Whoa…
Christie’s face was burning so fiercely that she didn’t know where to put herself. Instead, she retired into silence.
As did Hugo. He gave her one sideways glance as he slid into the passenger seat beside her, and then retreated into silence himself.
There were all sorts of things happening in that silence, and Christie didn’t understand any of them.
Scrubbit was waiting for them. He gave a healthy bark as they entered the animal surgery, and Christie grimaced. She’d checked him a couple of hours back but things had changed.
‘I might have known. You’ve pulled the drip out, you dopey animal.’ She crossed to his cage and scooped him into her arms. ‘Let’s look at you.’
The little dog looked up at her, and his stumpy tail started spinning like a propeller. He’d obviously dispensed with his drip, but by the speed of his motor Christie could tell he no longer needed it.
‘This is one amazing pooch,’ Hugo said, looking down at the creature in Christie’s arms. ‘You wouldn’t see me pulling a drip out after an operation like that.’
‘Or working as an anaesthetist the day after suffering respiratory arrest. You wouldn’t do that either, now, would you?’ Christie managed a grin. ‘You’re two of a kind, Hugo Tallent. You and one dopey mutt.’
‘Gee, thanks.’
And then there was silence. There were a thousand things to say, but it was unsafe to say any of them.
Gloria and Barry King were home. Christie could hear their television from the road, and upstairs Mandy’s light shone from her attic bedroom. With such a promise before her and exams in two weeks, there was no doubt where she’d be.
‘Here goes,’ Christie said ruefully as they walked up the path. She wrinkled her nose and Hugo looked a question.
‘That bad?’
‘And then some. You wait and see.’
There was no time for more. Christie knocked while Hugo held the dog. There was the sound of an angry female voice, and a man’s disclaiming knowledge of visitors. Christie knocked again, and waited. She was accustomed to Gloria.
She looked wary, Hugo thought as he watched her. This Gloria woman seemed to have put the wind up the entire island. What on earth was she on about?
He reached out and took Christie’s hand, and his smile enveloped her.
‘Courage, love,’ he said. ‘I’m not letting you face dragons alone.’
And it was odd, but Christie gave him a look that said maybe it wasn’t Gloria she was afraid of.
Finally Gloria opened the door. The woman was wearing night attire, and Hugo knew his lingerie. Her satin dressing-gown would have cost a mint and she was tottering on ridiculous slippers which must have cost as much. Gloria was a hard-faced, cold-eyed platinum blonde. She saw Christie first—and then she saw Scrubbit.
‘I told Mandy to have that put down,’ she said flatly. ‘We don’t want it.’ And she started to close the door.
Hugo’s boot came out and wedged itself between door and frame. If he’d been wearing his borrowed yachting casuals, Gloria would have broken his toe. As it was, leather-booted and protected, he still had to bite back a yelp.
He managed. It was undignified to yelp in the face of hostility, he decided. He was here on a mission, and he’d been warned.
Dragon-slayers didn’t yelp.
‘May we come in?’ he asked politely.
Gloria hauled the door wide and then proceeded to try and slam it shut. She didn’t make it. With one deft movement Hugo stepped in, stopped the door in its swing and leaned against it so that Christie could follow.
‘Good evening, Mrs King,’ Hugo said smoothly, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unwelcoming. ‘I’m Dr Tallent. I’ve been assisting Dr Flemming in the care of your daughter’s dog.’
But Gloria wasn’t looking at him. She was staring down at the dressing on Scrubbit’s leg and she looked appalled. The dog had obviously had medical attention!
‘We’re not paying,’ she snapped. ‘I told Barry he had to put it down. Barry!’ Her screech was enough to waken the dead. ‘I thought I told you to put the mutt down.’
‘Scrubbit!’
The cry was from Mandy. She’d emerged from her bedroom upstairs and now came tumbling down to scoop the little dog into her arms. ‘Scrubbit, you’re home.’ She turned shining eyes to Christie. ‘Oh, he looks great. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.’
‘We’re not paying.’ Gloria’s voice was still sharp. ‘You needn’t think you’ll get a cent from us.’
‘I’m not charging,’ Christie said wearily. ‘I like Scrubbit, and Mandy is my friend. Maybe after her exams she can spend time sorting files for me as payment.’
