To Please the Doctor (8 page)

“
Goodness!
Y
ou
’
re serious.
”
Jill laughed lightheartedly.
“
He may be all you say, and admittedly he does show
you
a certain amount of respect and consideration, but I believe that women as such don
’
t exist for him. As a sex, I
’
m sure
h
e regards us
n
urses as a uniformed race, necessary components to the running of a hospital, and divided into two groups, the efficient and the fools. Obviously he has no time for the latter group, in which category he has placed me.
”
There was a hint of bitterness in Jill
’
s tone.
“
Now you are trying to tell me that there are hidden depths to his nature which I haven
’
t yet discovered!
”

“I
know there are.
”
Harriet spoke with deep conviction, then deliberately changed the conversation.
“
Dick is late
,
he
’
ll miss the last train if he isn
’
t careful.
”

For the next ten minutes the conversation took a more conventional turn, and Harriet encouraged Jill to speak of her own affairs. She was interested to hear of her home life, and how her mother
’
s remarriage to Sir Trevor Hallard had turned out.

“
They are very happy,
”
Jill assured her.
“
Trevor is really a dear; in fact, they are an ideal couple with lots of tastes in common. You know I have a step-brother now.
”
Jill
’
s eyes filled with affection as she spoke.
“
Terry is an adorable child, full of mischief and a real sport; he loves being in the country, so they spend most of their time at Brent Towers and rarely use the town flat. Nana, of course, is in her element at having the old nurseries in use again.
”

“
Does Lady Hallard still object to your nursing?
”
Harriet asked.
“
She was very much against it, wasn
’
t she?
”

“
She
’
ll always hate the idea. I shall never make her understand that I really love it, she is most emphatic on the subject, and can
’
t imagine why I don
’
t live a life of leisure,
”
Jill laughed.

“
It seems silly to worry about it, you
’
ll give up one day—when the right man comes along.
’
Harriet
’
s eyes twinkled.
“
I presume he hasn
’
t turned up yet, but you know I feel that marriage should be every girl
’
s real ambition.
”

“
You are a nice one to talk!
”
Jill scoffed.
“
I can
’
t see you giving up medicine for any man. Why, it
’
s your whole
life.”

“Maybe I’ll surprise you one day,” Harriet spoke with a hint of underlying meaning. “No woman is entirely invul
n
erable.”

“I suppose you’d be clever enough to combine marriage and a career. You’d just have to. I can’t believe that you’d ever entirely give up your work.”

Richard Fahr
’
s arrival turned Jill
’
s thoughts from her speculations, and interrupted their discussion, and she was glad of the distraction. In spite of his unconcealed anxiety not to miss his train, Jill was again aware of his pleasing and cosy manner. His whole attitude was so utterly different from Duncan McRey
’
s, that again she found herself wishing that she was working for him. He on his side showed
unmistakeable
pleasure at being with Harriet and herself, and
although
he watched the time carefully he kept the conversational ball rolling smoothly, a
n
d somehow managed to infuse Jill with a newly-gained self-confidence.

“
I must be moving—if I miss the nine-twenty-five I
’
ll have a two-hour wait.
”
Richard
Fahr rose to his feet.
“
Settle the bill for me, Harriet, I
’
ll square with you in the morning.
”
He turned to Jill.
“
Sorry I have to rush off. Perhaps we can all dine together some other time.
”

Harriet rose too.
“
I
’
ll run you up the hill to the station.
”
She turned apologetically to Jill.
“
You don
’
t mind, do you? I shall only be about ten minutes.
”

As Harriet and Richard Fahr crossed the dining-room their laughter drifted back to Jill. She withdrew her slender gold cigarette case from her bag, then hunted for her lighter. She must have left it on her dressing-table. A smoke was just what she needed to round off a pleasant meal, she mused, still searching vainly, in the pockets of her bag.
“
Can I give you a light?
”

Jill looked up startled to see Duncan McRey
’
s tall lean figure stooping above her, the cigarette lighter in his hand jerked into a flame.
‘
Thank you.
”
She hoped that her expression did not reveal the amazement she felt at his unexpected appearance. She was even more surprised to see him settle down in the chair which Harriet had vacated.

