Runaway Sister (8 page)

Even so she couldn't dispel him from her mind as she lay on the bed bathed in the afternoon sunshine. She relived those few precious moments in his arms and mused over everything he had said.

She didn't see Adam again before she was discharged. The surgeon let her go provided she could stay with someone, so she stayed with Jennie for a week. Then, using all her powers of persuasion, she got him to agree that she was fit enough to return to work. Jennie was not at all convinced that Samantha was ready, but Samantha herself was adamant.

“I'm bored,” she said. She didn't even acknowledge to herself that one of the main reasons for going back to work so soon was that at least she would see Adam in the course of the day. She told herself firmly that it was the love of her work, and the love of her work only, that drove her back so soon.

When she reported to the Nursing Officer in charge of the Unit, she was rather dubious about the wisdom of Samantha returning to work so soon.

“It isn't as if it's easy work, dear,” she pointed out, “and I must warn you that Mr. Shaw is making life very difficult for everyone at the moment.”

“I had heard about his purge,” admitted Samantha, “but I thought he would have got over that by now.”

The Nursing Officer, an elderly woman near to retiring age, raised her eyebrows dramatically. “Got over it?” she echoed grimly. “I've got the feeling he's only just started!” Anyway, she gratefully accepted Samantha's offer to start back to work on the Unit, and it wasn't long before Samantha felt she had never been away.

The Unit was still frantically busy, and Samantha spent her days delivering one baby after another. It was difficult to maintain a caring personal relationship with the expectant mothers, and sometimes she felt she was working on an assembly line, but she always took as much time as possible with her mothers, never hurried anything along unnecessarily, and always had time to reassure the anxious patients.

Nurse Wellow was back training with her again. “I don't know how you do it, Sister Roberts,” she remarked to Samantha late one afternoon after a particularly heavy day of two rather difficult deliveries. “You've got so much patience. Some women are so ignorant and silly, but you never lose patience with them.”

“Just remember,” said Samantha, getting out a pile of notes to sort through, “that it's not their fault they're ignorant and silly. It's usually lack of the opportunity to learn about things. You and I should be thankful, because we're the lucky ones, and that's why we should pass on our knowledge and confidence to others.” She smiled at Nurse Wellow. “Who knows, when you come to have a baby, you might need a little reassuring yourself!”

Nurse Wellow blushed violently, right up to the roots of her hair. “You'll probably be having a family before me, Sister,” she answered.

“I should think not,” replied Samantha, briskly snapping open the ring folder she was about to use. “I'm a career woman, there'll be no family for me.”

“Really, Sister, how interesting and enlightening!” came Adam Shaw's ironically amused voice from the doorway of her office.

It was Samantha's turn to blush now. Damn the man, trust him to turn up and catch the conversation at an inopportune moment!

“You may go now, Nurse,” she said to Nurse Wellow, and settled down with her papers before her at her desk. Adam opened the door wider for Nurse Wellow, who scuttled through and out of the way as fast as she could. She was frightened of Mr. Shaw, he had caught her doing several things of which he didn't approve, and had not been slow to let her know. They were only minor things that he hadn't given another thought to, but it was enough to scare her.

After she had gone, Samantha fiddled nervously with the papers on her desk. “Can I help you?” she asked, keeping her voice coolly professional.

“Well, yes, you can, as a matter of fact,” said Adam, perching himself on the edge of her desk and swinging one of his long legs. “I think you're just the right person to help me, that is if you're willing?” He paused, a questioning note in his voice.

Samantha gave up all pretense at looking at the papers and raised her head. He was smiling at her in that devastating way he had.

“Yes, what is it I can do?” she asked, mesmerized by his grey eyes.

“You can get out your party dress and come as my companion to the May Ball next Friday,” he told her.

“What?” gasped Samantha, her mouth opening wide in astonishment. She hadn't known quite what to expect, but the last thing she had expected was an invitation to the May Ball as Adam Shaw's partner.

