‘It was losing him that broke up our marriage. Grief can be a cruel thing,’ Ben said as one of the ladies behind the counter passed him a mug of tea. ‘I take it that Georgina had never mentioned either him or me to you.’
‘No, she hadn’t,’ James confirmed. ‘So why have you come to Willowmere after all this time?’
‘We met up by chance last August. I realised how much I still cared. She wrote to me some time ago, asking that we talk, but I was away and didn’t get the letter until recently. I came here hoping for a reconciliation and discovered that she was pregnant, which means that I’m not budging. Whether she wants me here or not, I’m staying. I want to be there for her at the birth and afterwards. I let her down once when she needed me desperately and am not going to do it again.
‘And do you know what, James? I’ve never talked to another living soul as I’ve talked to you today, but there is just one thing. Georgina is wary of me and I don’t blame her, so could I ask you not to mention our conversation to her?’
‘Yes, of course,’ was the reply, ‘and if ever there is anything I can do for either of you, Ben, you have only to ask.’
At that moment his children came up, asking for ice cream, and as Ben observed Pollyanna and Jolyon he thought that in spite of losing his wife the man standing beside him was truly blessed.
CHAPTER FIVE
WHEN Ben had gone to watch the cricket, Georgina lay on the sofa in her sitting room and thought about the time they’d just spent together.
They’d been happy as they’d chosen the baby’s layette, perfectly in tune like any expectant parents shopping for an addition to their family. But now she was wondering if it was wishful thinking on her part. Theirs was a strange relationship, and where Ben seemed supremely confident that it was all going to work out, she was alternating between doubt and hope all the time.
The more she saw of him the more she craved to have him near, yet when they were together she was wary, and knew he sensed it. He’d asked her to watch the cricket with him and she’d refused because she felt that he was always one step ahead of her, taking her breath away and undermining her confidence in her own abilities at the same time.
He’d described her as capable, and most of the time she was, but not where he was concerned. What was Ben expecting them to do once the baby had arrived? Set up house together as if the past didn’t exist?
The sexual chemistry was still strong between them. It always would be. But she had to keep telling herself that there was more to a relationship than that. Understanding came high on the list.
She’d been taken aback when he’d wanted to discuss names for the baby. Obviously she’d given it some thought, yet had felt the time for that would be once it was born. Maybe he’d brought up the subject because today he was happy and relaxed like he used to be in the old days and now she was wondering if she was going to be able to live up to his expectations.
The phone trilled into her thoughts and when she picked it up it was Nicholas ringing from Texas, as he sometimes did.
After they’d exchanged greetings he said uncomfortably, ‘I keep phoning Ben but there’s no answer. He’s been to Scandinavia, but I would have expected him to be back by now. I don’t suppose he’s appeared on your horizon, by any chance? He was desperate for your address before I left the country, but I kept my promise.’
She was fond of Ben’s likable young brother and told him, ‘As a matter of fact, Ben is here, and is intending to stay. He’s over the moon because I wrote to him with my address, and when he turned up here he found that I was pregnant after we’d met unexpectedly in the summer.’
‘That’s fantastic!’ he cried jubilantly, and then sounded less exuberant. ‘But how do you feel about all this, Georgina?’
She sighed. ‘I’m delighted about the baby, of course, but he and I haven’t had a very good track record since we lost Jamie, have we?’
‘Yes, but haven’t I always said that the two of you belong together?’ he said gravely. ‘You can both be forgiven for losing the plot after something like that. Give it time, Georgina. On a more cheerful note, I will be over for the christening of my new nephew or niece. That is really great news.’
When he’d rung off, she thought that Nicholas was another optimist who thought it was going to be easy, but she was the one carrying the baby, the one who had fled from the aftermath of grief and vowed that she wasn’t ever going to be hurt like that again.
With a sudden need for reassurance she reached for the jacket she’d taken off when she’d arrived home and, picking up her door keys, set off for the cricket ground.
James was batting at the wicket when she got there, but there was no sign of Ben amongst the spectators as she looked around her. She could hear children’s laughter coming from behind the pavillion, and when she went to look, she smiled.
James wasn’t the only one at the crease. There was another match taking place. Ben was the batsman, with a minuscule cricket cap on his head and a children’s bat in his hands, pretending to brace himself against the tennis ball that Jolyon was about to bowl at him. Pollyanna was the wicket keeper behind a small set of stumps.
This is how he used to be, Georgina thought wistfully. It was turning out to be a day of turning back the clock.
When the ball hit the bat he flicked it high enough for Pollyanna to catch, and as the children gleefully shouted ‘Out!’ he turned and saw her behind him.
‘This is a nice surprise,’ he said. ‘What made you change your mind?’
‘I came to tell you that Nicholas has been on the phone and I’ve put him in the picture about what’s happening here,’ she explained. ‘He’s coming over for the christening.’
He laughed. ‘That’s great!’ The children tugged at his arms, pleading with him to carry on with the game, and he gave her an apologetic smile. ‘I won’t be long. Are you going to sit and watch us?’
‘I am, indeed,’ she told him, with the appropriate amount of enthusiasm, and settled herself on one of the wooden seats that were scattered around the pitch.
