‘Thank heavens for that!’ He gave a heartfelt sigh of relief as he switched off the engine. ‘Nothing worse than driving in fog, is there? I think I’ll leave the car here and walk back to my hotel. Bumping into the odd lamppost on foot seems like a better option than colliding with one in the car!’
Maggie laughed, although she couldn’t help worrying about him walking back to the hotel on such a night. The fog was so dense now that she would have had trouble finding her way and she’d lived in the town all her life. The thought spurred her into making a suggestion she wouldn’t have made otherwise.
‘You can’t possibly walk in this fog. You could be wandering around for hours if you missed your turning. Why don’t you come in and have a drink while you wait for it to clear up?’
‘That’s really kind of you, Maggie, but I don’t want to be a nuisance.’
‘You aren’t,’ she assured him. She got out of the car and hurried up the steps to unlock the front door then paused when she realised that he was still standing on the pavement. ‘Are you coming in, then?’
‘So long as you’re sure that you don’t mind.’ He gave her a rueful smile. ‘I’ve taken up a large part of your evening as it is and now you’re going to be stuck with me for even longer. Not quite what you bargained for when you agreed to help me, is it?’
‘Not really.’ She pretended to give the question due consideration then sighed. ‘But needs must, as the saying goes.’
‘Thanks very much!’ He rolled his eyes. ‘That’ll teach me. You sure know how to kick a guy’s ego into touch!’
‘Oh, I think it would take more than that to dent your ego,’ she shot back.
He chuckled as he followed her up the stairs. ‘I give up. I’m no match for you, Maggie. You know how to put a man in his place and keep him there!’
‘I wish!’ She laughed as she let them into the flat. ‘Anyway, let’s call a truce. How about a glass of wine to smooth your ruffled feathers?’
‘I know you’re only trying to get round me but I accept. Far be it from me to hold a grudge,’ he declared loftily but with a twinkle in his eyes. He took off his jacket and hung it on a peg then followed her into the kitchen. ‘I’ll even open the wine if you want me to.’
‘Would you? Thanks.’ She handed him the bottle then took a couple of glasses out of the cupboard while he dealt with the cork. It suddenly struck her that she’d had nothing to eat since leaving work and that was why she was so hungry.
‘How about some supper?’ she suggested, opening the refrigerator. There wasn’t a huge choice because she was due to go to the supermarket, but at least there were eggs and cheese. ‘I could make us an omelette if you like?’
‘Sounds great to me. Can I help?’ he offered immediately.
‘No, it won’t take long. Why don’t you go into the sitting room and make yourself comfortable. I’ll give you a shout when it’s ready.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of leaving you to slave over a hot stove. I shall stay here and give you moral support.’ He sat down at the table and grinned at her. ‘That way I’ll feel that I’m making a contribution, even though I’m not actually doing any of the work.’
She laughed as she broke eggs into a basin. ‘Well, that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose.’ She briskly beat the eggs then set about grating some cheese. ‘How are you managing for meals, by the way? Do you eat in the hotel?’
‘If I’m back in time for dinner. A few times I’ve been too late.’ He took a sip of his wine. ‘When that happens I either buy a take-away or just go hungry.’
She frowned as she dropped a knob of butter into the pan. ‘That can’t be good for you. You really should eat regularly, you know.’
‘Yes, ma’am!’ Luke suddenly sighed as he swirled the wine around his glass. ‘You’re right, of course. It’s just that some days it seems too much effort to trail out looking for food. That’s another reason I’m keen to find a place of my own. However, it might not be as simple as I thought after what we’ve seen tonight.’
‘They were pretty dire,’ she agreed, deftly dividing the omelette into two. She slid half onto a plate and placed it in front of him. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks.’ He chewed a mouthful of the omelette with obvious relish. ‘Tastes really great, Maggie. My compliments to the chef!’
‘Thank you, sir.’ She sat down and began eating. ‘I love cooking. It’s a pleasure rather than a chore, although I don’t get the chance to do anything exotic very often. There doesn’t seem much point in going to a lot of trouble making a meal for one.’
