you mean Grant Kershaw—I should have guessed!’ Joanne grimaced at Kate. ‘I shouldn’t worry about him. He’s hardly the world’s greatest charmer. Half the women in the hospital are madly in love with him and show it; the other half feel the same but pretend to hate him. Consequently his arrogance knows no bounds! He hates women. They say he has only one true love in his life, and that’s surgery. People can stand his bearlike manner because he’s so good at it, too. If he carries on the way he’s going, it’s said that he’ll become the youngest surgical consultant in the state.’
‘All the women in the hospital are in love with him, are they, Joanne?’ Paul raised his eyebrows questioningly. Suddenly Joanne blushed and grinned shyly at him.
‘Please excuse me,’ she said. ‘I must go and organise some more punch. It’s lovely to have met you, Kate.’ She smiled as she hurried away in the direction of the kitchen.
Kate turned to her cousin. ‘Do I detect a romance brewing?’ she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
‘Well detected, Kate,’ smiled Paul. ‘She’s a lovely girl,’ he said, suddenly serious.
The sight of her cousin, so obviously in love, made Kate feel very much an outsider. All at once the room seemed hot and noisy and the babbling of voices were giving her a headache. She had had enough of the party.
‘I think I’ll go home now,’ she told him.
His face fell a little. ‘Let me say goodbye to Joanne, then I’ll give you a lift.’
‘No Paul. It’s sweet of you, but I’ll get a taxi. Really, I insist!’ She was amused to see his look of relief. She had no desire to drag him away from the party, and quite honestly she felt as though she could do with a little solitude.
As she left, she couldn’t resist looking to see whether Grant Kershaw had made any headway with the young woman, but she searched in vain. He was nowhere to be seen.
She thanked Joanne, said goodbye to Paul and stepped outside into the fading light of the warm Perth evening. She found a taxi easily and directed it to the exclusive beach side suburb where her Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue lived. Distant stars had started to glimmer and the coloured lights from skyscraper office blocks danced like a kaleidoscope on the waters of the Swan.
With a sigh she settled into the back seat and closed her eyes.
The last few months had been one mad, hectic whirl. The excitement of a trip to Australia had somehow blurred the reality of her split with Ben. Over the past few days, however, the realisation had at last begun to sink in. She was not to become Mrs. Hillier; her future no longer lay comfortable and secure before her.
All things considered, it had not been a particularly successful evening, she thought as the car gathered speed. That man had quite unnerved her. Thank heavens she was to begin nursing again next week; the demanding physical and mental nature of the job would leave her little time or energy to dwell on affairs of the heart.
Uncle Mike had arranged for her to work in the ‘country’ hospital of Port Dampland, a town with a population of around twelve thousand, which handled the shipping of iron ore supplied by two nearby mines.
‘It’s a rough and ready place,’ her uncle had warned her. ‘There’s sea on one side and desert on the other. Few shops, no theatre, one pub and the hospital. You could be lonely there, Kate.’
Frankly, it had sounded just what she needed—lots of hard work as a nurse in her beloved theatres. It needed stamina, anticipation and dexterity to be a good scrub nurse, and Kate had been told that she was one of the best.
The taxi drew up outside the imposing white colonial-styled house of her relatives. Her uncle had emigrated from England twenty years previously, a newly-married houseman at the time. Now he was Chief of Surgery at Perth’s largest hospital.
She paid the taxi-driver and, hearing no sounds from the house, wandered through the gardens towards the swimming pool where her uncle and aunt often sat to drink their coffee after dinner. She strolled across the lawn, whose manicured emerald smoothness belied the heat of the harsh Australian sun. There were hundreds of wild flowers massed around the edges of the lawn, and the fading light seemed only to intensify their colours, making them jewel-bright and unreal.
She made a beautiful, wraith-like vision, her hair like a shimmering waterfall as she picked her way towards the table where her aunt and uncle were sitting. She could see that they had a guest, a man, sitting with his back to her.
Her aunt saw her and waved. ‘Kate!’ she called. ‘How lovely? Come and have some coffee.’
As she drew nearer, Kate realised with a start that she recognised the broad line of those shoulders. She recognised the dark curls which showed jet against the white of his shirt collar. Furiously, she realised that her heart was thumping painfully in her chest.
He turned in his chair to greet the niece of his host, and she had the pleasure of reading the momentary discomfiture which flashed across his face. Then it was gone and he was on his feet, hand outstretched, that hateful sarcastic smile on his lips.
Her uncle smiled broadly. ‘I’d like you to meet Grant Kershaw, Kate. He’s one of our rising stars and, though I hate to admit it, my most likely successor! Grant—my niece Kate Carpenter.’
‘How do you do, Miss Carpenter?’ he said formally, extending his hand and clasping her own.
So he was not going to acknowledge their earlier meeting, thought Kate angrily. And no wonder, since he behaved so rudely towards her. Well, two can play at your silly games, Mr. Kershaw! she thought doggedly.
‘Very well, thank you,’ she answered coolly as she sat down in the chair he’d pulled out for her. ‘Enjoying both the Australian sun and the warm hospitality of its people.’ She smiled at him politely and he winced slightly.
‘How was the party, darling?’ enquired her aunt as she handed her a cup of coffee. ‘I’m suprised that you didn’t run into each other.’
‘It was a bit of a crush, Auntie. I spent most of the time chatting to Paul and Joanne. Actually, I’m feeling quite tired, so I think I’ll turn in soon, if you don’t mind.’
‘You do that, Katie,’ replied her aunt. ‘Make the most of the last few days of your holiday!’ She turned and smiled at Grant. ‘I’m glad that you’ve met each other, though. At least you’ll know one person in Port Dampland, Kate.’
Kate saw him start while she herself grew hot. She noticed that he was avoiding her eyes.
‘Grant is doing a year as Surgeon-in-Charge at Port Dampland Hospital,’ her aunt explained. ‘Kate is a theatre nurse, Grant, and starts at Dampland Hospital next week. I expect you’ll be working together quite often.’
‘I expect we will, Mrs. Saunders, and I shall look forward to it.’ He smiled evenly at his hostess.
How disgustingly obsequious! thought Kate. Now that he knew she was related to his boss, his earlier rudeness had been replaced by charm itself. He obviously thought he could behave just how the mood took him, where women were concerned. Well, he wouldn’t find her so easily manipulated!
‘I’m going up to Dampland myself tommorrow,’ continued the surgeon. ‘I’ll be travelling in a converted jeep, and spend
