Nurse Trudie is Engaged (13 page)

She glanced to where Geoff and Ursula sat side by side. Ursula held a book of photographs on her knee. They were some pictures of various aspects of his experiments that Geoff had given her to look at while he put the last-minute touches to his concert arrangements, but she was not looking at them now.

“
She
’
s only looking at him,
”
Veronica thought half-spitefully,
“
and he
’
ll never have a mind above a virus however long he lives.
”
She looked back at Malcolm, but he seemed totally unaware of her scrutiny. Making far more noise than was necessary, she turned and extracted a cigarette from the little box on the table close beside her, making a great business of lighting it and ignoring Malcolm who had immediately moved toward the cigarettes. The gesture had been purely instinctive, she thought scornfully. At that moment the tape ran out, and when Geoff was about to put on a second one he was halted by Ursula
’
s hand on his arm.

“
Why not leave it until the others come back?
”
she suggested.
“
I don
’
t think Veronica is listening
”
—her smile flashed at the other girl took any sting from the words, however much Veronica had wished to openly resent them—
“
and Malcolm is miles away. I
’
d like you to explain these to me, if you will, please,
”
she added.
“
There
’
s so much here I
’
d like to understand before I see Herr Mazo.
”

“
If you
’
re sure
...”
Geoff began uncertainly, looking from one to the other. Malcolm made a slight gesture, a faint smile curving his well-shaped mouth.

“
I don
’
t mind,
”
he said easily.
“
As Ursula said, I was mentally miles away. I was thinking over the negotiations for Mrs. Pascoe
’
s land ... complications there in the will, you see.
”

“
I
’
d rather talk,
”
Veronica said flatly,
“
but not about bugs and viruses and what-have-you.
”
She gave a scornful glance at the book still held on Ursula
’
s lap.
“
I
’
ve had enough of them to last me a lifetime. It seems apparent that biochemists are tarred with the same brush. They can
’
t leave their work alone. Any other type of man can do his work and leave it when he closes his office door, leaves his place of business, even lawyers
”
—she flashed a smile at Malcolm—
“
but a medical man, no. He must be living it, breathing it, making it a part of every moment, whether it
’
s convenient or not
...
look at what
’
s happened this evening, for instance.
”

“
And what, exactly, has happened this evening?
”
Malcolm took up the challenge, as she had intended him to do, leaving Geoff to turn back to the book with a shrug and to begin a low-voiced explanation of the photographs to Ursula.
“
Several human beings have been hurt. Whether it was their fault or not is of no consequence to the doctor. He simply knows where his skill is needed, and where he can save a life he will do so. Just as Trudie, with her nursing experience, will do all she can to help ... as will Dora and Philip.
”

“
That
’
s just the point,
”
Veronica flashed impatiently.
“
Why should they give up a pleasurable evening of celebration that we
’
ve all looked forward to just to save a little time? The police doctor would soon be there, so would the ambulances; they
’
ll all be quite adequately cared for in either St. Catherine
’
s or some other hospital, without everyone here having to rush off and have their evening spoiled.
”

“
And in that short waiting time,
”
Malcolm announced quietly,
“
one or more of them might have died. One life or more could have flickered out when, with a little expert care promptly given, it could have been saved.
”

“
They
’
d get the expert care, as you call it,
”
Veronica said scathingly.
“
Dr. Hislop may be the only doctor in this area, but those people would have been taken to hospital in a matter of minutes. There was no reason on this earth why he and ... Philip
”
—hesitating over the name, Malcolm noticed, but went on speaking almost at once—
“
should have gone rushing out into the night like that. Geoff s taken no end of trouble to rig up this concert. After he came home from Arcpo, he was measuring, arranging the mikes, and calculating things all afternoon. It isn
’
t fair!
”

“
I don
’
t think Geoff or anyone else would agree with you,
”
Malcolm said slowly and definitely,
“
at least not in this house or among our circle of friends. When one follows a profession such as my father, Philip, and Dora follow, or like Trudie, one doesn
’
t worry about details like private arrangements, if there
’
s a human being in need of help and comfort.
”

“
Human beings are always in need of help and comfort,
”
came the unyielding answer.
“
I still don
’
t think it
’
s fair that a certain portion of humanity should take it for granted they can do as they please and then just call for help and one or another of the noble band will be at their disposal! That was the sort of thing Garth and I could never see eye to eye about.
”

“
I wouldn
’
t imagine you could, if that is and was your attitude,
”
Malcolm commented dryly.
“
Garth, like the rest of his profession, took an oath, and there are several points in that oath that stick in a man
’
s mind for the rest of his days. Don
’
t forget,
”
he went on in a gentler tone than he had used so far,
“
people who follow professions that demand care and thought for others are, in general, people who are called to their particular profession. Not to answer a call for help would be, to them, like being a traitor.
”

Veronica was not to be mollified. She was so absorbed in the discussion, so delighted at having provoked some response from Malcolm, even if it were not the one she would have chosen, that she did not hear the others returning; slamming of the car doors outside, the sound of Trudie hurrying through the hall and to the door of the lounge.

