Honorary Surgeon (35 page)

“
Noel would never interfere
...
not unless he thought it necessary,
”
Joan amended, then added:
“
Please say you
’
ll, come back here, at least for a few days. Promise me!
”

Mary
’
s eyes misted with tears.
“
Very well; I promise!
”
she acquiesced, although she did not know how she would ever be able to face her friends again.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-
ONE

“
Suite
A,
madam.
”
The hotel reception
cl
erk referred carefully to the visitors
’
book.
“
Yes, that is quite correct; first floor. Your husband has already arrived.
”
He beckoned to a uniformed page.
“
Take madam up.
”
He turned again to Mary and, indicating the small suitcase she carried, added:
“
No other luggage, madam?
”

Mary shook her head.
“
No
...
thank you.
”
She handed her case to the waiting page and followed him across the thickly carpeted lounge towards the lift. Her coolness almost frightened her; it was strange, now the moment had come, how easy it all seemed. Even the clerk
’
s reference to her
“
husband
”
hadn
’
t jarred; it seemed quite natural that he should have alluded to Guy in that way. After all, in a very few months she would in actual fact be married to Guy
...
Mrs. Perivale
...
irrevocably his wife. She watched the page slide back the lift gates. Anyhow, even at this minute her act was irrevocable. She felt as closely bound to Guy as by the strongest legal chains; she
’
d decided to go through with this thing, and it wasn
’
t in her nature to shirk anything she had once made up her mind to do.

“
Mary, darling!
”
Guy rose from his chair and crossed the room to greet her. Taking her two hands in his, he drew her towards the fire.
“
Put Mrs. Perivale
’
s case in the bedroom, page.
”
Then, waiting until the page had left the room, he turned again eagerly to his companion.
“
I
’
ve been here nearly an hour
...
the longest hour I ever knew
...
I
’
ve been scared to death, terrified that you
’
d changed your mind
...
that you wouldn
’
t come.
”

“
But how silly of you!
”
Mary spoke soothingly, as to a child
“
I said I
’
d come, didn
’
t I? I shouldn
’
t have broken my word.
”

Guy, still holding her hands, pulled her closer to him.
“
Mary, you
’
re wonderful ... I can
’
t tell you how I feel about this.
”
He broke off, at a loss for words, and, taking her in his arms, kissed her, first gently, then with a fervour there was no concealing. For a moment Mary remained passive in his arms, then, with a soft laugh, she broke away.

“
Guy
...
you haven
’
t even let me take my hat off
...
you
’
re pushing it all out of shape.
”
She pulled it off her head and ran her fingers through the golden sheen of her hair
“
Look! It
’
s absolutely ruined.
”
She held up her hat for his inspection.
“
That was a very smart veil when I arrived.
”

“
Sorry, darling,
”
Guy laughed.
“
I
’
ll buy you hundreds more when I get the chance.
”

“
That won
’
t be for ages,
”
Mary retorted.
“
I shan
’
t be with you for a very long time after tonight.
”

Guy walked to the sofa and pulled Mary down beside him.
“
I was going to ask you about that. What
’
s going to happen?
...
You
’
ll stay with me until I sail, won
’
t you?
”
He gave a short laugh.
“
I have said a final good-bye to Windyridge, and from no
w
on I shall stay in town, or perhaps run over to the Continent until my leave is up. You
’
ll come with me, won
’
t you?
”

Mary shook her head.
“
No, Guy; after tonight I
’
ll not see you again until I join you out East.
”
As Guy attempted to speak, she placed her fingers gently across his lips.
“
No, please, don
’
t try and persuade me to do otherwise. I
’
ve quite made up my mind. Spending tonight together is necessary.
”
She shrugged her shoulders expressively.
“
That
’
s this silly law of ours
...
But in the morning we must say
au revoir
.”

“
I can
’
t leave you like that
...
it
’
s ridiculous,
”
Guy protested.

“
I shall be all right.
”
Mary paused and, laying her hand on her companion
’
s sleeve, begged:
“
Please
...
don
’
t raise objections to my plan!
”

Guy pressed a kiss on her for
e
head.
“
I won
’
t; but I only hope I don
’
t have to wait too long before you can join me.
”

Mary jumped to her feet.
“
Don
’
t look so despondent; once you do get me, I
’
ll be yours for keeps!
”
she warned him teasingly.
“
Now, if you don
’
t mind, I
’
d like to put my hat and coat in a place of safety!
”

“
That door leads to the bedroom.
”
He indicated a communicating door.
“
I
’
ll ring for the waiter and order dinner. You
’
d rather dine up here, wouldn
’
t you?
”

