Dr Langley: Protector or Playboy?

‘The bus, usually, or if it’s a pleasant day and I have plenty of time, I walk. I enjoy the fresh air and the exercise. I live just a mile or so from here.’

He nodded. ‘Which would you prefer to do now—walk, or take the bus?’

‘I think I’d rather walk, as it’s a pleasant evening.’

‘Are you sure? Isn’t your ankle going to give you problems if you do that?’

‘No, it’s fine, thanks.’ She’d washed it and covered the area with a dressing, and though it was still sore, it would be okay.

‘Good. I’ll walk you home.’

She was quiet for a moment or two, but then she said, ‘Okay. Thanks.’ There didn’t seem much point in protesting any more. He’d made up his mind, and maybe, for whatever reason, he felt that she needed to be watched over.

The sun was setting as they walked along the street that was made up of bars and coffee shops. At this time of the evening it was fairly noisy, with music filtering through open doors and windows, and with boisterous young people intent on having a good time.

‘How often do you have to work at the café?’ Ben asked. He was frowning. ‘Do you have to put in a lot of hours?’

‘It’s a fairly flexible arrangement,’ she told him. ‘Jacques appears to be a bit uptight, but he’s not a bad employer, really. He’s just having a bad day. He knows how I’m fixed, and he’s fairly accommodating. I generally help out on evenings when they’re particularly busy, and I do half a dozen or so hours at the weekends when I can pull them in.’

He shook his head. ‘It can’t be easy. It’s a shame you have to take a part time job while you’re at medical school. Training to be a doctor is not exactly an easy option, and there’s a tremendous amount of studying to be fitted in. It can’t be good for you, burning the candle at both ends. It must be a worry, making sure that you stay on top form.’

His comments stirred her own fears and she turned to him with a concerned expression. ‘Do you think I’m not up to it? Does it look that way? I’ve always done my best, and I’d hoped I managed fairly well at the hospital today. Of course, the consultant’s opinion is another matter. But, then, he was out to make a point, to put me on the spot and let me know that I have to be on my toes and bone up on the kinds of situations that will come my way.’

He looked into her eyes, recognising her insecurity, and his glance warmed her. ‘I thought you did remarkably well. But you’re not stressed out with exams right now. How will you cope when the pressure’s on towards the end of next month?’

She gave a light shrug. ‘I’ll cope the same way I always do, I hope, by making the best use of my time and generally attempting to fit a quart into a pint pot.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘Anyway, I don’t have the luxury of living on independent means.’ Her glance flicked over him. His suit was perfectly cut, beautifully tailored, and she doubted he had to worry too much about finances.

‘True.’ He sent her a sideways, curious look. ‘But going on that way is bound to put a damper on your private life.’

She laughed. ‘Well, there is that … but I don’t actually have much of a private life right now.’

He frowned. ‘Are you saying there’s no boyfriend?’

‘That’s right.’

He let out a slow breath. ‘I can’t imagine what’s wrong with the males around here,’ he said, shaking his head.

‘Nothing at all, I should think.’ She sobered. ‘I’m not overly concerned with getting involved right now. I had a bad experience with someone I thought I cared for, and who said he cared for me … it all went wrong, and I’m not keen to go there again any time soon. Anyway, there’s too much going on for me now, with my studies and work, and so on.’

The break-up with Ewan had left scars, not ones that could be seen but her faith in human nature had been severely challenged. Perhaps she should have been forewarned by her parents’ example—they’d shown her that relationships could go badly wrong.

‘I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?’

‘No, not really.’ She shrugged off all those troubling thoughts. ‘The only thing that really matters is that I want to be a doctor, and if it means working hard to achieve that, that’s what I’ll do.’

‘That’s a splendid ambition.’ He gave her an approving look. ‘Have you decided on a specialty yet? You seemed to be very much taken with the baby on the ward today.’

‘Not yet, though I think I’m going to like working with children, even though it can be upsetting seeing them when they’re ill. I was quite worried about baby George. I looked up his type of illness on the computer after ward rounds, and apparently most children with his problem grow out of it by the time they’re two years old. It’s so unfortunate that he has to be booked in for surgery.’

‘Maybe. But he’s been suffering from episodes of sleep apnoea, where he’s been blue in the face through lack of oxygen, and that’s far too dangerous to be ignored.’

