Nurse Saxon's Patient (16 page)

‘
Because I had a letter from Bell
’
s this morning saying my car is all right again and that they would bring it here today if I required it, or they would keep it in their garage until I was ready for it. Aunt Lavinia says it can be kept here—that will save me the garage fee for storing—and as soon as my right hand is out of the plaster I want to try it out again. That won
’
t be by morning,
’
he made a rueful grimace,
‘
and I
’
ve a sudden yearning to go down and look over the development site. Sort of get it planned in my head a stage further, see where
’
s best to begin and so on. I was wondering if you could perhaps drive me down in the morning before your brother comes. You did say he wasn
’
t expected until late afternoon, didn
’
t you?
’

‘
That
’
s right,
’
Julie agreed.
‘
I don
’
t see why not. Give Bell
’
s a ring in the morning and ask them to have it brought out straight away and then we can make an early start. We needn
’
t stay at the site very long, I take it?
’

‘
Not this time, Julie.
’
Garth smiled in relief.
‘
Bless you for understanding, for not trying to argue me out of it because your brother is coming. I promise we won
’
t be late back, but somehow, ever since Tansy put forward her idea of this going to the States—taking a holiday before starting work—I
’
ve been longing to get down there and make some sort of a start, even if it
’
s only in my head
!’

‘
Then we
’
ll do that. I
’
ll give you an extra early call,
’
Julie promised.
‘
I
’
d like to see the site myself, I
’
ve heard so much about it,
’
and as she said goodnight her heart sang a little poem of thankfulness that it was evident he was sufficiently recovered to make his own decision about not taking the trip to the States, with or without Ian
’
s medical evidence as support.

When Julie went in to help Garth the following morning she found him attempting to complete his dressing unaided, a sure indication to her mind of his eagerness to make the excursion.

‘
Sure you don
’
t mind?
’
he queried, when they were ready to go down to breakfast together.
‘
Aunt Lavinia
’
s promised to send down immediately if Roger arrives before we expect him.
’

‘
I don
’
t mind,
’
Julie assured him, laughing.
‘
If we were just sitting around in the garden, waiting for him to come, I
’
d get too excited to think. I
’
d rather go with you and be seeing something new and interesting,
’
she told him.

‘
It is new, and it is interesting,
’
Garth assured her gravely. Seated opposite to his aunt at the breakfast table he gave the elder woman an affectionate glance.
‘
If Aunt Lavinia hadn
’
t been so shocked by what might well have been the
‘
Braithwaite tragedy
’
all this new planning might have been years in coming to Hyncaster, and heaven knows it
’
s needed badly enough with the overcrowded conditions there are there since the war.
’

‘
It isn
’
t all my doing,
’
Mrs.
Andy put in with a smile.
‘
Crossman
’
s is a wealthy firm, that I grant, but Crossman
’
s alone couldn
’
t have made this possible.
’

‘
Crossman
’
s sold the Borough the two hundred acres of land at a ridiculous price to begin with, Aunt Lavinia,
’
Garth put in with a smile.
‘
That meant as much as anything towards getting the Council
’
s go-ahead. And I know Crossman
’
s put up the money part of the prize for the design,
’
he ended.
‘
But even th
o
ugh I
’
ve won it, it
’
s a far more satisfying way to achieve what I want than having you give me the money in a direct way as you wanted to do,
’
he reminded her.

‘
I had to find some way of helping you as well as the town,
’
Mrs.
Andy laughed.
‘
You wouldn
’
t let me do anything for you, you wanted to do it all for yourself, and this way you have done so. I knew,
’
she smiled complacently,
‘
that if there was an open competition for this site you stood every chance of winning it, and you have done
...
that
’
s reward enough for me. Little H
yn
caster, or whatever they decide to call it when it
’
s finished, will be there long
a
fter we
’
ve all gone, and I
’
m glad and proud to have had a hand in bringing it into being.
’

‘
I shall be glad to see the actual place,
’
Julie said with real interest.
‘
You may be able to visualize al] these wonderful things-to-be just from the typed sheets and the drawings, but I
’
m afraid I have to see at least the foundations—nothing is real to me until it
’
s actually there in bricks and mortar.
’

‘
It
’
s real all right,
’
Garth spoke with the enthusiasm he appeared to reserve for his work,
‘
or will be as soon as we get cracking. But I know what you mean, Julie.
Man
y
people find it difficult to get a picture of a finished site from the architect
’
s plans and drawings. I did myself when I first began to study
...’

He broke off as Edna brought in a telegram which she handed to Julie. It was from Roger, saying he would be delayed a little longer than he anticipated, but that he would be along
‘
some time today
’
.

‘
Then we needn
’
t hurry looking round,
’
Julie said brightly, although she felt unreasonably disappointed that Roger would not be with her as early as she had hoped.
‘
We can spend more time there
...’

‘
I
’
ve had Cook pack a picnic lunch for you,
’
Mrs.
Andy told them.
‘
The coffee will keep hot in the new Thermos, and I
’
ve packed a bottle of light dinner wine as well.
’

‘
Then we
’
d better go.
’
Julie rose.
‘
It
’
s a long time since I
’
ve driven a car,
’
she confided.
‘
I shall be a wee bit hesitant at first, simply because this one isn
’
t mine and I don
’
t know where we
’
re going.
’

‘
There are no big hills, anyway.
’
Garth pulled back their chairs and they both laughed.
‘
We
’
ll be all right, Julie. You
’
ll enjoy the run.
’

She was not surprised to find herself doing exactly that. The August day was hot, the sun strong, and when Garth suggested they put back the hood she fully enjoyed the sensation of the wind on her face. At her side Garth watched her admiringly, knowing her completely competent.

