The Boss Who Stole Her Heart

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘That’s right.’ Beth made an obvious effort to calm herself. ‘I wanted to have the baby at home but Polly talked me out of it. She said it would be safer if I had it in the hospital seeing as I’m a first-time mum and that bit older too.’

  ‘And who’s Polly?’ Ellie asked, needing to be clear about the details.

  ‘She’s the local midwife—Polly Davies,’ Beth explained. ‘I’ve been seeing her for my antenatal check-ups. In fact, I saw her only last Friday.’

  ‘And what did she say?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘Oh, that everything was fine—blood pressure, baby’s heartbeat, et cetera.’ Beth frowned. ‘She did say that the baby seemed to be quite low down, now I think about it.’

  ‘Probably getting ready to make his exit,’ Ellie said, laughing.

  ‘Probably. The little rip!’

  Beth laughed as well and Ellie was relieved to see that she appeared far less anxious. Good. The last thing she wanted was for Beth to be uptight if they had to deliver the baby here. The thought helped her focus on what needed to be done and she squeezed Beth’s hand. ‘I’ll go and phone the hospital and let them know what’s happening. I’ll also get hold of Polly. With a bit of luck, she’ll be able to lend a hand here. I’ll be as quick as I can. OK?’

  Beth nodded, her face screwing up as another contraction began. Ellie hurried from the room and made straight to Reception, knowing that Marie would have all the phone numbers. She was dealing with a patient and Ellie waited until she had finished. Lowering her voice so it wouldn’t carry across the waiting room, she quickly explained what was going on.

  ‘Really!’ Marie’s mouth dropped open. ‘But she’s another three weeks to go. Are you sure it isn’t a false alarm?’

  ‘Quite sure,’ Ellie said firmly. ‘This baby is definitely on its way and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Can you phone the hospital and let them know? We’ll need an ambulance, although I doubt if it will get here before the big event.’

  ‘Of course.’ Marie picked up the phone, although she still appeared slightly stunned.

  ‘Oh, and can you get hold of Polly too? Apparently, she’s been responsible for Beth’s antenatal care. It would be a huge help if she could give me a hand.’

  ‘I’ll phone her first,’ Marie promised. ‘She lives in town so she can be here in no time.’

  ‘That’s great. Thanks.’ Ellie started to turn away then paused. ‘Daniel needs to know what’s going on. Which is his room again?’

  ‘First door on the right,’ Marie explained, then turned her attention to the phone. ‘Polly, it’s Marie. You won’t believe what’s happened...’

  Ellie left the receptionist to make the calls and hurried back to Beth, pausing en route to tap on Daniel’s door. She popped her head into the room when he bade her to enter. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you,’ she said, smiling apologetically at the young woman holding a fractious toddler on her knee. ‘But can I have a quick word?’

  ‘Of course.’ Daniel excused himself and stepped out into the corridor. He frowned. ‘There’s nothing wrong, I hope. I thought Beth was showing you around.’

  ‘She was but we’ve hit a snag.’ Ellie felt decidedly awkward about interrupting him during a consultation but there was really nothing else she could have done in the circumstances.

  ‘A snag?’ he echoed in a voice that hinted at displeasure. ‘What are you talking about?’

  Ellie’s mouth compressed, not enjoying the fact that he obviously thought she was being a nuisance. She prided herself on her self-sufficiency and it stung to realise that he thought she was the type of person who needed constant support.

  ‘Beth’s baby is coming,’ she explained coldly. She raised her hand when he went to speak. ‘No, there’s no doubt about her being in labour. Marie is arranging for an ambulance and phoning Polly to see if she can come and help. I thought you should know, although I apologise for disturbing you.’

  With that she turned away, making herself walk steadily along the corridor even though in truth she felt like running off and hiding. She bit her lip when she felt the far too ready tears spring to her eyes. Maybe it hurt to have Daniel speak to her so sharply but she could live with it. After all, he was her boss, nothing more. It didn’t matter how he spoke to her so long as he wasn’t rude.