‘One of the drawbacks of single life, eh?’ He forked up the last of his omelette then shrugged. ‘Still, the pluses far outweigh the minuses to my mind.’
‘Think so?’ Maggie took a sip of her wine, trying to hide the fact that she found the comment unsettling. He was only making conversation yet she found it disturbing to have even more proof of how against marriage he was.
‘Definitely. Oh, there are times when I think that it might be nice to have someone to go home to, but they don’t happen very often. On the whole I prefer my life the way it is—single and uncomplicated.’
‘It isn’t just a case of having someone to go home to. A good relationship has a lot more going for it than mere companionship,’ she stated, stung by the remark. It reminded her rather too pointedly of what she’d been thinking earlier about having Luke to come home to.
Luke was fun to be with and he would make a wonderful flatmate, but was that the only reason the idea had appealed to her? It was her own inability to answer that question which troubled her.
‘Such as?’ His expression never altered but there was a definite challenge in his voice now. ‘Come on, Maggie, give me an example of what a good relationship has going for it.’
‘Commitment, loyalty, trust—how about those for starters?’ she snapped, irked by his unyielding attitude and her own ambivalence.
‘Mmm, they sound great, don’t they? But I’m not sure any or all of them would be enough to make me want to swop my single status. I like my life the way it is. That’s the long and the short of it. I have everything I want or need.’ He shrugged. ‘Why risk spoiling a good thing by changing the parameters?’
‘Because you might find that your life gets even better? Nothing can stay the same for ever, Luke. Just because you’ve decided that love and marriage aren’t what you want at the moment, it doesn’t mean that they should be ruled out completely. That’s such a negative attitude!’
‘I disagree. I see it as a positive step. Deciding what you want and aiming for it is the only way that you’ll succeed.’
‘Rubbish! That isn’t being positive, it’s…it’s being blinkered,’ she countered. Luke was going to miss out on so much that was important in life and it seemed imperative that she should make him understand that. ‘You need to adapt in everything you do, both in your professional and your private life.’
‘I’m willing to concede that you need to be flexible in your approach to work. However, I’m afraid that I don’t agree with the rest. I’m perfectly happy the way I am and don’t envisage making any changes to my personal circumstances.’
‘Well, I think you’re wrong!’ Maggie pushed back her chair, wondering why she should feel so upset by his obstinacy. It was his life and his decision how he lived it, yet she longed to make him see sense. ‘And I think you’ll come to regret making such an arbitrary decision in years to come, probably when it’s too late to do anything about it!’
‘Maybe. But I guess that’s a risk I’m just going to have to take. It seems the lesser of two evils to me, although obviously you don’t agree, Maggie. You look forward to the time when you’ll meet the man you want to spend your life with and I hope it works out the way you want it to. However, I gave up believing in the happily-ever-after theory a long time ago.’
It was said with so little emotion that she felt her eyes fill with tears. She turned away, hating the thought of Luke seeing that she wa
s upset. But she wasn’t quick enough to avoid him noticing her distress.
‘Maggie, what is it?’ He got up and came around the table to her. ‘Tell me what’s wrong.’
‘Nothing!’ She tried to step around him but he wouldn’t let her past. His hands fastened around her upper arms while he held her still.
‘Of course something is wrong!’ His expression darkened as he studied her averted face. ‘Look, if I said something to upset you just now then I apologise. Just because I hold certain views, that doesn’t mean I have any right to force them on you.’
His hands slid down her arms in a gesture that was meant only to comfort yet she shivered when she felt the warmth of his fingers caressing her bare skin. She shot him an uncertain look from under her lashes and felt her heart catch when she saw the concern on his face. It was obvious that he was worried about upsetting her, and knowing that made something warm and tender awake inside her.
‘I… I’m just being silly,’ she murmured, shocked by her response. How could the look on someone’s face make her feel like this? her heart demanded. But her head didn’t know the answer so stayed silent.
