To Please the Doctor (5 page)

“
It certainly is odd seeing you again.
”
Jill managed at last to get a word in.
“
With hundreds of strange faces around, I must admit it
’
s nice to find an old friend.
”

“
You
’
ve said it!
”
he retorted with enthusias
m
, then as he was about to continue his discourse the sudden entry of Harriet Laine interrupted him.
“
I suppose I
’
d better get off, but don
’
t forget Jill, we must get together soon and have a chat. I
’
ll pop in later and fix something.
”

“
An old friend?
”
Harriet, pushing the piled coats on one side seated herself on the corner of the chair.

“
He was a student during my first year
’
s training. I
’
m glad he has gone on so well, he was awfully nice.
”
It was a relief to find herself alone with Harriet. Taking advantage of the opportunity Jill went on,
“
Never mind Philip Traven for the moment, there seems to be heaps of things I want to ask you First of all, that Nurse—what
’
s her name,
Malling
—my senior Nurse. I believe she is terribly antagonistic. I
’
m going to have an awful job with her.
”

“
Worse than you think,
”
Harriet began ominously.
“
I
f
you pinch her best
boyfriend
, Dr. Traven, there
’
ll be
murder!”

“
Good heavens! So that is the explanation
of the black looks! She was bad enough before. She has been frigid since the moment she set eyes on me. I had hopes of thawing her in time, but I see it
’
s not going to be as easy as I
’
d
hoped.”

“
She is just a silly girl,
”
Harriet went on, but her kindly tone belied her words.
“
She made a dead set at Traven from the moment he arrived. How he feels about her I don
’
t know, but a little competition won
’
t do her any harm,
”
she added with a laugh.

“
You are very consoling,
”
Jill sighed.
“
I thought I had enough to cope with in Dr. McRey. Between the two of
the
m
I feel like throwing up the sponge before going into
the ring.
”

“
To
think
that I backed your appointment as much on
your fighting qualities as on your nursing ability.
”
Harriet
sighed with exaggerated disappointment.
“
Jill, you are
slipping badly. I thought I could rely on you.
”
She instilled
a note of deep hurt into her voice.
“
I believe you are
scared.”

“
I won
’
t admit that!
”
Jill retorted with a laugh.
“
I
’
ll fight this thing out if it kills me, that ill-mannered M
c
Rey isn
’
t going to put me off, and as for that insolent girl if she doesn
’
t mend her ways I
’
ll go out of my way deliberately to entice her
boyfriend
,
”
she threatened with
heightened colour.

“
That
’
s the stuff!
”
Harriet applauded, then added more seriously.
“
Listen, Jill. I
’
m not coming on the ward round with Duncan today. I do miss sometimes—and this wi
ll
be one of the occasions.
”
She added with a smile:
“
I just don
’
t feel I can face you two meeting, after last night I mean. It seems so dreadful that he didn
’
t know who you were; you really should have told him.
”

“
I don
’
t see why. Still,
i
f you funk it, I don
’
t mind. The shock, pleasurable or otherwise, will do him good.
”
Her cheeks dimpled provocatively.
“
I
think
the first round will go to me.
”

Left again to her own devices, Jill didn
’
t feel quite so confident. It might perhaps have been better to admit her identity straight away
...
she wished, however, that she could have had a little more time to get herself adjusted. He must be due any moment. Jill glanced
at the clock on the desk—stopped of course, in keeping with the rest of the muddle. With an angry gesture she picked up the offending pile of coats, and after a short hunt discovered the cupboard in the passage which was their legitimate resting place. Returning to the room she made an ineffectual effort to clear the litter. It was useless in the short time at her disposal. Still, there was a free chair to sit on; that at least was an improvement
.

“
Sister—Dr. McRey—just arriving.
”
Nurse
Malling
p
u
t her head through the door, to make the announcement, then threw it open as he advanced along the corridor.

Jill was uncomfortably aware of the quickened beating of her heart; it was useless to deny the fact that she felt unaccountably nervous: she only prayed that it didn
’
t show. S
h
e wished that Brenda
Malling
weren
’
t around, her presence at this awkward meeting wasn
’
t going to make things any easier. The ringing sound of footsteps on the tiled corridor came nearer and, with a desperate effort to control her nervousness, Jill stood up, and it seemed that her heart thumped in time to those ominous footfalls.

“
Our new Sister is here, sir,
”
Nurse
Malling
announced from her position in the doorway, as Duncan McRey
’
s tall, figure approached.

T
he pregnant silence that followed his entry seemed to Jill unending. He appeared even bigger than she recalled, and his presence entirely dominated the r
oo
m. She knew his eyes to be on her—those steely eyes with their merciless, penetrating gaze. She longed to keep her own eyes lowered, yet as if his will dominated hers she found her head lifting against her own volition until she could no longer avoid his stare.

