Nothing Ventured

by Anne Douglas

  Oh dear, thought Isla, coming in from the kitchen, this room’s just as I remember it. Except that the fire Will had lit did make things look more cheerful, and Nan’s chocolate box lay ready and waiting by her chair.

  ‘Only one each,’ Will declared. ‘They are Nan’s, after all.’

  ‘No, no, help yourselves!’ she cried, taking her seat. ‘I’ll only put weight on if I eat too many!’

  At which they all laughed, for it was well known that Nan had been skinny all her life and never put on an ounce, however much she ate.

  ‘Burn it up, that’s what you do,’ said Will, selecting a caramel. ‘Rushing about like there’s a fire – and you’re the same, Isla. I bet you’re a whirlwind in that ward of yours.’

  ‘Talking of wards, or, rather, nursing, that’s what I want to talk to you about,’ Boyd told Isla, having eaten his choice of a strawberry cream. ‘I think you’ll be interested.’

  ‘In nursing?’ Isla was studying the guide to the contents of the chocolate box. ‘Well, I’m a nurse, sure enough, but what’s your point, Boyd?’

  ‘My point is that there’s a vacancy for a qualified nurse at Lorne’s. Should be just right for you.’

  ‘At the hydro?’ Isla, taking a truffle, had raised her eyebrows. ‘Why should it be right for me, Boyd? Like I said, I’m a nurse already. Why’d I want to work at the hydro?’

  ‘Well, because it’s here, in Edgemuir!’ her father cried. ‘It’d be grand to have you home again – eh, Nan?’

  ‘Oh, it would, it would!’ Nan’s eyes were shining. ‘Of course, it’d have to be the right job, Will. We don’t want Isla moving just to be near us.’

  ‘No, but folk come to Lorne’s Hydro from all over the country – I reckon it’d be grand place to work. You think so, Boyd, is that no’ right?

  ‘Certainly is – it’s fascinating, really, what they can do with just water. I honestly think you’d find it interesting, Isla. Something new, you see. What do you say?’

  She hesitated, dabbing at a smear of chocolate on her finger with her handkerchief.

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she said at last. ‘Where I work, we help all sorts, but at the hydro – that’s for rich folk, eh? I didn’t go into nursing to help people who can afford to pay.’

  ‘No, no, it’s not like that,’ Boyd said eagerly. ‘All sorts come to the hydro, too, and some of ’em are just ordinary folk who haven’t had luck with conventional treatments. The main thing is this’d be something new for you and I am sure it’d be worth your while to think about it.’ He gave a sudden grin. ‘And the money’s good, and all. Wages are generous because Doctor Lorne wants the best.’

  ‘There you are, then!’ Will put in. ‘Money’s important, Isla – don’t we know it! Remember what it was like, Nan, before I got to be foreman? Living in one o’ the wee houses in the terrace – scrimping and saving, trying to make ends meet!’

  A shadow crossed Nan’s face and she pursed her lips.

  ‘No need to bring that up, Will. We’re better off now.’

  ‘Aye, I’m just saying, money’s important. When you see the way folk have to live without it, you ken why you’ve to fight for it.’

  ‘I know, I know, but we’re talking about Isla, and she’s got to be sure she wants to work at the hydro, not just think o’ the cash. Mightn’t be for her at all.’

  ‘That’s right, Ma,’ Isla said quickly. ‘I’m not even sure I believe these water cures work, anyway. I know you’re convinced, Boyd, but—’

  ‘But what do I know?’ he asked wryly, raising his hands. ‘Yes, well, I’m no doctor, but I can tell you that Doctor Lorne who founded the place is first-rate, and so is his assistant. They’ve written books and papers; they’re very well respected. And so are the nurses – the best to be found. So why not try for an interview? You’ll find out a lot more that way than I can tell you.’

  ‘That’s a good idea,’ said Will. ‘Why not try it, Isla?’

  ‘I can give you all the details where to write,’ Boyd added. ‘The closing date’s mid-January.’

  ‘Heavens, you’re well prepared!’ Isla cried. ‘I can see you’ve done your homework.’

  ‘All right, I have, because I’d like you to come. It’d be grand to have you around, not stuck in Edinburgh. What do you say, then? Will you apply?’

