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'I don't believe it!' he breathed. 'Fenella Forbes? The last time I saw
you
was in the early hours of Saturday morning in a police cell.'

If Max was surprised, Fenella was dumbfounded at his greeting. What was he on about? she wondered. Had he been arrested on Saturday night, too? The thought of anyone, especially this rather forbidding-looking doctor, seeing her in the state she'd been in was absolutely awful. So far she hadn't spoken and, still without speaking, she turned to go.

'Where are you going?' he barked.

'Where do you think?' she said flatly. 'I can't see you wanting to employ someone arrested for public disturbance. How did you get to see me? Where were you? Not in the next cell, I would think.'

He shook his head.

'The police sent for me. They were concerned about your condition and I was the police surgeon on call at the time. So what was wrong with you? You seem to have made a swift recovery.'

'I'd been given Rohypnol by someone that I'd met in the club.'

'And that made you violent towards the police?' he questioned ironically.

'No. What it
did
do was make me want to get away before I flaked out, and as my friend Julie was already in trouble with the police, I decided to join in, knowing they couldn't get to me once I'd been arrested.'

'It seems a rather dramatic way of escape,' he remarked dryly.

'I was desperate. My legs were like jelly and I was so drowsy I knew I wouldn't make sense if I tried to tell someone what was happening.'

'Does your mother know about it?'

'Yes, but she doesn't know that
you
were called out on my behalf. I've only just discovered that myself. You won't tell her, will you?' she pleaded.

'No, I won't tell her,' he promised, and glanced at the clock. 'So, shall we get down to discussing why you are here?'

'You still might want to employ me, then?'

'I might. Yes. But first you have to convince me that you are the right person for the job, along with details of your capabilities and qualifications. I will also require an assurance that you are not in the habit of frequenting the cells at the city police station.'

Fenella's face was scarlet with mortification. 'Of course I'm not! It was Julie who picked up the two men we were with. When it comes to that sort of thing, I can take it or leave it.'

Max wondered what she meant by that but didn't feel compelled to ask, as he had a feeling that he mightn't like the answer.

She was taller than he'd thought and her eyes
were
blue, he noticed...and time was ticking on. 'So tell me about yourself,' he said levelly. 'Where you studied. What kind of a degree you got. Do you want to specialise? And what makes you prefer general practice to hospital work?'

When she'd answered all his questions except the last one, he nodded. 'I can't find fault with any of that, and now are you going to tell me why you are drawn to general practice.. .in a rural setting? Are you sure it won't be too quiet for you?'

'I can always liven it up if it is,' she said with a smile. 'And my reason for wanting to work here is to treat people that I've got to know, rather than strangers who pass my way briefly.'

Max nodded. 'Your mother hasn't always lived here, has she? She came to me for a job soon after she moved into the village. She'd been a practice manager before and I was only too pleased to take her on, but I don't remember seeing you around the place.'

'That's because I'm never ill and have been away at university for the last six years. I was already studying for my degree when my mother moved here so I've only been around while on vacation and I spent most of that time studying.'

'Mmm, I see,' he said thoughtfully. 'I'm due to start my home visits in a few minutes' time. How about you coming along? It will give you the chance to get the feel of what happens in a country practice.'

He'd noticed that she was dressed for the occasion in a navy suit and white silk shirt, and it had his approval, as a sequined T-shirt wouldn't have looked too good on his rounds.

'Yes, all right,' she agreed after a moment's silence. 'Have you had many applicants?'

Max didn't say either yes or no to that. He merely commented, 'You are the first.'

The truth of it was that she was the only one so far, because of the way her mother had asked him to consider her daughter for the position. If he decided that Fenella was not suitable then he would advertise.

As his car pulled out into the main street of the village Fenella was wishing it wasn't happening. She hadn't intended it to be like this. Her idea had been to appear in front of Dr Max Hollister as a cool, efficient graduate who would be an asset to his practice.

