Love for the Matron (22 page)

As Robin turned into the short street that led up to Castleford, William said. “You can drop us here, Robin. I
’
ll take Elizabeth home while you
’
re putting the car away.”

“What about supper, Daddy?” Susan demanded.

He looked at her calmly. “I expect Dear Emily will have made it as usual. I won
’
t be long, if that
’
s what you mean.”

“But what about
...”
Susan began, and then stopped.

“Elizabeth?” her father filled in the name for her. “I expect she would prefer to have supper in her own house, since she isn
’
t a welcome guest at the moment in yours.”

William helped Elizabeth out of the car and collected her mac and Wellingtons from the boot and gestured to Robin to drive on. Susan was looking back over her shoulder at them and her face wore a very puzzled expression.

William chuckled. “That
’
ll teach her! She was quite prepared to slam the door in your face in order to preserve the
status quo,
but she hadn
’
t realized that she would be shutting it in my face as well.”

The sun had slipped behind the massing black clouds and the surface of the river had an oily menacing appearance, the trees groaned and creaked in the rising wind and the earlier spring warmth had fled. They walked along the narrow
path at the foot of the castle wall, and as they approached the Matron
’
s house William silently held out his hand and without a word Elizabeth placed the key in it. He unlocked the door and then followed her in and shut it behind them.

“Elizabeth
...
” he murmured.

She stood waiting for him to continue, but he could only hold out his arms and she went into them without hesitating. He held her close to his beating heart, but made no attempt to kiss her. For perhaps several minutes they gave one another what comfort they had to give and then William released her. He bent his head and brushed her cheek with his lips.

“Until tomorrow, my darling. I
’
m going now, but I
’
m leaving my heart in your keeping. Guard it well and don
’
t discard it for some quixotic notion that you
’
re coming between me and the children.” He put his fingers against her lips. “Don
’
t say anything more now, sweetheart. Sleep on it.”

He put out a hand and switched on the light for her and while her attention was diverted he opened the door and slipped away.

Elizabeth woke to grey skies and rain beating against her window. Annie came in with her cup of tea. The old woman
’
s face was blue with cold and her straggly white hair was hanging wetly.

“Are you all right, Annie?” asked Elizabeth. “You look half frozen.”

“I
’
ll be all right in a bit, Miss Graham. I
’
ve poured myself a good cup of tea and the fire will soon take hold. The weather
’
s changed since yesterday, and that
’
s a fact. The wind
’
s bitter and drives the rain up into your face.”

Elizabeth drank her tea slowly and thought of the day that lay ahead. There would be all the week-end reports to go through ... the admissions and discharges, the births and the death
s
. For the first time since Saturday she thought of the man
who lay ill in a side ward on Men
’
s Medical. William hadn
’
t said anything about how Stuart was yesterday morning and so much
h
ad happened since that she had never thought to inquire. Well, she would know soon enough, and no fussing over her neglect now would alter a thing.

Elizabeth wrapped her cloak tightly around her and put up her umbrella as she stepped out of the house. The wind threatened to pick them both up and parachute them over the wall. Feeling somewhat out of control, Elizabeth reached the shelter of the entrance to St. Genevieve
’
s and furled her umbrella before it could be snatched out of her grasp. In the dining room Edith Selby was the only one there and she gave Elizabeth the first spontaneous smile of welcome since the other had arrived.

“What a morning! The weather forecast
is even more gloomy
...
gales in all sea areas and lots of heavy rain. It
’
s a good thing it
’
s next week the builders start.”

Elizabeth began her breakfast and the other soon excused herself and went to take the night report. Elizabeth allowed herself a second cup of tea to give her warmth as well as courage. The wind must be blowing across the river and striking St. Genevieve
’
s unprotected flank: the hotchpotch heating equipment couldn
’
t do much against it.

She went down to her office and noticed that some thoughtful person had replaced the small electric fire with something more nearly adequate to the job.

Miss Selby knocked and came in to give her a report of what had gone on in the past thirty-six hours.

“Two of the day nurses have reported off with
‘
flu and Night Sister says she thinks she has one
o
r two doubtfuls for tonight. She
’
s arranging with Home Sister to report on them at four
o
’
clock so that we
’
ll have a chance to find some spares.”

