The Consultant's Italian Knight

by Maggie Kingsley

‘You mean, we’re shouting at one another?’

  ‘No, but—’

  ‘Ignoring one another, being sarcastic, cutting one another dead?’

  ‘You’re not doing any of those things,’ Terri conceded, ‘but something’s different, something’s changed. I thought at one time that maybe the two of you might—you know—but now…’

  ‘Oh, good heavens, no,’ Kate said with a bright laugh. ‘He’s only here because of his work, and though we get on well together we could never be anything but friends.’

  And Mario had heard her, she realised, as he came out of the cubicle and strode past them without a word, but it was good that he had. Good that he knew she wasn’t hurt or upset because she would rather have walked through fire than have admitted to him that every time she saw him she felt as though her heart was breaking.

  ‘Well, I think you’re both mad!’ Terri exclaimed. ‘You share the same sense of humour, he used to be a doctor so his eyes won’t glaze over if you start talking about your work, and he’s drop dead gorgeous. Hell, girl, what more do you want?’

  Nothing more, Kate thought miserably as Terri walked away, but it had never been going to work, and she should have realised that.

  She should have realised that even if he had eventually grown to love her he would also eventually have come to resent her job just as John had done. The bitter, corrosive arguments that had killed her ex-husband’s love would have killed Mario’s love, too, and she couldn’t have borne it if she and Mario had grown to dislike one another as much as she and John had done. So it was better that they parted now. Better that she accepted it was never meant to be, and, if she was having difficulty in believing that at the moment, she knew one day that she would.

  ‘Something wrong, Kate?’ Paul asked, and she shook her head, forcing a bright smile to her lips.

  ‘Everything’s fine, Paul.’

  He nodded, turned to walk away, then paused.

  ‘Things can change, Kate,’ he murmured awkwardly. ‘People can, too. Remember that.’

  And, before she could reply, the specialist registrar strode away leaving Kate staring, open mouthed, after him. Ever since she’d helped his sister she’d sensed a growing—albeit grudging—respect for her from Paul, but this…This was almost the verbal equivalent of a cuddle from Paul. OK, so she could never see them becoming best buddies, just as she couldn’t ever see herself and George becoming the best of friends even though he was living with her now on Mario’s orders, but she sensed life in A and E was perhaps going to be a lot easier from now on.

  ‘Dr Kennedy, do you think I could have a word?’

  Or, then again, perhaps not, Kate thought as she turned to see Colin Watson standing behind her, looking nervous, and awkward, which meant something was wrong and at the moment the last thing she needed was another problem.

  ‘I’m really busy, Colin,’ she said evasively. ‘Can’t it wait?’

  ‘It won’t take long. Ten—fifteen—minutes tops,’ the junior doctor pressed, and she sighed inwardly.

  He looked uncomfortable as well as nervous which meant she definitely wasn’t going to like what he had to say but she was the consultant, he was her junior doctor, and it was her job to listen to his problems.

  ‘Come with me,’ she said, leading the way out of the treatment room and down the corridor into her office. ‘And don’t look so worried,’ she added encouragingly when she sat down. ‘I’m not an ogre, and I promise I won’t bite.’

  ‘It’s about my position in A and E,’ he said in a rush, clearly going for the direct let’s-get-this-over-with approach. ‘I’ve decided A and E isn’t for me, and I’d like to be transferred to Men’s Medical for the rest of my basic training.’

  ‘This is a bit sudden, isn’t it?’ she said, completely taken aback, because whatever else she had been expecting it hadn’t been that. ‘I mean, have you thought this through properly, given it—?’

  ‘Dr Kennedy, I thought A and E was what I wanted,’ he interrupted, ‘and it’s certainly exciting but the truth is I can’t do it. I thought I could, but the pressure…It’s too relentless, too intense. Mario said—’

  ‘You’ve spoken to him about this?’ Kate broke in.

  ‘He realised I was struggling,’ Colin said, ‘so we’ve been talking and he’s suggested I might be better suited to GP work. He said that though general practice wasn’t ever regarded as being glamorous, or as vital as A and E, it was actually incredibly important.’

  ‘He’s right, Colin.’

  ‘I know.’ The junior doctor nodded. ‘Just as I also know that my leaving is going to make things a bit difficult for you until you can appoint my replacement.’

