Arianna had slept soundly until dawn. Ben had carefully disentangled her from his arms, and slipped out of bed to get dressed and make coffee for her. As he brought the mugs out of the kitchen, he saw her stir.
She sat up and stretched. Ben managed to negotiate the muslin curtains without spilling the coffee and she took one of the mugs from him.
‘Thank you. This is really nice.’
It was. He sat down on the bed, stretching his legs out in front of him, and Arianna caught up a pillow with her free hand, putting it behind his back. It was like the lazy intimacy that came after a night of passion, only spiced with the sharp tang of unrequited desire. But Ben had told himself that he wasn’t going to think about that...
‘How did you sleep?’
‘Like a baby.’ She took a sip of her coffee and Ben chuckled.
‘You mean waking up at three-hour intervals, wanting to be fed?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Like a five-year-old, then. You know, when Jonas just keels over and goes to sleep when he’s tired.’
‘Funny, I don’t recall you kicking me in the night. Or waking up with your elbow in my ribs.’ Ben wouldn’t have minded any part of her coming into contact with any part of him. Having her close, knowing that she was safe in his arms, had helped him to sleep and he’d woken in the cool breeze of the morning feeling rested and refreshed.
‘Would you like to take my car this morning? You could bring Jonas down to play on the beach, before you come to meet me at the health centre. He might like to stop off and make a few refinements to his water cascade.’ She pointed towards the arrangement of beakers and water conduits that still occupied one corner of the veranda.
‘Yes, I think he probably would. You’re sure you don’t need it?’ This really ought to feel odd, and yet it was somehow perfectly natural. Drinking coffee together and discussing their day. Working out who was going to take the car...
‘No. It’s a lovely morning and I think I’ll walk down to the health centre. I could do with the exercise.’
CHAPTER NINE
WHEN BEN ARRIVED at the health centre, Andreas and Eleni were waiting for them. Andreas presented Jonas with his very own fishing line, and the three of them left, Jonas chattering excitedly.
‘He’ll be all right with them.’ Arianna seemed keen to reassure him.
‘He’s fine. He’s been looking forward to this all morning.’
Ben ought to feel more guilty about this than he did. He’d always made sure that his holidays and weekends were set aside as time spent with Jonas, but he had to admit that the boy was really enjoying this holiday. He was safe, and loving the attention from both Arianna and the community in the village.
Maybe he was just a little sensitive about it because every moment with Arianna was so precious, and he had to keep reminding himself that he was taking nothing away from his son. He followed Arianna to the car, deciding that perhaps he was overthinking things.
The manager met them in the reception area of the hotel, leading them out past the pool and to a cluster of small guest houses, nestled in the shade of large trees.
‘We have another two children that the parents are concerned about. I’ve isolated them and checked everyone now, and there are only a few of our senior guests who have not been vaccinated.’
‘You asked if they had measles when they were children?’ Arianna was walking beside him, an intent expression on her face, and Ben guessed she wasn’t much looking forward to this next patient consultation.
‘They all said they did.’
Arianna nodded. ‘In that case they’re most likely to be immune. Thanks for doing all that; you seem to have things well under control.’
The manager shot her a rueful smile. ‘All except Mr and Mrs Colyer. Mr Colyer is still angry this morning.’
Arianna rolled her eyes. ‘Well, angry isn’t going to solve anything. Let’s see if we can come up with something that does.’
The guest houses were the height of understated luxury inside, and Ben began to feel a little less guilty about having been offered a suite here. That was nice, but these were fantastic. But when the manager introduced him to Jem Colyer, he could see straightaway that the hotel’s gesture had done nothing to appease him. He shook Ben’s hand, ignoring Arianna completely.
‘I’m glad to see they’ve called you in to take a look at Eloise, Dr Marsh. I’ve been banging my head against a brick wall with these hotel people.’
‘I’ve not exactly been called in, Mr Colyer. I work in London and I’m not licensed to practise here in Greece. I’m here as a matter of courtesy to Dr Petrakis and as an observer only.’ He had to make that clear right from the very start.
