But that wasn’t it.
‘The new consultant’s starting work today.’ She winced. ‘I met him at Zoe’s party—turns out he’s Lord Birchenall’s son.’
‘Birchenall?’ Noah bit out the word with distaste. ‘No wonder you’re out of sorts. I thought we’d seen the last of that family.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps I should have guessed. I read in the paper that he was back home to take care of his father—the old man is suffering from some kind of heart condition, apparently.’
‘Is he? James said he was unwell, but he didn’t go into detail.’
‘James? You’re on first-name terms with him?’ Noah’s lips tightened. ‘I wish you didn’t have to deal with him at all. How do we know it won’t turn out to be like father, like son? You could go along with him thinking everything’s fine, and then when something goes wrong you find he’s turned against you. It’s all in the genes.’
‘You could be right,’ she acknowledged thoughtfully. ‘We’ll see. I suppose I’ll just have to be cautious around him until I get to know him better.’
‘Yeah, well, it’s a pity you have to know him at all. I’m sorry you’ve ended up having to work with him.’ He frowned. ‘I’d better go. Thanks for breakfast, and good luck.’
‘You, too.’
After he’d gone, Ellie finished tidying the kitchen and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was about time for her to set off for work, but just as she reached for her jacket, the doorbell rang.
‘Lily.’ Ellie was startled to see her neighbour standing there. Lily was heavily pregnant, and right now she looked flushed and her breathing was fast, making her struggle to drag air into her lungs. Her face appeared a little puffy, and when Ellie glanced down at her hands, she saw that there was some swelling there, too. Her brown curls were faintly damp around her face, and Ellie became increasingly concerned. ‘Are you all right? Is it the baby? Are you having contractions?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No, but I have to go to hospital—the ambulance will be here any minute. The midwife sent for it. I have a terrible headache, and my ankles are swollen. She said something about hypertension and pre-eclampsia—she thinks they’ll keep me in for a few days.’
‘I’m so sorry, Lily.’ Ellie put a comforting arm around her. ‘Do you want to sit down? Shall I get you a chair?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No, thanks. But I do need to ask a big favour.’ She gave her a worried look.
‘It’s okay. Anything. What is it? What can I do for you?’
‘It’s Jayden—he’s at nursery school right now, and my friend will pick him up and look after him after school, but I wondered, just in case they do keep me in, if you would have him stay with you for the next few nights? I know it’s an awful lot to ask, but Harry’s away in Switzerland, trying to sort out some problems with the company, and my parents are on holiday abroad. I don’t know what else to do.’
Ellie thought about the small guest bedroom upstairs. She’d have to bump up the heating in there and get in a few provisions to satisfy a four-year-old’s diet, but otherwise there shouldn’t be a problem. ‘That’s okay. I can do that for you. I’ll be glad to help. And Jayden often comes here to see me, so he’s used to being around the place. Don’t worry about it. Just concentrate on getting yourself well again.’
‘Oh, thanks, Ellie,’ Lily said in a relieved tone. ‘I don’t know what I’d have done without you. Here, have my key—you’ll need to pick up some clothes for Jayden and some of his toys.’ An anxious look crossed her face. ‘He always takes his teddy to bed with him. He won’t sleep without it.’
‘I’ll make sure he has it. Rest easy, and take care of yourself.’
The midwife came to help Lily back to her house across the courtyard as the ambulance arrived, and Ellie went with them, waving her neighbour goodbye before setting off for the hospital. It was worrying, seeing her in that situation, but at least the paramedics were with her and would take care of her.
The A and E department was busy as usual when she arrived there a short time later. She’d had a weekend away from work and she found she was apprehensive coming back to it, a little bit uneasy about dealing with patients who were very ill, after her experience with her friend’s aunt. Although she felt she’d followed the correct procedures, her confidence had been badly shaken by Mel’s outburst. It was difficult getting back into the fray, but after an hour or so she had more or less settled into the routine and her anxiety eased a little.
From time to time she caught sight of James, working with the most seriously ill patients, and she did her very best to steer clear of him. In a way she was regretting her outburst the other night, because he hadn’t done anything to deserve her wrath. It was just his family connection that had thrown her into a state of shock.
But she had to put all that aside if she was to do her job properly. Just now she was tending a young woman who’d fallen from a horse. Until the accident the girl had been enjoying a holiday at a pretty lakeside resort nearby, but her fall meant she’d ended up in the emergency unit, being treated for a broken arm.
‘That was unfortunate, wasn’t it, Natalie?’ Ellie murmured. ‘But the good news is that the X-ray shows a straightforward break. We’ll re-align the bones for you under anaesthetic and then immobilise them with a cast. We should soon have you feeling more comfortable.’
‘Thanks.’ Natalie pulled a face. ‘I guess that’s put an end to my horse riding for a while.’
‘I’m afraid so. It’ll probably take six or eight weeks to heal, and you should be careful with it in the meantime. So …’ she smiled ‘… I’d avoid abseiling or water-skiing for the time being.’
The girl laughed. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’
Ellie left her with a nurse while she went to type up her notes on the computer. After a moment or two as she sat at the desk, she became aware of someone approaching, and looked up to see James coming to stand beside her. Her whole body tensed.
He was immaculately turned out, having discarded the scrubs he’d been wearing earlier and replaced them with a dark, expertly tailored suit and a crisp linen shirt that gave him an aura of authority. He wore a subtly patterned tie that picked out the colour of his smoke-grey eyes.
Maybe he was dressed this way because he had a meeting to attend. Either way, Ellie found his nearness extremely distracting. It unsettled her. She didn’t want to be aware of him, especially not as a virile, energetic and powerful man.
‘How are things going?’ he asked. His expression was serious, his eyes cool and watchful. ‘Are you getting back into the swing of things? I know it must have been difficult for you. I noticed you were a little hesitant at first when you were dealing with patients.’
Her eyes widened. Had he feared she wouldn’t be able to cope? She stiffened.
‘I’m fine,’ she answered. ‘There’s no problem, none at all.’
‘Hmm. You must tell me if things change.’ He looked doubtful, and she guessed he thought she was covering up. ‘After all, it’s my job to see to the welfare of the staff, as well as the patients. I don’t want you to feel that you must struggle on your own.’
‘As I said, I don’t foresee any difficulties.’ If she’d known who he was the other night, she would never have admitted her worries to him. It had been a bad mistake. No doubt from now on he’d be watching her like a hawk.
She turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. With any luck, he might take the hint and leave her to get on with her work.
But