“You heard me,” he said, a note of amusement in his voice, “or does the thought of having to put up with my company for a whole evening absolutely appall you?”

“Oh no, it's not that,” said Samantha hastily. “I'm surprised, that's all. What about your friend Sophie?” She had to ask, even though she knew Sophie must have gone back to Greece, otherwise he wouldn't have asked her.

“Oh, Sophie,” replied Adam casually, “she's gone back to Greece. Although even if she was still here I don't think the Medical Students' May Ball is exactly up her street.”

“Too second class?” Samantha couldn't resist saying tartly.

He looked surprised. “I'd never thought of you as being bitchy,” he commented.

“There are lots of things you don't know about me,” said Samantha shortly. “I can be as bitchy as the next woman when I want to be.”

“I hope that's not too often,” rejoined Adam. “I like my women to be sweet-tempered.”

“I'm not one of your women!” she flashed back.

Adam threw back his head and laughed, and she caught her breath. The sheer attractiveness of him was tantalizing, but she wasn't going to let him know she thought that!

“I knew you'd rise to the bait,” he said, still laughing. “You're very predictable, you know.”

“Don't you be so sure,” said Samantha crossly, annoyed that he had this uncanny ability to annoy her and yet attract her at the same time.

“Anyway, you haven't given me your answer. Is it yes?”

“Well, I…” Samantha hesitated. She wanted to go with him, but at the same time she knew she was sowing the seeds of potential heartbreak for herself. She knew that she found him irresistibly attractive and that the more time she spent in his company, the more likely she was to fall irrevocably in love with him.

“You'll be quite safe with me, if that's what you're worried about,” said Adam. “We shall have to sit at the top table, unfortunately, as I'm one of the after-dinner speakers, but after that the rest of the evening should be quite pleasant.” He smiled engagingly at Samantha and she found herself smiling back, all her fears momentarily forgotten.

“Yes, I'd love to come.” The words were out and there was no retracting them.
Anyway,
she told herself later after he had left the office,
you want to go with him, so why not go? You might as well enjoy yourself while you can, even if there's no future in it.

The rest of the week she spent worrying about what to wear. Searching through her wardrobe, she discarded every dress she possessed as being unsuitable. Although she didn't even admit it to herself she wanted to look as beautiful as that dark-eyed Sophie, so on Thursday evening as soon as she was off duty she hurried into town on the bus to go shopping. Thursday was late night shopping, and as the Ball was on the Friday it meant that she really had to find something that evening.

After about the third shop, and the twentieth dress she had tried on, Samantha was beginning to despair. She would never find a dress that was right. The trouble was she didn't know exactly what she wanted, but she was quite sure what she didn't like, and so far everything had fallen depressingly into the latter category.

She was walking disconsolately down a side street towards yet another large department store when she saw a small boutique that had recently opened. In the window was the dress. The moment she saw it she knew that was it, even though when she looked at the price tag she nearly had heart failure, but that didn't deter her. That was the dress, there was no doubt about it.

Keeping her fingers crossed that it was her size, Samantha went into the boutique. Luckily it was her size, so she tried it on, bought it, and caught the bus back to her flat, all in the space of a quarter of an hour. She had never spent so much on a dress before, and indeed had never even been tempted to.
It must be the effect of Adam Shaw,
she thought wryly,
he's tempting me to do things I would never have dreamed of before I met him.
Anyway, she had quite a lot of money saved up for her marriage, so why not spend some of it? That was what she told Jennie anyway when she had nearly fainted when Samantha let the price slip out.

When she had recovered from the shock of the price, Jennie had to admit that it was a gorgeous dress. “You'll be the belle of the ball,” she said.

When Friday night came Samantha took extraordinary care with her hair, makeup and nails. Adam was picking her up at seven and she gave herself plenty of time to get ready. She swept her gleaming blonde hair up into a loosely elegant coil on the top of her head, and painted her finely shaped nails with a clear nail varnish. Then at last she put on the dress and waited for him to arrive, feeling rather apprehensive.
Suppose the dress is too daring?
she thought, looking at herself in the mirror in the hall.

