Stay with Me (10 page)

‘I've completed my first transaction completely on my own . . . well, the idea came from Ralph but had to be authorised by me. I made some amendments - and it worked!' He went on to tell her what it was all about. ‘From now on everything will be the way
I've
planned it.' Excitement rose in his voice. ‘And the new ship,
my
idea, will play its part. It's all so exciting!'

‘I'm very glad for you, James.' Olivia expressed enthusiasm although inwardly she was chiding herself for thinking he had been going to announce something else. ‘Have you told Lena?'

‘Yes.'

‘Good. I'm sure the news will help her to a full recovery. You know she's very interested in the firm. Keep that interest going, James. She wishes she was more involved.'

‘You are must solicitous, Olivia, but I can't involve her any more than by keeping her informed,' he said in a cool voice, and she decided not to interfere further.

 

‘Lena, I think it would be wise if you had a few walks in the fresh air, say along the West Cliff, before the autumn days turn more chilly. Your illness . . . I call it so though I believe there was nothing medically wrong with you . . . was caused by the tragedy and it has taken a long time to right itself. You must never let dark thoughts into your mind again. You must resist any movement in that direction, especially when you are on your own. If ever you feel bound to consider them, talk to me. I am always here to help.'

‘Thank you, Alistair. Considerate and wise as always. You are going to be a wonderful doctor.'

‘I hope so. I will call for you at two tomorrow and we'll take the first stroll. I must be away now - several visits to make.' He rose from his chair. ‘I now throw off my role as your medical adviser,' he said, and bent to kiss her on the lips. Lena's hand clasped his arm and he allowed the kiss to linger. ‘I must go,' he said reluctantly. ‘Take care. You are very precious to me.' He kissed her quickly again and turned away.

Lena watched him go. His step was firm, resolute; one which she knew would instil confidence in a patient, as would his manner and gentle voice. She admired much about him but still regretted his lack of affinity with the sea and the life of a merchant venturer. She had seen the excitement with which that could charge a man, watching James walk from this very room.

Alistair's kiss and his words ‘You are very precious to me,' took her attention then. Was a proposal near? Probably when her period of mourning was over, and that was only eight weeks away. Lena's mind spun. What, then, should her answer be? She and James had grown up with Alistair and Olivia, been their constant companions. She had shared her first kiss with Alistair. She smiled at the thought of that hasty peck when she was twelve, out of sight of the picnicking families, when they had veered away from James and Olivia in a game of tag. Alistair had been her good companion and friend always. They had shared much and, though unspoken, had both taken it for granted that they would spend their lives together. But when he had begun his medical training, she'd realised that was not the life she had envisaged sharing and that a certain spark in her feelings for him had disappeared. She knew no one else would realise it, not even Alistair for his love for her would blind him. She would soon be faced with a decision that would affect not only her life but that of others. So many people expected them to marry; it was probably why no other men had ever ventured close to her. When the moment came, should she do the expected? It would be far easier that way, after all. She bit her lip in frustration. A doctor's wife? She visualised herself taking tea with the ladies of Whitby, discussing raising funds for the poor, helping at charity events and keeping up appearances as befitted her position. And Alistair had already hinted at her helping in his ministering to the poor and badly housed people of the town. Lena shuddered. Her mind turned instead to the excitement surrounding the activities of the bustling port; the life she had been near to all her years, and one she had visualised continuing with Alistair . . . until the day he had told her of his decision to become a doctor and the different dreams he held.

Lena sprang out of her chair and crossed to the window and its view across Whitby. She stamped her foot with impatience. ‘Oh, Alistair, why didn't you follow your father? You could have taken over a business that could have meant so much to us, and in which I could have helped you!' she cried aloud. ‘What am I to say to you now?'

 

There was a new spring in Alistair's step as he walked away from the Carnforths' residence. Lena was well on the way to a full recovery. He sensed she had almost thrown off the ill effects of losing her mother and father so tragically. He knew there could always be scars but hoped he would be able to erase them completely when her mourning period was over and then they could build a life together.

He had been close to proposing to her but had held back, deeming it inappropriate to do so while the period of mourning, as demanded by society, still hung over her. Time would pass. He could easily wait another two months in his certainty that the girl he had loved since schooldays would then become his wife. The thought brought a smile of joy to his face. To spend the rest of his life with Lena would be wondrous, and to have her by his side as a doctor's wife, able to devote her time to helping his endeavours to make Whitby a healthier and better place to live, would be the pinnacle of his dreams.

He knew she and James had always been closer to the mercantile life of Whitby than he and Olivia had. They had never been as adventurous as their friends, and Alistair realised he and his sister had probably inherited their gentler approach to life from their mother, whereas Lena and James seemed to have inherited a taste for risk-taking from Jennie and John. Be that as it may, he did not see it as a disadvantage in a doctor's wife. In fact, he thought it could be quite an asset, for Lena would surely have less abhorrence for what she might have to face than any other gently raised girl.

 

‘Is work on your new ship progressing well?' asked Olivia as she and James left New Buildings one bright Sunday afternoon a week later.

‘Very well,' he replied, a new light coming into his eyes at the mention of it. ‘She should be ready early next year. Would you like to go and see her now?'

‘I'd rather stroll on the West Cliff.'

