when I was on ‘Children’s Ward’...”
“For goodness sake cut out the reminiscences—we couldn’t care less,” Janes grumbled, then added quickly in an undertone, “and stop discussing Somers, here’s Ling!”
There was an awkward silence as Janet entered the room. She was popular and liked by her juniors, but her friendship with Kay had formed an invisible barrier between herself and the rest of the staff on “Surgical Two.” She was readily admitted to their circle, but an element of restraint was apparent and confidences had an uncomfortable habit of ending abruptly at her approach.
“Hallo, girls!” she greeted them as she drew up a chair and joined their group, then before speaking again she glanced quickly at her watch. “Another ten minutes before we need move ... Well, what’s the latest scandal?”
“Not a thing.” Pamela threw her cigarette with a well-aimed gesture, through the open window. “We were just discussing Sister Somers’ leaving present, the list’s doing fine, we ought to collect a lot. I’m going to tackle Raynal next, I was saying I should think he ought to be good for a fiver.”
“He may want to give a separate gift, she’s worked for him for a long time—first as Theatre Sister, then on ‘Surgical Two.’ ”
“Umph...” Janes gave an expressive grunt. “She may have done, but I can’t see much weeping and wailing at her departure, from that quarter.”
Ignoring the inference, Janet addressed Pamela again. “I suppose you’ll make the presentation before she leaves next week—you won’t wait until she returns for her last month?”
“Oh no, she must have it before her holiday, so she has it as a sort of wedding present as well,” Pamela Long explained, then queried: “What’s going to happen to Christine Raynal when Sister isn’t here: you know she is the only one who can really manage her.”
“I was wondering myself.” Janet sighed. “I don’t look forward to the job, Somers seems the only one who can coax her to do anything. She is a good little thing, but there is an obstinate streak or something.”
“Like her uncle.” The freckled girl giggled. “But seriously, it’s going to be a problem, she never even attempts to walk unless Sister is with her, and as for eating, no one else is able to get her to swallow a mouthful.”
“She should be ready to leave for a convalescent home or something soon,” Janet broke in. “Sister will be here another week and perhaps Christine will be fit to be moved before then.”
Nurse Janes, who had not spoken for some moments, now interrupted: “I happened to mention to Christine this morning that Sister would be leaving; she looked at me with those large eyes and honestly she turned so queer, I thought the child was going to throw a fit.”
“You didn’t tell her?” Janet asked angrily. “What on earth made you do that?”
“Well, she’s got to know some time, hasn’t she?” Nurse Janes snapped at Janet. “Can’t see that it makes any difference when she knows.”
“It wasn’t your job to tell her,” Janet spoke with ill-concealed anger. “No wonder she has been so queer this morning, burying her face in her pillow, crying. Sister will be mad when she knows.”
“She’s usually mad at something, so I can’t see that it matters much.” Nurse Janes rose and stretching her arms languidly above her head, turned towards the door. “I suppose I’d better get back on duty, I expect Sister is watching the clock.”
That afternoon in “Surgical Two” was what Janet was wont to call a “black devil.” From the time she returned to duty until close on five was one hectic rush. Three admissions and four cases for the theatre list on top of everything else. Kay was in the theatre most of the afternoon, so the responsibility of the ward was in Janet’s hands, and, as usual, when Kay wasn’t there to consult, at least half-a-dozen difficulties cropped up. Visiting day too, how Janet—and indeed most of the staff—dreaded visiting day. As visitors straggled in, the ward became more and more of a muddle. Anxious relatives with their unending questions, drooping flowers, already wilting in the heat, to be thrust in vases, a dish for Mrs. Dent’s oranges, and could Mrs. Brown have these two eggs boiled for her tea? There must be a civil answer to all their queries and requests but, at the same time, there were all the routine jobs to accomplish. At four o’clock precisely, Janet had cleared the ward of visitors and then there had been all the tidying up to do and it was incredible how long that took too! With a sigh of relief, Janet saw the last bed straightened and the tea trolley being pushed in.
It didn’t seem that Kay, in the theatre, had fared much better. She looked pale, with dark shadows under her eyes and appeared almost dropping with fatigue by the time she returned to the ward. She gladly welcomed Janet’s suggestion of tea and sank gratefully on to the office chair.
“It was stifling in theatre this afternoon,” she complained as she took a cup of tea from Janet’s hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so tired, this last month really has been hot for an English summer.”
“One shouldn’t be expected to work in this weather, it’s a waste; all I can think of is a deck chair and a sunsuit.”
“I’ve got my holidays to come, that’s one blessing.” Kay drank her tea, then added: “You, poor dear, have had yours, it’s a shame.”
“And it poured with rain and was freezing cold all the time.” Janet laughed good-naturedly. “Anyway, I hope I you get it fine; after all, yours is a honeymoon as well.”
“Raynal was quite unbearable in theatre this afternoon. He told me quite distinctly he wanted to do Miss Barnes B under a ‘local’—I told Theatre Sister, and then he raised Cain because she wasn’t prepared for a ‘general.’ Of course, Theatre Sister came in for it too, which made me feel an absolute worm.”
