Nurse Saxon's Patient (27 page)

‘
It was different this weekend,
’
Garth said with perfect truth.
‘
As a rule she follows me around the place, into the garden, anywhere and everywhere. This weekend she wasn
’
t actually avoiding me, but she stayed mostly with Roger. I knew he was talking about a film part for her and that was what she wanted, but he
is
Julie
’
s brother, and I didn
’
t want any scenes and whatnot while he was here. It never occurred to me that he had
...
fallen in love with Tansy. I just wanted to wait until we were alone again, all of us who had been concerned most with all this
...’

‘
And since he wants to marry Tansy, he is as much if not more concerned than any of us,
’
Mrs.
Andy remarked crisply.
‘
Roger is your opposite in many ways, but like you in that he will not propose to Tansy while she is wearing your ring. You
’
ll have to get in touch with
her, Garth
—
Is she there, Roger?
’
She broke off as
Roger returned, shaking his head.

‘
No sign of her anywhere,
’
he said slowly.
‘
I don
’
t know what to
think
.
’

‘
I
’
ll go up to her room,
’
Mrs.
Andy said.
‘
She may have just wanted to be alone for a little while. Ring for Edna to bring some tea, will you, Roger, please? It
’
s amazing what good a cup of tea will do in moments of crisis.
’

She hurried away and up the wide staircase and along to the room which had been Julie
’
s ever since she first came to Woodlands. She tapped cautiously on the door, but there was no sound from within and after a moment
or two she repeated her knock which was still ignored.
Mrs.
Andy drew a deep breath, turned the knob and opened the door. She was not surprised to find the room neat and tidy and an envelope on the dressing-table, with
Mrs.
Andrew Crossman
written on it in Julie
’
s clear handwriting.

Mrs.
Andy did not pause to read the note then. She pushed it into her pocket and went back downstairs.

‘
She isn
’
t there,
’
she told the two men briefly.
‘
Pass my spectacles, Roger. Let me see what she has to say.
’
As she ripped the flap of the envelope Edna deposited the tray of tea on a low table, turning to her mistress.
‘
Excuse me,
Mrs.
Crossman,
’
she began,
‘
but if it
’
s Miss Julie you
’
re wanting she came down to the kitchen just as I went in to make your tea. There was a taxi at the back door
...
not one of the station taxis, one from the top village.
’

‘
Thank you, Edna,
’
Mrs.
Andy said quickly.
‘
Roger—Garth
—’
and she hurried off in the direction of the
kitchen.

They were just too late. As
Mrs.
Andy pushed open the swing door which led to her immaculate, modernized kitchen the black taxi pulled smartly away from the back door and started off down the drive.

‘
Is something wrong, ma
’
am?
’
Cook looked astonished at this invasion of her domain.
Mrs.
Andy pulled herself together with an obvious effort.

‘
No,
’
she said slowly,
‘
I don
’
t think so,
Mrs.
Best. I just wanted to see Nurse before she left. Have you any idea what instructions she gave the driver?
’

‘
I couldn
’
t say, I
’
m sure,
’
Cook replied, somewhat mollified.
‘
I was busy at the oven; and it was none of my business, though I did think it funny, her leaving by my kitchen door instead of the normal way.
’

‘
It
’
s quite all right,
’
Mrs.
Andy said quickly.
‘
Miss Saxon had her own reasons. Thank you. Cook. We won
’
t stay here, getting in your way.
’

Back in the drawing-room she took the letter from her pocket a
n
d adjusted her spectacles carefully, peering closely at the letter while Roger and Garth waited impatiently.

‘
Dear
Mrs.
Crossman [she read aloud],

I do apologize for running off in this dreadful fashion, but I must go away by myself somewhere to think things out and to give Garth a chance, without either Tansy or myself being present, to make up his mind what he intends to do. Matron has granted me forty-eight hours off duty and a relief nurse will be here shortly, but I don
’
t think either she or I are necessary now. Don
’
t try to find me. I
’
m going away from you all until my leave is up, but I will be back on duty when it
’
s ended. Please tell Roger not to worry. I
’
m sure he is trying to help in his own way.

Sincerely yours,

Julie Saxon.
’

‘
Well!
’
Roger drew a deep breath.
‘
The little idiot,
’
he grumbled aloud.
‘
Why couldn
’
t she have told me what she intended to do
?
I could have explained then, about Tansy and myself.
’

‘
We could have all explained so much,
’
Garth said slowly,
‘
but it
’
s too late now. Unless,
’
he added hopefully as a taxi halted outside,
‘
this is Julie coming back,
’
and he sped hopefully to the door.

The sight of the familiar navy blue cloak of the nurses of St Luke
’
s descending from the taxi sent Garth racing down the steps to meet the newcomer, but his words of greeting died on his lips as the taxi door opened and he came face to. face with Isobel Stephenson
’
s pleasant homely countenance.

