Cinderella of Harley Street

She took a last bite from her sandwich and chucked the remains into the bin.

No, she decided, it was better to trust her first instinct and keep well away from Dr Leith Ballantyne.

Just over five hours later Cassie was still in Theatre. The surgeon she was assisting was operating on a patient Cassie had examined at her first clinic and put forward for surgery. The teen had the biggest tumour Cassie had ever seen. Untreated, it had swollen to the size of a football, pushing the boy’s features out of alignment so that his nose and mouth were grotesquely out of place. It wasn’t that the benign tumour was life-threatening, but his unusual appearance had meant that he was ostracised in his village. Her heart went out to him. She knew what it felt like to feel as if you didn’t fit in, and it had to be a hundred times worse for him.

Cassie stretched to ease the kinks from her back. The operation had been fascinating. The surgeon—Dr Blunt, who had worked on the Mercy Ship for the five years since she’d retired from a hospital in Boston, had told Cassie that she’d had more experience of dealing with this kind of tumour than she liked. However, she’d removed the growth with the minimum of bleeding and damage to healthy tissue.

There had been a scary moment when one of the blood vessels had started bleeding but Cassie had kept calm and managed to clamp it off without too much difficulty.

They stood back for a moment and surveyed their work. Even with the swelling, the boy looked much more normal. He’d never be a pin-up, but he wouldn’t look out of place.

‘Good job, Dr Ross,’ Dr Blunt said. Although the operation had been a success, Cassie couldn’t help but wonder if they could have made a better job of putting the boy’s face back together. That was the problem. She was never satisfied. Only perfection would suffice.

She let the theatre nurse remove her gown and dropped her gloves into the bin. The thought of still having to pound the decks for her nightly run made her feel even more exhausted, but the habit was ingrained and she knew she would sleep better for it afterwards. First, though, she needed a few minutes to unwind.

She stepped out on the deck of the ship and drew in deep lungfuls of fresh air. Although the sun had dipped below the horizon, the air was still muggy and almost immediately she felt perspiration trickle down her back under her scrubs. She would wait until it was cooler to have her run and besides she wanted to check on her patient when he’d recovered from the anaesthetic.

A spurt of laughter came from below her. The staff not in Theatre or on the wards had gathered for dinner and were no doubt sharing their stories of the day. Cassie moved away, seeking the quieter starboard side—the one that faced the sea. There was a spot there behind the lifeboats where she often went when she wanted to be alone—no easy feat when there were four hundred staff on board.

To her dismay, someone had got there before her. A tall figure was leaning against one of the struts, staring out over the ocean. She was about to tiptoe away when he turned. She recognised him immediately.

He smiled at her. ‘Dr Ross.’ She had to admit she liked his voice with its attractive Scottish burr. ‘I didn’t get the chance to thank you for your help earlier today.’

‘I didn’t do much.’ Cassie shrugged. ‘How is your patient?’

‘I had to do a complete hysterectomy. She won’t be having any more children.’

‘Perhaps that’s for the best.’ The area was so drought-stricken that despite everything the Mercy Ship and aid workers were doing, too many children were dying from starvation and, with clean water still a scarce resource, disease.

Leith looked at her in surprise. ‘I doubt she’ll see it that way.’

‘At least she has a living child. I saw the baby earlier and she’s going to be fine. Surely it is better for a mother to have one healthy child than several sick children?’

‘I don’t think we can apply our Western standards here, at least not without understanding more about the culture.’

Feeling as if she was being lectured, Cassie bristled. But before she could respond he went on.

‘I watched you while you were assisting in Theatre earlier. You have deft hands.’

She hadn’t noticed him among the observers in the gallery.

‘Thank you—er—Dr Ballantyne. ‘

Amusement glinted in his jade-green eyes. ‘How very formal. Call me Leith.’

‘Very well. Thank you, Leith.’ God, she sounded as if she was an awkward teen being introduced to her first boy. ‘If you’ll excuse me, I have to go and check on my patient.’ She didn’t really want to get into a conversation. Quite the opposite. For some reason she wanted to run away from this man as fast as she could.

