Sheltered by Her Top-Notch Boss

‘You’re talking about Lord Birchenall’s estate, aren’t you?’ She said it in a hoarse whisper, while the blood drained from her face. ‘You’re his son?’

‘That’s right.’ He studied her, his expression solemn. ‘Does it matter?’

‘I thought there was something about you—that I knew you from somewhere. I just never dreamt …’ She pulled in a shaky breath and then looked up, her gaze meeting his. ‘You’ve changed. You’re so much more …’ She broke off. The gangly youth she remembered was gone.

This man was muscled, toned, his features etched by the trials and tribulations of the years that had passed. ‘I don’t suppose you remember me?’ He’d headed off to medical school when she had been around thirteen or fourteen years old. Why would he have given her a second thought?

‘Of course I do. It was a long while ago, and you’ve filled out in all the right places, but how could I forget you, Ellie? You were always up to something, climbing trees, camping out in the woods. I watched out for you, in case you landed yourself in a scrape.’

He’d watched out for her? She cast that thought to one side. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you knew who I was all along?’ A flash of bitter defiance shot through her, making her green eyes spark with anger. ‘You should have said something right at the start, when Zoe introduced us.’

‘And lose the chance of talking to you?’ His dark brows lifted. ‘I may be many things, Ellie, but I’m not a fool.’

‘No, you’re Lord Birchenall’s son—and you’ve been brought up to believe in his values and everything he stands for.’

‘And what would those be, Ellie?’

‘That all that matters is his own comfort, his own perfectly organised way of life.’ She bit out the words through clenched teeth as she gave vent to her feelings of resentment and betrayal. ‘Nothing must get in the way of his wellbeing, must it? Woe betide any hapless worker who falls foul of Lord Birchenall.’

‘Aren’t you being a little melodramatic?’

She gasped. ‘How can you say that to me? My father was Lord Birchenall’s estate manager for a dozen or more years until your father sacked him and threw him off his land. We lost everything … the house that went with the job, our livelihood, our unity as a family.’

‘I know that must have been a tremendous blow to you, but are you so sure your father didn’t bring it on himself? I remember my father being angry, at the end of his tether. Things had not been running smoothly, there were glitches, problems. I don’t know all the reasons why it happened, Ellie, but I’m sure my father wouldn’t have acted without due cause.’

‘And you didn’t care what became of his family afterwards?’

‘That’s not true. I did care. But I went away to medical school around about that time, and I didn’t know what went on after I left. I asked my father what happened to you and he said you’d moved to a house in the village.’

She opened the front door and stood to one side to let him pass.

‘What else could we do? We had to move in with friends for the first few months. He ruined our lives, that’s what happened.’ She pressed her lips together to hold back the anger that was taking hold of her. ‘I’d hoped I could put it behind me after all these years, but now it’s come flooding back with a vengeance.’

She stiffened, bracing her shoulders, and her gaze locked with his. ‘You should go,’ she said.

He stepped outside into the porch, and then turned to face her once more. ‘I’m sorry you feel this way. It was all a long time ago. Maybe it’s time for you to let it go.’

‘I don’t think that’s possible.’

‘That’s unfortunate.’ He frowned, studying her face in the moonlight. ‘Goodnight, Ellie.’ He nodded briefly and then strode across the gravelled drive to his car.

She watched him go. She’d thought the day couldn’t get any worse …

CHAPTER TWO

‘THANKS FOR THIS, Ellie.’ Noah folded the cheque Ellie had given him and slid it into his wallet. ‘I’ll pay you back as soon as I can, I promise.’

Her brother looked earnest, his youthful features lit with relief. ‘It’s just that things are difficult for me right now, with the magazine closing down—it was my best source of income. But I’ll make a go of this freelance work, I know I will.’

‘I’m sure you will, eventually.’ Ellie finished off the last slice of toast and brushed the crumbs from her fingers. It was worrying, the way things had been going for him lately. They’d been through a lot together, and she’d always looked out for him. If only there was some way she could help him get out of this mess.

‘Perhaps you could look for something a bit more secure in the meantime? There must be some regular jobs in photography—in advertising, maybe, or even something like illustrating medical books. I know it’s not what you’re used to.’

