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Chantal hesitated. ‘Well, it’s different. Actually, it’s like coming home for me. You see, I was born just a few miles away in Montreuil. My English father died when I was seven. My French mother resumed her teaching career after that and she took me to live in Paris where she’d got a job. That’s where she brought me up, although we always used to return to this area and stay here during the long summer vacation.
‘This coastline feels like my second home because I know it so well. When I was old enough I did my medical training in Paris and took a staff position when I qualified.’
Sidonie put the ice pack down on a trolley and sat down beside her patient. ‘Was it because you regard this area as your second home that you chose to leave Paris?’
Chantal looked at the figure of the kindly woman and found her experienced presence very comforting. She welcomed a girly chat to take her mind off the pain and the unexpected turn of events today.
She lay back against her pillows. ‘It was a sudden decision. Very sudden.’
She drew in her breath as the awful memory of that fateful day flooded back to her.
‘One minute I was on cloud nine, in love with the man of my dreams, three months pregnant with his much-wanted baby.’
She hesitated. Should she, indeed could she, go on? What did she have to lose?
‘Then the phone rang and everything changed.’
Her voice was quavering as she gathered her thoughts. Was it really a good idea to unload the sordid details onto someone who was a colleague?
The orthopaedic sister was watching her with a deeply sympathetic expression on her face, as if anticipating what was to come. Oh, it would be good for her to get it off her chest. She’d bottled it up ever since she arrived at the Hôpital de la Plage. It was about time she relaxed and socialised a bit more. It wasn’t her fault she’d been totally hoodwinked by a despicable, two-timing scoundrel.
She could hear the sound of a heavy trolley being pushed past her door through the swing doors into the ward and the murmur of the nurses and patients as the doors opened.
A nurse knocked, before opening her door. ‘Dr Winstone, would you like some lunch?’
Chantal shook her head. ‘No, thank you, Nurse.’
Sidonie turned her head. ‘Is everything OK in the ward, Sylvie?’
The young nurse smiled. ‘Fine, Sister. A nice quiet Sunday for once.’
‘I’ll be back to check the medicines after you’ve served the lunch. Pay attention to the patients on extra fluids, won’t you?’
‘Of course, Sister.’ She turned back to her patient. ‘So what happened after the phone rang?’
Chantal moved her good foot into a more comfortable position at the side of the cushions supporting her injured ankle as that fateful evening last September came flooding back.
‘I was in the kitchen in my apartment, roasting a chicken for our supper, I remember. My boyfriend had phoned earlier to invite himself round that evening so I’d picked up a chicken at the supermarket on my way home from hospital.’
She swallowed hard. ‘The phone rang. I answered it. It was a woman’s voice. She asked if Jacques was there. I called him over and went on preparing the meal. I assumed it was probably one of his private patients. He seemed to have lots of those. He was such a charming person. Unpredictable, though. I never knew when he was going to turn up.’
Already she could feel the bitterness welling up inside her. ‘He took the phone into the sitting room. I could hear his voice, very low, more like a whisper. Then suddenly he started shouting. ‘No, you mustn’t do that! No, you can’t come here. You can’t! ’
Sidonie sat very still as she waited for Chantal to continue. She could see how upset she was.
‘He slammed down the phone and came back into the kitchen. His face was drained of all colour and he was trembling. At the same time I could hear footsteps on the stairs coming up from the ground floor of my apartment block. Then hammering on the door.’
‘Who was it?’
‘His wife. I had no idea he was married. It transpired that she’d been caring for her sick mother in the south of France for a few months. A friend had tipped her off that her husband was being unfaithful and had given her my address and phone number.’
‘So what happened when his wife arrived?’
Chantal cleared her throat. ‘She started shrieking at him. Hitting him in the chest with her fists. He grabbed her wrists, fending off the blows as he tried to placate her. He said he could explain everything. How pathetic! The evidence was there before the poor woman’s eyes, for heaven’s sake. I found myself feeling sorry for her.’
‘So, did she start shouting at you?’
‘No, that was the strange thing. She barely glanced at me. It was her pig of a husband she was mad with. I’d heard enough about his womanising as she continued to hurl abuse at him. I just wanted it all to stop. So I opened my door and asked them both to leave.’
‘And then?’
‘They noticed me at last. His wife grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. I continued to hold the door wide open. She was still shouting. I told them both again to get out of my apartment. After they’d gone I went into my bedroom. My brain had gone numb. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.’
No, she couldn’t tell her any more of the agony that had come afterwards, not now anyway. She wanted to move forward with her life. She was a different person from the innocent, trusting woman she’d been. The heartbreaking experience later that night had changed her for ever. She couldn’t even speak about her miscarriage.
‘I’m sorry, Sidonie, to burden you with all this.’
Sidonie leaned across and patted her hand. ‘Thank you for sharing a confidence with me. I feel privileged to have been told something of your background. You always seemed so quiet and withdrawn when you first started working in Emergency. I hadn’t realised the suffering you’d been through. If ever you need a shoulder to cry on …’
‘Thanks, but I’ve done all the crying I’m going to do. The past is over. It’s the present and the future that are important to me now.’
