So she had done as he had told her to, gone home in the late afternoon, and once George had been given the message to pass on to any callers who might wish to speak to her she had shut herself in the apartment.
When he’d gone to check up on her at closing time he wasn’t alone. He had brought someone with him, Mike Mattison, who was married to one of her friends and was the owner of a painting and decorating business in the village.
‘I’ve brought Mike along,’ her landlord said, ‘as I’m going to have the apartment smartened up for you. It’s time it had a fresh lick of paint. He’s brought some colour charts for you to look at, and then because I think you need cheering up we’re going to take you for a bite in The Mallard, and while we’re there you can tell him what you would like.
‘If the two of you would like to go on ahead, I’ll join you as soon as I’ve sorted out today’s takings. And, Julianne, while you get ready Mike is going to help me decide what to have done at my place.’
Everything that George had said had been uplifting, Julianne thought gratefully as she changed into fresh clothes and repaired her make-up, and when she stood back to admire the effect she was smiling.
Mike and her friend Sallie were happily married and Sallie often said how she wished Julianne could meet Mr Right and be as happy as they were. Anna, her other friend, said the same thing sometimes and she thought that neither of them knew that she had already met him and there was no joy in it so far.
As they walked the short distance to The Mallard, Mike was telling her how the shop was doing and about the peculiarities of some of the customers, and as she laughed at the stories he had to tell Julianne was thinking that when George joined them she would be with two men that she was comfortable with, that she didn’t have to answer to for anything, and the one she longed to be with wanted her far away from him.
They’d been in close proximity all day at the surgery and the only words that had passed between them had been about the patients in their care. Thinking about it, maybe it was just as well. There would be no misunderstandings between them that way.
But when George came bustling into the pub to join them she saw that the clock behind the bar was on seven o’clock and all that she’d just been thinking was forgotten. At this time last night she’d been in Aaron’s arms, responding to his kisses, telling herself that it was all coming right at last, and she’d been so wrong. Where was he now? What was he doing? Not fretting about her, that was for sure!
While George was waiting to be served at the bar she asked Mike where Sallie was and he said, ‘She’s doing a big bake and sent me out of the way. It’s my birthday tomorrow and at the last minute we’ve decided to have a party. We hope you’ll be able to come as these sorts of occasions never seem to get off the ground until you arrive.’
‘Yes, of course I’ll come, winter nights are so dark and long,’ she told him, ‘but as for my being the life and soul...’
‘Well, come anyway,’ he told her as George joined them at their table and the talk became about paint and colour schemes. In no time at all the evening had gone and as all three of them had to be up early the next morning Mike said his goodnights and Julianne and George returned to the bakery.
As they separated at the door that led to her apartment above he said, ‘By the way, you had a caller as I was putting the shutters up ready for closing. Seemed quite keen to speak to you, but I told him that you didn’t want to be disturbed and he went.’
‘Who was it?’ she asked in combined hope and dread.
‘The new doctor. I have to say he seems a decent sort.’
‘Yes, he is,’ she said slowly, wishing she hadn’t told George she didn’t want any visitors. She’d just spent the evening with two other men, one of them nearing sixty, and the other her friend’s husband, and it had been pleasant enough, but compared to the night before when she’d been taken to the stars for a few exhilarating moments and then plunged back down to earth and reality, tonight had been just one more example of George’s concern for her.
‘Dr Somerton didn’t leave any message, then?’
‘No. Were you expecting him to?’
‘Not really. We knew each other once long ago and I just wondered, that’s all.’
‘So that is why he’s looking out for you?’
‘No, not really,’ she informed him, and before he could ask any more questions she wished him goodnight and went slowly up the stairs, wishing that George hadn’t been so diligent in carrying out her instructions as far as Aaron was concerned.
* * *
Aaron finally caught up with her the next morning as they both drove in to the car park of the practice at the same time. His first words were, ‘What was wrong yesterday? Why did Nathan send you home, Julianne? Were you ill?’
‘No,’ she told him. ‘He was just being over-cautious. He isn’t used to seeing me less than bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.’
‘Which I take it was how you always were before I appeared on the scene?’
‘Something of the sort, but I’m fine now, and I’m sorry that my elderly protector wouldn’t let you get past him yesterday evening.’
‘It was all right. I just wanted to apologise for being so pompous and unfeeling when we were at the bistro the night before.’
‘I was to blame,’ she said, not meeting his gaze. ‘We both let our guards down, and I’m sure that you aren’t going to let that happen again, but, Aaron, please don’t leave Swallowbrook because of me. It wouldn’t be fair to Nathan and I would feel responsible. I can understand how you feel about my family, but I wish you only happiness. I have no hidden agenda regarding the two of us. I am not like Nadine.’