“
What s happened to Harriet and Fahr, they were dining with you, weren
’
t they?
”

“
Harriet will be back soon. She is just taking Mr. Fahr to the station, he is catching the train for town.
”

“
Oh, I see.
”

“
Thanks for the light.
”
Jill repeated in an attempt to make conversation.
“
I put my cigarette case in my bag but must have forgotten my lighter.
”

“
Is a bad memory one of your failings?
”

The underlying meaning was all too clear, and Jill could have kicked herself for giving him such an opening. With an effort to cover her annoyance, she lifted her head to meet his steel-blue eyes unflinchingly.
“
I may at times forget irrelevant details, but I have an excellent memory as far as my work is, concerned.
”

“
I see.
”
His expression was inscrutable, but Jill was sure a hint of amusement showed in the eyes which returned her gaze. Easing back in his chair he beckoned the hovering waiter.
“
More coffee, please, and a liqueur brandy—two,
”
he added as an afterthought, then, as the waiter turned away, Duncan McRey again addressed Jill.
“
You
’
ll have a liqueur, won
’
t you?
”

“
S
i
nce you have made up my mind for me, thank you, I will,
”
Jill smiled faintly. She felt she ought to be grateful for that much consideration, but it was surely the most ungracious way in which she had ever been offered a drink! While they awaited the waiter
’
s return, the conversation was impersonal and desultory, but for some inexplicable reason Duncan McRey managed to make her feel uncomfortably self-conscious, a weakness from which she never normally suffered in masculine company. That he could be attractive she had realized at their very first meeting and, she had to concede, when he wasn
’
t being overbearing and critical, there was something compelling in his all-too-rare smile, while the soft burr in his voice was curiously pleasing. Without conscious volition she found herself wondering how he would act if he really cared for any girl, and instinctively she recalled his expression as he had leaned over Mary Miles, lying obviously in pain in her tumbled bed; that tender smile, those gentle hands with their reassuring touch; she saw again the sudden look of confidence in the child
’
s expression, the relief in her tremulous smile...

“
Ah
...
here comes Harriet.
”
Duncan McRey rose to his feet and pulled forward a chair.
“
Fahr catch his train all right?
”

“
Yes.
”
Harriet sat down and began to pull off her driving gloves.
“
You two having coffee—and a drink?
”
She laughed.
“
You seem to be making the most of my absence.
”
She shook her head as he beckoned the waiter.
“
No, Duncan, not for me—really not. Don
’
t forget I
’
ve got a longish drive and a couple of visits on the way.
”
She turned to Jill.
“
You don
’
t mind if I get the bill now, do you?
”

“
No, of course not, but I think I
’
d like to walk back, the exercise will do me good—that is, if it isn
’
t raining again.
”

“
It
’
s cold, but it
’
s a lovely night.
”
Harriet reached in her bag as the waiter handed her the bill neatly folded on a plate.
“
Goodness! what a fool I am, I must have left my money at home.
”

Jill couldn
’
t resist a malicious smile in Duncan McRey
’
s direction.
“
Surely a bad memory isn
’
t one of Harriet
’
s failings?
”
She spoke softly so that Harriet, still searching in her bag, scarcely heard the remark, but it was obviously not lost on him. Quickly drawing out her notecase, Jill paid the waiter, forestalling Duncan McRey
’
s intention as he withdrew his wallet from a
n
inner pocket.

“
Thanks Jill. I
’
ll settle with you tomorrow. Coming?
”
Harriet had risen to her feet and was again pulling on her fur-lined gauntlets.
“
Sure you want to walk?
”
she asked Jill as, emerging through the swing doors, a cold wind whipped their faces.

“
Yes, really ... good night, Harriet, see you some time tomorrow.
”

Harriet, already half-seated in her car, turned to address Duncan.
“
So
l
ong—I
’
ll be in early in the morning and we can get those bronchograms done before the clinic.
”
Easing herself back into the driving seat, she slammed the door.
“
You can escort Jill ba
ck
to hospital,
”
she called through the open window as she waved good-bye. As the car disappeared into the darkness Jill found herself standing with Duncan McRey by her side on the wet pavement outside the Marine Hotel. When she
’
d offered to walk back it hadn
’
t even entered her mind that Duncan McRey would be her companion. After a day in a centrally heated atmosphere she had longed to feel the salt wind in her face and hear the even beat of the waves on the dark, lonely shore. All she had wanted had been fresh air—and solitude.

CHAPTER FIVE

Jill rolled up the
collar of her coat, then dug her chin into the soft fur as she leaned forward against the wind. It was certainly cold, but there was an exhilarating quality about its salty tang as it blew against her face and lifted the soft tendrils of her hair, blowing it in curling wisps across her forehead. She should have brought a hat or a scarf, but then she hadn
’
t considered the possibility of walking. Still, she didn
’
t regret her decision, and even Duncan McRey, striding at her side, could not detract from the pleasure this welcome exercise was affording her. Brought up as a child in the country, she had never lost her joy in walking and riding; every form of exercise appealed to her and, Jill had to admit, Sunsand Bay with all its faults had far more to offer in that respect than the restricting
limits of town.