The Italian Doctor

There was no mistaking what she meant. Maggie shook her head in despair as the younger woman hurried away. ‘Trust Angela to come out with something like that. Sorry.’

‘Don’t worry about it. In fact, it’s given me an idea. But first things first—let’s get you sorted out before I tell you about my brainwave.’

Maggie had no idea what he was talking about. However, it was obvious that he had no intention of explaining until he’d attended to her heel. She slipped off her sandals and went upstairs in her bare feet to avoid making the blister any worse.

The bathroom was surprisingly large so that the vast, claw-footed bath, old-fashioned basin and stately lavatory didn’t look at all out of place. Luke looked round approvingly as they went into the room.

‘I love these old fitments. They were made to be used, weren’t they? Unlike the bathroom suites you get nowadays.’

He went to the sink and turned on the tap, talking over his shoulder. ‘My hotel room has everything you’d expect but the bath is minute. I’ve given up all hope of having a lovely, long soak while I’m staying there because it’s just too uncomfortable.’

Maggie laughed as she closed the lavatory lid and sat down. ‘I suppose it’s difficult when you’re tall. I never gave much thought to how long a bath needed to be, to be honest.’ She frowned as a thought struck her. ‘But why are you staying in a hotel? I should have thought you would prefer to rent a place of your own while you’re over here.’

‘I would. But it’s not been easy finding anywhere suitable.’ He took a pack of sterile gauze from the first-aid box and ripped it open. He wetted the gauze with warm water then crouched in front of her and washed her heel. His hands were so gentle that she barely flinched despite how sore it was.

‘I’ve not had time to look around since I got here because I’ve been too busy working. I called a couple of agents and they’ve sent me details of various properties but it’s actually finding the time to go and see them that’s proving difficult.’

‘It must be awkward. I’m surprised that Roger Hopkins wasn’t able to find you a place to stay, though,’ she said thoughtfully, referring to the hospital’s manager. ‘He’s usually so helpful and I know that he’s found accommodation for people in the past.’

‘He did offer when he first contacted me about taking up the post here, but nothing came of it.’ Luke got up and went to rummage through the first-aid box. ‘I haven’t mentioned it to him since because he’s got enough to do with the rebuilding programme the hospital is undergoing.’

She sighed. ‘That’s true. We’ve been waiting for the area health authority to give the go-ahead for ages. There’s no doubt that Dalverston General needs to have its facilities upgraded. The trouble is that it’s going to cause such upheavals.’

‘It is. But look on the bright side—you’ll have a wonderful state-of-the-art hospital to work in once the programme is completed. I’ve seen the plans for the new surgical wards and, believe me, they are going to make a big difference to everyone’s lives—patients and staff alike.’

‘I know and I’m not really moaning. It’s about time this town had the best facilities available to it.’

‘Amen to that.’ He suddenly frowned as he opened the bathroom cabinet and took out a small bottle of antiseptic. ‘Mind you, the best facilities in the world aren’t worth a cent unless you have the best staff to work in them.’

‘You’re thinking about what happened at lunchtime, aren’t you?’ She saw his surprise and sighed. ‘Robin told me what had gone on with that motorcyclist. He said that it was only thanks to you that the poor fellow made it.’

Luke’s face was set as he poured a little of the antiseptic onto a fresh pad of gauze. ‘It was touch and go, all right, but it should never have happened. Something is going to have to be done about Dr Jefferson soon. The hospital can’t afford to take any more chances like that.’

Maggie agreed, although she didn’t say so. She sat quietly while Luke deftly swabbed her heel with the antiseptic. He taped a lint pad over the blister then stood up. ‘Right, that should help but you won’t be able to put your shoes back on.’

Maggie sighed as she looked at the dainty sandals with their wickedly high heels. ‘I should have gone for sensible rather than glamorous. It’s not really me, is it?’

‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that. You look fabulous tonight, Maggie. I love your hair like that.’

His tone was so warm that she felt a tide of heat sweep through her in response to it. ‘Oh…well, thank you,’ she murmured. ‘I don’t often wear it loose because it tends to get everywhere!’

He laughed as he picked up a long dark curl and gently ran it through his fingers. ‘I guess that’s because it’s so fine and silky.’

She couldn’t possibly have felt him touching her hair! It was a scientific impossibility. Yet there was no other explanation for the tingle that seemed to race right up the curl and across her scalp.

