Dr Devereux's Proposal

Looking adorably flustered, and dressed in a uniform of navy blue tunic and trousers, her hair tied back in a ponytail, Lauren hurried into the room. She was carrying a haphazard stack of files and balancing a round tin precariously on top.

‘Sorry I’m late. I was delayed downstairs talking with a patient on the phone,’ she explained, sounding a touch breathless. ‘The waiting room is starting to fill up early—the usual collection of post-weekend crises, no doubt. Hazel is holding the fort and says to carry on without her.’

‘Are those some of Hazel’s biscuits?’ someone asked.

Gabriel watched as Lauren awkwardly juggled the files and manoeuvred the tin so she could prise open the lid. ‘Her Cornish fairings,’ she announced once she had peeped inside. A twinkle of mischief in her smoky grey eyes, she offered him the tin. ‘All Hazel’s home-made food treats are favourites here, Gabriel, so I advise you to take what you can before the rest of this unruly lot devour them.’

‘Thank you.’ It was a bit early in the day for him, but Gabriel accepted one of the biscuits to please Lauren. He tried it with his coffee, surprised how much he enjoyed the ginger-flavoured local delicacy. ‘They’re excellent.’

‘Tell Hazel that and you’ll be in her good books for life.’ Kate laughed.

‘Come on, Lauren, don’t hog the tin. I missed breakfast and I’m starving,’ GP Adam Donnelly called, growling in mock complaint as others grabbed their share of the biscuits before the tin reached him.

Gabriel was gratified when Lauren chose the chair next to him, her smile and the look in her eyes setting off the zing of awareness he felt every time he saw her.

‘A word of warning, Gabriel,’ one of the district nurses joked. ‘Make sure you park your car well away from Lauren’s—if you want to find it in one piece when you go back to it!’

As the tale of her reversing into a car at a recent wedding was recounted, Lauren smiled, taking the ribbing in good part, but Gabriel could see the flash of hurt and worry in her eyes. The belief that there was something more than Lauren just being clumsy nagged at him but he hadn’t yet put his finger on what it was that disturbed him. Frowning, he remembered her uneasiness leaving the Manor House on Saturday night and the way she had tripped in the dark. She had explained away her stumble by telling him how accident prone she was, but he had sensed she was covering up for something else. More than once in their short acquaintance he had noticed the way she squinted at her mobile phone screen, tilting it around before reading the message. Then there were the moments she displayed an apparent lack of spatial awareness and misjudgement of distances.

As Nick reclaimed the attention of those in the room, the teasing ceased and Gabriel had to set his considerations about Lauren aside. Instead, he listened with interest as the discussion turned to items of surgery business and any noteworthy out-of-hours incidents with patients. Adam had been called out the previous day to a thirteen-year-old girl with appendicitis who had been admitted to St Piran Hospital, while Kate had attended a mum-to-be who had reported some abdominal pain.

‘I’m convinced it is nothing serious but, given her level of anxiety, I’ve arranged for her to see the consultant at the hospital today instead of next week.’

‘Better to be safe than sorry,’ Nick remarked, to murmurs of agreement.

Gabriel watched the interaction between Nick and Kate with interest. The tension between the two had been glaringly apparent during the barbecue at Nick’s house back in July. He had no idea of their history but he thought it went beyond the doctor-midwife dynamic. Thankfully, the atmosphere between them today was less fraught.

‘Gabriel is going to be shadowing Oliver this week, especially on home visits and out-of-hours work,’ Nick outlined as the patient reviews came to an end. ‘I’ve also supported his request to spend some time with other staff and will leave you to organise convenient days between you…Lauren, Chloe and the district nurses in particular. Gabriel, enjoy your time here and speak up if you have any queries. I am sure everyone will do all they can to make you welcome and help you settle in for this year-long stay with us.’

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