‘So, has anyone any comments to make about the new arrangements? The idea behind it is that if the same two people work together as a team all the time it will give our patients even more confidence in our already excellent health care. I intend that it should commence on Monday next.’
There didn’t seem to be anyone who wasn’t in favour of the new scheme. Everyone was nodding their approval, but with regard to herself Julianne wasn’t sure what to think.
She’d let Nathan see that she had her doubts about partnering with Aaron when the subject had come up on an earlier occasion, and if he thought that she and Aaron were big buddies, after him explaining that they were already acquainted, he had another think coming. Their situation was such that she was ‘yearning’ and he was ‘spurning’.
But when Aaron came level with her on the stairs leading up from the basement at the end of the meeting it seemed as if she might be mistaken about that.
‘I can’t believe that you told everyone we were acquainted from way back,’ she said with quiet annoyance. ‘Suppose people start asking questions or making enquiries about the past?’
He shrugged. ‘If I’m not bothered why should you be? It is done and dusted, Julianne. I’ve wiped the slate clean. The way ahead is clear.’
Her heart was rejoicing as she swivelled to face him. Was it the moment to tell Aaron that there had never been anything to forgive her for, that she had done no wrong, and none of that mattered now?
The future could be so good, fantastic maybe, if Aaron would let it, and what would be more romantic than love at Christmastime beneath the mistletoe, with a fragrant green spruce tree nearby, decked with bright baubles and dancing coloured lights?
Aaron was watching her face light up because she was happy, but where did they go from here? He’d told Julianne that the barrier that had been there between them was gone, but would he ever want to take that risk again with another member of the same family, even though she was nothing like her sister?
As they separated at the door of his consulting room he said briefly, ‘You having said that you didn’t mind if I worked Sunday afternoons at the hospice. I’ve told them that I’m willing to do it, so do you want a lift again?’
She hesitated. ‘Er, no, thanks, just the same. When I’ve finished I eat out somewhere, which saves me cooking, so I need to have my car handy.’ And before he could comment she was giving him an apologetic smile and moving towards her own part of the surgery, where she could always be found when needed.
As he watched her go Aaron thought there had been no suggestion that they dine together when they finished at the hospice. Had he imagined that she’d been happy only a few moments ago when he’d said that he was ready to let bygones be bygones?
* * *
Needless to say, the thought of them eating together after they’d finished their shift had occurred to her, but she needed time to see if Aaron had really meant what he’d said about a clean slate. It was for him to hand out the invitation to dine if that was the case.
But he’d given her hope and she had waited a long time for that. Having him near on Sunday afternoons was a pleasure that she hadn’t anticipated. Having already known that Nathan had partnered the two of them at the surgery, her doubts about that had gone, and she was seeing it as a bonus. Life from now on could get to be wonderful.
* * *
Driving to the hospice on Sunday afternoon, Julianne was smiling. As she’d passed The Falls Cottage Aaron had swung out onto the road behind her and now they were driving in convoy, which was almost as good as being in one car.
It was a typical winter afternoon, cold and grey, but the weather wasn’t registering. She was happier than she’d been in ages, though she had a long way to go yet to find the kind of love that she’d always dreamed of.
On arriving, they went to find out what their duties were to be for the afternoon and discovered that they would be attending a patient who was the wife of the wealthy patron who had supplied the funds to build the hospice.
‘When it was built, he asked that a private ward for himself and his family be included in the structure for their own use if ever the need arose,’ the sister-in-charge told them, ‘especially with regard to his elderly mother, who has since passed on. Today it is his wife who has been brought in for special care and rest, while he is abroad somewhere on business.
‘She tells us that she is unable to get in touch with him, that he is somewhere remote, so he is in for a surprise when he gets home, and not a happy one, I’m afraid. So if you will both pop along there, the staff who are due to be relieved can make their departures after putting you in the picture.’
* * *
‘Wonder what’s wrong with the guy’s wife?’ Aaron mused as they did as they’d been asked.
‘No doubt we will soon find out,’ she replied, and thought that the woman in question was very fortunate to have a private ward where she could be cared for to such an extent. For anyone questioning why she’d been brought to the hospice instead of a hospital, there were two possible reasons. Either she was terminally ill or, having available the facility that her husband had requested when the place had been built, had decided to make use of it.
It was luxurious, to say the least, Julianne thought as they entered the outer room, where a senior nurse was waiting to brief them, but they weren’t there to admire the fixtures and fittings, their purpose was to care for the sick, whether rich or poor.
When the nurse had gone they went into the room together and as Julianne approached the bed Aaron reached for the patient’s notes clipped to the bottom rail.
Dismay hit them simultaneously. Hers as she looked down at the woman lying there with her eyes closed, and his as he read the name at the top of the paperwork he was holding.
He was beside Julianne in an instant and she said, choking on the words, ‘It’s Nadine, Aaron. Whatever can have happened for her to be brought into here like this, and where is her husband?’
