‘So that’s your secret, is it? Treat ’em mean and keep ’em keen?’ Nicky laughed. ‘It certainly seems to work if Josh is anything to go by. The poor guy is totally besotted. I’ve heard nothing but Holly this and Holly that ever since you two met. It will be wedding bells soon if I’m not mistaken.’
‘Rubbish! Josh is just a friend,’ Holly replied tartly. It was complete nonsense, of course, although she couldn’t stop herself glancing at Ben to see how he’d reacted to the comment before it struck her what she was doing.
She turned away, praying that he hadn’t noticed. It was none of Ben’s business what she did! She was a free agent and could go out with a dozen different men if that was what she chose to do. She didn’t need his permission or his blessing. Ben had made his choice two years ago and he hadn’t chosen her.
It was sobering to realise the effect that decision had had on her life. As she made her way down the coach, Holly found herself thinking that Nicky was right in a way. Her attitude towards men had hardened in the past two years. When she’d been with Ben she’d been perfectly happy to fall in with his wishes and had tailored her life to fit in with his, but she didn’t make that mistake nowadays. This was her life and she intended to live it her way, and if that sounded selfish, she wasn’t going to apologise for it…
But was she really happy? a small voice whispered. Could she honestly claim that she didn’t feel as though she was missing out by adopting such a hard-nosed attitude? Didn’t she sometimes long to be in a relationship again where the other person’s needs were more important than her own?
Holly took a deep breath. She’d made up her mind how she intended to live her life and she was going to stick to it. She went straight to the young woman and crouched down beside her. The noise from the oxyacetylene cutter was tremendous and Holly could well appreciate why the poor soul looked so scared.
‘I’m Holly Daniels and I’m a doctor at Dalverston General Hospital,’ she shouted above the roaring. ‘Can you tell me your name?’
‘Charity Adams.’
‘So, Charity, Nicky tells me that your waters have broken. Is that right?’
‘Yes. I’m only seven months pregnant, too, so the baby shouldn’t be born for ages…’ Charity stopped talking and groaned. ‘Oh, that hurts!’
Holly grimaced. ‘It sounds as though you’re in labour but I’ll need to take a look at you before I can be sure.’
She stood up and quickly explained to the firemen that she needed to examine the girl. They turned off the torch and tactfully moved aside while she removed the protective blanket that had been placed over Charity and helped her out of her underwear. Her heart sank when she saw that the woman’s cervix was fully dilated because it meant the birth was imminent.
‘How long will it take to free her?’ Holly asked one of the firemen.
‘Just a couple more minutes.’
‘Then let’s get on with it. We need to get her out of here as fast as we can.’
Holly looked round when Ben came to join her. She drew him aside so that Charity couldn’t hear what she was saying. ‘The baby’s on its way. I’m hoping we have time to get her out of here before it arrives but it’s going to be a close call from the look of her. She’s fully dilated.’
‘I’ll tell the ambulance to stand by. I’m just going to organise a stretcher, ready for when they cut the driver free. We don’t want any more hold-ups.’
‘Good idea,’ Holly agreed. She frowned as he moved away because she couldn’t help noticing how grim he looked. Obviously, the situation with the driver in particular was extremely worrying but she had a feeling it wasn’t that which was bothering Ben most of all. Had it been that reference to her and Josh perhaps?
Charity gave another loud groan and Holly put that foolish thought out of her head. Ben had had his chance so why should he care if there was a legion of men interested in her?
The girl was in a great deal of pain but it was far too risky to administer pain relief at this stage when the baby was so premature. The normal analgesics used during childbirth could cause respiratory problems in pre-term babies. Whilst it might be acceptable to use them in the safety of a well-equipped maternity unit, they didn’t have that luxury here. She would have to rely on talking Charity through the birth.
‘Try to work with the pain and don’t fight it,’ she advised, taking hold of the girl’s hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. ‘I want you to try and breathe nice and slowly—big deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth…That’s it. You’re doing great.’
Holly looked up when the fireman tapped her on the shoulder and told her they were ready to remove the seat. Ben came back just then and between them they managed to help Charity out of the gap. They had to stop when another contraction began but as soon as it was over, they set about getting her out of the coach. A ladder had been set up through one of the windows but Charity stopped dead and refused to carry on when she realised that she was going to have to climb up it.
‘I can’t get up there!’ she wailed. ‘What if the baby comes?’
‘Holly will be right behind you.’ Ben put a comforting arm around her shoulders. ‘She won’t let you fall and she certainly won’t let anything happen to your baby.’
‘But it’s almost here. I can tell!’ The girl clung grimly to the metal rungs, shaking her head when Ben tried once more to urge her up the ladder. ‘No! I can’t do it and you can’t make me!’
‘Maybe we can deliver the baby here,’ Holly began, but Ben didn’t let her finish.
‘That isn’t an option.’
He took hold of Charity’s hands, ignoring Holly as he set about persuading the girl to do what he wanted. Holly didn’t say anything but she was seething with anger at his high-handed attitude. Ben seemed to think that he could boss her around but he was mistaken if he thought she was going to meekly do his bidding. As she’d told him once already that day, he was no longer her boss.
A frown puckered her brow as that thought sank in. Ben had been two years ahead of her when they’d met—he’d already been a registrar when she’d been a lowly houseman. He had been extremely good at his job and had had a promising future ahead of him, too. That being the case, what was he doing at Dalverston? He should have been a consultant by now, not a specialist registrar, and been on his way towards a post as head of department. So what had gone wrong? Why had his career apparently come to a standstill in the last two years? And why did she have a feeling that the answers to those questions were important?
‘Are you ready, Holly? We need to get a move on.’
Holly blinked when Ben spoke to her. He’d somehow managed to convince Charity that she must climb the ladder because the girl had her foot on the first rung. Even though Holly was desperate to find out more about his career, it really wasn’t the right time to ask questions. She went to join them, shaking her head when Charity had another change of heart and stepped down.
‘You can do this, Charity. There’s just a dozen rungs to climb then you and your baby will be safe.’
Charity took a shuddering breath and placed her foot back on the rung. ‘I can do this,’ she muttered. ‘I can climb up this ladder.’
‘Be careful, won’t you?’
Ben touched her on the arm and Holly felt her heart leap when she saw the concern in his eyes. How many times had she seen him looking at her that very same way? she thought wonderingly.
‘Josh is up top and I’m sure he’s only too eager to give you a helping hand but don’t rush. We don’t need any more problems to contend with at the moment.’
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