Читать книгу Adam's Daughter - Jennifer Taylor, Jennifer Taylor - Страница 6

ELIZABETH CAMPBELL was about to break the most solemn vow she had ever made. It was little wonder that her hands were shaking as she reached for the telephone. Seven years ago she had promised her sister, Claire, that she would never try to contact Adam Knight under any circumstances. Even though she’d had misgivings about the decision Claire had made, Beth had kept her word.

Until now.

Her deep green eyes were shadowed as she dialled the number. It had taken her some time to track him down. At one point she had feared that she would never find him and then late last night, as she had been going through some of Claire’s old diaries, she had found his phone number. She knew that the likelihood of her being able to reach him on it after all these years was very slim, but it was the only lead she had.

The problem was that Claire had told her very little about Adam Knight. All Beth knew was that her sister had met him at a hospital in London where she had been doing her pre-registration training.

Claire had been typically honest about their relationship. She hadn’t tried to pretend that Adam had been the love of her life. They’d had a brief affair then they’d gone their separate ways. When Claire had written to him a few months later he hadn’t replied, so it was hardly surprising that Beth found herself beset by doubts once again when she heard the phone ringing.

Even if she did manage to contact Adam Knight, what right did she have to ask him for help? Surely he had made it clear all those years ago that he wasn’t interested?

‘Yes?’

The voice that answered was deep, male and heavily laced with impatience. It only served to make Beth feel even more nervous so that she found herself stammering. ‘I—I’d like to s-speak to Adam Knight if he’s available, please.’

‘Speaking. However, I was just on my way out and I don’t have the time to hang about. I can give you thirty seconds and that’s it.’

‘Oh, I see. Maybe I should phone back later,’ she began, stunned that she had found him at last. She certainly didn’t want to make a mess of things by blurting out the reason why she was phoning.

‘That sounds like a good idea,’ he said, briskly interrupting her. ‘If I’m not in then leave your number on the machine and I’ll get back to you at some point. OK?’

He hung up before she could reply. Beth slowly replaced the receiver then took a deep breath. Hardly the most auspicious of starts! If that was an indication of Adam Knight’s character then she might have to rethink her plans. He hadn’t sounded like the kind of man who would put himself out for anyone, but she’d already suspected that.

It was a worrying thought but she tried not to dwell on it as she got ready for work. She had been working at Winton Surgery for almost a month now and she loved her new job. She had been desperate to leave St Jude’s so she’d applied for the post of practice nurse at the busy Cheshire surgery as soon as she’d seen the advertisement. The fact that a self-contained flat over the surgery had come with the job had been an added bonus.

The price of accommodation in the town was horrendous and she doubted whether she would have been able to afford more than a bedsit on her salary. Now, as she finished pinning up her shoulder-length, red-gold hair and looked around the sunlit bedroom, she gave a little sigh of relief. At least she had somewhere decent for them to live when Hannah came home…

If Hannah came home, a small voice reminded her chillingly.

Beth’s eyes were sad as she picked up the photograph of her niece from the bedside table. The picture had been taken the previous year and Hannah looked so happy in it. She had been wearing a new dress at the time—bright blue cotton with big yellow daisies printed all over it—and she had looked so adorable with her mass of black curls and sparkling blue eyes.

It was hard to look at the photograph and realise how different the child looked now, but it helped to firm Beth’s resolve. She had been right to contact Adam Knight. She would phone him again as soon as she finished work, only this time she would make sure that he found the time to listen to what she had to say!

Beth left the flat and went down to the surgery. It was barely eight but she wasn’t surprised when she found Christopher Andrews, the junior partner, already at his desk. There had been a bit of a crisis the previous week when the senior partner, Jonathan Wright, had been rushed into hospital for emergency heart bypass surgery. Nobody had suspected that Jonathan had been ill because he had always seemed so full of life.

Beth had grown to admire the older doctor in the few weeks she had been working at the surgery, and had been saddened when he had been taken ill. Now she tapped on Chris’s door to see if he had any news about how Jonathan was faring.

‘What’s the latest on Jonathan?’ she asked when Chris beckoned her into the room. Chris was in his late thirties, unmarried and, according to Eileen Marshall, their receptionist, totally dedicated to his job. However, she couldn’t help noticing how tired he looked that day.

‘As well as can be expected was what I was told this morning when I phoned the hospital.’ Chris sighed as he tossed his spectacles onto the desk and rubbed his eyes. ‘Which could mean anything, couldn’t it?’

‘Hospital-speak for mind your own business,’ Beth teased. ‘I have to confess to using that very same phrase myself when I was on the coronary care unit.’

