Posh Doc, Society Wedding

by Joanna Neil

  Then came a humming sound from overhead, like the drone of insects coming ever closer, until at last the noise was all around and an air ambulance helicopter hovered, preparing to land, its rotors spinning, fanning the air like giant flapping wings.

  ‘Is that for us?’ Frances asked, and Izzy nodded. ‘It looks that way.’ She glanced at Jim. ‘They’ll take you to Inverness,’ she told him. ‘At least with the helicopter you should be there within minutes.’

  The helicopter came to rest some distance away, on a flat stretch of ground near to the car park, and a medic jumped down, followed by a paramedic. Between them they wheeled a trolley towards Izzy and her patient, and as she watched them draw near she made a sudden, swift intake of breath.

  Surely that was Ross in the medic’s uniform? What was he doing here? Of course she knew that he had trained as a doctor, but his work had always been in the Lake District. This had to be new, this job working with the air ambulance.

  As he approached she did her best to get over the shock and try to recover her professionalism. Her patient must come first. Any questions she might want to fire at him could surely be answered later?

  ‘Hello, how are you doing?’ Ross said, coming over to the group assembled on the viewing platform and checking on the patient. He glanced at Izzy. ‘Hi,’ he said. ‘Ambulance control told me you were the doctor on call.’ Then he concentrated his attention on the patient once more. ‘You collapsed, I understand, and injured yourself?’

  Jim nodded, unable to speak just then, and Izzy began to explain the situation. ‘He has severe chest pain and difficulty breathing, as well as a broken ankle and dislocated shoulder.’ She went on to outline her diagnosis and explain what medication she had given him. ‘He’ll need to go for an urgent angiography, and I suspect he’ll require thrombolytic therapy in order to break down any clot that’s formed.’

  He nodded. ‘I’ll alert Radiology back at Inverness. They have all the facilities there. And I’ll notify the cardiovascular surgeon to be on hand to perform the surgery if necessary.’

  All the time they were talking, they were breaking off to reassure Jim that everything was being done that should be done, and preparing him for transfer to the trolley. ‘We’ll have you secure in no time,’ Ross told him. ‘I can see Dr McKinnon has been taking good care of you. No worries. You’re in good hands.’

  They worked quickly to strap their patient safely in place, covering him with a blanket to keep him warm and prevent shock. Ross glanced at Frances. ‘Will you be coming along with us? We can find room for you in the ’copter if you like.’

  ‘Thank you. I’d like that. I want to stay with him.’

  ‘Good.’ Ross and the paramedic started to walk with the trolley towards the waiting helicopter. Izzy accompanied them, keeping a check on her patient’s vital signs.

  She glanced towards Ross. ‘I had no idea you had taken a job with the air ambulance,’ she said in a low voice.

  ‘The opportunity came up, and it seemed too good a chance to miss,’ he answered. ‘They needed someone to fill in for one of the doctors who was away for a couple of months, and with Alice likely to be in the hospital for the next few weeks it looked as though the job was tailor-made for me.’

  ‘What happened to your work in the Lake District?’

  ‘My contract came to an end. They’ll hold it open for me in case I decide to go back next year on a permanent basis, but I thought with Jake leaving it was time for me to come and take up the reins of the estate for a while.’

  She studied him as they lifted the trolley bed on to the aircraft. So there was still the possibility that he wasn’t going to be staying around. Why didn’t that come as any real surprise to her?

  ‘I’m even more startled to see you here today, right now,’ she murmured, going into the medical bay of the helicopter. ‘It was only this morning that you and the children were heading off to Inverness. What happened to your plans to go and see Alice?’

  He gave a brief smile. ‘Oh, we did all that. Afterwards I left them with their aunt Jess, so that I could come in to work. She’s going to keep them with her in Inverness for a couple of days. At the moment things are a little tricky for me because of the shift system I’m working, but I dare say it will all work out in the end.’