‘It isn’t silly at all.’ Once again there was that same gentle movement of his hands gliding over her skin. Maggie bit her lip to contain her whimper of pleasure but he must have sensed there was something wrong from the way she’d tensed because he suddenly bent and looked at her.
There was a moment as their eyes met when it felt as though time had come to a standstill. Maggie could hear the kitchen clock ticking away but the minutes simply weren’t registering. Nothing seemed to exist before or beyond that moment as she and Luke stared at one another…
‘I’d better go.’
The sound of his voice broke the spell. She took a deep breath, like a diver surfacing from the depths of the ocean.
‘Go?’ she repeated, struggling to follow what was happening. Her mind was awash with thoughts of how it felt to have him caressing her skin, how it would feel to have his hands on her body as they made love…
‘Yes. I think it would be best, don’t you?’ He let her go abruptly and stepped back. ‘We agreed yesterday not to complicate matters, Maggie.’
Her face flamed as she realised what he meant. It was the fact that she could have forgotten so quickly that embarrassed her most. She knew in her heart that if he’d kissed her it wouldn’t have stopped there.
She turned away and began gathering together the dirty dishes. Her hands were shaking so much that the glasses clinked together as she carried them to the sink. She heard Luke utter something rough before he swung her round to face him.
‘Don’t, Maggie! Stop giving yourself a hard time. It wasn’t easy for me to call a halt just now, so don’t you feel bad about it.’ He gave her a rueful smile. ‘It’s obvious that we’re attracted to one another. However, I think we both know it would be a mistake to let events reach their natural conclusion. You wouldn’t be happy having an affair with me and I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt you because I care too much about you.’
He brushed her cheek with his knuckles then let his hand fall to his side as though he was afraid of what might happen if he left it there. It was the tiniest sop to her bruised feelings but she clung to it desperately.
‘Thank you for saying that, Luke. And you’re right, too, because it would be a mistake for us to have an affair. It would only complicate this situation and we don’t need that. Let’s stick to our original plan and keep things on a purely friendly footing, shall we?’
‘I think it would be best.’ He treated her to another quick smile then fetched his jacket. Maggie saw him to the door where they said a polite goodnight. She went back to the kitchen after he’d left and set about washing the dishes. Some of the soapy water splashed her cheek and she wiped it away then had to wipe her face again when she felt more moisture there.
Stupid, stupid woman to stand at the sink, crying for something she couldn’t have! she berated herself. Her only consolation was that Luke wasn’t there to see her making a fool of herself.
‘I caught the first available flight but there was a delay when we were due to land because of the fog. The plane was diverted to Gatwick then we had to be ferried here by bus. I’d have been here hours ago if it hadn’t been for that!’
Maggie smiled reassuringly at the flustered young woman who had rushed into the ward. It turned out that she was Beverley Mason, Alan Cole’s fiancée. ‘Well, you’re here now and that’s all that matters. Alan will be thrilled to see you. I take it that he doesn’t know you’re coming?’
‘There was no way of letting him know. I got the message when I arrived at the airport to meet him. Fortunately, I had my passport in my bag so I just jumped on the first plane that was coming over here,’ Beverley explained as she followed Maggie down the ward. She cast a wry look at her clothes. ‘I didn’t even stop to pack a bag so all I have with me are the clothes I’m wearing!’
‘I doubt Alan will worry too much about how you look!’ Maggie declared, adding hastily, ‘Not that you don’t look absolutely fine, mind you. Anyway, here he is.’
She stepped aside, smiling when she heard the cry of delight Alan gave on seeing his fiancée. He’d been looking very down that morning but she guessed that the surprise visitor would soon cheer him up.
She discreetly closed the curtains around the bed to afford the couple some privacy then went to find Doreen to warn her what had happened. Alan was due for a bed-bath but it could wait until later. Cleanliness might be next to godliness but sometimes a bit of dirt did no harm at all!