‘Fat chance,’ Gloria snapped. ‘She’ll be getting a full-time job after her exams. I’ve had enough of this school garbage.’
As Gloria spoke, her husband had emerged from the living room, but he said nothing. Barry King stood silent, scrawny and unhappy, looking as if he was trying desperately to melt into the woodwork.
‘It’s odd you should mention schooling, but that’s why I’m here, Mrs King,’ Hugo said easily. He looked behind her to her husband. ‘Is it OK if we come in for a minute?’
‘No!’ Gloria’s voice was an icy spit.
But Hugo wasn’t talking to Gloria. ‘Mr King?’ His eyes rested on Barry’s—man to man—and Barry shifted uneasily. ‘May we come in?’
‘No…’
‘Mr King?’ Hugo simply ignored the vitriolic woman. He was waiting for Barry’s response. Barry shifted again, but Hugo’s eyes didn’t let him off the hook.
‘I need to talk to you,’ he said gently. ‘May I do that?’
And with Hugo’s eyes boring straight into his, there was little else the man could say.
‘Yeah, sure,’ he stuttered. ‘I…I guess…’
‘Thank you.’ Hugo needed no second invitation. He strode into the living room, flicked off the television and sank into the largest armchair—as if he meant to stay for a while. It was almost as if this were his home. ‘Mandy, take Scrubbit up to your room,’ he told the open-mouthed girl. ‘This discussion is between Dr Flemming, your parents and me.’
‘But…’
‘Hop it, love,’ he told her. He winked at her and then patted the chair beside him. ‘Christie, you sit here. Mrs King, Mr King…make yourselves comfortable. I have a few things I need to run through with you.’
Christie could only boggle. In thirty swift seconds he’d turned the tables completely. It wasn’t Gloria who was in charge now; it was Hugo, and all Gloria could do was gape. Hugo smiled at them politely and waited for them to sit. To Christie’s astonishment, they sat.
‘You have a very bright daughter,’ Hugo told them. He raised his brows and waited for Gloria’s reaction.
He got it. ‘She thinks she is.’ Gloria was off balance but she was still vicious. ‘She’s no better than any other island kid. She has fancy ideas—’
‘Her teacher says she’ll get excellent marks. Fantastic marks, in fact.’
‘So what?’
Hugo leaned forward. He linked his hands together and regarded both of them—first Barry, then Gloria and then Barry again. His gaze stayed fixed on Barry.
‘Mandy loves animals,’ he said gently. ‘I’ve watched her working. Your daughter has the ability to be an excellent veterinary surgeon.’
‘It’s out of the question—’ Gloria started, but she was ignored.
‘If she had the money to go to university,’ Hugo kept on, his eyes still on Barry, ‘would you stop her going?’
‘I…’ The hapless man started to turn to Gloria but Hugo’s voice dragged his attention back to him.
‘Mr King, I’m speaking to you. If your daughter had the funds to do veterinary science, would you prevent her?’
Barry took a deep breath. He cast a fearful look at his wife, then turned back to Hugo.
‘N-no,’ he said, and it sounded as if it had taken all his courage
to say it. ‘I wouldn’t. She’s a good kid. But there’s no way—’
‘I’ll supply the funds.’
Silence. You could have heard a pin drop. What Christie did hear was Mandy’s heavy breathing as she listened on the other side of the door.
Hugo had them all in the palm of his hand, and Christie found herself almost scared to breathe. What he was doing was stunning.
At last the silence broke and, predictably, it was broken by Gloria. ‘What are you talking about?’ she snapped. ‘She can’t afford to go to Brisbane. A vet course takes five years. Five years without any pay. Without—’
‘I’m paying,’ Hugo said flatly. ‘Your daughter has a real love for animals and she has a gift for healing. Anyone can see that. All I’m doing is providing the funds to let her do it.’
The woman’s eyes narrowed. ‘Yes? Give us the money, then,’ she said quickly. ‘We’ll see she uses it properly.’
‘I can’t do that.’ Hugo smiled and looked across at Christie. ‘Dr Flemming doesn’t trust me, you see,’ he said apologetically. ‘She wants guarantees before Mandy starts her course, so I’ll put the money into a trust account. The trustees will administer it as she needs it and, as from now, she’ll cease costing you a cent.’