  The paramedic made sure that the trolley bed was locked in place and that Frances was happily settled close by her husband’s side. Then he came over to Izzy and Ross. He must have heard what they were saying because he commented, ‘In fact, Ross and I had a difficult stint last night. We didn’t get finished until after midnight. There was a boy injured and lost on the hills, and being pitch-black out there it took us a while to find him. He was okay, as it turned out—just a little shaken up and suffering from exposure and a pulled ligament in his knee.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ That explained why Molly had found it difficult to wake Ross this morning. Izzy felt a wave of guilt wash over her. Had she been too quick to pass judgement on him?

  She checked the intravenous line and made sure that Jim was comfortable. He was struggling to take in oxygen through the breathing mask, and she settled it more comfortably over his face. ‘You’ll be in hospital in no time at all,’ she told him. ‘The doctors will do a scan to see if there’s a clot on your lung. If they find one, they could decide to go on treating you with medication, or they may want to remove it using a thin catheter threaded through the blood vessel. Either way, you will be well looked after.’

  She said goodbye to Jim and his wife and went to the open door of the helicopter. Ross went with her, jumping down to the ground and reaching up to help her descend. His hands went around her waist, his palms lying flat on her ribcage as he lifted her down with ease, as though she was as light as a feather.

  When her feet touched the ground his hands stayed on her, as though he would steady her, and she realised with a slight sense of shock that her own fingers still lay on his shoulders. Her whole body responded as though he had triggered an electric current.

  Coming to her senses, she drew back her fingers, her mind skittering with uncertainty.

  ‘So that’s why you were lying in bed this morning,’ she murmured. ‘I have to take back all the bad things I was thinking.’ She frowned. ‘Only, who was watching over the children last night if you were out working?’

  ‘You were thinking bad things?’ His mouth made a flattened shape. ‘I thought as much.’ He straightened, letting his hands fall away from her. ‘You don’t trust me at all, do you?’

  ‘Put it down to the fall out from times gone by,’ she murmured.

  He gave a faint smile. ‘As always. Actually, I did have things all in hand. I arranged for Maggie to stay and watch over them until I returned home. She was pleased enough to do it. Of course I’ll have to organise things a little better if I’m to stay for a while. Molly and Cameron need some kind of stability, and getting them enrolled in school is going to be one of the first things I must do.’

  ‘Yes, that’s probably best.’ Izzy stepped away from the vehicle. ‘I should let you go,’ she said softly. This was neither the time nor the place to be holding a conversation about his future plans, much as her curiosity was pricked. Wind from the helicopter’s rotors tousled her hair, and she lifted a hand to hold the strands away from her face. ‘If you get the chance, let me know how our patient progresses, will you?’

  He nodded. ‘I will. You can count on it.’

  She moved away, and he slid the door of the helicopter shut. Within moments the aircraft rose skywards and zoomed away.

  Watching the helicopter move out of sight, Izzy was assailed by a strange notion of unfinished business. Seeing Ross at work had given her a tremendous jolt, and along with it had come the realisation that their paths might cross much more often than she had ever expected.

  Today had not been a good start. Why hadn’t she guarded her tongue instead of alerting him to all her doubts and criticisms? He was simply doing a job, making the best of things
just as she was, and it was wrong of her to find fault with everything he did. It was in his favour that he was taking care of the children at all. Perhaps she should leave it to her father to cast aspersions on his motives.

  Her father, as things turned out, was in a highly charged mood when she visited him later that day.

  ‘You’re working with Ross Buchanan?’ His tone was grim. ‘As if it isn’t bad enough that he’s back among us. Why do we have to rub shoulders with him, too?’

  Izzy’s mother came into the living room, setting down the tea tray on a low coffee table. She glanced at Izzy. ‘Sit yourself down, love. You’ve had a trying day by all accounts. You should relax with a cup of tea and some cake. I had a baking session this morning—fruitcake. Help yourself.’ She shook her head, making the soft brown tendrils of hair quiver as she lifted the teapot. ‘You wouldn’t think so many people would manage to get themselves into difficulties up in the hills, would you?’

