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Mark hunkered down in front of her and put his arms around her. 'It isn't part of your job to break up fights. It isn't what you're trained for. That's why we have security people.'

'I know. I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'I don't know what's the matter with me.' She knew that she should be stronger, but she was fast losing the battle. A wash of tears came into her eyes.

'You're in shock,' he murmured. 'You need to forget what happened.' He gave a faint smile. 'Let me help you with that.' He leaned forward and kissed her then, a sweet, probing kiss, exploring the softness of her mouth, as though he would coax her to forget all her fears.

Her lips parted and clung to his, drinking in the comfort he offered until she lost sight of her uncertainties and could only think of this wonderful moment in time. His kiss was gentle, claiming her mouth with infinite tenderness, filling her senses with a longing for something that could never be hers.

But he was way out of her league, and his family, his lifestyle were aeons apart from hers. This should not be happening. He was only trying to comfort her. She shouldn't read anything into it.

Reluctantly, he broke off the kiss and leaned back, looking at her with an odd expression. 'Better now?' he asked.

She nodded, and he got slowly to his feet once more. He moved away from her, glancing at her from time to time with a wry twist to his mouth as he tidied away the cotton wool and tape that he had used to clean her wound.

It had been an exercise in taking her mind off things, hadn't it? He had said as much, and she wished that things could be different. She suddenly realised that she wanted him to care, but that wasn't what this was all about. He wasn't affected by the kiss as she was, she was sure of it. It had meant nothing at all, had it?

'T
his
patient needs dialysis,' Mark said, handing a chart back to Sarah. 'Have you been in touch with the renal unit?'

'Yes, I contacted them a while ago. They're going to arrange for him to be admitted. I think things are difficult over in the unit at the moment, but they say that they'll be able to find a place for him. I imagine things will stay troublesome until the new unit opens.' She paused, glancing at the patient. 'Hopefully, he'll only need the dialysis for a short time, until his kidneys recover.'

'It would help if we could get the new dialysis machine installed,' Mark murmured, 'but we need some ideas for additional fundraising.' He made a wry face. 'Shaun suggested that we all do a sponsored run, but I haven't been able to find that many people who are keen to take part.'

Sarah wrote out a prescription for medication and handed it to the nurse who was checking drips and trying to make the patient more comfortable. She told Mark, 'You'd do better to hold some kind of garden
fete. Now that the weather is improving, people are more inclined to go out and about, and you might find that they want to go somewhere where they can buy plants for the summer bedding, or look at things on craft stalls. Throw in a dog show and entertainment of some sort, and you might bring in quite a bit of cash.'

He looked at her, his head tilted slightly to one side. 'You know, that's a really good idea.' He smiled, and out of the blue he reached for her and gave her a quick hug, almost lifting her from the floor, so that she gazed up at him with startled eyes. 'I'll have a word with my father,' he said. 'He has enough land to set up something of the kind, and he has contacts, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get the whole thing organised. I'll let you know how we get on.'

She tried an answering smile. He was still holding her, and even the patient was looking at them askance from his bed. She couldn't imagine what the nurse was thinking.

'Do that,' she murmured, feeling embarrassed and exhilarated at the same time. His touch was having a very strange effect on her. It made the blood pound through her veins and she felt a wave of heat surge through her body like a stream of quicksilver. She muttered softly, 'You should put me down. People are looking.'

He laughed. 'That will never do, will it?' All the same, he put her down and then turned to the patient and said with a smile, 'I think our Dr Mitchell has earned her pay for the day. Now, as to your condition, I know that you must be feeling really uncomfortable and quite ill at the moment, and that's because of all the toxins that have built up in your system. You've suffered a very bad infection, but we've managed to isolate the source of the infection and the medication seems to be working now. Once we get you on continuous dialysis, you'll start to feel a lot better, and your kidneys will get a chance to rest and recover.'

The patient managed a smile. 'I hope so.'