‘
Why do you persist in wearing your cap and apron?
’
he asked suddenly.
‘
I know you don
’
t every day—that you
’
re wearing them today because we
’
re out of the house, away from Woodlands, and you think you ought. But nobody will see you. The site isn
’
t built yet. Aunt Lavinia says they
’
ve only just begun to clear the land.
Take your cap off and let the wind blow your hair. You have such lovely hair
...
it
’
s a shame to keep it fettered up all the time like that!
’

Julie did not take much persuading. Suddenly she felt free and unrestricted, as a girl out with her boy friend and not in the least like a nurse taking her patient for a run in his car.

‘
Left here,
’
Garth said suddenly, shattering her thoughts.
‘
Go right down the little lane, right to the bottom
...’

At the end of the lane Julie was astonished to see what looked to her like a hive of activity. Overalled men were working bulldozers, excavating machines, driving lorries and working with picks and shovels. She turned to Garth with a look of sheer disbelief.

‘
I thought everything was held up until
you
were fit?
’
she queried in a tone so accusing that he laughed in spite of the seriousness of her expression.

‘Mr.
Beechman, the Borough Surveyor, came down and marked out where the land needed clearing,
’
he explained.
‘
We want to get a good start before summer turns into autumn and autumn into winter.
T
his
town is scheduled to be officially opened next spring. On the first day Ian says I may use my right hand—even a little—we shall come down together and mark out the roads, the main drainage and water pipes, the sewage and so forth. Then, just as soon as we can, we shall set out the first block of houses ... the others will follow
...
then the school
...’

‘
Can we drive round any of it, do you think?
’
Julie asked next.
‘
I don
’
t want to be responsible for the ruination of your car
’
s springs, though
!’

‘
They
’
ll manage,
’
Garth grinned.
‘
Everything
’
s been overhauled and she
’
s as good as new, but I don
’
t think we
’
ll be able to go all the way round.
’
He pointed to where a big open trench lay ahead of them.
‘
Bear to the left, Julie, please,
’
he requested.
‘
Drive to the bottom of the hedge line. That
’
s where the parkland Aunt Lavinia owned stops, the little wood behind stays
just as it is. We can walk around from there. That
’
s the
corner
for one of the churches,
’
he added.
‘
Let me show you
...’

He reached into the back of the car and took out the roll of drawings she had seen him poring over so often. Obeying instructions, she drove carefully to the end of the line of hedgerow and stopped, switching off the engine.

‘
How many houses did you say there were altogether, Garth?
’
she asked him.
‘
I
’
ve forgotten the exact number.
’

‘
One thousand eight hundred, for the families we hope will fill them,
’
he said promptly,
‘
and forty-eight bungalows for old people. These may be added to if the Borough can buy more land close by.
’

‘
And the school?
’
Julie prompted.
‘
Where will that be?
’

‘
Over there.
’
He strode ahead, more the man she knew
him
to be than at any time since the accident had happened. Here he was on familiar territory, here he was a man doing the job to which he gave his heart and mind.
‘
You saw on the plan that it
’
s a comprehensive school?
’
he asked, and she nodded.
‘
And over there,
’
he was ahead of her again,
‘
we start the section which will make up the five acres of community centre, the open play space, the nursery block, the medical block, bowls, tennis, ten-pin bowling, everything
...’

He was lost in his dream of the site when completed, and Julie walked beside him, seeing the dream take shape before her eyes as it had never really done on paper. Three churches had been planned for, Church of England, Roman Catholic and Methodist, each with their own cemetery and ground. A crematorium was to be built closer to Hyncaster itself at a later, date.

She walked with him to the shopping centre, the section allocated for the public library and gardens, the two public houses, and round each section where the blocks of houses were to be placed.

‘
One contractor isn
’
t doing it all, surely?
’
she asked as she rested for a moment against the side of the car, wishing she could climb inside and sit down for a moment. Walking over this partly prepared site was far more tiring than walking about the hospital all day.

‘
No,
’
Garth answered her promptly.
‘
Jenkinson
’
s are doing the roads, drains and what have you. Taylor
’
s are building the school and Firth
’
s are doing the houses. I
’
m not sure yet who is building the two public houses and the shops and so forth, but I know one contractor is doing two of the churches, someone else is doing the third.
’

‘
It
’
s such a vast project,
’
Julie breathed, looking round.
‘
I feel very proud to know the man whose brain conceived all this.
’

‘
Right now that man is more interested in his stomach than in anything else,
’
Garth admitted.
‘
Let
’
s picnic in the car, Julie. There
’
s nobody about—look, all the men have stopped for their lunch too.
’
She was about to slip into the driver
’
s seat when he laid his left hand on her arm.

‘
Let me,
’
he said winningly.
‘
Just for lunch. I can pretend
I
brought
you
out then, not the other way round. Gives me an illusion of independence
!
’
She laughed with him, running round to the passenger seat and settling herself beside him without even remembering that the last person who had sat there and beside him, had been Tansy ... the night she had given
him
back her ring.