‘Who’s Bronwen?’ She did glance up then and was in time to see what could have been the semblance of a smile flit across Aidan’s granite-life features.
‘Bronwen? Ah, well, Bronwen looks after us all,’ said Henry. ‘She’s sort of head receptionist…office manager—you name it—all rolled into one. Don’t know what we’d do without her. Isn’t that right, Aidan?”
Aidan nodded. ‘She also rules the roost,’ he said. ‘You upset Bronwen at your peril.’
‘You sound as if you speak from experience,’ Lindsay remarked drily.
‘Oh, Aidan’s had a few spats with our Bronwen, especially when he first arrived.’ Henry gave his rich chuckle.
Soon after that Lindsay excused herself, pleading tiredness after her long journey, and thankfully went to her room, leaving the two men talking of practice matters.
It was relief to get into bed and finally to relax. It had been a tiring day and at journey’s end nothing had really been as she had expected. She wasn’t looking forward to the next day, or any other day after that if she was really honest, but it seemed there was little she could do about the situation. Just before she slipped into the welcome mists of sleep she decided that all she could really do was to make the best of things, but at the same time she resolved that she wouldn’t let herself be intimidated by Aidan Lennox, by the indomitable Bronwen or by anyone else for that matter in this rather strange village.
Lindsay awoke the following morning to the sound of heavy rain pattering on the roof. For one moment she couldn’t think where she was. As she remembered, she gave a groan and, turning over, buried her face in the pillow.
The rain did little to restore her spirits and it was with a heavy heart that she joined Henry in the kitchen.
‘Ah, Lindsay, my dear.’ His greeting was warm but he looked tired, and Lindsay wondered if Megan had had a bad night. ‘I trust you slept well.’
‘Like a log. How is Megan this morning?’ she added quickly as she helped herself to coffee and toast.
‘Not very bright. She had a bad night with muscle pain but she’s sleeping now.’
‘Are you able to leave her?’
‘The daily help will be in shortly—she’s very good. She’ll get anything Megan wants and I shall pop back at lunchtime.’ With that he left Lindsay to eat her breakfast while he took the dogs out for a run. When he returned she heard him on the phone in the hall then a moment later he looked round the kitchen door. ‘Well, if you’re fit, shall we make a move?’ he said.
Lindsay nodded took a last gulp of coffee and followed him out into the hall where she picked up her jacket, her case and her keys.
As Henry quietly closed the front door behind them he said, ‘May I suggest you come with me in the Jeep this morning?’
Mindful of Aidan’s derision over her sports car, Lindsay pulled a face.
‘You mustn’t let Aidan bother you,’ said Henry a few minutes later as he drove the Jeep out onto the road, with Lindsay beside him, and headed for the village. It was still raining hard and this morning the mountains were shrouded in thick cloud. ‘Remember, I told you,’ he added, ‘it takes a bit of getting to know Aidan, but when you do it’s worth the effort because he’s all right.’
‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ replied Lindsay drily, ‘when he’s having a go at me because of my background.’
‘You mustn’t mind that either,’ said Henry. ‘It’s a bit of a sore point with him—he had a very rough ride in his bid to become a doctor. I gather money was very tight and several times it was touch and go whether or not he would be able to finish his studies.’
‘Well, that must have been very tough, I’m sure,’ said Lindsay, ‘but it’s hardly my fault. Neither is it my fault that my father happens to be well off and successful. And at the end of the day none of that made the slightest difference to whether or not I passed my exams—I had to work as hard as anyone else.’
‘I’m sure you did,’ said Henry soothingly. ‘All I’m saying is don’t let Aidan get to you.’
And that, thought Lindsay as they took a narrow turning beside the chapel then swung onto the forecourt of a tall stone house, is going to be easier said than done.
A small woman with softly curling brown hair and whose age was difficult to determine, but who could have been anywhere between thirty and forty, was behind the reception desk, sorting through the morning mail. She barely glanced up as Henry and Lindsay shut the front door behind them and approached the desk. Before anyone had a chance to speak, a door opened to the left of them and a girl with long mousy hair and a terrified expression on her face, carrying a tray with three steaming mugs, came out and set the tray down on the desk.
