Children's Doctor, Society Bride

James lowered his hands and moved closer to her, so that she was disturbingly aware of his long, lean body, and the way that he moved, with a suppleness that spoke of lithe energy and keen vitality.

‘There’s nothing to stop me from coming and working here, is there—for a few months at any rate?’

He said it in such a casual manner that it took a moment or two for it to sink in. Louise stared at him. ‘I’m not sure that I heard that right. Did I just hear you offer to come and work in my department?’

‘Are you afraid to accept my offer?’ Again, there was that faint hint of amusement that played around his mouth. It was unsettling, as though he could read her like a book, whereas Louise would be hard put to it to say what it was that was bothering her.

How would she cope with having him in close proximity on a regular basis? He exuded masculinity without even trying, and just knowing that he was around seemed to throw her nervous system into chaos…

When Joanna Neil discovered Mills & Boon®, her life-long addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Recent titles by the same author:

HIS VERY SPECIAL BRIDE

PROPOSING TO THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR

A CONSULTANT BEYOND COMPARE

THE DOCTOR’S LONGED-FOR FAMILY

CHILDREN’S DOCTOR, SOCIETY BRIDE

BY

JOANNA NEIL

MILLS & BOON

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CHAPTER ONE

‘JUST try to take a drop more for me, cherub.’ Louise gently brushed the teat of the bottle against the baby’s lips and smiled as he began to suckle once more. ‘That’s the way…that’s good,’ she murmured softly. ‘You need to build up your strength, little one.’ Smiling, she leaned back in her chair, nestling the baby in her arms, rocking gently to and fro.

‘He’s doing well, isn’t he, considering that he’s recovering from emergency heart surgery?’ Alice, the specialist nurse, came to peer down at her precious bundle.

‘He is.’ Louise nodded agreement, and then looked up at Alice with a wry smile. ‘I suppose you’ve come to take him away from me, have you?’

‘I have, I’m afraid.’ Her dark hair made a silky swathe as she nodded. ‘His mother’s talking to the surgeon, and I want to have all my observations recorded before she comes back. The doctor’s bound to want to take another look at him, and I need to make sure that he’s ready.’

Louise gave a soft sigh. ‘Ah, well, he’s finished off all of his milk, so I guess I have no excuse for keeping him to myself any longer.’

She winded the baby, lightly rubbing his back until he gave a soft burp, and then she reluctantly handed the infant over to Alice’s care. Getting to her feet, she flicked back her shoulder-length auburn hair with a deft twist of her fingers.

‘Thanks for letting me steal him for a few minutes. I can’t resist coming over here to the paediatric ward whenever I have a few minutes to spare. It was lovely to be able to sit here and relax for a while. It’s been so hectic in the children’s A&E this morning that I was glad of a chance to come and wind down for a bit.’

‘I can imagine. Are you on call for the whole day?’ Alice slid a thermometer into the baby’s armpit and checked the monitor before noting down his pulse rate on to the chart.

Louise shook her head. ‘It was just for this morning. I’m off to grab myself some lunch now, and then I have to conduct interviews this afternoon. We’re looking for another Senior House Officer to take on some of the workload—though how that will pan out with all the hoo-ha that’s been going on of late, I’m not entirely sure.’

Alice’s grey eyes took on a sombre look. ‘I can’t believe that they’ll go ahead with it. How can they even think of closing the unit down? What are people going to do if their children become desperately ill all at once or get knocked over by a car? The A&E at the Royal Forest Hospital is almost forty miles away for some people in the outlying areas. And if they close down the children’s A&E, the adult A&E here will go too. I can’t believe that they’ve thought it through properly.’

‘Neither can I. It makes me so angry when I think about it. We’ve been so fortunate in having a separate children’s emergency unit here—in some places they are still combined with the adult unit. It’s essential to have a department dedicated to children’s A&E, with specialist staff, and yet now they plan to destroy everything.’ Louise straightened up, her jaw setting in a tight angle. ‘See, I’m getting fractious all over again. I shall have to go and eat lunch in the park just to calm myself down.’