Gloria was almost speechless. ‘But what’s in it for you?’
‘The knowledge that in five years Briman Island may well have a vet.’ Hugo’s smile slipped and he looked across at Barry as if he expected him to understand. ‘And as well as that, you know I had a very close shave with death the other day. You were one of the fishermen who brought your boat out to rescue me. This is part of my way of saying thank you.’
‘I—I can’t believe you’ll do this—for our kid,’ Barry stammered, but Gloria wasn’t done. She was practically gibbering.
‘She’s not taking it. She’s getting a job. I want her wages to help pay her keep.’
She might have known. Of course, Christie thought. Gloria had expensive tastes. She wasn’t happy with what Barry earned and she’d have designs on what little Mandy could contribute. Christie grimaced in distaste, but Hugo didn’t signify even by a look that he understood what Gloria meant.
‘She won’t need keep,’ he said gently. He still looked at Barry. ‘She’ll be living in Brisbane at my expense. Will you let your daughter have this chance, Mr King? What do you say?’
All eyes were now on Barry. Even Gloria’s.
And, amazingly, he rose to the occasion. For once in his life, he made a stand. Barry’s wobbly chin firmed. His shoulders went back, and for the first time he looked at his wife with a trace of sternness. He held her gaze for a long, long moment, and then he turned to Hugo.
‘Yes,’ he told him. ‘Yes, she’ll have this chance. She’ll accept with pleasure.’
‘No! I’ll kill the dog,’ Gloria screeched, rising to her feet. ‘I’ll—’
‘Sit down and shut up, Gloria,’ Barry said. ‘From here on in you just shut up. If Mandy doesn’t want to take her dog to Brisbane then I’ll take care of it myself. If you mess things up for Mandy, she won’t ever want to come home. She won’t want anything to do with us. And that’s the last straw. So you can shut your trap and say thank you to Dr Tallent. And you’ll wish your daughter well…’
Gloria was left with nothing to say. Barry fussed around and made tea, and called Mandy downstairs—or from behind her door—and teased her about her good fortune, while all the time Gloria sat grim-faced and silent. She seemed to have had all the puff taken out of her.
What would happen here when they left? Christie wondered, and found herself worrying. It was all very well to give this gift to Mandy, but to destroy the family in the process…
This was what being a general practitioner was all about, she thought bitterly. What Hugo didn’t understand. In a community like this, you never treated one problem in isolation. You treated the whole picture.
She looked at Barry, and found herself wondering what was in store for him now. Years with a shrew for a wife—or would Gloria be so angry she’d leave?
But she’d underestimated Hugo. Of course, Christie realised as she watched his thoughtful eyes resting on Mandy’s mother. He was wondering exactly the same as she was.
Of course he was. They had like minds…
And the thought suddenly made her feel almost physically ill. This man seemed like the other half to her whole, and she hadn’t known the half was missing until she’d met him. But now she knew what it was to love—and it was useless! She wanted him so much, she thought, and the aching need was threatening to overwhelm her.
All she could do was watch and listen—and hunger for what might have been…
And Hugo was unaware. He was still focussed on Gloria. Finishing his tea, he walked forward and stooped before Gloria’s drooping figure.
‘This’ll be fine, Gloria,’ he said softly, taking her hands.
‘A daughter as a vet is a thing to be proud of. I’ll bet there’s no other woman on this island who could boast of that.’
Gloria looked up, her face frozen.
‘And it won’t cost you a cent. A vet in the family for nothing…She’ll earn fine wages.’
And there was one last thing…
‘Gloria, why are you limping?’ he asked, and the woman’s breath hissed in.
‘I’m not.’
‘I watched you.’ She was wearing high-heeled fluffy slippers. Her feet were out in front of her now and Hugo looked down at them. ‘Do you have a painful foot? You’re walking like it’s been hurting for a while. Your hip is dropping like you’re used to carrying it.’
Christie frowned. Gloria limping? Was she? She should have noticed that.
