by Betty Neels
Emily, itching to hear what they had all been discussing, was momentarily diverted by the idea of Mr van Tecqx being called Sebastian. She wondered if his friends called him Seb and decided that they wouldn’t dare—he would fix them with a glare from the blue eyes which were almost always half hidden by heavy lids. She studied him from where she sat. He must be around thirty-five, she supposed; his fair hair had a good deal of silver in it…
He had turned his head to look at her and she went bright pink and looked away, wishing fervently that she didn’t blush so easily.
‘I must admire your patience, Emily.’ He came and sat down between her and her father. ‘I think we might operate on your father within the next week or so.’
She sat up very straight. ‘But I—where will he go? Sister said there wasn’t a bed for months…’ She looked at her father. ‘Father, do explain!’
‘Well, dear, I think Mr van Tecqx can do that better than I. I shall leave it to him.’
‘Ah, yes—Emily, if you will walk with me to the car we can settle matters easily enough.’
Out of her father’s hearing she said urgently, ‘I don’t understand, and there you were talking about cricket…it’s all very well stating you’ll operate. Don’t think I’m ungrateful, but you don’t understand—it’ll have to be private, of course, and the thing is I haven’t saved enough money—it will be at least four or five months, and you might not be here then.’
‘No, I shan’t. Your father can have a bed in a private hospital where I sometimes send patients, and I will operate there, and he can convalesce in a rest home—there is a good one just outside Richmond.’
Emily stopped herself just in time from wringing her hands. ‘But you don’t understand!’ They were standing by the car and she stared up anxiously into his face.
‘If you would just trust me, Emily. I have to go—I’m already late—but I shall come for you tomorrow evening and I will explain. There will be no question of fees, but I want to strike a bargain with you. More about that later.’ With which infuriatingly unhelpful remark he got into his car and drove off.
Her father was just as unhelpful, not meaning to be but wanting to discuss every aspect of the operation and what it would mean in the future.
‘I must say,’ he observed happily to Emily, ‘it’s extremely good of Mr van Tecqx to make an operation possible. It seems he has beds at his disposal at some private hospital and the opportunity to operate before he returns to Holland. I mentioned fees, but he said he’d come to some arrangement with you, my dear. I dare say you can pull a few strings with the National Health people?’ He gave a chuckle. ‘Nursing must have its perks!’
Emily agreed cheerfully. There was no point in voicing her doubts and it was really wonderful to see her father so happy.
It was impossible to worry all the time. She cooked and cleaned and shopped in the village, then went for a rambling walk to go home in the gathering dusk to cook their supper and feed Podge, and her simple chores soothed her so that by the time Mr van Tecqx arrived at the gate she was prepared to hear whatever it was that he wanted to say.
He had arrived earlier than she had expected—he had said he would fetch her in the evening, but it was barely four o’clock and she had just made the tea. Probably he had a date in town, she decided, and invited him to have a cup of tea which she assured him was ready, and she was also quite ready to leave.
When he had drunk his tea and eaten a good deal of the cake she had made he still made no move to go. Instead, much to Emily’s surprise, he suggested that she might accompany him on a brief walk. ‘There are things which I have to say to you,’ he concluded.
‘Oh, well—all right. But don’t you have to get back to town? I thought that as you were here so early…’ She faltered at the smile and amused look on his face.
‘Of course I have to get back—so do you; that’s why I’m here so early.’
He waited patiently while she got her coat, tied a scarf around her head and made sure that her father was comfortable, and then accompanied him down the path and into the lane.
‘Somewhere quiet?’ he suggested.
‘Down the lane to the end; there’s a bridle path we can take, it will bring us out on the other side of the Tollhouse—about twenty minutes or so.’
‘Excellent.’
He had nothing to say for a minute or so and she prompted him with, ‘You want to strike a bargain?’