‘Then perhaps you can observe that we’re not at all happy about this.’ Jem frowned.
‘This is lovely, much nicer than the room we had.’ Eloise’s mother caught her husband’s arm. ‘Calm down, will you, Jem.’
‘There’s nothing to be calm about, Kriss.’ Jem glowered at his wife and she let go of his arm. ‘I was looking on the internet last night and Greece had an outbreak of measles a couple of years ago. She’s caught it here, and the hotel didn’t warn us. Don’t you think they should refund our money?’
‘Dr Petrakis is here to see your daughter, Mr Colyer.’ Ben decided to avoid the issue of the hotel’s culpability for the time being. ‘I think that’s the most important thing at the moment.’
‘Yes. Of course.’ Jem seemed to deflate a little, letting Kriss lead Arianna and Ben out of the main living area, and to their daughter’s room.
‘I’m sorry about Jem. He gets worked up about things. Especially when it comes to Eloise.’
Arianna was looking at her thoughtfully. She’d not said a word since they’d arrived, and Ben reckoned she must be standing back to look at the interactions between the couple.
‘That’s all right. Let’s take a look at Eloise and see how she’s feeling today, shall we?’
She took a pair of gloves from her bag, putting them on. Then she pulled a chair up beside Eloise’s bed. The little girl smiled up at Arianna when she recognised her.
‘Hello, Eloise. How are you feeling today? You’ve still got that runny nose, I see.’
Eloise nodded miserably, rubbing her eyes, and Arianna caught her hand, stopping her. ‘Your eyes hurt you?’
Another nod.
‘Okay, sweetie. I know it’s hard but you must try not to touch them. I’ll show your mum how to bathe your eyes for you, and then they’ll feel much better. And we’ll keep the curtains closed, shall we, so it’s not so bright in here.’
Kriss hurried to the window, and Arianna smiled up at her. ‘Leave them for a couple of minutes, please, until I’ve examined her.’
‘Yes. Yes, of course.’
Arianna carefully checked Eloise’s mouth, and Ben saw the characteristic greyish-white spots on the inside of her cheeks. The little girl fretted a bit as Arianna sat her up and removed her pyjama top. The measles rash hadn’t appeared yet, but everything else confirmed Arianna’s diagnosis.
‘Measles. Definitely.’ He supposed he should say something. Arianna shot him a smile.
‘But she doesn’t have a rash...’ Kriss frowned.
‘No, sometimes the rash doesn’t appear straightaway. But Eloise’s other symptoms are unmistakable, and by tomorrow she may well be showing signs of a rash. You’re giving her the medication I gave you yesterday? Her temperature is a little high.’
Kriss began to blush. ‘I gave her the first dose, before she went to sleep last night. Jem said not to give her any this morning. The label on the bottle is in Greek and we can’t read it, you see.’
Ben saw Arianna take a breath. Clearly she was holding her own irritation in check. ‘This is exactly the same medication that she’d be given in England. Children’s paracetamol or ibuprofen will help bring he
r temperature down, and make her more comfortable, so you’re really not doing her any favours by withholding it.’
‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ Kriss turned to Ben. ‘Would you tell Jem that, please?’
Another glance from Arianna. She could easily, in her position as the doctor in attendance, have insisted she tell Jem that herself. But he’d already seen that Arianna’s patients came first for her, and she gave Ben a nod.
‘Yes, Mrs Colyer. I’ll tell him.’ If that didn’t work, Ben might just take Jem out and dunk him in the swimming pool.
Arianna watched as Kriss measured out a dose of the syrup and gave it to Eloise, then showed her how to bathe the little girl’s eyes with damp cotton wool. There was so much care there, so much genuine warmth, that by the time she’d finished Eloise had begun to talk to her, and professed herself to be feeling much better now.
‘You’re looking lots better as well. I’ll come and see you tomorrow, to check on you.’
