Nurse Saxon's Patient (23 page)

‘
I know.
’
Tansy flushed again, then in a little rush of confidence she added:
‘
She was the only one who seemed to understand how I felt the night we—the night the accident happened. She
’
s been very kind.
’

‘
She
’
s a kind person,
’
Roger commented.

He was worried, suddenly! As
Mrs.
Crossman had said, Tansy was by no means as
modern
or as hard as she would have people believe. She had taken
him
completely by surprise, and none of the things he had intended to say to her could be said now. Instead he spoke what he felt to be the truth:

‘
You must have had a severe shock yourself that night, Tansy. I may use your name, mayn
’
t I?
’
continuing as she nodded:
‘
It couldn
’
t have been very pleasant for you ... a party, and then to find yourself in hospital, with Garth unable to help in any way.
’

‘
He was the one needing help,
’
Tansy said slowly.
‘
But for his quick action I would have been the one to be hurt. But,
’
her tone changed suddenly,
‘
you haven
’
t told me why you came or how you found me; have you
?’

‘
There
’
s nothing mysterious about it.
’
Roger gave a slight chuckle.
‘
I haven
’
t so many fans that I can afford to ignore one just yet! Julie told me you were interested in the film and the book
...’

‘
I am,
’
Tansy breathed.
‘
How kind of you to call!
I was so looking forward to the weekend, and then you couldn
’
t come until I
’
d left
...’

‘
Well, I had an appointment in Hyncaster.
’
Roger
told himself it was the truth. The
‘
appointment
’
was of his own making
...
and with Tansy.
‘
I thought I
’
d look you up and take you to lunch, if you were free.
’

‘
I
’
ll be ready in two minutes flat,
’
Tansy told him, adding as she sped from the room,
‘
If there
’
s one thing my job teaches a person it
’
s how to change in double
-
quick time. I won
’
t keep you waiting.
’

She was as good as her word, and in a few minutes reappeared in a leaf-green two-piece with gold-coloured accessories which did strange things to her hair, which gleamed from the quick, vigorous brushing she had just given to it. She looked vital and alive, she was smiling and interested, proud to be with him, and Roger fo
un
d
him
self
liking
her more and more with every passing moment.

It was a sensation which increased over lunch. They talked of his first book and the film he was helping to direct and of the book he was working on at the present time, and suddenly Roger saw her as Wanda, the white girl with the glowing chestnut hair, singing in the camp of the Mexican gypsies. As they talked the story fell into place, step by step. Roger could feel his fingers itching for the typewriter.

Tansy talked too, almost as much as he did. When he was
talking
she was ready with her questions, intelligent ones, about the picture, about his work, about anything and everything connected with what he was doing.

‘
Have you ever done any film work, Tansy?
’
Roger asked as they finished their meal, lingering over coffee.

‘
No.
’
Tansy shook her head.
‘
I
’
d like to,
’
she confessed.
‘
Is there ... do you think there might be a chance in your next one?
’

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
Roger confessed.
‘
Casting isn
’
t my department, but I
’
ll see what I can do,
’
he added, then, obeying an impulse, he went on:
‘
But if you
’
re going to marry Garth you
’
ll be too busy.
’

‘
Let
’
s talk about it again, shall we?
’
Tansy suggested, gathering up her bag and gloves,
‘
over the weekend.
’

Roger drove her back to her flat, but refused to go in for another drink. He had, he said, other business to which he must attend. In reality he drove back slowly to Woodlands, thinking furiously. Tansy
Maitlan
d was
not at all the kind of girl he had expected her to be. She was lovely, as Julie had said, she was lively and interesting, as Julie and
Mrs.
Andy had told him, but she was something else too. Roger pulled into a side road and , sat there thinking. Never a believer in the
‘
love at first sight
’
theory, he was inclined to scoff at
hims
elf,
but the longer he sat there the more convinced he was that Tansy Maitland was the one girl he had met so far who could hold his interest, his imagination and his
love
as a life partner.

Which, he told
himself
as he restarted the car and headed back to Woodlands and the others,
ma
kes
for an extra pretty kettle of fish all round!