  Izzy sat down on the sofa and leaned forward to slide a wedge of cake on to a plate. ‘I’m more surprised that there are so many people who still want to walk the hills in December,’ she murmured. She glanced at her father. ‘As to Ross, he is at least doing a worthwhile job. You have to grant him that, surely?’

  ‘I’ll not grant him anything,’ her father said gruffly. ‘I’ve heard that he’s brought builders in to go on with that log cabin project his father started on the estate some six years back. I don’t know how on earth he managed to get planning permission. A lot of people objected to the development, and from my point of view it’ll be certain to draw away the tourists. I’m sure that’s his grand plan.’

  ‘But you’ll be all right, won’t you?’ Izzy said. ‘You have the regular people who come every year for the fishing. That’s more than a lot of the villagers have.’

  ‘That’s only because I kept hold of this land and my father and his father before him fought to stay on it. There were no thanks due to the old Laird and the generations that followed him for that. Their land borders ours, and if they’d had their way they’d have long since moved the boundaries and made it their own.’

  Izzy bit into her cake and tried to keep exasperation from getting the better of her. She had learnt long ago that there was no point in arguing with her father when he was in this frame of mind.

  Her mother’s gaze met hers across the table. ‘Your father’s upset because the salmon fishing went awry this year. There’s something wrong with the stretch of the river that flows across our land. He reckons it’s to do with some changes the Laird made higher up, at a point before the river reaches us.’

  ‘But Ross wasn’t here when all that went on, was he?’ Izzy murmured. ‘I don’t see how he can be to blame for everything that goes wrong around here.’

  Her father’s brows shot up. ‘So who do you think gave Jake his instructions? And that log cabin has been a sore point for a long time. Not just the cabin, but the lodges that go along with it. He said it was just for living accommodation for the family, but what does he need with that when he has the castle? Draughty it might be, and in need of repair, but they’ve lived there for generations without needing any cabins or lodges. It’s just an excuse. He’ll lure away the tourists to line his own pockets and take away any chance we have of making a living.’

  ‘He may not be here for all that long,’ Izzy said, accepting a cup of tea from her mother and taking slow sips of the hot liquid. ‘He said something about his job being kept open for him back in the Lake District. I have the feeling that he’s here to make sure Alice is going to be all right and to allow the children to be with her. Perhaps he’s planning on taking them all home once she’s well again.’

  She frowned, thinking things over. Ross had always had a soft spot for Alice. If his brother hadn’t swept her away from him, who knew what might have come of their relationship? Perhaps Alice was bound to turn to him now more than ever. How would Ross react to that? Would he be pleased? Why else was he staying around to look after her when she had her older sister, Jess, to care for her?

  It wasn’t something that she wanted to dwell on. Thinking about Ross and Alice as a couple always had the power to upset her. Her own feelings towards him were unsettling, and had caused her many a sleepless night. She put down her cup and brushed crumbs from her lap.

  ‘Are you all right?’ her mother asked. Grey eyes studied her thoughtfully.

  ‘I’m fine.’ Izzy gave her mother a reassuring smile. She didn’t want to confide in her about the way her thoughts had turned, especially with her father looking on. Instead, she murmured, ‘I suppose I was thinking about Alice. It must be difficult for her, coming back here after all this time and yet still being so far away from her roots. Anyway, I’m going to see her tomorrow after work, all being well. You’re welcome to come along with me, if you like.’

  She was aware of her father’s sharp glance resting on her as she spoke, but this was one instance where she would not back down. Alice had been like a sister to her, and the children, likewise, were precious to her…to Ross, too, if the truth were known.

  ‘I’d like that,’ her mother said. She shot a look over to her husband. ‘Alice is family,’ she said, ‘and you have to agree that she’s had more than her fair share of bad luck. Are you not going to come along with us and make your peace with her?’

  Izzy’s father stood up abruptly. ‘You know how I feel about the situation,’ he said, his tone brisk. ‘Alice left of her own accord. She knew full well what she was doing when she chose to go off with a Buchanan.’