‘I’d forgotten that you worked there,’ Chris said, frowning. ‘It feels as though you’ve been here for ever, to be honest. You’ve fitted in so well that I can’t believe that you’ve worked here for only a few weeks.’

‘Coming up to a month now,’ she said, smiling at the compliment. ‘I’m almost a fully fledged member of the Winton team. Just two more weeks to go and hopefully I should get my wings!’

‘I think you can forget about being here on a trial basis. Jonathan was saying last week how pleased he is with your work.’ Chris sighed again. ‘I only hope that I won’t let him down. It’s going to be tough keeping on top of this job, especially when Jonathan is such a hard act to follow.’

‘Surely you’re going to need help?’ Beth said, frowning at the thought of Chris trying to cope on his own. The surgery was extremely busy and she couldn’t imagine him keeping up with all the work by himself.

‘I certainly am. I’m not Superman and I don’t mind admitting it! Fortunately, I believe reinforcements are on the way. When I last spoke to Mary, she told me that she had contacted her nephew and that he was flying home. Evidently, he has offered to cover until Jonathan is better.’

‘I didn’t know Jonathan and Mary had a nephew who’s a doctor,’ Beth exclaimed.

‘It’s been a while since he’s been back to England,’ Chris explained. ‘He’s been working for the WHO in Rwanda and before that he was in India, I believe. I met him only briefly when I first came here but we got on extremely well. He’s a nice chap, takes after Jonathan in that he’s totally committed to his work.’

‘He’d have to be if he’s been doing aid work on a long-term basis,’ she observed. ‘It takes a certain type of person to cope with that kind of work.’

‘It certainly does. It will be a big change for him, working here, but I’m delighted to know that I won’t be on my own for very much longer. It’s busy enough here even when we’re fully staffed!’

The words turned out to be prophetic because it was one of the busiest mornings Beth could recall since she had started at the surgery. Although she had enjoyed her job at St Jude’s, the sheer diversity of the work she did at the surgery meant that there was always something new to deal with each day, and that day was no exception.

She smiled to herself as she finished cleaning a particularly bad graze on a four-year-old’s knee. So far that morning she’d supervised a teenager who was learning to inject himself with insulin, treated a nasty ulcer on an octogenarian’s leg and taken copious amounts of blood for various tests. There was never a dull moment in general practice, it seemed!

‘Now, can you be a really brave boy and sit on the couch while I check that there’s no more gravel in your knee?’ she asked, smiling at little Michael Thomas, who had been brought into the surgery by his anxious grandmother after tripping over in the park.

Michael stared solemnly at her, tears still sparkling on his thick blond lashes. He’d been sobbing his heart out when he’d been brought into Beth’s room but he’d quietened down under her gentle ministrations. He gave a hesitant nod and she smiled reassuringly as she lifted him onto the couch.

‘What a brave boy you are!’ She turned to Mrs Thomas, his grandmother. ‘I think I’ve got all the gravel out but I just want to make certain before I put a dressing on Michael’s knee.’

‘That’s why I thought I should bring him here,’ the older lady explained. ‘My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be and I was afraid that I might not see all the little bits of dirt. It’s such a nasty cut, isn’t it? I only took my eyes off him for a second, too.’

‘You can’t watch a child all the time,’ Beth consoled her. ‘At this age they are always getting into mischief.’ She took a big magnifying glass from a drawer and showed it to Michael. ‘I’m going to use this to look through. It will help me see if there’s any more dirt in that cut.’

She held up the magnifying glass so that he could see through it and smiled when he chuckled at the distorted image of her face. He seemed more fascinated than afraid when she carefully examined his knee with the help of the glass.

‘Me see, me see!’ he demanded, leaning forward and threatening to topple off the couch in his eagerness to have a look.

Beth quickly steadied him then held the magnifying glass so that he could get a good view of the cut. ‘Can you see any more gravel in it, Michael?’ she asked, and he shook his head importantly.

‘No. All gone.’

‘Good. That’s what I wanted to hear. Now, sit back while I put a dressing over that poor knee. I’m sure Granny doesn’t want to have to take you home with a sore knee and a sore head if you fall off the couch.’

Mrs Thomas laughed. ‘I certainly don’t! My daughter-in-law won’t trust me to take him out again if I return him home looking like one of the walking wounded!’ She lowered her voice conspiratorially. ‘Actually, I think Diane was trying to get me out of the way and that’s why she suggested I take Michael to the park. It’s my seventieth birthday soon and I think Diane and Robert, my son, are planning a surprise for me.’