Elizabeth nodded her appreciation. “The three juniors back from holiday can help plug some of the gaps, even if only to sit with patients back from Theatre. Things will be easier next week with Men
’
s Medical closed. It won
’
t make much difference to numbers, but at least the distances will be less. I see that four of the new admissions have
‘
flu and they
’
re all over sixty. Any of them in oxygen tents yet
?
”

Edith Selby nodded gloomily. “One in and another needing to be soon, and no doubt another by tonight. Odd how they always seem to go in threes.”

Elizabeth didn
’
t point out that there had been
four
cases. There were certain hospital folk tales that were never disputed
...
difficult cases came in threes, most of the babies arrived with the full moon—presumably the stork couldn
’
t find his way when the moon was on the wane, but how Cupid managed to time his arrows so cleverly was never inquired into.

“Has the carpenter finished doing the repairs for the old men
’
s new day room?”

“Yes, Miss Graham, and the sewing room has made some very nice loose covers. Is there anything else?”

“Not at the moment. You might leave the report summary so that I can go through it again. Thank you.”

Edith Selby smiled and took her departure. Elizabeth thought of the difference between her Assistant Matron now and last week. She didn
’
t seem the same woman. She glanced at the clock. Margaret Smith should be bringing the letters in by now, but it was a strange girl who appeared carrying the letters as if afraid they might burn her fingers.

“Miss Smith has the
‘
flu, Matron,” she said in answer to Elizabeth
’
s inquiry. She glanced around the room uncertainly. “Miss Smith said something about making the tea when the doctor came.”

“You
’
ll hear Doctor Gregory come in and you can make it then. I believe Miss Smith keeps everything, in her little office
.”

“Yes, Matron. I
found all those. What do I do meantime?”

Elizabeth smothered her impatience. It wasn
’
t the girl
’
s fault. “There should be a folder with letters for answering. If there
’
s anything special to be said you
’
ll find a note written in the margin. When you
’
ve typed those out I
’
ll sign them. Then if t
h
ere
’
s anything urgent in this morning
’
s batch I
’
ll let you know. All right?”

“I think so, Matron.” The girl went away rather unhappily.

Elizabeth had finished reading her letters when William came in. One look at his face told her that not all was well with his world either.

He greeted her with wary formality as the strange secretary
c
ame in with a tray and put it on the desk, slopping some of the tea on to the polished surface. William whipped out a handkerchief and mopped it up expertly while Elizabeth dismissed the girl.

“What
’
s happened to our Margaret?
’
Flu, like the others?”

“So it seems. What
’
s the matter? You look rather gloomy. Is Stuart worse or something?” Elizabeth asked.

“As
a matter of fact he
’
s a trifle better
...
mostly because he
’
s beginning to fight back, I believe. The electrocardiogram was essentially negative, although there is a definite murmur I would have liked to ask him whether he
’
s ever had any trouble with it, but it
’
s not a thing you ask a
‘
flu patient if you can avoid it.”

He took the cup of tea she offered him. “It
’
s other things that are on my mind. Dear Emily
wasn’t
there when we got in last night. Oh, she had left us a cold supper ready and all that, but she
_:
wasn
’
t there and Agnes doesn
’
t come on a Sunday. It meant there was no one there to make a note of any calls. I eventually discovered that she had arranged to have any calls taken by the switchboard at the hospital. I had a letter from her this morning, saying that under the circumst
a
nces she wouldn
’
t be prepared to work out her notice, although she
’
ll come in each morning and give Agnes her instructions until I make other arrangements. It
’
s all very well, but she didn
’
t have to go off the deep end like that. I can
’
t understand it, can you
?
” he asked with a rising exasperation in his voice.

Elizabeth hesitated. “How old is Dear Emily anyway?”

“What
’
s that got to do with it? Around fifty, if I remember correctly. Why?”

“She might have been in love with you herself
...
one of those undeclared undemanding types of love that smoulders along quite happily until another woman comes into the picture.”

“Dear Emily? I suppose you could be right. I
’
m afraid I
’
ve taken her as much for granted as a piece of furniture that one gets fond of because it
’
s comfortable; only when you stumble over it do you swear at it. But I haven
’
t come to the worst yet. I
’
ve had an SOS from Mrs. Jones—that patient I took to London for the cobalt bomb therapy—so I
’
ll have to catch the eleven o
’
clock train. I
’
ll get back tonight if I can, but I can
’
t count on it. You know what I want, don
’
t you
?
” he asked slowly.