She took a steadying breath and moved towards the door, effectively forcing him to release her. ‘I suppose we’d better get back to the fray before they send out the cavalry.’

‘Or start wondering if we’re having a party of our own, perhaps?’

There was something in his voice that made her pause and she sighed ruefully. ‘Don’t take any notice of Angela, will you? She was only teasing.’

‘It doesn’t bother me in the least.’ He shrugged. ‘Look, Maggie, I told you that I’d had a brainwave, didn’t I? See what you think about it, but to my mind it could be the answer to both our prayers. How about if you and I let it be known that we were an item?’

‘An item?’ she repeated, not sure what he meant. Her heart leapt and she stared at him with huge dark eyes. ‘You mean that we…that you and I…?’

‘Should pair up. Or at least let our families think that we had.’ He laughed deeply. ‘It would be the perfect way to stop them trying to marry us off all the time, wouldn’t it? If they believed that we’d fallen for each other then they would stop trying to run our lives. So, what do you think? Is this the solution to our problems or not?’

‘I don’t know.’ She took a deep breath and tried to think what to say. However, it was hard to deal with the disappointment she’d felt on realising that he meant them to get together only to fool their families. He certainly hadn’t been asking her to go out with him for any other reason!

‘Come on, Maggie, what have we got to lose?’ His tone was persuasive. ‘It’s the perfect solution. We’re both happy with our lives the way they are—or we would be if we could stop our families interfering all the time. So why not let them think that we’ve done what they’ve been hoping we would do—fallen in love and are planning on getting married?’

‘But what happens in the future? I mean, we can only stall them for so long before they’ll start expecting us to name the day. What do we do then?’ she asked, wondering why she had this sinking feeling in her stomach. After all, the plan did make sense and it could be the answer to her problems, at least temporarily. She loved her family dearly but the pressure they kept putting on her to get married was placing a strain on her relationship with them.

‘We’ll just explain that we’ve had a change of heart. People break up all the time so it’s not as though it would be anything out of the ordinary. Even if this relationship only lasts for the six months that I’m in England then that’s six months of breathing space we’ll have had. That has to be a good thing, to my mind!’

Luke was right. Of course he was. Yet still she found herself reluctant to agree. He must have realised that she had doubts because he sighed.

‘Look, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Think about it. If you decide it’s a good idea then fine. If not…well, there’s no harm done, is there?’

It seemed reasonable enough and she smiled in relief at being spared having to make a decision. ‘Fair enough. I’ll think about it, although I don’t know if I’d feel guilty about raising my mother’s hopes unnecessarily. It isn’t that I’m against marriage, you understand. It’s just that it isn’t on my agenda at the moment.’

‘It’s not on my agenda, full stop.’ He shrugged when she looked at him in surprise. ‘I don’t have time for it. There is so much I want to do, workwise, that my days are full enough as it is. Nor am I naïve enough now to believe that a woman would be happy to take second place to my job.’

‘That sounds as though you thought it might work once upon a time,’ she observed softly.

His expression darkened. ‘I did. But I learned my lesson the hard way that career and relationships don’t mix. I don’t intend to make that kind of mistake again.’

He opened the bathroom door, making it plain that he didn’t intend to discuss the subject any further. However, that didn’t mean she forgot about it. Throughout the evening she found herself thinking about what he had said. Luke must have been badly scarred by the experience he’d had and she couldn’t deny that she found the thought rather a painful one even though it wasn’t any of her business. It also disturbed her that he’d allowed it to influence him to such an extent that he’d decided that he would never marry. In fact, it disturbed her a lot.

The party broke up in the early hours of the morning. Maggie was glad that she was off duty for the next two days because it meant that she would be able to catch up on her sleep. She borrowed a pair of rubber beach sandals from Ruth and wore them rather than her own sandals to walk home in.

Luke, Robin and Angela walked with her as they made their way through the quiet streets. It was still warm and hundreds of stars were sparkling in a clear, black sky. Luke sighed as he looked up.

‘And to think that people back home warned me that it always rained in this part of the world.’

‘Slander! We have some of the best weather in the country, don’t we, folks?’ Robin replied glibly, and Maggie laughed.

‘We do if you’ve got webbed feet! Stop trying to mislead poor Luke. You know very well that you can count glorious days—and nights—on the fingers of one hand!’

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