  It all sounded so sensible in theory but as she opened the door, Ellie realised that it did matter, that it mattered a great deal. For some reason she wanted Daniel to speak to her with warmth and make her feel that she was valued. How pathetic was that!

  CHAPTER THREE

  DANIEL COULD HAVE bitten off his tongue for speaking so sharply to Eleanor. If it weren’t for the fact that he had a patient waiting, he would have gone after her and apologised. Taking a deep breath, he went back into the room and sat down.

  ‘I apologise for the interruption, Mrs Walsh,’ he said to the woman seated in the chair. ‘You were about to explain how you hurt your arm.’

  ‘I...I tripped, Dr Saunders. Over...ahem...one of Alice’s toys.’

  The young woman ran a trembling hand over her daughter’s wispy blonde hair. Although both mother and child were neatly dressed in expensive outfits, there was something not quite right about their appearance. The little girl’s hair looked as if it hadn’t been brushed and yet Madeleine Walsh had taken the time to apply a heavy layer of make-up. Daniel leant across the desk, using the excuse of reaching for Mrs Walsh’s file while he examined her face more closely. Was that a bruise he could see on her cheek? And another on her neck?

  ‘I see,’ he said, sitting back in his seat. He smiled at her, although he had a bad feeling about this. It wasn’t the first time that Madeleine Walsh had come to see him after a supposed fall; this was her third visit in the last six months. Although he hadn’t noticed any sign of bruising then, it could be because he hadn’t been looking for it. He needed to get to the bottom of this situation and soon. ‘Did you hurt yourself anywhere else apart from your arm? Your face looks bruised to me—did you bang it?’

  ‘Oh...erm...yes, I must have done.’ The woman put her hand to her cheek and Daniel could see the fear in her eyes. ‘I’m ever so clumsy,’ she muttered. ‘Always tripping up and banging into things.’

  ‘Easily done,’ Daniel said evenly. ‘As long as you’re sure that it was an accident. Anything you tell me won’t go any further, Mrs Walsh, I assure you.’

  ‘Of course it was an accident!’ the woman declared, flushing. ‘I tripped over one of Alice’s toys—one of her dolls, actually—and fell down the stairs. I...I must have put out my hand to save myself and that’s how I hurt my arm.’

  ‘Let me take a look.’ Daniel got up and came around the desk. Crouching down, he went to examine her arm, stopping when little Alice shrank away from him. ‘It’s all right, poppet,’ he said softly. ‘I just want to look at Mummy’s arm so I can make it better.’

  ‘She’s not good with strangers,’ Madeleine Walsh said hurriedly, cuddling the trembling child to her.

  ‘Does she attend the nursery school?’ Daniel asked levelly, although the bad feeling he had was growing worse by the second. Alice was four years old and in his experience most children her age had got over their shyness and were happy to socialise with people outside the family unit.

  ‘No. I decided not to send her.’ Madeleine Walsh bit her lip then rushed on. ‘She’s very shy and it didn’t seem right to send her to a place where I know she’ll be unhappy.’

  ‘She’ll have to go to school next year, though, won’t she?’ Daniel pointed out, gently examining the woman’s arm. The wrist was swollen and heavily discoloured. It was obviously painful because Mrs Walsh gasped when he touched it. ‘Sorry. I can tell how painful it is, although I can’t say if it’s broken or badly sprained. Can you move your fingers?’

  ‘Yes.’ Madeleine grimaced as
she wriggled her fingers the tiniest bit. ‘It’s really painful, though.’

  ‘It will be.’ Daniel sat down again. ‘I’m afraid it really needs X-raying to establish if it’s broken or not. Is there anyone who can drive you to the hospital, your husband perhaps?’

  ‘No, Nigel’s in court this morning and I don’t want to bother him,’ Madeleine Walsh said quickly. ‘Can’t you put a bandage on it, Dr Saunders? I’m sure it’s not broken and just needs some support while it heals. I wouldn’t have bothered you if I could have done it myself.’