“You should be used to him by now,” Janet remarked complacently, as she took a sweet biscuit from a tin. “Have one?” As Kay shook her head, Janet continued. “Will Raynal be paying his usual good-night visit to Christine before he leaves?”
“He never leaves hospital without peeping in at her. How is the child?”
“Didn’t eat enough of her lunch to keep a bird alive, and looks pretty tearful to me. When I asked her if she was all right, she gave me one of those pathetic watery smiles.” Janet paused thoughtfully, then added: “I think she knows you are going away at the end of the week.”
“Who on earth told her?” Kay asked angrily.
“Haven’t a clue,” Janet replied airily. “But you know how everything gets around in hospital, one can’t keep anything quiet.”
Janet jumped up to answer a tap on the office door, then turning back to Kay with a secret grin, she announced Mr. Raynal.
Kay rose to her feet, and dismissing Janet, waited for Peter Raynal to speak.
“Sit down, Sister, finish your tea, I am sorry to interrupt you.”
“Thank you, sir.” Kay still remained standing, her tea disregarded on her desk. “Did you want me for anything?”
“I said, sit down.” There was a hint of irritation in his voice as he seated himself on the chair Janet had vacated.
Kay returned to her own seat, and uncomfortably conscious of her half-finished tea, she found herself offering Raynal a cup.
“Thanks, I’d love one.” He accepted. “You look pale,, anything the matter?”
“No thanks ... only that I am tired,” Kay responded briefly as she handed the sugar-basin. “Did you want me for anything?”
For a moment Raynal stirred his tea
, then looking up at his companion, spoke. “Yes—I’ve just come from Christine, I looked in to say good night-as usual. She is very unhappy—someone has told her you are leaving at the end of the week.”
“I know—Nurse Ling warned me. I’m sorry, I didn’t want her to know until it was absolutely necessary, she gets a little stronger every day and I hoped that by the end of the week, she might take the news better.”
“In any case, I can’t keep her here much longer. She needs a different atmosphere now, too much hospital isn’t good for her. I want to get her out of London, to the country or to the sea. I’d like her to go on being encouraged to use that leg as you have been encouraging her, and in a few weeks’ time, she can return to have the plaster removed.” He felt in the pocket of his white jacket and brought out a packet of papers. “These are some prospectuses of convalescent homes for children, I wonder if you’d glance through-them and give me your opinion?” He placed the packet on the desk between them.
“Surely, sir, that is a matter for you to discuss with Mrs. Raynal.” Kay made no effort to pick up the folders he had placed before her, and with a gesture of irritation, Raynal pushed them closer.
“I’m asking your opinion, have a look through them, please. Mrs. Raynal sailed on the Queen Elizabeth for New York last week, the child is now entirely in my charge, her mother has waived all responsibility, and will probably not even return to this country.”
“I see.” Kay picked up the brochures and looked through them, one by one. She took her time, then laid them carefully back on the desk. “One or two sound quite good—particularly the one at Stonsea—it seems to be well run and on the right lines.” Kay paused and when she continued her tone was expressionless. “Except that all, the children are convalescent, it will merely be another form of boarding school.”
“That’s just it!” Raynal replaced his cup on the tray and turned round, until he was directly facing Kay. He scrutinized her until she felt compelled to meet his gaze. “I’m frightened to send her to that sort of place; what shall I do, what do you advise?”
“I really don’t know ... it’s hardly my affair...” Kay began tentatively, when Raynal interrupted her.
“Christine has made it your affair; apart from myself, you are the only person in the world she cares about. If you have any suggestion to make, I am prepared to listen; you will be able to persuade Christine to try—you have another week with her and I think she would consent to do anything to please you.”
“She probably would, but have I the right to persuade her to go to one of these places?” Kay flicked the brochures on her desk. “Has either of us the right to persuade the child to do something which might be injurious to her nerves and detrimental to her recovery?”
“I know that type of place is entirely unsuitable, but what can I do?” Raynal ran his long thin hand distractedly through his hair. “I’ve interviewed about four governesses, thinking I might send her down with someone to a quiet hotel by the sea, but they were all hopeless, I disliked them on sight.”
“Would you allow me to take Christine down to Thorndene with me? I am sure my mother will be happy to look after her.” The moment Kay had spoken, she wondered what on earth had possessed her, and yet much to her own surprise, she found herself eagerly searching her companion’s expression and almost afraid to hear his answer.
“But, Sister...” Kay was sure it was the first time she had seen the Senior Surgeon at a loss for words. His expression was one of incredulity and he appeared uncertain that he had heard correctly.
“I’ve asked you if you’ll let me take Christine to my mother.” Kay repeated the question, and even as she framed the words again, she was aware of no regret, but an inward elation.
“It would be wonderful—but I don’t see how I can accept such a generous offer. There is your mother to consider too ... I really don’t see how I can agree...”
