To Please the Doctor (4 page)

As Harriet had explained, St. Joseph
’
s, unlike the hospitals where she had worked in London, consisted of a series of buildings comprising various wards and departments. A wide drive curved between well-kept lawns to the main entrance to which they were now heading. Jill, as she alighted from the car, was impressed with the well-planned precision of the general layout, and as she turned to see more of her surroundings she was agreeably surprised to
see
how high they had climbed beyond the town a turn in the road had blotted out completely those hideous roof-tops, and an unbroken vista of cliff and sea lay before her eyes. Desp
i
te the chilly wind which billowed round her, Jill was exhilarated by the salty tang on her
lips and the vast sweep o
f
the sea as far as her eyes could see.

Jill had always considered that an interview with any hospital matron was reminiscent of schooldays. Matron, this morning, had exactly the same effect, and lowering her eyes
sh
e was surprised not to find pigtails hanging from her shoulders and black woollen stockings showing beneath a gym slip
.
Not that she wasn
’
t most kind, and as affable as she had been at the original interview, but there was something about the demeanour of every matron which produced that particular effect on her. Harriet, having seen Jill safely in charge of the Home
sis
ter hurried off to her own work with a promise that they
’
d meet again in the ward after lunch. With some trepidation Jill followed her escort from the main building
across the sloping lawn to the Sister
’
s Home; it appeared on the exterior to be pleasantly modern, but Jill still harboured a pang of anxiety concerning her own quarters. She need not have worried: the room to which the Home Sister led her was far better than the quarters she had had in London. With a pleasant smile and a hope that she would find everything to her liking, the Sister left her with a promise that by the time she had unpacked and got into uniform she
’
d send a nurse from the Children
’
s Annexe to introduce her to what would be her future domain.

Left alone, Jill let her eyes wander round the room. It was indeed pleasant. It lacked the homely touches which she would gradually provide, but at least it was freshly painted with adequate cupboard room and a concealed basin, and throwing open the window she looked out on a stretch of pleasant garden and over the tops and between the bare branches of the trees, the sea, with its white-crested waves stretched out to meet the grey horizon.

Her trunk was unpacked and hidden away and she was ready dressed in her uniform when a tap on the door heralded the arrival of her next escort. The girl who entered the room stared at Jill with obvious interest and, when she spoke, made no secret of her surprise at what she saw.
“
You are quite young, aren
’
t you?
”

Jill was quick to note the underlying tone of resentment, almost amounting to hostility in the newcomer
’
s voice, her experience in dealing with staff immediately put her on her guard.
“
Not so very young. But do tell me, did you expect someone really ancient?
”
she asked with a laugh.

“
Not exactly,
”
the other girl replied, in no way mollified by Jill
’
s friendly tone.
“
Sister Wilks—whose place you are filling—was considerably older, and as you
’
d come from a London hospital, well
...
”
Her words trailed away as she dismissed the subject.
“
I
’
m Nurse
Malling
, Brenda
Malling
; I
’
m senior on the ward. I
’
ve been deputy Sister this week as we haven
’
t had anyone.
”

“
Oh, I see.
”
Jill certainly did see a lot more than she was
w
illing
to express. It seemed obvious that this girl had hoped to fill the vacancy left by Sister Wilks, and naturally resented a girl, if anything younger than herself, stepping into the post.
“
I am sure you are going to be a tremendous
help. My name is Jill Fernley, and I do hope we are going to be great friends.

Brenda
Malling
was apparently finding the new Sister
’
s friendly attitude somewhat disarming, but she still showed no inclination to be drawn.
“
Shall I take you over now or would you rather have lunch first?
”

“
That
’
s entirely up to you, whichever you think better,
”
Jill assured her.

“
There won
’
t be a ward round until about two, better lunch first,
”
Nurse
Malling
stated indifferently.
“
Come on, I
’
ll show you the way.
”

In spite of the curious glances sent in her direction, Jill managed to enjoy her meal and even her companion
’
s detached bearing didn
’
t spoil her appetite. It seemed that Nurse
Malling
was also going to present a problem, but that didn
’
t worry Jill overmuch. She
’
d always found a way of
handling
the most difficult nurses and winning them round in the end. After some consideration she wondered whether the direct method of attack wasn
’
t going to be the best approach with Brenda
Malling
. Instilling a note of kindly interest into her voice, she began:
“
I imagine it
’
s been rather disappointing for you that you haven
’
t taken over Sister Wilks
’
post?
”

Momentarily taken aback, the other girl hesitated, then, accepting the challenge, replied.
“
Naturally it should have been offered me. It would have been if Miss Laine hadn
’
t mentioned you
r
name.
”
She shut her lips firmly and it was clear that she did not intend to enlarge further on the subject.