Elizabeth nodded, her eyes lifting bravely to meet his. “You would like me to go over to Castleford after I go off duty. Have you told Susan and Robin that you
’
re asking me
?
”

“How could I? I didn
’
t know myself until half an hour ago. Susan had already left for school and Robin went off right after, breakfast to see about his flat and getting some second-hand furniture to supplement the landlady
’
s bare essentials. He may be in for lunch. All I could do was leave a note
...
one for lunch, three for supper. With Dear Emily coming in some time this morning I didn
’
t
w
ant to leave any weapons handy.” He looked at Elizabeth anxiously. “I
’
m asking you to take on rather a lot already, my darling.
”

She smiled reassurance at him. “You did say loving was sharing. Here
’
s my chance to prove I understand. Off you go to London and don
’
t worry about us. Would you like me to stay the night if you aren
’
t back by the late train?”

“Would you mind awfully? Robin
’
s quite capable of deciding he wants to sleep in his new digs tonight and I
’
d rather we didn
’
t have to postpone his plans on our account.” He got to his feet. “I must go if I
’
m to do all I have to do and to catch that train. I wish I could say good-bye to you properly, but you can take it as done.” He blew her a kiss and walked towards the door. “Thank you very much, Matron,” he said clearly.

Elizabeth hid a smile in case anyone was interested in what was going on. As the door closed she began to organize her day. She would leave tonight
’
s worry until the time came. There were enough worries already on her plate
...
gaps to be filled in her nursing staff
...
a check to make sure that the new day room would be ready in time. With Sister Allison starting her holiday
with her week-end off it meant that the business of moving Men
’
s Medical could be begun Friday afternoon, leaving things ready for the builders to begin on the Monday. Those in the side wards would be left for the time being. She remembered Stuart; she must find time to visit him properly. If he were better he wasn
’
t likely to repeat Friday
’
s scene, and no doubt most of that had been due to his illness ... at least that was the kindest explanation.

Before Elizabeth could begin her ward rounds there was a knock at the door and Anthony
Hingston came in. For a moment she stared at him, frankly trying to assess what was so different about him, but bef
o
re she could comment he spoke first.

“Your eyes don
’
t deceive you, Miss Graham. You
are
looking at a happy man. How stupid can human beings be
?
To think it was there all the time lying at my feet waiting for me to pick it up.” He took the chair she offered him. “I don
’
t suppose I really should be telling you this, but since you
’
re largely responsible for the result, I
’
ll explain it briefly.

“Well, I went home as you suggested. My wife of course wasn
’
t expecting me. Perhaps it was because I took her by surprise, or it may have been because there was something so lost and forlorn about her as I walked in
—
All I can remember clearly is her saying in such a sad way:
How did we manage to lose one another in the beginning
?
...
and one thing led to another
...
” His mouth softened, although his eyes hadn
’
t quite lost their wary look. “I think I
’
m safe in telling you that our next holiday will be a second honeymoon ... and bonus thanks to you. I might have missed my cue otherwise.” He glanced at her quizzically. “I met my colleague William Gregory just now. He had a number of things worrying him, but somehow I got the impression that spring means something to him this year. Would you know anything about that?” He laughed as he saw the color come up into Elizabeth
’
s face. “I won
’
t be unkind enough to ask under which heading your knowledge happens to come
...
By the way, I
’
ll be taking a fortnight
’
s holiday at Easter, which should give you some extra beds on Men
’
s Surgical if you need them for medical cases. There won
’
t be any surgical written-fors apart from Mr. Oswald
’
s orthopaedic ones and emergencies, of course. I won
’
t be having coffee with you today. I
’
m meeting my wife instead.”

He got to his feet and his eyes had the enthusiasm of a much younger man. “I never knew it could be such fun courting one
’
s own wife
...
after all these years.” He went towards the door and then looked back over his shoulder. “See that you shoot your own arrows very straight, dear Cupid.”

After he had gone Elizabeth sat wondering whether he knew that she and William were in love, or if it had been only an inspired guess born of his own new happiness. She began to walk around the wards and found that she was beginning to enjoy it. It wasn
’
t that anyone
’
s attitude had changed so completely, but much of the tension had gone out of the procedure. Sister Moffatt greeted her with a warm smile and took her around the children, showing them off with such quiet but happy pride.

