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‘Okay. That’s okay.’
Charlotte expected him to use his vastly superior strength to free himself, but instead he held the child closer, motioning to Charlotte.
?
??Looks as if you’re going to have to look at her arm in situ...’
Charlotte dropped to her knees next to him, gently lifting the little girl’s arm. ‘She’s got a nasty cut, and it’s bleeding badly. She’ll definitely need to go to hospital.’ She looked up, and almost simultaneously half a dozen mobile phones appeared.
‘We’ll just need the one ambulance.’ She grinned at the knot of people around them. ‘Are her parents here?’
Sam’s mother’s voice sounded above the general hubbub. ‘Dave, call an ambulance. Everyone else—see if you can find her mother. Who are those boys she was with...?’
Charlotte left Maggie to it, with only the briefest glance in her direction to check that she was still holding firmly onto Isaac’s hand.
‘I’m going to have to wrap something around her arm to stop the bleeding.’
‘All right.’
The little girl screamed as Charlotte gently wrapped her own scarf around the wound, pressing firmly and extending the arm upwards.
‘It’s okay, honey. I know it hurts, but you’re all right.’ Edward’s voice was almost painfully gentle, and the screams subsided to a whimper. ‘You’re doing really well.’
She couldn’t tell whether the child understood his words, or his manner. Whichever it was, she was beginning to calm.
‘What’s your name, sweetie?’ Edward managed to disentangle himself sufficiently to ask the question face to face, rather than direct it at the top of the child’s head.
‘Laura.’
‘Well, Laura, you’re safe now. I expect your arm hurts, but we’ll put a bandage around it and it’ll be better in no time.’
Laura nodded up at him. It occurred to Charlotte that she might like to remind Edward of his own words on the subject of his ability to communicate with patients, and she promised herself she’d do it later. He might not want to admit to being so very wrong in front of all these people.
‘What happened? She was under the water for a very long time...’ Charlotte had half expected to see Edward bring Laura up unconscious.
He grinned at her. ‘She instinctively did just the right thing. When the boat capsized she ended up in an air pocket underneath it, and she held on to one of the seats. The biggest problem was getting her to let go of it and hang on to me instead.’ His free hand patted Laura’s back. ‘You’ve got a great grip, there, young lady.’
Laura looked up at him, favouring him with a tremulous smile. At that moment the knot of people around them parted as a woman came stumbling through.
‘Laura...’ The woman fell to her knees in front of Edward. ‘Laura, I’m so sorry... Is she all right? They said you’re a doctor...’
‘She’s okay.’ Edward delivered Laura into her mother’s arms while Charlotte kept a tight hold on her arm. ‘She has a cut on her arm, and needs to keep it elevated until the ambulance arrives. She’ll need a few stitches, but the main thing is that she didn’t stop breathing.’
‘Laura...’ The mother held her daughter tight, her eyes squeezed closed.
Charlotte knew just what scenes were playing in her head. She’d had her own share of them with Isaac recently.
‘It’s fine. You have a very resourceful young lady for a daughter, there.’
The woman’s eyes opened and tears spilled from them. ‘I only left her for a minute... The kids wanted ice-cream and I told Trevor to look after her.’ One of the boys who had been fighting in the boat stood beside her, soaking wet, bedraggled, and not a little shamefaced.
‘She’s fine. That’s the main thing. Her head was only under the water for a few moments—’
He broke off as tears coursed down the woman’s cheeks. Someone proffered a handkerchief, but she wouldn’t let go of her daughter for long enough to wipe her eyes.
Edward turned to Charlotte. ‘How’s that cut doing?’
‘I think it’s stopped bleeding.’ She loosened her grip on Laura’s arm and blood began to seep between her fingers. ‘Ah. Not quite.’
