So the decision was made and the tears flowed again. But when they had passed she found herself stronger, determined. She knew what she had to do.
He came into her room that afternoon. It was a warm day, he was dressed in fawn chinos and a dark blue, open-necked, linen shirt. The blue of the shirt contrasted with his tanned face and he looked absolutely gorgeous. In one hand he had a bunch of flowers, in the other hand a silver-wrapped box that she guessed would hold chocolates. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a more wonderful sight come into a patient’s room.
He laid the flowers and the parcel on her bedside table, kissed her on the cheek, took her two hands and sat on her bed. ‘So how are you?’ he asked. ‘You look so much better than when I last looked at you. It’s good to see you improving.’
‘I’m fine. I’m still weak but I’m getting better by the minute. And it’s good to see you, too, Ed.’
‘Know what day it is? It’s Tuesday. Exactly a week since we first met.’
A week? Was that all? Half her life seemed to have been crammed into those few days. ‘It seems longer,’ she said. ‘But only a week? We hardly know each other.’
‘We’ve known each other since the moment we met.’
‘No, we haven’t. You were decidedly cautious with me when we first met. And I was cautious with you, felt that I’d met men like you before.’
‘We got over that caution quite quickly. I kissed you. And you kissed me back.’
He didn’t need to remind her. She remembered so well!
‘But we were busy most of the time. What time did we have to get to know each other?’
‘Two wonderful nights in a small bed,’ he told her. ‘Remember those?’
She did remember. How well she remembered. ‘I’d blush if I could,’ she said. Then, because she had to be honest, she said, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever forget them.’
‘Nor me.’ He looked at her cautiously. ‘What do you remember about what we said after you’d fallen and cracked your skull?’
She had to be careful here. ‘I was confused,’ she said. ‘I just remember talking to you. You were comforting but I can’t remember quite how.’
‘I was comforting. In fact, you told me that I knew how to make a girl feel good. That pleased me.’ He was looking at her with a half-smile on his face. ‘It’s not like you to be coy, Maddy. One of thing things I love about you is that you’re direct and honest. So tell me, how did I make you feel good?’
No way could she lie, pretend she couldn’t remember. Apart from anything else, it was a memory she wanted to cherish. ‘You asked me to marry you,’ she mumbled.
‘I did.’ He leaned over and kissed her again. ‘One of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. And then you said that you would marry me. Proposal and acceptance. We’re an engaged couple.’
From his pocket he took a tiny leather box, held it out to her. ‘Open it. It’s for you. Just until we can decide upon something better.’
The excited half of her desperately wanted to open the box, the wary half knew that it wasn’t a good idea. The excited half won. Inside the box was a cushion of red silk and set into the cushion was a ring. It was worn with long use, but the stones—a pattern of emerald and jade—were as bright as ever. ‘It’s lovely,’ she cried.
‘It was my great-grandmother’s engagement ring. This morning I asked my father if I could have it and he said yes.’
‘Did he know you wanted it for me?’
‘Well, I haven’t been seeing any other woman recently,’ Ed said mildly. ‘I think he must have guessed.’
Maddy started to take the ring out of the box and then thrust it back. She knew that if she tried the ring on then she would never want to take it off. She gave the box back to Ed. ‘You don’t like it?’ he asked in some surprise. ‘Well, no matter. We can—’
‘Ed! We’ve got to talk. It’s so lovely but I can’t take this ring. We just can’t get engaged. I know you asked me to marry you and I said yes, but we were both over-emotional. We weren’t thinking right. Things are different now.’
He looked surprised. ‘Somethings are different. I’m now not terrified that you might never come to after the operation. But the important things are still the same. I love you. And you love me—don’t you?’
There was no way she could bring herself to say that she didn’t love him. But she didn’t have to answer the question directly. ‘We were both tired, both emotional. I’m not going to take advantage of something you said when you weren’t…when you weren’t…’
‘I think you’re entitled to because I took advantage of you,’ he said, with a grin that almost made her melt. ‘I knew you were emotional and tired—but I still got into bed with you. Maddy, no way are you taking advantage of me. Don’t you think that I don’t know what I want?’