Then she thought back. Gloria had always limped, she thought suddenly. Ever since she’d known her. She’d always worn ridiculously high shoes—maybe Christie had always assumed that to be the cause.
‘It’s none of your business,’ Gloria snapped, and Hugo nodded.
‘That’s right, it’s not,’ he agreed equitably. ‘Your daughter’s education isn’t my business either, but I’m sticking my oar in there so I might as well stick it in elsewhere.’
‘Tell him about your feet, Mum,’ Mandy piped up, and got a glare for her pains.
‘You’ve never talked to me about sore feet,’ Christie said wonderingly.
‘I talked to your grandpa,’ Gloria snapped. ‘Years ago. I even went to Townsville to see specialists. Fat lot of use they are. They can’t do anything.’
‘But your feet hurt.’
‘Only the one,’ she said grudgingly.
‘What’s the problem?’ Suddenly Hugo was all doctor. He had a chameleon personality, Christie thought, changing at will. Ten minutes ago he’d acted as if he were made of iron. Now there was even tenderness in the way he talked to Gloria. To Gloria!
‘I don’t have to tell you…’ Her voice fell away and Christie thought suddenly, She’s ashamed!
‘No.’ Hugo nodded. ‘You don’t. But it’s a free consultation I’m offering, and I’ll be gone on Friday.’
Gone. Gone, Christie thought…
‘I have papillomas,’ Gloria said.
Hugo sat back and looked at her. ‘Papillomas?’
‘You must know what they are,’ she jeered. ‘They make my feet crack and swell and hurt—’
‘I know what papillomas are. They’re non-malignant tumours—like warts. But you’ve had them treated?’
‘Of course I’ve had them treated,’ she snapped. ‘Years ago. I’ve had every treatment known to man. I had them cut off but they came back. I used this stinking ointment for years. I even had them blasted by this radiation treatment. Fat lot of good it did me. They just keep coming back and back and back. My foot’s a mess.’
‘May I see?’ Hugo wasn’t waiting for a response. He lifted her ridiculous pink slipper and slid it off her foot.
And Christie almost flinched at what she saw. She’d been trying to let her mind assimilate what she’d just le
arned for sure—Hugo would be gone on Friday. But now she was jerked back to medicine with a rush. Good grief!
The sole of Gloria’s foot was a mass of papillomas. They covered almost all the ball of the foot, there were a couple between the toes and one huge one was on the heel. They were raised and ugly, one had cracked and looked infected, and they were in such a mass that they must have given her constant discomfort.
Gloria was bad-tempered at the best of times, and if she was in pain…
‘Oh, Gloria, you should have said.’ Christie frowned, thinking it through. Gloria hadn’t consulted Christie in the time she’d been on the island, so she’d never checked her records. Stan had never said anything about this but he must have known.
This was a direct result of Gloria’s nastiness, she thought. To enquire how Gloria was meant risking getting your head bitten off. So she never had.
‘Fat lot of good it would have done if I’d said anything,’ Gloria sneered at her across the room. ‘Doctors can’t help.’
‘You know, I might just be able to.’ Hugo was gently examining the foot.
‘Oh, yeah. Where so many have failed?’
‘There’s a new treatment I’ve been reading about. If you let your daughter help…’
‘Mandy?’
‘That’s the one,’ he said cheerfully. ‘The new healer in the family. What I’d like to do is treat you with dinitrochlorobenzene.’
‘Dini…dinitrochlorobenzene.’ She frowned. ‘I’ve never heard of it.’
‘I don’t blame you. It’s not the sort of thing Doris sells by the gallon drum.’ Hugo sounded cheerful and confident—doctor in charge again. ‘It’s called DNCB for short. It’s a substance that almost everyone becomes allergic to when it’s applied to their skin. What we could do is use this allergic reaction to provoke your immune system.’
To Christie’s surprise, Gloria’s hostility seemed to be lessening. Her expression was curious, and also intelligent. ‘Explain it to me,’ she demanded, and Christie watched as Hugo did just that.
‘Those papillomas have been on your foot for so long that your body doesn’t know they’re foreign any more,’ he told her. ‘Your body’s not trying to get rid of them, so they’re staying put. What I’d like to do, if you let me, is to pop a strong solution of DNCB on a spot on your arm.’
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