He looked into her eyes for a second longer than was strictly professional before giving her a grin that sent her heart spinning.

Most days, as soon as she’d finished her early morning ward rounds, Cassie would make her way on shore and over to the school. Since their brief encounter on deck, Cassie found herself searching more often than she cared to admit for glimpses of Leith, but although they’d exchanged nods and smiles of greeting, to her relief—at least she told herself it was relief—he hadn’t sought her out.

As often happened, the sun was beginning to set by the time the last patient had been seen. Cassie was taking a few moments to admire the reddening sky when she sensed, rather than saw, Leith come to stand next to her. To her dismay, her heart rate went into overdrive.

‘Finished for the day?’ he asked with a smile. His white, short-sleeved cotton shirt emphasised the dark hairs on his chest and his muscular forearms. Why on earth was she even noticing?

‘Yes. Apart from ward rounds before bed.’ Cassie turned her face upwards, enjoying the feel of the early evening breeze on her overheated skin. ‘What about you?’

He rubbed his stubbly chin. ‘Me too.’ They stood together in silence as the sun flared, turning the soil pink.

‘Such a beautiful country,’ Cassie said softly, ‘despite its problems.’

When he looked at her, her pulse upped yet another notch. His eyes were the colour of summer grass, she thought distractedly. She gave herself a mental shake and glanced away. What was wrong with her, for heaven’s sake? Never before had she felt such instant attraction and it scared her.

Just then she noticed that a woman from the village was standing a couple of feet away, waiting patiently.

‘Doctor—come with me. Please?’ she said.

‘What is it?’ Leith asked. ‘Is someone in trouble?’

The woman glanced around anxiously. ‘Please. Just come. You both.’

Leith raised an eyebrow at Cassie. ‘Are you up for it?’

It was as if every nerve in her body was screeching at her to run—to keep her distance from this man. Which was ridiculous. Someone needed their help and of course she wouldn’t—couldn’t—say no.

When she nodded the woman smiled with relief. ‘My name is Precious,’ she said. ‘It is my sister, Maria, I want you to see.’

They followed Precious in the failing light along a narrow track. The cicadas had started chirping and the sounds of Africa permeated the night air. As the path entered a small stretch of trees the sun disappeared completely. Soon it was too dark to see properly, although the woman leading the way appeared to have no difficulty. Cassie stumbled over the root of a tree and Leith caught her hand. A spark shot up her arm and she had to resist the urge to pull away.

Still holding her hand and close on the heels of Precious, he guided Cassie along the path, pointing out intruding thorns from acacia trees and other obstacles for her to avoid.

A short while later they came to a cluster of huts. The villagers, lit only by the glow of the evening meal fires, were making preparations for the night.

But instead of stopping at one of the huts, the woman led them through the village and back into the darkness. Cassie had a moment’s doubt. This was a poor country and it was possible that the woman was leading them into a trap. But they couldn’t turn away now.

The thought clearly hadn’t crossed Leith’s mind as his footsteps never faltered. About two kilometres further on, with the village left far behind them, the woman stopped. At first Cassie could see nothing but then, as the woman pointed, she could make out a small hut in the shadows. This was unexpected. The villagers lived in close proximity to one another. Who could be living so far away from the comfort and help of others?

Precious led them inside. A young woman was crouched over a small fire, mixing a pot of mielie meal with a stick while a small child, no more than two, sat on the bed, watching her.

‘This is Maria,’ Precious said, before turning back to the woman and speaking rapidly in the vernacular.

Cassie couldn’t understand a word but it sounded reassuring. When Precious had finished talking, the mother looked at them with a mixture of hope and despair.

‘Maria has been sent away from the village.’ Precious said.

‘Why?’ Cassie asked.

When Precious hesitated, Leith’s brow knotted. ‘I suspect I know the reason.’ He turned to their guide. ‘Has Maria been wetting herself?

‘Will she allow me to examine her?’ Leith asked.

Precious translated and, blushing deeply, Maria lay down on top of the bed after lifting the child and placing him on a rush mat. He stared silently with big, brown eyes.

‘I will go and fetch some water,’ Precious said, and slipped outside.