The beauty that stared back at her was hardly recognizable as the efficient-looking Sister Roberts from the Maternity Unit. The dress was dark red taffeta, off the shoulder with a deep frill around the low-cut neckline. The bodice was molded closely to the firm outline of her breasts, coming in tightly to her small waist, then the skirt billowed out in an extravagant fullness. The only jewelry Samantha had chosen to wear were some small diamond drop earrings that her mother had given her many years ago, and which she only wore occasionally.

The doorbell to the flat rang and after hesitating for a second, she opened the door. Adam said nothing as he stepped slowly inside the small hallway, his huge frame dominating the small area, then placing a hand gently on one sleek shoulder he turned her slowly round.

When she had turned full circle, he said leisurely, “I've always thought you were attractive, but I never realized you were a ravishing beauty.”

Samantha felt her cheeks beginning to stain pink, and could feel a faint flush creep across her face. “You don't think I look overdone?” she asked anxiously.

Adam looked slightly puzzled. “What on earth do you mean?” he asked. “I've just told you I think you look fantastic.”

“Well…” she hesitated, then confessed to him, “…it's the most daring dress I've ever had, and I've never worn such a dark red before.”

“I can see it's daring,” said Adam, looking appreciatively at the faint shadow between her firm young breasts, “but I like it, and I know one thing.”

“What's that?” asked Samantha as he helped wrap her shawl around her shoulders.

“I'm going to be the envy of every man in the room,” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Everyone will be asking who is that enchanting creature Adam Shaw has with him, because no one will recognize Sister Roberts from the Maternity Unit.”

Samantha laughed. His words were like a heady wine, and she felt different now she was wearing the dress; she suddenly felt as beautiful and desirable as Adam's eyes told her she was.

The dinner and the after-dinner speeches passed by in a dreamlike haze for Samantha. Adam was charming and attentive and the look in his eyes told her that tonight, at least, there was no other woman in the world. She was no longer Sister Roberts from the Maternity Unit, she was the belle of the ball, a fairy tale come true, she thought, smiling dreamily at Adam over the top of her wineglass.

Adam raised his glass. “Here's to you, Cinderella,” he said.

Smiling, Samantha raised hers in salute to him. “I hope everything doesn't disappear at midnight,” she answered with mock solemnity.

He raised a quizzical eyebrow. “No, I believe one o'clock is the time for disappearing tonight. But of course, what happens after that is entirely up to you!”

Samantha ignored his last remark, lowering her lashes quickly so that he shouldn't see the flickering flames of longing that were leaping throughout her body and that were, she was sure, reflected in her eyes. It was with difficulty that she concentrated on what the Postgraduate Dean, who was sitting next to her, was saying.

After the dinner the floor was cleared for dancing and Adam took her in his arms. Unresisting, she moved with him in a dreamlike trance, aware only of the pressure of his hand in the small of her back, and of the strength of the large hand enclosing her own slender one.

They moved together in perfect harmony. Adam was a superb dancer. Samantha wondered if there was anything he couldn't do; he seemed to be master of all he touched and surveyed. He was certainly masterful when they were dancing together, pulling her closer to him so that she was acutely aware of his hard broad torso, and the muscled strength of his thighs moving beneath his impeccably cut evening suit.

Raising her head, she looked up into his face; she could not read the expression on that handsome rugged face of his, but the flickering lights in his grey eyes, which suddenly seemed inexplicably dark, sent shivers of tingling apprehension up and down her spine. Instinctively she tried to move a little way from him, while he was holding her so close she felt incapable of reasoned thinking. Her thoughts were whirling uncontrollably, but Adam would have none of it. The grip of his arms tightened imperceptibly as she made a small movement away from him, the net result of which was that she ended up being crushed even more closely against him.