Nurse Trudie is Engaged (5 page)

“
The telephone is in the little closed alcove under the stairs,
”
Malcolm said, pointing.
“
We had to have it enclosed and an extra bell put on the outside of the door because Dad said it was impossible to hear what people were saying unless he was using the office or study extension. There
’
s always so much noise with four young people milling around the house all the time. I suppose,
”
he grinned suddenly, making himself look years younger
“
we
’
re by no means as noisy now as we once were.
”
Philip had been puzzling over that remark
“
four young people,
”
and almost as if he had read his thoughts Malcolm spoke again.

“
Sorry,
”
he apologized almost without knowing why,
“
it
’
s difficult to always remember Garth won
’
t be ... coming home.
”
He turned abruptly, leaving Philip to make his telephone call.
“
I
’
ll be with Trudie,
”
he called over his shoulder.
“
You
’
ll find your way back all right?
”

Philip nodded and opened the door of the little alcove. Within moments his call was answered by the measured tones of Foster who had charge of the domestic side of the place and who had been with Philip since he had first set up Conrey House for himself.

“
I won
’
t be home for dinner, Foster.
”
Philip found it difficult to say the words. This was an entirely new experience. The only other times he had not been home when expected was when an emergency operation claimed his attention, or when he was away at some conference or meeting and Foster was not expecting him anyway.
“
If I
’
m needed,
”
Philip went on smoothly,
“
I shall be at Dr. Hislop
’
s house, The Cedars, in Upper Thrackwaite. I
’
ll give you the number in a moment.
”
Without quite knowing why, he added,
“
Don
’
t keep anything for me, and if it
’
s late don
’
t wait up. I have no idea what time I
’
ll be in.
”

“
Very good, sir.
”
There was a slight pause; then Foster asked tentatively,
“
There
’
s nothing wrong, is there, sir? I mean
... you are all right? You haven
’
t been involved in an accident or anything of that nature?
”
The man
’
s bewilderment showed in his tone, and Philip repressed a smile as he pictured the frown on Foster
’
s forehead under his scant silver hair.

“
Nothing like that,
”
he assured the man gravely.
“
There was an accident, which was why I came here, but I
’
m simply staying for dinner. That
’
s all.
”

“
Very good, sir,
”
Foster said again and hung up after a moment. Philip chuckled to himself as he imagined him framing the explanation he thought best for George and Bob, the two ex-seamen, who worked under him. He was still smiling as he returned to the lounge and found Dr. Hislop still there.

“
Trudie
’
s been telling me exactly what happened,
”
he said briskly as the other man entered.
“
Must have given you a nasty shock too, falling just under your wheel like that. From her description of the woman and her children I think she must be Mrs. Semperman, a patient of mine. She was to come to St. Catherine
’
s today to bring the baby to see Dora Stacey.
”

“
What
’
s the trouble?
”
Philip asked politely.

“
Ears,
”
was the brief answer.
“
Tell you the history later, if you
’
re interested, but right now the office is filling up, and if I don
’
t close the door—officially it should have been closed five minutes ago—someone else will roll up right to the moment Mrs. Emma serves dinner. See you later,
”
and with a cheery wave of his hand he went off this time.

“
Dad
’
s the old-fashioned type of doctor.
”
Trudie looked after her parent with an affectionate smile.
“
It really hurts him when he can do no more for any patient of his, and he
’
s pinning all his faith on Miss Stacey this time on little Chris
’
s behalf. Seems his brother—the imp who ran onto the road—had this same trouble, but thanks to Miss Stacey he
’
s all right now.
”

“
Yes, she
’
s good at her job. Dora, I mean,
”
Philip said almost absently.
“
She
’
s a good person, too.
”

“
I know.
”
Trudie was perking up a little now, after a bowl of some concoction that Mrs. Emma had brought to her, announcing it had been prescribed by Dr. Hislop. Whatever it was had certainly helped his daughter, and she smiled now at Philip, making conversation about Dora, her father
’
s patients, anything that came into her head, because sh
e
did not know quite what she could talk about to Philip Malham, off duty.

“
All the nursing staff like her.
”
She was, apparently, still referring to Dora, Philip concluded.
“
She seems to understand other people
’
s problems almost before they have spoken them aloud.
”

“
She
’
s in the wrong department,
”
Philip teased.
“
She should be in psychiatry!
”
But even though he smiled he was seriously remembering the little talk he had enjoyed with Dora about himself and what, he realized, might one day become a problem: his own inability to treat the opposite sex in any other way than simply as colleagues or patients. Or, he reflected, nurses.

Dora
’
s words came unbidden to his mind.
“
What you need,
”
she had told him,
“
is a nice, safe engagement
...”

Philip found himself watching Trudie Hislop across the room. She was pretty, more than usually so with her eyes, lovely hair, and well-molded features. She was intelligent, and she had the gift of humor. She was thoughtful and brave. He remembered the child, stumbling in the road in the path of the bus—she was modest about what she had done.