‘
I—I thought you were Julie
...
Nurse Saxon,
’
he began.
‘
I don
’
t usually rush at people like that. I
’
m sorry.
’

‘
That
’
s all right.
’
Isobel smiled at him cheerfully, looking attentively at him and remembering what he looked like when he left the hospital.
‘
I must say you look ve
r
y much improved,
Mr.
Holroyd. Congratulations.
’

‘
Thanks.
’
Garth uttered the one word absent
-
mindedly, but Isobel thought she understood.

‘
Nurse Saxon has been given forty-eight hours of
f
duty,
’
she said, following him into the house.
‘
She
’
ll be
back
—’
her tone was so soothing as to be irritating—
‘
and I
think
we can cope until she returns.
’

Garth looked at her steadily. In his temple a little pulse was pounding and his mind was turning over and over again what Julie must have been
thinking
to make her run away like
this
. The last thing in the world he wanted was to be treated like a baby, an invalid or, he thought savagely, an imbecile
!

‘
I
’
m quite well, Nurse,
’
he said curtly.
‘
I don
’
t want to see Julie for medical reasons. In fact I don
’
t really
thin
k
it
’
s necessary for
you
to stay. All I need now is enough hand exercise to restore the flexibility to the muscles, and that I can do for myself.
’

‘
I
’
m not answerable to you,
Mr.
Holroyd, I
’
m afraid,
’
Isobel returned quietly.
‘
Matron sent me, and Matron will send for me when it
’
s time for me to return to the hospital. Until then,
’
she gave an anxious glance in
Mrs.
Andy
’
s direction,
‘
I shall endeavour to do my duty.
’

‘
I
’
m sure you will, Nurse. Nurse—Stevens, isn
’
t it?
’
Mrs.
Andy ventured, nodding as Isobel corrected her stiffly
.
‘Mr.
Holroyd is a little upset ... we are all somewhat upset just now, nothing at all to do with you, Nurse, please don
’
t think that.
’

‘
Whatever the cause,
’
Isobel remarked, looking closely at Garth,
‘Mr.
Holroyd is doing himself no good at all in getting worked up like this. After a blow to the skull such as he had he must try to keep calm and in control of himself for some time to come.
’

‘
I can
’
t just stand here having someone tell me what I ought to do and ought not to do,
’
Garth burst out impatiently.
‘
Julie might be anywhere by this time.
’

‘
Not really, Garth.
’
Roger spoke steadily, reassuringly and his words had the necessary effect on Garth.

‘
I have an idea,
’
Roger went on.
‘
You
’
ve tried to contact Tansy by phone and not succeeded. Let
’
s take
the Jag, I won
’
t take any unnecessary risks, but I can guarantee to get to Hyncaster before Bailey would do it in the big limousine. We
’
ll comb the town until we find her, or find out where she has gone. Then you can say your piece and I can say mine, and that will clear up that end of the tangle before we find Julie. We can tell her then that everything is settled and all right.
’

‘
Good idea.
’
Garth turned to his aunt.
‘
You don
’
t mind, do you, Aunt Lavinia?
’
he asked with a return to his old, courteous self.
‘
I don
’
t
think
you should come with us. You stay here and try and find her by telephone, and look after Nurse whatever her name is, please,
’
he added with an apologetic look in Isobel
’
s direction.

‘
I
’
ll do that,
’
Mrs.
Andy said thoughtfully,
‘
but you must keep me informed of what has happened. When you have contacted Tansy, telephone here and let me know what she says, what is going to happen next. I can
’
t rest any more than you and Roger with Julie dashing about somewhere, miserable as she is.
’

‘
She may have gone back to her room at the nurses
’
hostel,
’
Isobel ventured.
‘
A lot of the girls spend their leaves just resting, lounging about and catching up on their mending and things.
’

She did not know what was wrong, but she was anxious to help. She was fond of Julie, and she had admired Garth when he had been taken to St
.
Luke
’
s and her sentimental heart scented a romance in the air, although as yet she hadn
’
t a very clear idea of what was happening, what all the flap was about. Wasn
’
t this Tansy person they had just mentioned the exotic-looking
fiancé
e of
Mr.
Holroyd
’
s who had made herself a nuisance wanting him to speak to her? And surely this bronzed-looking giant of a man with the dark golden hair and the sea-blue eyes must be Roger Saxon, the brother of her friend whom she had never met and yet heard so much about from Julie and the other nurses at St
.
Luke
’
s?

‘
Thanks, Nurse.
’
It was Roger who answered her now.
‘
We
’
ll call at the hospital first, and if Julie
’
s there she can come with us on the search for Tansy. We
’
ll ring you,
’
he added the promise to
Mrs.
Andy over his shoulder,
‘
and please don
’
t worry. Julie
’
s never made a hasty or ill-considered action in her life if she thought in
doing
so she mi
g
ht inconvenience someone else.
’

‘
I
’
m sure of it,
’
Mrs.
Andy said gravely, and she and Isobel watched in silence as the huge, powerful car roared away down the drive.