It wasn’t really necessary; Eloise showed no signs of any complications and measles didn’t really require three doctor’s visits. But Arianna obviously felt that the family wasn’t dealing with this well, and Ben shared her concern.
They’d done all they could for Eloise, but there was still unfinished business. Arianna leaned towards Kriss, asking if there was somewhere private they might talk, and Kriss nodded. She led them through a glass-paned door onto a small veranda, leaving the door open so that she could hear if Eloise needed anything. Ben followed, reluctant to leave Arianna on her own to talk with either Kriss or Jem.
‘Is there something bothering your husband?’ Clearly she’d seen what Ben had also noticed, and that a case of measles wasn’t the most pressing of this family’s problems.
‘It’s... It has nothing to do with this.’
‘It seems to be affecting his reactions, now.’
Kriss slumped down into a seat, and Arianna perched herself on the edge of the seat next to her, so that she could be face to face with her.
‘We...lost a pregnancy eighteen months ago. Jem took it very hard.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. It must have been hard for both of you.’
Kris nodded, a tear running down her cheek. ‘Yes, it was. We got through it and we were going to try again, but...then last year Jem lost his grandmother. He was very cut up about it; his gran gave him a home and brought him up after his parents died. It was expected, she had cancer, but he never got a chance to say goodbye to her, because of last summer’s lockdown restrictions.’
Arianna nodded. ‘That must have been very difficult for him.’
She was calm and quiet, giving Kriss a chance to talk. And Kriss seemed to be responding to her.
‘He’s so angry. He was angry with the doctors, because they wouldn’t let him see his gran. Angry with the world. He cares so much about Eloise, and he just wants to wrap her in cotton wool all the time. He tried to get us a flight home last night, but none of the airlines would take us, with her being sick like this. Being isolated again is pushing all of his buttons, and he’s worried about what it’ll cost to stay on here, and whether he’ll be docked pay for any extra time he takes off work.’
Kriss pulled a crumpled paper handkerchief from her sleeve, and started to snuffle into it.
‘All right, let’s take one thing at a time. See if we can’t tick a few things off the list. I think you may well have to stay on for a little while. Eloise shouldn’t be in contact with anyone until at least five days after her rash has appeared, and even then I won’t be able to sign her off to travel if she’s still unwell. But I’ll make sure that the hotel doesn’t charge you for the extra time you spend here. Kriss looked up at her questioningly and Arianna smiled. ‘Being the daughter of the owner here does have its perks.’
‘Thank you. I’m sorry about what Jem said about that yesterday.’ Kriss looked up at Ben. ‘That’s why you’ve brought Dr Marsh with you?’
‘He’s here to help. That’s what I want to do as well. I can write a letter for your husband’s employers, saying that I’ve diagnosed Eloise and instructed that she must stay here and isolate. Maybe you can use it to claim from your holiday insurance, if he loses any money.’
‘Yes...thank you, I didn’t think of that. I’ll have a look at the documents.’ Kriss nodded, managing a watery smile. Clearly Arianna’s approach was working, and any moment now she’d get around to the most important part of the issue.
‘I’m a lot more concerned about your husband’s state of mind, though. Has he spoken to anyone about how he feels about the death of his grandmother?’
Right on cue. That was what Ben was most concerned about as well.
Kriss’s face fell. ‘He won’t. He just bottles it all up and rages about everything else. And everyone had a hard time of it last year...’
‘Yes, that’s true, everyone did. That doesn’t mean that he can’t ask for help if he’s experiencing difficulties. Do you think you could speak to your doctor about this? Either together, with your husband or on your own?’
Kriss shook her head. ‘No. Jem doesn’t like him and, to be honest with you, I don’t feel I get through to him either.’
Ben cleared his throat and Arianna looked up at him, her slight nod giving him the go-ahead to add his own contribution to the conversation.
‘Where do you live, Kriss?’ He reckoned he heard a London accent in her speech.
‘London. Docklands. Why?’
‘My practice isn’t too far from there. If you’d like to make an appointment with me, then we could talk over some of the things that might help your husband come to terms with what’s happened.’