He pulled a face, his hazel eyes troubled. ‘I’ll try, honestly I will—I know I need to sort something out. I’ve spent the whole weekend looking for alternatives. But photojournalism’s what I’m really interested in.’

She nodded, and began to clear away the breakfast dishes. ‘Did you want any more tea, or shall I empty the pot?’

‘I’m fine, thanks. I should go and try to appease the landlord.’ He patted the wallet in his pocket. ‘This will keep him off my back for a while at least.’

‘And I must get ready for work.’ Her green eyes clouded momentarily and Noah gave her a thoughtful look. ‘Is something wrong? You don’t look too happy about that. I thought you loved your work?’

‘I do … mostly.’ Her patient’s death still haunted her, and the whole episode with Mel’s unsettling reaction had thrown her off balance somehow. It would take her some time to get back into her stride.

But that wasn’t it.

‘The new consultant’s starting work today.’ She winced. ‘I met him at Zoe’s party—turns out he’s Lord Birchenall’s son.’

‘Birchenall?’ Noah bit out the word with distaste. ‘No wonder you’re out of sorts. I thought we’d seen the last of that family.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps I should have guessed. I read in the paper that he was back home to take care of his father—the old man is suffering from some kind of heart condition, apparently.’

‘Is he? James said he was unwell, but he didn’t go into detail.’

‘James? You’re on first-name terms with him?’ Noah’s lips tightened. ‘I wish you didn’t have to deal with him at all. How do we know it won’t turn out to be like father, like son? You could go along with him thinking everything’s fine, and then when something goes wrong you find he’s turned against you. It’s all in the genes.’

‘You could be right,’ she acknowledged thoughtfully. ‘We’ll see. I suppose I’ll just have to be cautious around him until I get to know him better.’

‘Yeah, well, it’s a pity you have to know him at all. I’m sorry you’ve ended up having to work with him.’ He frowned. ‘I’d better go. Thanks for breakfast, and good luck.’

‘You, too.’

After he’d gone, Ellie finished tidying the kitchen and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was about time for her to set off for work, but just as she reached for her jacket, the doorbell rang.

‘Lily.’ Ellie was startled to see her neighbour standing there. Lily was heavily pregnant, and right now she looked flushed and her breathing was fast, making her struggle to drag air into her lungs. Her face appeared a little puffy, and when Ellie glanced down at her hands, she saw that there was some swelling there, too. Her brown curls were faintly damp around her face, and Ellie became increasingly concerned. ‘Are you all right? Is it the baby? Are you having contractions?’

Lily shook her head. ‘No, but I have to go to hospital—the ambulance will be here any minute. The midwife sent for it. I have a terrible headache, and my ankles are swollen. She said something about hypertension and pre-eclampsia—she thinks they’ll keep me in for a few days.’

‘I’m so sorry, Lily.’ Ellie put a comforting arm around her. ‘Do you want to sit down? Shall I get you a chair?’

Lily shook her head. ‘No, thanks. But I do need to ask a big favour.’ She gave her a worried look.

‘It’s okay. Anything. What is it? What can I do for you?’

‘It’s Jayden—he’s at nursery school right now, and my friend will pick him up and look after him after school, but I wondered, just in case they do keep me in, if you would have him stay with you for the next few nights? I know it’s an awful lot to ask, but Harry’s away in Switzerland, trying to sort out some problems with the company, and my parents are on holiday abroad. I don’t know what else to do.’

Ellie thought about the small guest bedroom upstairs. She’d have to bump up the heating in there and get in a few provisions to satisfy a four-year-old’s diet, but otherwise there shouldn’t be a problem. ‘That’s okay. I can do that for you. I’ll be glad to help. And Jayden often comes here to see me, so he’s used to being around the place. Don’t worry about it. Just concentrate on getting yourself well again.’

‘Oh, thanks, Ellie,’ Lily said in a relieved tone. ‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you. Here, have my key—you’ll need to pick up some clothes for Jayden and some of his toys.’ An anxious look crossed her face. ‘He always takes his teddy to bed with him. He won’t sleep without it.’

‘I’ll make sure he has it. Rest easy, and take care of yourself.’

The midwife came to help Lily back to her house across the courtyard as the ambulance arrived, and Ellie went with them, waving her neighbour goodbye before setting off for the hospital. It was worrying, seeing her in that situation, but at least the paramedics were with her and would take care of her.