She must have fallen asleep after Sister had gone back into the ward. The sun, which had been shining full into her window, had dipped below the rooftops of the hospital. She became aware of someone being in the room and turned to look at her bedside chair.
‘I hope I didn’t wake you?’
‘Julia! What a lovely surprise.’ She held out her arms at the sight of her cousin then winced as she unwittingly moved her damaged ankle.
Julia rose to her feet. ‘Don’t try to move, Chantal.’ She bent down and kissed her cheek. You looked so peaceful when I came in. Sister said you would probably be waking up soon.’
‘Oh, it’s so good to see you again. How did you know I was here?’
‘Well, Bernard phoned Sidonie this afternoon to say he was coming in to Orthopaedics to check on the patient he’d chosen for teaching purposes tomorrow morning. Bernard always asks their permission, checks these patients carefully and makes sure they know that he will be supervising his students all the time. I remember when I was one of his students I was always so impressed with the care he took to ensure the patients knew exactly what they were letting themselves in for.’
‘I love to hear about when you were one of Bernard’s students and you found him so difficult and demanding as a professor while you were studying with him for that prestigious exam in orthopaedic surgery.’
Julia laughed. ‘He was only being difficult, he told me afterwards, to ensure I got the best results. After that I managed to thaw him out and … well, you know how it all ended. Marriage and a baby on the way. Anyway, Sister Sidonie told Bernard you were in the side ward here, having sprained your ankle and stretched the ligaments. That must be really painful. I just had to come and check how you are and if there was anything you need.’
‘I can’t fault the way they’ve treated me. Right from the time Michel picked me up off the beach’
‘Michel? What on earth were the two of you doing on the beach together?’
Chantal, well aware of the insinuating grin on her cousin’s face, quickly set her straight with the basic details, starting with the important fact that they hadn’t gone to the beach together. Michel had arrived just as she’d tripped up on a killer of a stone absolutely lying in wait for her.
‘Ah, I see. So Michel brought you back to hospital, set up your treatment and then disappeared.’
‘He’s coming back this evening to check on me. How’s young Philippe?’
Julia’s expression softened. It was always obvious that she adored her husband’s son from his first marriage.
‘He’s fine. Marianne—you remember our brilliant housekeeper who’s been with the family since she was sixteen? Well, she’s at home with Philippe. We told him we were going to see you but that he couldn’t come to see you this time because he had an early start tomorrow. School in the morning, so it was an early night tonight. Marianne was giving him supper when we left and we’ll be back in time to read him a bedtime story.’
Chantal gave a nostalgic sigh. ‘I always loved the bedtime stories you and I had when we were staying together at your house or mine in Montreuil before Mum and I went to live in Paris, didn’t you?’
Julia smiled. ‘We lived more like sisters in those days, just like our mothers had been, didn’t we?’
Chantal giggled. ‘And because our mothers are identical twins I used to wake up sometimes in the night at your house, calling out for my mother. When your mother came in I was convinced she was mine. Oh, hello, Bernard.’
Her cousin-in-law came over and kissed her cheek. ‘How are you getting on, Chantal? Are they treating you OK?’
‘I’m being spoiled rotten.’
‘Even by the exacting Michel?’
Someone else was pushing open the door. Chantal watched as Michel advanced into the crowded side ward. He grinned as he overheard Bernard’s comment about him.
Bernard shook his colleague’s hand. ‘Sorry, Michel, I didn’t know you were coming back this evening. Such devotion to duty.’
Michel raised an eyebrow. ‘And on my day off too!’
‘Actually, we were just leaving. Promised to be back home before Philippe goes to sleep. He adores Marianne but there’s nothing like a paternal voice reading the bedtime story, is there?’
Bernard held out his hand to help his wife as she got to her feet.
She smiled up at him. ‘Oh, so you’re volunteering to read the story tonight, are you?’
‘Don’t want to tire you out, my love.’ He placed a hand gently over Julia’s pregnant bump. ‘Only a few weeks to go now.’
‘Don’t forget you promised to make me godmother,’ Chantal said.
‘You’ll be the most perfect godmother,’ Julia said as she bent over the bed to give her cousin a kiss.
After they’d gone Michel lost no time in checking out her injured ankle. He looked down at her as his experienced fingers gently palpated the damaged area. She winced but refrained from comment as she looked up at him. His expression was so sensitive, so caring, so totally wrapped up in what his patient had suffered and was going through. She told herself that was all she was, another patient. And that was how she wanted their relationship to remain.
‘Good. The swelling’s going down. Sister’s done a good job this afternoon.’
He sat down in the chair beside the bed. ‘Anything you’d like to ask before I go?’
She found herself wishing she dared ask him to stay longer but instead she shook her head and told him she was sure the nurses would continue to take care of her. Better to dampen down the ridiculous feelings she was experiencing. Who needed male company anyway? Certainly she didn’t.
He stood up. ‘I’m sure they will. I’ll go and see Sister now and find out who’s on duty this evening. You must have some supper, Chantal. Got to keep up your strength. I’ll be back in the morning to see you.’