Kriss hesitated. ‘I...don’t know. I really don’t think I can get him to come.’
‘Then you come alone. This is obviously affecting you too.’ Ben tore a leaf from his notebook, jotting down his work number and the name of his practice and giving it to Kriss.
‘Okay. Yes, I will. Thanks.’
It was the most he could do. Jem Colyer obviously needed help; his anger and grief were spilling over and tainting the rest of his life. Ben could understand that; when Emma had died his own grief had been so overwhelming that sometimes anger had felt like a relief. But he’d known that it wasn’t an answer. He hoped that Kriss would take him up on his offer and that he’d see her again.
‘Is there anything else that we can do for you, Kriss?’ Arianna’s tone was gentle.
‘No I’m... I’m grateful for what you’ve done already. I should get back to Jem, before he says something he shouldn’t to the manager...’ Kriss was gnawing at her lip now, obviously under stress, and she led the way back through Eloise’s bedroom and into the main seating area.
Jem had obviously already said something he shouldn’t. The manager was standing stiffly by the large windows, clearly looking forward to making his escape, and Jem was slumped in an armchair, seemingly alone with his thoughts. You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.
Arianna smiled up at Ben, and the warmth in her eyes burned away all of his frustration. He took a deep breath and walked over to Jem.
‘Mr Colyer. I know that you’re concerned about your daughter and I’d like to set your mind at rest.’ He waited for Arianna to sit down and then took the seat opposite Jem’s armchair.
‘Too right I’m concerned.’ Jem smirked at Arianna, as if he imagined that she was about to get her comeuppance, and she smiled back at him pleasantly.
‘I’m not licensed to practise medicine in Greece, but I am a doctor—’
‘That’s all right. I’ll take your word for it.’
Why? Arianna was a fine doctor, and Jem was being blatantly insulting. Ben swallowed the question down.
‘Well, I’ve observed the examination that Dr Petrakis carried out today, and I concur with her diagnosis of measles.’
‘That’s pretty
obvious; it doesn’t need two doctors to tell me that. I’m a bit more worried about the medicine she gave Eloise.’ Jem jutted his chin aggressively.
‘The standard treatment for measles is paracetamol or ibuprofen, to reduce your daughter’s temperature and make her feel more comfortable.’ Ben decided to leave out the part about medicines being subject to international standards. ‘It’s exactly the same preparation as you’d be able to buy from a chemist in England.’
‘The picture on the box is the same as the one in our cabinet at home. Eh, Kriss?’ Jem looked up at his wife and she pursed her lips, clearly feeling a little impatient with her husband. ‘It might have been different, though.’
‘Yes, it might. But I can reassure you that it’s not.’ Ben resisted the temptation to roll his eyes. ‘Dr Petrakis has advised that your daughter be kept in quarantine, as measles is exceptionally infectious, but I believe she intends to exert her influence here and make sure that you’re not charged any extra for staying a little longer.’
Jem’s lip curled. ‘That’s another thing. If she’s the daughter of the bloke who owns this place she’s bound to want to keep us sweet, isn’t she?’ He turned to Arianna. ‘I can tell you now that I’ll be putting in a complaint. Like I said, my daughter’s picked this up here and we should get compensation.’
Keeping things friendly was one thing. Allowing Arianna to be bullied like this was quite another, and Ben wasn’t going to leave her to defend herself. He cleared his throat, and Jem looked back at him.
‘I’d encourage you to ask for anything you feel you’re entitled to, but I gather you’d been here for ten days when Dr Petrakis saw your daughter yesterday and she was displaying symptoms then. The incubation period for measles is ten to fourteen days, so it’s most likely that she contracted it at home.’
Jem thought for a moment. Ben allowed himself to wonder if he was struggling with fourteen minus ten, because it took his mind off the sudden need to protect and defend Arianna.
‘Yeah, okay. I see your point, doc. I just want to stand up for my rights, you know?’
Greek Island Fling to Forever Page 11