It was a hard thing to do but she felt she had to hurt him—even if it mean hurting herself more. ‘Ed! You’re still in love with your wife! You think of her all the time!’
She didn’t get the reaction she had expected. He looked thoughtful rather than hurt or angry. ‘I loved Penny,’ he said after a while. ‘I always will. But she’s gone now and I can accept it. I’ve mourned her but now I’m over it. You helped me get over it. And, Maddy, I know she’d not have wanted me to spend the rest of my life just clinging onto a memory.’ Almost as an after-thought he added, ‘I also know she’d have liked you.’
That was such praise. For a moment Maddy was overwhelmed, didn’t know what to say. One last argument. ‘You also told me once that you’d felt such pain when your wife died you never wanted to risk it again.’
‘How do you think I felt when I saw you go into Ben’s operating theatre? I discovered then that any pain is worth while for someone you love. And I love you, Maddy. Being apart from you would hurt me so much.’
She could think of no further arguments. Gently, she lowered her head onto the pillow, stared at the flowers he had brought her. They were beautiful. What should she say now?
‘You’re tired.’ His voice was tender. ‘And you’ve been ill. It’s wrong of me to push you. You need to sleep. I’ll leave you now.’
He leaned over her, his lips brushed hers. ‘Shall I leave this ring with you? Just so you can think about it?’
‘Better not. It’s too beautiful. The temptation to put it on might be too great, and then I’d never want to take it off.’ She decided to make one last appeal. ‘Ed, why don’t we not talk about it for a year? Just carry on as friends. You can ask me to marry you in a year’s time, when we’ve got to know each other better, when I’m fully well.’
‘I don’t want to wait a year. I love you now. And you love me, don’t you?’
She couldn’t bring herself to lie. ‘Yes, I do love you and that’s why I won’t marry you. Not yet anyway. ‘
He sighed. ‘Right, then. Maddy, I’m not allowed to bully helpless patients, it’s against the doctors’ code. But don’t think I won’t ask again! Now, I can’t come to see you tomorrow, I’m going to London on a week’s course. It was arranged months ago. But could I ring you tomorrow night?’
She reached for his hand, took it to her lips and kissed it. ‘I’ll be sad if you don’t ring,’ she said.
Ed drove up onto the moors. He didn’t know how to deal with the turbulence of his feelings. Over the past week he had suffered a greater excess of emotions than at any time since—well, at any time since his wife had died. He realised that since then he had been coasting along, only half living. He had deliberately cut himself off from feelings—doing his job, taking a mild pleasure in the sea and country side, occasionally taking out a girl who knew right from the beginning that it was nothing serious. Now none of that was good enough. He had started to feel again. And discovered that feelings could bring great joy.
He had promised to drop in at the Clintons’ farm, to see how Isaac was getting on. Once again he was met at the farm house front door by Ellie. But this time she was in working clothes, boots, j
eans and a decidedly scruffy-looking T-shirt. But he thought she looked well. There was a smile on her lips, a sparkle in her eyes.
‘Dr Tremayne, how are you? The gossip is that you’ve been saving lives out on a cruise ship.’
‘All part of the day’s work, Ellie. Tell me, how was the St Piran’s Ball?’
‘It was wonderful! Do you know a Dr Peter Hunter who works there? He’s a junior registrar in the orthopaedic department.’
‘Don’t think I know him,’ Ed said cautiously. ‘You met him there?’
‘I spent most of the night dancing with him. Oh, and other people as well. But…he’s driven over to see me a couple of evenings.’
‘Be careful of forming a relationship with a junior registrar,’ Ed warned her. ‘They work even longer hours than farmers.’
Ellie laughed. ‘Early days yet. But I’m glad I went. Come inside, I’ll get you a drink. You’ve come to see Dad?’
‘Just a casual visit,’ Ed said, skating around the truth. ‘I was in the area and I thought I’d drop in.’
‘He’ll be pleased to see you but there’s no real need. Since you talked to him last week he’s been perfect. Done everything you told him to. He grumbles, of course, but he wouldn’t be my father if he didn’t.’