‘We’re having a party, Granny,’ Michael piped up. ‘Only Mummy said that it’s a secret.’

Beth laughed. ‘Not any longer it isn’t!’

Now that she was sure that the cut was clean, she covered it with some antiseptic-impregnated gauze then added a large adhesive dressing printed with cartoon characters.

Michael was entranced by the dressing. Beth chuckled as she followed him out to Reception and watched him leaving the surgery, bent almost double so that he could look at his knee.

‘One more satisfied customer, wouldn’t you agree?’ she said to Eileen behind the desk.

‘I certainly would. If only they were all so easy to please…Well, look who’s here! Where did you spring from, stranger?’

Beth looked round to see who the receptionist was speaking to and felt a frisson run down her spine when she saw the tall, dark haired man who had just entered the surgery. He was handsome enough to have warranted a second or even a third look but it wasn’t that which kept her staring at him. There was just something strangely familiar about him, yet she knew for a fact that they had never met.

‘I arrived late last night—very late, in fact!’ He gave a deep chuckle as the middle-aged receptionist rushed round the desk and gave him a hug. ‘But it was worth it to be on the receiving end of a greeting like that! It’s good to see you Eileen. You’re looking great.’

Beth felt another ripple run through her. Not only did he look familiar, he sounded familiar, too! But where on earth had she heard that voice before?

She reran the mellifluous tones through her head but she couldn’t place them. She was still trying to pin down the elusive memory when the man turned towards her and Beth saw a frown cross his handsome face.

‘I know this must sound crazy but have we met?’ He stared at her then shrugged. ‘You look so familiar but I can’t for the life of me recall where I’ve seen you before.’

‘You’ll have to do better than that!’ Eileen laughed as she linked her arm through his and led him to the desk. ‘You don’t honestly think that Beth is going to fall for that old line? It’s got whiskers on it!’

‘I’m out of practice. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!’

He chuckled softly as he reached Beth, his dark blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at her. Now that he was standing in front of her she could tell that he must be at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a powerful chest tapering down to slim hips and incredibly long legs. He was casually dressed in khaki chinos and a matching shirt, and although the clothes were clean they were very creased.

Beth had a strong impression of a man to whom material possessions meant very little. Everything he was wearing was functional but basic, from his clothes to the inexpensive watch strapped to his broad wrist by means of a plain leather band. Whoever he was, he certainly didn’t feel the need to impress people by his appearance, she decided, surprised by the speed with which she had made such a judgement.

‘OK, then, I’ll try again—but this is for Eileen’s benefit, mind you. I know better than to fall out with the one woman around here who knows how to make a decent cup of coffee.’ He held out his hand and for some reason Beth found herself obediently taking it.

‘Of all the surgeries in all the towns in all the world, I have to run into you here.’ He grinned engagingly at her. ‘Now, if you could just tell me who you are and put me out of my misery I shall be eternally grateful. If we have met before then I apologise for not remembering where and when. Jet lag does tend to liquidise the brain cells, I’m afraid.’

‘I don’t believe that we have met,’ she replied, laughing at his rueful expression. ‘Although I have to confess that I had a feeling that I’d seen you somewhere before when you walked in.’

‘Maybe we met in another life,’ he suggested lightly. However, she wasn’t blind to the frown which had crossed his face while she’d been speaking.

The telephone rang and Eileen regretfully excused herself to answer it. It was obvious that the receptionist was intrigued by what was happening but Beth decided that it might be better to call a halt. She had work to do and that had to come first, pleasant though this interlude had been.

‘Who knows?’ she replied with a smile as she started to withdraw her hand. However, the stranger held onto it.

‘You still haven’t told me who you are.’

‘So I haven’t. Sorry. I’m Beth Campbell, the new practice nurse—’ She stopped when she heard his swift intake of breath, feeling her heart start to race when she felt his fingers tighten around hers.

‘You’re Claire’s sister, aren’t you? No wonder you seemed so familiar when I first saw you. You look a lot like her.’ The blue eyes swept over her before coming back to her face, and she saw the regret they held. ‘I was so sorry when I heard that she had been killed. I was out of the country at the time and I didn’t find out what had happened until months later. It was a shock even though I hadn’t seen her in years.’

‘You knew Claire?’ Beth whispered. She withdrew her hand abruptly, afraid that he would feel the tremors that were racing through her. Her mind was starting to fit together all the bits of the puzzle about who he was but she simply couldn’t believe what it was telling her.

‘Yes. We worked together in London, way back. We were good friends at one time, too. I’m Adam Knight, by the way. Maybe she mentioned me?’