The A and E department was busy as usual when she arrived there a short time later. She’d had a weekend away from work and she found she was apprehensive coming back to it, a little bit uneasy about dealing with patients who were very ill, after her experience with her friend’s aunt. Although she felt she’d followed the correct procedures, her confidence had been badly shaken by Mel’s outburst. It was difficult getting back into the fray, but after an hour or so she had more or less settled into the routine and her anxiety eased a little.

From time to time she caught sight of James, working with the most seriously ill patients, and she did her very best to steer clear of him. In a way she was regretting her outburst the other night, because he hadn’t done anything to deserve her wrath. It was just his family connection that had thrown her into a state of shock.

But she had to put all that aside if she was to do her job properly. Just now she was tending a young woman who’d fallen from a horse. Until the accident the girl had been enjoying a holiday at a pretty lakeside resort nearby, but her fall meant she’d ended up in the emergency unit, being treated for a broken arm.

‘That was unfortunate, wasn’t it, Natalie?’ Ellie murmured. ‘But the good news is that the X-ray shows a straightforward break. We’ll re-align the bones for you under anaesthetic and then immobilise them with a cast. We should soon have you feeling more comfortable.’

‘Thanks.’ Natalie pulled a face. ‘I guess that’s put an end to my horse riding for a while.’

‘I’m afraid so. It’ll probably take six or eight weeks to heal, and you should be careful with it in the meantime. So …’ she smiled ‘… I’d avoid abseiling or water-skiing for the time being.’

The girl laughed. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

Ellie left her with a nurse while she went to type up her notes on the computer. After a moment or two as she sat at the desk, she became aware of someone approaching, and looked up to see James coming to stand beside her. Her whole body tensed.

He was immaculately turned out, having discarded the scrubs he’d been wearing earlier and replaced them with a dark, expertly tailored suit and a crisp linen shirt that gave him an aura of authority. He wore a subtly patterned tie that picked out the colour of his smoke-grey eyes.

Maybe he was dressed this way because he had a meeting to attend. Either way, Ellie found his nearness extremely distracting. It unsettled her. She didn’t want to be aware of him, especially not as a virile, energetic and powerful man.

‘How are things going?’ he asked. His expression was serious, his eyes cool and watchful. ‘Are you getting back into the swing of things? I know it must have been difficult for you. I noticed you were a little hesitant at first when you were dealing with patients.’

Her eyes widened. Had he feared she wouldn’t be able to cope? She stiffened.

‘I’m fine,’ she answered. ‘There’s no problem, none at all.’

‘Hmm. You must tell me if things change.’ He looked doubtful, and she guessed he thought she was covering up. ‘After all, it’s my job to see to the welfare of the staff, as well as the patients. I don’t want you to feel that you must struggle on your own.’

‘As I said, I don’t foresee any difficulties.’ If she’d known who he was the other night, she would never have admitted her worries to him. It had been a bad mistake. No doubt from now on he’d be watching her like a hawk.

She turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. With any luck, he might take the hint and leave her to get on with her work.

But things definitely weren’t going her way. Instead, he sat down on the edge of the table and out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of his long legs, the material of his trousers stretched tautly over his strong thighs. Disconcerted, she quickly averted her gaze.

Her fingers tapped jerkily at the keypad, and she realised straight away she’d made mistakes so that she had to delete what she’d just typed.

‘Um, was there something else?’ she queried. Having him so close jangled her nerves.

He inclined his head. ‘I think you and I have some unfinished business,’ he said quietly. ‘I know you feel a lot of resentment towards me and my family, and I’m concerned that might be a problem for us at work.’

‘I … I’m sure we can both act in a professional manner towards one another,’ she said. ‘Perhaps I was wrong in extending your father’s actions to you, but I can’t simply forget what happened, as you suggested. My parents’ marriage fell apart because of it. My mother blamed my father for losing his job and making us all homeless.’

‘Your mother felt that way, and yet you still put the blame on my father for letting him go?’ His gaze was quizzical, those dark eyes studying her and taking in the slightest hint of vulnerability.

Her chin lifted in defiance. ‘I think there were reasons why my father acted the way he did. He’s a good man, and he always took a lot of pride in doing his job well. When things started to go wrong, your father should have talked to him a bit more and tried to get to the bottom of what was going on with him.’