“
Now I understand.
”
The words were slowly spoken with that burr that seemed to make Duncan McRey
’
s most scathing words deceptively attractive.
“
Well, Sister, all I can say is if your efficiency as a Sister only matches your efficiency in other things, you won
’
t hold this post for long
.”
He turned to Nurse
Malling
, who stood in wide-eyed astonishment at this wholly unexpected t
u
rn.
“
You may go. I
’
ll be on the ward in a few moments.
”

It was at least some relief to see Nurse
Malling
make a hurried exit, but Jill still felt not only miserably uncomfortable, but now, in addition, a hot wave of anger surged over her at the injustice of his remark. She bit back the retort which sprang to her lips; never in all her years in hospital had she been spoken to in this manner. She wouldn
’
t stand it, as Harriet had said; she didn
’
t
have
to work, and at that moment Jill felt like walking out of St. Joseph
’
s, never to return. Why should she be insulted and humiliated? If it cost her her career, what then? It would be well worth it to be able to fling back in this insufferable man
’
s face just as good as he gave! It was her sense of humour which at that tense moment saved Jill. The scene suddenly appeared unreal, ludicrous, her lips curved into a smile, and she found her tensed limbs comfortably relaxed.
“
I hope you slept well last night, sir?
”

“
So well that I ache in every limb—where in the devil is my coat?
”
Duncan McRey demanded, turning towards the chair.

“
I imagine it
must be in the correct place,
sir. Let me see, I suppose the linen room will be outside.
”
Jill spoke with a note of deference and concern, but it was pretty clear that she was not deceiving her companion.

“
You mean you
’
ve been messing about with things already. I
’
ll never be able to lay my hands on a damn thing.
”
There was a note of suppressed anger in his voice, but it seemed to Jill that surprise was the dominant factor as she slipped past him to the cupboard and returned with a freshly laundered coat.

“
Let me help you?
”
Jill deftly avoided his outstretched hand and, stepping behind him, held the coat in position. She had to rise on tiptoe to ease it on to his broad shoulders; even that didn
’
t make her feel at a disadvantage. Nothing could at that moment have stilled her sense of elation. She was quite sure now that, as she had predicted to Harriet, she had won the first round!

CHAPTER
THREE

There were several
occasions during the next few days when Jill had good reason to wonder whether her feeling of confidence that first afternoon hadn
’
t been somewhat premature. Settling down to her new post at St. Joseph
’
s was proving an uphill job. Jill knew that it was never easy to adjust oneself to a new appointment, to memorize the requirements of each medical officer, to understand the various rules and regulations laid down by the matron in charge, and even to find one
’
s way about a large and straggling building. She was naturally adaptable and was quickly settling down, but how much easier it would have been if her Staff Nurse had only been more helpful. Brenda
Malling
was not only withholding her help, but in some ways Jill felt she was deliberately proving obstructive, and in spite of all Jill
’
s attempts at friendliness the position was not improving.

Duncan McRey was a formidable factor too, but at least Jill felt she had been forewarned about him, and had managed to avoid much direct contact by allowing Brenda to deputize for her, a concession pleasing to her Staff Nurse, but Jill knew that by shelving her responsibility she was also lowering her own prestige, which with a girl like Brenda
Malling
she could not allow to continue.

Since Brenda had vouchsafed no useful information regarding the Honorary
’
s likes and dislikes, Jill had found it incumbent upon herself to watch and learn, but this afternoon Jill had every intention of relieving her Staff Nurse of further responsibility and taking on the round with Dr. McRey herself. Brenda
Malling
wouldn
’
t be too pleased about that, but since she had persistently refused her co-operation, Jill now decided to manage without it.

Even clearing her own room had proved a problem, and she had been fully aware of the scornful glances of her Staff Nurse as she had piled all the litter willy-nilly into a cupboard and ruthlessly destroyed anything she had considered unwanted. As she sat writing up her notes at her now tidied desk, she was conscious of Brenda
Malling
’
s angry snorts behind her as she searched frantically in the cupboard, making a quite unnecessary clatter.

“
Looking for something, Nurse?
”
Jill asked with a disarming smile, directed over her shoulder.

“
Those X-rays of Mary
’
s
...
Dr. McRey is sure to want them this afternoon. Mr. Fahr is coming for a consultation. Where in heaven
’
s name are they?
”

“
Filed in the X-ray department—where they should be,
”
Jill returned, a trifle too sweetly for the other girl
’
s patience.

“
Why file them when you knew we
’
d want them?
”
Brenda
Malling
pushed back the tumbled pile of documents and slammed the cupboard door as she turned away.

“
Just a moment, Nurse.
”
Jill halted her as she reached the door.
“
All notes and X-rays should be filed until they are actually wanted—but, as a matter of interest, I didn
’
t know they would be required this afternoon, I knew nothing of any consultation. Why didn
’
t you tell me?
”