In the silence the little boy continued to watch them. Then he slid off the mat and toddled over to Cassie, lifting his hands. Instinctively Cassie reached down and picked him up. The child snuggled into her, peeping out at his mother.

‘Seems he’s taken a liking to you,’ Leith said with a smile.

‘Children seem to like me—which is an advantage given my line of work,’ she responded lightly. Without warning an image flashed into her head. She couldn’t have been very much older than this child—perhaps three or four. She’d fallen over and scraped her knee and had gone crying to her mother and held up her hands, wanting to be lifted, to have her hurt made better.

To her bewilderment her mother had turned away, saying it was only a scrape and not to make a fuss. But before she’d turned away, Cassie had seen something in her eyes that had made her forget about the pain in her knee and feel pain in her chest instead. Later she’d come to realise it had been dislike she’d seen.

When the time had come to choose which medical speciality to pursue, she’d been drawn to paediatrics. Perhaps because she wanted to rescue all the little Cassies out there. But she would never risk becoming a mother herself—experience had taught her that too often the worst parents were those who had been badly, or inadequately, parented themselves. Nevertheless, just because she wasn’t going to have children herself, it didn’t mean she didn’t love having them as her patients.

‘Cassie? You okay?’ Leith’s voice pulled her back to the present. She forced a smile and tightened her hold on the little boy in her arms. ‘Sure. A little hot—that’s all.’

Looking puzzled, Leith continued to hold her gaze, but when she returned his stare steadily he gave his head a little shake and focussed his attention back on Maria.

Leith examined the woman discreetly and gently, before straightening. ‘As I thought, she has a fistula from her bowel into her vagina, which has led to her being incontinent. I’ve treated a few women with this condition since I’ve been here. They tend to be ostracised by their fellow villagers and rarely come for help, although I suspect that finally word is getting around that we can often do something for them.’

‘Poor thing,’ Cassie said. ‘And can you? Help her?’

He smiled. ‘Yes, I’m confident I can fix her problem.’ He turned to Precious. ‘She must come to the hospital ship. Tomorrow. Tell her I will have to operate, but it is a simple procedure and after she will be much better.’

Precious broke into a wide smile. ‘She will be so happy. It has been hard for her here, all alone with her child. I can only help a little—I have my own family to care for.’ She turned to her sister and spoke rapidly. With tears in her eyes, Maria reached out for Cassie’s hand and said something Cassie couldn’t understand.

‘She asks if you will be there. She says you have a kind face. Like the other doctor.’ Precious glanced at Leith and smiled shyly. ‘But she will feel better if there is another woman.’

Cassie thought rapidly. She had a full clinic in the morning and was scheduled to assist with a couple of operations before then. Then she looked at the small child and the mother and knew that, whatever it took, she would find a way to be present. How could she deny Maria this one small thing?

Precious led them back to the village but once there Leith assured her that he and Cassie would find their own way back to the ship. Cassie wasn’t so sure. The night was dark beyond the village and without so much as a torch to light their way it would be difficult to find the path. But as Precious clearly wanted to return to her sister, Cassie swallowed her anxiety and followed Leith. As he strode confidently into the bush, it seemed as if he had no problem seeing in the dark.

She kept her eyes on his broad back, pausing when he did and stepping over the roots of trees that he pointed out. They must have been almost halfway back to where the ship was docked when suddenly Leith stood stock still as if listening for something. Then he let out a yell and hit something from the back of his neck. It fell to the ground and Cassie heard the rustle of leaves as it scuttled away.

‘God! What the hell was that?’ Leith said, his face pale in the light of the moon.

‘A bird or a spider, I suspect,’ she said, trying not to laugh.

‘If it was a spider it must have been a bloody huge one.’

‘Whatever it was, it’s gone. You’re safe now. I promise I won’t let that horrible beastie get you.’

He must have heard the amusement in her voice as he looked sheepish. ‘Not very macho, was it? Jumping four feet in the air.’ He grinned, his teeth flashing whitely in the dark. ‘Spiders and I don’t go together very well.’

Cassie smiled back. ‘Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone.’ And then, just like that, she knew that whatever she’d been telling herself about staying away from this man, it was too late.

