She held up her hand and I stepped forward quickly to take it. She clasped my hand between both of hers and looked intently at me with deep brown eyes.
‘It’s a great pleasure to meet you,’ I replied. ‘And please, do call me Laura.’
‘I shall, and I am Marilise. I know that Angela will have made the perfect choice in you.’
She smiled warmly at the other woman.
‘Thank you,’ said Angela. ‘Now, I’m going to leave you two to get acquainted. Will you take your swim today?’
‘No, I don’t think so, thank you. I don’t think Laura needs that on her first morning and anyway, I want to conserve my energy for tonight; there is a party, is there not?’
‘Only if Laura says you’re well enough to go,’ said Angela in a teasing voice.
‘Ah, I’m sure she will find that I am,’ replied Marilise, her eyes dancing. ‘And does the spooky family theme still hold?’
‘No,’ said Angela firmly. ‘India has confessed that the matching costumes idea was abandoned ages ago.’
‘So she told you,’ said Marilise, some regret in her voice. ‘It would have been amusing, no, if we had all appeared in our Halloween outfits at their pretty Christmas party?’
‘You knew?’ asked Angela. ‘And did you know that it would have meant Laura here dressing up as a walking wig?’
Marilise gave the most mischievous grin I have ever seen on anyone over the age of five.
‘And she was game, was she not? India texted me.’ She held up a phone that had been concealed by the bedclothes. ‘We would not have made you go through with it, Laura, but I know we are going to get on fine.’
‘Hmm,’ I said, smiling though I made my voice stern. ‘I may have decided that you were not strong enough to attend and, sadly, we would both have had to stay home.’
‘I can see you’re in good hands,’ said Angela, nodding in approval. ‘I’m going now. I have to make sure I have everything ready – tomorrow’s Stir Up Sunday.’
She left the room, and I perched on a small, exquisite chair next to Marilise’s bed. She reached over and patted my hand.
‘India and I were having a little fun; I hope you don’t mind?’
‘Of course not,’ I said, meaning it. ‘I’m looking forward to being here with you all.’
‘Have you met my grandson yet, Nikolai? OrNick, as he insists on abbreviating his beautiful name.’
‘Yes, I have. I helped him rescue his dog from some undergrowth.’
She chuckled.
‘Of course. I’m not surprised to hear that he would prioritise my nurse’s time on saving that Steve. Sometimes, I think the dog is the most important one of us, as far as Nikolai is concerned.’
‘I’m sure that’s not true,’ I said doubtfully, remembering what Nick had said in the kitchen.
‘It may well be,’ replied Marilise. ‘He is a wonderful man, that much I can promise you, but so determined not to give his heart to people, not even – or maybe especially not – his own family. I’m afraid my son – his father – was a cruel man, and after my daughter-in-law died, well…’ She clicked her tongue and shook her head. ‘All Christoph cared about was that he had someone to pass the houses and the wealth down to. His interest in his own son began and ended there.’
‘That’s so sad,’ I said.Maybe this kind of privilege wasn’t such a blessing as it seemed.
‘It is sad, but not so uncommon,’ replied Marilise. ‘I was lucky that my own father revelled in his daughters. But what about your family? Do you not wish to spend Christmas with them, rather than looking after an old lady?’
I hesitated. Usually, when patients asked me about myself, I kept my responses simple and unremarkable, but my sister’s wedding had upset me more than I cared to admit, and Marilise had a comforting strength about her that made me feel it would be safe to be truthful.
‘Please,’ she said. ‘I would very much like to know. You have a sadness about you, Laura, which is unusual in one soyoung. I carry plenty of sorrow myself, but I have had several decades more to accumulate it. We are to work closely together, intimately, no?’ I nodded. ‘Then I would be glad if you can speak as freely to me as I will to you. That would burden me less than your silence, if that helps?’
I swallowed.
‘Well, I was widowed, three years ago, just before Christmas,’ I said, stumbling slightly over my words. Marilise squeezed my hand and nodded. I carried on. ‘I think I understand a little how Nick feels, although our circumstances are very different. I can’t imagine daring to love someone again, knowing how painful it is to lose them.’
