The Fateful Bargain

She said sharply, ‘You make it all sound so easy.’

‘As it is.’ They had arrived back at the cottage and had paused outside its door.

‘How long will it take—the operation on Father and then his convalescence?’

‘He will be on his feet by Christmas.’

‘And your sister?’

‘That will depend largely on you. But you have my word that the moment she is able to cope with life once more, you shall return to England. You will, of course, be paid a salary; you will not suffer financially.’

Emily was back at her old habit of doing sums in her head. She wouldn’t need to touch her savings—once she got back home she and her father would be able to have a holiday, a decent one at a hotel with no cheeseparing, and she would be able to live at the hospital again. She drew a deep breath. ‘All right, I’ll do it.’

He held out a large hand and she put hers into it. Probably she would wake up in the night and regret what she was doing, but just at that moment the whole plan seemed very sensible and easy, and above all, exactly what she had hoped for for her father.

‘I shall operate at the end of next week; your father will have limited walking exercise after twenty-four hours, his stitches will come out after a week or ten days and he will be home again before three weeks. The joint should be normal at the end of three months. I’ll do the second hip then.’

‘Yes, but who’s going to look after him? I won’t be at home, will I? He can’t stay in the hospital for months!’

‘I know just the person to look after him. If you will agree, she can move in and look after your father. A retired nurse, middle-aged and a very good cook.’

‘But it will all cost so much—I mean, even without your fees.’

‘Ah, you forget, I shall deduct an agreed sum from your salary while you are looking after my sister.’ He smiled suddenly. ‘Trust me, Emily, I’m not offering you charity! You will pay for it—probably more than you bargain for—my sister won’t be easy. There is still time for you to change your mind.’

She shook her head. ‘I shan’t do that. You see, it’s something I’ve wanted so badly for a long time—to have my father back on his feet again. I’ll do my best with your sister, really I will.’

‘I know that. Shall we tell your father the plans? He will probably have plans of his own to work out.’

‘Yes, all right. Do you want to leave as soon as possible?’

‘Well, I was rather hoping that I might share your supper.’ He contrived to sound both hungry and lonely, ‘I’ll talk to your father while you cook.’

A couple of hours later, sitting beside Mr van Tecqx, being driven back to Pearson’s, Emily did her best to gather her scattered wits together into some sort of order. It all sounded so easy when he talked about it, but she saw snags at every turn. ‘Do I have to go to the office?’ she asked suddenly.

‘Eventually, but I will see the Senior Nursing Officer tomorrow morning; she will send for you, I dare say. You would like to stay till your father is home again, wouldn’t you? I can arrange for you to leave in about three weeks’ time, you will be able to see him settled with Mrs Philips. Don’t worry about getting to Holland; I will deal with that and then let you know.’ Emily stirred restlessly and he added quietly, ‘Just take one thing at a time, Emily.’

When they reached her digs, he got out of the car, took her overnight bag from her, opened the front door and went in with her. In the narrow hall with Mrs Winter’s door open a crack so that she could hear every word, Emily said hastily, ‘Thank you for the lift, Mr van Tecqx.’

‘I’m coming up, just to see you safely in.’ He had raised his voice deliberately, ‘You can’t manage Podge and your bag.’

He stood beside her in her room, taking in its shabbiness and not saying a word. But when he turned to go he paused and dropped a kiss on her cheek. She uttered a surprised goodnight to an empty room.

CHAPTER THREE

EMILY LAY AWAKE far too long, thinking about Mr van Tecqx’s kiss. It had been a chaste salute but a kiss nevertheless; she had a nasty feeling that it was because he pitied her living in a poky attic.

In consequence she had overslept, so that she had had to hurry over her dressing and sketchy breakfast, attend to Podge and then hurry through the streets to the Underground. The day went wrong from the start. Sister Cook was in a bad mood, finding fault with everyone and everything. Emily was off duty at five o’clock, but long before that she would have given a great deal to have bolted from the ward and rushed home to Podge’s undemanding company. It was mid-afternoon when Sister Cook sent for her.

‘You’re to go to the office at once,’ she stated. ‘I have no idea why, but it’s highly inconvenient. How I’m expected to run this ward with half the trained nurses for ever going to the office, I don’t know!’

Emily said meekly, ‘Yes, Sister,’ and sped away. Mr van Tecqx might have given Sister Cook a hint; now she would have to report back from the Office and explain why she was leaving. Her tired brain really couldn’t cope with it. She tapped on the SNO’s door and was bidden to enter.

The SNO was a good deal easier than Sister Cook. She appeared to find nothing strange in Mr van Tecqx’s request that Emily should leave within a few weeks in order to nurse his sister. Emily was not of course to know that the SNO was an old friend of his mother… She said, ‘Yes, Miss Webb!’ and ‘No, Miss Webb,’ when necessary and got herself out of the office. There were no obstacles put in the way of her leaving and she might return if she wished and finish her training, but she doubted very much if Sister Cook would see things in the same light. She went back to the ward, took a deep heartening breath, and tapped on Sister’s door.

Sister Cook was seated at her desk and Mr van Tecqx was leaning against a wall, looking what Emily could only think of as smug.

Sister’s voice, pitched fortissimo for most of the day, was surprisingly dulcet. ‘Ah—yes, Nurse Grenfell. Mr van Tecqx has been explaining to me that you’re exactly the nurse that he would wish for his sister. I’ve agreed that you should leave in two weeks’ time, and should you decide to return to finish your training here later on, I for one can see no objection.’

Emily didn’t look at Mr van Tecqx; he had obviously been laying on the charm, and pretty thickly too. She said, ‘Yes, Sister, thank you,’ in her calm way, and stood waiting to be told to go.

‘Mr van Tecqx tells me he has to make known his arrangements to you before he returns to Holland. You’ll go off duty at five o’clock punctually, Nurse Grenfell, so that you may be briefed.’