‘Oh!’ she gasped when she caught sight of Henry. ‘Oh, Dr Llewellyn, I didn’t know you’d arrived. I’ll go and make some more coffee.’ She would have darted back into the room she’d come from but Henry stopped her.
‘No, wait a moment, Gwynneth,’ said Henry. ‘I’m glad you’re both here. I would like you to meet Dr Lindsay Henderson.’ Turning, he took Lindsay’s arm and drew her forward. ‘Lindsay, my dear, these are the ladies who keep the place ticking over for us. This is Gwynneth, who hasn’t been with us very long and is still learning the ropes, and this…’ he indicated the lady behind the desk ‘…is Bronwen. Bronwen has been with us for a very long time and knows everything there is to know about the practice. If there’s anything you want or need to know you only have to ask Bronwen.’
So, thought Lindsay, this is the formidable Bronwen. She didn’t know quite what she’d been expecting—probably some Amazon-like woman with warlike tendencies—certainly not the petite figure with the rather serious expression who gravely inclined her head in greeting.
Once the formalities were over Henry asked if Dr Lennox had arrived.
Gwynneth opened her mouth to reply to Henry’s question but Bronwen stepped in smartly, giving the girl no chance to speak. ‘Yes,’ she replied crisply, ‘he’s been in. But he’s gone over to the Dragon to see Thomas who had a bad night with his emphysema. He won’t be long.’
‘Very well. Tell him we’ll be in my room when he gets back. Oh, Bronwen, is Dr Henderson’s room ready for her?’
‘Of course.’ Bronwen’s response was abrupt, as if she was affronted that Henry should even think otherwise.
‘Well done, but we’ll need to see you, Bronwen—there have been one or two changes to the original plan.’
‘Oh?’ Bronwen looked up sharply. ‘And what might those be?’
‘We’ll put you in the picture when Dr Lennox gets back.’ Henry’s tone implied that for the moment, at least, the matter was closed. Lindsay, however, had caught sight not only of Bronwen’s expression, hostile now as she anticipated what changes might have been made without her knowledge, but also of Gwynneth’s scared one, as if she, too, feared the consequences. Lindsay was thankful to follow Henry out of Reception.
‘This is my consulting room,’ said Henry, opening the door and revealing a spacious, airy room at the front of the house. ‘Aidan’s is across the way and yours is down here. Come and have a look.’ He led the way down a fairly narrow passage to the rear of the house where he threw open a door. ‘This was the breakfast room originally when this was a family home,’ he said.
It was a light room even on a bleak rainy morning so Lindsay could imagine it would be really bright and pleasant on a sunny one. There were French doors on one wall which led into a plant-filled conservatory. A large window on another wall looked out over a small but pretty garden surrounded by a dry stone wall and with the inevitable mountain backdrop. A large oak desk bearing a computer stood in front of the window while a curtained-off section of the room revealed an examination couch.
‘I hope this will be suitable for you, Lindsay.’ There was a decided touch of anxiety in Henry’s voice and she hastened to reassure him.
‘It’s a lovely room,’ she replied, then she paused, before saying, ‘Do you intend me to take surgeries
straight away?’
‘More or less, we thought. Although you’ll have to talk to Aidan about what he has in mind.’
‘What about the flat?’ She looked round at her surroundings. ‘Can I see that now?’
‘Well, I’ve arranged for Mrs Jones, who’s our cleaner, to come in this morning to tidy it up a bit and to give it the once-over—you know, air the place a bit, that sort of thing. I think I’d rather you wait to see it until then.’
‘Is this something I should know about?’ Unheard by either of them, Bronwen had come into the room behind them and was standing in the doorway.
‘Oh, Bronwen, this was one of the changes I was telling you about. Dr Henderson has decided that in view of my wife’s illness she won’t be staying at the house. She’ll probably be staying upstairs in the flat, but I want Mrs Jones to have a go at it before Dr Henderson sees it.’
‘Why?’ asked Bronwen. ‘It’s perfectly clean and tidy up there.’
‘Oh, I’m sure it is,’ replied Henry hastily. ‘But, well, I know we’ve been storing things up there—’
‘Only some files,’ said Bronwen frostily.