Mary nodded agreement.
“
Yes, much rather!
”
She
c
losed the door behind her and switched on the bedroom light. Slipping off her coat, she opened the large, empty wardrobe and hung the garment inside. She gave an involuntary shiver as her glance wandered round the unfamiliar room. Like the wardrobe, it seemed bare and empty. Hotel bed
r
ooms were always a bit like that, she mused; rather like stage bedrooms, looking as if they were never slept in. She lifted her case on to a chair and began to unpack it. It looked odd to see it standing beside Guy
’
s
...
much better to get it emptied and out of the way. Besides, with a few of her possessions about, the bedroom might appear less formidable. She spread out her brushes and toilet things on the glass-topped table, then suddenly pushed them to one side. For one second she had forgotten about Guy; she supposed he might consider that he had some claim to some part of the table. Of course, he hadn
’
t unpacked yet. She was awfully glad he hadn
’
t, for it would have been awful to feel that the room already belonged to him before she had even set foot in it. She hung her dressing-gown over the foot of one of the single beds; then carefully placed her slippers beside it. That was how she always liked to arrange her things; most people, she imagined, had some sort of idiosyncrasy about their belongings. Mary stood back and eyed the flimsy blue garment, then, hastily gathering it up, pushed it out of sight in the wardrobe. Even as she did it, she was not quite sure of the reason which had prompted her; considering the step she was taking, it didn
’
t seem very important whether Guy saw her intimate possessions or not. Before very long she would be his wife ... for better or worse
...
until death
...
She sat down suddenly and put her head in her hands
.
What was she saying? What was she thinking? A tremor shook her body
...
There was no turning back, she reminded herself; there was no other way
...
It was for Richard, and nothing, no sacrifice, could be too much to make. Slowly she rose to her feet, and going into the bathroom, washed her face and hands. This sudden weakness frightened her.
Why, only a few minutes before she had been amazed at her own courage
...
Refreshed by the stinging cold water, she returned to the bedroom and, after tidying her hair and powdering her face, prepared to rejoin Guy. There was to be no more hesitation, she decided, no more foolish speculation: from now on thoughts of Richard must be completely banished from her mind.

“
There you are! I
’
ve ordered dinner. I hope it will be all right; I had to guess your taste.
”
Guy spoke gaily.
“
Champagne, of course, and never a more suitable occasion!
”
He slipped an arm round Mary
’
s waist.
“
Come and sit on the sofa; I
’
ve pulled it up to the fire.
”

“
Lovely!
”
Mary sank against the piled cushions Guy had arranged for her.
“
This is much more cosy.
”‘

“
This room is a bit grim, isn
’
t it?
”
Guy smiled as he looked round him.
“
Why do hotels always go in for gilt and brocade? Costly in effect, no doubt, but utterly horrible
!
”

Mary laughed softly.
“
Always antimacassars and lots of pictures and impossible ornaments!
”

“
You
’
re here, and nothing else matters!
”
Guy stroked Mary
’
s hair.
“
I
’
m so fond of you, Mary
...
so very fond.
”
The words were almost inaudible.

“
I
’
m glad,
”
Mary whispered gratefully, then, turning up her face to his, addressed him again.
“
Guy, will you ever have any regrets? ... I mean, about leaving Veronica and
...
and
...
Jeanette?
”
She paused, then added almost in an undertone:
“
When I first met you, and you told me a little about how things were with you
... y
ou seemed so reluctant to take this step
...
You
’
re quite sure
now?
...”

“
Yes.
”
Guy
’
s voice was decisive.
“
I said that I
’
d give Veronica her freedom if you
’
d marry me. I
’
ll be quite frank with you, Mary; I believe that, even if you had persisted in your refusal, I should have taken this step, anyway. That day, after you
’
d turned me down at Frensham, I thought things over; I did not expect you to change your mind, but I realized then that, even if you didn
’
t, I shouldn
’
t be able to go on. This leave has shown me the hopelessness of our life together, but Veronica would never risk losing Jean
n
ie, so I had no option but to take the plunge myself.
”

Mary squeezed her companion
’
s hand in sympathy.
“
Poor Guy. But I
’
m glad that you are sure that what you
’
re doing is right.
”
She sat back at a discreet knock at the door heralded the waiter.

Mary and Guy sat in silence while the waiter arranged the table and set two chairs.
“
Shall I wait, sir; or will you ring?
”

“
Oh, we
’
ll ring, thanks.
”
Guy rose from his seat and pulled back a chair from the table for his companion.
“
I hope it
’
s all right for you?
”
he enquired a trifle anxiously, as he uncovered the steaming dishes.