‘Charlotte!’ A voice behind them made her turn. ‘How good to see you—how are you?’
The senior nurse who greeted Charlotte obviously knew her well. Kendra realised her mistake and disappeared out of range as quickly as she could, followed by a small smirk of satisfaction from Edward.
‘So how’s Isaac?’ Sandra Morton gave Edward a brief nod and then turned back to Charlotte.
‘Oh, growing up. He’s going to school now.’
‘Really? Yes, I suppose he must be. He was such a cute baby. And how’s Peter?’
A small pause.
Edward wasn’t sure whether he should intervene or not, and decided that Charlotte was perfectly capable of handling the situation herself. Much better than he could, probably. He started to leaf through Mercy’s notes.
‘Actually, I haven’t seen him for a while. He left.’
‘No! But he was such a nice guy—’ Sandra stopped herself. ‘Obviously not.’
‘It just didn’t work out. But everything’s good now.’
‘Great. I hear you’re working at the Hunter Clinic?’
‘That’s right. I’m here with Mr North to see one of your patients.’
‘Ah, Mercy. Well, I’m glad to see that you’ll be looking after her. The kid’s had a bad time, and she deserves the best.’
Charlotte grinned. ‘She’ll get it. Just as she has here.’
Sandra nodded. There was clearly a great deal of mutual esteem between the two women and it warmed Edward to see Charlotte being treated with the respect she deserved.
‘Well, I’d better get going. Call me some time—or I’ll call you. Maybe we can go out one evening?’
‘Yes. It’s good to see you, Sandra.’
Charlotte turned back to Edward, and he flipped a page in the notes in front of him.
‘You can stop pretending to read now...’ She leaned towards him, whispering.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Your eyes aren’t moving.’
Fair enough. Edward hadn’t thought that anyone would notice that he was staring at the same word on the page in front of him, listening to what the women were saying.
‘I know what it says, anyway.’ He snapped the notes shut.
‘Can you fill me in on Mercy’s history? Before we go to see her?’
‘Yes, sure.’ Edward looked at the sign above the door of the conference room and saw that it was empty. ‘Let’s go in here.’
He sat down, and Charlotte took a seat opposite him. He’d seen her at the clinic, and he knew that she was great at her job, but she always made it seem so natural. This change in context let him see just how professional she was.
‘We don’t know much about Mercy’s background. She’s thirteen years old, an orphan, and was clearly fending for herself for a while before being picked up by one of the charities working in the area. They’ve found a new adoptive family for her, back in Africa, and by all accounts she’s very happy with them. She’s been going to school and doing well.’
‘Sounds good so far. Have they accompanied her to the UK?’
‘No, she’s staying with a foster family. I’ve spoken with the mother and she seems to be doing an excellent job. The problem is that Mercy doesn’t want to talk about what happened to her before she was taken in by the charity.’
‘So you’ve not been able to take a detailed medical history?’
‘Yes and no. We know what’s the matter with her, but I’d like to know what caused some of her problems as well. For instance, she has a perforated eardrum.’
‘Hmm... Not usually a result of trauma. Although it sounds like a good probability in this case.’
Charlotte pressed her lips together in thought, and Edward ignored the little thrill of pleasure that seemed to accompany all his dealings with her.
‘Your first objective is just to let her get to know you, though. See if you can reassure her so that she feels she’s got a friend at the Hunter Clinic. Any information you can get is a bonus.’
‘Okay. What else do I need to know?’
‘She’s here for surgery on a healed Buruli Ulcer.’
‘That’s a bacterial infection, isn’t it?’
Edward nodded, pleased that Charlotte wasn’t slow in asking for more information when she needed it. ‘Yes, that’s right. A Buruli Ulcer is relatively easy to treat when it’s caught early, but if it’s not—as was the case here—patients can develop large ulcers which result in disabilities and restricted joint movement as the scars heal. In Mercy’s case there was a contracture which had multiple joint involvements—hand, wrist and elbow.’
He scrunched his own arm up to demonstrate the way that Mercy’s arm and hand had been folded tightly in on themselves and Charlotte winced.
‘Poor kid. It must have hurt like nothing I can imagine.’
‘She’s been through a lot. But the operation to straighten the limb, grafting in new material where necessary, was a success.’
‘You did it?’
‘Yes.’
That warmth again, as if her smile were caressing him. Pride because she cared that it had been Edward who had carried out the precise skin and muscle grafts which would restore some of the movement in Mercy’s arm and hand.
‘How much mobility will she recover?’
He shook his head. ‘Difficult to say at this stage. But the prognosis is good, and if she keeps her physiotherapy up she should do well. That’s another thing I want you to look at. She needs to be committed to this, and to understand how important it is for her to continue the things that she’s being taught when she goes home.’
‘Right. Okay, then. So I’m working on her heart, not her medical condition.’
‘Primarily. Although she’s going to need nurse-led care at the Hunter Clinic and you’ll be providing that.’
If anyone could do it, Charlotte could.
* * *
When Edward ushered Charlotte into Mercy’s room she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She found that Edward hadn’t been quite honest with her.
The girl’s face lit up when Edward smiled at her. ‘Hello, Mercy. How are you today?’
‘I am well, Dr Edward.’
‘I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve brought someone to see you.’
Mercy’s dark eyes never left Edward’s face. If he reckoned that his quiet kindness hadn’t got through to her, then he was fooling himself. Charlotte began to wonder what she was doing here. Edward had clearly underestimated his own capacity to reassure the girl.
There was tenderness in his eyes as he spoke again. ‘Nurse Charlotte is going to look after you when you come to see me at the clinic. She’s come to meet you.’
Mercy gave Charlotte a small nod.
‘I’ll...um...leave you, then.’ Edward seemed suddenly at a loss as to what to do next.
‘No. Please stay. Just for a few minutes.’
Charlotte didn’t share Edward’s conviction that she could gain Mercy’s confidence instantly, through some magical