‘A boy. He’s six weeks premature so he won’t be coming home in a hurry but, considering all that went on, he’s fine.’
There was silence and Nina sensed that there was more to come. She wasn’t mistaken. ‘Before you hear it from anyone else, they’re going to call him…Robert,’ he said evenly, and as she gazed speechlessly into the receiver he rang off.
CHAPTER TEN
THE weekend’s weather brought in a spate of coughs and colds to Monday morning’s surgery, and all four doctors were kept busy.
There’d been a case of hypothermia too. Old Mrs Dobson, who lived in a cottage at the bottom of the hill road, had been found in a distressed state by her home help and Rob had gone out to her before the start of surgery.
He’d been discussing the old lady with Vikram when Nina arrived, and, after giving her a brief nod, had gone on with what he was saying.
‘The lady was drowsy, confused and her heartbeat and breathing were lowered,’ he was explaining.
‘So you’ve had her hospitalised?’ Vikram asked.
Rob nodded, his thoughts switching channels as the sight of Nina’s set face put the seal on what looked like being a depressing day.
Yet, whatever the atmosphere between them, he knew he should be thankful. They might have ended up as two more cases of hypothermia or, worse, cold and stiff on a mortuary slab, because the weather they’d battled against on Saturday night had been awful. If the Blackmore men hadn’t appeared when they had, they could have been lost in the snow, buried beneath the high white drifts.
And what had he done? Told her off for being there with a noticeable lack of tact and gentleness. Maybe if he’d behaved differently, Nina wouldn’t have read all the wrong things into the way he and Bettine had been with each other.
But he’d been frantic, horrified that he’d let his mutinous young partner become involved in such a dangerous mission. Finesse had been the last thing he’d been capable of showing.
Vikram was eyeing him questioningly and Rob dragged his thoughts back to the present.
‘Yes. I had the patient admitted to hospital,’ he said. ‘The paramedics wrapped her in space blankets and off they went. She was pretty bad and it’s hard to understand how she could let herself get into that state. The house has plenty of heating and the old lady isn’t impoverished.’
‘It’s a state of mind,’ one of the practice nurses said. ‘I know Jane Dobson and she keeps a tight hold on her purse-strings. I’ve seen her huddled in a blanket many a time on cold days, instead of putting the heating on.’
‘Yes, well, this time it was nearly a catastrophe,’ Rob said soberly. ‘In fact it might still be if they don’t get her body heat up pretty smartish.’
By the time they’d finished discussing Mrs Dobson Nina was already greeting her first patient, and Rob had no choice but to do the same.
Andy Jones was a hard worker and a hard drinker, and this morning he had a big toe that was making him wilt with agony.
‘It started over the weekend, Doctor,’ he told Nina, ‘right out of the blue, and it’s been killing me ever since. I’m only thirty-two. A bit young for rheumatism, don’t you think?’
‘There’s no special age for that kind of thing,’ she told him as he dragged off his sock, ‘but in your case, in view of the amount of pain and the fact that it seems all round the joint of the toe, I’d say that here we have a case of gout.’
His jaw dropped. ‘Gout! I thought only rich folk had that.’
She laughed, amazed that she had it in her to do so as the sight of Rob chatting amiably with the staff had done nothing to lift the gloom that had never left her since the helicopter had landed her safely back home.
‘Don’t you believe it. It’s more likely to be caused by a high level of uric acid in the blood. You need to stay off liver and other kinds of offal and watch the drinking. Continued attacks of gout can affect the kidneys, sometimes to a serious degree. Right?’
He sighed. ‘Yep.’
‘I’m going to prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory tablets. They should reduce the pain and take away the inflammation, but you will have to watch what you eat and drink or another attack could follow.’
He nodded towards the crowded waiting room. ‘Why couldn’t I just have a cough or a cold, like that lot in there? I can take or leave the liver, but I do like a drink.’
