‘What do your family call you?’
‘I have no family, but when I did have they called me Lizzie.’
‘You have no family at all?’ he questioned in amazed disbelief, so much aware of his own blessings he felt guilty.
‘No,’ she said steadily, and her tone told him that was the end of the discussion, as did the fact that she was observing the pile of patients records on the reception desk in the waiting room and settling herself on one of the chairs that were placed in neat rows across the room.
As he came to sit beside her Lizzie said, ‘I think the seating arrangements in here have too much uniformity. I want it to be that while the mothers-to-be are waiting their turn they can chat to each other easily, with the chairs scattered around the room. So if it’s all right with you, I’m going to rearrange them. It is very important for women to be able to share their fears and excitement, and their problems, with each other, especially if they are first-time patients taking what can be a scary step into the unknown.’
‘It’s fine by me,’ he told her. ‘You are the one who is going to be in charge of this place. My function will be to be there if you need me. I would only interfere if I thought it absolutely necessary, and with your record of excellence at St Gabriel’s having preceded you, I can’t see that ever happening.
‘But, Lizzie, don’t let this place take over your life completely,’ he continued, and couldn’t believe what he was saying when the fates had sent to Willowmere someone as dedicated to health care as the woman sitting beside him. ‘There are lots of things to do in the village, people to get to know, beautiful places to explore, as well as looking after the pregnant women in our midst.
‘So why don’t I take you to Willowmere’s only pub, The Pheasant, when we’ve finished here? It will give you the opportunity to socialise a little.’
It was there again, Lizzie was thinking. He was picking up on the emptiness of her life and she didn’t want him to be concerned about her. For one thing, she hardly knew the man, and for another, apart from during working hours when they would have to be in contact, she wanted to be left to get on with her life, such as it was.
But James was putting himself out to make her feel welcome when he must have plenty of other things to do in his busy life, and it would seem ungrateful to refuse his suggestion, so she said, ‘Yes, if you’re sure that you have the time.’
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ he said calmly, and, passing her the first lot of patients’ notes, began to explain who they were and what they would be expecting from her.
When they’d finished going through them Lizzie said, ‘It would seem that there will shortly be another name to add to these.’
‘I’m not with you,’ he commented.
‘I went to the café across the road at lunchtime and Emma asked for an appointment as she’s done the pregnancy test from the chemist and it showed positive. So we’ve arranged for her to be the first patient at the clinic after the opening on Friday.’
‘Emma pregnant!’ he exclaimed. ‘Wonderful! She and Simon have wanted to start a family for a long time. She had a miscarriage when they were first married and there has been nothing since.’
‘So I will have to take great care of her, won’t I?’
‘Yes, you will,’ he agreed, ‘and now am I going to take you for that drink?’
‘Er…won’t your housekeeper wonder where you’ve got to?’ she said with an unmistakable lack of enthusiasm, and he wanted to laugh. He could think of two or three unattached female members of the community, and one who was already in a relationship, who would have jumped at the idea, but not so this one, it seemed.
‘No, not at all,’ he assured her perversely. ‘But to put your mind at rest, I’ll call at the house before we go and let her know where I will be if she needs me.’ And Lizzie had to go along with that.
The Pheasant was crowded and when they walked in various people greeted James and observed his companion with curiosity, which was satisfied somewhat as he introduced her as the new community midwife who was joining him for a drink to celebrate the opening of the new clinic.
By the time they’d found a couple of seats and James had fought his way to the bar and back, Lizzie was feeling more relaxed, grateful for the way he had introduced her into the socialising throng without causing her embarrassment.
At the same time she was telling herself if she was going to fit into the life of the village she was going to have to start living again, and after three years of shutting herself away from everything but her job, it was not going to be easy.
James was observing her expression and almost as if he’d read her mind he said, ‘That wasn’t so bad after all, was it? Everyone was listening when I introduced you, so now they all know who you are.’
‘If you say so,’ she agreed. ‘You know the people here better than I do. Have you always lived in Willowmere?’
‘Yes. My father was in charge of the practice before me, but after my mother died he began to fail and my sister, Anna, gave up all her plans for the future and came home from university to help me during a very difficult time. Thankfully her life is now back on course again.’
He was speaking about his family in the hope that she would mention the absence of hers, but the ploy wasn’t working. Lizzie wore a wedding ring, he’d noticed, but there was no husband around.
Maybe she was divorced and that was the reason for her reticence, yet a marriage break-up seemed as nothing to some people, but it had to be a daunting experience in many ways.
He had his children and his sister in his life, and if what she’d said was true, the woman sitting opposite had no one. Small wonder that she wasn’t the life and soul of the party, but he needed to bear in mind that she’d only arrived in Willowmere a few days ago.
It was dark when they left The Pheasant with no moon above and James said, ‘I’m going to walk you home, Lizzie, and will want to see you safely inside before I leave you.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ she protested.
‘Yes, I’m sure you will, but nevertheless that is what I’m going to do.’
‘All right, then…and thanks,’ she said awkwardly without any social grace.
They walked in silence, past the shops all shuttered for the night, then skirted the single-storey village school built from the familiar limestone, and then the peace garden came in to sight, with the cottage across the way.
He watched in silence as she unlocked the door and stepped over the threshold and when she turned to face him, said, ‘Goodnight, Lizzie. Make sure you lock up when I’ve gone.’
She nodded mutely and watched until he disappeared from sight, then did as he’d said, and when that was done she sat on the bottom step of the stairs and wept because a stranger’s concern was breaking down her defences.
From what she’d seen of James so far he seemed to be that kind of person, considerate and caring towards everyone, herself included as the latest addition to the health care of his beloved village, and she didn’t want it to be like that. She didn’t want to have feelings in the half of her life that was empty, because with feelings came weakness and she needed to be strong to face each day.
As he walked home, James was telling himself that he had enough responsibilities in his life without attempting to take on the emotional burden that Lizzie obviously wanted to keep private. She was going to be the right one for the job and that was all that mattered.
It was Friday afternoon and Lady Derringham was about to cut the tape that had been placed across the entrance to the new maternity clinic in front of those assembled for the occasion, which included