But instead he was seeing her as someone who did foolish things, took risks,
and
their first meeting had been in a police cell. A meeting that she'd known nothing about until today, and she could tell by his manner that he was not impressed.

All right, he was taking her on his calls with him. She supposed that could be a step in the right direction. But the feeling that she had made a mess of things was strong within her and as if tuning into her thoughts the man beside her said, 'If there is one thing that a doctor is not expected to do it is to take chances, make errors of judgement. I care about my patients and am not prepared to put them at risk with the services of a harum-scarum trainee.'

'I can understand that,' she told him in a small voice, 'but what happened the other night was due to the wrongdoing of others, and if I did a stupid thing by getting myself arrested, as far as I was concerned anything was better than being drugged and then assaulted by two strangers. I would have thought you might understand that.'

He did, Max thought irritably. He saw it only too well, and if he could get his hands on the two predators who had sought to satisfy their sexual urges in such a manner they would think twice before trying it again. He could still see her lying there in a drugged sleep.

But if he was going to take Fenella into the practice, she was going to have to learn that he asked for high efficiency from all his staff and the first time she put a foot wrong he would be wanting to know why.

She was biting into her bottom lip with even white teeth and, sorry for giving her a hard time, he was about to tell her that he did see her point of view when she forestalled him by saying, 'Will you, please, stop the car and let me get out? I can see that it isn't going to work.'

Max sighed impatiently. 'I will decide whether it is going to work or not. So sit back, pull yourself together, and look and learn. We will shortly be stopping at the home of the Copley family, which will bring any knowledge you might have of paediatrics to the fore.'

Fenella was still feeling uncomfortable but now he had her interest, though she didn't like the 'might have'. There was something in his manner that made her feel she'd been tried and found wanting before she'd had the chance to show him that she was no idiot.

'Why, what's the problem?' she asked, trying to sound cool.

'Callum, the youngest of their three boys, is complaining of his neck hurting and sounds to be generally unwell.'

'Are there any epidemics of children's illnesses in the area, such as measles and chickenpox?'

Max shook his head. 'Not that I know of. I haven't had any cases of either recently, but that doesn't say that young Callum isn't the first to go down with something of the sort. They are a nice family, the Copleys. His father works for the National Trust at one of the stately homes nearby and his mother has a job as a school dinner lady.'

'How old is the boy?'

'Coming up to five, I would imagine. He's just started school and I know what you're thinking.'

You don't, she thought. Otherwise you
would be
letting me out of the car. But not being prepared to aggravate him further, she said meekly, 'That he will be open to all that is going in his first year?'

Max nodded but didn't reply. He was stopping the car in front of a large stone cottage and before they'd had time to ring the bell a harassed-looking young mother was opening the door and saying, 'Oh, I'm so glad to see you, Dr Hollister. Callum isn't at all well. His neck is swollen and tender and he's having trouble chewing his food and swallowing.'

'Lead us to him, then, Sarah,' he said briskly. 'Dr Forbes may be joining the practice so I've brought her along with me.'

Sarah acknowledged the introduction with a worried smile and led the way to where a small boy was lying on a sofa in the living room of the cottage. As Max approached him Fenella realised that he wasn't abrupt with everyone.

His voice was gentle as he examined the child. 'So what's this I hear about you having a sore neck, Callum?' he said. 'Show me where it hurts.'

'There,' the boy said tearfully, touching the parotid glands on either side of his neck.

'And what happened when you had your breakfast?'

'I couldn't chew,' the small patient said with tears still threatening.

'I see,' Max said, and to Fenella's surprise asked the child, 'Will you let Dr Forbes feel your neck, Callum?'

'Hmm,' he said dolefully, 'as long as she doesn't hurt.'

'I'm sure that she won't,' Max told him. 'She has gentle hands, haven't you, Fenella?'

'I wonder how you would know that,' she said in a low voice as she bent over the child.