  ‘I really think it needs to be X-rayed,’ Daniel insisted. ‘If it is broken then the last thing you want is for it to set badly and end up with a deformed wrist. If you don’t want to contact your husband then I can arrange for someone to drive you to the hospital. We have a team of volunteers who very kindly ferry people there and back in situations like this.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know...I’ve no idea what Nigel would say about that.’ She looked so stricken that Daniel almost wished he hadn’t suggested it. However, it was vital that she have her wrist X-rayed to avoid any future problems.

  ‘I’m sure he will take the sensible view and be pleased that you got it attended to. I’ll phone Mrs Goodison and see if she’s free. She used to be a teacher at the junior school and she’s very nice,’ he added encouragingly as he reached for the phone.

  ‘But what about Alice?’ Madeleine Walsh protested. ‘There’s no one to look after her and I can’t leave her.’

  ‘You can take Alice with you. I know for a fact that Mrs Goodison has a child seat in her car—she has grandchildren, you see. She’ll be more than happy to look after Alice while you have the X-ray done too.’

  Daniel made the call, not wanting to give Madeleine Walsh any more opportunities to wriggle out of the hospital visit. Fortunately, Barbara Goodison immediately agreed to run Mrs Walsh to the hospital and bring her back again afterwards. Once he had explained to Madeleine that she would be collected from home, he saw her out. He intended to follow up the case and find out if he was right to suspect that the woman was being abused by her husband. He didn’t know Nigel Walsh personally as the man had never been to the surgery since the family had moved to Beesdale just over a year ago. However, from what he had heard Walsh was very high up in legal circles.

  Daniel sighed as he went to ask Marie if she would wait a few minutes before sending in his next patient. Sadly, social standing had no bearing on that type of behaviour. It crossed all boundaries. Had Eleanor been a victim of abuse? It was obvious that something awful must have happened to her, something so bad that she had left her job and relocated to a different part of the country. His hands clenched. The thought of Eleanor suffering such treatment was more than he could bear.

  * * *

  ‘You’re doing great,’ Ellie said encouragingly as Beth breathed her way through another contraction. She checked her watch, frowning when she realised how close together the contractions were coming. It was obvious that the baby was going to be born very soon and she couldn’t help feeling anxious. It was several years since she had delivered a baby during her rotations and it had been in the safety of a modern maternity unit with a couple of experienced midwives standing by. The thought of delivering Beth’s baby by herself was decidedly scary. According to Marie, Polly was on her way back from one of the local farms and would get there as soon as she could; however, it seemed to be taking her an awfully long time. Ellie looked round when the door opened, hoping it would be her, but her hopes were dashed when Daniel came into the room. Even though she could do with some support, she wasn’t sure if she was glad to see him after their run-in earlier.

  ‘How are we doing in here?’ he asked as he came over to the couch. He smiled at Beth. ‘Not quite how you planned it, I imagine.’

  Beth laughed then grimaced as another contraction began. Daniel turned to Ellie, his mouth still curved into a smile, and she felt some of her unease dissipate. Surely he wouldn’t smile at her like that if he was still annoyed with her?

  ‘I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Suffice to say that I was worried about the patient who was with me, not that it’s any excuse.’

  ‘It’s all right,’ Ellie said quickly, not wanting him to suspect how thankful she felt. She hated being in the wrong and had always done so ever since she was a child. Oh, she knew what lay behind it—she had worked that out a long time ago. Learning that she was adopted had made her aware of how different she was from Gemma, their parents’ natural daughter. Gemma hadn’t needed to be on her best behaviour all the time to earn their love; she hadn’t needed to be kind or considerate because their parents would always adore her. Gemma, with her golden curls and laughing blue eyes, was the child they had longed for whereas Eleanor, with her straight black hair and solemn demeanour, had been the cuckoo in the nest.

  Ellie pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She wasn’t a child any more and she didn’t need anyone’s adoration to prove her worth. ‘The contractions are coming roughly two minutes apart now. Do you know how long it will be before Polly gets here? Marie said she was on her way back from Outhwaite Farm.’

