Henry carefully lowered himself onto a comfortable padded seat in the plush waiting room. But neither had it been hard to detect his frustration at not being able to master the use of his walking aids as smoothly and as effortlessly as he might have wished. Once again the sweat that had broken out on his brow had illustrated the effort it had taken him to get this far. They’d only walked the short distance from the car park, but it had clearly been a struggle for Hal. It made her even more determined to help him achieve the goal of being confident with the aids.
Leaning towards him, Kit freed his hands from holding the crutches and carefully leaned them against the wall behind him.
‘You’d better go and tell the receptionist that I’m here.’
The sudden command sounded like a snarl of anger and resentment—a bit like a wounded animal. But she wasn’t about to take Hal’s surly mood personally. In her time working for the agency she’d encountered several ‘tricky’ customers and had soon learned how best to handle them. People were dealing with all kinds of challenges. Not just physical and mental ones, but also more commonplace dilemmas, like bereavement and loneliness and sometimes the heartache caused by a failed relationship.
Even though her mother had tested her patience to the nth degree, Kit was a naturally compassionate person, and it helped her more easily cope with the frayed tempers and impatience of some of the clients she cared for and not let their volatile reactions undermine her.
‘Okay, I’ll go and get you booked in. Do you have a patient card or a letter with your hospital number on?’
Hal sucked in a breath and blew it out again, as if even more exasperated. His eyes glinted, warning her that his temper was hanging by the slimmest of threads.
‘Why? Do you think they don’t know who I am?’ he snapped.
Mentally taking a deep breath of her own, Kit said calmly, ‘I’m sure the Queen herself has a patient number, and everybody knows who she is.’
‘Never mind the backchat, Ms Blessington. Just go and tell them I’m here, will you?’
Had she imagined it or had that handsome carved mouth of his twitched ever so slightly with amusement? Acutely aware of the pretty young receptionist, who was gazing across the room at Hal as though he were some sublime visitation from heaven, Kit went to the desk.
‘I’m here with Mr Henry Treverne. He has a ten o’clock appointment with his consultant Mr Shadik.’
Reluctantly withdrawing her gaze from Hal, the girl answered, ‘I’ll let him know that Mr Treverne is here right away.’
‘Thank you.’
Returning to sit beside her brooding charge, Kit proffered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. ‘Hopefully you won’t have too long to wait.’
His dark eyebrows beetling together, Hal growled, ‘However long the wait, it’s far too long for my liking.’
‘Don’t you want help to get better?’
When he turned his head towards her she was treated to the full force of his powerful gaze.
‘You may have noticed that asking for help and accepting it is not something that comes naturally to me.’
‘Then perhaps when you’re back to full strength again it might be something you could start to cultivate?’
‘Yeah—and my father might train to climb Mount Everest!’
‘I take it he’s not a keen climber like you are, then?’
‘The only thing he climbs are walls—especially when he hears of another “foolhardy escapade” of mine that he despairs of. That’s why he didn’t visit me in the hospital when I had this blasted accident. He’s a man who’s always erred on the side of safety. The only risks he ever takes are ones that he’s sure will preserve the legacy of Falteringham House for the generations of the Treverne family to come.’
‘Falteringham House? Is that the name of your family home?’
‘Yes.’
‘And your father really didn’t visit you when you broke your leg?’ No wonder he was acting like some kind of wounded animal. It had clearly hurt him that his father had stayed away when he’d been injured. She doubted that even her impractical, flighty mother would have behaved as callously.
Hal’s expression was far away for a moment, and seconds later a tall, elegant man dressed in a tailored pinstriped suit that suggested he might just as easily be a wealthy lawyer as a surgeon presented himself in front of the man sitting beside her.
‘Mr Treverne. It is good to see you again. Would you like to come into the examination room and I’ll take a look at that leg, see how things are progressing?’
The comment was impatiently received with a disdainfully curled lip. ‘The only thing that’s progressed is the pain, Mr Shadik.’
‘Then perhaps I need to prescribe some stronger medication for you. Let us go and discuss it, shall we?’
Glancing round at Kit, Hal nodded towards the crutches she’d leant against the wall.
‘Give me a hand with those, would you? And you may as well come into the examination room with me and get the gist of what’s happening.’
‘I think that’s a good idea.’ Immediately pushing to her feet, Kit helped him safely secure the armrests before assisting him to stand. When he did, she observed that once again his indomitably handsome brow was beaded with sweat. The consultant had also noted it, and gravely shook his head.
‘I am certain we can do much better as far as your pain relief is concerned, Henry, so please don’t worry. Today is your first day on crutches, is it not?’
Hal briefly dipped his head in agreement.
‘We’ll get another X-ray and afterwards you can see the physio to make sure that you’re using the aids properly... But I can see that you’re already a natural.’ The surgeon beamed.
Kit sensed that beneath his grim smile Henry was privately utilising every expletive he could lay his hands on, as well as inventing a few more choice ones of his own...
HAL HAD BEEN in dire need of a rest when they’d returned from the hospital. After the tedious rounds of X-rays and physiotherapy he’d endured, as well as a further consultation about the results with his surgeon, he’d been so exhausted that the only thing he’d longed for was at least a couple of hours of unbroken sleep.
In the living room he’d allowed Kit to assist him in getting comfortable on the couch, privately surprised at how used to her touch he was getting and how quickly he had started to trust it.
The biggest surprise of all had come when he’d learned what an amazingly confident driver she was. His top-of-the-range sporty four-by-four had been handled as expertly as if Hal was driving it himself. Any fears about her denting or damaging one of his favourite cars were happily unfounded.
But when Kit had been gently
