Читать книгу Hot Single Docs: Blinded By The Boss - Amy Andrews - Страница 18

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHARLOTTE GREETED HIM the next morning with hot coffee, toast and a smile. Her capacity to smile never ceased to impress Edward, as did her ability to bounce back from whatever life threw at her.

‘So it’s the Lighthouse this morning.’ She seemed to be looking forward to it.

‘Yes. Sure you’re up to it?’

She’d already had a hell of a week, and it was only Wednesday.

‘Of course.’ She settled into the front seat of his car. ‘Why? Do you have any concerns?’

‘No. I think it’s a great idea for you to come and talk to Mercy before she’s transferred over into the clinic’s care. I wish I’d thought of it myself.’

He had, actually. He just hadn’t been quite sure how to broach the subject. When Leo Hunter had suggested it, Edward’s concerns that he might be seen to be favouring Charlotte above any of the other nurses had been put to rest.

‘Lizzie didn’t tell me much about Mercy. Just that she was very frightened about being in the hospital, and it took the nurses there a long time to calm her.’

‘Yes, it did. That’s why you’ll be with her for all the procedures that we’re going to do at the clinic. So that she’s always got a familiar face to reassure her.’

She smiled. Mercy was going to love that smile.

‘I’ll do my best for her.’

Charlotte snapped into work mode as soon as they entered the doors of the hospital, following quietly behind him, listening carefully to everything that was said. Edward stopped at the nurses’ station and caught the attention of a trainee nurse who seemed to have nothing to do.

‘Will you get me Mercy’s notes, please?’

The nurse jumped to attention, handing him the file. ‘She had a good night last night. Woke up a few times, but she wasn’t crying the way she did before.’

‘Good. This is Charlotte King. She’s going to be looking after Mercy when she comes to the Hunter Clinic.’ He squinted at the nurse’s name badge, because he couldn’t for the life of him remember her name. ‘Charlotte, this is Kendra.’

Charlotte ignored Kendra’s dismissive look and stepped forward. ‘Hi, Kendra. It’s good to hear that Mercy’s been so well looked after here.’

Kendra sniffed, obviously feeling that her role as a very junior nurse at one of the best children’s hospitals in the country made her in some way superior to Charlotte. She had a lot to learn.

‘You’re a qualified nurse?’

‘Yes, I’m an RN. Working towards being a Nurse Practitioner,’ Charlotte replied quietly. She didn’t seem to mind Kendra’s attitude, however much it rankled with Edward.

‘Charlotte!’ A voice behind them made her turn. ‘How good to see you—how are you?’

The senior nurse who greeted Charlotte obviously knew her well. Kendra realised her mistake and disappeared out of range as quickly as she could, followed by a small smirk of satisfaction from Edward.

‘So how’s Isaac?’ Sandra Morton gave Edward a brief nod and then turned back to Charlotte.

‘Oh, growing up. He’s going to school now.’

‘Really? Yes, I suppose he must be. He was such a cute baby. And how’s Peter?’

A small pause.

Edward wasn’t sure whether he should intervene or not, and decided that Charlotte was perfectly capable of handling the situation herself. Much better than he could, probably. He started to leaf through Mercy’s notes.

‘Actually, I haven’t seen him for a while. He left.’

‘No! But he was such a nice guy—’ Sandra stopped herself. ‘Obviously not.’

‘It just didn’t work out. But everything’s good now.’

‘Great. I hear you’re working at the Hunter Clinic?’

‘That’s right. I’m here with Mr North to see one of your patients.’

‘Ah, Mercy. Well, I’m glad to see that you’ll be looking after her. The kid’s had a bad time, and she deserves the best.’

Charlotte grinned. ‘She’ll get it. Just as she has here.’

Sandra nodded. There was clearly a great deal of mutual esteem between the two women and it warmed Edward to see Charlotte being treated with the respect she deserved.

‘Well, I’d better get going. Call me some time—or I’ll call you. Maybe we can go out one evening?’

‘Yes. It’s good to see you, Sandra.’

Charlotte turned back to Edward, and he flipped a page in the notes in front of him.

‘You can stop pretending to read now...’ She leaned towards him, whispering.

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Your eyes aren’t moving.’

Fair enough. Edward hadn’t thought that anyone would notice that he was staring at the same word on the page in front of him, listening to what the women were saying.

‘I know what it says, anyway.’ He snapped the notes shut.

‘Can you fill me in on Mercy’s history? Before we go to see her?’

‘Yes, sure.’ Edward looked at the sign above the door of the conference room and saw that it was empty. ‘Let’s go in here.’