Roger was a skilful driver and so far had never been involved in any incident likely to unnerve him. He drove now, capably and well, but with full concentration, and the big car ate up the miles between Woodlands and Hyncaster, Garth sitting silently beside him.

They turned in at the big gates of St
.
Luke
’
s. Roger knew the layout of the hospital better than did Garth, and with a murmured
‘
I won
’
t be a moment,
’
he was out of his driving seat and on his way to the reception desk.

‘
No luck,
’
he said, returning a few minutes later.
‘
They
’
re a nosy set.
’
He grinned unexpectedly, thereby bringing a sense of reality back to Garth although he was unaware of it at the time.
‘
That was Joyce Ashton. She was a pro when Julie was, and she managed to ask me more questions in one minute than I could invent in half a day. They should put people like that on to public enquiry services, or enrol them on the staff of a newspaper! All the same,
’
he turned the car expertly,
‘
she did make one sensible suggestion. It seems there
’
s a new rehearsal hall opened in Hyncaster. I didn
’
t know
tha
t
.
She suggested Tansy might be there. It
’
s at the top of Elm Street. Shall we go?
’

They found the hall without difficulty. It was a modernistic building looking, as Garth remarked sourly, like an up-ended coffin.

‘
I
’
d read about this,
’
he remarked as he followed Roger from the car,
‘
but I hadn
’
t seen it.
’

‘
Not much to look at, I grant you
’
—Roger looked up at the concrete blocks—
‘
but Joyce says the acoustics are marvellous, and I suppose that
’
s what counts. Let
’
s see if there
’
s an enquiry desk.
’

There
was
an enquiry desk, a massive affair-in glass brick and tabular steel. The blonde girl seated behind the enquiry window consulted a ledger and in
f
ormed t
hem that Miss Maitland and the group were in Studio Three, top floor.

‘
Take the lift,
’
she advised, indicating the door with her pencil.
‘
It
’
s quite a climb, six floors.
’

As they went up together, Garth found himself a little nervous now that the moment was so near. It would, he felt, have been easier if Roger had not been with him, but common sense told him that if Roger wanted to
marry
Tansy then he had a perfect right to be present just now.

The rehearsal was in full swing, but the moment she saw them enter the door Tansy left the dais and
ra
n
to meet them, a worried frown on her face.

‘
What
’
s the matter?
’
she demanded.
‘
Why are you both here? Is there something wrong?
’

‘
Tansy,
’
Roger began gently,
‘
Garth has something to tell you, something I really think—hope—you
’
ll be glad to hear. When he has told you I have something to say to you, too.
’
Without a further word he turned and walked out of earshot, leaving Garth to face Tansy alone.

Garth looked down into the speedwell-blue eyes in the small, attractive heart-shaped face. He looked at the tangle of reddish-gold curls, the small, passionate mouth, and knew what had attracted him to Tansy. It was her vitality, her eager enjoyment of life, but there had been no mental meeting place, no common interest, and the physical aspect was not enough.

‘
I ... it
’
s hard to say this, Tansy,
’
he began awkwardly,
‘
so if the words aren
’
t quite right, please forgive me. You see,
’
he said firmly, speaking more slowly so that every word was distinct and clear,
‘
my memory has returned. That blank space has been filled. I know now what happened just before the trailer hit us.
’

‘
Then you know
...’
Tansy
’
s small, white hand flew to her mouth and a hot tide of colour ran from the base of her throat to her forehead.
‘
You know that I
’
m not really your
...
fiancé
e?
’
she whispered.
‘
That this
’
—she suddenly began to twist the ring on her finger—
‘
isn
’
t real?
’

‘
Yes,
’
Garth said gently.
‘
I know.
’

‘
What are you going to do about it
?’
The words were whispered in such a low
voice that he had to stoop to hear. He could not help a faint smile as he answered
her.

‘
Isn
’
t it
...
rather a question of what
you
intend to do about it, my dear?
’
he asked, still in the same gentle tone.

With a quick movement Tansy took the ring from her finger and held it out to him, and to his surprise Garth saw that her eyes were full of tears.

‘
Take it back,
’
she choked.
‘
I knew I hadn
’
t any right to it, but I thought that if you never remembered ... I thought, it would
...
work out. We
’
d loved each other once.
’

‘
Not really.
’
Garth was serious and firm, and there was nothing more than friendly affection in the arm he placed about her shoulders.
‘
We were in love with love, attracted by what each found so different, so unusual in the other. It would never have worked out, Tansy, and in your heart you know it, just as I do. But there are better things in store for you—for both of us, please God—I know,
’
he ended.
‘
Roger!
’

Garth turned away as Roger moved forward in answer to his call. He walked to the far end of the room, turning his back on the two who stood there, looking at each
other.