‘She suffered a miscarriage followed by surgery and is very low in spirits,’ he told her, equally astonished.
‘And that’s it?’ she asked incredulously as shock waves continued to wash over her.
‘No, there’s more.’
‘What is it?’
‘According to her notes it says that after the miscarriage there were some gynaecological problems to sort out, which was done in a private hospital with doubts about whether she would be able to conceive again.
‘Apparently when she was due to be discharged Nadine refused to go home and insisted that she be brought here to this small private ward that her husband had requested when the hospice had been built.’
‘I didn’t know about any of that,’ Julianne said tearfully. ‘Do you remember me telling you that we were never very close? I wonder if our parents know what has happened, and why, for goodness’ sake, isn’t the man she married here?’
Aaron was bending over the sleeping woman and observing her keenly. ‘There’s no mention of sedation in her notes,’ he commented, ‘but she is in a very deep sleep.’ He was feeling her pulse and checking her heart rate while Julianne stroked her arm gently and pressed her lips against Nadine’s brow.
This was not the sister with the shining gold mop and scarlet mouth she remembered. This Nadine was a defenceless, white-faced woman with lank hair in a hospital bed. She should have been with her in her time of need, whatever that might have been.
When she looked up at Aaron his expression was sombre and there was anger in it. ‘If she was my wife I wouldn’t want to leave her side for a second,’ he said tightly. ‘You do well to ask where her husband is.’
Julianne felt herself flinching. ‘And now that she isn’t yours, what do you propose to do?’
‘I’ll let you know once she’s awake.’
Julianne felt utterly miser
able. Not only was her estranged sister gravely ill but it seemed that, judging by his reaction, Aaron still harboured feelings for Nadine.
* * *
Nadine awoke when the afternoon had passed its peak and lay observing blearily the nurse and doctor looking down at her.
‘Julianne?’ she questioned. ‘And Aaron! You, of all people! Where have the two of you come from?’
‘We both do voluntary work here,’ Julianne told her gently, ‘and if you are surprised to see us, that is nothing compared to our amazement on finding you here. But where is your husband, Nadine?’
‘He’s left me,’ she said weakly. ‘I was pregnant and told him I didn’t want the baby, that I’ve always been scared of childbirth, but Howie thought that was just an excuse, and when I mentioned an abortion he went ballistic and said if I went ahead with it, that would be the end of us. He’s obsessed with carrying on the family name.
‘I didn’t really intend doing anything as final as that, but I was angry that he should issue such an ultimatum and told him I’d booked the abortion, which resulted in him walking out on me and I’ve heard nothing from him since. He sends me money, but we have no other contact.’
‘So he doesn’t know that you lost the baby from natural causes rather than an abortion?’ Aaron questioned grimly.
Nadine shook her head wearily. ‘No. He isn’t aware that I was prepared to carry it to full term to please him, but that it didn’t work out like that and they say that I might not be able to conceive again due to some problem with my tubes. Enough about me and my sad life. Aaron, tell me about yourself. How do you come to be in the lakes?’
‘I’m working as a GP at the same surgery as Julianne and we are doing voluntary work in the hospice on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons.’
His glance focused on the slender nurse standing tearfully beside the bed. Julianne could have done without this kind of trauma appearing in her life. There would be none of her family to be there for her in moments such as this.
If Nadine’s marriage had died, it was most likely of her own making. Yet he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the situation Nadine had been left in by the man who had taken her into his world of riches and a doubtful kind of esteem. He must have been a cold fish to leave her in such a situation.
When it was time to make way for the next lot of staff to take over Aaron suggested to Julianne, ‘Why don’t we have our meal in the restaurant here so that you can go back and spend some more time with Nadine before we have to leave?’
‘Yes, all right,’ she agreed flatly, still trying to take in the happenings of the last few hours. Incredibly, Nadine had been willing to do something unselfish and give her husband the child he longed for, but it had all gone wrong and for once she wasn’t riding on the crest of the wave with everything she could ever wish for, except maybe someone like Aaron, who had been cast aside all that time ago.
The address that Nadine had given the hospice was of a palatial property just a few miles away that Julianne had known nothing about. The last she’d heard had been that they were living in London. So maybe this was a second home near where her husband’s parents had lived...and from the sound of things a very empty one with a husband nowhere to be seen and a wife lying semi-comatose amongst the luxury that she had coveted so badly.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AS JULIANNE pecked at her food at a table in the restaurant, Aaron was deciding that whether she wanted him to or not he was going to be there for her in the days ahead.
The Nadine situation had come into her life out of the blue and brought with it worry and tears, and also the surprising revelation that her sister wasn’t incapable of considering someone beside herself because she’d been ready to face what to her had been the frightening ordeal of childbirth for the sake of the man she’d married.
