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.
‘RIGHT, Mrs Graham. If you could pop up onto the couch then I can see how junior is doing.’
Adam smiled at the young woman. ‘This baby certainly isn’t in a rush to make his appearance in the world. You’re what…three days overdue now?’
‘That’s right, Doctor,’ Elaine Graham replied as Beth helped her get comfortable.
Elaine had looked extremely tense when she’d arrived. However, Beth couldn’t help noticing how much more relaxed she now appeared to be. It was obvious that Adam’s easygoing manner had had a positive effect on Elaine, as it had had on all the other expectant mums they had seen that afternoon. Beth had to admit that she was impressed.
‘I was hoping this one would be early, unlike his brothers,’ Elaine explained. ‘My youngest is having a birthday party the day after tomorrow and I was hoping that I’d have had the baby by then.’
‘Well, there’s still time,’ Adam assured her, gently feeling the position the baby was lying in. ‘The baby’s head is engaged so in theory it should be all systems go very soon.’
‘I wish you’d tell that to the baby,’ Elaine retorted. ‘I’ve had three children so far, and each time I’ve been told that the birth is imminent and nothing has happened!’
‘We don’t get it right every time, Mrs Graham!’ he admitted ruefully. He finished his examination then helped her to sit up. ‘I just want to take your blood pressure again. The reading seemed to be a little on the high side when Sister Campbell took it earlier.’
‘Probably because I’d been rushing round,’ Elaine admitted, offering her arm so that he could wrap the cuff of the sphygmomanometer around it. ‘There’s always something that needs doing when you’ve got three lively boys.’
‘I’m sure there is.’ Adam quickly inflated the cuff then paused while he took the new reading. ‘I don’t know how you mums cope with everything. It’s no wonder that there don’t seem to be enough hours in a day. But will you promise me that you’ll try to rest more until the baby arrives? It will help to keep your blood pressure down and that’s very important at this stage.’
‘I’ll try, Dr Knight,’ Elaine agreed readily, so readily, in fact, that Beth had to hide her amazement. She knew that Dr Wright had tried—and failed!—to make Elaine see how important it was that she rested during the latter stages of her pregnancy. Obviously, Adam’s charm had garnered better results than Dr Wright’s kindly paternalism had done.
It was unsettling to realise it. The image she had built up over the years of Adam Knight just didn’t gel with what she had seen that afternoon. He had been kind and caring towards the patients, deeply sympathetic to any problems they’d had. She simply couldn’t reconcile the cold professional of her imagination with the warmly attentive man she had been working with. It struck her that she could easily grow to like him, only she wasn’t sure that would be a good thing. There wasn’t room to start worrying about his feelings when she had Hannah to consider.
The thought of her niece made her sigh and she saw Adam glance at her. She forced herself to concentrate as he saw Elaine Graham out, not wanting to give him an opening to start questioning her again. He’d made no mention of their earlier conversation but she’d noticed him watching her several times and knew that he hadn’t forgotten what had happened. Until she’d decided how she intended
