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The Baby Who Saved Christmas

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Год написания книги
2018
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‘Perhaps it’s better if the baby stays with you while I examine him, mademoiselle. He seems to like you.’

Alice nodded. Was it too far-fetched to imagine that the baby was aware of a connection between them? Or maybe it was because she knew how unwelcome she was in this house as far as Julien and probably any other members of the household were concerned. This baby had no idea of the trouble she was causing and now he was causing trouble himself, poor little thing, so there was a connection to be found quite apart from any yet-to-be discovered genetic one. They were both problems. He needed protection, this little one, and she was just the person to provide it.

She held the baby while the doctor took his temperature and listened to his heart and lungs. She helped him undress the baby down to his nappy so that he could see his skin. Jacques whimpered miserably at the disturbance.

‘He needs paracetamol, doesn’t he?’ Alice asked the doctor. ‘And sponging with lukewarm water?’

‘Indeed. You are familiar with nursing children?’

‘I’m a pre-school teacher. We often have to deal with sick children and I’ve done some training. I’ve never dealt with a case of measles, though. Is that what it is?’

‘It would seem very likely. He has all the symptoms, including Koplik’s spots inside his cheeks. Are you immune?’

‘Yes. I had measles as a child.’

‘Do you have documentation to prove your immunity?’

‘No...’ Alice closed her eyes on a sigh. The need for such documentation would never have occurred to her as she’d embarked on this impulsive journey.

‘Are you aware of how serious this is?’

She nodded. ‘I’ve kept up with news of outbreaks since we had a scare in Edinburgh.’

‘Then you’ll know that a case has to be reported and that there are very strict isolation and quarantine procedures that must be followed. I need to offer immunisation and prophylactic treatment to everybody who cannot prove their immunity.’

Julien had been standing within earshot. ‘Quarantine is completely out of the question for me. I am due in Paris for filming in the next day or two. It’s a Christmas show that’s been planned for many months and cannot be postponed.’

The doctor sighed. ‘I know who you are, Monsieur Dubois—of course I do. My wife is one of your biggest admirers but...’ he raised his hands in a helpless gesture ‘...rules cannot be broken, I’m afraid. Not when it could put the health of so many others at risk.’

Alice blinked. The doctor looked to be in his sixties and his wife was one of Julien’s biggest fans? If he wasn’t in an edgy rock band, what sort of music did he produce? Romantic French ballads perhaps, with the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar? Was he doing a collection of Christmas carols for a seasonal show? No. Somehow it didn’t fit—especially right now, with that angry body language.

With a sound of pure frustration Julien pulled a mobile phone from his pocket and walked away as he held it to his ear. The doctor turned to the two women and began speaking in French again.

Concerned expressions became horrified as he kept talking. The younger woman burst into tears. Voices rose as panicked questions were asked. Behind her, Alice could hear Julien also raising his voice on his telephone call. Everybody was sounding upset and all Alice could do was to sit there and hold the baby. It was the doctor who finally noticed that Alice was being completely left out of the conversation.

‘Marthe—the housekeeper here—has grandchildren at home and she’s worried,’ he explained. ‘Nicole—Jacques’s nanny—has much younger siblings that she visited only yesterday. They are both very scared and want to take their quarantine periods in their own homes. This is possible, as their contacts will also have to be isolated. I will be visiting their households as soon as I leave here.’


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