She was getting to her feet and as he observed her pallor and weight loss Blake thought, poor girl. She was so frail. Hopefully by the next time he saw her she might have filled out a little and have some colour in her cheeks.
* * *
As Helena hesitated beside Reception at twelve o’clock, a cool voice said from behind her, ‘And you are?’
When she swung round the woman who’d called at Blake’s house the other night was observing her as if she were something best seen under a microscope.
‘I’m Helena Harris,’ she said levelly. ‘Dr Pemberton is expecting me. He’s offered me the position of practice nurse and invited me to come in to meet the staff.’
‘Really. Well, he must have forgotten as Dr Pemberton is not on the premises.’
‘Has he been called out perhaps?’ Helena asked in the same even tone.
‘I’m sure I don’t know. You’ll have to come back some other time,’ she was told.
‘Yes. I can do that,’ she agreed equably. ‘Time is something that I have in abundance at the moment.’
‘I think there’s been a mistake, Dr Fielding,’ another voice said at that moment, and Helena saw a fair-haired man, younger than Blake, eyeing her appreciatively from the doorway.
‘Dr Pemberton received a call from the police station just as surgery was finishing,’ he said with a winning smile that showed a lot of white teeth. ‘He left a message to say that he would be back as soon as possible and for you to make yourself at home while you’re waiting. My name is Darren Scott. I’m the junior partner here and I volunteered to look after you until he gets back.’
‘And in the meantime everything goes to pot, does it?’ the unwelcoming Maxine said.
‘Surely, not with you around, Dr Fielding,’ he said, and Helena knew what Blake had meant when he’d said that these two weren’t the best of friends.
‘There is no need for you to look after me,’ she told him. ‘As Dr Fielding has suggested, I can come back another time.’
She was beginning to wish she hadn’t come at all. The last thing she’d expected was that Blake wouldn’t be there. Obviously it had been unavoidable, but five minutes with Maxine Fielding had damped her enthusiasm somewhat.
‘Dr Pemberton wouldn’t like that,’ Darren insisted. ‘He was most emphatic that you were made welcome. If you’d like to come this way I’ll introduce you to Jane Benyon, the other practice nurse. She’s been here for years and will be only too happy to show you the ropes. She’s the person you’ll be working with most. Then there’s the practice manager, Beverley, who keeps us all in order and tells us off if we prescribe drugs that are too expensive.’
This was better, Helena thought as she met the rest of the staff. Jane Benyon looked as if she was climbing up to retiring age. She had a kind smile and twinkly blue eyes. Beverley Martin, in her late forties, was a smart type in a suit, with dark hair in a short stylish cut and a brisk manner that indicated a person who got things done. The three receptionists were all friendly and by the time they’d done the rounds Maxine’s hostility was fading.
* * *
When the call had come through from the police Blake had given an exasperated sigh. It had been the worst possible moment. Helena had been due to arrive any time, but he hadn’t been able to refuse.
A prisoner had been brought into the station with facial cuts and bruises and showing signs of concussion. There was some concern as to how his injuries had occurred, but that was for the authorities to sort out. They needed him there to determine the seriousness of his condition and to advise if hospital treatment was required.
On examining the man, he decided that it was. He was confused. His pupils were dilated and his head was beginning to swell. It seemed that he had attacked someone in the street and had either got more than he’d bargained for or had received rough handling from those who’d arrested him.
Blake was impatient to get back to the practice and when the ambulance had taken the injured man to Accident and Emergency he avoided the chat that the station sergeant would have liked to have had by excusing himself with the explanation that he had someone waiting to see him.
As he drove back to the practice he was hoping that he wasn’t being too presumptuous, that Helena wouldn’t have been offended by his absence and would be there, waiting.
CHAPTER THREE
‘HAS Helena Harris arrived?’ Blake asked the receptionist on duty as he strode into the practice building.
‘Yes,’ he was told. ‘She’s in with Dr Scott.’
‘And Dr Fielding?’
‘Out on her rounds.’
He nodded. It was something that he and Darren should be doing, and once he’d spoken to Helena they would be off. Knowing his junior partner, he would have kept his promise to look after her to the letter. Darren was not one to pass up the chance of chatting up an attractive woman.
The door to his room was ajar and on the point of making his entrance Blake heard him say, ‘So what’s with you and Blake, Helena? He doesn’t usually make all this fuss over a new member of staff. Are you and he seeing each other? There’ll be some raised eyebrows if you are. He’s been strictly on his own since he lost his wife and son. Though not for the want of offers.’
Blake’s nerve ends tightened as he waited for Helena to answer. It was just like Darren to be measuring his chances the moment he met her. The cheeky young devil!
She laughed and Blake became even more tense.
‘No, nothing of the kind,’ she told him. ‘We’re neighbours, that’s all. And that won’t be for long as I’m moving into Blake’s rented house later today. I lost my father earlier in the week and he’s been very kind to me.’
‘I see,’ Blake heard Darren say, and he could tell from his voice that he was smiling. ‘Maybe we can get together some time.’
He didn’t wait to hear her answer. He’d heard enough.
‘Thanks for entertaining Helena,’ he said smoothly as his glance took in coffee-cups and a plate of biscuits. ‘Feel free to make a start on your house calls. I won’t be far behind you.’
When Darren had gone, looking somewhat sheepish, Blake said, ‘My partners are both rather overpowering in their approach, but they’re good doctors.’
He was furious with Darren. His junior partner hadn’t known Helena five minutes and he’d come on to her. Yet he had to admit Darren was like that with all the women. A born flirt.
‘I agree about the approach,’ she told him wryly. ‘I’ve had the cold shoulder from Dr Fielding and the overly warm treatment from Dr Scott. It’s nice to be with someone who’s normal.’
He let that pass. He wasn’t feeling the least bit normal at the moment. If it wasn’t so ridiculous he would say he was jealous. Of what or who he wasn’t sure. She’d told Darren exactly what he’d expected her to. That he was just a good neighbour. So why was he not happy about it?
Helena was waiting for him to speak and, gathering his wits, he asked, ‘So what do you think of the practice? Any change of mind?’
He wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been after the way those two had behaved, but she was smiling.
‘No. None. I’m looking forward to working here. Jane Benyon in particular was most welcoming. I’m sure I shall benefit from her experience. She told me that you’re very selective about who you rent the cottage to, so I feel honoured.’
He