James was sceptical. ‘It doesn’t seem as if your mother had much faith in her husband, so why should my father have been any different?’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘My mother suffered from depression. She was always a difficult person to live with. She was so wrapped up in her woes that she left me and my brother to fend for ourselves. We took care of one another, and did pretty much as we pleased, but through all that my father was the cement that kept us all together. That is, until he …’

‘Until he lost the plot.’ He stood up. ‘I’m sorry, Ellie. I know how much you must love him, but you’re making excuses for his behaviour and taking your resentment out on my family. You need to get things straightened out in your head.’

‘Do I?’ Her gaze was frosty. ‘I believe my father was ill. That’s why he appeared to change and became lax in his work where before he had been a perfectionist. But nobody seemed to care enough about him to find out what was going on.’

She stood up as her pager bleeped. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse me. I have a patient coming in.’

She was annoyed with herself as she walked away. How could she have lost her temper that way? Surely she could have handled things better? And now, instead of smoothing the way towards a better working relationship, she’d probably set them off on a course of downright antagonism.

She had to force that to the back of her mind, though, and concentrate on answering her pager. She couldn’t let her personal life interfere with her work.

Her patient was a pregnant woman who was bleeding heavily. ‘She was out shopping when she collapsed,’ the nurse told her. ‘She’s very shaken up. She’s thirty-three weeks. Her heart rate is very fast and her blood pressure’s dropping way too low.’

‘Thanks, Olivia. Let’s get a couple of intravenous lines in before she goes into shock—and we need to set up foetal monitoring.’

‘I’ll do that right away.’ The nurse hurried to fetch the equipment while Ellie did an ultrasound scan to find out what was causing the problem. ‘I know this is upsetting for you, Phoebe,’ she said gently, ‘but try not to worry.’

Phoebe nodded faintly. Small pearls of perspiration had broken out on her brow, dampening her dark hair, and Ellie gave her a reassuring smile. ‘We’ll take good care of you and your baby.’

A short time later, she turned to the nurse once more. ‘I’m going to call Dr Reynolds for a consultation,’ she said in a low voice. ‘The placenta’s covering the birth canal. It’s come away slightly, and that’s what’s causing the bleeding. We need to admit her and make sure that she rests—that way the bleeding might stop on its own.’

She began to take blood for testing and quickly labelled up the samples for the lab. She was handing them to a porter a few minutes later when Lewis came to join her.

He smiled. ‘Hi, Ellie. It’s good to see you. You have a patient for me?’

‘Yes.’ She returned his smile. ‘I’m glad you’re here, Lewis. It’s reassuring to know you’re around to look after our pregnant ladies.’ She handed him the patient’s file. ‘Phoebe has placenta praevia. I’ve arranged for her to be admitted.’

He glanced at the woman’s notes. ‘Okay, I’ll go and have a look at her.’

He came back to Ellie a few minutes later as she stood by the central desk glancing through reports.

‘We might have to do a Caesarean,’ he said, ‘but I’d prefer to leave it until it’s absolutely necessary to give the baby the very best chance. In the meantime, we’ll put her on steroids to help the foetus’s lungs to mature.’

‘I’ll organise it,’ she said. Remembering her neighbour, she said quietly, ‘Have you admitted a new patient this morning—Lily Harcourt? She’s my neighbour. She would have come in by ambulance, suffering from pre-eclampsia? I wondered how she was doing. With any luck I’ll be able to look in on her some time today, but I’m a bit concerned about her. She didn’t look too good this morning.’

‘She’s your friend?’ Lewis’s dark eyes clouded. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Yes, she came to my ward. We have her on oxygen, and we’re monitoring her heart and blood pressure. Unfortunately, she had a seizure when she first arrived, but we’re giving her medication to control her blood pressure and also to try to prevent any more convulsions. It’s too early for her to deliver this baby at the moment, so we need to get her condition stabilised.’

Ellie frowned, disturbed by his account. ‘It doesn’t sound good, does it?’

He laid an arm lightly about her shoulders. ‘You shouldn’t worry, Ellie. We’re doing everything we can for her.’

‘I know, I’m sure you are. Thanks, Lewis. Will you keep me updated?’