R
oger felt annoyed with himself. He felt that in some way he had let down
Mrs.
Crossman, although she gave no indication that these were her own sentiments. All the same, when she had asked him if he had discovered why Tansy insisted on proclaiming herself engaged to Garth when she knew their engagement was at an end,
he could only say he had not been able to find out anything and that they hadn
’
t got around to that.

‘
Not to worry,
Mrs.
Andy said cheerfully.
‘
There are quite enough people around here keeping their worries to themselves, presenting a stiff upper lip to the world and generally carrying on as though all was well when they know perfectly well it
’
s just the opposite.
’
He knew without being told that she was referring to Garth and Julie, but he could not say anything just then.

‘
Take them both out for a drive, Roger,
’
she suggested.
‘
Maybe some change of scene might have the desired effect. They make me feel I want to bang their heads together,
’
she joked.
‘
I never have a great deal of sympathy with self-styled martyrs
!
’

‘
I don
’
t
think
they are, really,
’
Roger said seriously.
‘
They—Garth, anyhow—just wants to do what is right.
’

‘
I once heard someone say “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and I didn
’
t agree,
’
Mrs.
Andy remarked crisply.
‘
But
I do
think
these good intentions of Garth
’
s and Julie are paving the way to untold misery for the pair of them, unless someone does something about it.
’

‘
Someone might,
’
Roger said equally crisply, thinking that it was as well the old lady had not as yet realized there were now four people emotionally involved instead of three! She
’
d
think
me a complete nut case too, he told himself, then laughed at his own thoughts as he hurried off to obey her instructions and to take Julie and Garth on the promised trip to the coast.

‘
Let
’
s not eat at an hotel or anywhere like that,
’
Garth suggested when Roger talked with him.
‘
I
’
ll ask Aunt Lavinia to have Cook pack another picnic basket as she did the other day, but for three this time. It
’
s much more fun, and the food tastes a good deal better out of doors on days like these.
’

The suggestion was accepted by Julie and Roger with delight, and they spent an enjoyable day beside the sea, picnicking in a sheltered little cove with the sound of the breaking waves in their ears. Watching the other two, Roger knew
Mrs.
Andy was right, they seemed indeed made for each other, and when he returned to Woodlands that evening he asked her permission to use the telephone for a long-distance call and spent a long time talking to the producer of his film. When at last he had finished he came back to join the others, s
miling
with satisfaction.

‘
I don
’
t know your
fiancée
,
’
he said to Garth and wondered how he would explain that they
had
met when Tansy arrived for the weekend,
‘
but I
’
ve had an idea. From what I
’
ve heard, she might be just the person we
’
re looking for to play the heroine in our next film. Would you mind?
’
he asked Garth directly.

‘
It wouldn
’
t be my business, would it?
’
Garth answered briefly, but Roger had been quick to note the flash of relief which had swept over his face when he
ha
d
made his suggestion.

‘
I don
’
t know,
’
he answered easily,
‘
but I don
’
t want to tread on anyone
’
s toes by asking her to make a test.
’
He made several other references to his
‘
idea
’
throughout the week, and by the time Tansy was due to arrive he was convinced that both Julie and Garth looked upon the possibility of a film career for Tansy as a possible means of escape from the fake engagement, but none of them made any direct reference of that nature. All day Friday Roger worried as to what explanation he could give when, as he knew she would, Tansy gave away the fact that they had already met, that he had called at her flat, as soon as she arrived. He need not have worried at all, he discovered later.
Mrs.
Andy had sent Julie and Garth to the village in the estate car just before Bailey drove up from the station with Tansy, and it was
Mrs.
Andy who managed to convey so discreetly that it would be better if Garth and Julie knew nothing of Roger
’
s visit to Tansy
’
s flat.

‘
I don
’
t think Garth would be jealous,
’
Tansy said outright.
‘
But Julie may not like the idea of her brother visiting her patient
’
s
fiancé
e. She
’
s as bad as Garth on matters of what one should do and should not do to do the right thing. I
’
m afraid I
’
m too impetuous for that,
’
she confessed, endearing herself in some strange way still further to Roger by the naive confession.
‘
Act first and think later is what applies to me.
’

‘
I
’
m a little that way myself at times,
’
Roger confessed,
‘
especially since this film-making racket started.
I quite understand.
’