  ‘Oh!’ Daniel grimaced. ‘It’s the farm that’s probably furthest away from here. It’ll take Polly a good thirty minutes to get back, I expect, but I’ll go and check where she is.’ He strode to the door then paused to glance back. ‘I meant what I said, Eleanor. I didn’t mean to snap at you.’

  He didn’t wait for her to answer and Ellie was glad. She turned to Beth after he left, forcing down the bubble of happiness that had risen up inside her. She didn’t need Daniel’s approbation any more than she needed to be adored, she told herself sternly, but to very little effect.

  She sighed. It had taken her a long time to develop a sense of her own worth. Growing up, she had always felt second-best compared to Gemma. Although her parents had been unfailingly kind and supportive, they had found it impossible to hide their delight in their natural daughter. Gemma had been so pretty and precocious and everyone had adored her—or so it had seemed to Ellie. Ellie had faded into the background after Gemma was born when Ellie was eight years old. It was only when she went to university that she had come into her own—made her own circle of friends, had her first boyfriend. She had slowly gained confidence and, once she had qualified and started practising, she had forgotten about the disappointments of her childhood. When she had started dating Michael Ross, another of the doctors at the practice where she’d worked, and had become engaged to him, her life had felt complete. And then she had let herself into his flat that morning and found him in bed with Stacey Roberts, one of the practice nurses, and her world had fallen apart...

  ‘Ooh!’

  Beth’s groan brought Ellie back to the present. Bending down, she checked what progress they were making, her heart racing when she discovered that the baby’s head was crowning. ‘You’re almost there,’ she told Beth, trying to inject a note of confidence into her voice. ‘Baby’s head is crowning so it won’t be long now.’

  ‘The sooner the better,’ Beth muttered through gritted teeth. Her face screwed up as another contraction began and Ellie quickly gathered together everything she would need once the baby was born. Fortunately, they had birthing kits in the supply cupboard so she put on a pair of gloves and placed everything close to hand—scissors to cut the cord, a soft cloth to dry the infant, some narrow tubing to clear its airway if it was necessary. The head was emerging now and she slid her hand beneath it, gently supporting its weight as first one shoulder and then the other followed.

  ‘One more push should do it,’ she told Beth, thanking her stars that Beth was so clued up about what to do. ‘Here we go!’

  The baby slithered out, screaming lustily, which was more than Ellie could have hoped for. It was a little girl, slightly on the small side, but absolutely perfect in every respect. Ellie wiped the mucus off the
little one’s face, smiling as she wrapped her in a towel and handed her to Beth. ‘Congratulations. You have a beautiful little daughter.’

  ‘A girl!’ Beth exclaimed as she took her first look at her daughter. ‘I was convinced I was having a boy!’

  ‘Not disappointed, are you?’ Ellie teased her.

  ‘No way! She’s gorgeous.’ Beth dropped a kiss on her baby’s head.

  Ellie turned away when she felt her eyes fill with tears. She had always dreamed of having a child of her own. Maybe it had become even more important because she and the baby would have been related by blood and that would have been even more special. Now the dreams she’d harboured had been bagged up and disposed of along with all that unwanted clothing. She wouldn’t have a child now because the last thing she planned to do was to fall in love again and risk being let down a second time. It hurt to know how much she would miss because of what had happened.

  ‘Well, it looks as though you’ve managed fine without me!’

  Ellie swung round when the door opened to admit a tall, red-haired woman. Taking a quick breath, she hurriedly composed her features into a welcoming smile. Maybe her life wasn’t going to turn out how she had hoped it would but she would make the best of it. ‘I take it that you’re Polly,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘I’m Eleanor Munroe, the new locum.’

  ‘Polly Davies.’ Polly shook hands then went over to Beth, smiling as she looked at the baby. ‘What a little poppet! And not a bad size too considering you had another three weeks to go.’

  ‘She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?’ Beth murmured, stroking the baby’s wrinkled little cheek.