'So what do you think?' he asked when she'd felt Callum's swollen neck.

'Mumps? The parotid glands are up.'

The boy's mother was listening in dismay and Max asked, 'Did Callum have the mumps, measles and rubella immunisation
in his
second year?'

She shook her head. 'No, he didn't. He was quite ill when he was immunised for diphtheria and whooping cough and my husband wouldn't let him have any more injections.'

'And what about your two older boys?'

'They had all the jabs without trouble, but Callum is allergic to so many things we didn't want to chance it.'

Max nodded. 'Well, the bad news is that he's got mumps, Sarah, but the good news is that your other two won't catch it. Give Callum plenty of liquids and if his neck is painful, a dose of child's paracetamol formula should help. You'll need to inform his school and keep him away from other children until the swelling has gone completely, and I'll see him again in a few days.'

'I feel so guilty that we didn't have him immunised,' the young mother said distractedly.

'It is a decision that isn't easy to make for any parent who wants what is best for their child,' Max told her consolingly, 'and it is usually only in teenage males and adults that the illness can have adverse effects, so don't worry too much.'

As they took their leave he said to Fenella, 'Well done.'

'What do you mean?'

'Picking up on it being mumps.'

Fenella stared at him. 'It seemed pretty obvious.'

'Yes, well, that is often the time when a doctor makes a mistake, by not looking any further. But in this case we
were
right.'

For the rest of the home visits Fenella looked, listened, learned and was not asked to give an opinion again, thankfully. When they arrived back at the surgery Max asked, 'So how much did you enjoy doing the rounds with me?'

She could have told him that she might have enjoyed it more with someone else, but he was waiting for an answer, so she said untruthfully, 'Yes, it was good.'

'Come back the same time tomorrow and I'll let you know what I've decided. I have to get this matter settled as I am without my partner due to an accident and will be for some time. If I don't decide to take you on I shall have to advertise, so there is no time to waste.' And with that tie wished her a brisk goodbye and went striding into the practice.

As she stood gazing after him Fenella thought, Don't do me any favours, Dr Hollister. If you offer me the position I'm not sure that I want it. I don't relish the prospect of being made to feel inadequate all the time just because the first glimpse you had of me was in a police cell.

When Ann came home that evening her first words were, 'So how did you get on with Max?'

'Terrible,' Fenella told her, leaving out the circumstances of their previous meeting. 'He's bossy and picky. I can't say that I like him.'

Her mother eyed her in surprise. 'That doesn't sound like him. I know that he doesn't suffer fools gladly, but you are no fool, Fenella. Did you make sure he knew how well you did at university, and how keen you are to be part of the practice that is so dear to his heart?'

Ah, Fenella thought. Therein lies the answer to his attitude. He wants only the best and has his doubts about young clubbers who don't keep their eyes on their drinks.

'What will you do if he offers you the position?' Ann asked.

'I don't know,' she said flatly. 'I want to work at the village practice but not if I'm looked upon with doubt and disfavour.'

Her mother laughed. 'If Max feels that way about you, he won't offer you the job. It's as simple as that.'

'Yes. I suppose you're right,' Fenella agreed. 'I'll wait and see what happens.' Referring to more mundane matters she continued, 'I've made a casserole and a rhubarb tart for dinner. Is that all right?'

'Of course it is,' she was told. 'It is pure joy to come in to food that is ready to eat. While you've been at university I've had the most deplorable meals. It seems too much trouble to cook just for one.' She put her arms around the slender figure of her daughter and said ruefully, 'I did so hope that we would be working together at the surgery,
but
it is more important for you to be happy in your working life, and if you've got off on the wrong foot with Max, well...'

Fenella's father had died some years previously from a heart attack and the two women had a close, loving bond that made Fenella feel that she didn't want to leave her mother on her own again.

'How old is he?' she asked as they cleared away after the meal.

'Middle thirties,' her mother replied, without asking who she meant.

'Is he married?'