“
I call it being a traitor to those you love,
”
she said, her voice sounding suddenly clear and loud,
“
rushing off no matter what has been planned, or organized. A lot of thought goes into the planning of every meal, every evening
’
s entertainment. And someone, some stranger, gives a call for help and it disappears like a puff of smoke in the wind. Look at Philip
”
—at this point Trudie
stiffened, just outside the door, her hand still turning the knob softly—
“
enjoying himself, relaxing, probably after a hard day. We were all going to celebrate something. Their ... engagement
”
—the word sounded hard and unreal—
“
and my coming here. Instead of that he
’
s out in the night, tending someone who, for all we know, took a stupid risk and endangered his own life and those of other people, to say nothing of upsetting our arrangements.
”

There it was again, Trudie thought, color flaming in her cheeks as she pushed open the door and entered the room. She had to say something herself, before Dora came in and, catching the drift of Veronica
’
s remarks, said something that would really upset everything and everybody. Deliberately she answered Veronica before Malcolm had time to speak.

“
Philip isn
’
t the only one of us who has had a hard day, Veronica,
”
she said quietly.
“
Dad was called out twice during last night. He doesn
’
t sleep between calls like that as easily as he once did. He had morning and evening office hours, and a clinic at Lower Thrackwaite this afternoon. In between he had a round of visits as long as your arm. Dora had a day of it, too. I
’
m the only one
”
—a little smile flitted across her face, which looked somewhat strained and tired, Malcolm noticed abruptly—
“
who has had an easy day. That
’
s only because this is my off-duty time, of course. But none of us mind,
”
she added, sinking into a chair.
“
It
’
s good to be able to help.
”
She half-turned to Malcolm as the others could be heard coming through the hall.
“
Will you ask Mrs. Emma if she
’
ll make some fresh coffee, please, love?
”
she said.
“
I think we could all do with it. There was quite a mess when we arrived.
”

She leaned back in the chair and apparently closed her eyes, but she was watching Veronica as the door opened to admit Philip, Dora and her father. Veronica
’
s glance flickered for a brief second on Trudie
’
s apparently exhausted frame, then sought Philip
’
s. Watching under half-closed lids, Trudie saw his answering glance reflected in the mirror on the wall opposite the door.

What was it that lay between them? Trudie thought wearily. She wished she knew. When she had tried to talk to Philip about her sister-in-law he had been evasive, not wanting to carry on the discussion, but he had said at one point that he was sorry for her and all women like her.

“
Why?
”
Trudie had asked, bewildered.
“
She hadn
’
t loved Garth very long
... and she doesn
’
t appear to be desolate.
”

“
Because,
”
she recalled the serious tone of his voice and the strangeness of his words,
“
I don
’
t think Veronica knows or understands love in the accepted sense of the word. I think she is one of the unfortunate people who, so far in her life at any rate, has been unable to inspire love or to give it. Desire, yes, but love
...”
Trudie remembered she had flared up against him then, cutting the discussion short herself because she had felt she must defend Garth from some nameless accusation.

“
He must have loved her,
”
she had stormed.
“
He wouldn
’
t have married her otherwise.
”

“
Now you are not understanding, Trudie,
”
Philip had said very gently.
“
I think Garth was blinded by normal attraction; the old trick old Mother Nature uses to continue the species, and it doesn
’
t always work out. There has to be more than the physical side, you see. Tell me,
”
he had ended quietly and soberly,
“
what else would Veronica have had in common with your twin, if Garth was anything like you and the family have portrayed him to me?
”

Trudie had been too angry at the time to continue their talk, but alone in her bed that night she had tried to analyze his words dispassionately. Her conclusions had shocked her as nothing else could have done. Philip was right, she knew that. He had not known Garth at all, but he had seen what they all ought to have realized long ago; there was nothing in Veronica but this strange magnetic attraction that could hold a man like Garth for any length of time.