Sarah and Mark left the treatment room a moment or two later, and Sarah went to find her next patient. The imprint of Mark's hands stayed with her, even though he had moved away. He appeared to be totally unconcerned, and she tried not to think about him. After all, it had been an instinctive reaction on his part, and he had probably forgotten about it already.

She put all thoughts of the garden fete from her mind, and it seemed like just a few days later when he said, 'How are you fixed for this weekend? My father's managed to set things up for the spring fair, with licences and stallholders and so on, and he's even sorted out the advertising, so we should get a good turnout. He's hoping that you'll enter Kingston for the dog show, and that you'll bring Jamie along to enjoy the roundabout rides. How about it?'

She stared at him. 'You're serious?' she said. She had made the suggestion off the top of her head, but she hadn't really expected anything to come of it, or to find that she was to be involved in any way. The truth was, she hadn't actually thought beyond the idea, and here he was, telling her that he wanted her to be part of it.

'Of course I'm serious. I've already roped in half of the A and E team, the half that isn't on duty, and I had a quick word with your father, and he seemed very keen, though it might have been the mention of the beer tent that encouraged him. I don't see how you can refuse.'

She was open-mouthed. 'When did you talk to my father?'

'This morning, when he came in to visit Hannah. He seemed quite taken with the idea. He said that he would help you out with Kingston.'

'You seem to have thought of everything.'

'Yes, I think so. I certainly hope so.' He lifted a dark brow. 'Is that all settled, then? I could come and pick you up, unless you decide to come along with your father.'

'My dad will bring me,' she said. 'I imagine you'll be far too busy organising things.'

'You could be right.'

Fortunately, on the day of the garden fete the weather turned out to be dry and bright. Mark had been perfectly right when he said there would be a good turnout, but even so, Sarah was amazed by the number of people who milled about the grounds of his father's property.

The last time she had seen his father's house it had been at night, and she hadn't been able to see very much of the grounds. Now, though, she discovered that his land was far more extensive than she ever could have imagined. He had given a great part of it over to the fair, and stalls stretched the length of a field. There was even a bandstand where a group of young men were setting up a drum kit and loudspeakers and were tuning their guitars.

'Wow!' Jamie exclaimed. 'They've got water shooters. Can I have a go, Grandad? Please, Grandad?'

'Of course you can, lad.' Her father turned to Sarah. 'Will you be all right with Kingston while I go and take this young man around?'

She nodded. 'I'll be fine. I think we're expected to take part in the dog show in a few minutes anyway. That should keep us both occupied for a while.'

Mark came and found her as she was walking the dog away from the arena a short time later. His brows drew together in a quizzical stare. 'He didn't win, then?'

'I'm afraid not.'

'He probably cooked his goose when he tried to grab the judge's jacket. He seems to have a thing about flapping edges, doesn't he?'

'It was your idea that I should bring him here,' she retorted. 'He's a beautiful-looking dog, but he'll never win any awards for his behaviour.'

Mark laughed. 'Come and have a drink with me over by the refreshment tent. The caterers have set out tables and chairs, and there's a railing where we can tie Kingston's lead for a while. He can sit and watch us.'

'All right.' She walked with him across the grass. 'It looks as though you're going to collect a tidy sum for the dialysis machine,' she said when they were seated at a table just a short time later. She had a glass of wine and a plate of sandwiches in front of her, and Mark had settled for lager and was helping himself to the sandwiches. Jamie and her father were still wandering around, looking at all the stalls and trying out some of the activities. Kingston was at their feet, tied up to a railing but perfectly happy, scoffing an ice cream.

'It's looking good,' Mark said. 'The sale of raffle tickets has brought in quite a large amount already.'

'Are those the prizes?' she asked, glancing over at a table on a raised dais.

He nodded. 'There are consolation prizes, like baskets of fruit and bottles of wine, but there's also a television set and hi-fi unit. A sponsor has given us the main prize—a holiday. Do you want to wander over there and take a look?'

She nodded. Finishing off her drink, she turned to Kingston. 'You had better stay there,' she said, 'and finish that ice cream. You're making a revolting mess. I'll be back in just a minute.'