  And how, she thought, but she would never have attempted to make him change his mind. Mario had been right. If Colin couldn’t cope now he most certainly wouldn’t be able to cope when she asked him to treat their more complicated cases.

  ‘I’ll be sorry to see you go,’ she said, getting to her feet, ‘but I respect your decision and I admire your courage for making it.’

  ‘Mario said you’d see it that way,’ the junior doctor declared, relief plain on his face.

  ‘He did?’

  Colin nodded as he followed her out of her office. ‘He also said you were the best consultant he’s ever worked with.’

  ‘That…that was nice of him,’ Kate said through a throat so tight it hurt. ‘He…he’s actually pretty terrific himself.’

  Mario was, she thought, as she walked back into the treatment room and she felt her heart ache with longing as her eyes met his, but she wished with all her heart that he could solve Duncan Hamilton’s case and leave because seeing him every day…

  It was so hard to keep on smiling, to keep on pretending she felt nothing, but she was going to do it if it killed her. Never—never—was he ever going to know that she loved him. It would be too embarrassing for both of them.

  ‘Stewart Bolton’s just arrived,’ Mario declared as he walked towards her. ‘The bounce-back you said you wanted to see if he ever presented again?’ he added helpfully. ‘This time he’s got chest pains, wheeziness, palpitations and hyperventilation in addition to sickness and diarrhoea. Sounds to me like he’s working his way through a medical dictionary.’

  It looked that way to Kate, too, after she had finished examining Mr Bolton and could find absolutely nothing wrong with him.

  ‘And you’ve had these symptoms how long?’ she asked, pulling her stethoscope out of her ears.

  ‘To be honest, Doctor, I haven’t felt well for the past year,’ Stewart Bolton replied plaintively. ‘If it hasn’t been one thing, it’s been another.’

  And I think you’re just a timewaster, she thought, and Mario was clearly thinking the same because he rolled his eyes slightly, but she couldn’t risk dismissing Mr Bolton’s symptoms out of hand. She had to be sure.

  ‘I just want a quick word with my colleague, Mr Bolton,’ she declared, motioning to Mario. ‘I won’t keep you a minute.’

  ‘Munchausen’s syndrome?’ Mario asked in an undertone as soon as they were outside the cubicle. ‘He just enjoys coming into hospital, the attention he gets here, so he’s fabricating all these symptoms?’

  ‘That’s my diagnosis,’ she replied, ‘but I want to cover all bases so we’ll give him a U and E, BMG, blood glucose test, and urine culture in case he’s suffering from accidental poisoning, and let’s toss in a CXR, CT scan and an ECG reading for good measure. That little lot should cheer him up immensely.’

  But, to her surprise, when she went back into the cubicle and told Mr Bolton what she planned to do, he didn’t look at all happy. In fact, he looked downright alarmed.

  ‘Do I really need to have all those tests?’ he protested. ‘I thought maybe you’d just give me some pills, a pick-me-up bottle?’

  ‘There’s no need to panic, Mr Bolton,’ Kate said, glancing across at Mario with a puzzled frown because a true Munchausen’s syndrome patient would have been over the moon
at the news. ‘I only want to run the tests as a precaution. For all I know you might simply be suffering from an allergy of some kind.’

  ‘You have an allergy, yourself, don’t you, Doctor?’ he observed. ‘I heard some of the nurses talking about it the last time I was here,’ he added as Kate gazed at him with surprise and she smiled.

  ‘And I’m still here to tell the tale, so please stop worrying.’

  ‘Yes, but it does mean you always have to be extra careful, doesn’t it, Doctor?’ Stewart Bolton continued. ‘Like you obviously couldn’t risk eating any of your birthday cake.’

  ‘Actually, I did eat a bit,’ Kate began. ‘I was very luck—’ She came to a halt. ‘How did you know I had a birthday cake?’

  ‘One of your nurses told me,’ he replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Kate shook her head.

  ‘They couldn’t have done,’ she said, her heart suddenly beginning to beat very fast. ‘None of them asked me whether I enjoyed the cake, so none of them knew I had one.’

  ‘It must have been one of the porters,’ Stewart Bolton blustered, his plump cheeks becoming distinctly florid. ‘Look, does it matter?’