T
en minutes later, followed her along to the Children
’
s Annexe she realized, not without some dismay, that Nurse
Malling
wasn
’
t going to be easy to
tackl
e
.
She was, in a way, an attractive girl, dark, with a clear olive skin and small features, but there was a hard line to the well-shaped mouth which filled Jill with apprehension
.
The future loomed pretty dark if, besides Dr. McRey
’
s unfriend
liness, she
also had to cope with a difficult Staff Nurse.

“
This is your room,
”
Brenda
Malling
announced briefly, throwing open the door of a small room to the left of the entrance corridor.
“
That
’
s our own X-ray department opposite, kitchen, wash-room, and the ward bathrooms; that
’
s the ward through the double doors at the end.
”

Jill was too intent upon studying the room which would be the sanctum of all her working hours to be aware of the latter part of her escort
’
s statement. It was a well-equipped room, one side entirely devoted to built-in cupboards, while opposite the door a wide window looked across the grounds
to the main gates. The simple furnishings were ample, too, but the whole room looked such a complete muddle that for a moment she was entirely bereft of speech. Those adequate cupboards must surely be quite empty, otherwise how could one account for the piles of books on the window-sill, the armchair stacked high with white coats and the miscellaneous collection of articles which lay strewn on the desk. Unconsciously she closed her eyes and visualized Sister
’
s Office at her last post, the orderliness, the businesslike arrangement of every item. She could never, never work in this mess! Without even considering her words, she found herself expressing her thoughts.
“
What an awful pigsty! Is it always like this? Surely Sister Wilks didn
’
t tolerate this muddle?
”

“
She seemed quite satisfied,
”
Brenda
Malling
announced shortly.
“
I haven
’
t used the place at all; it hardly seemed
worthwhile
, as I only deputized for a week.
”

“
Of course, I realize that it
’
s not your fault,
”
Jill hastened to soften her words as she advanced further into the room.
“
I expect it can all be cleared a bit, but there isn
’
t room to move.
”
She pointed to the coats, some folded and one or two thrown carelessly over the back of the chair.
“
To whom do these belong? Isn
’
t there a proper place for staff coats?
”

“
Dr. McRey always puts his there; he never bothers with the linen cupboard in the passage.
”

“
And all this litter?
”
Jill indicated an untidy pile of notes on the desk.

“
Oh, they are his too.
”
There was a note of malicious enjoyment in Brenda
Malling
’
s voice which didn
’
t escape her companion.
“
I
’
d better leave you to sort things out, they
’
ll be here for the round soon, so I
’
ll
get along to the ward.
”

Jill was in no mood to
“
sort things out,
”
as her senior nurse had put it. She felt she
’
d need to take a few deep breaths before she
’
d even know where to start, but before she had time to get unduly concerned, Nurse
Malling
reappeared in the doorway.

“
Sister Fernley—here is our Resident M.O., Dr. Traven. He has come over to meet you.
”
Jill was surprised to see how her smile, when she turned to usher the young doctor into the room, transformed her whole face, the sullenness had entirely gone and her expression was one of delightful animation.
“
Here, sir, come in, this is our new Sister
—”

The rest of her sentence was abr
u
ptly interrupted as the young doctor advanced towards Jill with a beaming smile, his hand outstretched in welcome.
“
Well—I
’
m jiggered! If it isn
’
t Jill Fernley
!
This is marvellous, gosh! I am glad to see you.
”

While Jill felt her hand wrung with more enthusiasm than consideration for flesh and bone, she was deeply conscious of Brenda
Malling
’
s obvious surprise; it wasn
’
t pleasurable surprise either, and taken unaware, she had done nothing to conceal the resentment she must have felt at this friendly meeting. Of course it was absurd, Jill argued. There was surely nothing to resent in
th
e fact that she and Philip Traven were already well known to, one another.

“
What ages since we met!
”
Philip Traven went on eagerly, quite unaware of Jill
’
s conflicting thoughts or of Nurse
Malling
’
s obvious resentment.
“
I was still a student, wasn
’
t I? I know you were a pro. What good times we had in those days. It
’
s grand seeing you again, you must tell me all about everything, the old gang. Do you ever hear anything of them these days?
”
he went on eagerly, scarcely giving Jill time to get her breath or to attempt any reply.
“
So you are a full-blown Sister now. How does it feel? I
’
ve been qualified quite a time, but I have never forgotten all the fun I had as a student.
”