  ‘I don’t know, Boyd. It’s a big decision.’

  ‘It wouldn’t do any harm to apply, though. Like I said, see what you think when you know more.’

  Glancing at her parents, Isla saw their eyes fixed on her and looked away. Of course, they’d made it plain what they would like her to do, even though Ma had understood that what mattered was what Isla wanted. And that, of course, she didn’t yet know.

  Maybe, she should, after all, just apply. See what it might be like, make up her mind if it would be worth it for her career to make the move. She’d just been thinking about the future and what might be coming her way, and had often thought she’d like to try different things. She’d have nothing to lose by applying, and if she decided the hydro was not for her, at least she’d have given it a try and her family would appreciate that.

  After a long moment, she gave a little shrug and turned to Boyd.

  ‘All right, I’ll make an application,’ she said quietly.

  ‘You will? Isla, that’s grand!’ His smile was broad. ‘Just the thing to do – go for it, see what it would be like.’

  ‘So you can be sure,’ Nan murmured. ‘We just want you to be sure, don’t we, Will?’

  ‘Definitely. Oh, yes, got to be sure.’

  But they were all three smiling now, even though they still didn’t know what she was going to be sure about. And if she eventually said she was sure about staying at Edinburgh Southern, how bad would it make her feel when there were no more smiles? Pretty bad, maybe, but one thing was certain: even to please those who loved her, she was not going to take on something she didn’t want. And – it made her smile to remember as she was going to bed – with all her soul-searching about taking the job at the hydro, there was no guarantee that she would even be offered it, which might be the solution to the whole problem.

  With so much on her mind, sleep was long in coming. So much for her nice, restful weekend!

  Four

  A pale, wintry sunshine filled the town on Saturday, not strong enough to melt the ice underfoot but lightening the atmosphere, cheering the spirits of those out and about. Certainly, Isla and her mother were enjoying themselves, first looking round the shops, later having coffee at a café busy with smart customers – who might well be patients from the hydro, Nan whispered.

  ‘Oh, yes, they’re allowed out,’ she told Isla, who wasn’t used to patients going out for coffee from the hospital where she worked. ‘Quite a lot don’t need to be in bed; they’ve just got, you know, conditions they want treating. Boyd says some complain that the hydro doesn’t have its own golf course, but there are tennis courts and they play in the summer.’

  ‘I guessed they’d be well-to-do,’ commented Isla, buttering a scone. ‘Golf, tennis and good food and wine, I expect? Nothing like that where I work!’

  ‘Wine at meals, maybe, but there’s no alcohol allowed on Sundays, seemingly, and no games, either. A lot of places are like that, of course. We’re no great kirk-goers, as you know, but I think it’s good to make a difference on Sundays, eh?’

  ‘I’m usually too busy at work to know what day it is,’ Isla said with a laugh, beginning to eat her scone and keeping an interested eye on the customers who might be from the hydro, thinking she could be seeing people like that in a different setting if she got an interview.

  She’d been disappointed that Boyd had had to work that Saturday, but he’d promised to bring her all the information she needed when he came home that night, and her father, at least, would have the afternoon free.

  Frost being still about, Isla and her parents had given up plans for a long walk in the hills, deciding instead to take the bus to Galashiels,
to look around and have high tea somewhere. First, though, before they went home that morning, Isla told her mother she’d like to walk up to the hydro, just to take a better look at it. Although it was very familiar to her as a place dominating the town, she had never really studied it and was now interested enough to know it better.

  ‘Grand-looking place, eh?’ asked Nan, as they stood together, looking through wrought-iron entrance gates at the stone-built, three-storeyed building, with its elegantly framed windows and double doors sheltered by a portico. Several cars were parked on the wide sweep of gravel driveway, and as they watched, a man in a lounge suit came out to open the door of one of them and take out a briefcase. Nan and Isla drew back, taking cover behind the bushes and trees lining the railings.

  ‘Don’t want to be caught peering in,’ Isla murmured, but Nan said it was all right: he hadn’t seen them and had now returned inside. ‘But it’s worth looking at the place, eh? Used to be a hotel, you know, before the doctor bought it – that’d be about 1910.’

  ‘A hotel? Well, it’s big enough.’

