CHAPTER TWO
‘WHY doesn’t someone come and tell us what’s happening?’
‘These things take time, Penny, so try not to worry. They’ll let us know how Miles is just as soon as they can.’
Grace put a comforting arm around Penny’s shoulders but the long wait was taking its toll on her, too. She glanced at her watch and sighed when she realised that over an hour had passed since Miles had been admitted to the emergency department of their local hospital. She’d travelled in the ambulance with him while Harry had gone to fetch Penny. He’d seemed to take it for granted that he would stay with them, and Grace had to admit that she’d been glad of his support. Harry seemed to have the knack of knowing the right thing to say to calm Penny down so now she glanced at him and raised her brows.
‘Grace is right, sweetheart. You must try not to worry.’ Harry obviously took the hint because he got up and came over to them. ‘You know how long it takes to get a heart tracing and do all the bloods and everything else.’
‘I know, and I’m sorry, but it’s just so hard to sit here when I don’t even know if Miles…If he’s…he’s….’ Penny stopped and gulped, unable to give voice to her very worst fears.
‘If anything awful had happened to Miles, they’d have come and told you.’ Harry crouched down and took hold of Penny’s hands. ‘You remember the drill, don’t you? You should do because you were an A and E nurse for long enough. You inform the relatives immediately if it’s bad news. It’s one of the unwritten rules.’
‘I remember,’ Penny whispered, dredging up a smile. ‘It’s just so different when you’re the one waiting to hear something.’
‘I know, sweetheart, but you must try to be strong for Miles and for your baby.’
He leant forward and kissed Penny’s cheek. Grace felt a lump come to her throat. This wasn’t Harry Shaw using his legendary charm to his own ends but a bona fide show of concern, and there was no denying that it had touched her deeply to witness it.
‘I’ll try. Thank you, Harry. And you, too, Grace.’ Penny took hold of Grace’s hand and placed it on top of Harry’s. ‘You two are the best. I don’t know what I’d have done without you both tonight.’
Grace’s heartbeat quickened when she felt the warmth of Harry’s hand beneath her palm. She desperately wanted to pull away but she didn’t want to risk upsetting Penny. She sat quite still, praying that Harry couldn’t feel how fast her pulse was racing. This is just a moment of friendship, she told herself firmly. Penny needs it to help her through this difficult time. However, it was hard to focus on that thought when she was so conscious of the warmth of Harry’s flesh beneath her own. It was a relief when a nurse appeared because it meant that she could quite legitimately break the contact.
‘Mrs Farrington?’ The nurse smiled as Penny hastily identified herself. ‘You can see your husband now.’
‘Is he all right?’ Penny demanded, jumping to her feet.
‘He’s fine. Dr Williams will explain everything if you’ll just follow me.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Penny hurried to the door then paused and looked back. ‘Will you stay? I know it’s late but I don’t think I can face being here on my own.’
‘We’ll be right here, waiting for you, Penny,’ Grace assured her. She let out a sigh of relief after the door closed. ‘Doesn’t sound as though the prognosis is too grim. Do you think Miles really did have an infarc?’
‘It’s hard to say for certain without seeing the ECG tracings,’ Harry replied, going over to the coffee-machine. ‘It could have been an angina attack, I suppose. The symptoms are very similar.’
‘Mmm, you could be right.’ Grace frowned as she considered that possibility. ‘Miles is rather young to be suffering from angina, although it’s not unknown. Most patients are in their fifties when they first exhibit any symptoms but there are cases of men as young as thirty being diagnosed with angina.’
‘It’s not just confined to men either. More and more women are presenting with angina nowadays,’ Harry observed, feeding coins into the machine.
‘That’s true. Women are having more heart attacks than they used to. It’s all down to a change in lifestyle and the fact that people are eating more convenience food and not taking enough exercise.’ She sighed. ‘I try to drum it into our patients that they need to exercise and watch their diet, but they just think I’m nagging.’
‘Until they have a heart attack and realise that you were telling them the truth all along.’ Harry handed her a cup of tepid coffee and sat down. ‘Then they’re desperate to undo all the years of neglect.’
‘Something like that,’ she agreed, sipping the coffee and grimacing at the powdery aftertaste it left on her tongue. She put the cup on the table and looked at him. ‘How come you’re so clued up about heart disease?’
‘Because it’s all part and parcel of being a physician.’ Harry took a swallow of his coffee then sighed. ‘If I had a pound for every man and woman I’ve seen heading for a heart attack, I’d be able to retire. What is it about people that makes them ignore all the advice we give them and carry on doing the wrong things?’
‘Stubbornness?’ she suggested with a grin because he sounded so frustrated. ‘Folk hate to be told what to do. They want to live their lives the way they chose to.’
‘And to hell with the consequences.’ His tone was wry. ‘Only, when something does go wrong, they expect us to come up with a solution.’
‘I don’t know why you sound so surprised. Didn’t you realise that we’re supposed to perform miracles? It’s part of our remit, along with all the other things a doctor is supposed to do.’
‘Well, I for one am right out of miracles,’ Harry declared, swinging his feet onto the coffee-table. ‘I’m only a humble physician, don’t forget, not a surgeon. It’s the surgeons who are closest to God, not the likes of you and me.’
Grace burst out laughing. ‘I never thought I’d hear you admit that. I thought you believed that you had a direct line to heaven.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you but I’m under no illusions.’ He lifted the cup to his lips, watching her over the rim. ‘I’m just a guy who wants to help people, Grace. That’s all I’ve ever been.’
Grace felt a shiver run down her spine and quickly looked away. She couldn’t explain it, but there was something about the way Harry had said it that convinced her he’d been telling the truth. Harry didn’t see himself as some sort of all-powerful being but as a man who wanted to help others less fortunate than himself, and it was a revelation to realise it.
She’d had Harry summed up from the moment she’d met him: a rich playboy whose only aim in life was to have a good time and cover himself in glory. Now that image had started to go all fuzzy around the edges and it was alarming to realise that she might have been wrong about him all this time. It was a relief when he changed the subject.
‘Anyway, getting back to Miles. Even if he hasn’t had an infarc, it’s doubtful he’ll be fit enough to return to work for some time, so what are you going to do? My offer still stands, if you’re interested.’
‘I’ll bear it in mind.’ Grace flushed when his brows rose. It was obvious that her less-than-enthusiastic response hadn’t been lost on him. However, she didn’t intend to apologise because she had reservations about him working at the surgery.
‘I’d prefer to wait and see what the verdict is on Miles first before I decide what to do,’ she told him coolly.
‘Fine. It’s up to you, of course.’ Harry drained his cup then swung his feet off the table and stood up. ‘I think I’ll go outside for a bit of fresh air. It’s stifling in here. I won’t be long—ten minutes max.’
‘You don’t have to stay,’ she said quickly, hoping he couldn’t tell how eager she was all of a sudden for him to leave. Oh, it had been fine while Penny had been there, she’d been very glad of Harry’s company then. However, it was different now they were on their own. In the past half-hour she’d learned things about him that she’d never dreamed might be true, and it had unsettled her to have to adjust her view of him. How much more unsettling would it be if they continued the conversation throughout the night?