CHAPTER TWO

AS SHE PROMISED, the next day Cassie joined Leith in Theatre once her own session had finished. His patient hadn’t been put under yet so Cassie went over to her and squeezed her hand. Maria smiled tremulously.

‘It’s going to be okay,’ Cassie whispered, knowing that the woman probably couldn’t understand her but hoping she found her tone reassuring.

She stood back while Leith repaired the tear, which, judging by the image on the monitor, was significant. Happily, the Mercy Ship had many generous donors and was equipped with the best and latest high-tech equipment.

‘She must have torn during labour—I’m pretty sure it must have been a breech delivery, ‘Leith said as he worked. ‘She’s probably lucky to have survived. I’m guessing there was a great deal of bleeding.’

Cassie admired his surgical technique. He wasted no time and his stitching was neat. As he operated he explained to the nurses what he was doing. When he’d finished he looked up with a satisfied smile. ‘I don’t think she’ll have any more problems.’ He peeled off his gloves and chucked them in the bin. ‘She’ll need to stay in for a few days.’

Cassie walked with him to the door, glancing at her watch. She had thirty minutes—just enough time for a quick shower and change of scrubs before she was due at her outpatient clinic.

‘Meet me later?’ Leith asked quietly.

Cassie’s heart thumped. She already knew she wasn’t going to say no. Last night she’d tossed and turned, thinking about Leith and wondering what she would do if he sought her out. She’d managed to convince herself that it could do no harm to spend time with him. She was tired of her own company and Leith was, well, interesting to say the least. It wasn’t as if there was any danger of them having more than a short while together. Pretty soon they’d be going their separate ways.

‘Why not? Let’s meet at the harbour wall. Say, around seven-thirty?’

Leith grinned and her heart did a little somersault. Good God, it was like being a teenager again, except no one had ever made her feel like this. Not as a teenager, not as an adult, not ever. Determined to ignore the warning bells in her head, she gave him one last smile and headed to the changing rooms.

Over the next week they spent almost all their off-duty hours together and Cassie found herself constantly looking out for him as she worked. She was happy—yet terrified. In the past, whenever she had found herself getting too close to a man, she’d simply backed away before the relationship had got too serious, and every day she told herself to walk away from Leith while she could.

But her resolve melted away as soon as she saw him. Why not enjoy what they had while she could? It wasn’t as if Leith made demands on her, simply seeming to enjoy her company, although she suspected, from the way he looked at her, that he wasn’t immune either.

Was it possible that finally she’d met someone she could love and, even more importantly, who could love her in return? She groaned inwardly. What was the use in even thinking like that? She had her future all mapped out and it didn’t—couldn’t—include long-term relationships.

‘Where will you go when you’re finished here?’ Leith asked one evening as they walked along the beach.

‘I have a job with the United Nations—in their International Medical Corps.’

He whistled. ‘The United Nations! A high-flyer, then?’

She smiled up at him. ‘That’s one way of putting it.’ She had certainly worked hard enough to achieve her dreams. Always refusing to go out with her fellow medical students, although that hadn’t simply been down to work, being the first on the wards and last off as a trainee, doing anything and everything that had been asked of her. After all, she of all people knew how to please.

But she didn’t want to think about that. It was the present she cared about right now. ‘My first posting is to Sudan. I go straight there from here.’

He frowned. ‘Why Sudan?’

‘I can’t think of a more worthwhile use of my skills. I like the feeling I’m helping children in real need.’ She breathed in the scent of sea and spice that she’d come to associate with Africa. ‘And I’ve always wanted to travel,’ she added. Because no place felt like home. ‘I think it will be a real test of my skills. What about you?’

‘I worked as a consultant in Glasgow for years and spent a long time abroad—mainly Africa but other countries too. I moved to London a couple of years ago. I work in Harley Street now.’

‘Harley Street?’ Cassie said, surprised. ‘Bit of a shift from Africa to Harley Street, isn’t it?’

‘Hey, don’t mock what you don’t know. The practice I work for only employs the best—its patients won’t tolerate anything else.’ He grinned at her. ‘If you’re ever looking for a job, I know they’d like to have a top-class doctor on the team.’