‘Have some for me. A crisp salad in a crusty bread roll, along with an ice-cold bottle of fruit juice would do just nicely.’ Alice smiled before turning back to her small patient. Making a swift check of his nappy, she wrinkled her nose. ‘Oh, we’ll have to do something about that, won’t we, pumpkin?’

‘See you later, Alice.’ Louise went in search of the lifts. The sooner she was out in the warm, fresh air of the park, surrounded by the green shade of trees and shrubs, the better.

How could they even think of taking her A&E unit from her? After all the work that had gone into building it up and making it the smooth running enterprise that it was today, it was nothing short of criminal to contemplate pulling the plug. What would happen to children who were grievously injured, or who were suffering from the onset of septicaemia if they had an hour-long journey ahead of them before they reached the skilled team workers in the A&E department at the Royal Forest Hospital?

She was still aggrieved when she reached the relative sanctuary of the local park. At least there, though, she could take solace in watching the gently flowing waters of the river as it meandered along the valley carved out through meadowland over the centuries. Broad trees that had stood the test of time spread their branches heavenward, and she looked up at the blue of the sky and basked for a moment in the gentle heat of the summer sun. This was just a small part of the beautiful Wye Valley, and she was eternally pleased that she had decided to make her home here.

Glancing around, she searched for a table where she might sit and eat her sandwiches. Not too far away, children were joyfully kicking a ball over the neatly cut grass and, closer to the water’s edge, a young couple sat and followed the progress of swans as they glided gracefully beneath the arch of a stone bridge.

A little further in the distance, an elderly man was making his way slowly towards a large oak tree. A bench seat surrounded the massive trunk, and Louise guessed that the man was heading there with the bench in mind.

He was smartly dressed, wearing a suit and waistcoat, but as she looked closer it occurred to her that he didn’t look at all well. He was coughing, she noticed, and his breath was coming in short bursts. As she drew closer to him, she could see that his lips were faintly blue.

‘Are you all right?’ she asked in a tentative voice, her green eyes troubled as she approached him. He must be in his eighties, and because of his frailty she was immediately worried about him. What on earth was he doing out here on his own? Surely someone ought to be looking out for him?

‘I’m just a bit short of breath,’ he managed. ‘I’ll be fine in a minute.’

‘Were you trying to get over to the seat?’ she asked, and he nodded. ‘Perhaps I could help you, then?’ she suggested, and when he acquiesced she lent a supporting arm so that he could lean on her.

Slowly, they covered the short distance to the bench and she steadied him as he lowered himself down onto the seat.

‘Thank you,’ he said, gasping for air as he finally leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

Louise sat down beside him. ‘Just rest there for a while,’ she said. ‘You looked as though you were about to stumble. Were you feeling dizzy?’

He nodded, clearly unable to answer her right then. Sitting this close to him, she could hear the wheezing in his chest, and she frowned.

‘Are you on any kind of medication?’ she wondered. ‘It’s just that I’m a doctor and I can see that you’re very pale, and it’s clear that you were finding it difficult to go on.’

He put a shaky hand to his chest, patting his ribcage. ‘The ticker’s not all it used to be.’ He began to fumble in his pockets, but Louise realised that he was struggling and intervened.

‘Do you have some tablets that you need to take? Perhaps I could help you to find them?’

He made a weary inclination of his head. ‘In my pocket,’ he said.

‘This one?’ Louise carefully slid her hand into his jacket where he indicated, and drew out a small plastic bottle. She read the label. ‘These are to slow your heart rate and lower your blood pressure,’ she murmured. ‘Would it be best for you to take one of these tablets now? I have a bottle of water on me.’

‘Yes, thanks.’ There was a hint of relief in his voice.

She opened the container and tipped a tablet into his palm, and then she unscrewed the lid off her water bottle and held it out to him. ‘I’m sorry I don’t have a cup,’ she said. ‘Will you manage?’