‘Sounds like one of my successes,’ said Ed.
In fact, he didn’t really need to examine Isaac. The old man was obviously looking after himself and was feeling much better for it. Ed spent a quarter of an hour chatting to him and then set off for home.
He thought about Ellie as he drove down into Penhally. About how happy she seemed to be with her new doctor friend. Why couldn’t he be as happy as that? He realised what he had lost or would lose if he couldn’t marry Maddy.
He loved her. He thought she loved him—but she had this idea in her mind that they had to wait. He didn’t want to wait. So…
He had a military mind so he would consider this a battle. The first thing you did when fighting a battle was look for allies. Allies! Now he had a plan.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MADDY had no clear memory of Ben Carter. She knew he had operated on her, had been there when she had come round, but that was all. Now she met him properly. A tall, lean, smiling man with brilliant blue eyes. Were all the men in Penhally Bay gorgeous?
‘Basically I’m a general surgeon, not a brain man,’ he told her as he examined her next morning. ‘Done a bit of skull work, of course, wondered about specialising in it at one time. But mostly it’s general. Good thing you were out of it when I came to see you. You might have objected otherwise.’
‘Ed seemed to think you were the best there was.’
‘The best there was available. He was in a hurry—which incidentally was necessary.’ He smiled. ‘By the way, did you know you were operated on by television?’
‘What? Television how?’
‘I was linked up with a surgeon in London. I had a headset on while I was operating with a camera showing what I was doing. He offered advice.’
‘I’ve heard of that kind of thing.’
‘Set up by your friend and mine, Dr Ed Tremayne. He thought it might be a good idea. You know, the ex-military mind can be very impressive. Possibly you owe your life to Ed. He decided what needed doing, organised it at once and then saw it through. I wasn’t the obvious choice to operate on a skull but I was the nearest, the most available. And time was running out for you. So he decided, coolly, logically, just like a machine. But he can feel, too. I’ve never seen him look so desperate. I had to send him out of the room while I operated. Are you two close?’
‘Sort of,’ Maddy said.
‘He’s a friend of mine but he’s a good man,’ said Ben. ‘And he deserves a good woman.’
The nurse had unwrapped the bandages round her head and Maddy could feel the cool air on bare skin where there shouldn’t be bare skin. She must look a mess!
Ben seemed to guess what she was thinking. ‘We had to shave some of your hair off,’ he said. ‘But you know it’ll grow back. You’ll be as beautiful as ever. And though I say it myself, I did a pretty good job. You’re going to make a complete recovery, Maddy.’
Ben stepped back while the nurse began to put fresh dressings on Maddy’s head and started to write up her notes.
‘Take things easy for a while,’ he said. ‘Nick Tremayne will keep an eye on you and I’ll be back in a few days just to check up that all is well. But you can get up for a while…say tomorrow. Nothing too energetic. Just a short trip outside. Remember, Maddy, you were lucky. Be glad that you had Ed Tremayne on your side.’ And he was gone.
Maddy lay back on her pillows and considered. Two things that she had not quite thought about yet. One, she possibly owed her life to Ed. Two, he had been desperate when he’d seen how ill she had been. She was not sure what to make of the two facts. But she thought about them.
An hour later she had another visitor. ‘Hi, fellow midwife,’ a voice called out, and there was Kate Althorp. She came over, kissed Maddy on the cheek. ‘Can’t say I care for the new-style head dress.’
Maddy smiled. She liked Kate, she was uncomplicated. The two of them had got on well when they had worked together on the ship. They had bonded as a team. She had hoped to see her again.
‘I would have come to see you sooner,’ Kate explained. ‘But a mum-to-be came in with antepartum haemorrhage, Nick and I looked at her and diagnosed placenta praevia. But we got there in time. With any luck she’ll go full term and the baby should be okay.’
She pulled a letter out of her pocket. ‘And I wanted to see you anyway. I’ve got something to show you, something we did together.’ She handed Maddy the letter.