He was walking at his own pace, so that she had difficulty in keeping up with him. ‘Yes. I’m prepared to operate upon your father—both hips—within the next week or two. Neither I nor the anaesthetist nor the private hospital where I propose he should be will require fees, although I do ask something in return. I have a young sister—the youngest of four—nineteen years old. She contracted polio last year and is making a slow recovery—too slow for her. She is impatient, given to bouts of rage and fits of depression. She is wearing my mother down, and a succession of nurses come and go with predictable rapidity. She needs someone of her own age, someone calm and kind and patient and at the same time firm. She is a dear girl, make no mistake, and she will make an almost complete recovery; but at the moment she has stopped trying; she needs something new to get her going again. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Oh, perfectly.’ They were walking along the bridle path side by side. ‘But, Mr Van Tecqx, I’m not trained—I have another year to do. I’m not free, even if I wanted to be.’
‘I can arrange that.’
‘I have no doubt of that,’ Emily’s voice was dry. ‘But what about me? Am I to start all over again once your sister is well again?’
‘No. I think it can be arranged that you will need to do only an extra six months to complete your training after you have done your third year.’
‘And if I don’t agree?’ She stopped to look at him. ‘You won’t operate?’
His voice was silky. ‘My sister is very dear to me, Emily, and I imagine that your father is also dear to you. It amounts to this: You will help me and I shall help you.’
‘Yes, but there must be dozens of nurses who would do just as well as I would.’
‘Probably. Do you know dozens of surgeons who are willing to operate upon your father? Just think, Emily; within a few months he will have the use of his legs again; he will be able to walk to the village, go for rambles, even get a part-time job if he wishes—drive a car…’
‘It’s blackmail,’ she said fiercely.
He agreed blandly. ‘What is more, you will have to trust me completely, Emily. I give you my word that everything needful will be done for your father and that when, eventually, you are ready to return to nursing, you will be given every opportunity to take your exams at the earliest possible moment.’
They had gained the lane once more and were passing the Tollhouse; in another five minutes they would be back at her home. ‘Podge,’ said Emily suddenly.
‘I have a housekeeper who looks after me when I am in London. Would you consent to her looking after Podge while you are away?’
‘He might run away.’
‘Mrs Twig will take great care of him. He is not a very adventurous cat, is he? He has known hard times and he isn’t likely to leave a comfortable home.’
She said sharply, ‘You make it all sound so easy.’
‘As it is.’ They had arrived back at the cottage and had paused outside its door.
‘How long will it take—the operation on Father and then his convalescence?’
‘He will be on his feet by Christmas.’
‘And your sister?’
‘That will depend largely on you. But you have my word that the moment she is able to cope with life once more, you shall return to England. You will, of course, be paid a salary; you will not suffer financially.’
Emily was back at her old habit of doing sums in her head. She wouldn’t need to touch her savings—once she got back home she and her father would be able to have a holiday, a decent one at a hotel wi
th no cheeseparing, and she would be able to live at the hospital again. She drew a deep breath. ‘All right, I’ll do it.’
He held out a large hand and she put hers into it. Probably she would wake up in the night and regret what she was doing, but just at that moment the whole plan seemed very sensible and easy, and above all, exactly what she had hoped for for her father.
‘I shall operate at the end of next week; your father will have limited walking exercise after twenty-four hours, his stitches will come out after a week or ten days and he will be home again before three weeks. The joint should be normal at the end of three months. I’ll do the second hip then.’
‘Yes, but who’s going to look after him? I won’t be at home, will I? He can’t stay in the hospital for months!’
‘I know just the person to look after him. If you will agree, she can move in and look after your father. A retired nurse, middle-aged and a very good cook.’
‘But it will all cost so much—I mean, even without your fees.’
‘Ah, you forget, I shall deduct an agreed sum from your salary while you are looking after my sister.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘Trust me, Emily, I’m not offering you charity! You will pay for it—probably more than you bargain for—my sister won’t be easy. There is still time for you to change your mind.’