She watched as the door closed after him, willing the sad feeling to go away. She knew she mustn’t allow these insane seductive feelings about Michel to enter her mind. In her post-Jacques life she’d convinced herself that she could never trust a man with her heart again. She would never open herself up to potential pain. She must remind herself every day and never weaken her resolution.
Michel drove out of the staff car park at a furious rate. He slowed as he started to ascend the narrow winding road to the top of the hill. This was always where he began to relax after he’d been on duty. But today he found it harder than usual to switch off, even though technically, it had been his day off.
Reluctantly he admitted to himself that the problem was Chantal. Ever since she’d joined the staff in Emergency in February he’d been aware of her. She was different from all the others. Someone whose company he enjoyed. But it was a totally platonic feeling. It had been more than three years since Maxine had died and his love for her had grown stronger. Every day he still grieved. But somehow when he was with Chantal he became interested in her as a woman.
Surely, that didn’t mean he was being unfaithful to the memory of Maxine, did it? It just meant he was a full-blooded normal male and being with an attractive, intelligent woman like Chantal stirred him. But he wouldn’t allow himself to go along with those feelings. Being with her today, touching her skin, smelling the scent of her body had brought it all to a head. He certainly didn’t want to act on any of these feelings. Heavens above, she’d been his patient today! He would have to hand her on to a colleague for further treatment.
He got out of the car in his driveway and looked out over the stunning sea view. He turned to watch the sun setting over the hill. He was alone, as he was meant to be for the rest of his life. To love a woman was to risk the bitter pain he’d felt when Maxine had been taken from him. He couldn’t risk that again. Not in one lifetime.
CHAPTER TWO (#u9d5aff5d-82fa-5105-ad9b-2203ba5ccebb)
AS MICHEL DROVE his car down the hill above St Martin sur Mer he was feeling apprehensive. Even the glorious sea view couldn’t distract him from thinking about his work in Emergency today. It had been a month since he’d picked up Chantal from the beach and taken her back to the Hôpital de la Plage. He’d made sure he’d referred her to the orthopaedic ward the day after he’d treated her.
He swallowed hard as he changed into a lower gear. His reasons were obvious only to himself and his colleagues hadn’t questioned his decision Basically, they’d followed his advice on the treatment plan he’d recommended and Chantal had been an exemplary patient. Today was the first day she was going to work with him in Emergency for a full day, without the aid of her stick.
He’d been impressed with her absolute determination to cope with the work he’d given her during the last two weeks she’d spent in Emergency on light duties, always aided by her stick and always within reaching distance of a chair in case she became tired.
As he drove through the hospital gates he told himself to stop worrying about her. She was a feisty girl, dependable in any situation. Always cool and unflustered with whatever problems a patient posed. An absolute natural in their department. She’d be able to cope today when he’d scheduled her to work the whole day.
Switching off the engine in the car park, he managed to convince himself that she wasn’t his problem. He’d prescribed her treatment and the result was that she had a healthy, viable ankle that shouldn’t cause problems in the future. So he should stop thinking about her. There was work to be done and Chantal was just another colleague in his department … wasn’t she?
It was ironic that she was the first person he saw as he pushed open the swing doors into Emergency. He couldn’t help smiling at her. She looked so young and fresh and raring to go this morning. He had to remember not to treat her any differently from his other colleagues.
‘Ready to work all day?’
‘Of course! I’ve dealt with a couple of patients already. No problem.’
She covered the few steps between them, consciously walking correctly, as she’d practised with the physiotherapists; heel toe, heel toe.
‘Very good.’
She grinned, unable to stop feeling pleased with herself at his praise.
‘Oh, I’ve had only the best treatment, you know. And I was determined to get back to normal working life as soon as I possibly could.’
‘I know you were.’ He averted his gaze, which was full of admiration. As his phone rang ‘Well, then, let’s see what we’re landed with today,’ he said, getting out his smartphone to scroll through his messages. ‘Hold on a moment, Chantal. I may need your help immediately. I’m getting a message through about a car crash on the motorway.’
Even as he spoke the doors to Emergency swung open and a couple of porters with patients on trolleys followed each other inside. From outside the building came the sound of another ambulance arriving.
‘Dr Devine,’ the first porter called. ‘This woman is in pain and she won’t stop screaming. She’s completely hysterical. I can’t—’
‘Let me help you,’ Chantal said in a soothingly calm voice as she moved to meet the porter.
‘I’ll deal with the second patient,’ Michel said. ‘Contact me whenever you need me.’
Chantal had already directed the porter to take their patient into the nearest vacant cubicle and was leaning over her, trying to reassure her that she was safe. The screams had now turned to sobs as the patient clung to Chantal’s hand.
She was aware that Michel had just arrived and was taking his place at the other side of the trolley.
‘I’ve handed my patient to a colleague so I can get the general picture of where I’m needed most. I thought you might need some help here.’
He could see Chantal was having a soothing influence on the hysterical patient as she gently asked her name.
‘Josephine,’ the patient whispered now in between sobs. ‘I will be OK, won’t I?’
‘Yes, you will. I’m Dr Chantal Winstone and I’m going to do everything I can to help you. Now, tell me where it hurts Josephine. Let me …’