Nina shrugged. ‘The solution is in your own hands, and if you don’t cut down on the drinking I’ll assume that the pain isn’t as bad as you make out.’
He gave a reluctant smile. ‘Oh, it’s bad all right. I’m not kidding about that.’
‘Well, there you are, then.’
Andy Jones had been wrong about everyone in the waiting room having coughs and colds. There were plenty who had, but not all of them.
In the middle of the morning Nina was faced with a smart, middle-aged housewife who was complaining of a very inflamed ankle.
She was limping as she walked across the room, and went on to explain that she’d just been abroad and had been bitten by some sort of insect in the affected spot.
‘I didn’t see what it was,’ she said. ‘I just felt the bite or sting and hoped that it wasn’t going to be trouble. But, as you can see, Doctor, that’s exactly what it’s ended up as. I know that the infection is getting worse as I can hardly walk.’
The ankle was inflamed. It looked red and angry and Nina hesitated about what to do. If there was poison there it needed to be released, and as she studied it carefully she decided that another opinion seemed to be called for.
‘Yes, Nina. What can I do for you?’ Rob asked with crisp brevity when she went to see him.
‘I have a patient that I’d like you to see,’ she said stiffly.
‘Oh! Why? What’s the problem?’
He was on his feet and motioning for her to lead the way.
‘It could be a tick bite,’ he suggested, after examining the ankle. ‘But there doesn’t appear to be anything embedded in the flesh. We’ll give you some antibiotic cream and you should come back later for another check-up.’
The woman shuddered. ‘Thank you, Doctor.’
‘Thanks for sitting in on that one,’ Nina said after the woman had gone, returning to a tone of chilly politeness.
‘That’s what I’m here for,’ Rob replied in a similar tone. ‘Amongst other things.’
Nina didn’t rise to the bait. She would dearly have liked to, but there was a black cloud hanging over her and she couldn’t see it lifting in the near future.
Not so for the rest of the staff of Stepping Dearsley Practice. The Saturday night party had put them in the Christmas mood, and with the backwash from that and the news that Bettine had given birth to a son the atmosphere was light-hearted and forward-looking.
If the senior partner and his young trainee were on a lower level of good humour it was put down to the fact that they’d had a traumatic weekend. For hadn’t they been fighting their way through a blizzard while the rest of them had been enjoying themselves?
The woman with the tick bite came back in the afternoon and the good news was that her ankle was already responding to the antibiotic cream.
When she’d gone there was an awkward silence between Nina and Rob. It was quieter now than it had been during their brief meeting that morning. The practice had been so busy then that they wouldn’t have had the time to talk even if they’d wanted to, but now there was a lull. The number of patients had dwindled to a mere trickle.
The phone on the desk rang at that moment, and as he reached out for it Rob said, ‘I’ve asked Reception to put me through to the Infirmary. I want to know if Jane Dobson’s hypothermia is reducing.’
There was silence as he listened to the voice at the other end, and when he’d replaced the receiver he said, ‘She’s warming up. It’s lucky we caught it in time, but the experience won’t have done her any good.’
Nina nodded, still with the feeling that she had nothing to say to him, but it
seemed as if Rob wasn’t stuck for words.
‘How is Eloise?’ he asked.
‘Improving slowly,’ she said quietly.
He smiled. ‘That’s good. Very good indeed! Cancer is a strange thing. Two people can be given the same treatment. One will respond, and the other won’t. Fortunately, in her case she is one of those who has.’
His face suddenly tightened and when Nina didn’t reply, he went on, ‘I suppose you’ll be making plans to carry on with your interrupted career now? If that’s the case, please remember that we shall require adequate notice at the practice.’
Rob’s manner was infuriating her. How could he discuss something that affected them both so keenly in such a mundane manner? He was talking about her departure from Stepping Dearsley as if it were no more important than the weather!
‘I’m not going anywhere until after Christmas,’ she told him flatly. ‘I want to spend it with Dad and Eloise. Once it’s over I’ll start making my plans.’
