The Doctor's Surprise Bride

She was still talking as if nothing had happened. ‘You should have a look at Keith’s wound. I know he’s supposed to go home tomorrow but I believe he’s brewing an infection.’

Jack blinked. He’d just play along with her until after the round. ‘Fine. I’ll look at that. How’s Keith’s temperature?’

‘Creeping up, and it spiked to thirty-nine this afternoon before it went down again.’

Jack glanced at the chart the madwoman handed him from the end of Keith’s bed and he saw that she was right. Blast. They’d have to start intravenous antibiotics again because Keith had little reserve to fight infection after his brush with peritonitis.

She’d pulled the curtains and had Keith supine in the bed with his shirt up before Jack could ask, and when she removed the dressing, tell-tale red streaks were inching away from Keith’s wound.

He glanced at Keith’s face and realised his patient did look more unwell than this morning. ‘Sorry, Keith. No home until we sort this out.’

Keith sighed with resignation. ‘Matron warned me it could be that way.’

Eliza spoke from beside his shoulder. ‘Do you want me to put an intravenous cannula in?’ Jack saw that she had the IV trolley waiting and she’d probably decided which antibiotics Keith should be on, too. Just who was the doctor here? He couldn’t help the bite in his voice. ‘Have you drawn it up as well?’

He should have known she’d be immune.

‘Almost,’ she said. Was there a hint of laughter in her voice?

Jack scowled. She went on, ‘What would you like him started on?’

She had two choices there for him and they would have been first and second if he’d chosen them himself. What was wrong with him? He wanted her efficient. ‘We’ll go with the Ceftriaxone, but see if you can get a wound swab before the first dose.’

She didn’t look at him and he couldn’t tell if she was smiling. ‘Did that earlier when I took today’s dressing off,’ she said, as she prepared the antibiotic before laying it down and assembling the cannulation equipment.

‘Shall I pop the cannula in?’ Eliza glanced at him.

Jack almost said, I’ll do that thank you, but he changed his mind. ‘Let’s see how good you are,’ he said out loud. Nothing like a bit of pressure to put someone off. He knew from bitter experience that Keith’s veins were nowhere near the young bulging ones that Mia had. Matron May was too darned cocky.

‘Just a sting for a second, Keith,’ Eliza soothed as she slid the needle into an almost invisible vein with disgusting ease. She seemed to have three hands as she juggled cannulas, bungs and even took blood. ‘Did you want blood cultures?’ She taped the line securely and stood back. They both glanced at the antibiotic waiting to be injected.

‘Can I do this?’ He sounded petty and she made a strange sound that he hoped wasn’t her laughing at him. He normally wasn’t like this and he needed to get a grip. He looked at her to apologise but realised she was amused. Amused!

Today had been anything but amusing. He didn’t say a word, just gave the antibiotic, wrote up the orders and patted Keith’s hand carefully. ‘Sorry, mate. You’ll probably be in for another couple of days yet.’

Keith nodded. When they pulled the curtain back Jack was surprised to see that Joe was asleep. He frowned and raised his eyebrows at Eliza and she drew him from the room.

‘I found out today he hasn’t been taking any pain relief. He didn’t want Keith to think he was a baby,’ she said quietly, and shrugged. ‘I spoke to Joe when Keith was out of the room and we’ve come to an agreement. Since the first lot of medication he’s been asleep and Keith tells me Joe’s hardly slept.’

Jack frowned and then nodded. ‘OK. Let’s get on, then.’

They completed the round and had a quick look at Janice and her baby in less than ten minutes. There was very little conversation between them.

As he was leaving, Jack looked back and paused. He had been abrupt. ‘Matron?’

Eliza glanced up from the notes she was making. ‘Yes, Doctor?’

‘Well done with the cannula, and Joe as well. If I seem brusque, I’ve had a wild day.’

‘No problem.’ The woman seemed to be staring at some point over his left shoulder and disinclined to talk, so Jack forced himself to leave. It was surprisingly hard to take that first step away. He was more confused about her than ever and he didn’t like it. Until today his world had been pleasantly uncomplicated.

He’d put the horror of three years ago behind him and he’d immersed himself in work. He’d assumed he’d get married again someday but hadn’t dated a woman since Lydia had died.

And he wasn’t thinking of dating this one—but she certainly unsettled him.

Eliza headed back to the hotel. Except for a young blonde woman reading in the corner, the bar was quiet as she walked past the door.

‘So you’re the new matron,’ the blonde drawled, and Eliza’s step slowed to a stop.

‘Hello.’

‘Staying here will get a little noisy on a Friday night.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Eliza smiled and crossed the room to hold out her hand. ‘I’m Eliza May.’

‘Carla.’ There was something elusively appealing about this too-thin girl-woman and then there was the ice that frosted the outside of her glass in the cloying heat.

Eliza licked dry lips and put her handbag down on the stool beside the girl. ‘It’s hot this evening.’

‘Always is this time of the year.’ Carla stood up, walked behind the bar and filled a glass with ice. Then she opened an under-bar fridge and removed a beaded bottle of lemon squash and unscrewed the lid. ‘I should ask you first.’ She grinned. ‘But you’d like a squash, wouldn’t you.’

Eliza grinned back at her. ‘Dying for one! Thank you. Do you work here?’

‘No. Rob’s gone to the loo. I’m just minding the bar for a minute.’

Carla glanced out the door and back. ‘I’m off for a swim in the river when I finish my drink. If you want, I’ll show you a spot you can swim in when the days are like this.’

‘Local knowledge.’ Eliza smiled as she put two dollars down on the bar for her drink. She remembered local knowledge as a child, it had usually got her into trouble.

‘Something like that.’ There was a hint of fun which dared Eliza to take her up on the offer. After the unease she’d felt round Jack Dancer, it would be nice to loosen up and get cool.

Eliza downed her squash. ‘I’ll slip up and grab a towel.’

The swimming hole was through two fences at the back of the pub but worth the climb down a steep bank to get to. It was under a cliff face and two large weeping willows shaded the pool. There was an aging PRIVATE PROPERTY sign, adorned with a few grass necklaces from previous floods, prominently displayed near the edge.

Carla ignored it. The water looked too good to forgo.

Eliza yanked down the sides of her bathers—they seemed to like crawling too high on her leg and up her bottom. She stood hesitantly at the edge. She hated wearing swimming costumes because they made her feel so self-conscious. Carla was already in and the water looked wonderful.

The first step wasn’t too bad and the temperature of the water grew colder the further out through the reeds Eliza walked.

‘It’s freezing,’ Eliza gasped. The shock on her face when she finally forced her whole body under the water made Carla laugh when Eliza surfaced beside her.

‘Yep.’ Carla swam languidly across the pool and Eliza watched her for a moment before she turned on her back and floated with her arms out. The icy water was gorgeous against her heated skin. This had been an excellent idea.

‘Get out of there!’

Eliza recognised that voice and the enjoyment drained out of the moment as if he’d pulled the plug.