She shook her head. ‘I shan’t do that. You see, it’s something I’ve wanted so badly for a long time—to have my father back on his feet again. I’ll do my best with your sister, really I will.’
‘I know that. Shall we tell your father the plans? He will probably have plans of his own to work out.’
‘Yes, all right. Do you want to leave as soon as possible?’
‘Well, I was rather hoping that I might share your supper.’ He contrived to sound both hungry and lonely, ‘I’ll talk to your father while you cook.’
A couple of hours later, sitting beside Mr van Tecqx, being driven back to Pearson’s, Emily did her best to gather her scattered wits together into some sort of order. It all sounded so easy when he talked about it, but she saw snags at every turn. ‘Do I have to go to the office?’ she asked suddenly.
‘Eventually, but I will see the Senior Nursing Officer tomorrow morning; she will send for you, I dare say. You would like to stay till your father is home again, wouldn’t you? I can arrange for you to leave in about three weeks’ time, you will be able to see him settled with Mrs Philips. Don’t worry about getting to Holland; I will deal with that and then let you know.’ Emily stirred restlessly and he added quietly, ‘Just take one thing at a time, Emily.’
When they reached her digs, he got out of the car, took her overnight bag from her, opened the front door and went in with her. In the narrow hall with Mrs Winter’s door open a crack so that she could hear every word, Emily said hastily, ‘Thank you for the lift, Mr van Tecqx.’
‘I’m coming up, just to see you safely in.’ He had raised his voice deliberately, ‘You can’t manage Podge and your bag.’
He stood beside her in her room, taking in its shabbiness and not saying a word. But when he turned to go he paused and dropped a kiss on her cheek. She uttered a surprised goodnight to an empty room.
CHAPTER THREE
EMILY LAY AWAKE far too long, thinking about Mr van Tecqx’s kiss. It had been a chaste salute but a kiss nevertheless; she had a nasty feeling that it was because he pitied her living in a poky attic.
In consequence she had overslept, so that she had had to hurry over her dressing and sketchy breakfast, attend to Podge and then hurry through the streets to the Underground. The day went wrong from the start. Sister Cook was in a bad mood, finding fault with everyone and everything. Emily was off duty at five o’clock, but long before that she would have given a great deal to have bolted from the ward and rushed home to Podge’s undemanding company. It was mid-afternoon when Sister Cook sent for her.
‘You’re to go to the office at once,’ she stated. ‘I have no idea why, but it’s highly inconvenient. How I’m expected to run this ward with half the trained nurses for ever going to the office, I don’t know!’
Emily said meekly, ‘Yes, Sister,’ and sped away. Mr van Tecqx might have given Sister Cook a hint; now she would have to report back from the Office and explain why she was leaving. Her tired brain really couldn’t cope with it. She tapped on the SNO’s door and was bidden to enter.
The SNO was a good deal easier than Sister Cook. She appeared to find nothing strange in Mr van Tecqx’s request that Emily should leave within a few weeks in order to nurse his sister. Emily was not of course to know that the SNO was an old friend of his mother… She said, ‘Yes, Miss Webb!’ and ‘No, Miss Webb,’ when necessary and got herself out of the office. There were no obstacles put in the way of her leaving and she might return if she wished and finish her training, but she doubted very much if Sister Cook would see things in the same light. She went back to the ward, took a deep heartening breath, and tapped on Sister’s door.
Sister Cook was seated at her desk and Mr van Tecqx was leaning against a wall, looking what Emily could only think of as smug.
Sister’s voice, pitched fortissimo for most of the day, was surprisingly dulcet. ‘Ah—yes, Nurse Grenfell. Mr van Tecqx has been explaining to me that you’re exactly the nurse that he would wish for his sister. I’ve agreed that you should leave in two weeks’ time, and should you decide to return to finish your training here later on, I for one can see no objection.’
Emily didn’t look at Mr van Tecqx; he had obviously been laying on the charm, and pretty thickly too. She said, ‘Yes, Sister, thank you,’ in her calm way, and stood waiting to be told to go.