‘Yes, she did.’ Beth could feel the ground tilting beneath her feet and knew that she had to get away before she disgraced herself. ‘I’d better get back to work. I’ve still got patients to see.’

‘And I’d better let Chris know that I’m here. I’d have been here earlier only I wanted to stop by the hospital to see how uncle Jonathan was doing,’ he replied easily, but she could see the puzzlement in his eyes and knew that he had been surprised by her brusqueness.

‘Dr Wright is your uncle?’ she asked hollowly. That Adam Knight was not only here in Winton but actually about to start work at the surgery was too much to take in. She felt as though she had woken in the middle of some sort of crazy dream.

‘Yes. Funnily enough, that’s how Claire and I met. She overheard me saying that I had an uncle in Winton and told me that she had grown up not far from here.’ Adam sighed. ‘It’s strange how these things happen. I’m not sure if you can call it coincidence or fate.’

Neither was she!

Beth murmured something, although she couldn’t recall what she’d said a moment later. She hurried back to her room and closed the door, needing a few minutes to compose herself before calling in her next patient. But how easy was it going to be to deal with this situation?

Discovering that Adam Knight had links with the surgery changed everything. How could she risk asking him for help now when she had no idea how he might react? Maybe she was doing him an injustice, but she had always suspected that he must have known why Claire had wanted to see him, and that was why he hadn’t replied to her letter.

He hadn’t wanted to face up to his responsibilities, that was what it had boiled down to. In the circumstances, she’d known all along that asking him for help was a long shot. However, it was one thing to approach a stranger with the request but another entirely to broach it to a colleague. Frankly, the situation could become intolerable if he refused. This job was important to her and she didn’t want to risk losing it…

More important to her than Hannah was? a small voice whispered.

She took a deep breath.

Nothing was more important than Hannah. Neither her job nor Adam Knight’s feelings were of any consequence weighed against that. It was Hannah who mattered. Nobody else!

Somehow Beth got through the rest of her appointments with an outward show of calm which only she knew was a sham. She cleared up after her last patient had left then took the record cards through to the office for filing.

Eileen was getting ready to go home for lunch and she smiled cheerfully at her. ‘Just leave them in the tray, dear, and I’ll do them later. It didn’t go too badly, all things considered, and now that Adam’s back, we should cope until poor Dr Wright is better.’

Beth smiled and nodded in all the right places but she wasn’t really listening. Her ears had picked up the sound of a surprisingly familiar voice. She had already prepared herself by the time Adam Knight and Chris Andrews appeared.

‘I’m going to make a start on the house calls,’ Chris informed them, poking his head round the door. ‘Adam tells me that you two have introduced yourselves, Beth, so I don’t need to go through the formalities. He’s going to take this afternoon’s antenatal clinic to save me having to race back. I might even get some lunch today so things must be looking up!’

He turned to the other man without waiting for her to answer. ‘Thanks, Adam. It’s great to have you here. I’ll leave you in Beth’s very capable hands.’

A small silence fell after Chris and Eileen left. Beth knew that Adam was still standing in the doorway but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Should she tell him now why she had been trying to contact him or should she wait until later? They had to work together that afternoon and it could make the situation extremely difficult…

‘Did Claire ever talk about me?’

She jumped when he spoke, feeling the colour rush to her cheeks when she looked round and found him staring at her. ‘Not really,’ she replied, glad that she could be truthful because she doubted that she could have lied.

‘Then she didn’t say anything bad about me?’ He must have seen her surprise because he smiled thinly. ‘I got the distinct impression earlier that you were upset when you found out who I was. I just wondered if Claire might have said something.’

‘Should she have done?’ she countered.

‘I’ve no idea.’ He leant against the doorjamb and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘We certainly didn’t part on bad terms, not so far as I was concerned, anyway.’

‘Then you have nothing to worry about, have you?’ Beth gave him a tight little smile and went to the door, pausing when he made no attempt to get out of her way.

‘How much did your sister tell you about our relationship?’ he asked bluntly.

‘Enough.’ She met his gaze squarely, refusing to let him think that she was embarrassed in any way. ‘Naturally, she didn’t go into any detail but I know that you and Claire were lovers at one time, if that’s what you mean.’

‘I see. And how do you feel about the idea? Does it bother you?’ he replied smoothly.

‘No. How about you? Does it worry you that I know about you and Claire?’ she shot back.

‘Not at all.’ He shrugged but his gaze was intent. ‘It all happened a long time ago and it has little bearing on the present situation. There’s no reason that I know of why my relationship with your sister should get in the way of us working together. However, I have a feeling that something is troubling you, despite what you’ve just said.’