  ‘Aye, my mother’s sister, my Aunt Julia, used to work there. As a waitress, I think. You’ll not remember her – she got married and emigrated to Australia – but your gran told me she loved working at the Marquess – that’s what the hotel was called.’ Nan gave a little sigh. ‘Shame your gran passed on, eh? My dad, too. They could have told you such a lot.’

  ‘I know,’ Isla said softly. ‘Thing is, we’ve no grandparents at all, Boyd and me, seeing as dad’s folks are gone, too. Why do some folk have to die so young? Life too much of a struggle, do you think?’

  ‘They always worked very hard, but then so do we all.’ Nan turned away. ‘Think we’d better be getting home.’

  ‘Wonder whereabouts Boyd is in there?’ Isla asked, looking back. ‘Wish we could’ve popped in to see him.’

  ‘Never allows that. But if you get an interview, you’ll see his gymnasium.’ As Nan wrapped her scarf more firmly round her neck and pulled on her hat against the wind, she gave Isla a cautious look. ‘Think you’re more interested, now you’ve seen it close to?’

  ‘Maybe. I’d certainly like an interview, anyway, so as to check out just what goes on. First, though, I’d like to see what information Boyd brings me tonight – if he remembers.’

  ‘Oh, he’ll remember all right. He’s keen as mustard for you to get that job. Thinks it’d be just right for you, seeing as he thinks the hydro’s just right for him, eh? Now let’s go home and see if your dad’s back and get out of this wind for a wee while.’

  Five

  Boyd was true to his word, and when he arrived after work that evening, he gave Isla not only details of how to apply for the job at the hydro but also a copy of its brochure.

  ‘Now you can read something specially written to tell people what the water cure really is,’ he explained when they were sitting in the kitchen with their parents, drinking tea. ‘Seemingly, Doctor Lorne’s secretary is sending one to all applicants, and she gave me one for you, plus the form everyone’s getting. That gives you Doctor Lorne’s name – he’s taking the interview – the time, date and where it is, which you know anyway. Seems you’ll need the names of two referees – one from someone who supervises you now and the other from school or where you trained.’

  ‘All very formal, eh?’ asked Will. ‘Suppose it has to be.’

  ‘Oh, sure, they need to know all about the people applying. But you’ll like Doctor Lorne, Isla; he’s a really nice chap – a widower, with a daughter, but she’s away at school. Patty MacIvor, the nurse who’s leaving, told me she’s really sorry to be going, just because he’s been such a good employer.’

  ‘So why is she leaving?’ Isla asked.

  ‘She’s getting married and her husband-to-be has got a job in England, so she’s away south. Very pleasant girl, easy to get on with. But I think you’d get on with everyone, Isla – even Matron’s not too tough, they tell me.’

  ‘I’ll believe that when I meet her!’ Isla laughed. ‘Matrons aren’t known to be easy. And this Doctor Lorne sounds a saint – and rich, too, eh? Well, he must be, if he can own a whole hydro!’

  ‘Oh, he doesn’t own it now, Isla. It’s been a limited company for some time – most of the hydros are. They cost too much to run for one owner, and, of course, there’s not the risk there would be for one person. Just got to keep the shareholders happy.’

  ‘I see,’ Isla said thoughtfully. She didn’t actually know much about limited companies, but if they made things less risky, they seemed a good idea.

  ‘But listen, Boyd, thanks very much for all this information. It’ll be a great help to have some knowledge of Lorne’s, especially about the water cure.’

  ‘Hydropathy is its formal name,’ Boyd told her. ‘Or, as some say, hydrotherapy. If you read up on it in the brochure, you’ll have an idea of what to say at the interview.’

  ‘And now I can see what my bedtime reading’s going to be tonight, eh?’

  ‘But don’t you go worrying about the interview,’ Will said seriously. ‘You’ll walk it, I’m telling you. They’ll be lucky to get you.’

  ‘I say the same,’ declared Nan. ‘If they want quality staff at the hydro, you’re it, Isla.’

  Oh, if only they wouldn’t talk like that! Isla groaned inwardly. They were going to be so disappointed if – for whatever reason – she didn’t end up at Lorne’s. She didn’t yet know herself what she really wanted, and they’d said themselves she needed to be sure.