“I am quite sure that my mother won’t mind,” Kay interrupted, while a note of urgency crept into her voice. There was no doubt in her mind now, in a brief three weeks Christine had won her heart, she could not bear to think of her as unhappy, she would always be conscious of that childish faith, and feel that she could have brought some happiness into that woebegone little face. Her love for the child had gone deeper than she had believed, but how readily would she have surrendered to a loving mother and a happy home. The knowledge that Christine had neither caused her eyes to mist. “Thorndene is in the heart of the country—’Hilltop’ is only a cottage—not very luxurious or elaborate, but Mother will look after Christine, I can promise you that.”
“You don’t think I mind what sort of house you live in.” Raynal rose to his feet and paced the restricted floor space. Then swinging round to face Kay, he stopped in his stride. “You are going home to be married ... how can you be bothered with a child—and then I believe you are coming back to work for a time?”
“Yes—I am. But you see I know that Christine will be happy with Mother—all children love her. There is my sister too, just the two of them. I’ll be busy getting my home ready, of course, but Christine will be quite all right with Mother—we have a large garden, an orchid, a pond and a pony too—all the things Christine needs to distract her. I’ll be back here for a while, then I go to my new home, Aldon Farm. If Christine isn’t well enough to return to school, she can remain at ‘Hilltop’ or even come to me—the two places are not far apart.”
“It sounds perfect—I am very tempted ... but somehow...”
Kay could scarcely restrain her impatience. With an impulsive movement, she placed her hand on his arm. “Please, sir, do let me have her ... you must realize that, actually, you haven’t any choice.”
“I suppose I haven’t.” He paused, then looked down into Kay’s eyes. “I can’t began to express my gratitude—I am so very deeply in your debt ... I feel I am accepting too much.”
“Not at all.” There was a practical note in Kay’s voice. She rose to her feet and pulled herself up to her full height, but even then her eyes were only on the level of her companion’s chin. She’d got what she wanted and she was infinitely happy—it had been an impulsive offer but she hadn’t a shred of regret—there was only one thing, she didn’t want Peter Raynal’s gratitude, she didn’t want anything from him, she disliked him, and anything she did was entirely for the child, she hoped she had made that point quite clear. Assuming her most authoritative ward-voice, she added: “There really isn’t anything for you to be grateful for, this can be entirely a business arrangement, you are quite welcome to pay for Christine.”
“But, of course ... I should much prefer things that way...”
“If you’ll excuse me, I have to go round the ward.” Kay moved over to the door with the definite intention of ending the interview. As she reached the doorway, he detained her.
“Just a moment, Sister. You go on Saturday. I believe. Christine should be fit to leave by then, will you allow me to drive you both down; obviously Christine must go by car?”
“Yes, I suppose that would be best,” Kay conceded, although she felt she would have preferred a hired car.
“And one other thing.” He smiled. “I hope I may be allowed to visit Christine just now and again...”
“Naturally, sir.” Kay hoped her tone sounded gracious, but although out of kindness of heart she had taken Christine, she had certainly not reckoned on Peter Raynal becoming a future visitor to the peaceful sanctity of her home.
CHAPTER SIX
Janet Ling folded a frock neatly between sheets of tissue paper, then placed it in Kay’s already half-filled suitcase. “That’s about as much as I can do for you...” She glanced at Kay’s bedside clock. “Gosh! it’s nearly quarter to eight, I’ll have to be getting on duty.”
“You’ve been a terrific help,” Kay told her friend. “I don’t think I’d ever have got packed if it hadn’t been for you.”
“I’ve never seen anyone take so much on a holiday,” Janet laughed. “Once my
back is turned, you’ll probably try to pack the furniture?”
“What! This stuff!” Kay surveyed her bedroom with disgust. “I don’t want to see any of this junk once I’ve left the place.” She rolled a pair of shoes in paper and tucked them down the side of her case, before continuing. “I am taking an awful lot with me, I know, but you see I’ve got to get it all home eventually and I thought I might as well take advantage of Mr. Raynal’s car and stuff in all I can. Next time I go home it will be by bus and train.”
“You are quite right,” Janet admitted, then added: “I’m going to miss you terribly, Kay. Thank goodness, you are coming back after your holiday, that will ease the blow a bit. I forgot to tell you I saw Matron last night, the old cat isn’t going to let me take over the ward, she says I haven’t done a staff job for long enough yet, so I expect we’ll have someone in your place.”
“You’ll get a ward before long.” Kay threw a packet of starched belts over to her friend. “Any good to you? I shan’t need them, I’ve got enough to see me through my time.”
“I’d love them, mine are in an awful condition, the laundry has stretched the buttonholes so much that I can’t keep a button fastened. They were second-hand anyway. Crossley gave them to me when she left last year.” Janet rolled them into a ball and tried to force them into her apron pocket. “What time will you be leaving, will you be able to have ‘elevenses’ with me on the ward?”
“I don’t think so, Mr. Raynal said something about getting away early, he wants to be back for his theatre listing this afternoon; thank heavens I shan’t be there.” Kay gave a heartfelt sigh. “I can’t tell you how I long to get away.”
“I bet you do.” Janet paused, then continued: “I wonder if you’ll regret taking Christine along. I know she is a sweet kid and all that, but you are going to be pretty occupied with your young man, what is your mum going to say about it?”
Peter Raynal, Surgeon Page 6