Beth looked away because she simply couldn’t stand there and meet that forceful stare any longer. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth and get it over with, whilst another part urged her to be cautious. Maybe it would be better to tread carefully until she had a better idea how he might react to her request.

‘I was just surprised when you turned up here,’ she said, choosing her words with care. ‘Claire never told me much about you so I had no idea that you were related to Dr Wright.’

‘I see. It must have been a shock for you, then,’ he said quietly.

‘It was.’ He must have heard the ring of truth in her voice because he visibly relaxed. Beth felt a flurry race along her nerves when he suddenly smiled at her. She had noticed how attractive he was when they had first met but he was devastating when he smiled like that.

‘And I’m not helping the situation by cross-examining you. Sorry. My excuse is that it was a surprise for me, too, to meet you here. Claire spoke about you many times. She was very fond of you, Beth.’

‘I was very fond of her,’ she admitted, feeling the ready tears welling into her eyes.

‘Now I’ve upset you and that was the last thing I wanted to do.’ His tone was so gentle that she had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat before she could speak.

‘It’s not your fault. It’s been a difficult year, what with Claire’s death and…’ She stopped as she realised what she had been about to say, feeling her heart racing when she saw the way Adam was looking at her again.

‘And what? What were you going to say before you thought better of it?’ he asked in a silky tone that made her shiver with apprehension. ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’m missing something, Beth?’

‘I…I don’t know what you mean,’ she murmured, avoiding his eyes.

‘Don’t you?’ He paused, obviously giving her the chance to explain, but she knew that she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. It was too important that she didn’t make any mistakes. So much hinged on him agreeing…

Did she really think that he would agree, though? Everything she knew about him pointed to the fact that he might very well refuse. After all he hadn’t bothered to answer Claire’s letter, neither had he made any attempt to contact her in the last seven years. Were those the actions of a man who would be prepared to help?

She bit her lip in a quandary of indecision and heard him sigh. ‘I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Interrogating you?’

He smiled apologetically when she glanced at him but she could tell that he was still curious about the way she had been behaving, and was merely trying to smooth over an awkward moment.

‘It’s a rather strange situation for both of us,’ she suggested diffidently.

‘I suppose it is.’ He frowned as though he was considering that idea. ‘Neither of us could have imagined this happening in our wildest dreams.’

Amen to that! she silently endorsed then realised that he had carried on speaking.

‘My problems?’ she queried, her heart turning over as she wondered what he had meant by that. Had she been right all along? Had he guessed what Claire had wanted to tell him seven years ago? The thought suddenly made her feel sick, even though she had no idea why it should matter so much.

‘Having to work with a doctor about whom you know absolutely zilch. It’s no wonder you’re on edge. You’re probably worried stiff in case I make a complete hash of things this afternoon.’

He glanced down at his crumpled clothes and grimaced. ‘I admit that I don’t look the part of a bona fide GP, but I swear that I have all the necessary certificates to prove it somewhere around!’

She laughed shakily, not sure why she felt so relieved that he wasn’t about to confess to such unscrupulous behaviour. ‘You don’t have to prove anything to me. I’m willing to take your word for it that you’re suitably qualified.’

‘Thank you. I appreciate it.’ He treated her to a smile and once again Beth felt her pulse skip a beat. It had been such a long time since she’d reacted like that to a man’s smile that it confused her, and it was a moment before she realised what Adam had said.

‘The airline lost your luggage?’ she repeated.

‘That’s right. I couldn’t get a direct flight back to the UK so I had to make a couple of stop-overs en route. Somewhere between Tangiers and Düsseldorf my cases went AWOL. Fortunately, I had a holdall with me containing a change of clothes so at least I was able to wear something clean to come here today.’

He gave a deep chuckle. ‘Aunt Mary is going to hunt out some of the stuff I left with her the last time I was in England, but I’m not sure if it will do much more to improve my image. I have never been known for my sartorial elegance, shall we say.’

He paused when the phone on the reception desk suddenly rang. ‘I expect you want to go for lunch so I’ll get that. Anything I need to know before this afternoon?’

‘No, it’s all quite straightforward—routine antenatal check-ups with, hopefully, few problems,’ she assured him.

‘Fine. I’ll see you later, then.’

Adam hurried away and a moment later Beth heard the rumble of his voice as he picked up the receiver. However, she didn’t wait around. Apart from the fact that she didn’t want to have to answer any more awkward questions, she didn’t have the time to hang around if she wanted to see Hannah before she was due back at work.

She sighed sadly.

Everything came back to Hannah. She just hadn’t realised how difficult it was going to be to tell Adam about her niece.