  Jumping to her feet, she said she’d take the cups away and then, as a change from talking about the hydro, why didn’t they get the cards out and play rummy or something?

  ‘Rummy would be grand,’ said Boyd, grinning. ‘I like it because I always win.’

  ‘Not this time!’ called Will, already at the sideboard, taking out the cards. ‘I feel lucky tonight.’

  ‘I don’t care who wins,’ Isla declared. ‘I just want to think of something else before I start on my homework.’

  ‘Never know,’ said Boyd, fixing her with a steady look, ‘you might get really interested.’

  ‘No more job talk,’ ordered Nan. ‘We’re ready to start.’

  After the card games, which Boyd, true to his prediction, won again, they had more tea and said goodnight, Isla with some relief. She was anxious to study the brochure Boyd had given her, to see if it might help her make up her mind what she wanted.

  Settling into bed in her room, the smallest of the three bedrooms the foreman’s house provided, she was glad to be on her own, sparing a thought for the way some folk had to sleep in the tenements, packed in like sardines. Imagine only having a bed when someone else had left it, and then having to share it with others! Better not dwell on the troubles of those poor folk now, though. She’d enough to occupy her, with the hydro’s brochure.

  Six

  It was certainly a fine production, with paper of the best quality and clear photographs, but what mattered to Isla was how much it showed of the real work of the place, for of that she hadn’t much idea.

  First, she studied the frontispiece which showed a picture of Dr George Lorne, the founder and director of the hydro, now looking to be in his fifties, dark-haired with a little grey at the temples, large, thoughtful eyes and a generous mouth. Formally dressed for the photograph, he looked as if he would prefer to be formal anyway, but though you could never rely on photographs, he also looked as nice as Boyd had said and – better still – a man to be trusted.

  Would she like to work for him? Too soon to say, but at least he knew how to put things simply for patients, not to mention possible applicants for jobs. For instance, his definition of hydropathy, the water cure on which his business was founded, was just described as the treatment of illness by water itself, a form of therapy that was nothing new, having been traced back to Ancient Egypt. After developments abroad in the nineteenth century, it had become popular and successful in modern times, in hydros such as Lorne’s.


  In Scotland, England and throughout the world, there were doctors and nurses all treating and satisfying patients, as Dr Lorne and his assistant, Dr Woodville, were glad to do. In fact, any patient who came to Lorne’s would be offered such a wide range of treatments – saunas, steam and sitz baths, wraps, cold water rubbings, among others – that their symptoms would almost certainly be improved.

  In addition, they would find their stay most comfortable, in a building offering single rooms, two well-furnished lounges, an excellent dining room, as well as a fine terrace, a gymnasium, tennis courts – and beautiful countryside on the doorstep, for those who just liked to walk and breathe pure Scottish air. Finally, Dr Lorne strongly recommended a study of the brochure, which would show photographs of what treatment was available, and for all further information, application could be made to the secretary for Lorne’s Hydro at the address given at the end of the brochure.

  Certainly knows how to ‘sell’ his hydro, doesn’t he? thought Isla, finishing the doctor’s introduction. But who could blame him? At least, he hadn’t attempted to guarantee success for his treatments, doing no more than suggest that patients who tried them would see some improvement. And although she was still unsure how they worked, Isla had to admit that having read what Dr Lorne had to say, she did feel a little more confident about them. So many hydros, so many satisfied clients – there must be something in them that brought a certain success.

  Sighing, she went on to study the photographs, skipping those of the accommodation and facilities (except for Boyd’s gymnasium which seemed well equipped, though lacking a picture of Boyd himself) and moving on to the treatment rooms. These were her real interest, but in spite of showing a number of patients wrapped in linen and blankets, or tactfully swathed in towels beside baths and pools – all accompanied by smiling nurses, of course – they didn’t really tell her very much.

  A Selection of our Treatments, read the caption for the section, and obviously not all could be shown to public gaze, but it was already clear enough to Isla that to get the real feel of Lorne’s Hydro, she was going to have to see the establishment itself. That would only happen if she got as far as an interview, which, of course, was as yet not certain, but as she put aside the brochure and switched off her light, she really hoped she would be successful.