They stayed until the match was over and the sun was sinking in the sky. As they were leaving, James said, ‘The children want to know when you are going to play with them again, Ben. You’ve made a hit there.’
‘Not with the bat,’ he said laughingly. ‘They’re great kids, James.’
‘They’re a grubby pair at the moment,’ their father said. ‘It’s going to be into the bath with them before supper.’
‘He’s a great guy too,’ Ben said as James trooped off with a tired but happy child on either side. ‘It’s a pity he hasn’t found them a loving stepmum.’
‘I agree,’ she told him. ‘But James has yet to find someone he can love as much as he loved his wife, and that’s the problem. He would never marry for convenience. I firmly believe that one day the right woman will appear and everyone will be delighted.’
‘If you feel up to it, why don’t we offer to take the children out for the day some time soon, to give him a break?’ he suggested. Partridge Lane came in sight and he glanced over at her. ‘I’ve really enjoyed today. Shopping for the baby this morning and playing with James’s kids this afternoon.’
‘Yes, I can tell you have,’ she said softly. ‘Dare I remind you of something that used to make you really angry?’
‘What?’
‘Time really does heal. Doesn’t it, Ben?’
‘Yes, it does,’ he agreed sombrely. ‘But the scars remain.’
‘They do, but we can live with them, can’t we?’
‘We have to,’ he replied, and there was no bitterness in his voice.
In that moment she felt closer to him than she’d been in years. If they could have talked like this all that time ago they might have salvaged something from their marriage, she thought wistfully.
They arrived at their separate properties, and as they halted he said, ‘As you arrived at the match shortly after I did, I take it you didn’t have a rest?’
>
‘Er, no, but I’m not an invalid, you know. It’s like I tell my mothers-to-be at the antenatal clinic at the surgery—having children is a natural thing, to be taken in one’s stride with common sense and pleasure.’
And what about high blood pressure and it’s effects? he thought, but didn’t voice it, even thought the memory was crystal-clear of the scares they’d had when she was expecting Jamie.
‘Yes, of course it is,’ he agreed. ‘AndI was not intending to fuss. I was merely going to suggest that I’ll rustle up some food while you have a rest, if you are agreeable?’
‘I’m agreeable,’ she told him thankfully.
‘I’ll give you a knock when it’s ready,’ he promised as they separated.
Once Georgina was inside the first thing she did was check her blood pressure. The gynaecologist had warned her to keep a close watch on it, because it had been up slightly the last time she’d seen him.
However, today the readings were as they should be, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
On Monday morning of the week leading up to Good Friday, Georgina awoke to the knowledge that it was Ben’s first day at the practice, and she was immediately wide-awake.
It was going to be very strange, she thought. They’d both been doctors all their working lives, but in different situations. She had always been in general practice and Ben hospital-based, so this was going to be the first time they’d worked together. She couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like.
He was bringing in his milk as she was setting off, and he called across, ‘I’ll be right behind you.’
As she was pulling up outside the surgery she could see his car following, and felt her heartbeat quicken.
Georgina began to calm down as the day progressed. He was efficient, yet pleasant with both patients and staff. To the uninformed he was just another doctor at the surgery. James and Ben had arranged that all young patients should be passed to him, thereby receiving the benefit of his experience, and in any spare time that Ben might have he would share the general workload.
It was late morning before they had a chance to talk. He came out onto the forecourt of the practice as Georgina was about to set off on her home visits and said, ‘James suggests that I tag along so that I can get to know the area better. Is that all right with you?’
‘Yes, of course,’ she told him. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Fine,’ he said easily, as if walking into a strange practice where his ex-wife worked was a doddle.
As she drove up the steep road that led to the moors and the peaks beyond, Ben wasn’t missing a thing. ‘It’s rather remote and bleak up here, and very sparsely populated,’ he commented as they drove the last mile to the tops. ‘I could do your calls in these parts if you want.’
‘No way!’ she protested. ‘The people who live in the cottages and farms up here are my friends.’ She could have told him they were amongst those who’d made her welcome when she’d first come to Willowmere, lonely and lost.
At that moment a stray sheep came from nowhere. It ran across the road in front of the car and she had to swerve to miss it.
‘Wow!’ he exclaimed. ‘Never a dull moment. The next time we have lamb for dinner I’ll be asking where it’s come from.’ Suddenly his tone changed. ‘Stop the car! There’s someone lying beneath that outcrop of rock over there.’
‘I see him,’ she said, braking sharply.
By the time she’d eased herself out of the car Ben was bending over the motionless body of a man in walking clothes. He called, ‘Fetch your bag, Georgina.’
Grabbing her bag out of the boot, she hurried over, fishing her mobile phone out of her pocket.
‘Looks as if he’s fallen over and hit his head,’ he said, nodding towards the high face of rock beneath which he was lying. ‘See the gash there on the side? I’ve got a pulse, but his breathing is shallow. We’re going to have to get an ambulance up here, Georgina. Have you got a signal?’
‘Thankfully. Right, I’m through.’ She gave the information required and hung up. ‘The ambulance is on it’s way.’