  ‘Yes, it matters,’ Kate said slowly, ‘because only three people could know I had a birthday cake. Myself, Nurse Volante and the person who got me it. You…You were the one who left that cake for me, knowing I have an allergy to almonds, knowing exactly what would happen if I ate it. It was you.’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Stewart Bolton exclaimed. ‘This is rid—’

  ‘And your name’s Bolton,’ Kate said, with dawning, horror-stricken comprehension. ‘Bolton. I knew it was a town, but I couldn’t remember which one. Yours is the name I couldn’t remember. Yours is the other name that Duncan Hamilton gave me.’

  Stewart Bolton sat up fast and before Kate could move Mario was standing in front of her, shielding her.

  ‘Kate, get George.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Now, Kate.’

  And she fled, leaving Stewart Bolton staring at Mario with exasperation.

  ‘The woman is clearly deranged!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m an ordinary member of the public who came in here for medical help and—’

  ‘Stewart Bolton,’ Mario interrupted. ‘I must caution you that you do not have to say anything, but anything you do say—’

  ‘You’re a cop?’ Bolton interrupted in disbelief before Mario could finish. ‘Then you must know—what she said—accused me of—is complete nonsense.’

  ‘You’ll have plenty of time to think about that when you’re behind bars,’ Mario replied, and for a moment Stewart Bolton said nothing then he smiled, a tight, confident smile.

  ‘Only if you can prove it, and I very much doubt you’ll be able to.’

  ‘Oh, I’ll prove it,’ Mario declared as George swept into the cubicle closely followed by Kate. ‘I’ll nail you for this if it’s the last thing I do.’

  ‘You can try, Volante.’ Stewart Bolton sneered. ‘You can certainly try.’

  And with George at his side he walked out of the treatment room, leaving Kate gazing after them, white-faced and shaking.

  ‘It was him,’ she whispered. ‘All those visits to the unit…He must have been trying to find out information about me. It was him, Mario, and I just didn’t realise it.’

  ‘Kate—’

  ‘And he was right,’ she said, her voice trembling. ‘You’re never going to be able to prove it. A cake can’t have fingerprints on it, can it, and you held the plate, and so did I, and he probably wore gloves, and—’

  ‘Kate, I’ll prove it,’ Mario interrupted, hating the fear he could see in her eyes, wanting to hold her, but knowing he mustn’t because if he held her… ‘If it takes me to the end of my police career, I’ll prove it.’

  ‘Right.’ She nodded. ‘That’s good. I mean, that’s comforting.’ She took a steadying breath. ‘You must be pleased—finally getting your man. It will mean you won’t have to work here any more.’

  ‘I…I guess not.’

  His face was taut, strained, and she hitched her best smile to her lips.

  ‘Well, goodbye then. It’s been…’ She couldn’t have said it had been nice knowing him if her very life had depended on it. ‘Thanks for all your help.’

  ‘Ralph will keep you informed about what’s happening, but—’

  ‘But you won’t need to talk to me again,’ she finished for him. ‘I understand.’

  He backed up a step, then cleared his throat. ‘Kate—’

  ‘You’d better get going,’ she broke in quickly. ‘George will be waiting for you.’

  ‘Yes. I…’ A muscle clenched tight at the side of his cheek. ‘Well, goodbye then.’

  And she nodded, and as he walked out of the unit Terri rushed up to her, her eyes agog.

  ‘I’ve just seen George with that bounce-back patient,’ the sister exclaimed, ‘and George had the poor man in an arm lock. What happened? Did Bolton turn nasty, or something?’

  ‘In a way,’ Kate replied.

  ‘What way?’ Terri demanded, and Kate managed a small smile.

  ‘If you’ve got five minutes, Terri, I’ll tell you.’

  ‘You’d better order us more steri-strips, and double our normal order of amoxicillin and clarithromycin now winter’s on the horizon,’ Kate declared as she and Terri stood together in the unit store cupboard. ‘And it probably wouldn’t do any harm to double our order of halothane. The mists in October can often trigger acute attacks in asthma patients.’

  Terri nodded but, as she followed Kate out of the store cupboard and saw her rub her temples wearily, her plump face became determined.