All of which would have been a very comforting thought if they hadn’t found her in such a weak condition, and until she was stronger and able to sort out her own affairs Julianne was going to have to cope with the stress of it on her own if he didn’t do something about it.
From the moment they’d met up again he’d been conscious of how out on a limb Julianne was family-wise, with parents in other parts of the world and Nadine living her own luxurious life with little thought about her younger sister’s welfare.
‘There is nothing you can do for Nadine tonight,’ he said, ‘so why not go home and give yourself time to get over the shock of finding her here? She is being well cared for and I don’t mind sitting with her for another couple of hours for company.’
‘You would do that after what she did to you?’ she exclaimed.
‘That is in the past. Life is full of new beginnings. While I’m here I’ll see if the hospice has information of any kind that might help us locate her husband as obviously he doesn’t know about the miscarriage and the resulting surgery she has needed to have.’
With the feeling that she was becoming the odd one out in a threesome Julianne nodded bleakly. ‘In that case I’ll go and say goodnight to her and will be off. If there’s anything fresh to report, you can bring me up to date in the morning.’ And while he was paying for the food they’d had she went quickly to where Nadine was in a half-doze and with a promise that she would be back to see her the following evening planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and left before Aaron appeared.
He still cares for Nadine, Julianne thought bleakly as she drove home along deserted roads. His concern was plain to see, and she felt dreadful for feeling jealous of her sick sister. It was like history repeating itself, Nadine the centre of attention and Julianne on the sidelines.
Aaron had assured her that life was full of new beginnings and she had hoped that meeting up with him was going to be one for both of them, but somehow she didn’t think that was what he’d had in mind when he’d said it.
* * *
Bogged down with weariness and worry, Julianne climbed the wooden staircase with leaden feet and once in the apartment slumped down onto the nearest chair and stared into space until the clock on a small table beside her showed the midnight hour, and with no wish to be late at the surgery in the morning she undressed slowly and went to bed.
But a vision of Aaron keeping watch over Nadine in the private ward that she’d chosen in preference to going home to an empty house was keeping her awake. Was it going to be during that quiet time together that her sister would admit to having made a mistake on the day that she’d run out of the church to be with another man?
When they met up at the surgery the next morning Aaron beckoned for her to follow him into his consulting room and once she had closed the door behind her she asked urgently, ‘How was Nadine when you left her?’ with the memory of how he’d despatched her off home with unflattering speed.
‘A little better. She had a light supper and after we’d chatted for a while went to sleep again,’ he informed her, with his expression softening at the thought of the anxieties that had been thrust upon her. But Julianne’s thoughts were on a different track when she saw the look as it brought with it the chilling question—was Aaron on seeing her sister laid so low putting the hurts of the past to one side so he was remembering only the good times?
If Nadine’s marriage really had foundered, maybe the way would be open for the two of them to take up where they’d left off. Yet in the cold light of day it seemed crazy to even consider such a thing, even though he had wanted to stay longer. But there was the small matter of the missing husband. Where was he? The sooner they found him, the better.
As if he was tuned in to that particular thought, Aaron said, ‘I waited until she was asleep and then went to see if the night staff knew anything about her husband’s whereabouts. It seems that they have only recently come to live in the area while keeping on a house in London, but at the moment aren’t staying in either residence as she is in here as a pri
vate patient and he isn’t around. One of the nurses said that Nadine had told her he intends to divorce her but didn’t know any details.’
As he observed her he was thinking that persuading Julianne to leave the hospice the night before didn’t seem to have done much good. She looked as if she hadn’t slept and now for some reason she seemed remote and he wanted to hold her close and tell her that he wasn’t going to leave her to cope alone, even though he’d sensed withdrawal in her as if she didn’t want him involved in the Nadine saga.
It was almost time for the surgery to open its doors and swing into action, not the moment to bring that subject up, and she was edging towards the door, ready to face the day in the nurse’s room, so he let her go with one last comment that had nothing to do with her sister.
With a reassuring smile he said, ‘Don’t forget that our partnering of each other starts from today.’
She had forgotten. The previous night’s revelations had wiped every other thought from her mind, but his reminder had put her back on track and when he had to send a patient to her in the middle of the morning with a request that they be prepared for a routine examination to see if there might be a threat of cancer of the colon, his instructions were carried out to the letter but with little conversation between them. After that it was the usual busy Monday that always followed the weekend but with a difference because they were working together as a small team, one to one, and if it hadn’t been for Nadine and her problems in the background she would have been content.
* * *
Towards the end of the day Aaron sought Julianne out once more, only this time it was to enquire whether she intended to visit Nadine at the hospice.
‘Can I give you a lift there?’ he suggested. ‘It would give you a short time to recharge your batteries before getting to the hospice.’
And you a reason for going to see Nadine again, she thought miserably. ‘No, thank you,’ she told him abruptly. ‘I prefer to go alone.’
Swallowbrook's Wedding of the Year (The Doctors of Swallowbrook Farm) Page 9