There were two pictures of a baby—tiny but perfect. And a letter from Sarah Flynn. Quickly Maddy read it. Sarah apologised for sneaking onto the boat while she had been pregnant, said that baby Marina was now fine and thriving and that it was due entirely to Maddy and Kate. Many thanks. And she was writing to the chairman of the cruise line to congratulate him on the quality of his nursing staff.
‘Nice to be thanked, isn’t it?’ Kate said. ‘It’s one of the reasons I took up midwifery. You usually get a happy result.’
‘You’re a local midwife and this is quite a small town,’ Maddy said. ‘You must see a lot of the children you brought into the world.’
Kate grinned. ‘I do. And some times I regret having done so.’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘Now, what I thought was—’
The door opened, and there was Nick Tremayne. He looked from Maddy to Kate, obviously surprised. ‘Kate? What are you doing here?’
‘Maddy and I were midwives together, remember? I called in to say hello.’
Maddy saw an exchange of glances between the two, wondered if there was some hidden message that was not for her to know. Then she decided she was imagining things.
‘I’ve just had a word with Ben,’ Nick said. ‘He’s happy with your progress and suggests that you might like to get out of bed, perhaps tomorrow. I’m happy with that.’
‘I was going to offer to take Maddy for a ride,’ said Kate. ‘She needs some fresh air.’
‘As long as she takes it easy.’ Nick turned and left.
For a moment Kate stared at the door through which Nick had left and Maddy was puzzled the odd expression she saw on Kate’s face. ‘I know the two of you work at the same practice,’ she said. ‘I mentioned before, you seem to be more than just close friends.’
Kate shrugged. ‘We’ve known each other for years. In fact, we were teenagers together and…quite close. But then we went our different ways. Both of us married and both of us were happy. And then his wife died and my husband was killed.’
‘Ed’s wife died, too,’ Maddy said. ‘And none of you remarried. Is there anything between you and Nick?’
Kate tried to laugh. ‘There’s nothing between us,’ she said. ‘We are friends and we do work together. Anyway, he can be a grumpy old so-and-so when he wants to be.’
Maddy realised t
hat this wasn’t something Kate wanted to talk about. Then she forgot her interest when she heard what Kate had to say next.
‘I had a phone call quite early this morning from Ed,’ Kate said. ‘He didn’t want to disturb you but the message is for you. He’ll phone tonight but he wanted you to know this at once. About a Brian something who you once knew.’
‘Brian Temple. I knew him all right.’ Maddy had forgot ten telling Ed about Brian. Now his name brought out new worries. Brian would find it easy to discover what had happened to her, easy to discover where she was. He would come here, she knew it! And then… ‘What did Ed say?’ she asked in a panic.
Kate put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. ‘There’s no cause for alarm, Maddy. Ed said that you weren’t to worry, it was all under control. He’s been in touch with an army psychologist and Brian was offered treatment, which he’s accepted. Ed says that all will be well.’
‘Just like that? That man spoiled my life for months.’
Kate smiled. ‘The Tremayne family tends to get things done.’
It was good to be among friends, Maddy thought. And she knew she could confide in Kate. ‘I thought I was in love with Brian,’ she muttered. ‘He was a very determined man, ex-army like Ed. He got things done too, and at first I liked him for it. But then he came back from some mission with PTSD—post traumatic stress disorder—and there was just no living with him. I thought he’d turned into a monster, then I realised he’d always been one. He was madly jealous of everything I did, every friend I had. There was no end of mental abuse, and I knew in time that it would turn physical. So I left him and he stalked me and made my life a misery. So much for love.’
‘Love is wonderful,’ Kate said after a while, ‘if you get it right. But getting it right isn’t easy. Now, Nick’s signed your pass so would you like to come out for a ride for a couple of hours tomorrow?’
‘I’d love to,’ said Maddy.
There had been a lot of excitement during the morning. In the afternoon Maddy was taken out onto her terrace, put in the shade and told to rest. She decided that she was getting better. So that meant she couldn’t be an invalid much longer, she had to start thinking about her future. Then she decided, not yet. She couldn’t put up with it yet. There was too much to worry about.
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