She stopped at Felicity
’
s cot. “We
’
re going to try this one at a special school next month. She
’
s so happy here, but I suppose we are cocooning her rather. The teacher comes in for the long-stay cases, but Felicity needs something more specialized than that.”

Elizabeth agreed with her. “It
’
s amazing what can be done with proper training that makes the most of the imitative abilities. What a pity they can
’
t discover some way of adding the missing chromosome
...
perhaps in time they
’
ll, accomplish even that. Do you remember the great excitement there was in the States when some researchers got the idea that you only had to inject the missing elements to bring the mentally defective and the mentally ill up to normal standards?”

Sister Moffatt nodded rather grimly. “They might have known it wouldn
’
t be as easy as that. How are we going to arrange for transport for Felicity?”

Elizabeth thought for a moment. “She could go out with the ambulance taking the outpatients back to that area and no doubt she could return
with one of the later empty ones. Miss Selby was saying she would be interested in seeing a modern special school
as she hadn
’
t visited one since her training days, so she might like to take Felicity the first time. After that we could arrange for the student nurses to take turns going. I
’
m sure Sister Tutor will find it a useful outing for them.”

Sister Moffatt glanced at Elizabeth speculatively. “Miss Selby has always taken a very warm interest in Felicity...” she explained.

“I
’
m not surprised. These children make up for their lack in other directions by their very lovable nature, don
’
t they?” Elizabeth said calmly.

Sister Moffat gave no sign that she had felt rebuffed. “When am I to expect the patients from Men
’
s Medical, Miss Graham?” she asked.

“I thought we could make a beginning Friday afternoon, and spread it over the week-end. You and I are both on.”

“The tonsil cases will have gone home by midday, so that will suit me
very well, Matron.”

Elizabeth took her leave of the Children
’
s Ward feeling that it was one department that was running smoothly without any element hostile to herself.

Sister Ross greeted her with a flurried air as she arrived on Men
’
s Surgical. “Good morning, Miss Graham. I
’
ve had to send Nurse Davies off:
‘
flu, I
’
m afraid; her temperature was 101.”

“That will leave you rather short. Miss Selby will send you one of the juniors to sit with your anaesthetic patients and then we will see what we can do for you later. I won
’
t keep you now, Sister, as you
’
ll be busy with your cases for Theatre. Everything else all right?”

Sister Ross hesitated. “I was wondering about the old men from Men
’
s Medical. It won
’
t be easy if we
’
re short-staffed.”

Elizabeth smiled at her. “Don
’
t forget Men
’
s Medical
’
s nurses will also be available to fill any gaps.”

The younger woman sighed with relief. “I
’
d forgotten that, Matron. Would you excuse me? The, next premed is due.”

“Of course, Sister.”

Elizabeth left the ward reluctantly. Her last excuse for lingering was
g
one and she would have to see Stuart now. To h
e
r relief Sister Allison had off-duty and Staff N
u
rse was only too glad to have the Matron go around without her. Elizabeth went conscientiously from bed to bed and the patients seemed glad to have someone to talk to who wasn
’
t in a hurry.

“We hear we
’
re going to be tossed out of here, come the week-end, Matron,” one of the old men said gloomily.

Elizabeth laughed. “Not quite
...
only moved along the corridor, and there
’
ll be TV and comfortable chairs and a nic
e
fire to sit by
...
and you
’
ll be sleeping next door to the day room.”

“Sounds like a posh hotel instead of St. Genevieve
’
s. Sure you haven
’
t mixed us up with some other folks, Matron
?
”

She hastened to reassure them, and she could hear them talking excitedly among themselves as she left.

The door of the side ward was slightly ajar as she approached it, and some instinct stopped her knocking on it. She pushed it gently wider and stepped just inside. Stuart was lying very still against his pillows, his h
e
ad turned towards the window as if to watch the beating rain running furiously down the glass. His face had lost the flush it had worn when she had seen him last and its pallor made his skin look almost transparent. It gave him an oddly frail appearance which made him seem more of a stranger.

At last he sensed her presence and turned towards her. “Good morning, Elizabeth. So you
’
ve finally come to see me. Funny, I always thought hospital matrons saw their patients every day.”

“I was off for the week-end,” Elizabeth said defensively.

A little smile played around his mouth. “So I heard
...
eventually.” He didn
’
t explain his remark.

“How are you feeling, Stuart?” she asked gently.