He sat down, and Charlotte took a seat opposite him. He’d seen her at the clinic, and he knew that she was great at her job, but she always made it seem so natural. This change in context let him see just how professional she was.

‘We don’t know much about Mercy’s background. She’s thirteen years old, an orphan, and was clearly fending for herself for a while before being picked up by one of the charities working in the area. They’ve found a new adoptive family for her, back in Africa, and by all accounts she’s very happy with them. She’s been going to school and doing well.’

‘Sounds good so far. Have they accompanied her to the UK?’

‘No, she’s staying with a foster family. I’ve spoken with the mother and she seems to be doing an excellent job. The problem is that Mercy doesn’t want to talk about what happened to her before she was taken in by the charity.’

‘So you’ve not been able to take a detailed medical history?’

‘Yes and no. We know what’s the matter with her, but I’d like to know what caused some of her problems as well. For instance, she has a perforated eardrum.’

‘Hmm... Not usually a result of trauma. Although it sounds like a good probability in this case.’

Charlotte pressed her lips together in thought, and Edward ignored the little thrill of pleasure that seemed to accompany all his dealings with her.

‘Your first objective is just to let her get to know you, though. See if you can reassure her so that she feels she’s got a friend at the Hunter Clinic. Any information you can get is a bonus.’

‘Okay. What else do I need to know?’

‘She’s here for surgery on a healed Buruli Ulcer.’

‘That’s a bacterial infection, isn’t it?’

Edward nodded, pleased that Charlotte wasn’t slow in asking for more information when she needed it. ‘Yes, that’s right. A Buruli Ulcer is relatively easy to treat when it’s caught early, but if it’s not—as was the case here—patients can develop large ulcers which result in disabilities and restricted joint movement as the scars heal. In Mercy’s case there was a contracture which had multiple joint involvements—hand, wrist and elbow.’

He scrunched his own arm up to demonstrate the way that Mercy’s arm and hand had been folded tightly in on themselves and Charlotte winced.

‘Poor kid. It must have hurt like nothing I can imagine.’

‘She’s been through a lot. But the operation to straighten the limb, grafting in new material where necessary, was a success.’

‘You did it?’

‘Yes.’

That warmth again, as if her smile were caressing him. Pride because she cared that it had been Edward who had carried out the precise skin and muscle grafts which would restore some of the movement in Mercy’s arm and hand.

‘How much mobility will she recover?’

He shook his head. ‘Difficult to say at this stage. But the prognosis is good, and if she keeps her physiotherapy up she should do well. That’s another thing I want you to look at. She needs to be committed to this, and to understand how important it is for her to continue the things that she’s being taught when she goes home.’

‘Right. Okay, then. So I’m working on her heart, not her medical condition.’

‘Primarily. Although she’s going to need nurse-led care at the Hunter Clinic and you’ll be providing that.’

If anyone could do it, Charlotte could.

* * *

When Edward ushered Charlotte into Mercy’s room she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. She found that Edward hadn’t been quite honest with her.

The girl’s face lit up when Edward smiled at her. ‘Hello, Mercy. How are you today?’

‘I am well, Dr Edward.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve brought someone to see you.’

Mercy’s dark eyes never left Edward’s face. If he reckoned that his quiet kindness hadn’t got through to her, then he was fooling himself. Charlotte began to wonder what she was doing here. Edward had clearly underestimated his own capacity to reassure the girl.

There was tenderness in his eyes as he spoke again. ‘Nurse Charlotte is going to look after you when you come to see me at the clinic. She’s come to meet you.’

Mercy gave Charlotte a small nod.

‘I’ll...um...leave you, then.’ Edward seemed suddenly at a loss as to what to do next.

‘No. Please stay. Just for a few minutes.’

Charlotte didn’t share Edward’s conviction that she could gain Mercy’s confidence instantly, through some magical process that he knew nothing about.

She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Mercy’s bed. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Mercy. I hope that I can be your friend.’

Mercy nodded again, clearly deciding to adopt a wait-and-see policy. Charlotte was going to have to prove herself, but that was okay.

‘I’ve brought you some pictures of my family.’ She had photographs in her bag—of herself with Isaac when he was a baby, together with some more recent ones, and some precious images of her parents. ‘Would you like to see them?’

‘Yes.’

That was a start. Charlotte began with the picture of Isaac. ‘This is my son. His name is Isaac, and he was born on a Saturday.’

Mercy studied the picture carefully. ‘Then in my country he would be called Kwame.’

