AllFreeNovel
Share Us
lton Rand was far more than a brilliant and ill-mannered chemist. He represented the hope of life for the father she clearly loved profoundly.
Hamilton turned to Hester. ‘You wait there,’ he ordered her. ‘And close the door, for God’s sake! Do you expect this young woman to tell me all her father’s symptoms with the whole world listening in?’
‘Mrs Monk,’ Magnus interrupted, ‘you may return to your regular duties. Thank you.’
‘No, you may not!’ Hamilton snapped. ‘Stay where you are, and listen.’ He completely ignored his brother but turned more gently to Adrienne. ‘I have asked Mrs Monk to remain because she was an army nurse. That means she has great experience in treating men who have been badly injured and lost much blood. She thinks quickly and does not panic. If we take your case, she will nurse your father. Now tell me everything I need to know. And the truth, if you please. The exact truth as much as you know it. Our ability to help him depends upon it.’
Adrienne obeyed without hesitation, and Magnus only occasionally interrupted. As Hamilton asked questions and made brief notes Hester listened with professional interest and intense personal compassion.
‘My mother died eleven years ago,’ Adrienne said quietly in answer to Hamilton’s question. ‘She had been failing for a little while, then she caught pneumonia and within days she was gone.’ There was no expression to her voice. The loss was old and she was only remembering how she had felt.
‘Your father’s health?’ Hamilton returned her to the only subject that interested him.
‘Oh, it was excellent,’ she said with a quick smile, which vanished even more rapidly. ‘We supported each other. I went with him on some of his travels.’ Her voice thickened with unshed tears. ‘It was marvellous. He was interested in everything. He showed me so much . . .’ She blinked quickly several times, and went on before Hamilton could prompt her. ‘He did not become ill until three years ago, and at first it seemed to pass after a short rest. He always had so much energy . . .’
Hamilton was busy making notes. He looked up, waiting.
‘Then he began to tire more easily. He tried to hide it, but I noticed.’ She went on to describe his gradual decline, pain naked in her face.
Hester listened as she described the pain, the unexplained bleeding he tried at first to conceal, then her horror when at last it was too much to hide from her.
‘He had once been so strong,’ she said. ‘So vibrant and passionate a man, a force few would dare to challenge. Now he is scarcely able even to feed himself, let alone fight the final battle without me by his side. I try to make myself hope, but I am beginning to fail in that. I don’t know how much longer I can pretend to believe he will recover.’
Hester could imagine it so clearly it was as if she had been in the room with them. What treatment had they tried? No doubt Rand would ask Miss Radnor all of that.
She went on listening as arrangements were made for Bryson Radnor to be brought to the hospital the following day. Hester watched Adrienne rise a little shakily, express her thanks yet again, and walk with dignity out of the office and down the corridor towards the way out. Refusing to accept the task of giving whatever assistance she could did not even enter Hester’s mind. It would still mean very long hours for her, but daytime rather than night. They would have people around to cover the nights, until Jenny Solway returned.
She went back to the ward and encountered Sherryl O’Neill at the door.
‘Where’ve you been?’ Sherryl demanded. ‘Angus McLeod’s much improved. I wanted to tell you. He’s asking for you. Sitting up!’ Her face shone with her pleasure at the news. McLeod had lost a leg and the wound had bled badly. For a while it had seemed beyond their ability to save his life.
‘He’s still pretty weak,’ Sherryl warned, falling in step with Hester as they moved between the beds, ‘but he’s full of hope.’ They exchanged glances, and Hester understood all that the other woman was not saying, as well. Nursing was moment to moment. One accepted the good and learned from it but took very little for granted.
‘I won’t be here tomorrow night,’ she said quietly. ‘There’s a new patient coming in. By the time I’ve finished with him, I think Jenny will be back. Thank you for your companionship.’
Sherryl looked startled, and then put out her hand with sudden warmth. ‘It was a pleasure. Some of your stories of the army made me realise how lucky I am to be here at peace, and yet I also feel as if I missed something.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Hester said with a lop-sided smile. ‘You’ll get plenty of other tasks.’
Hester went home immediately and tried to go to bed, since it was now early evening. But she had prepared herself to be on duty all night, and sleep was elusive. She lay still only so she would not disturb Monk beside her. She had not told him the reason for her change of duty. He had more than enough to worry about with the rearrangements necessary when Orme finally retired. He was pleased that she was working the same sort of hours as he was. At least they were together all night, a warmth and a sweetness that he valued more than he was willing to admit.
In the morning Hester was in Magnus Rand’s office when Adrienne Radnor arrived with her father. Hester looked at Radnor with intense interest and a pity she found it difficult to conceal. Nature had designed him to be a big man, physically imposing, but now he was gaunt. His broad shoulders and deep chest were painfully bony, his arms limp by his sides where he lay on the palet on which he had been carried. His powerful face, with its aquiline nose and wide, thin-lipped mouth, registered rage at this present dependence upon others for his mere ability to move from one place to another. He must have been magnificent in the days of his health.
Adrienne was at his side, far more soberly dressed than the day before. Her skirt was of a brown so dark as to be almost black and she wore a very plain blouse, which looked drab in the bright August sun that streamed through the office windows. But nothing would dull the burning colour of her hair.
The porters who had carried Radnor set him down on a long couch in the office frequently used for patients who were too unwell to walk. At a nod from Magnus they left, closing the door behind them.
‘Help me up!’ Radnor said to Adrienne, not even glancing at anyone else.
Hester was startled at his tone. It was an order, not a request.
Adrienne moved forward instantly. With a practised gesture she slipped her arm around his shoulders and eased him up.
Hester passed her two pillows to prop his body at a comfortable angle and stepped back. With a smile of tenderness Adrienne smoothed his hair, which was white but still thick.
He did not thank her. It was as natural and accepted as if he had done it himself.
Adrienne stayed beside him, but allowed Radnor to speak to Magnus without her appearing to be between them. Let no one imagine that Bryson Radnor was not still in charge.