Kingston took no notice. His attention had wandered to a cardboard box that someone had left lying around, and he was doing his best to demolish it. Sarah slipped away with Mark. 'I don't really want him anywhere near that stand,' she told Mark. 'He might start getting ideas. It's best to leave him by the railing for the time being, I think. We won't be too far away, so we'll be able to keep an eye on him.'

They went over to the stand, and Mark handed over some notes and bought a wad of raffle tickets. He handed them to her, and she looked at him in astonishment. 'These are for me?'

'What would I do with a basket of fruit?' he said. He slipped an arm around her waist as she glanced at the collection of prizes, and her whole body reacted to the intimacy of his touch. It felt good, and she absorbed the warmth of his hand as it rested on the curve of her hip, sending ripples of tingling sensation to reverberate through her soft flesh and fire up her nervous system. It surprised her, the way she was feeling. She had never felt this way before, and she had never responded to any man in the way she did to Mark.

Lost in thought, she was suddenly alerted to a commotion that was starting up to one side of them, and she looked up in horror to see that Kingston had sneaked up and was intent on lifting a box of chocolates from the display.

'How did he get loose?' she exclaimed. Then she saw Jamie, jumping up and down and squealing with laughter. He started to run towards Kingston, and the dog, realising that he had been rumbled, grabbed the box of chocolates in his mouth and took to his heels.

'Oh, no. Kingston, stop.'

'He runned away,' Jamie shouted gleefully.

Her father said awkwardly, 'I'm sorry about that. I was talking to someone and I didn't realise that Jamie had undone the lead before it was too late.'

'I'll get him,' Mark said, 'already breaking into a sprint.

Sarah glanced at her father. 'Will you look after Jamie for me?'

He nodded, and she hurried after Mark. The dog, still with the chocolate box firmly gripped between his teeth, was heading towards the flower-beds in the distance, and she hoped that Mark would catch up with him before he reached them.

Kingston flew through the spring flowers without a care in the world, and Mark caught hold of him just as he was about to make a return run. 'Got you,' he said.

'Oh, no, look at that.' Sarah swept her glance over the trampled flowers and was aghast. 'I'm so sorry.

What on earth will your parents think? I never dreamt that he would do something like that.' She caught sight of the crumpled box of chocolates. 'And the raffle prize... Kingston, you're a bad dog,' she said, shaking her head. 'Look at what you've done.'

'He actually looks pleased with himself,' Mark said, laughing. He glanced down at the dog. 'That was a good game, wasn't it?'

Kingston sat down, panting, and Sarah could have sworn that he was grinning.

'I'll have to get my father's car and go to the shops,' she said. 'I'll see if I can find some chocolates to replace those.'

Mark shook his head. 'Don't worry about that. We have another box in the house. Come with me and we'll go and get them.'

By this time her father and Jamie had caught up with them. 'I think I'll take charge of you,' her father said, taking hold of Kingston's lead. 'We'll have no more of this, my lad.'

Kingston seemed to realise that the game was up, and he trotted along beside her father and Jamie, looking somewhat subdued. Jamie thought it was wonderful fun, though, and hopped and danced all the way back to the fair, thoroughly enjoying himself.

'I'll take him to the refreshments tent and sit him down for some lunch,' her father said. 'I expect you're hungry, aren't you, Jamie?'

Jamie nodded. Sarah said, 'I'm just going to go with Mark to get some more chocolates to replace the raffle prize. I shan't be long.'

'Take your time,' her father said. 'We'll be fine.'

Sarah was still worrying about the flower-beds, but she walked with Mark into the house arid hoped that they wouldn't come across his parents just yet. She had to work out what she was going to say to them.

'There's a box of chocolates in the bureau in the dining-room,' Mark said. 'Through here.' He led the way, and when they reached the room Sarah stood and looked around, taking in the splendour of her surroundings. Everything about this house was luxurious, and the furniture and soft furnishings were all of the very best quality. The walls were panelled with beautifully carved timber, and there were two oil paintings by famous artists, depicting country landscapes.