“
Sounds like a catalog of her virtues,
”
he scoffed at himself mentally, but all the same the idea persisted at the back of his mind and would not be put away. Safely
“
engaged
”
to Trudie, he would undoubtedly be safe from Ursula
’
s attempts to manage his affairs. Perhaps Ursula would turn her attentions,
well-meaning
though they were, elsewhere. That would be an undoubted relief. The more he thought of Dora
’
s suggestion, the more pleased he was with it and the more he regarded it as an interesting possible solution to his worries. Trudie was not, he told himself, like some of the nurses, forever hanging around the heels of one doctor or another. Trudie, so far as he could judge, was more like himself, minding her own business, doing the work she was trained to do and not allowing her private hopes, dreams and fears to intrude into her working life.

Malcolm had an amusing story to tell of Miss Peterson, a character well known in both Lower and Upper Thrackwaite. Miss Peterson had more money than she knew what to do with and no relatives, and at least twice a month she changed her will. This time, it appeared, a newly founded organization for the preservation of
“
Areas of Silence
”
was to benefit.

“
I
’
m not really discussing a client
’
s business,
”
Malcolm explained.
“
As soon as she leaves the office she goes straight into the coffee house on the corner and takes great delight in informing all who will listen of the changes she has made and why.
”

“
It
’
s a pity someone can
’
t interest her in something really worthwhile,
”
Philip observed.
“
There are plenty of good causes running out of funds. I think Dora ought to get her to endow her new clinic ... if she gets it!
”

“
Or Arcpo
’
s latest project,
”
Geoff put in quietly.
“
At her age, she might be more interested in that than in the welfare of children.
”

“
And the project is... what?
”
Philip asked with genuine interest.

“
Prolonging of life, but real life,
”
Geoff said seriously.
“
It
’
s useless just to have people living years longer unless they feel fit and well. There
’
s so much to be done, so much people can be taught, the right foods, the right exercise, the right relaxation, the art of breathing properly.
”

Philip asked him to explain what had been done so far and in a short time the subject had engrossed them all.

It was something of a shock when Mrs. Emma announced that the doctor would be in from the office in just five minutes and that dinner was ready to be served.

“
I must pop up and look at those slides before I sit down,
”
Geoff announced.
“
I
’
ve some cultures you might like to see later, if you
’
re interested,
”
he added to Philip, who said with enthusiasm that, of course, he would be delighted.

“
And I
’
ve a phone call to make.
”
Malcolm glanced at his watch.
“
It won
’
t take a minute, if you
’
ll excuse me.
”

Philip and Trudie were left alone for a few moments. When he looked directly at her she smiled—a warm, friendly smile with nothing teasing or flirtatious in its quality. Philip found that strangely reassuring.
“
She
’
s like Dora,
”
he thought with a flash of insight,
“
but younger of course.
”
Like Dora, he was certain, Trudie put her work first. It was obvious that she loved every moment of it: the patients, the other nurses, the doctors, the rest of the staff from Matron downward, but with no degree of sentiment. She was what Philip had once heard described as
“
a nurse through and through.
”
He was certain of it. And what had Dora said?

“
Surely there must be someone like yourself,
”
had been her words,
“
someone who is as dedicated to her own calling as you are to yours and who wouldn
’
t want to go rushing off to the altar in a blaze of white satin and glory.
”

The worst she could do would be to snub him, he reflected, and from what he had seen of her this evening she was hardly the type to do that while entertaining him as a visitor and guest in her own home.

He flung a desperate glance at the door. Any moment now Dr. Hislop or one of Trudie
’
s brothers might come in. He cleared his throat and moved over to sit beside her, not wanting to speak above a subdued tone of voice.

“
I
’
m glad you
’
ll be working at the extension, Trudie,
”
he began, not even realizing that this time he had dropped the formal
“
Nurse Hislop,
”
causing Trudie
’
s heart to race faster although she gave no outward sign.

Instead she said demurely.
“
You get the best out of people. I
’
d do anything for you.
”

It was the opening he needed and, unaware that this was completely out of character for him, Philip took the plunge.

“
In that case,
”
he said slowly and deliberately,
“
I have a proposition to put to you that I hope you will seriously consider, It
’
s both personal and private—
”
Then the hearty voice of Dr. Hislop greeted them from the door and, for the time being, the moment was gone.

Dinner at Conrey was always well cooked, excellently served, but, Philip realized, rather a lonely affair. Here at The Cedars the meal
was equally well cooked and served, and the conversation was lively and general. Trudie, as both her father and Philip had expected, showed little interest in the good fare put before her by the anxious Mrs. Emma. Both medical men were anxiously watching for any signs of delayed shock, hoping this would be prevented, but prepared to act if she showed any reaction.