He hid his disappointment and said, ‘As you wish.' If he had put the question to Lena, he knew she would have jumped at the chance. The thought of his sister prompted him to say, ‘I'm pleased Lena is looking so much better, thanks to Alistair, and of course to you.'

‘It's all due to Alistair. He has watched over her recovery carefully.'

‘That's as may be, but I think your frequent visits have also helped enormously - and from what Lena has told me, she believes you were instrumental in getting him to visit more frequently, as her doctor.'

Olivia gave a little shrug of her shoulders. ‘He was getting so wrapped up in Whitby's welfare, he was failing to see Lena was not well and needed his advice.'

‘We will always be grateful to you. You are a good friend to us both, but . . .' James stopped and, with his hand on her arm, turned her to him. ‘Olivia, you are more than a friend to me.'

Her heart beat faster as James pulled her to him and kissed her gently on the lips. ‘I'm in love with you. I think I always have been, ever since we were children.'

She smiled, looking deep into his eyes. ‘I know I have been with you. You were always my hero. I loved to see you climbing around on the ships, and imagined you sailing into port and rescuing me from pirates.' She chuckled at the recollection. ‘And now look at you, a handsome figure who still has that aura of adventure around him. A successful merchant with his own ships.'

‘And one of my very own, not one I have inherited, to be launched next March. Maybe on that day I'll have something special to say to you.'

Her heart skipped a beat. ‘What is that?' she asked breathlessly.

‘Ah, you'll have to wait until then.'

 

The next day Lena sensed Olivia had something exciting to tell her. ‘Out with it,' she prompted before her friend could sit down.

‘James told me that the day the
John Carnforth
is launched, he will have a special announcement to make.'

‘Did he say what?' asked Lena, matching Olivia's enthusiasm with her own.

She shook her head. ‘No, but I think it might concern our future.'

‘Olivia!' Lena hugged her friend. ‘Are you thinking what I am thinking?'

‘I think so - yes. But don't say anything, will you?'

‘My lips are sealed.'

Lena knew the time for some decision-making of her own was imminent.

James kept his sister's enquiries satisfied, and she was careful not to criticise or suggest too much or become overly opinionated when he expounded some of his ideas. He was always forthcoming about the building of the
John Carnforth
and she was pleased he was pressing for completion to be made by the date in March he had set. The anniversary of the Tay tragedy would be past then and mourning clothes be cast aside. Lena would take a full part in the excitement of launching day.

 

Lena laid down her knife and fork at the breakfast table and said ‘James.'

‘Oh, from your tone of voice this is serious,' he remarked.

‘It is,' she replied, but her lips twitched in amusement. ‘I don't suppose we have any thought of paying our usual visit to Dundee this year?'

‘It is the last thing I would want to do. I expect you feel the same?'

‘I do. I could not bear it, so I'm thankful indeed that you have no thought of going. But I have been wondering about Aunt Mary and Uncle Martin and our cousins . . . I wonder how they will feel.'

‘I think the memories will be hardest for them then, with the usual Scottish celebrations going on around them - as I'm sure they will, with the town trying to forget what happened a year ago.'

‘So should we ask them to come here for New Year, do you think? Not to make a special occasion of it but rather to give them a chance to escape the celebrations in Dundee.'

‘Lena, that is a splendid idea. Will you write to them?'

‘I will do it today.'

A week later a reply came from their aunt, expressing grateful thanks for their concern and consideration and accepting the invitation, adding that the MacBride family would arrive two days after Christmas.

‘We had better inform Mr and Mrs Nash and Alistair and Olivia that the MacBrides are coming,' said James on hearing this news.

‘I'll arrange for them to come to us for a quiet meal at New Year,' said Lena.

When she announced the arrangements to Mrs Campion, the housekeeper was delighted; with all the preparations and the visit itself, the minds of her young master and mistress would be constantly diverted from dwelling too much on the tragedy of a year ago. She promised she would see Lena was involved in all the decisions concerning the arrangements for the visit.

The following day Lena called on the Nashes and made her invitation.

‘That is most kind of you, Pauline,' said Mrs Nash, accepting the offer. ‘It will be very agreeable to see Dr and Mrs MacBride again. I am pleased they will be away from Dundee, too. Now, about Christmas . . . you and James must come to us on all three days.'

‘That is extremely kind of you, but we could not impose on you all that time.'

Georgina Nash brushed her comment aside. ‘It will be our pleasure. We cannot leave you on your own at Christmas. Isn't that so, Olivia?' She turned to her daughter to reinforce her invitation.

‘Of course you must come,' said Olivia emphatically. ‘ I will look forward to having you both, and I know Alistair feels the same.'

‘There you are, my dear,' added Georgina. ‘You cannot say no.'

Lena felt a lump rise in her throat. ‘You are very kind. Thank you.'

 

Later that same day Alistair called on Lena. ‘This is splendid news I hear,' he said after he had made his greetings. ‘You are both going to be with us for three days at Christmas. I look forward to it.'

‘So do I.' She smiled. ‘And then to the MacBrides coming.'

‘Good. I know there will be some sadness for you, but we'll all make it as pleasant a time as possible.'

Lena looked at him thoughtfully then. ‘Just one thing, Alistair - you and Uncle Martin are
not
to talk doctoring. I'll warn him too when he arrives.'

Alistair smiled indulgently. ‘Do you think you can stop him?'