not looking in the direction of Edward’s office and it was Allie who raised the alarm. Edward was striding towards them, and Charlotte caught the quick exchanged glance between Paula and Allie as he passed behind her. A little too close.
‘Charlotte.’
There was something intimate about the way he said her name. Or maybe it was just her imagination. Charlotte didn’t dare to look in Paula’s direction.
‘Mrs Ashe is here a little early with April. If you’re free, then I’ll see them now.’
‘Yes, of course.’ Charlotte reached over for the notes and followed Edward into the plush, comfortable consulting room.
* * *
The seventeen-year-old took a nervous breath as Edward began the careful, precise work of taking the dressings from the side of her face. The previous week he had used skin flaps to revise the scars that a road accident had left, and today April was to see the result. His small nod, and a fleeting glance in Charlotte’s direction, revealed that he was pleased with his work.
‘Does it look horrible?’ April was chewing her lip.
‘No. Mr North’s got to take a careful look, but so far everything’s fine.’
The other nurses sometimes complained that it was pretty much impossible to gauge Edward’s reactions to anything, but today he seemed more transparent than usual.
She ventured a little more reassurance for April. ‘It’s a little raised at the moment, but that’s normal. It’ll settle over time.’
‘Yes.’ Edward was taking her lead. ‘I’m very pleased with the way it’s healing.’
Charlotte laid her hand over April’s, feeling the tremor of her fingers. ‘When you look at yourself in the mirror, remember that we’re at the very early stages of healing right now. Your procedure went well, and everything’s going just as it should. You’ll see a lot of improvement in the coming months.’
‘That’s okay.’ April managed a smile. ‘I know.’
She might be young, but April was much more pragmatic than some of the clinic’s clients, who seemed to expect that the miracles Edward performed should take effect immediately. Charlotte reached for the mirror, but Edward already had it, and was handing it to April.
‘Everything’s looking good, April. There’s very little swelling, and I can see you’ve been doing all the things that Charlotte told you to do when we saw you last. Keep up the good work.’
‘Thanks.’ April took the mirror and looked at her reflection. ‘That’s not so bad.’
Charlotte grinned at her. ‘No. Not so bad at all. Now, I’ll show you how to massage it gently. With just a little more work, we can make it even better.’
THE SMELL COMING from the kitchen was gorgeous. Mouthwatering. Edward wondered how he could possibly be so hungry when normally he ate far later than this, and sometimes not at all if he got involved with what he was doing.
‘Do you know what’s for dinner, Isaac?’ He sat down on the sofa next to the boy, who was fidgeting restlessly.
‘Yes. Mum made it yesterday.’
‘Would you like to share?’
Isaac thought for a minute, and Edward wondered if he ought to rephrase.
‘Lasagne.’
‘Sounds great. I like lasagne.’
‘Me, too. I like it here, too.’ Isaac thought for a moment. ‘When are we going home?’
Edward glanced towards the open door of the kitchen. No Charlotte. She must be able to hear their conversation, but it didn’t appear that she was going to help him out.
‘Whenever you and your mum want to.’
‘Can we stay until next weekend?’
‘Yes, if you’d like to. What’s happening next weekend?’
‘The men are coming again.’
‘No, Isaac...’ Where was Charlotte when he needed her? She didn’t seem to have any difficulty in turning up almost like magic whenever she was needed at a patient’s bedside. ‘Your mother’s done nothing wrong. Those men aren’t allowed to come back, and I’m going to make sure they don’t.’
‘How?’ Isaac slipped off the sofa and approached Edward, laying both hands on one of his knees, clearly intent on a man-to-man talk.
Edward took a deep breath and leaned forward. ‘That’s a secret. But I promise you that we’ll stop them from coming back.’ He held out his right hand. ‘You want to shake on it?’
Isaac gave him a puzzled look.
‘Here.’ Edward picked up his right hand and gave it a gentle shake. ‘That means that I’ve made a promise to you and I can’t break it.’
‘Like that?’ Isaac proffered his right hand and shook Edward’s again.
‘That’s right. Just like that.’ This was going better than he’d thought it might.
Isaac proffered his hand again. ‘I promise I won’t touch your piano any more.’
A noise from the kitchen door made Edward look up and he wondered how long Charlotte had been standing there.
‘I’m sorry. He only played a couple of notes and I wiped the fingermarks off...’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He turned back to Isaac. ‘How does not touching my piano unless you ask your mum or me first sound?’
‘I won’t touch your piano unless I ask Mum or you.’ Isaac sealed the bargain with a handshake and then ran over to the piano stool. ‘Can I touch it now?’
‘No, Isaac, it’s time for dinner. Go and wash your hands.’
Isaac pulled a face, but ran out of the room. Charlotte’s eye was on him all the way.
‘How do you do that?’
She’d picked up the lasagne, newly out of the oven, and was carrying it through into the dining room. Edward followed with the salad.
‘Answer all the questions? I just tell him the truth.’ She laid the dish down onto a padded table mat, her shoulders drooping suddenly, as if someone had loaded some extra weight onto them. ‘Well, most of the time. I still want to shield him, but he’s getting to an age when that’s not so easy.’
Edward wondered whether he should mention the fact that Isaac plainly wanted to do the same—to shield his mother. Probably not. He shouldn’t interfere.
She’d put a small glass vase of flowers on the over-large oval table, which Edward had never