Again he tilted his head in acknowledgement, but she could see that he was still shaky, and so she helped him with the bottle and watched as he sipped some of the liquid, swallowing the tablet down.

‘It will take awhile for the medicine towork,’ Louise murmured. ‘You should just sit and rest for a while. You don’t need to talk if it’s difficult for you. Just take your time.’

She sat with him and he closed his eyes for a while. Later, when he appeared to have recovered a little, she said quietly, ‘Is there anyone I can call who could come and take you home?’

‘I was with my grandson,’ he said, sucking in a ragged breath, his voice a little cracked with strain. ‘We were having a cup of tea together in town, but he had to go off and make some phone calls.’

‘And he didn’t come back?’

He shook his head. ‘I expect it was something important.’

Louise frowned. ‘So…let me see if I have this right… You were with your grandson, but he left you on your own so that he could go and call someone?’

‘No, they called him.’

‘Oh, I see.’ She didn’t, not really, but at least the old gentleman seemed to be breathing a little more easily now, and Louise was pleased about that. Even so, he definitely wasn’t well enough to be left on his own, and it was annoying to think that his own grandson could abandon him so casually.

‘Do you have your grandson’s number—presumably he has a mobile phone with him? I could give him a ring and ask him to come and fetch you.’ She was already reaching for her phone.

‘Um…yes, I think so.’ Hesitantly, he supplied the number, and it occurred to Louise that he might be getting on in years, but his mind was still keen enough if he could recall the digits. ‘His name is James,’ he added.

‘Okay.’ Louise started to dial the number. She felt like giving James a piece of her mind for leaving his grandfather. What kind of person would go off without a care in the world and leave his grandfather to fend for himself?

The engaged tone started to bleep, and Louise felt her irritation begin to rise. She stabbed the button on her phone with her finger, shutting off the noise. What was the matter with the man? Was he so busy calling all and sundry that he had lost sight of everything else?

She tried not to let her annoyance show. ‘He’s talking on the phone,’ she told the old man. ‘I’ll try him again in a minute or two.’ She looked at him carefully. ‘You seem to have a little more colour in your cheeks now,’ she said. ‘Are you feeling a bit better?’

‘Yes, I am, thanks.’ There was still an underlying rasp to his voice, and she guessed that his chest was badly congested. If he had been one of her patients, she would have asked to check out his lungs and his heart, and she would have taken a look at his ankles to see if there was any swelling there.

‘Are you having regular check-ups at the hospital or with your GP?’ she asked. ‘Perhaps you ought to go and see someone fairly soon.’

He reached out and patted her hand. ‘You’re very kind,’ he said, giving her a smile, ‘but I’m getting on a bit these days, and there’s probably not too much that anyone can do for me.’

‘You won’t know unless you ask.’ She felt an immediate empathy towards this old gentleman. Now that he was feeling a little better, she could see that there was a faint twinkle in his eyes, and she guessed that he had been a lively soul in years gone by.

‘I’ll try your grandson again,’ she said, deftly thumbing in the numbers once more.

This time, the ringing was answered after just a short time.

‘Hello, James Ashleigh speaking.’ The tone was concise, the voice a deep, masculine timbre that was easy on the ear.

‘Hello. I’m so glad that I managed to reach you at last,’ she began. ‘I’m Louise Bridgford. I have your grandfather here with me, and I’m afraid he’s not feeling too well. I wonder if you would care to come and fetch him?’

There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘What’s wrong with him?’

‘He’s struggling for breath and he needed to sit down for a while.’

‘Where are you?’

James was obviously a man of few words, and Louise decided to be equally succinct. ‘We’re in Castle Park, just about a quarter of a mile from the entrance.’

‘I’ll come and find you. Will you be able to stay with him until I get there?’