Alice Bradshaw stopped her as she was passing. The old lady took a keen interest in everything that went on in the ward and it was a source of wonder to the staff how quickly she managed to find out all about the other patients. It was obvious that she was well versed on the subject of Alan Cole.
‘Was that Alan’s young lady who just arrived, Staff? Come all the way from America, has she? Did you know that they’ve been engaged for four years and still haven’t named the day? Still, I expect it’s difficult, what with him living here and her living over there.’
‘I’m sure it is,’ Maggie agreed, hiding her smile. ‘She would have been here sooner only her plane was diverted because of that fog last night.’
‘Nasty stuff,’ Alice declared. ‘We used to get a lot of fog when I was younger, horrible thick black stuff it was, too. Of course, it had a lot to do with the fact that everyone had coal fires in those days and that all the heavy industry around here was coal-fired as well. Nobody gave much thought to pollution—I doubt they knew what it meant. Thank heaven folk have more sense nowadays is all I can say.’
The old lady suddenly frowned. ‘How did you get on last night, dear? You didn’t leave here till late so did you have trouble getting home in the fog?’
‘Fortunately it wasn’t too bad when I left work.’ She quickly excused herself as the office phone started ringing, not wanting to think about what had happened the previous night. However, the moment she heard Luke’s voice on the phone, she realised how difficult that was going to be. How could she ignore the fact that she’d wanted him to make love to her last night?
‘We have a bit of crisis on our hands, Maggie,’ he explained briskly, getting straight to the point. ‘There are no beds available in ICU and we have a young woman who needs monitoring until we can find her a place in one of the other intensive-care units in the area. Is there any chance that you could spare one of your staff to special her if we transfer her to your ward?’
She frowned as she ran through the logistics of such an operation. The surgical ward was equipped with a high-dependency bed for any patient requiring extra monitoring. Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem, but with Sister Clarke being off they were stretched to their limit. However, she guessed that Luke wouldn’t have made the request if he hadn’t been desperate.
‘I’ll special her myself,’ she said, quickly making up her mind. ‘Doreen is here so she can
supervise Angela and Tracy. And I’ll be on hand if there’s a problem.’
‘Great! I knew you’d come up trumps. Thanks, Maggie. It’s a weight off my mind.’ He sighed. ‘The poor kid is only seventeen. She was walking home last night in the fog and was hit by a car. The driver didn’t stop so she wasn’t found until this morning. It isn’t looking too good, I’m afraid.’
‘Oh, the poor thing!’ she exclaimed. ‘Have her family been informed?’
‘It appears that her parents are on holiday, which is why nobody reported her missing. The police are trying to contact them but they’re on a touring holiday in France so it won’t be easy tracking them down. The police are putting out a radio appeal later today. Let’s hope they hear it.’
‘Fingers crossed,’ she murmured, thinking sadly what a shock it was going to be for them.
‘It’s such a damn shame that the kid didn’t stay the night at her friend’s house. Still, there’s no point dwelling on it, is there? Hindsight is a wonderful thing but not a lot of use after you’ve made a decision.’
There was a strange note in his voice when he said that. Maggie frowned as she replaced the receiver. Had Luke been thinking about a decision he regretted, like the one he’d made the night before not to let events reach what he had termed their ‘natural conclusion’?
She sighed as she realised how foolish she was being. Luke most assuredly hadn’t been thinking any such thing!
‘Fractured skull, clavicle and right humerus. Double fracture of the pelvis, which has caused some damage to the bladder. Right tibia and fibula are fractured, too. The tibia was a displaced fracture but I’ve been able to screw it together. That’s about it apart from the usual problems associated with shock and blood loss.’
‘It’s more than enough, I’d say,’ Maggie observed sadly, gazing at the unconscious teenager. Lisa Duckworth was oblivious to her surroundings as she lay in the bed, attached to an array of machinery. Maggie knew that it would be touch and go as to whether she survived and couldn’t help thinking how unfair life could be at times.
The Italian Doctor Page 11