‘Of course.’ He gave her a quick hug and then headed back to the maternity ward. Ellie watched him go and then glanced across the room and saw James standing by the doorway, his eyes narrowed as he watched her.

How long had he been standing there? He must have seen Lewis put his arm around her, and for some reason he didn’t look at all pleased. Was he bothered in some way about her friendship with his cousin?

She turned away. Why should she be concerned about what he was thinking? He may not have the same temperament as his father, but he obviously had the Birchenalls’ way of taking control and keeping a check on everyone. He’d only been in the job five minutes and he was making sure he knew everything there was to know about the staff. She’d seen him looking at others in that calm, assessing way that seemed natural to him.

She looked in on Lily before she finished her shift, and reassured her that she would take care of her little boy. Her friend still looked slightly flushed and seemed a bit restless, but that was probably because she was worried about her son.

‘We’ll come and see you as soon as the doctor says it’s okay,’ Ellie promised. ‘In fact, I could get him to talk to you on the phone if that will make you feel better?’

‘Oh, it would. Thanks, Ellie.’

‘You’re welcome.’

Ellie drove home, soothed by the beautiful Cheshire countryside, with its wooded hillsides and rolling plains. It helped put her in a relaxed frame of mind, so that for a little while she could forget that James Birchenall was a thorn in her side.

She stopped to pick up Jayden from his friend’s house, and from then on any illusion of peace was shattered.

‘Can we make play dough?’ the four-year-old asked. ‘I liked it when we did that before when I comed to your house.’ He looked at her with shining grey eyes, full of eagerness and expectation.

‘Okay. That sounds like a good idea.’ Ellie remembered the last time, when loose bits of brightly coloured dough had escaped and gone off in all directions. She’d kept on finding bits of it all over the place for a couple of hours afterwards, mainly thanks to it being trampled underfoot by eager young feet. He’d even managed to get it tangled up among the curls in his dark hair.

‘I thought we’d have spaghetti for tea. That’s your favourite, isn’t it?’

‘Mmm. Yes. I always have s’ghetti. Every day.’ He gave her a big-eyed look and she hid a smile.

‘Do you? Really?’

‘Yes.’ He looked away uncertainly, as though he thought she might stop believing him if he held her gaze for too long.

‘Well, we’ll see what we can do. Let’s go and collect your things from your house first and get you settled in.’

‘All right.’

Some time later Ellie helped him to get ready for bed. They’d had a busy time, having fun with play dough, followed by a baking session, and by now she was worn out even if he wasn’t.

‘Mummy always tucks me in,’ he said with a quiver in his voice, as he climbed into bed and looked around the strange room.

‘I know, sweetheart, and I know she wishes she could be here with you now, but you talked to her on the phone, didn’t you? Remember, she said she’ll see you when we go to the hospital?’

He nodded solemnly, his eyes overbright.

‘How about I read you a bedtime story?’ Ellie said. ‘Give teddy a cuddle and slide down under the duvet, and we’ll see what Noddy’s getting up to in his little red car.’

‘Yeah.’

He’d fallen asleep before she finished the story, and Ellie switched off the bedside lamp and crept out of the room.

Downstairs, she cleared away Jayden’s toys and tidied the kitchen, and just as she was thinking about making herself a well-earned cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. She frowned. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Could it be Noah, in more trouble? Feeling apprehensive, she went to the door and found James standing there.

‘Oh … I … um …’

He’d changed out of his suit, into casual, stylish clothes, stone-coloured chinos and a navy long-sleeved shirt, but there was still that air of authority about him. Somehow she sensed he wasn’t there for a social visit. ‘Is something wrong?’

‘In a manner of speaking. Would it be all right if I come in? I don’t mean to disturb you, but I need to talk to you about something and I’d prefer not to do it at the hospital.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He seemed serious, and she was troubled now, wondering what was so important that he’d come to see her at home. ‘We’ll go through to the kitchen and I’ll put the coffee on.’

She led the way and waved him to a chair by the oak and granite topped table. ‘It sounds as though I should be worried,’ she said as she prepared the coffee. ‘What’s happened?’ She put some freshly made fruit scones on a plate and passed it to him. ‘Help yourself. There’s butter and some strawberry jam.’