  ‘You’re pushing yourself too hard, you know that, don’t you?’ she chided. ‘This last month—ever since Mario left…’ She shook her head. ‘I know you’re a workaholic, but quite frankly I’m surprised you’re still standing. You practically live in the unit, you scarcely sleep—’

  ‘I’m fine, Terri,’ Kate interrupted. ‘It’s just been a very busy month, that’s all.’

  ‘Right.’ The sister bit her lip, then glanced uncertainly at her. ‘Kate, I know this is none of my business, but can’t you fix whatever went wrong between you and Mario? Anyone with half a brain could see the guy was in love with you, and you’d fallen for him big time—I know you had—so why did you break up?’

  ‘Terri, it’s all water under the bridge now,’ Kate replied, ‘so can’t you please just forget it?’

  ‘No, I can’t,’ the sister said bluntly. ‘I want to know what went wrong, and I won’t quit bitching until you tell me.’

  Terri’s face had set into the stubborn lines Kate knew only too well, and she sighed. The sister wouldn’t give up until she told her so maybe it was better to just get it over with, to tell her the truth, and so, slowly and haltingly, she did.

  ‘So, you see, Terri,’ she said when she’d finished. ‘He’s still in love with Antonia.’

  ‘No, he’s not,’ the sister retorted. ‘He’s just terrified he will hurt you, but shutting out all human love isn’t the answer, and he has to face up to that, and as for you…Mario isn’t John, so why you and Mario can’t simply work out these non-problems is beyond me.’

  ‘Terri, he hasn’t tried to contact me once in the last month. I think that tells you how he feels about our “non-problems”, don’t you?’ Kate exclaimed, and to her surprise the sister smiled.

  ‘So, if he were to suddenly turn up unexpectedly, you wouldn’t want to talk to him?’

  No, she wouldn’t, Kate thought. She was getting through whole days now without remembering his smile, his touch, and his kiss, so she was moving on, starting to live again. OK, so she still hadn’t got round to making an appointment at the hairdresser, and her fridge had been receiving rather a serious workout over the past month, but she’d put her flat on the market so she was moving on.

  In a way.

  ‘What would be the point, Terri?’ she decla
red, suddenly realising that the sister was expecting an answer.

  ‘Well, you better think of one fast,’ Terri exclaimed, ‘because he’s just walked into the unit.’

  Kate’s heart lurched as it hadn’t done for weeks, and she turned slowly, willing herself to feel nothing, but it was a vain hope. The minute her eyes met Mario’s it was as though the last month had never happened, but never would she let him know that. She had her pride left if nothing else.

  ‘Long time no see,’ she declared, all bright and upbeat, and he shrugged awkwardly.

  ‘I have news about the Bolton case, so I thought I’d drop by, bring you up to date.’

  ‘Right.’ She nodded. ‘You’re looking very smart,’ she added as her gaze took in his dark navy suit, pale blue shirt and discreet tie.

  Thinner, too, she thought, and tired, and had he always had those faint lines etched between his eyebrows?

  His lips twitched slightly. ‘What you mean is, I don’t look quite so much like a bum today.’

  ‘I never thought you looked like a bum,’ she protested, and the smile on his lips widened.

  ‘No?’

  ‘Well, maybe I did,’ she conceded, ‘just a little bit.’ Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Terri had moved away from them, clearly wanting to give them some privacy, but she wished the sister would come back. She didn’t want to talk to Mario, didn’t want to be reminded of what they had shared, and she most definitely didn’t want to face the fact that the feelings she’d thought she’d conquered were still there, and as strong as ever.

  ‘The Bolton case?’ she continued quickly.

  ‘I’ve been trying to track down the baker who made your birthday cake, and finally I found him,’ Mario replied. ‘Actually, it was Bolton’s insistence on the cake containing almonds that proved his downfall. The baker remembered him quite clearly because it was so unusual for anyone to want almonds included in a plain sponge mixture.’

  ‘Has Bolton admitted it was him?’ she asked.

  ‘There wasn’t much else he could do when he was confronted with a positive ID. In fact, he sang like a canary, admitted he was Duncan Hamilton’s fixer, and gave us names, dates and places that will enable Interpol to arrest some very big players in the drug world.’