‘Yes, well, no doubt the place wants airing.’ Henry turned quickly as someone else entered the room. ‘Oh, Aidan, there you are. I was just telling Bronwen that Lindsay will probably be living upstairs in the flat while she’s with us.’
‘I see,’ said Aidan, looking round and, no doubt, summing up the atmosphere in the room. Briefly his gaze came to rest on Lindsay and he gave her a cool nod. ‘Good morning,’ he said. Turning to Henry again, he went on, ‘Have you also told Bronwen that you’re no longer to be Lindsay’s trainer?’
‘Er, no, I hadn’t quite got around to that,’ Henry replied. ‘I thought we should wait until you arrived.’
‘Well, I’m here now,’ said Aidan, ‘so I guess there’s no time like the present. Bronwen, it’s been decided that I am to be Dr Henderson’s trainer instead of Dr Llewellyn.’
Lindsay was watching Bronwen to see what her reaction would be to this particular piece of information. She had gathered from the behaviour of the two men that some sort of reaction would be inevitable and, probably because she was anticipating it, she saw the quick look of surprised annoyance that crossed the woman’s face. It was gone almost immediately and replaced by her usual rather bland expression.
‘When was this decided?’ she asked.
‘A couple of weeks ago,’ said Henry.
‘It would have been nice to have been kept informed,’ said Bronwen tightly.
‘We decided not to say anything until we’d spoken to Dr Henderson,’ said Henry. ‘I very much regret having to take this decision but in view of Mrs Llewellyn’s illness it seemed the only thing to do. Luckily, both Dr Lennox and Dr Henderson have agreed to the change.’
‘So how will surgeries be arranged?’ Bronwen turned to Aidan.
‘That still needs to be discussed.’ He glanced questioningly at the other two. ‘Is it too early for a confab now?’
‘Not at all,’ said Henry briskly. ‘Come along to my room. Bronwen, maybe you could organise coffee for us all?’
Bronwen murmured something unintelligible and retreated back to Reception while Henry and Aidan looked ruefully at each other. Moments later they all three were seated in Henry’s consulting room and Bronwen appeared with a tray bearing three mugs of coffee and milk and sugar, which she set down on Henry’s desk.
‘Shall I stay?’ she asked.
Henry shook his head. ‘No, Bronwen, we mustn’t keep you from your other duties. It’s always busy for you at this time of the morning. But, rest assured, you’ll be informed immediately of what we decide.’
With a sniff Bronwen left the room, shutting the door behind her with a loud click.
‘Why do you let her do it?’ asked Lindsay. She was totally mystified by the interchange with Bronwen.
‘Do what?’ Aidan helped himself to milk and sugar.
‘Rule the roost,’ replied Lindsay simply.
‘She doesn’t really,’ said Henry, shaking his head.
‘She only thinks she does,’ Aidan explained. Once again Lindsay saw that fleeting semblance of a smile as it crossed his features.
‘Bronwen is actually very good at her job,’ said Henry. ‘Good staff are hard to come by here as nearly all the young people leave this area when they finish school to seek work elsewhere. So, yes, I admit, we do tend to humour Bronwen by allowing her to think she actually has more power than she really does.’ He paused and sipped his coffee, pulled a face then added sugar. ‘Now down to business. Aidan. Before, when we talked, when I was to be Lindsay’s trainer, we agreed that it would probably be best if she were to take any extra surgeries—are you still in agreement with that?’
‘Yes, I think so.’ Aidan nodded then turned to Lindsay. ‘It simply isn’t feasible for you to have your own list of patients when you’re only here for such a relatively short space of time. During the summer months, as you can probably imagine, we become inundated with tourists who never seem to be able to get through a week’s holiday without the attention of a doctor. It would be of immense help to us if you were to take those extra surgeries of temporary residents.’
Lindsay frowned. This wasn’t quite what she’d expected. ‘So am I only to do that?’ she asked. ‘I can’t imagine I’ll learn too much about general practice simply by tending to holiday ailments.’
‘You’d be surprised,’ said Aidan drily.