‘Mr van Tecqx tells me he has to make known his arrangements to you before he returns to Holland. You’ll go off duty at five o’clock punctually, Nurse Grenfell, so that you may be briefed.’
Emily said, ‘Yes, Sister,’ once again, and, told to go, went.
It was all very well, she thought as she went off duty, but who was to brief her, and where? Perhaps there would be a letter for her at the lodge. She went to the entrance hall and, although there was no letter, Mr van Tecqx was there instead, leaning against the lodge, reading the evening newspaper.
He folded it neatly when he saw her, handed it back to the porter and went to meet her.
‘I am sorry that I cannot ask you out this evening, but I have a prior engagement. I intend to operate upon your father in four days’ time.’ He paused to study her calm face, wreathed in rather untidy mousy hair. He mentioned the private hospital, not too far away from Pearson’s. ‘You will be able to visit every day, and by the time you leave here he should be very nearly fit to go back home. You will be able to go there, will you not, and be nicely settled in by the time he returns with the nurse? I should be glad if you would hold yourself in readiness to go to Holland within a few days of his return.’ He waited for her to speak, but as she said nothing he continued. ‘I have been thinking about Podge. Perhaps if you agree, it would be pleasanter for him if he were to go to your home? He’s not a complete stranger to it, is he, and he will be company for your father—and you will have regular news of him…?’
‘Thank you, that sounds a good idea. How will Father get to this hospital?’
‘I will arrange that. I have asked Sister Cook to let you have days off so that you can be there when I operate.’
Emily said gratefully, ‘You’ve thought of everything. Thank you very much.’
‘Reserve your thanks, Emily, I suspect you will be getting the worst of the bargain.’
She shook her head. ‘Oh, no. How can you say that? What could be worse than Father having to sit in a wheelchair for years?’
‘I’ll tell you—my young sister, bursting with impatience and taking it out on the nearest person—you, Emily.’
‘But she will get better?’
‘Yes, and that will depend largely upon you.’ He glanced at the thin gold watch on his wrist. ‘I have to go. I’ll see that you are kept informed.’
Emily stood watching him go through the door. He really was a very large man, she reflected, as his broad shoulders disappeared into the gathering dark outside. She wondered briefly where he was going and what kind of life he had away from the hospital, before going to the cloakroom to get her outdoor things and take herself off home.
She had thought that the next couple of weeks would go slowly, but instead of that she discovered that she was occupied with a dozen small chores which had to be done before she left the hospital and her room. Mrs Winter had been surprisingly upset when Emily had told her she was leaving, and went to the trouble of rooting around in the basement for an old trunk she no longer needed and was prepared to sell to Emily for a modest sum. It was a ramshackle thing, but in her year or two at Pearson’s Emily had acquired bits and pieces for her room which she was loath to discard. She packed, paid her modest bill, and waited for whatever would happen next.
Mr van Tecqx had made no effort to contact her at Pearson’s. He had done his ward rounds as usual, wishing her good morning if he encountered her, thanking her politely if it should fall to her lot to hand him a patient’s chart or X-ray; the last day came and she was none the wiser as to her future.
Her father had had his operation. Emily had spent her days off at the hospital where he was a patient. Someone there had phoned her and given her the time of the operation and suggested that she might like to be at the hospital while it took place, and they had been kind to her there, settling her in a comfortable waiting-room, bringing her tea and coffee and sandwiches, and when finally they told her that the operation was over, Mr van Tecqx had come to find her, still in his green cotton smock and trousers, to assure her that it had been entirely successful and that she might see her father very shortly. She had spent most of the next day there too, delighted to find her father on his feet, if only for a few painful moments, and after that she had visited each day when she was off duty, and now he had been considered fit enough to return home with his nurse. But first she was to go home and have everything in readiness. Presumably she would be contacted once she was home and her father was settled in.