Edward’s curiosity got the better of him and he leaned forward. ‘For Saturday?’

‘Yes.’

‘I was born on a Friday.’

Mercy smiled. ‘Nurse Efie.’

Charlotte grinned. ‘That’s a lovely name. Thank you for telling me. What’s yours?’

‘Abena. My English name is Mercy.’

‘You have a lovely smile, Mercy Abena.’

* * *

Charlotte had been alone with Mercy for almost an hour when Edward’s phone beeped. He checked the text which had just arrived and made for Mercy’s room. Charlotte was waiting for him outside the door.

‘Thanks for coming so quickly.’ She looked nervous, moving her weight slightly from one foot to the other.

‘You said “asap”.’

Charlotte wasn’t one of those people who peppered all of her communications with either ‘asap’ or ‘urgent’. When she said it, she meant it.

‘I’ve noticed something...about Mercy.’ She seemed almost reticent to tell him.

‘Right. What have you seen?’

‘It may be nothing...’

‘What have you seen, Charlotte?’

She took a breath and seemed to loosen up slightly. ‘We were talking together, getting on fine, and then all of a sudden she seemed to zone out. It only lasted for a little over ten seconds.’

He nodded, turning the various possibilities over in his mind. ‘The nurses have said that she seems very withdrawn sometimes. Do you think it could just be her mental state?’

‘Maybe.’ She clasped her hands together—a small, nervous gesture. ‘It doesn’t feel like that to me.’

‘Okay. What does it feel like?’ This wasn’t his normal method of diagnosis, but he was willing to give Charlotte the space to prove him wrong.

‘I think she may be having Absence Seizures.’

‘Epilepsy?’

Charlotte nodded. ‘Her eyes rolled back, very briefly, and her eyelids fluttered a little. I leant forward and put my hand on her arm and she didn’t react. Afterwards she didn’t seem to have any recollection of what had happened.’

‘That was quick thinking. Well done.’ Most people would have attributed a short period of absence to being the daydream of a teenager, far from home and trying to block out what was happening around her.

‘I could be wrong. I looked on her notes and no one else has reported anything like this.’

Edward shrugged. ‘Which just means you’re a bit more observant than the rest of us.’

It wasn’t only that. Charlotte had a habit of looking at people when she talked to them, giving them her full attention. Until he’d met her he hadn’t realised just how few people really did that.

She flushed pink with pleasure. ‘So you’ll take a look at her? Ask her about it?’

‘Nope.’ He turned towards Mercy’s door, twisting the handle. ‘You’re going to do that. I’ll watch and learn.’

She was cheerful and relaxed with Mercy, as if nothing had happened, sitting down by her bed and motioning Edward to do the same. Charlotte worked her way round to the subject of the seizure quickly, but deftly, as if it was just another routine set of questions which had to be asked.

‘When we were talking together just now you seemed to lose me for a moment. Dr Edward and I would like to ask you about that, if it’s all right with you?’

‘There is...nothing.’ The sudden look of hostility in Mercy’s eyes spoke far louder than her words.

‘I’m sure there isn’t. But can we ask, all the same?’

Charlotte leaned towards Mercy, a look of gentle encouragement on her face, and Mercy shrugged.

‘Okay, then. Well, you seemed not to hear or see me for a little while. Has that happened to you before?’

Mercy’s gaze flipped sullenly from Charlotte to Edward, then back again.

‘It doesn’t make you a bad person, Mercy. A little boy in my son’s class at school has the same thing.’

‘He does?’

‘Mmm-hmm. The doctors can stop it, though. Dr Edward could stop it.’

‘Can you?’ Mercy’s gaze fixed on Edward.

‘Yes.’ He wondered whether he should say more and decided not to. Charlotte would fill in any of the details that she thought were necessary.

‘We’ll have to do some tests.’

Apparently a quick wrinkle of the nose was enough to help describe a blood test to rule anything else out, and an EEG which would pick up any unusual electrical activity in Mercy’s brain.

‘They’re okay. They don’t hurt.’

‘And you can cure it?’

‘Of course. If it’s what we think it might be, then it might well just stop all of its own accord when you get a bit older. In the meantime we can stop it.’ Charlotte reached forward, taking Mercy’s hand. ‘But Dr Edward needs to know all about this first, so he can do the right thing.’

Mercy hesitated. ‘Some people say that this is a bad spirit...’

‘No. It’s nothing like that, Mercy. Trust me. Sometimes we just...skip a beat for a few moments.’ Mercy looked unconvinced, and Charlotte tried again. ‘Dr Edward told you that he could make your arm better, didn’t he?’