‘There will be more to it than that,’ said Henry quickly. ‘We also have a surplus most days of our own patients when appointments become hopelessly over-booked. We propose that you see these extra patients as well. We may also require you to make some home visits for us,’ he went on. ‘There will be times when I may be otherwise engaged, possibly with Megan, and unable to carry out home visits—likewise, if Aidan is having a day off.’
‘Will you want me to start this straight away?’ asked Lindsay. Suddenly she felt rather alarmed for it sounded as if she was to be flung in at the deep end.
‘It’s up to Aidan when you start,’ said Henry, turning to look at his partner. ‘I’m not sure what he has in mind. Aidan?’
‘I’ll want you to sit in on a few surgeries with me to start with,’ Aidan replied, ‘because you’ll need to get the feel of the place and the people. After that, we’ll swap places and I’ll sit in on your surgeries for a while. You can accompany both Henry and myself on house visits so that you can get to know the area. What do you think, Henry?’
‘Oh, absolutely,’ said Henry with a laugh. ‘We can’t have you getting lost, Lindsay, on some remote mountain pass. Speaking of which, we must organise a suitable vehicle for you to drive while you’re here.’
At that moment the intercom sounded on Henry’s desk and he flicked the switch. ‘Yes, Bronwen?’ he said with a sigh.
‘You have a lot of patients out here, Dr Llewellyn.’ Bronwen’s barely veiled accusing tone could be heard quite clearly by all three of them. ‘What would you like me to tell them?’
‘No need to tell them anything, Bronwen. We’re about to start surgery now.’
‘And where will Dr Henderson be?’
‘Dr Henderson will be sitting in with Dr Lennox,’ Henry replied firmly.
The sound of a loud click from the intercom indicated that Bronwen had switched off.
‘Well, that’s that,’ said Henry with a chuckle. ‘I guess we’d better get a move on.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Aidan drily. ‘I guess we had.’
CHAPTER FOUR
AIDAN’S consulting room was on the far side of Reception. As large as Henry’s, it looked out over the village and possessed its own examination room. After indicating to Lindsay to take a seat close to his, Aidan spent a few minutes explaining the computer system to her.
‘I obviously don’t expect you to remember it all at once,’ he said.
‘It shouldn’t be too much of a problem,’ she replied airily. ‘We had the
same system at the hospital where I last worked.’
‘That may well be so,’ he said, then added ominously, ‘But I bet you didn’t have a Gwynneth.’
‘Gwynneth?’
‘Yes, Gwynneth is a dab hand at crashing the system.’
‘Oh, I see…’ Lindsay trailed off, for at that moment, as if on cue, Gwynneth tapped on the door and came into the room, bearing a bundle of notes in her hands.
‘Ah, Gwynneth,’ said Aidan calmly, ‘we were just talking about you.’
The girl flushed scarlet. ‘Oh, were you?’ she said, and Lindsay got the impression that, far from being embarrassed, she was pleased she was the object of their attention.
‘Yes.’ Aidan nodded. ‘I was just telling Dr Henderson what a dab hand you are with the computer.’
‘Oh, well…’ Gwynneth flushed even deeper. ‘I try my best but I don’t always get things right,’ she said in her lilting Welsh accent. ‘Sometimes I spend ages putting something in then I press one button and it all disappears.’
‘Are those this morning’s notes, Gwynneth?’ asked Aidan.
‘What?’ said Gwynneth dreamily.
‘The notes?’
‘Oh, yes. Here you are.’ She handed them over. ‘I almost forgot what I’d come in for.’ Still with a dreamy expression on her face, she left the room.
‘As you can see,’ said Aidan, ‘we sometimes have a bit of a problem with our Gwynneth. But she means well.’
‘I’m sure she does,’ Lindsay replied.
‘Right, if you’re ready, we’ll get started.’
She watched as he leaned forward and pressed a buzzer, presumably for the first of the morning’s patients. This morning he was casually dressed in a navy blue cotton sweater and light beige trousers. It was all very informal, and as Lindsay glanced down at the black suit and crisp white blouse she was wearing she felt decidedly overdressed.
The first patient of the morning was an elderly man who stared suspiciously at Lindsay as soon as he came into the room.
‘Ah, Hew, this is Dr Lindsay Henderson. She’s going to be joining us here at the practice for a while,’ said Aidan.
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