Cars were pulling up around them as the rest of the staff were arriving. He wanted to tell her he was realising that she was nothing like her selfish sister. He had only to look at her, listen to her, to be achingly aware of the difference, but there wasn’t time. Their day was upon them, not only were staff members arriving, patients were appearing too. The Swallowbrook Medical Practice was about to swing into action.
It was like the day before. They had no further chance to talk to each other about themselves, but Julianne was more content knowing that there was a truce between them and every time they came face-to-face Aaron had a smile for her.
* * *
In the early evening she dressed to go to Mike’s birthday party. She was looking forward to it. She was essentially a party person and loved being with people she knew and liked, and as the folks of Swallowbrook were a friendly lot she was expecting to know most of those who had been invited.
She’d rung Sallie in the lunch-hour to say that she would come early to give a hand with the preparations and by half past six she was on her way to the new detached house that her friends had just moved into.
She was busy in the kitchen, with a large plastic apron covering her dress while she was putting the finishing touches to some of the food that was going to be part of a buffet during the evening, when Sallie came in to say, ‘Guess who I invited and didn’t think for a moment would come?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ Julianne told her as she checked on a dessert that had just come out of the oven.
‘Have a guess!’
‘Is he royalty?’ she asked, amused at her friend’s amazement.
‘No, of course not, but he puts all the princes and dukes in the shade.’
‘Wow! This I must see!’ she said laughingly, and opened the kitchen door a fraction.
She let out a gasp. Aaron was there, chatting to a couple of the guests with a glass of wine in his hand and looking exactly how Sallie had described him.
‘What is Dr Somerton doing here?’ she croaked.
‘I had an appointment with him this afternoon,’ Sallie explained.
‘Why? You’re not ill, are you?’
&
nbsp; ‘No. It was just to have my blood pressure checked as it was a bit up for some reason the last time I was there. We got chatting about the village and things in general and Dr Somerton said that he liked the place a lot, but didn’t know many of us as yet, so I invited him to the party. I imagine that you will know him already from working at the practice.’
‘Er, yes, I do, but not socially,’ she said, and wondered what category kissing would come under.
‘So you will look after him, won’t you, after my inviting him out of the blue, even if some of the other guys are queuing up for your attention?’ Sallie pleaded.
‘I’ll do my best,’ she said weakly, ‘but you know it can happen that being with a person all day in the workplace is enough, without being in their company in the evening too, and I think that the guy in question prefers me in small doses.’
‘So he’s hard to please,’ Sallie said laughingly, and went back to her guests.
More like he has a long memory, Julianne thought, and sallied forth to greet him after removing the apron and taking a quick look to make sure that her dress hadn’t suffered in the process.
Aaron was half-turned away from her as she moved towards him and when she touched him on the elbow he turned slowly and there was satisfaction rather than surprise in his smile.
‘Hello, there,’ he said. ‘Has your friend told you that we chatted at the surgery today and I ended up with an invitation to her husband’s birthday party, which was very sociable of her, don’t you think?’
‘Yes, I suppose it was,’ she agreed. ‘I didn’t know about the party myself until Mike mentioned it when George and I were with him in The Mallard last night.
He nodded. ‘Yes, I saw you and the birthday boy heading in that direction.’
‘How?’ she exclaimed. ‘When?’
‘It was when I was still trying to make my apology for those moments at the bistro, and after Helena had told me you’d been sent home because you were unwell. I was concerned about you being ill all alone in that flat of yours. George said you didn’t want visitors the first time I called, and when I saw you going towards The Mallard I had been about to make a second attempt to speak to you.’
‘And no doubt when you saw me you must have thought that there couldn’t be much wrong with me if I was out for the evening with another man, and that I was following the family trend of loose behaviour.’
The people he’d been chatting to had moved to talk to someone else and they were alone in a corner of the room for a moment.
‘And how was I supposed to know who he was?’ he asked levelly. ‘The reason I am here tonight is because I said to your friend that as yet I know very few of the locals.’
‘Yes, well,’ she said, brushing what he’d just pointed out to one side, ‘I had no intention of going anywhere last night until George came up to the apartment with Mike, who is a painter and decorator, and announced that he had arranged for him to give my apartment a facelift, and the same for his own house next door.
‘George insisted that the three of us combine looking at colour charts with some socialising in the pub, and Mike and I went on ahead as George wanted to sort out the takings from the bakery before he joined us.
‘And if you are going to ask where Mike’s wife was while all this was going on, Sallie was at home here, baking for tonight’s party, and had sent him out of the way.’
Julianne knew she sounded defensive, but inside she was aching because he had come to seek her out the night before from concern and contrition and must have wished he hadn’t bothered when he’d seen her leaving the apartment smiling and relaxed with another man.
She was right about that. It was exactly how he had felt, but it hadn’t stopped him from accepting an invitation from a stranger to a party where local people would be present on the off chance that she might be there, and this time he’d got it right.