‘I know. The consultant explained, but it must still be hard for the parents to come to terms with it.’ They were getting closer to where she lived now, and she waved a hand towards a patch of green in the landscape, a small park bordered by black wrought-iron gates and fencing, an oasis in the midst of a built-up area. There were trees and shrubs in abundance, and through the railings she caught a glimpse of yellow daffodils swaying gently in the breeze, along with outcrops of tulips in all hues of scarlet through to the palest pink. The azaleas were in flower, too, glorious, exuberant blooms of deep crimson.

‘I go there whenever I get the chance,’ she said softly. ‘I love the peace and quiet, and the colour all around me.’

He nodded. ‘I like to go and stand by the Thames when I want to find peace. It’s very calming to look out over the water, I find.’ He looked around. ‘Do you live close to here?’

‘Yes. We’re about half a mile from the Thames, I think. We’re very lucky. The house is in a lovely, leafy terrace. It’s very quiet, and I’m really happy to be living there.’

‘We?’ He raised a dark brow.

‘My friends and I. We share. There’s Matt and Lucy. Matt Berenger—I believe you know him.’ He nodded acknowledgement, and Jade went on, ‘Lucy’s father actually owns the house, and he turned it over to students for these last few years. Matt’s father’s a business partner of Mr Clements, Lucy’s father, and he arranged for him to have a place with us. As for me, Lucy and I have been friends for ever.’

‘It sounds like a good arrangement.’

‘It is.’

They turned into a tree-lined crescent, where a Georgian terrace of houses stood resplendent, touched by the dying rays of the sun. The buildings were three storeys high, white fronted, with wrought-iron railings at the windows and again at ground level. There was a small patch of lawn between the street railings and the houses were hung with baskets filled with spring flowers and trailing ivy.

‘This is ours,’ she said, stopping outside a house halfway along the terrace. ‘We actually have a small garden out back. Talk about landing on my feet! I’m just so pleased to be living here.’

‘I’m impressed,’ Ben said, studying the building. ‘If the inside’s anything like the outside, you’ve every reason to be happy.’

She nodded. ‘Come in with me, and I’ll make you a coffee. It’s the least I can do after the way you looked after me.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course.’ She could hardly let him go on his way after he’d taken the trouble to walk her home.

‘Then I will, thanks.’ His mouth curved, and she tried to ignore the warm glow that started up inside her. She didn’t want to be enticed by his gentle manner and easygoing ways. She’d been there before with Ewan and the result hadn’t been pleasant.

They walked up the few steps to the front door, and she showed him into the entrance hall. ‘The lounge is through here,’ she said, pushing open a door and leading the way into a large, high-ceilinged room with a polished wooden floor and deep sash windows. ‘The furniture’s a bit sparse, but at least it’s comfortable. We do argue a bit over who gets to sit where, because even though there are two sofas, Matt and I both like to stretch out our legs when we get the chance. It does tend to make Lucy a bit annoyed at times.’

He chuckled. ‘There are bound to be a few disagreements when several students live under one roof. Though three’s probably a nice, manageable number.’

‘True. But actually there used to be four of us until recently. Caroline left to take an elective course of study in Africa.’ She sent him a quick glance. ‘Which reminds me—I meant to ask if you did something else before taking up medicine. I have the feeling you might be two or three years older than Matt, who’s in the same year as you—or perhaps I’m mistaken?’

He shook his head. ‘You have it right. I took some time out to travel and see the world before I decided what I wanted to do. My parents were happy enough for me to do that, and I found temporary work wherever I could to support myself through it. Then, when I came back to the UK, I worked for a while in a hospital, on the administrative side. I just wanted to get a feel for things, to see if I’d be suited to the life.’

‘And you obviously decided to go with it in the end. So medicine wins!’ She grinned at him, and they did a high-five, their hands meeting in a spontaneous action that came out of nowhere. Ben was still smiling, gazing around, when Lucy entered the room a second or two later, looking a bit frazzled.

Even frazzled, Lucy was stunning to look at, there was no doubt about it. With flowing golden hair and intensely blue eyes, she was a picture to behold. Her bone structure was perfect, her lips full and red, and her figure was absolutely perfect.

Jade glanced at Ben, curious to see what his reaction would be to her best friend. Most men did a double take and almost fell over themselves trying to get to know her.

Ben simply waited patiently to be introduced.

‘Hello,’ Lucy said, suddenly cottoning on to the fact that Jade wasn’t alone. ‘I don’t think we’ve met, have we?’