‘I won’t leave him on his own,’ she said in a clipped voice. She was tempted to add, unlike some, but she managed to restrain herself. No doubt her sharp manner would have been enough to convey the message.

He cut the call, and for a moment she stared down at the blank screen. So much for James Ashleigh, grandson extraordinaire… How long was it going to take for him to get here? she wondered. Would he manage to avoid any detours or distractions along the way?

She turned her attention back to the man beside her. ‘He’s coming over,’ she said.

He smiled broadly, his features relaxing properly for the first time since she had met him. ‘That’s good.’ He glanced around. ‘I don’t think he’s set foot in this park since he was a child,’ he said on a musing note. ‘We used to bring him here, his grandmother and me. Those were good times.’

Louise’s mouth curved. ‘I can imagine.’ They talked for a while about those visits and the way the riverside had always been an attractive spot for picnics. Louise did most of the talking, afraid that the elderly man might relapse with the effort. ‘I love to be out in the open air,’ she said. ‘Even this close to the centre of town, this place is a lovely haven for wildlife.’

‘Yes. I wanted to see if they still have the aviary here.’ He coughed and stopped to gather air into his lungs. ‘I don’t get out much these days. It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten the exact layout of the place.’

She felt a rush of sympathy for him. Had it been so many years since he had a chance to visit the park?

‘I remember some years ago they used to have one. I think nowadays it’s more of a pets corner for the children—rabbits and guinea pigs and the occasional quail scrabbling about.’

‘Ah…’ He nodded. ‘Things change, don’t they?’ He looked at her, a gentle, indulgent smile on his face. ‘But I can see that you’re a girl after my own heart, Louise. May I call you Louise?’

‘Of course.’

‘Thank you. I’m Joseph. You’ve been very kind to me and I want to thank you for all that you’ve done. I feel guilty about this. I’m sure you must be busy and I’m taking up so much of your time.’

‘That’s all right, and you don’t need to feel guilty at all. I’m happy to be here with you. As things stand, I’m able to take a slightly longer lunch break today. But, whatever happens, I won’t leave you until you’re safely on your way home.’

He patted her hand once more in acceptance of that, and itwas as shewas returning the gesture that she became aware of a man striding purposefully towards them.

She looked up, casting a thoughtful glance over him as he approached. Like his grandfather, he was well-dressed, wearing a grey suit, though the jacket hung open to reveal a crisply laundered shirt with a pale, faintly striped design. She wondered if he was a businessman of some sort.

He was tall, long-legged, and his demeanour was resolute, the jut of his strong jaw signalling a man who was used to being in charge.

His gaze flicked over her. ‘Are you the lady who called me? Louise Bridgford?’

She nodded. ‘That’s right. I am.’

‘Thank you for calling me, and for staying here with my grandfather. I appreciate it.’ Then he turned his attention to Joseph, and his matter-of-fact manner changed to one of concern. ‘How are you feeling?’ he asked, hunkering down, his knees bent so that he could be at eye level with him.

Louise let her glance wander over the beautiful cut of his black hair, noting its springy texture. The hair seemed to reflect the man. It shimmered faintly in the sunlight, with not a strand out of place, and she judged that each fibre was thick and strong.

‘I’m fine now. This young lady here, Louise, has been a great help to me.’

James subjected her to another quick scrutiny before turning back to his grandfather. He nodded. ‘I’m glad to hear it, but what happened to you? Was it just that you felt short of breath, or did you actually collapse?’

‘I just felt a bit peculiar,’ Joseph told him. ‘I’m feeling much better now.’

James appeared to be giving that some thought. ‘The car isn’t too far away. I’ve brought it as far into the park as I could. I’m just wondering if you’re going to be able to manage the walk.’

‘Yes… I think I can do that, if you just give me another minute or two.’

‘Hmm.’ James was doubtful. ‘Perhaps it would be better if I called for the paramedics. You should probably have someone look you over at the hospital.’