She was standing beside him in a pale blue dress that showed off her dark attractiveness perfectly and was wearing high-heeled shoes that gave her another five inches in height so that she came just past his shoulder. As a number of the party guests were observing them curiously he said, ‘I’ve met a few of these folks at the surgery but only briefly, as you can imagine,’ and with a glance at George and his lady friend who were at the far end of the room, ‘and I already know your protective landlord, but the rest of those here are strangers.’
She smiled up at him. ‘So shall I introduce you to those you don’t know? I have Sallie’s orders that I am to look after you.’
That took the edge off his enjoyment immediately. To be told that the most attractive woman in the room and likely to be in much demand was sticking with him because she’d been told to was humiliating and he said dryly, ‘No, don’t bother. I will only forget their names and I’m sure that I will be meeting most of your friends at one time or another with their health problems. Time enough to get to know them then.’
He was being churlish and knew it, but how was he to know if the time she was spending with him was a chore or a pleasure after what she’d just said? In any case, he had come to the party for one reason, only to be where she was, not to be shown around like exhibit A.
The colour was rising in her cheeks as she replied, ‘Yes, of course. I understand perfectly. I should have realised that you will want to make your own introductions if you feel so inclined. If you will excuse me, I think we are almost ready to eat and Sallie will need my assistance. You will know where to find me if you need me for anything.’ Which I’m quite sure you won’t after making it so clear that you don’t feel the need to be tied to me for the rest of the evening.
Aaron was as prickly as a porcupine about anything that placed them together, yet he’d been persistent enough in his efforts to get to see her the night before.
For the rest of the evening she kept her distance and he didn’t blame her for doing so. Why on earth had he treated her like that, when all she’d wanted to do was to make him feel welcome amongst strangers?
As the hours went by various people came to chat when they discovered from Sallie or Mike, certainly not Julianne, that he was the new doctor at the practice, filling the gap that Nathan’s wife, Libby, had left when their daughter had been born just a short time ago.
But they were not as many in number as the folks who sought out Julianne and encircled her with good-natured banter and lots of laughter. Every man in the place, including himself, found her enchanting, but none of those drawn to her like bees to honey were aware that they had met before, unless she had told them, and he couldn’t see her doing that, as she wouldn’t come out of it too well.
It was midnight and the party was drawing to a close as most of those present had work to go to the following day, and Aaron waited to see who would see Julianne home.
Not many of the guests had come by car so there would be some going her way, but when he looked around him to see who she was about to walk the short distance with she wasn’t there, and following his glance Sallie said, ‘Julianne left a few moments ago after refusing several offers of company on the way home.’ As he observed her in disbelief she said, ‘She often does that, but you might catch her up if you hurry.’
She was talking to his departing back and smiled as she closed the door behind him and went to say goodbye to the last few stragglers.
He caught up with Julianne a hundred yards or so down the road and realised his anxiety was needless. There were enough of the partygoers moving in the same direction for her to be quite safe and as he drew level he wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.
‘What do you want?’ she asked, without turning her head in his direction.
‘Nothing special,’ he told her, aware that she must think him interfering to be meddling in her affairs to such an extent. ‘I just wanted to make sure that you arrived home safely.’
The bakery buildi
ng was looming up in front of them and pointing to it she said, ‘And now you know that I have, so goodnight, Aaron.’
He turned and pointed himself in the direction of the lake and the ever-flowing waterfall, and nodding in sombre acceptance of what she’d said went on his way.
Slowly mounting the wooden staircase once more, Julianne was wishing that they could be in harmony for more than the few seconds that it always turned out to be.
She’d been delighted to see Aaron at the party and would have loved to spend the entire evening with him, but it had seemed that he hadn’t shared her feelings and hadn’t really wanted to get to know more of the Swallowbrook inhabitants, so why had he come?
Striding homewards briskly, Aaron was telling himself that Julianne must feel that there was something wrong with his thought processes and she wouldn’t be far out. By nature he was sensible and reliable, not given to irrational behaviour, but that didn’t apply to the present.
He was spending half the time shying away from her and the rest fussing over her wellbeing as if she were some vulnerable teenager when she was nothing of the sort.
Her family circumstances must have left her out on a limb where togetherness was concerned and the result was a woman who had her life organised, could cope with being alone because she’d had to, and so far seemed to be in no hurry to commit herself to any man.
As for himself, he had dreamed of having children to cherish in a childhood that had been going to be so different from his own and had ended up with nothing, neither wife nor child. The party would have been great if he hadn’t let his doubts about the wisdom of them being together and moving on to a deeper relationship make him edgy. His wish had been granted. Julianne had been there and what had he done? Passed by the chance to spend some quality time with her.
Swallowbrook's Wedding of the Year (The Doctors of Swallowbrook Farm) Page 7