‘Yes.’

‘And he did, right?’ She waited for Mercy’s nod. ‘Then ask him if this has anything to do with bad spirits.’

Mercy seemed disinclined to ask a second time, but Edward answered anyway. ‘It’s nothing to do with anything like that, I promise you. It’s an illness, and we can make you well with medicine.’

Mercy nodded. ‘I do skip a beat sometimes.’

‘How often? How many times every day?’ Edward leaned forward.

‘Three or four. Sometimes more.’

Charlotte nodded, as if that was just the right number of times to ‘skip a beat’ every day. ‘And how long has this been happening?’

Mercy shrugged. ‘Always.’

‘Mmm...’ Charlotte seemed to approve of that, too, although Edward couldn’t see its significance. ‘So is it all right if we do the tests, then? Like I said, they won’t hurt.’

‘Yes, Nurse Efie.’

A quick nod of her head and she turned to Edward. ‘Blood test?’

‘It’s what I’d do.’ He couldn’t resist teasing her, just a little. ‘Want me to go and fetch a kit for you?’

She rolled her eyes at him to conceal her smile. ‘No. I’ll go.’

* * *

‘Nurse Efie, eh?’ Edward leaned against the railings of the hospital’s roof garden, the breeze rearranging his hair into the maverick version of his usual clean-cut style. ‘So come on, then. What’s mine?’

‘I didn’t ask. You can find out for yourself. Mercy will tell you.’ Charlotte took a sip of her coffee. ‘She really likes you. Says that you’re kind.’

‘Does she?’ The idea seemed to surprise him.

‘So what’s wrong with being kind?’ She grinned up at him.

‘Nothing. I try to be kind. I’m not as good with people as you are, though.’

‘I think you underestimate yourself. Didn’t you see her face when you walked into her room this morning?’

Either Edward didn’t have an answer to that, or he wasn’t sharing. ‘So what made you cotton on to the name thing?’

‘The mother of one of my patients told me, years ago. Apparently it’s quite important which day you were born on in some parts of Africa. I just gave her the information about when Isaac was born to see if she’d pick up on it.’

Edward nodded. ‘I’ll have to find out a bit more about that...’

‘Poor old Archie. He’s not going to have his name changed, is he?’

‘I don’t think so. It would probably confuse him. Cats are all instinct and not much brain.’ He took another sip of coffee. ‘So I’ve put a call in to the Head of Neurology. Is there anything else I should know? I’m wondering whether there’s any connection between the seizures that Mercy’s been having and the burst eardrum?’

‘I don’t think so. We mainly just talked, but Mercy said that after her parents died she lived with an uncle. I think that was when she was beaten, because she said that her aunt made her deaf.’

Edward shook his head, staring at his coffee. ‘Someone would have had to hit her pretty hard.’

‘Yes. But she was having the seizures before then. So hopefully the two things are unconnected and the seizures aren’t a result of brain damage.’

She looked up at Edward and he blinked quickly. Took a swig of his coffee, and then wiped his eye.

‘Something in your eye?’

‘No. Yes, probably.’ Whatever it was it seemed to be a source of embarrassment.

‘Want me to take a look?’

‘I think I’ll manage.’ He took another mouthful of coffee. ‘These kids... We have to do something...’

Charlotte laid her hand on his arm. Tried not to think about the way the hard muscle flexed at her touch and to convince herself that this was simple reassurance. ‘You are doing something. You’ve given her back the use of her arm. She knows that, and she says that she’s going to exercise every day.’

‘It’s not enough.’

‘It’s what we can do.’

If the other nurses at the clinic could see them now. Edward, impassioned and almost weeping over a patient. Charlotte, resorting to reason and logic. It was so unexpected as to be almost bizarre.

‘I know.’ He drained his cup and dropped it into hers, scrunching the two together to make a ball, which he lobbed into the nearest recycling bin. ‘I want you there when Mercy has the EEG, to reassure her that no bad spirits are out to get her. I’ll clear it with Leo.’

‘Thanks. And thanks for listening.’

‘You were right. You’ve done a really good job here today.’

His praise meant a lot. More than a lot. Everyone at the clinic knew that Edward’s praise had to be earned. Charlotte felt her cheeks flush with pleasure. ‘Thanks. I’d like to just pop in and say goodbye to her before we go. Tell her that I’ll be back soon.’

He grinned. ‘Do that. Then I’d better be getting you back to the clinic, or Lizzie will have my hide for kidnapping you.’