‘No. I don’t want that.’ Joseph’s voice was firm. ‘I wouldn’t like that at all. I’ll walk back to the car.’ He made to get up and, seeing how the colour immediately drained from him, both James and Louise gently pressured him back down into his seat.

‘I think I might have a solution,’ Louise murmured, getting to her feet.

James stood up and came alongside her, both of them moving a short distance from where his grandfather was sitting. ‘And what might that be?’ he asked.

‘I work at the hospital just across the way. I could go over there and borrow a wheelchair. It shouldn’t take me more than a few minutes to go and organise that.’

‘That seems like a good idea. Would there be any objection to you doing that?’

She shook her head. ‘I think they trust me enough to know that I’ll bring it back. There’s just the question of whether you could sit and wait with your grandfather that long.’

James gave her an odd look. ‘I’m not sure that I know what you mean.’

‘As far as I understand it,’ she said, giving him a direct stare, ‘you were with your grandfather when you suddenly went off and started to deal with your phone calls. Do I have that right?’

‘Partly.’ He frowned. ‘We were at the café, and I received a phone call that was quite urgent. The signal wasn’t too good, so I left my grandfather enjoying a cup of tea and a bun and went to deal with it outside.’

She guessed that he had been so taken up with dealing with his call that afterwards he had forgotten all about his grandfather. Of course he wasn’t going to admit that to her, was he?

‘Well, I sincerely hope that isn’t going to happen again, because it’s very important that you stay with him. You can’t be sure that his condition won’t worsen—in fact, if I were you, I would be on the alert to call out the emergency services.’

She glanced down at the watch on her wrist. ‘I shall have to get a move on. Will you be here when I get back? Can I rely on you?’

He gave her a narrowed stare and she had the impression that he didn’t like being questioned that way. He made as if to say something, but then he must have thought better of it because he simply waved a hand in a gesture of acceptance, urging her to go ahead.

‘I’ll be here,’ he said.

Louise set off at a brisk pace and within a few short minutes she was back at the hospital. ‘Is it all right if I take one of these wheelchairs?’ she asked the senior registrar in charge of the adult A&E unit. ‘I’ll bring it back in less than half an hour.’

‘Go ahead,’ the registrar told her. ‘Are you okay? Is there a problem?’

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ she told him. ‘Thanks, Taylor.’

When she arrived back at the park, James was pacing across the grass in front of the oak tree. Joseph was sitting where she had left him, and he looked more weary than ever, as though his fighting spirit had gone. She wondered if he was even aware of them being around.

‘Has something happened?’ she asked.

Perhaps itwas more of an accusing stare than a questioning glance that she directed towards James, because he stopped pacing long enough to give her a startled look.

‘No, nothing. What did you think might have gone on? I’m not exactly sure what opinion you have of me, but I do care for my grandfather, very much so.’

She didn’t respond, and he tacked on, ‘I think he must have some kind of chest infection, and I’ll probably have to call the doctor out to him once we get home. The trouble is, he can be quite determined once he’s made up his mind about something, and I don’t think it would have been worth the stress that would have followed if I had tried to take him to the hospital.’

‘Well, I have the wheelchair and a blanket, so we should be able to get him back to your car easily enough now.’ She started to walk towards Joseph, adding, ‘As to the rest of what you said, I just have a problem with somebody who lets his work take priority over family responsibilities. I can’t fathom what could be so important that it can’t wait until you’re back in the office. No matter what you said, I was actually relieved to come back and find that you were still here.’

James was already starting to help his grandfather into the wheelchair. He settled the blanket around him, his movements gentle and solicitous, but there was a hint of tension in the fixed shape of his mouth.

‘Some calls can’t be ignored,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Perhaps you don’t have anything of importance going on in your life, or you would have some understanding of that.’

Her green eyes flashed a warning. ‘I wouldn’t go there if I were you,’ she said, her voice ominously quiet.

Joseph stirred and looked from one to the other. ‘Have I missed something?’ he asked. ‘You two are not arguing, are you?’