  ‘But the bairns, Stuart. Think of the bairns. Do you have no compassion?’ Her mother’s gaze entreated him. ‘What have they ever done to deserve being outcast?’

  ‘You go and see her and look to the bairns,’ he said. ‘I have things to do. I have to make repairs and get the boat ready for next season—or there’ll be no trips for the sea fishing and our income will take another dive. We have to do something to counteract the actions of our neighbours.’

  He walked out of the room, his back straight, his head held high, and Izzy gave a soft sigh.

  ‘No one could say that you didn’t try, Mum,’ she said.

  ‘For all the good it did me.’ Her mother poured more tea. ‘You know he thinks Ross had something to do with causing the accident, don’t you? He’s battling with himself over that. He’s trying to come to terms with what happened to Alice, but he’s incensed because Ross might have had something to do with it.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Izzy sat bolt upright, a line indenting her brow. ‘How could Ross have had anything to do with the car smash? I heard he was hurt and had to be hospitalised with a chest injury.’

  ‘He was following them. Robert and Alice were driving over to her sister’s house to pick up the children, from what I heard. Ross was on the same road, and rumour has it that they’d all argued over something and feelings were running high. Folk say it was because she always cared for Ross, and Robert resented that. They think Robert lost control of the car because Ross was edging closer. Robert tried to pick up speed to outrun him, and then he took a bend too wide and it ended up as a three-car smash. It’s a wonder no one else was killed.’

  Izzy was stunned by that revelation. ‘Perhaps it’s just that—as you say, rumour. If Ross had been driving dangerously the police would have prosecuted him, wouldn’t they?’

  ‘There was no proof. It was summertime, and the roads were dry. There doesn’t seem to be any other reason for the accident.’

  Izzy shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it,’ she said. ‘I don’t believe Ross would have done anything to jeopardise the safety of his brother or Alice.’

  Her mother laid a hand on her shoulder. ‘I only told you because I don’t want you to be hurt,’ she said. ‘You try to look for the good in people, but the Buchanans have always brought trouble. Your father takes a stance that is hard to understand sometimes, but he’s protective of his family, and he was hurt when Alice ran away. To him it
was like a betrayal, and the Buchanans were at the centre of it.’

  Izzy understood that well enough. She just had no idea where all this bad feeling would lead. Nowhere good, that was for sure.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘UNCLE ROSS, Izzy says she’s going to do some baking,’ Molly exclaimed eagerly, tugging at Ross’s trousers. ‘We want to stay and help her. Can we? She said we could if you thought it was all right.’

  Ross frowned. He was standing by his Range Rover, outside Izzy’s cottage, preparing to open up the door to the car’s loading area. ‘I don’t see how we can do that today,’ he murmured. ‘I have to go back home and talk to the men who are doing some building work for me. I’m sorry. Perhaps another time.’

  Molly’s face crumpled. ‘Oh, but she’s making gingerbread men for the Christmas sale.’

  ‘They’re going to switch on the Christmas lights in the village tomorrow,’ Cameron put in. ‘Maggie said so. We wanted to make something for the stalls. Lorna said she’d ask if she and Izzy could take us to look around. They have all sorts of toys on sale. We could spend our pocket money.’

  ‘Whoa…steady on a minute.’ Ross threw up his hands as though to ward off the two youngsters. ‘This has jumped a bit, hasn’t it, from me dropping off a couple of heaters for Izzy? Now I’m being roped in for baking sessions and an outing to the Christmas lights ceremony. I hadn’t bargained for any of that.’

  Cameron put on his best angelic expression. ‘Mum always takes us to see the Christmas lights back home,’ he said, emphasising his words carefully. ‘She says it’s magical and singing Christmas carols round the tree is the start of all the celebrations.’

  ‘And she can’t go this year, so we could go for her and find her a present,’ Molly added, sealing the argument. ‘It would cheer her up no end to have some presents if she’s going to be in hospital at Christmas.’