‘So you’re going to be here over Christmas, then?’ he said, and she dared to hope that it was pleasure she heard in his voice.
‘Yes,’ she told him, and couldn’t resist adding, ‘Especially as you’ve just reminded me that I have to work a suitable notice.’
Her voice had thickened as treacherous tears threatened, and she bent her head. How could they be holding this conversation? she thought wretchedly. Since she’d arrived in the village they’d become friends, then lovers on that wonderful night, and now what were they? Polite strangers? And all because Robert Carslake was a man of principle.
Nina’s head came up slowly and behind the tears that hung on her lashes Rob saw the misery in the beautiful green eyes. He knew why it was there, but he couldn’t forget that she’d been brought to Stepping Dearsley at the command of her father and there was no way that he wanted to be the cause of any further manipulation in her young life.
Admittedly, Nina had made the move willingly because of her love for Eloise, but he wasn’t going to ask her to sacrifice herself again on his behalf. She was a clever, vibrant woman and even if his life was committed to this ‘rural backwater’, he couldn’t insist that hers should be, too.
And yet Nina was in his blood. She came into his every waking thought. Right from that first day when she’d come into contact with the paint pot he’d been entranced by her.
In the normal course of events he would have given himself a long breathing space after breaking up with Bettine, but what had happened? Nina had been there before he’d had the chance to get his balance. It had been a case of right person, wrong time.
He’d never got it quite right with her, and after the fiasco of the Bettine episode up at the hill farm he’d heard the death knell of their relationship start tolling.
The tears were glistening on her cheeks, and as he looked down on to her parted lips Rob gave in to the hunger that took hold of him every time she was near.
His kiss was gentle at first, more to comfort than in desire, but as Nina’s mouth came to life beneath his the moment changed and passion took over. A raw need on both their parts was blotting out all other emotions.
As his mouth went to the hollow of her throat and the hand resting possessively on the bottom of her spine curved her inwards to rest against his hard loins, Nina knew that if they’d been anywhere else they would have made love again.
Or was she presuming too much? Her tears had melted the heart of the man of stone for a brief moment. But it wasn’t going to last, was it? He was already putting her from him.
‘I’m sorry, Nina,’ he said flatly. ‘Your tears made me forget my scruples.’
‘Don’t make excuses, Rob!’ she flared. ‘You’re still playing hard to get, aren’t you? I am distressed! I do need comfort! But I need you most of all. When will you ever see that?’
At that moment Gavin popped his head round the door to say that the practice nurse and the duty midwife were ready to start the Monday afternoon antenatal clinic, and as the fraught moment shattered Nina told him bleakly that she was on her way.
She had never felt less like it. Not only because of what had just happened between herself and Rob, but because of her dealings over the weekend with another pregnant woman who was now the mother of a small boy, to be named…Robert.
Fortunately Bettine and her child had survived the dangers of the detached placenta and were now in a stable condition. But it could have been so much worse, and as Nina dealt with the women gathered for their weekly check-ups she prayed that there would be no such dilemmas facing any of them, either now or in the future.
Most of them were doing fine, but Amanda Benson had a problem. A forty-year-old mother of two teenagers, and eight weeks pregnant, she had decided over the weekend that she wanted a termination.
She was weepy and almost incoherent as she explained that the baby hadn’t been planned and she couldn’t face the prospect of looking after it.
‘Why have you suddenly changed your mind, Amanda?’ Nina asked carefully as the woman in front of her mopped her eyes with a tissue. ‘When I saw you last you were over the moon at the thought of another baby.’
‘Yes, well, I’ve had time to think it over and I’ve decided that I’m too old to start again.’
‘What does your husband think about your change of mind?’
‘All he’s concerned about at the moment is whether he’ll be able to get another job,’ she said flatly. ‘He was made redundant on Friday.’
‘I see. So it’s the uncertain future that has made you decide on a termination? Not so much your age?’