Warmth spread through her at the compliment. Although she knew she was a good doctor, she wasn’t used to praise. It felt good, especially so, she had to admit, coming from Leith. But of course what he was suggesting was impossible.

‘Thanks, but, no, thanks. London in the rain? The crowds? Battling the Underground? Give me blue skies and sun any time,’ she responded, knowing it was only a version of the truth. ‘I’ve had my career all mapped out ever since I went into medicine. That’s the way I like my life. It keeps me focussed.’

‘What about the personal one?’

The look in his eyes made her bones melt and once again she found herself wondering if there could be room in her life for spontaneity. Did everything have to be planned down to the last hour? On the other hand, that was how she liked it. It was far safer.

‘My work gives me everything I need—or want.’

He raised his eyebrow. ‘Everything? You don’t intend to get married? Have children?’

She stiffened. ‘Not every woman is born to be a mother.’

‘No,’ he replied, looking surprised, ‘but I’ve seen the way you are with the children. You’re a natural.’

‘Why does everyone think that every woman should want to have a child? In my experience, some women should be positively banned from having kids. After all, no one seems to think it unnatural if a man doesn’t want to have children. What about you, for example? Are they in your future?’

‘One day perhaps.’ His eyes crinkled at the corners. ‘In a few years’ time. In the meantime, I plan to have as much fun as I can.’

Her heart sank. His reply wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.

‘And your parents? Are they in London?’ he continued after a moment’s silence.

Suddenly chilled, despite the muggy evening, she wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Some of the time. They spend a lot of time abroad now. One way or another, I don’t see much of them. What about yours?’ She wasn’t about to tell him that a bonus of going to work in Sudan was its distance from her adoptive parents.

He studied her for a moment as if he was about to press her further but then he seemed to change his mind. ‘They live on Skye. They’ve been married for forty years and still crazily in love with each other. That’s the way I want it to be if ever I get married.’

A familiar ache in her chest made her catch her breath. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to believe love could last? They halted under an acacia tree. In the distance, small fishing boats lit by glowing lanterns bobbed about the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the smell of jasmine hung on the heavy night air.

Leith tipped her chin so she was looking up at him. ‘God, you’re beautiful.’ The world stopped turning as he brought his mouth down on hers. For a moment she felt as if she could hardly breathe. His kiss was gentle at first, his lips warm and questioning. But as she melted into him, his kiss became deeper, more demanding, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, wanting more of him.

She could feel his desire for her against her pelvis and an answering warmth flooded through her. She wanted him. She wanted to feel his naked skin on hers, to have his hands all over her body and hers on his. She didn’t even care that after she’d left here she would never see him again—all she needed right now was this.

When they pulled away they were both breathing deeply.

‘Come back to the ship with me,’ he said simply.

When she nodded, he took her hand.

Cassie woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the porthole. At first she didn’t know where she was, but as the fog of sleep lifted she remembered. She smiled and stretched as a warm peace filled her. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good.

She propped herself up on her elbow and studied Leith. Even in his sleep his mouth turned up at the corners. She trailed her fingertips over the hard contours of his chest and as she did so his eyes snapped open and he caught her hand in his.

‘Morning,’ he said with a smile.

‘Morning,’ she whispered back.

He ran his hand along her shoulder and down the curve of her waist and every nerve in her body tingled. They had made love twice last night, but now she wanted him again with a need that shocked her.

She moulded the length of her body against his so that it seemed as if every inch of her skin was in contact with his.

He pulled her tighter. ‘I can’t seem to get enough of you,’ he groaned.

Or her him. They didn’t have long, but why think about the future and what couldn’t be? Why not just be happy while she could?

It was her last coherent thought before she gave herself up to him.

Leith found himself humming under his breath at the oddest moments and when he wasn’t with Cassie he was thinking about her. He constantly sought her out and loved to catch even the briefest glimpses of her, squatting on her heels in the dust, talking to a group of women, or distracting a child while carrying out some unpleasant procedure by making funny faces or dangling a colourful toy just out of reach before relinquishing it to them.