Ten minutes passed. Ben and Georgina were monitoring the man’s vital signs and Ben said grimly, ‘They’d better hurry or we’re going to lose him. Get ready to help me resuscitate, Georgina. OK, he’s stopped breathing.’
They immediately began the resuscitation procedure. As the ambulance pulled up, the accident victim was breathing shallowly once more.
When the paramedics had gone, sirens wailing, Ben said, ‘Phew! That was touch and go.’ He turned to her as they walked slowly back to the car. ‘Are you all right? It couldn’t have been easy for you, crouching down beside him.’
‘I’m fine,’ she told him. ‘Just relieved that we came upon the poor man. Do you think he stepped over the edge not realising there was a steep drop at the other side?’
‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘It’s beautiful up here, but there can be dangers in this sort of rugged terrain. What would you have done if I hadn’t been with you?’
‘The best I could, I suppose. At least it’s not snowing.’ He was observing her sharply and, tuning in to the direction of his thoughts, she said, ‘Don’t worry, Ben. I’ve lived here long enough to know how to manage. Now, we’d better get moving or our next patient will think we’ve got lost. It’s Ted Dawson at Summit Farm. His wife rang in to ask for a visit as he’s got a lot of back pain and is barely mobile. Otherwise, knowing Ted, he would have come to the surgery as he’s not one to make a fuss about nothing.
‘The Dawson’s are the most hospitable people. If I know Ellie, she’ll be offering us homemade cakes and coffee.’
Ben’s expression brightened.
‘It’s just a shame we won’t be able to accept, as we’re behind already with the home visits after what’s just happened at Hellemans Crag.’
He groaned and said laughingly, ‘So, do you think the farmer’s wife could make us up a lunchbox?’
A barred gate leading to a farmyard had appeared in front of them, and they drove up to the farmhouse. After Georgina had introduced Ben to Ellie and Ted, they each examined the stricken farmer in turn.
After they had exchanged comments, Georgina told the patient, ‘We both think that you might have a slipped disc in your spine, Ted, but only an X-ray can decide that. We need to get you to hospital.’
Ted sighed. Looking around the pleasant farmhouse, he said, ‘I can’t afford to be off my feet in this kind of job, Georgina. Farming’s not for stretcher cases.’
‘I know,’ she said sympathetically. ‘So the sooner we get you sorted, the better, don’t you agree? And in the meantime, can’t those three sons of yours give you a hand?’
‘They would if they were here,’ Ellie chipped in. ‘They’re all at university now, but we’ll sort something out until Ted is on his feet again.’
‘Shall I pass the message around that Summit Farm can do with some help?’ Georgina asked.
‘Aye, if you would,’ Ted said reluctantly. ‘By the way, don’t forget to have a cuppa and a piece of Ellie’s cake before you go.’
‘We’d love to, but I’m afraid we haven’t time,’ she said, and as they packed up, told them about the injured man they’d come across.
Almost on cue, Ellie said, ‘So take a piece with you to eat in the car.’ As Ben’s amused glance met hers, Georgina knew she hadn’t better refuse that offer.
‘I can’t believe that we dealt with a case of that kind on your first day at the practice,’ Georgina said as they went to get their cars at the end of the second surgery. ‘It would have been difficult if you hadn’t been there.’
‘So I am useful for something?’ he said quizically.
‘You’re in a league way above the rest of us at the practice, but don’t make a big thing of it. It was great working with you, Ben.’
It was true, she thought as she drove home. Why couldn’t she accept that living with him again could be just as good?
With the anxiety of worki
ng with Ben now having disappeared, Georgina still had to face telling him she was going to the cemetery on Good Friday, and it was approaching too quickly for her liking. Thursday was upon her almost before she knew it. She had to tell him that evening.
It was late in the afternoon, and on her way home she stopped off at the florist’s on the main street of the village to pick up the white roses that she’d ordered earlier in the week.
As she came out of the shop, holding the flowers and smiling at something the girl behind the counter had said, she froze. Ben’s car was parked behind hers and he was watching her through the window on the driver’s side.
When she drew level, he wound it down and said levelly, ‘I saw your car parked and wondered where you were. Could it be that you were intending to go to the cemetery and weren’t going to tell me? What is it, Georgina? Don’t you want me with you when you go there? Do you think I’m going to entice you back to the house again? I would never have expected you to be so unforgiving.’
‘I’m doing what I’ve done at special times of the year,’ she told him steadily. ‘The only difference is that since I’ve been pregnant I’ve travelled by train instead of using the car. I’ll be getting a local train from the station here in Willowmere early in the morning to connect with a mainline train from Manchester to London, if you want to come.’
‘I do want to come, but I won’t be going on this occasion,’ he said, in the same sort of level tone. ‘I’ve arranged to meet a colleague from Scandinavia. He’s interested in the work I did out there, so we’re spending the day together.’
His glance was on the perfection of the flowers she was holding. ‘So, as I can’t accept your lukewarm invitation, I’ll make my own arrangements for visiting Jamie.’ And, leaving her deflated, he pulled out from behind her car and drove off.
A Baby for the Village Doctor Page 7