Amanda shuffled uncomfortably in her seat. ‘He’ll go mad when he knows what I’m asking for,’ she admitted. ‘I haven’t told him yet as he’s got enough on his mind. But you do see, don’t you, Doctor, that it’s the sensible thing to do?’
‘It might seem like that at the moment,’ Nina agreed, ‘but what about long term? You don’t want to spend the rest of your life regretting it, do you? Go home and discuss it with your husband, but don’t be too long. When you’ve gone into it more thoroughly, come back and let me know what you’ve decided. We’ll take it from there.’
Leaving the nurse and the midwife to clear away at the end of the clinic, Nina went back to her room. As she slumped wearily into the chair behind her desk, Rob appeared in the doorway.
His face was grave and her heart sank. She hadn’t been relishing the thought of seeing him again after her earlier abandon in his arms, but this was obviously something serious.
He took her long winter coat off the peg and held it out to her without speaking. As she eased her arms into the sleeves his hand brushed her cheek for a moment.
‘What is it? Where are we going?’ she asked quickly, controlling the urge to grasp the capable hand and hold onto it for ever.
But they’d gone through that scenario once today and it had ended how it always did when they touched—a current that surged and then dimmed only too quickly.
‘You’ll see,’ he promised with the beginning of a smile. ‘And, Nina…’
‘Er…yes?’
‘Maybe next time you won’t be in such a hurry to offer.’
He’d been propelling her towards the door, but now she stopped and told him decisively, ‘I’m not budging until you tell me what’s going on.’
‘It’s the cats!’
‘Cats?’
‘Ethel’s cats. She’s had a fall and has been taken to hospital with suspected fractures. Maybe you recollect your hasty promise that you and I would take care of them in such an event?’
She began to laugh. ‘Yes, I do. But poor Ethel! How is she?’
‘Not too good. She’s in a lot of pain, but she was with it enough to remind me of our arrangement—or should I say your arrangement. After refusing to move until I’d assured her that we would do our duty, she finally let them put her in the ambulance. I’ve got a key, so shall we go and collect the moggies?’
With the feeling that the day was turning o
ut to be a strange mixture of health care, misery, passion and black comedy, she nodded her agreement and followed him out onto the street.
The last thing she’d ever expected was that they would be landed prematurely with Ethel’s cats, and she could see that Rob had his reservations about the situation. She supposed that two cats and a dog was rather a menagerie for a busy doctor to keep in the flat above the surgery and that some sort of compromise might be due.
‘Shall I take three of them and you have the odd one?’ she offered as they let themselves into Ethel’s small cottage. ‘After all, I did rather wish them upon you.’
He was stroking the nearest of the cats as it purred round his ankles. ‘Feeling guilty, are we?’ he said with dry amusement.
‘Just a bit,’ she admitted.
Rob shook his head. ‘No, we’ll leave it as it is. Ethel won’t like it if we don’t do it according to how she wants it. But I insist that you phone tonight to see how well they’re settling in at my place…because if they don’t, you, my sweet Nina, will be in big trouble.’
When Nina rang the first time there was no answer, but at a second try Rob was there.
‘I’ve just got back from the hospital,’ he explained with a note of constraint in his voice, and she wondered if he’d been visiting Bettine.
Not necessarily as the ex-fiancée. Perhaps more in the guise of the caring doctor who had battled through the blizzard to get to her. Whatever role he was adopting, if that was where he’d been, she didn’t want to know.
‘So how are Tiddles and Titmarsh behaving?’ she enquired obediently. ‘My two have settled in a treat.’
‘Well, they would, wouldn’t they. I have to be the one with the wanderers.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve been to rescue Titmarsh off Ethel’s doorstep three times.’
‘You’re obviously not talking to them right,’ she said laughingly, happy that they were communicating, even if it was only about their foster-cats.
‘Maybe,’ he agreed in a similar light tone, and then spoiled the moment by saying, ‘If Ethel is still incapacitated when you’re ready to leave for pastures new, what will you do?’
The Elusive Doctor Page 15